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So when are they set out to go on sale? I've seen them on different sites, but no release dates. Anybody know?
kareem9nba said:
So when are they set out to go on sale? I've seen them on different sites, but no release dates. Anybody know?
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I am anxiously awaiting this headset as well. I am debating between this and the Sony 980.
Go for the Sony ones. The Motorola ones are sometimes quite uncomfortable.
kareem9nba said:
So when are they set out to go on sale? I've seen them on different sites, but no release dates. Anybody know?
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just get a new s9 from ebay for £19.00 (just bought one at that price!) and install SRS Wow HD which seems to be the only difference between the s9 and the s9 hd........
Background noise
I wonder if the HD version fixed the awful background noise issue whenever you called that S9 had
Kraize92 said:
Go for the Sony ones. The Motorola ones are sometimes quite uncomfortable.
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I dunno, I've gotten kind of used to the unbearable ear pinching all 'round head throb. I'm sure the HD is much better. or not.
Actually, It's not too bad. I really do like the S9 better than a borg ear implant styles or the Jabra dog tag in spite of the fit.
Can anyone explain me the special features of Motorola HD version ?
waiting...
i'm hoping to test it out too..
currently i'm using plantronics 590A.. pretty awesome sound too. works well with my HTC Touch too.
malkeen said:
Can anyone explain me the special features of Motorola HD version ?
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1. SRS WOW HD technology (better sound ."3D" sound).
2. Better sweat/water resistence.
3. New covered buttons (easier to use sweat should not affect them).
4. Improved noise isolation (better at makeing and receiving phone calls).
5. I think it has a longer run time (not 100% sure.
6. Improved BT reception (less interfearence).
7. New ear buds (better seal aginst background noise).
8. There NOT red (ok, not a big deal. Flash just isn't my style).
I ordered the S9 before I saw the S9-HD where out. Just ordered that too. So I'll have them both in a few days. We'll see how it goes.
Anyone with real life expierence with the S9-HD?
RojasTKD said:
1. SRS WOW HD technology (better sound ."3D" sound).
2. Better sweat/water resistence.
3. New covered buttons (easier to use sweat should not affect them).
4. Improved noise isolation (better at makeing and receiving phone calls).
5. I think it has a longer run time (not 100% sure.
6. Improved BT reception (less interfearence).
7. New ear buds (better seal aginst background noise).
8. There NOT red (ok, not a big deal. Flash just isn't my style).
I ordered the S9 before I saw the S9-HD where out. Just ordered that too. So I'll have them both in a few days. We'll see how it goes.
Anyone with real life expierence with the S9-HD?
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Be sure to report how the HD compared and if they're really better in voice calls. I have the original S9's and had to buy a separate BT headset just for voice calls as I couldn't take the complaints from other callers about them hearing everything in the background apart from my voice.
Wam7 said:
Be sure to report how the HD compared and if they're really better in voice calls. I have the original S9's and had to buy a separate BT headset just for voice calls as I couldn't take the complaints from other callers about them hearing everything in the background apart from my voice.
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The S9-HD should arrive in a day or two. I'll let you know how call work out.
I just got in the S9's I ordered before I know the S9-HD's where out and ordered those too.
I have to say the call quality is better than I expected from the S9's. Not as good as my regular BT headset (jawbone 2), butso far they seem to work fin inside my house. Even when sitting in front of the computer with the TV tuner running at normal or a little above normal listening level. I'm sure our side it would not work quite as well, but have yet to even try. My Jawbone will stay my everyday BT headset. The S9 and S9-HD will be for music and workouts/running.
I'll compare with the S9-HD's as soon as I get my hands on them (tomorrow, if I'm lucky... If not by MOnday for sure).
Ok folks, so I've had my S9-HDs for a about 1.5 wks now. For a point of reference I had the old S9s for about 1.5 yrs (went thru 4 pairs due to sweat issue).
So S9-HDs, they come with a new ear insert, they have a rubber "ring" around them. They come with two sets of those (mine appear to be identical size, was thinking one would be bigger than the other) and the old S9 inserts.
I have resorted to the old standard S9 type inserts. The buttons on the S9-HD are elevated or "bubbled" I believe this was directly due to the sweat issue with the old S9s. I'm guessing the moisture created the old S9 buttons to short out where as with the elevated/bubbled buttons on the new S9-HDs the buttons are not as flush meaning the water/sweat won't ruin the connectivity within the buttons (just my assumption)
I honestly liked the sound better in my old S9s...not impressed with the SRS WOW. I end up turning it off half the time, almost too much bass with not enough mid range or treble.
Only ended up using the bluetooth call capabilities for about 1 min with the wife calling me while at the gym. I have had a couple hard workouts with a lot of sweat and no issues with the buttons.
Hope this helps a bit, if you have any direct questions let me know and Ill try to test and respond for you.
Is there more than one setting for the SRS WOW? Which is probably why I prefer to have the SRS installed on the device and I can adjust the sound etc.
Really interested in how good they are for voice, especially for people listening in environments with a fair bit of ambient noise.
I don't think anything can rival the Jawbone 2's but would be nice to know if this is now nearer to an all in one solution.
Wam7 said:
Is there more than one setting for the SRS WOW? Which is probably why I prefer to have the SRS installed on the device and I can adjust the sound etc.
Really interested in how good they are for voice, especially for people listening in environments with a fair bit of ambient noise.
I don't think anything can rival the Jawbone 2's but would be nice to know if this is now nearer to an all in one solution.
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Will test on more voice calls...I have these for working out and golfing (Driving range). I use my jawbone when I use voice, except when I get calls while using the S9s.
As for the SRS it is either on or off...no variation or inbetween setting. I'm using it with the HTC Fuze which unfortunately the graphic equalizer only works with wired headphones the settings don't work with the S9s.
Still no S9-HD's... They should arrive by Monday, I hope.
I did go for my first Run with the S9's (a short 1 mile, it's been several month scene I've dome any running). The worked just fine. A couple of drop outs but very minor. I was very happy with them, and my controls still work. It was also a cool night and a short run so I didn't sweat like usual (LOTS).
I do worry about the "sweat and controls" issue. Trying to think of somethink that might help safeguard against this. I've thought about applying a small amount of silicone around the edges of the controls. Or perhaps some kind of coating to make it more sweat/water resistant. we'll see, anybe I should just not use there for excersize and keep the S9-HD for that.
OK have had my S9-HD for about 2 weeks or so now. Here are a few thoughts:
Voice calls:
Seems a little better than the S9's, but I would not use it as my only BT headset. The do a little better with background noise, but it can still be an issue. You'll want a good BT headset for dedicated voice calls. I called my voice mail with the radio on and with the S9's the radio overwhelmed my voice making my voice incomprehensible. With the S9-HD the radio made it difficult to hear me, but you could make out mu voice and get what I was saying. So it seem to be a bit of an improvement. Oh and the S9-HD give you stereo audio in phone calls now witch is a nice bonus.
Music:
They sound good, but I like the audio from my S9 better. I Think it sounds more detailed. It a subtle difference and might just be me, but I lean toward the S9 as far as my preferred unit for music listening. They both sound very good with my Tilt, in fact It they sound better with my Tilt than the new Samsung P2 MP3 play I bought for these. I should of just stuck with my Tilt for music.
Buttons:
As mentioned the S9-Hd's new buttons are raised. Personally I don't like them as much as the older S9's buttons. With the S9 you could feel the "hump" and go up or down to get to the function you want. With the New three "hump" design you have to feel around to make see witch hump you on (center? top? bottom?) before you can get to the function you want.
Now the main reason for me gettin the HD's is for their improved sweat resistance (wtch may be one reason the the three hump design). Don't know it there actually better. So far no problems with either, but will use the new one for running and the old one for non-physical activities.
If you plan on getting sweaty while using these or want a little more usable call function the S9-HD are a good option, if not stick with the S9 and save some cash.
I almost forgot. I love using the the S9/S9-HD with my slingbox. It really mke it much more enjoyable. It also works with Skype, though you do have some cut outs but no more than normal.
My review
I purchased the S9-HD's and have been playing with them for about a week now. I am using them with an HTC Fuze. I find that they pair easily, and work very well with the integrated music player in TouchFlo3D. However, they don't work as well with Windows Media Player Mobile, often when I hit the pause button, it starts playing the TouchFlo3D player instead of pausing Media Player, like it's given precedence to that app in the system.
I have always had a problem with the type of headphones that are springy/stiff plastic which hold them clamped onto your head, as they make my ears sore and painful after about 20-30 mins. I find that these phones also do this to me.
I like them, the overall quality is nice, sound quality is decent for BT (although not great) and they stay in better than earbuds. However, even with the smallest rubber earbud covers on them, they make the inside of my ear hurt from the pressure, both the inward pressure from the whole unit pressing in on my head from each side, and also the outward pressure of the earbud inside my ear, pressing out on my inner ear.
I find that I can wear them reasonably comfortably for around 20-30 mins and then I have to take a break. I think I just have a small ear opening because when wearing earplugs (motorcycling) I always have to go with the small soft kind, the "standard" yellow cylinder ones are painful to me.
But, they stay on great, something I hate about earbuds which always fall out. I think I might try the "dog tag" Jabra's as a second set, and sell the other. I really want to get rid of all cords, but the S9's are not the 100% solution for me.
If the darn Fuze had a 3.5mm jack none of this would be an issue! The giant adapter dongle they include is simply not acceptable, it's literally the length again of the whole phone!
Why don't you buy a little adapter? Check amazon.
Kraize said:
Why don't you buy a little adapter? Check amazon.
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Thanks man, didn't really even think to look for some reason, and there's like 20 different ones out there. cheers
headphones
is the SRS-wow already on when the unit is powered on?
i can't tell any difference between the two settings so i'm assuming its on when i power up.
i've had mine for a week...LOVE IT! can't compare it to anything else though. i'm trying to figure out if i like the bigger earbuds compared to the smaller ones they gave. both are a bit annoying after wearing for more than an hour but i read somwhere that one of them give better sound....again, not sure about differences....not really an audiophile.
Well, im ready to upgrade from my 3125 (which is starting to fail after 2 years) to a touch screened WinMo phone (despite several friends/co-workers trying to get me into the iphone) I was strongly for the Touch HD for a while, then the Touch Pro II was announced and i started looking into it. Its not a bad phone.
Question is, which would be better overall?
The biggest selling point for the HD is the 3.5mm audio jack (why HTC or other phone manufactures dont make this standard ill never know, given the high demand and how pretty much every phone plays music now). My 3125 does play music, and has front audio controls (which ive discovered are more of a hassle than a bonus) ive found i dont use it to play music as much as i hoped i would. This is, in majority, due to the lack of a 3.5 jack. I managed to get a Bluetooh Stereo receiver, however the sound quality is sub-par, and it creates severe lag with the phone, and so, i rarely use it.
I do sync it to my outlook, use it to update appointments, notifications and contact list (im super forgetful of events, so it helps remind me)
Now on the flip side, the biggest selling point for the Touch Pro 2 is the hard keyboard (obviously). While i messed around with a soft keyboard on an iPod Touch, and im pretty sure i could get use to it, ive read that the HD used a resistant screen, so it wouldn't be as responsive as the ipod touch/iphone. Plus it would be nice to have hardware keys for fun stuff such as playing mobile games.
Outside of those two unique features, they seem like identical smartphones. I just have a couple questions about them..
1. This may be a stupid one, but since im in the U.S. i have to ask. It looks like the Touch Pro 2 will be able to go on the AT&T network (seeing as how T-Mobile is bringing it in), but Will the Touch HD also be accepted on the AT&T network? (i do understand it will NOT do 3g. I have no plans to use the network in that fashion, and if i do, non-3g will be enough)
2. Does the Touch Pro 2 have a G sensor for screen rotation and the like? From videos ive seen, it only shows it switching the screen orientation when they pull out the keyboard. And the G-sensor is something i would like to take advantage of.
3. Do both devices use the 'standard' (i use that term loosely) mini-usb connection? (same that's on the touch pro). I ask to see if the Mini-usb connections (such as the 3.5 jack converter) will work on it. It looks like the touch pro 2 does use it, but i haven't seen the jack on the HD as of yet.
3. I know the HD doesn't have IR, does the Touch Pro 2? (not essential, but it would be fun to play around with and make a remote out of it)
4. On the Touch Pro 2, will it play Media files using the 'Straight Talk' loud speaker? Additionally, hows the sound quality of that speaker?
Now, the TP2 looks pretty nice, and very functional & business like. However im not much into business (aside from programming) and will likely not use the conference feature much, if at all. The HD is more of the multi-media phone which is more or less what i want, but i cant ignore all the features and the hard keyboard of the Touch Pro 2.
Opinions? Comments?
ALL HTC devices made in the last 2 years or so have used the extUSB connection proprietary (although the spec is in the open) to HTC. It combines Audio/video with the usb port. You can use a standard mini USB cable in this port though.
TouchHD will work on AT&T 3g.
There is an accelerometer in the Touch Pro2.
IR has been deleted from later HTC devices if I have my facts correct.
Audio is played through the speaker unless you have headphones connected.
cheers.
i also wanted the htc hd but had my reservations about no hard press buttons. now that the TP2 will soon be available i will get that for sure!!!(qwerty)!!!
I would DEFINITELY go with they touch pro 2, sure the screen is a bit smaller but hardly, and also it does ahve a g-snsor, and also I here are specs for the touch pro 2 from htc website
http://www.htc.com/www/product/touchpro2/specification.html
and heres teh specs for the hd:
http://www.htc.com/www/product/touchhd/specification.html
also a slightly higer capacity battery in the touch pro 2
I know it has the hardware keyboard, but can you still use the softkeys if you didnt want to flip out the other one?
I am leaning toward the TP2, tho it means i have to wait for IT to be released, and my 3125 is quickly falling apart. :\
I think im going to stick with AT&T tho rather than switching to T-Mobile.. Anyone have any estimates on how soon it will be available to the US (unlocked)?
I know it has the hardware keyboard, but can you still use the softkeys if you didnt want to flip out the other one?
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Definitely.
Dude go for the Touch Pro II, i currently have the HD, but i need a physical keyboad since i tend to type alot on it, mails & sms's
Th eonly up side for the HD against TPII is its 3.5 audio jack, camera and slightly bigger screen of .2''
Don't forget the HD is a much slimmer phone, its even thinner than the Diamond 2 and only a little bit thicker than the original Diamond. May not be that important to you, but if you carry your phone around with you it can make quite a difference.
I have HD and ...
I have HD myself and it works OK in US. I'm using GSM only (no 3G) as you are going to.
Both phones are quad-band GSM phones, so they will work on TMO and ATT (GSM only).
TP2 also has TV Out which HD lacks.
Previously I had HTC Wizard with slide-out kbd. If you type a lot - physical kbd is a MUST. I'm ok with soft-kbd on HD, but I do not type much. But when I chat on ICQ ... man, I miss that kbd from Wizard.
Also HD seems much thinner (at least from videos I saw). That could be a factor.
Both miss front D-Pad - it turns out - big drawback for me Too many games rely on d-pad. I mean - real games It started to change though.
Bottom line ... if you type a lot and play games a lot - get TP2. Or need TV Out. Otherwise - get HD.
Personally - I'm staying with HD.
Basically the situation is a little funny. The Touch HD, Touch Pro 2, and Touch Diamond 2, are all pretty much the same exact phone. All the hardware is the same, all software is the same, only difference is the exterior casing.
Between HD and Diamond2, I have no idea what they are trying to do. You can buy a HD and flash it to the new topaz ROM, and bam you have a touch diamond2, like out of a time machine from the future! In fact the HD casing is nicer/thinner than the Diamond2, so it's even better!
For Pro2, it's exactly a touch HD/Diamond2 + a keyboard. For this you can say it's better if you don't mind the extra thickness, it's up to you between how much you want a keyboard and how much you want a thin phone. All the small keyboards from no matter what phone I don't like, they are too small to be used seriously, if I need to seriously type, I would bring a foldable full-size BT keyboard with me in pocket. But this is my preference. If you want keyboard, get pro2, if you don't, get HD.
I don't know where diamond2 fits in, it's same as HD but worse, it's thicker and smaller screen and no headphone jack and you have to wait to buy it while HD is out now, does that make any sense?
Sate said:
Basically the situation is a little funny. The Touch HD, Touch Pro 2, and Touch Diamond 2, are all pretty much the same exact phone. All the hardware is the same, all software is the same, only difference is the exterior casing.
Between HD and Diamond2, I have no idea what they are trying to do. You can buy a HD and flash it to the new topaz ROM, and bam you have a touch diamond2, like out of a time machine from the future! In fact the HD casing is nicer/thinner than the Diamond2, so it's even better!
For Pro2, it's exactly a touch HD/Diamond2 + a keyboard. For this you can say it's better if you don't mind the extra thickness, it's up to you between how much you want a keyboard and how much you want a thin phone. All the small keyboards from no matter what phone I don't like, they are too small to be used seriously, if I need to seriously type, I would bring a foldable full-size BT keyboard with me in pocket. But this is my preference. If you want keyboard, get pro2, if you don't, get HD.
I don't know where diamond2 fits in, it's same as HD but worse, it's thicker and smaller screen and no headphone jack and you have to wait to buy it while HD is out now, does that make any sense?
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well its smaller, also its got the sharpest screen, and also its not THAT much thicker but it is smaller and I think has better battery life but I see what you mean I want the touch pro 2 but if not that then the hd
I´ll definetly take the TP2, it has a physical keyboard!!!
For me is a must
Found 2 cents in my pocket, let me add it to the mix a roo
Ok, so I battled back and forth between the Sony X1 and the HD, I live in the US and my girlfriend in the UK so she was doing the shopping and the guy at the store was telling her go for the X1 if it were him thats what he would choose. That would be great coming from a TyTnII then a Kaiser, BUT i was SOOOO sick of all of the Iphone fantards that there was no way I was gonna pass the opportunity to get a killer device that would shut them the F up so i got the HD. I worked in mobile phone sales after high school in the mid 90s so I have been around them for ages and the Motorola flip phone was the greatest thing on earth. The Touch HD is by far the greatest hand held mobile device I have ever had. Looks great, works very well and even the Iphoners were saying well I dont need to record video and and and well I can read my MRIs on my phone and play slot machines to decide where to have dinner. Umm ok shut up and go play with your little toy in your room right. All this aside, i HATED not having a keyboard/D pad. This phone was the toast of the Beverly Hills Hotel and I broke the no mobile phones on your person rule and my manager never even uttered a word. No way I was leaving that beauty in my locker right! I tried every program for keyboards and still after all that, I sold it! Shipped it out yesterday as a matter of fact, and almost cried (not really but i almost told the guy i broke it and was gonna refund his money). SO with that said when the TP2 comes out, I WILL be back to typing fast and not screwing up and taking 2 min to type Ok ill be right over, do I need to stop off and pick up condoms and vodka!
Things I will miss
The look of the phone, its cool and sleek, but I felt like it was a little cheap feeling, i like feeling that my phone can stop an assasins bullet if need be. With the HD im a dead muthasucka
The 3.5MM headphone jack, BUT there is a tiny little adaptor i found online that looks kinda cool and not long and silly looking.
WAP vs the HTML internet, but I was assured by a post on another page that with Opera Mini (geesh) i should not have any concerns with surfing the net
.2 inch larger screen. This microscopic difference is so insignificant that even that much growth on my anatomy would be un noticed right, so who cares.
Not sure if there is a stylus but I like using that at times but we shall see about that.
Anyway I guess if you couldnt tell Im leaning way towards TP2, even though there is no D pad (wtf) and i need an adaptor to use my headphones, taking less time to type emails and such is very important and that is why i have to buy!!!!
This is the link for that headset adaptor, i think its like $7
http://www.javoedge.com/reflexeshop...&pbmId=16020&gclid=CMargqeD45kCFRBbagod8z-bQg
johseph said:
Ok, so I battled back and forth between the Sony X1 and the HD, I live in the US and my girlfriend in the UK so she was doing the shopping and the guy at the store was telling her go for the X1 if it were him thats what he would choose. That would be great coming from a TyTnII then a Kaiser, BUT i was SOOOO sick of all of the Iphone fantards that there was no way I was gonna pass the opportunity to get a killer device that would shut them the F up so i got the HD. I worked in mobile phone sales after high school in the mid 90s so I have been around them for ages and the Motorola flip phone was the greatest thing on earth. The Touch HD is by far the greatest hand held mobile device I have ever had. Looks great, works very well and even the Iphoners were saying well I dont need to record video and and and well I can read my MRIs on my phone and play slot machines to decide where to have dinner. Umm ok shut up and go play with your little toy in your room right. All this aside, i HATED not having a keyboard/D pad. This phone was the toast of the Beverly Hills Hotel and I broke the no mobile phones on your person rule and my manager never even uttered a word. No way I was leaving that beauty in my locker right! I tried every program for keyboards and still after all that, I sold it! Shipped it out yesterday as a matter of fact, and almost cried (not really but i almost told the guy i broke it and was gonna refund his money). SO with that said when the TP2 comes out, I WILL be back to typing fast and not screwing up and taking 2 min to type Ok ill be right over, do I need to stop off and pick up condoms and vodka!
Things I will miss
The look of the phone, its cool and sleek, but I felt like it was a little cheap feeling, i like feeling that my phone can stop an assasins bullet if need be. With the HD im a dead muthasucka
The 3.5MM headphone jack, BUT there is a tiny little adaptor i found online that looks kinda cool and not long and silly looking.
WAP vs the HTML internet, but I was assured by a post on another page that with Opera Mini (geesh) i should not have any concerns with surfing the net
.2 inch larger screen. This microscopic difference is so insignificant that even that much growth on my anatomy would be un noticed right, so who cares.
Not sure if there is a stylus but I like using that at times but we shall see about that.
Anyway I guess if you couldnt tell Im leaning way towards TP2, even though there is no D pad (wtf) and i need an adaptor to use my headphones, taking less time to type emails and such is very important and that is why i have to buy!!!!
This is the link for that headset adaptor, i think its like $7
http://www.javoedge.com/reflexeshop...&pbmId=16020&gclid=CMargqeD45kCFRBbagod8z-bQg
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I have an adapter that's kinda like that but more of a squarish shape. Also yeah I don't think the diamond 2 is that ood of a phone comparedt to the other 2 but it is also the cheapest, but im not sure but it does have a few advantages over the diamond like battery life, size, and yeah the thickness isnt that much of a difference anyways, so it baiscally depends on how much size on a phone you will sacrafice for a bigger screen
Link278 said:
I have an adapter that's kinda like that but more of a squarish shape. Also yeah I don't think the diamond 2 is that ood of a phone comparedt to the other 2 but it is also the cheapest, but im not sure but it does have a few advantages over the diamond like battery life, size, and yeah the thickness isnt that much of a difference anyways, so it baiscally depends on how much size on a phone you will sacrafice for a bigger screen
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Yep, I am like you. I hesitated between TD2 and HD (I do not like keyboards, I do not do enough typing on my phone/pda to accept the added thickness, soft keyboard is enough for me).
I am more leaning to TD2: cheaper, smaller so more pocketable make it my number one pick over the HD (although would miss the 3.8'' screen, 3.2 is just a little bit small - my perfect device would be TD2 with a 3.4/3.5'' screen (it is possible keeping the overall size, just reducing screen borders, especially the empty space under the buttons...), and either thinner or, even better, with a larger battery...I have seen pics of the batter of the TD2 and TD1, and TD2 batter seems 2 times as large as the TD1....why is it only 1100 mAh is beyond me, by the look of it I would have expected at leat 1300-1400 mAh, it is either thinner or HTC is being conservative with its battery capacities....
3.5mm jack is a little bit annoying, but I seldom listem music on my phone anyway, so either an adapter or the included earphones would not bother me too much
I had both the Touch HD and the Xperia X1i. I love the big screen but i miss the keyboard. I would have stayed with the Xperia but the speaker sucked and I often missed calls. I'm looking to get the Touch Pro 2 as it seems to be a combination of both phones to me. i hope the speaker is as good as the Touch HD, if not better.
gkai said:
Yep, I am like you. I hesitated between TD2 and HD (I do not like keyboards, I do not do enough typing on my phone/pda to accept the added thickness, soft keyboard is enough for me).
I am more leaning to TD2: cheaper, smaller so more pocketable make it my number one pick over the HD (although would miss the 3.8'' screen, 3.2 is just a little bit small - my perfect device would be TD2 with a 3.4/3.5'' screen (it is possible keeping the overall size, just reducing screen borders, especially the empty space under the buttons...), and either thinner or, even better, with a larger battery...I have seen pics of the batter of the TD2 and TD1, and TD2 batter seems 2 times as large as the TD1....why is it only 1100 mAh is beyond me, by the look of it I would have expected at leat 1300-1400 mAh, it is either thinner or HTC is being conservative with its battery capacities....
3.5mm jack is a little bit annoying, but I seldom listem music on my phone anyway, so either an adapter or the included earphones would not bother me too much
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I think that some companies make unofficial batteries that are like 2 times the size so u might want to get one of those then
Cheeze[iT] said:
I had both the Touch HD and the Xperia X1i. I love the big screen but i miss the keyboard. I would have stayed with the Xperia but the speaker sucked and I often missed calls. I'm looking to get the Touch Pro 2 as it seems to be a combination of both phones to me. i hope the speaker is as good as the Touch HD, if not better.
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Click to collapse
I am pretty sure it will be amazing since it has 2 speakers
Yea, the 3.5mm jack is getting to be less important over the keyboard. Mainly due to the fact that their is an adapter from the usb, and if i got the HD, i couldn't do much about the keyboard.
I know their is no D-pad, but the TP2 Does have the hard keyboard, with Arrow keys.. couldn't you use that to play games?
As far as uses? I dont know. I dont much experience using a phone with a keyboard so i couldn't say if i will use it a lot until i have it available to me. I could very likely get use to the soft keyboard, but if i had a hard keyboard, id like get use to that over the soft. My 3125 is a normal number pad so either the hard or soft would be an improvement for me.
The headphone jack, ive been thinking that i likely wouldn't use quite as much. The only time i get the opportunity to listen to music is when im either driving, or waiting on something and frankly when im out in public i dont like putting on headphones because it makes me oblivious to whats going on around me. Plus, as stated, i could easily get an adapter now that their are several available.
Even tho ill have to wait that much longer (2 more months.. meeehh) i think im falling in the TP2's direction.
Here's a cahrt comparing the features of the Touch Pro, Touch Pro 2, Diamond 2 and Touch HD: http://www.fuzemobility.com/the-titans-compared/
I thinkt he HD does very well actually...in fact if it gets a software update it may be the winner with the largest screen (it's really great to type on).
So I've done some basic research on phone components out there that could truly create an AMAZING WP7 phone, while still staying within realistic terms, and here's what I've come up with (I'm giving explanations for each aspect in parentheses):
The ultimate WP7 would be a 4.7in (Can still fit in your pocket comfortably, while giving you a perfect view of the 1080P definition of your screen) HTC Touch Pro 3 (because its predecessor truly is the best combination of practicality and entertainment) with a dual-core 1.5ghz snapdragon processor (It has a release date set for Q4 2010, but will probably be moved to Q1 2011), 1024mb RAM (It's very rare to find a phone with this spec, but it is by no means unrealistic), a fourth chassis spec for a physical gamepad along with the physical keyboard with tilt (the actual keyboard would slide down, and the game pad would appear on the left and right of the screen by separation of the landscape physical keyboard while it's not in a slide down position, with an analog stick on the left, and four action keys on the right (Definitely the most unrealistic part of this phone description )), a 12 megapixel camera (nothing new in a phone) with HD video, 64 GB of Micro SD enabled (...), and at least 6 hours of talk time along with 48 hours standby (with the dual-core of the snapdragon processor users can expect a significant reduction in battery consumption since the cores are independent of each other) all on the Windows Phone 7 UI.
It’s a mouthful, but it’s almost enough to bring tears to my eyes… lol not really, but just make the phone HTC, and significantly loosen your hardware requirements Microsoft
Do you guys have a different definition of what makes the ultimate WP7 phone?
4.7in!
Thats insain, the HD2 is considered large enough (if not slight too big) 4 would surfice
dual 1.5Ghz snap dragon? really, since smartphones are working away from multitasking due to instability issues its unlikely to make much of a difference, but will happily take the core reduction and lower power consumption! 1080p is an insainly high res as well, im sure it will look good as an advertising milestone but with such high DPI i think you'll find it hard to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p infact i believe you would need to have your device 6inchs from your eyes to see 1080p at standard DPI, to detect the differences when you take in to account the significantly higher DPI you would need to have the phone on the end of your nose, viewing angles would require the device to be nearer 10inchs. not that id turn it down but its not a big deal
what i want is a 45nm 1.5ghz snapdragon, ~4in display using 65k or 16m bit depth, no more than 8mp camera, (12 on such as small lens would be **** or at best no improvment) a propper graphics core with its drivers!
Ill stick with the gig of RAM but suggest an internal 64GB storage and a SD expansion, multiband support so i can make it work everywhere! 4G would be handy if networks ever upgrade, everything else can be the same as the HD2 because that is the king just now! oh, you can keep your keyboard but what would be cool is a docking station that projects a keyboard on to a table
as for the OS, well to be honest unless the Gods on here unlock WP7 ill keep my 6.5.5
blaiz123 said:
The ultimate WP7 would be a 4.7in (Can still fit in your pocket comfortably, while giving you a perfect view of the 1080P definition of your screen)
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I've held the Droid X in my hand and the biggest downside to that phone, I see, is the size. Its huge!
Also, 4.7 inches just to view 1080p? With many 32" TVs out there you can't tell the difference between 1080p and 720p. With that in mind, 720p HD resolution won't make more difference than an SD video so you can be sure that 1080p won't be anything more than a selling point.
theomni said:
I've held the Droid X in my hand and the biggest downside to that phone, I see, is the size. Its huge!
Also, 4.7 inches just to view 1080p? With many 32" TVs out there you can't tell the difference between 1080p and 720p. With that in mind, 720p HD resolution won't make more difference than an SD video so you can be sure that 1080p won't be anything more than a selling point.
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I think the important part would be how well it records... Also, if I don't have to do any converting so it plays on a given device then all the better - even if it's not really usable on the phone. I may hook the phone up to a friends TV while visiting. So, there is potential for use, even beyond a selling point.
dazza9075 said:
4.7in!
Thats insain, the HD2 is considered large enough (if not slight too big) 4 would surfice
dual 1.5Ghz snap dragon? really, since smartphones are working away from multitasking due to instability issues its unlikely to make much of a difference, but will happily take the core reduction and lower power consumption! 1080p is an insainly high res as well, im sure it will look good as an advertising milestone but with such high DPI i think you'll find it hard to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p infact i believe you would need to have your device 6inchs from your eyes to see 1080p at standard DPI, to detect the differences when you take in to account the significantly higher DPI you would need to have the phone on the end of your nose, viewing angles would require the device to be nearer 10inchs. not that id turn it down but its not a big deal
what i want is a 45nm 1.5ghz snapdragon, ~4in display using 65k or 16m bit depth, no more than 8mp camera, (12 on such as small lens would be **** or at best no improvment) a propper graphics core with its drivers!
Ill stick with the gig of RAM but suggest an internal 64GB storage and a SD expansion, multiband support so i can make it work everywhere! 4G would be handy if networks ever upgrade, everything else can be the same as the HD2 because that is the king just now! oh, you can keep your keyboard but what would be cool is a docking station that projects a keyboard on to a table
as for the OS, well to be honest unless the Gods on here unlock WP7 ill keep my 6.5.5
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MS isn't allowing 3rd-party multi-tasking at this time, but will do it with stock parts of the OS - so even if there isn't support for other programs you'll still use it (but I'm willing to bet that there will be support at some time).
The ARM spec that the chip is based on includes the 4G component. You'll probably need a provider patch / software update, but it's in the 1.5 GHz dual core snapdragon.
The GPU is also in there, and although not as good as others I've read about, still is nothing to scoff at
For me though, the bigger the better when it comes to the screen. I'm looking for an all-in-one device that goes everywhere. If I need a better camera, I'll grab mine. A better video camera, I'll grab mine. A better portable computer, I'll grab mine. But my next phone will certainly be my GPS, Music Player, and of course, phone.
I also like the slide out keyboard, if for no other reason than no wasted screen real estate.
dazza9075 said:
what would be cool is a docking station that projects a keyboard on to a table
)
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That would be a pretty sweet deal, but I think we're looking at at least 2020 for projection keyboards
blaiz123 said:
That would be a pretty sweet deal, but I think we're looking at at least 2020 for projection keyboards
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Actually, there are projection keyboards out now and they've been around since the beginning of this decade. All though I'm not sure how good this technology is now.
theomni said:
Actually, there are projection keyboards out now and they've been around since the beginning of this decade. All though I'm not sure how good this technology is now.
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Are you serious? So you mean I can actually sit down with my computer and if I have the proper platform I could type on a projected keyboard that would disappear when I turned off the platform? Because that would be pretty amazing.
Yep, the keyboards that are outthere emit a light onto the surface and via infrared, "feels" your touch of the projected key just llike hitting an actual keyboard. Find online...
I'd like to have a 4" device with a landscape 5 row querty keyboard, a touch pro 3 but bigger then the current touch pro2 and thinner. As far as the internal go, I'd love to have high end but I'll settle with the base seeing how everythings going to be performanced based on that.
mapaz04 said:
Yep, the keyboards that are outthere emit a light onto the surface and via infrared, "feels" your touch of the projected key just llike hitting an actual keyboard. Find online...
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Now that is very intresting...hmm i wonder how it feels not to have any key feedback, need to look in to that, i can see a bluetooth projector for computers and PDAs being hugely useful...asuming it works that is!
mapaz04 said:
Yep, the keyboards that are outthere emit a light onto the surface and via infrared, "feels" your touch of the projected key just llike hitting an actual keyboard. Find online...
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Yeah, but I wouldn't want to buy into this technology until it evolves so that the user can also feel the touch of the keys of the projected keyboard. And I'm not talking about a simple vibration, I would actually want to feel as if I'm typing on a real keyboard. That type of technology will definitely not be available until at least 2018
Check out
the specs for the new HTC HD3, sounds perfect to me! Can't wait to get my hands on one...
registeredxdadevi said:
the specs for the new HTC HD3, sounds perfect to me! Can't wait to get my hands on one...
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anyone wanna pop the bubble?
Here
is the link
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/351797/leaked_htc_hd3_smartphone_revealed/
Not sure how true it is, but sounds good to me...
registeredxdadevi said:
is the link
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/351797/leaked_htc_hd3_smartphone_revealed/
Not sure how true it is, but sounds good to me...
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Awwwwhhh, I thought it said DUAL-CORE 1.5 ghz processor, that almost made me want to buy the phone, even though it lacks a physical keyboard with tilt (Which is a MAJOR dealbreaker for me)
Besides what is up with all of these HTC HD promotions, how come there are no Touch Pro 3 announcements. HTC is being very narrowminded not promoting a phone that could actually distinguish itself from the iphone in terms of hardware (and I'm talking about more than just a bigger screen...)
I just
love the big screen, with the screen even bigger it's got my wallet! Just not sure about this new windows 7...hopefully we get to test it somehow before purchasing.
Kloc said:
I'd like to have a 4" device with a landscape 5 row querty keyboard, a touch pro 3 but bigger then the current touch pro2 and thinner. As far as the internal go, I'd love to have high end but I'll settle with the base seeing how everythings going to be performanced based on that.
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2nd that
specs etc...don't care...wp7 should run smoothly on any device running wp7...
i'm being cpt. obvious
I'm a writer. I write about cell phones. I've used all of the WP7 phones. The best one is the Samsung Focus. That's my opinion. It has by far the best display. the right size screen and the best form factor. It's well made despite the rap that it's plastic. The plastic on this phone and the build quality are excellent. The HD7 is heavy. The start button is awkward and the display is pitiful. The HTC Surround is bulky, housing a speaker that virtually nobody uses. The LG Optimus is a nice phone, but it's heavy and small. The screen is narrow. The HTC Mozart is very nice. It's smaller and the display is nowhere near the Focus. It has a better camera than the others. This is my take. I've had several takes on all of them. The Focus wins.
ennx said:
I'm a writer. I write about cell phones. I've used all of the WP7 phones. The best one is the Samsung Focus. That's my opinion. It has by far the best display. the right size screen and the best form factor. It's well made despite the rap that it's plastic. The plastic on this phone and the build quality are excellent. The HD7 is heavy. The start button is awkward and the display is pitiful. The HTC Surround is bulky, housing a speaker that virtually nobody uses. The LG Optimus is a nice phone, but it's heavy and small. The screen is narrow. The HTC Mozart is very nice. It's smaller and the display is nowhere near the Focus. It has a better camera than the others. This is my take. I've had several takes on all of them. The Focus wins.
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Really, I don't find the HD7 heavy at all. Matter of fact, I would say a couple of inches more than the HD7 would make the perfect phone!
makoute said:
Really, I don't find the HD7 heavy at all. Matter of fact, I would say a couple of inches more than the HD7 would make the perfect phone!
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I agree, I find the heft to be reassuring, not overly heavy. But I've also had the tp2 and hd2.
Sony Smart Watch 3 Review
TLDR? Quick version here.
First Impressions: A small plain little box, clear plastic and the rather plain looking watch. It’s all quite an non-fancy affair, simple and nondescript. The watch is just like the box, plain and simple looking. Actually I like it in the flesh more than in photos, the matte black strap with the silver clasp and the black face. Mind you in photos the metal silver one looks considerably more fancy. I’ve seen it said that you should be able to buy the silver strap and transfer the watch face into it. That is something I certainly fancy the idea of.
Specifications: OS Android Wear, Display Resolution 320 x 320, Colors 16 bit, Diagonal Size 1.6", Transflective TFT LCD, Dimensions 36mm x 10mm x 51mm, Weight Watch Module 38g, Sport armband 36g, Battery 420mAh, Processor 1.2 GHz, Quad-core ARM® Cortex™ A7, Water and Dust Resistance IP68, Memory 4GB eMMC with 512 MB RAM, Ports & Connectors Micro USB, Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi ready, Sensors Ambient Light, Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyro, GPS, Vibration Motor, Microphone
Okay that’s a lot of spec’s. so what bits of it matter? Well it’s pretty similar to most Android Wear watches. The RAM, the CPU, the storage space, the screen size and resolution are pretty much all the some as every other one. So why did I buy this one? Well that’s easy but unless you know about screen technologies you won’t have picked up what makes the Sony Smartwatch 3 different.
Accessories: Well the 3 comes in an assortment of coloured strap options. It also can come in metal and personally I think the metal one one looks freekin’ awesome. Sony did once say they were going to make the metal band available……… yeah they still haven’t and at this point I don’t see it coming. You can buy the rubber straps, they do black, white, luminous yellow or bright pink. Yet those straps seem to go for over £30. Errr no. Ebay also seems largely bereft of things, other than screen protectors. They also curiously do a universal holder thing. You put the watch facing into a rather unattractive black plastic holder and that then attaches to standard fitting watch straps. If it was metal and not black plastic I’d be all over that but as it stands, na, it’s pretty ugly.
Fit/Comfort: Excellent on both accounts. Now for charging the snap shut strap band thingy may be a pain in that it doesn’t separate but for use on the arm? Great stuff. Set to the size I wanted, hand goes in, snap the thing closed and voilà. I’m normally not wild about plastic/rubber straps as I find it traps sweat and you can get a bit of skin irritation. Though its easily cleaned and because the strap comes away from the electronic bit you can stick it under a running tap.
Screen: Some Android wear watches use AMOLED which only consumes power as it lights up individual pixels. So a mostly black screen will use relatively little power, a mostly white and it’ll eat much more. Then there is a normal LCD display. They work by shining a light behind the screen then the screen blocks out colours to make a picture. The whole screen is powered up no matter if you show a mostly black face or mostly white. The key similarity with both technologies is that they need to consume power to light up in order to be visible.
The Sony watch uses a transflective screen. If you don’t know what that means I’ll explain. An AMOLED screen is emissive, each pixel emits its own light. A normal LCD is a transmisive screen, allowing light to pass through the screen and it has to be bright enough to be visible, which is why LCD screens are pretty rubbish in the sunshine. A transflective is different. Transflective screens have a backlight just like a normal LCD but it also is reflective. That means with the back light (the power hungry backlight) is off you can still see what’s on the screen by utilising the ambient light of where you are. This makes is possible to permanently have the time showing on the display! Something that is kinda handy for a watch. It also means that in the brightest sunshine you can still read the screen too, in fact the brighter the environment the more light there is for it to reflect, just like an e-ink screen would. A feature I for one think rather useful in a watch.
Simply put this screen is what makes it a viable device to use in real, normal life.
UI: The user interface is the standard Android Wear one. Everything is a sequence of up/down to get to new cards. Then scrolling left to progressively go into that cards details. So the weather one, first card tells you the weather right now. The next card to the right tells the weather for the next series of hours then the next one gives you the option to open the app on your phone. The cards you have available changes based on what Google Now cards Google thinks are appropriate. Oh and of course any notifications you have outstanding. Personally I’d like the weather card to be always available. So I have to not sweep it away and sometimes you just do it without thinking.
It is actually a bit complex when you start adding in all the different notifications and different apps that add cards, you can over load yourself. You can fill it up and make it practically as complex to use as your phone is. Add in your own app drawer and everything, Wear Mini Launcher is so freekin’ awesome!!! Sure it’s not for everyone but if you want complexity and having every imaginable option in the world available to you then it’s just fantastic. I personally love it and the interface to all my apps it provides. However in many ways it’s not what you want for a watch and I understand that. It’s not for everyone and as is shown by the Iphone popularity, mind numbingly locked down and limited is a boon to many.
In short the UI can be as complicated as you like, though it can still be fairly simple if you want it that way but it require you to remember what commands you have available to you so it may not be for everyone.
Features: Erm anything and everything just about. In terms of what’s common in a smart watch the things it doesn’t have is Qi charging and more oddly, no heart Rate monitor function. Now given I have things that can do that, I’m aware just how not super useful that functionality is, they don’t monitor you continuously because it would destroy the battery so it’s only read when you tell it to. Sony for some reason, in might I add its very sporty looking watch, did not include it. The trade-off it seems is that it has built in GPS rather than simply relying on the phone (which may be in a pocket or at home) so the watch can chart your outdoors run itself. Yeah I live in Edinburgh and don’t run so it’s not such a boon to me.
The other lacking item, no Qi means that you have an awkwardly placed micro USB slot to charge it underneath a rubber flap. This is so awkward to use, I immediately hit up old ebay and got a right angle adapter for the damn thing. Seriously Sony what the F were you thinking? I know it does have a better water proof rating, IP68, which has been said is thanks to the rubber flap but I don’t see how Qi would have made that worse?
The thing also has not just Bluetooth but Wi-Fi too so….. what that means is you can use the watch without a phone. Stream Google Music directly to your Bluetooth headphones while on your run outside that the built in GPS can track for you. You can leave your gigantic phone at home. Though where you’re getting Wi-fi that you wouldn’t be wanting your phone with you anyway, yeah I don’t know. A gym that bans phones maybe?
Frankly, far and away the best “feature” on the 3 is that transflective screen. Words can’t express how useful it is over the highly pretty but battery destroying AMOLED on the 360. Personally having used both, I don’t think I’d buy a non transflective screened watch. Well e-ink maybe.
Build Quality: Very good. I have mixed thoughts on the rubbery strap, that may be because Sony swore the Silvery metal one would be coming separately and it yet has to. Still it’s nice so ignore my bitter grumble. Its everything you would just expect from something Sony stamped on it.
Usability: Well its really up to you. If you want it nice and simple you can keep it pretty simple. If you don’t then you can add it full of everything and have it tell you whatever you like. It really was a joy to use, I vastly preferred it over my Moto 360 and its retarded circularish screen. While the almost round screen looks great and watch like but the fact is square is more functionally useful. It just is better to use. Seriously, everything is made squareish, try imaging what a round monitor, round TV or round book would be to use. Square make it so easy to just swipe in or out across the screen. Round is awkward and frustrating. I really cannot emphasis enough how nice to use the Smart Watch 3 is. It’s so pleasant and easy, straight forward and really what I would hope all Android Wear things to be.
Battery: When it’s behaving, 2 days and maybe into a third depending on how much you use the thing. That’s what it’s like on a good days however, since the last update it got, I think that turned on the Wi-Fi direct thing the battery sometimes seem to just tear through the battery. I mean in half a day its gone. I don’t know what causes this battery abuse and thus I don’t have any way to avoid the circumstances that cause the battery destruction. Its entirely unpredictable and thus when it happens the first you may know of it is when you go to use the thing and it’s just dead. Very frustrating, VERY VERY VERY, get it fixed Sony, Google whoever is to blame.
N.B. So of course just after writing there was an update, seemingly it has cured the random battery drain issue so it’s back to being great. Still I’m not giving it weeks to time to test and confirm it’s cured so that’s why I’m leaving this as is.
Connectivity: It has Bluetooth® 4.0, NFC, Micro USB and Wi-Fi. It doesn’t specify the WiFi so I have taken it to be 802.11G. NFC doesn’t seem to do much but assist in pairing super easily. Though I suppose that if Google Pay is less utterly useless than Google Wallet was then maybe one day you might be able to pay for things with it. I however, would certainly not hold my breath on that one. (Frowny face at Google.) Otherwise Bluetooth worked just perfectly and without the faintest whiff of an issue. Paired easy, stayed connected, always reconnected easily and range was great.
Value: The metal one is currently going for about £185ish which is roughly what the Rubberbanded ones started at. They however have since plummeted to about £110. I look at the Smart Watch 3, at the £60 odd fit bit and my god, the 3 is vastly, vastly, vastly better and more feature filled. If you want it to be just a pedometer it’ll do that and act as a watch should and tell you the time. That’s already double what the Flex can. The other reason why this is super good value is that transflective screen. There is no way you can quite grasp how important that screen is. It stays visible not just in the blazing sunshine but it can be always on with negligible power consumption. You can glance at your arm and see the time!!!! Trust me these sound so stupid and trivial and they are too. They are right up until you use an Android Wear watch that has a normal type of emissive display. Just trust me on this.
Conclusion: The Smart Watch 3 isn’t a faultless device. That wonky battery issue is the most glaring thing but it’s only a software issue as it didn’t do it before. At present it seems cured however. The lack of Qi, well with the right angled adapter I bought it’s not so bad anymore and the rubber cover flap thing, well I’ve just gotten used to it. The positives waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than make up for it. That screen. That tranflective screen is the star feature of the 3. Sure when you first see it, it won’t wow you. It does look a little washed out in comparison to the stunning OLED one of the 360. It looks so lacking in colour and mildly greyed out. Ahhh but then you walk outside. You can see the 3 perfectly, it is perfectly clear somewhat like those of e-ink screens. The 360 in comparison may as well be a mirror attached to your arm.
So what about indoors then? It not like Edinburgh is blessed with endless days of brilliant sunshine. So the watch, on your arm, you flick it ever so slightly and glance down. With the 3 you can read the display and see the time, all the time. In theory the 360 can light up with a wrist flick but it’s not a subtle wrist flick or you can have it always, dimly lit. That destroys the battery like you would not believe. The transflective one on the 3 is the screen type that ALL Android Wear watched ought to use. Google needs to mandate its use. Yes it really is that good over normal display types.
The rest, well that’s really a question of if you want an Android Wear watch. I’d say you do if you have bothered to read this. It’s not something you will ever need but it’s so convenient glancing at your wrist rather than pulling out your ginganto phone just to see the time or to see who it was that just texted you. The little vibration on the wrist I found super helpful in actually noticing notifications too. That and telling the time was worth it for me. You? Well only you can answer that but if you have read this far, you clearly want one and the Smart Watch 3 is no question, THE Android Wear watch to get.
N.B. i did have photos but it seems to be a total arse to add them to XDA, that is why there is none showing.
Nice review. I believe that the usb charge option is great as i can charge it in most places. Nowadays microusb is everywhere. QI charging cannot even use the phone equivalent version so I need to carry the mobile one which is kind of irritating.
Nice review. I am new to the SW3 and currently have an iphone 5s so I'm using with the new iOS Android Wear (I'm hoping to change my phone to a OP2 soon) The functionality on iOS is currently very limited so I'm definitely not getting the most out the device but that aside I'm enjoying the experience.
Do you really thing NFC will not be able to be use for Android pay? I really hope it will.
One of the main reasons for ordering LeMax2 was the availability of this VR kit.
Came just before vacations so I only had a day so far to play with it.
First off, only cardboard type functionality is supported without special drivers/software. Since I'm running CM, that software is not there: Evidently that's only available on LeTV's own app store, and that seems unavailable even with a Chinese RIM (installed 18S for a short test) unless you chance to have a Chinese phone number to register.
Also missing is support for the pass-through USB port, which mostly seems intended for headphone use. I managed using a Bluetooth headset.
So what actually works?
Well, as I said, it's a better cardboard VR by default, except that I also had to emulate the button using a Bluetooth mouse.
That gives you already quite a bit of functionality, 3D movies for starters. In terms of real VR experience I guess I'll stick to my Oculus devices, but for movies on a plane, I guess there is nothing cooler at the moment, even if the backside may be suboptimal against a headrest.
On the other hand, no VR kit is as easy to put on and off as this, especially when you wear glasses.
I saved so much on the phone, I don't mind not getting any more on this kit. But if somehow LeTV/LeEco were to make LeVR support available on the Google play store, I certainly wouldn't mind!
Lag seems quite tolerable, but there is considerable drift. From the LeTV Web site I got the impression, that that should not be the case, but most likely only with LeTV's own software, in cardboard mode drift may be unavoidable.
Again not an issue in the 'personal movie theater', which I consider the main use case until hardware has grown another two orders of magnitude on a mobile power budget.
Where did you buy it?
whymoo said:
Where did you buy it?
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spemall.com, they even have the small LeMax2 model in Grey as well as pink.
abufrejoval said:
spemall.com, they even have the small LeMax2 model in Grey as well as pink.
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Please check your pm abufrejoval. How did you get this headset to work with other VR app beside the stock vr one?
Cardboard just works out of the box
xterminater07 said:
Please check your pm abufrejoval. How did you get this headset to work with other VR app beside the stock vr one?
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Well the Google Cardboard project is just bits of cardboard, two fresnel lenses and evidently some kind of "hammer", which translates an external button into a touch on the screen, the only physical interaction supported by cardboard (I use the blutooth mouse for that: I bought and tried the new Microsoft Xbox controller, which supports Blutooth, but none of the Cardboard games seem Controller enabled: Pity!)
So all I did was just to install and launch cardboard applications from the Google Play store: They can't verify if you actually have cardboard "hardware" or some other kind of lenses.
Now, I'm using Cyanogenmod which doesn't contain the VR stub application which the Indian and Chinese ROMs seem to contain. And perhaps that stub application is causing trouble in your case, because it launches whenever you connect the device.
If you don't want to switch to CM, you can simply remove the app from the phone if it's rooted and you have some kind of app-remover or Titanium Backup. Then it won't launch the stub (which evidently isn't useful outside China or without a LeEco app store) and you can use the Cardboard apps without interference. Perhaps you can also just switch away from it, I haven't really tried extensively because my son wanted his phone and I'm not going to try on my "production" phone (swapping a production ROM forth and back with full backups simply takes a while).
Phyiscally and logically LeVR Pro1 seems largely a copy of Samsung Gear VR, even if it's not a downright clone. As far as I can tell its touchpad and back-button duplicate the same thing on Samsung. But without a proper driver it's dead and with a CM ROM at least there is absolutely no reaction if you insert the phone into the headset nor will the external USB-C connector have any use, which is a real pity.
There is a good chance that won't ever change, unless LeEco were to publish driver sources for the LeVR Pro1, which I sincerely doubt. I've also tried installing the VR Setup application on top of the CM ROM (I won't run no EUI ROM for "production"), but it just crashes. Evidently it is deeply intertwined with the Chinese LeEcosystem, for which I have absolutely no interest (while LeEco has absolutely no interest in supporting users which are outside it: I believe they sell their phones below manufacturing price).
While LeEco is trying to enter the North American market, it seems to draw its baseline at the LeEco Max Pro3, which doesn't have the 2560x1440 screen (and is more expensive). They may be launching another VR headset soon, potentially with another phone which is DayDream compliant.
LeEco doesn't seem to believe in backward compatibility or long term support.
Well nor does anyone else, evidently, they only charge for it and that at least LeEco did not.
Essentially we have a super cool Cardboard and I'm happy enough with that, since I have two Oculus Rifts (DK2 and CV1) to ease the pain (actually I also have a DK1 but that's a museum piece now). It allows me to watch movies on a virtual big screen and some of the Cardboard apps are great to impress friends.
Unfortunately there is little chance it Le Max2 or LeVR Pro1 will be good enough for the new Google Day Dream base requirements, so it's basically obsolete already. Should LeEco, CM or some XDA-Developer make it Day Dram compatible anyway (without certification), I'd be happy, but I don't know if Google Day Dream will be such a great success. The fact that essentially all of today's smartphone population is already disqualified may not sit too well with potential VR enthusiasts. And at €1000 for a smart phone which isn't really any faster than the €230 LeEco Le Max 2 in base configuration, a Google Pixel XL may simply be too much of an entry price for Android VR.
Google is doing its best to kill Android while they are grasping to replace the Internet and free choice.
abufrejoval said:
spemall.com, they even have the small LeMax2 model in Grey as well as pink.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
abufrejoval said:
Well the Google Cardboard project is just bits of cardboard, two fresnel lenses and evidently some kind of "hammer", which translates an external button into a touch on the screen, the only physical interaction supported by cardboard (I use the blutooth mouse for that: I bought and tried the new Microsoft Xbox controller, which supports Blutooth, but none of the Cardboard games seem Controller enabled: Pity!)
So all I did was just to install and launch cardboard applications from the Google Play store: They can't verify if you actually have cardboard "hardware" or some other kind of lenses.
Now, I'm using Cyanogenmod which doesn't contain the VR stub application which the Indian and Chinese ROMs seem to contain. And perhaps that stub application is causing trouble in your case, because it launches whenever you connect the device.
If you don't want to switch to CM, you can simply remove the app from the phone if it's rooted and you have some kind of app-remover or Titanium Backup. Then it won't launch the stub (which evidently isn't useful outside China or without a LeEco app store) and you can use the Cardboard apps without interference. Perhaps you can also just switch away from it, I haven't really tried extensively because my son wanted his phone and I'm not going to try on my "production" phone (swapping a production ROM forth and back with full backups simply takes a while).
Phyiscally and logically LeVR Pro1 seems largely a copy of Samsung Gear VR, even if it's not a downright clone. As far as I can tell its touchpad and back-button duplicate the same thing on Samsung. But without a proper driver it's dead and with a CM ROM at least there is absolutely no reaction if you insert the phone into the headset nor will the external USB-C connector have any use, which is a real pity.
There is a good chance that won't ever change, unless LeEco were to publish driver sources for the LeVR Pro1, which I sincerely doubt. I've also tried installing the VR Setup application on top of the CM ROM (I won't run no EUI ROM for "production"), but it just crashes. Evidently it is deeply intertwined with the Chinese LeEcosystem, for which I have absolutely no interest (while LeEco has absolutely no interest in supporting users which are outside it: I believe they sell their phones below manufacturing price).
While LeEco is trying to enter the North American market, it seems to draw its baseline at the LeEco Max Pro3, which doesn't have the 2560x1440 screen (and is more expensive). They may be launching another VR headset soon, potentially with another phone which is DayDream compliant.
LeEco doesn't seem to believe in backward compatibility or long term support.
Well nor does anyone else, evidently, they only charge for it and that at least LeEco did not.
Essentially we have a super cool Cardboard and I'm happy enough with that, since I have two Oculus Rifts (DK2 and CV1) to ease the pain (actually I also have a DK1 but that's a museum piece now). It allows me to watch movies on a virtual big screen and some of the Cardboard apps are great to impress friends.
Unfortunately there is little chance it Le Max2 or LeVR Pro1 will be good enough for the new Google Day Dream base requirements, so it's basically obsolete already. Should LeEco, CM or some XDA-Developer make it Day Dram compatible anyway (without certification), I'd be happy, but I don't know if Google Day Dream will be such a great success. The fact that essentially all of today's smartphone population is already disqualified may not sit too well with potential VR enthusiasts. And at €1000 for a smart phone which isn't really any faster than the €230 LeEco Le Max 2 in base configuration, a Google Pixel XL may simply be too much of an entry price for Android VR.
Google is doing its best to kill Android while they are grasping to replace the Internet and free choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the great reply! I will use titanium backup to try to freeze that VR app. Also the cardboard app from google is limited as well, I don't see many contents from that app. You mentioned you installed the vr app, is it the same one as vr.letv.com? Supposedly that app should work for this headset but I don't have the instruction that came in the box. If you have that pamphlete, do you mind scaning it and uploading it through google drive or mega for me? Did you have clear resolution of your phone? The VR looks like it's 480p instead of what we're seeing 2K on the lemax 2 screen. I hated it, and I wonder if there's a way to fix it?
xterminater07 said:
Thank you for the great reply! I will use titanium backup to try to freeze that VR app. Also the cardboard app from google is limited as well, I don't see many contents from that app. You mentioned you installed the vr app, is it the same one as vr.letv.com? Supposedly that app should work for this headset but I don't have the instruction that came in the box. If you have that pamphlete, do you mind scaning it and uploading it through google drive or mega for me? Did you have clear resolution of your phone? The VR looks like it's 480p instead of what we're seeing 2K on the lemax 2 screen. I hated it, and I wonder if there's a way to fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome!
Well the pamphlet is all in Chinese and if you can understand and read that, there is quite a bit more material on the net than information in the pamphlet. It just tells you how to insert the phone into it and that the external USB-C connector is for your headphones (and not for charging).
Google translate helped me understand that much and I tossed it into the trash because there was nothing else beyond that.
I've watched some Chinese videos on YouTube for clues and inspiration (real-time translation still missing there), but my guess is that even within the LeTV ecosystem there isn't actually a lot of content or apps.
Actually there is a video of the LeVR Pro1 presentation on YouTube, which I find quite instructive:
Evidently LeTV's CEO Jia Yueting gave out a couple of devices to some of the most famous actors from his soaps and then instructed them to appear awed and enthusiastic at the great introduction event in spring this year.
I don't think they were such good actors after all, because my impression is that they saw nothing and totally faked it (too bad I can't find the video on YouTube for now). We may be chasing shadows...
Resolution: Cardboard content, whether it's the demos or some of the games (my personal favorite is Bandit Six), will render with the native resolution of the screen. The headset only contains lenses, the resolution comes from the device and it's 2560x1440 (minus the invisible areas) for both eyes together. It certainly looks better than the Samsung Note 3 display inside my Oculus DK2.
The iMax like video demos you get via the "Within" app for example, are recorded with a resolution far below what Le Max 2 can deliver, but there the resolution is determined by the source and the encoding, nothing Le Max 2 can do about it. They are still very impressive so I can only recommend you trying them, both for the visual stimuli (Cuban dance) and the emotional impact (Syrian refugees).
Screen refresh may not be 90Hz, the LCD not as good as Amoled but honestly I can't tell. I was quite surprised at the quality and the lack of lag for both games and iMax type videos. Perhaps I just don't move my head just as rapidly any more these days, the weight of Le Max 2 is also somewhat higher than the Oculus headsets.
There is an app called "Google Cardboard" on the Play Store. It contains a couple of demos inside but it also opens some kind of a "sub-store" containing Google selected demos and applications which can actually be purchased.
I installed most of those and purchased some of the games.
Generally if you enter "Cardboard" into the Play Store, you'll find Cardboard compatible apps (and lots of garbage).
What might be interesting to explore is some of the apps which seem to fake a Samsung Gear VR device to the Play Store and the apps themselves.
I haven't done that myself yet, but that would open up a couple more games, at least if they support mouse or controller inputs and don't depend on the Samsung touch panel in the Gear headset.
Again this isn't long term as Google seems happy to totally ignore what Samsung has done and make DayDream incompatible with everything existing today.
Requiring Vulkan API support for Nougat certification is a clear indication on how much Google cares about the installed base.
If I had any say, resources or influence, I'd make Le Max 2 and the LeVR Pro1 into some kind of a hybrid Steam Link box and MiraCast receiver.
The panel is excellent, the gyros on the phone are great the video decoding power and WiFi hardware are top notch. So using both the Max2 and VR Pro1 to project semi or fully spherical content generated on a very powerful gaming PC wirelessly onto this combo would be technically feasible with latencies acceptible to quite a lot of centent, if not to LoL world championship participants.
Well we can dream, I guess...
abufrejoval said:
You're welcome!
Well the pamphlet is all in Chinese and if you can understand and read that, there is quite a bit more material on the net than information in the pamphlet. It just tells you how to insert the phone into it and that the external USB-C connector is for your headphones (and not for charging).
Google translate helped me understand that much and I tossed it into the trash because there was nothing else beyond that.
I've watched some Chinese videos on YouTube for clues and inspiration (real-time translation still missing there), but my guess is that even within the LeTV ecosystem there isn't actually a lot of content or apps.
Actually there is a video of the LeVR Pro1 presentation on YouTube, which I find quite instructive:
Evidently LeTV's CEO Jia Yueting gave out a couple of devices to some of the most famous actors from his soaps and then instructed them to appear awed and enthusiastic at the great introduction event in spring this year.
I don't think they were such good actors after all, because my impression is that they saw nothing and totally faked it (too bad I can't find the video on YouTube for now). We may be chasing shadows...
Resolution: Cardboard content, whether it's the demos or some of the games (my personal favorite is Bandit Six), will render with the native resolution of the screen. The headset only contains lenses, the resolution comes from the device and it's 2560x1440 (minus the invisible areas) for both eyes together. It certainly looks better than the Samsung Note 3 display inside my Oculus DK2.
The iMax like video demos you get via the "Within" app for example, are recorded with a resolution far below what Le Max 2 can deliver, but there the resolution is determined by the source and the encoding, nothing Le Max 2 can do about it. They are still very impressive so I can only recommend you trying them, both for the visual stimuli (Cuban dance) and the emotional impact (Syrian refugees).
Screen refresh may not be 90Hz, the LCD not as good as Amoled but honestly I can't tell. I was quite surprised at the quality and the lack of lag for both games and iMax type videos. Perhaps I just don't move my head just as rapidly any more these days, the weight of Le Max 2 is also somewhat higher than the Oculus headsets.
There is an app called "Google Cardboard" on the Play Store. It contains a couple of demos inside but it also opens some kind of a "sub-store" containing Google selected demos and applications which can actually be purchased.
I installed most of those and purchased some of the games.
Generally if you enter "Cardboard" into the Play Store, you'll find Cardboard compatible apps (and lots of garbage).
What might be interesting to explore is some of the apps which seem to fake a Samsung Gear VR device to the Play Store and the apps themselves.
I haven't done that myself yet, but that would open up a couple more games, at least if they support mouse or controller inputs and don't depend on the Samsung touch panel in the Gear headset.
Again this isn't long term as Google seems happy to totally ignore what Samsung has done and make DayDream incompatible with everything existing today.
Requiring Vulkan API support for Nougat certification is a clear indication on how much Google cares about the installed base.
If I had any say, resources or influence, I'd make Le Max 2 and the LeVR Pro1 into some kind of a hybrid Steam Link box and MiraCast receiver.
The panel is excellent, the gyros on the phone are great the video decoding power and WiFi hardware are top notch. So using both the Max2 and VR Pro1 to project semi or fully spherical content generated on a very powerful gaming PC wirelessly onto this combo would be technically feasible with latencies acceptible to quite a lot of centent, if not to LoL world championship participants.
Well we can dream, I guess...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will switch to cyanogen once the cm14.1 is released, if it's ever releasing. For now, EUI will not let me go to any other VR contents beside the stock ones. I do like the stock ones now because it just got updated to a whole lot more contents. But to me it is still looking like 480p instead of 1080p or even 2k contents. The only way for me to ever find true 2k is by doing youtube vr but I can't access youtube vr because youtube app is not part of the stock letv vr launcher The full screen view is super super big, it makes my head hurt because it's too close to us. The theatre mode is nice but the background screws it. I wish there's a feedback function for us to tell LeEco to push full screen mode back a little so it's perfectly within one's view. They should also change the dumb background so it doesn't look like we're in a cave of some sort.
I am really interesed in getting this le vr pro 1 however I haven't found it on any website as much as I haven't tried, could you please let me know where you found it?
---------- Post added at 06:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------
Ohh I have found it, but do you think is a great deal? The cost is about the $80 and what do you think about the new leeco's explorer VR that is coming? Would it work with the le max 2?
edwarddd said:
I am really interesed in getting this le vr pro 1 however I haven't found it on any website as much as I haven't tried, could you please let me know where you found it?
---------- Post added at 06:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------
Ohh I have found it, but do you think is a great deal? The cost is about the $80 and what do you think about the new leeco's explorer VR that is coming? Would it work with the le max 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Explore VR is the same as the vr pro 1! Good price bc in china its about $60. I will post tutorial on how to use this VR PROPERLY soon.
It depends on what you look for
edwarddd said:
I am really interesed in getting this le vr pro 1 however I haven't found it on any website as much as I haven't tried, could you please let me know where you found it?
---------- Post added at 06:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------
Ohh I have found it, but do you think is a great deal? The cost is about the $80 and what do you think about the new leeco's explorer VR that is coming? Would it work with the le max 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear the VRExplorer is nothing but a rebrand of LeVR Pro1. If that's the case it definitely works with Le Max 2, because that's what I use.
For my old eyes (>50) high resolution screens better be big!
It's really kind of crazy but Le Max 2 packs more pixels into 5,7" than any of my desktop screens: Magnifying glasses are the only way I'll ever be able to take advantage of all that pixel-estate!
So here is what I did yesterday: I laid down on my bed, put some nice Bluetooth headphones on my ears (Sennheiser MM100), downloaded a movie and some soap episodes on Le Max, slid it into LeVR and put that on my head.
Then I launched "VU Cinema VR 3D Video Player", selected a normal cinema (not the i-max), launched the videos and 'locked the screen': That screen locking fixes video just in front of you, independent of your position, which means I can just watch those movies on a 'really big screen' lying down. Without the locking you'd be looking at the cinema's roof.
It's the most comfortable screen viewing experience you can get without mounting a really, really big screen at your ceiling and you can continue to watch on your back, both sides and perhaps even on your belly.
LeVR is extremely easy to put on and take off and no hassle with the cables. If you should fall asleep, you won't choke or hurt yourself.
Now when it comes to real VR content that is stuff *generated* at native resolution and using your head and body movement as real-time inputs, there are natural limits to the compute power of the mobile platform: It's quite fine for many things, but when it comes to eye candy, my Oculus does better.
For me the decision was simple: Even with LeVR added on top, Le Max 2 was cheaper than any competing device, so LeVR basically came for free.
It's been uphill ever since!
What a awesome response! You did encourage me to buy the le VR pro , I really want to get it, Since I have never tried the "virtual reality" and since I do not have TV, (I know it is rare but I don't have one jajaja) so I am really exited about this, I am still looking, on where I can purchase it, where have you bought it? And at what price?
Please send me a pm if possible!
spemall.com
edwarddd said:
What a awesome response! You did encourage me to buy the le VR pro , I really want to get it, Since I have never tried the "virtual reality" and since I do not have TV, (I know it is rare but I don't have one jajaja) so I am really exited about this, I am still looking, on where I can purchase it, where have you bought it? And at what price?
Please send me a pm if possible!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it from spemall.com (https://www.spemall.com/LETV-LeVR-Pro-1-Helmet-3D-Head-Mounted-Glasses_g.html).
My impression is that spemall.com is somewhat lacking in techincal knowledge (but honest in their financial dealings), which may actually explain why they are perhaps the only ones selling to the West: The 'intended use case' is currently not supported outside China so more 'professional' shops simply won't offer LeVR.
The 'secondary' use case (luxury Google Cardboard) is not well known, but perhaps good enough for many of us.
But you should in fact be able to use any (€10-20) Google Cardboard 'hardware' with your LeMax with perhaps similar fidelity in terms of viewing or interaction quality: In terms of functionality that's all you get at the moment.
I simply enjoy the fact that it looks very cool, is easy to put on and remove even with my glasses and will survive some of the beatings it's likely to get around here.
And I can't stress enough that the entry level LeMax (4GBRAM/32GB Flash) is just a crazy cheap $240 so LeVR Pro1 is essentially for free compared to the competition.
LeVR Pro1 also works (mostly) with OnePlus 5
I've had various problems with my Le Max 2, camera autofocus on Nougat doesn't work with my 6/64 GB device (but works fine with three 4/32 GB others in the extended family) and the touch buttons started to have severe ghost touches, which made the device unusable (it naturally works just fine as I am writing this...), so I got myself a OnePlus 5 with 8/128GB to soothe the pain... and out of curiosity, I inserted that into the LeVR Pro1, to see if it would work...
I am extremely pleased to report that it does work.... mostly. First of all, because the OnePlus is a bit smaller, it fits into the headset with the protective cover mounted, which is a great bonus all on its own: Removing even the simple silicon covers (hard covers are so much worse!) always carries a certain risk of dropping the phone just when it's least protected and I have had so many encounters with Murphy, I really appreciate when he's out of my face for once. The OnePlus is only 1080p, so you'll get a little less resolution, but with movies IMHO that doesn't really matter all that much: You'll also get AMOLED, which is supposed to refresh faster, but again when your primary use case is the mobile "big screen movie theatre", perhaps you won't care, at least, when he video is catching your attention.
"Partial" mostly refers to the fact, that the touch field on the side of LeVR works, but "back" button doesn't, which can be a bit of a bother, if your application requires it. Also any "higher precision" gyro inside the headset (if that actually exists), may not actually be used, but the interal gyros of the OnePlus are pretty good, even if they may eventually get out of sync with your real orientation, depending on the apps. Missing generic support for blue tooth game controllers, such as the ones from Microsoft, is really had to excuse several major releases after the first tentative support for gaming controllers: Shame, Google!
I didn't test very deeply, because for me the headset is mostly about virtual big screen video, not about VR games: Neither the 820 nor the 835 have the power of a GTX 1080ti with a dozen of 4 GHZ cores to support it, but a VR streaming over WLAN should really be possible technically. But Nvidia, Oculus/Facebook and Qualcomm would want to own that on both ends, before they ever make it happen: Greedy, moneysuckers they are!