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So I added another line to my account yesterday. Decided (with the 14 day trial period in mind) to try out samsung’s “epic 4G touch” or the galaxy s II as people call it.
First of all, I will say that I went into this with an unbiased motive. I love my evo 3D, but I am always open minded and the fact that my last Samsung phone was terrible (Samsung moment) will have nothing to do with this review. There are pros and cons to any mobile device. There are pros and cons to my 3D. That being said… here is my analysis.
Display – first of all, I will say that the galaxy s II absolutely trumps the evo 3D in the color department on the display. Simply beautiful vibrant colors no matter what you have on the screen. I was immediately impressed by this. Pictures, HD wallpapers, side by side I could see a huge difference in the evo and the sgs2. The touch screen responsiveness, however, was a different story. I was almost annoyed by the sgs2’s inferior responsiveness compared to the 3D. The evo would respond to the slightest tap or flick on the screen whereas the sgs2 required considerably more effort to get the point across to the UI. This was especially obnoxious when texting and trying to quickly back out of the messaging app after hitting send. The evo responds to every touch, and does so immediately, without delay.
UI – a lot of people knock the sense UI. One thing I realized when comparing the two was the evo’s UI is very simple and straight forward/easy to manipulate. I hated touchwiz and the stock launcher as soon as I began to interact with it. I immediately installed zeam launcher to get rid of the obnoxious “iphone look and feel” of the Stock Sammy launcher. I do, however, ABSOLUTELY LOVE the way Samsung implemented the messaging application with the lock screen – simple, straight forward, and very logical. One thing that really annoys me with the sense UI is when you receive a message from anybody and navigate from the lock screen to your messages, it just takes you to your inbox, rather than the actual message. The sgs2 is very efficient for heavy texters such as myself – unlock the phone, bam you are right there reading the entire message. I find the lock screen a little annoying sometimes, however, when simply wanting to unlock the device. I don’t understand why it is necessary to slide the entire lockscreen image off the screen. Sense is better at this. Several times I have had to flick a couple times to unlock the phone. Whereas the “lockring” style of sense is again more simple and straight forward. Also, there is some delay when putting the device (sgs2) to sleep and waking it up. I simply find that annoying and think this should be a simple on and off process. The evo, again, more responsive and simplified with this basic function. And I like having custom shortcuts on my lock screen… which the sgs2 UI does not offer. Overall I would say the two were about even for me… good pros to both, and significant cons to both (for my needs).
Camera and other hardware – the video quality on the sgs2 was better than the evo, not by much, but better. The 1080p video recording was very nice looking on the display and had better quality/color overall when I viewed them on the computer. Last night when I was talking to my fiancé on the phone she said she could hear some static noise. It was faint at first but got louder on her end, I couldn’t hear it, but I called her on my evo and it went away immediately. Seems the microphone isn’t up to par with the 3D’s.
The big one…. POWER CONSUMPTION – so here I am on 6 hours 33 minutes of moderately heavy use with the sgs2 (about 100 or so text messages, a couple phone calls, and a little bit of web browsing, plus the tinkering and fidgeting with the phone that we all do when we are bored, lol.) and I am looking at a battery depleted to 70% remaining… I also work in a location where signal strength isn’t very strong, and 4G is nowhere to be found, but I have to say that I was expecting less. The phone is very efficient when it comes to utilizing power. I am pretty confident that by the end of the night I will still have a little bit left over. To be perfectly honest, it would be hard to get an accurate comparison of the evo’s battery drain because since a few days after I bought it I had the seido “brick battery” in it lol. Maybe somebody else can chime in on how their 3D is doing on a stock battery under similar conditions (with no undervolting, or overclocking… as my phone is 100% stock right now).
Going back to the display, again, I think the evo’s screen size is optimal for me. The sgs2 seems a little too wide when holding it and trying to reach the keys to send a message. Also, the stock keyboard is terrible on the sgs2. But I have always used smartkeyboard pro anyways, so it didn’t effect me, just something I noticed. The buttons were annoyingly tiny and spaced too far… I felt like I was typing on an iphone (oh em gee ***t hits fan nowz)… i suppose that bit about the KB could have been included in the UI review, but oh well.
Software – I personally think sense 3.0 blows this thing out of the water in so many ways. I hate the slowness and bulkiness of the Samsung UI, there is no customization of the messaging app whatsoever, whereas sense you have a plethora of added features such as MMS size, secure box, message forwarding, integration with facebook, etc. The music player on the Samsung is way better, however, and the sound quality is mind boggling. I could not believe the difference between the two it was really night and day. Again, pros and cons to each. Overall, I find the sgs2 to be a lot slower than the evo when it comes to responsiveness and overall tasking. Also, I find that my 3G cuts out and the phone roams a little bit more when I am at work. My evo would rarely jump into roaming mode even in areas where signal was not as strong. Also, my 4G seems to be slower by about 250 kb/s on average, I have not seen the phone download any faster than 1 mb/s as of yet. My evo does this on a regular basis.
Overall, I would have to say that both are good, but key elements in the UI make the evo a better choice for me. I HATE lag and unresponsiveness. The sgs2 lags incessantly when using the home, back, and menu keys on the bottom of the phone. That lag is relayed to tasks you are wanting to execute such as backing out of your emails or messages quickly. I am not the type to take my time when exiting applications, so my phone should be able to keep up. The evo is instantly responding to commands executed via the soft keys on the phone. I am constantly hitting the back key more than necessary to close out of my messages. It is annoying.
Again, overall, the sgs2 has some nice hardware. The camera is absolutely astounding and the screen (although a little too big, even for me) has an amazingly colorful and brilliant display. Difference is night and day between the two. And I am actually impressed with the sgs2’s power consumption. As I said, despite the large colorful screen, inch for inch, I get the feeling it sucks a little less juice than the evo simply due to how much I have been using it and where the battery level is right now.
As of right now, I think I would take the evo and just live with the smaller, less colorful display.
There it is in a nutshell.
nice. I have wanted to trade my EVO 3D for a Galaxy S2 and some cash. when I opened a Sprint account the EVO 3D barely came out.
cobraboy85 said:
So I added another line to my account yesterday. Decided (with the 14 day trial period in mind) to try out samsung’s “epic 4G touch” or the galaxy s II as people call it.
First of all, I will say that I went into this with an unbiased motive. I love my evo 3D, but I am always open minded and the fact that my last Samsung phone was terrible (Samsung moment) will have nothing to do with this review. There are pros and cons to any mobile device. There are pros and cons to my 3D. That being said… here is my analysis.
Display – first of all, I will say that the galaxy s II absolutely trumps the evo 3D in the color department on the display. Simply beautiful vibrant colors no matter what you have on the screen. I was immediately impressed by this. Pictures, HD wallpapers, side by side I could see a huge difference in the evo and the sgs2. The touch screen responsiveness, however, was a different story. I was almost annoyed by the sgs2’s inferior responsiveness compared to the 3D. The evo would respond to the slightest tap or flick on the screen whereas the sgs2 required considerably more effort to get the point across to the UI. This was especially obnoxious when texting and trying to quickly back out of the messaging app after hitting send. The evo responds to every touch, and does so immediately, without delay.
UI – a lot of people knock the sense UI. One thing I realized when comparing the two was the evo’s UI is very simple and straight forward/easy to manipulate. I hated touchwiz and the stock launcher as soon as I began to interact with it. I immediately installed zeam launcher to get rid of the obnoxious “iphone look and feel” of the Stock Sammy launcher. I do, however, ABSOLUTELY LOVE the way Samsung implemented the messaging application with the lock screen – simple, straight forward, and very logical. One thing that really annoys me with the sense UI is when you receive a message from anybody and navigate from the lock screen to your messages, it just takes you to your inbox, rather than the actual message. The sgs2 is very efficient for heavy texters such as myself – unlock the phone, bam you are right there reading the entire message. I find the lock screen a little annoying sometimes, however, when simply wanting to unlock the device. I don’t understand why it is necessary to slide the entire lockscreen image off the screen. Sense is better at this. Several times I have had to flick a couple times to unlock the phone. Whereas the “lockring” style of sense is again more simple and straight forward. Also, there is some delay when putting the device (sgs2) to sleep and waking it up. I simply find that annoying and think this should be a simple on and off process. The evo, again, more responsive and simplified with this basic function. And I like having custom shortcuts on my lock screen… which the sgs2 UI does not offer. Overall I would say the two were about even for me… good pros to both, and significant cons to both (for my needs).
Camera and other hardware – the video quality on the sgs2 was better than the evo, not by much, but better. The 1080p video recording was very nice looking on the display and had better quality/color overall when I viewed them on the computer. Last night when I was talking to my fiancé on the phone she said she could hear some static noise. It was faint at first but got louder on her end, I couldn’t hear it, but I called her on my evo and it went away immediately. Seems the microphone isn’t up to par with the 3D’s.
The big one…. POWER CONSUMPTION – so here I am on 6 hours 33 minutes of moderately heavy use with the sgs2 (about 100 or so text messages, a couple phone calls, and a little bit of web browsing, plus the tinkering and fidgeting with the phone that we all do when we are bored, lol.) and I am looking at a battery depleted to 70% remaining… I also work in a location where signal strength isn’t very strong, and 4G is nowhere to be found, but I have to say that I was expecting less. The phone is very efficient when it comes to utilizing power. I am pretty confident that by the end of the night I will still have a little bit left over. To be perfectly honest, it would be hard to get an accurate comparison of the evo’s battery drain because since a few days after I bought it I had the seido “brick battery” in it lol. Maybe somebody else can chime in on how their 3D is doing on a stock battery under similar conditions (with no undervolting, or overclocking… as my phone is 100% stock right now).
Going back to the display, again, I think the evo’s screen size is optimal for me. The sgs2 seems a little too wide when holding it and trying to reach the keys to send a message. Also, the stock keyboard is terrible on the sgs2. But I have always used smartkeyboard pro anyways, so it didn’t effect me, just something I noticed. The buttons were annoyingly tiny and spaced too far… I felt like I was typing on an iphone (oh em gee ***t hits fan nowz)… i suppose that bit about the KB could have been included in the UI review, but oh well.
Software – I personally think sense 3.0 blows this thing out of the water in so many ways. I hate the slowness and bulkiness of the Samsung UI, there is no customization of the messaging app whatsoever, whereas sense you have a plethora of added features such as MMS size, secure box, message forwarding, integration with facebook, etc. The music player on the Samsung is way better, however, and the sound quality is mind boggling. I could not believe the difference between the two it was really night and day. Again, pros and cons to each. Overall, I find the sgs2 to be a lot slower than the evo when it comes to responsiveness and overall tasking. Also, I find that my 3G cuts out and the phone roams a little bit more when I am at work. My evo would rarely jump into roaming mode even in areas where signal was not as strong. Also, my 4G seems to be slower by about 250 kb/s on average, I have not seen the phone download any faster than 1 mb/s as of yet. My evo does this on a regular basis.
Overall, I would have to say that both are good, but key elements in the UI make the evo a better choice for me. I HATE lag and unresponsiveness. The sgs2 lags incessantly when using the home, back, and menu keys on the bottom of the phone. That lag is relayed to tasks you are wanting to execute such as backing out of your emails or messages quickly. I am not the type to take my time when exiting applications, so my phone should be able to keep up. The evo is instantly responding to commands executed via the soft keys on the phone. I am constantly hitting the back key more than necessary to close out of my messages. It is annoying.
Again, overall, the sgs2 has some nice hardware. The camera is absolutely astounding and the screen (although a little too big, even for me) has an amazingly colorful and brilliant display. Difference is night and day between the two. And I am actually impressed with the sgs2’s power consumption. As I said, despite the large colorful screen, inch for inch, I get the feeling it sucks a little less juice than the evo simply due to how much I have been using it and where the battery level is right now.
As of right now, I think I would take the evo and just live with the smaller, less colorful display.
There it is in a nutshell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should try the international version of the gs2
Sent from my GT-I9100
Does SGS2 lag at all?
Except the design lag to enable double tap feature of Vlingo, I don't think there is a UI lag...
Just read you picked the sprint version, possible with the Qualcomm QoC.
Does the sprint version use the tegra chip set? And the issue is never the processors....
yumadtho?
Also... approaching the 10 hour mark... still pretty moderate to heavy use and at 51% ... I am impressed by the power consumption. Not too many droid phones get you to that 15 hour mark with this kind of use. This one has done exceptionally well for a full day
yumadtho?
Well I've never experienced lag on my sgs 2. Frankly I hate sense because it is too slow for me. That's the reason why I opted for the sgs 2 instead of the sensation. Moreover your opinion of it being slower than a evo 3d or sensation is not found in any reviews, and in fact the opposite is stated. But I guess your experience was different so oh well.
$1 gets you a reply
How does it say the sense UI is slower? My overall opinion is that the sgs2 isn't up to par as far as UI. and this thread is not about the sensation... I clearly stated that the sgs2 feels as boring and dull and slow as an iphone... with the same terrible "cartoon like" look.
yumadtho?
Yeah, I think he just misunderstood you. No reason to get mad, they are both great phones.
yumadtho???
Thanks for the comparison
Moved
Liked ur first impression. For me. It's def evo 3d<photon<epic touch 4g.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Lag? I dont get it you may have to spend a little more time with the phone. TW4 is pretty good,smooth and fast as far as Im concerned. Ive been using Samsungs for along time so maybe Im just use to them but there is no lagging on mine
cobraboy85 said:
Does the sprint version use the tegra chip set? And the issue is never the processors....
yumadtho?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, the Epic Touch has the same exynos that's in the international version. I too never experienced any lag, I think you might've gotten a lemon. I do agree that sense's lockscreen is awesome and sense 3.0 has more usable widgets than touchwiz. I put go launcher and agile lock on mine so it'll be a lot more customizable. You should try it too if you dislike touchwiz.
U have to be kidding right? My phone has never lagged at all. I have the evo 3d, photon, and iPhone 4. Each phone is great but I found the e4gt to be the fastest out of my Android devices.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
xisaacbx said:
U have to be kidding right? My phone has never lagged at all. I have the evo 3d, photon, and iPhone 4. Each phone is great but I found the e4gt to be the fastest out of my Android devices.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree...
I been on the Evo 3D and the Photon. In order from Good to Worst I say GS2 > Photon > Evo3D
Between the Epic Touch and Evo 3D I say the Epic Touch wins at Display + Camera + Back Speaker + CPU + Screen Size
Evo 3D wins at Radios *Wifi/3G/4G/Voice* and at UI *Sense*
So in the end, im on EpicTouch till the next best thing comes out.
PS. My phone has no lag either. Also forgot to mention the Hardware Acceleration on the stock browser also kills the stock browser on the 3D
Isn't touchwiz the only launcher that's hardware accelerated? I've never seen any ui lag...
Sent from my §ãM§ûñG GåLâXÿ §2 éPîç 4G TøùçH
Thanks for this review im coming from evo 3d and i got bored of mine so i wanna get the epic touch 4g and gonna get tmobile version to at the same time just wish tmobile had true unlimited becuase there fast here even more stable then wimax for sure
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
rrmzr1 said:
Liked ur first impression. For me. It's def evo 3d<photon<epic touch 4g.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got to be kidding. They say anyone can have an opinion and it is just that, but I need to tell you this....Your opinion is totally wrong, lol
OK. Im a gadget lover but no audiophile or Android Developer. Just thought id put my opinions based on moving from a much older phone ....
My thoughts one day in having moved from a rooted/flashed HTC Desire....
The Nexus is gorgeous to look at. Feels sturdier than the GS IIs that I have seen/played with. Feels substantial. i like to know i have a phone on me.
The screen is great. blacks are very black (IMHO) and colour is vibrant. The resolution is great.
I dont have huge hands but im not having a problem with the unit size.
Battery life so far seems MUCH better than my Desire. And everything is MUCH quicker too (hardly surprising).
Ive had a couple of Force Closes but nothing too drastic. I guess this is part of the downside of ICS early adoption. Hopefully the fixes will come thick and fast.
The camera is OK. better than my Desire but i wouldnt swap an SLR for it, but hey, its a mobile phone ! Very quick to focus and shoot though.
The speaker volume is moderate. Better than my Desire but not as loud as my wifes new Expedia ARC S.
The headphones that are bundled arent bad at all. Playing mp3 through them is fine but ive also used some SONY headphones. plenty of bass and the sound is clear. Again, much better sound than my Desire.
No Flash is a pain, but hopefully this will be with us soon.
No SD card .... shame .... had put me in the frame for buying a RAZR but having seen the GN in the shop I just had to have it
Face recognition is a fun novelty. i know its not secure but it works better than i thought it would.
ICS looks nice. Mixes the best from gingerbread and Honeycomb (I have a Transformer too). Not keen on the google search on every screen but thats what other launchers are for. At least with no physical buttons we can benefit from any changes Google decide to apply - hopefully adding a search button again ?
So far very impressed. I know a lot of people will be uber-critical about some things so just wanted to put a realistic slant on things
I'd agree with most of your post. I have come to it from a Desire as well. Google Earth doesn't seem to want to work which others have noted. Apparently Flash will be supported soon. The BBC News app doesn't appear in the market for me?
Face Unlock is weird. Sometimes it won't recognise me, even in good light, yet it'll occasionally work when I'm moving in a dark room and all blurry! Very odd. I'd say it works 90% of the time though. My only gripe is it takes a second or so from pressing the power button to the camera being ready to actually see me.
jmbillings said:
I'd agree with most of your post. I have come to it from a Desire as well. Google Earth doesn't seem to want to work which others have noted. Apparently Flash will be supported soon. The BBC News app doesn't appear in the market for me?
Face Unlock is weird. Sometimes it won't recognise me, even in good light, yet it'll occasionally work when I'm moving in a dark room and all blurry! Very odd. I'd say it works 90% of the time though. My only gripe is it takes a second or so from pressing the power button to the camera being ready to actually see me.
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Click to collapse
Agreed. i think face recognition will be a novelty that wears off.
I think some people looks for faults in everything
Two problems in my view:
1) Flash (but hopefully this will be sorted)
2) No SD ... i will just have to start trusting the cloud
wilbur-force said:
Agreed. i think face recognition will be a novelty that wears off.
I think some people looks for faults in everything
Two problems in my view:
1) Flash (but hopefully this will be sorted)
2) No SD ... i will just have to start trusting the cloud
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good thing a guy submitted a work in progress for a fingerprint unlock to CM Gerrit then. I'm assuming it works like the capacitive fingerprint readers used in laptops.
Hey folks, I may be swapping my HTC Amaze 4G for a Galaxy Nexus soon, but before I do, I'd like to know the general opinions of the downsides to owning a Galaxy Nexus! I've read about a lot of the weaknesses of the Galaxy Nexus, but until I actually own one, it's pretty hard for me to pinpoint the legitimacy of these points that I see in video reviews and whatnot, so I'd like to ask you guys regarding your first hand experiences with the device. List your complaints about the Galaxy Nexus here, any contribution is appreciated!
What I've come up with so far:
- lack of microSD card
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired
I plan on rooting and installing custom ROMs as soon as I bring the device home, so please put that into consideration as well
Thanks in advance!
- lack of microSD card:
this one had me worried too when i first got the nexus but its not that bad you just have to keep and eye on the storage.
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been:
its still pretty good and plenty good enough for casual pics. This is a phone we;re talking about, any $200 camera will take better pics than most phones maybe with the exception of the nokia 808 but that thing is more camera than phone.
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be:
best screen ive used, imo its the best screen on a phone until the gs3 comes out with its rgb 720p super amoled plus screen. There are better screens that are 720p rgb but they are LCD not amoled, depends what you like better both have their advantages.
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired:
My major complaint with build quality are the screen inconsistencies. check out this thread for more info. otherwise the phone is solid, i really like the curved design it feels more natural against your face or in your pocket.
if you are getting a straight trade for the amaze than you are getting the better part of the deal.
There is absolutely nothing I can complain about, as I come from a Nexus One. I'm not even entitled to complain.
- pentile... i can see the pixels very easily on my gnex compared to an iphone4... i still prefer AMOLED though
- frontlit CMOS camera
- no cheap pogo-pin charger
everything else about this phone is pretty much perfect
The screen is totally clear as pentile isn't so noticeable at such a high resolution. Not sure where you heard that.
And the build quality is actually superb, super solid and no creaking at all. Its very impressive.
RogerPodacter said:
The screen is totally clear as pentile isn't so noticeable at such a high resolution. Not sure where you heard that.
And the build quality is actually superb, super solid and no creaking at all. Its very impressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear a slight creaking from the "lid".
Low ringtone audio
Razer(x) said:
Low ringtone audio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
volume+ will sort that
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
- lack of microSD card
Not an issue for me
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been
I really wish the camera was better, this is my biggest gripe.
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be
Not an issue, love the screen
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired
Not an issue, I like the back-plate, curved design and weight off the phone is spread out so it feels optimum light
I was using AKOP and now stock 4.0.4, I sometimes experience data drops, all of a sudden bars turn gray, I just reboot the phone. I'm sure it'll be fixed at some point.
Overall fantastic phone.
My biggest gripe is that I can't think of a gripe. I like being pensive, angry, bitter, despondent, even aggressively violent, but this phone has turned me into a lovable cute like a puppy type cuddle bug.
mudferret said:
My biggest gripe is that I can't think of a gripe. I like being pensive, angry, bitter, despondent, even aggressively violent, but this phone has turned me into a lovable cute like a puppy type cuddle bug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This deserves a thank you.
Biggest gripe? Not being able to make a reliable phone call with this device. My device suffers from what's known as the "audio reboot" or "one-way audio" issue. Not every device has this issue so if you buy Nexus, it's a crap shoot. Or, if you enjoy installing custom ROMs you may also not suffer from this issue. And finally, while I haven't found 100% definitive proof of this, it seems that it's only the Verizon/CDMA version that suffers from this... I don't think anyone with the AT&T/GSM version has this problem.
The next update, which was scheduled for "sometime in March" then "early April" - both which came and went and still no update - is supposed to fix this issue. If it does not, I'm going with another device. I need my phone to function as a phone and right now, it does not do that on a reliable basis.
Honestly, other than that one (but very important) issue, the device is flawless.
No SD card is my only gripe but I knew that going in. So I can't complain all that much. Just gotta manage data more often and can't keep backups on phone as aggressively.
bow chicka wow wow.
My complaints are more so concerning the Os as opposed to the phone itself. Sometimes my widgets stop working, Beautiful Home the time stays stuck and I have to reboot. And often times the YouTube widget will not load. I'm using ADW Launcher EX, don't know if that has anything to do with it but it happens. I have screen burn in too. Where the navigation bar is and the virtual buttons on the bottom of the phone. Whenever I watch a full screen video or movie it's noticeable, and it's hard to ignore once you notice it. I wish they would have put in a better GPU and not one that is 2 years old too because the longer I use the phone the more it lags don't know if it's the ram or GPU but it lags from time to time. And the reason Google hasn't fixed whatever needs to be fixed so it can be as smooth as Crapples IOs is beyond me. But it's better than the Nexus One. So I'm good until the Quad Core Nexus is released.
From my Sexii G Nexii 4.0.4
[email protected] said:
My complaints are more so concerning the Os as opposed to the phone itself. Sometimes my widgets stop working, Beautiful Home the time stays stuck and I have to reboot. And often times the YouTube widget will not load. I'm using ADW Launcher EX, don't know if that has anything to do with it but it happens. I have screen burn in too. Where the navigation bar is and the virtual buttons on the bottom of the phone. Whenever I watch a full screen video or movie it's noticeable, and it's hard to ignore once you notice it. I wish they would have put in a better GPU and not one that is 2 years old too because the longer I use the phone the more it lags don't know if it's the ram or GPU but it lags from time to time. And the reason Google hasn't fixed whatever needs to be fixed so it can be as smooth as Crapples IOs is beyond me. But it's better than the Nexus One. So I'm good until the Quad Core Nexus is released.
From my Sexii G Nexii 4.0.4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova launcher prime.
bow chicka wow wow.
I only wish that there was universal mass storage or sd card support so the thing would work with my car stereo. Going from stereo integration to aux cable was kind of a buzz kill.
And the camera is ok but I wish it were better too.
The phone is so slick you'll likely drop it and the screen may break. Better get a protective case for it. My Diztronic Rev3 case was inexpensive and adds needed grip. Great phone, otherwise IMHO.
I too came from an Amaze 4g...and man do I miss the camera. I was running bulletproof...but still doesn't come close to how smooth the Gnexus is. If you were looking to upgrade, id say go for it...but if your coming from a sense device, you might wanna check out the HTC one s or X.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
babymatteo said:
I too came from an Amaze 4g...and man do I miss the camera. I was running bulletproof...but still doesn't come close to how smooth the Gnexus is. If you were looking to upgrade, id say go for it...but if your coming from a sense device, you might wanna check out the HTC one s or X.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I saw your name around the Amaze 4G forums before
I'm sure I'll miss the camera too, but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make for an overall better phone, plus I never really liked Sense anyway since it has way too much overhead on the OS
Thanks so much for input people, much appreciated!
One thing I forgot to mention was the screen burn-ins, I've heard that they get pretty noticeable after 6 months or so... can anyone provide some insight on this and if there's a possible solution/prevention?
what i hate is the sound whenever i set it on a table or something...it rattles (i know its the autofocus on the camera...its waaaaaay to loose on this phone)
Surprise no one did a first impressions thread yet lol.
In here we give our first impressions of the phone so far like your opinion on the performance, screen, sound, camera, build quality, battery life etc.
First I'll like to say that the build quality is amazing. Coming from an epic 4G, I am not sure if my words have any strength but it just feels so nice. It looks very sexy as well. I can't stop staring at it lol.
This is the best screen I have ever seen. It is so sharp and detail in a way I would have never expected. I personally liked the over saturated colors on Samsung's amoled screens but this screen made me feel as if it was too cartoony looking now.
As for performance, I feel like reviewers gave me false expectations. Don't get me wrong, this is a super fast phone but people made it seemed like there would be no lag at all but I notice occasionally hiccups. Note that this is a minor complaint because for most of the time, this is a very smooth experience. The quadcore processor makes this phone a beast!
Battery life has surpassed my expectations. The standby time is great for me. I can use this phone heavily, stop using it and barely experience a drain. Eco mode helps and it charges fast as well.
I came from an Epic 4G so even the cons of the phone is a pro for me since everything is an upgrade. I have nothing but praise for this phone.
latindor17 said:
Surprise no one did a first impressions thread yet lol.
In here we give our first impressions of the phone so far like your opinion on the performance, screen, sound, camera, build quality, battery life etc.
First I'll like to say that the build quality is amazing. Coming from an epic 4G, I am not sure if my words have any strength but it just feels so nice. It looks very sexy as well. I can't stop staring at it lol.
This is the best screen I have ever seen. It is so sharp and detail in a way I would have never expected. I personally liked the over saturated colors on Samsung's amoled screens but this screen made me feel as if it was too cartoony looking now.
As for performance, I feel like reviewers gave me false expectations. Don't get me wrong, this is a super fast phone but people made it seemed like there would be no lag at all but I notice occasionally hiccups. Note that this is a minor complaint because for most of the time, this is a very smooth experience. The quadcore processor makes this phone a beast!
Battery life has surpassed my expectations. The standby time is great for me. I can use this phone heavily, stop using it and barely experience a drain. Eco mode helps and it charges fast as well.
I came from an Epic 4G so even the cons of the phone is a pro for me since everything is an upgrade. I have nothing but praise for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with your statements. I also do notice small occasional hiccups which are most likely software related. Hopefully LG will address this in a future update or Jelly Bean release.
Camera is pretty much the only complaint I have about the phone. It's really disappointing. Another software issue that I hope LG will fix in the future.
I just played with one 10 minutes ago at the Sprint store and walked away thoroughly impressed. Loved the sleekness and the feel of the phone. Screen was amazing and the camera was awesome. The speed of the phone was blazing fast. Loved the phone. Looking forward to possibly owning one in the near future.
Beamed From My CM10 GS3
This is definitely one of the best phones available I love everything only things that could be better would be jb, aokp or cm10
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
I see little bugs in lgs software sometimes but overall not issues whatsoever. My experience has been in line with everyone else as far as battery it just overheats too much. Im cool with keeping brightness at 31 but i shouldn't have to. I'm sure its the beasty processor i live with it but im hoping for an amazing jellybean ota update. Fingers crossed. .....
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
genaro12543 said:
I see little bugs in lgs software sometimes but overall not issues whatsoever. My experience has been in line with everyone else as far as battery it just overheats too much. Im cool with keeping brightness at 31 but i shouldn't have to. I'm sure its the beasty processor i live with it but im hoping for an amazing jellybean ota update. Fingers crossed. .....
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am seeing small bugs here and there as well. Like the home screen animations "skips" sometimes when swiping through the screens.
Or the Music player list scrolling is pretty smooth and as soon as you play a song, it becomes choppy. What's up LG? A quad-core CPU can't handle playing music and scrolling through a list?
The Korean version is expected to get Jelly Bean next month so hopefully LG and Sprint and get their stuff together and give us the update quick.
I'm coming from the SGSII (ET4G). Off the back, the build quality of this phone is amazing. The phone is beautiful and it feels great in hands. Not that I ever really had any complaints about samsung but wow, now i REALLY feel the difference. Because of sleekness though I am alot more paranoid about dropping this phone. Going to order a case today for it. The display is also great. Although its taking some time to get used to (as far as colors). Performance wise, the phone is much faster than my rooted sgs2. I have noticed a hiccup here and there but its not enough to complain about. After getting official ICS on the SGS2, there were days I just wanted to throw that phone because all the ICS builds were so buggy and battery life was horrendous. So comparing to that, ICS on the LG is great and battery is far better than what I had so it's good for me. Camera wise, I am still playing with it. The photos are okay but not great. Although, has anyone tried the video camera? As far as video is concerned I am very pleased with what I am seeing. All this phone needs is some Jelly.
I'm getting a terrible batter life on mine...down to about 5% by the end of the day. I looked in the battery info and it says Android OS is at 66% for battery use. Anyone have any idea why?
sarspants said:
I'm getting a terrible batter life on mine...down to about 5% by the end of the day. I looked in the battery info and it says Android OS is at 66% for battery use. Anyone have any idea why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get high android os usage also... averaging 8 ish hours
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Android usage is also top battery drainer for me but supposedly this display is supposed to be pretty low power? The display on my 3D absolutely destroyed battery but I'm getting a lot longer out of this phone.
My opinions pretty much reflect everyone else's. This phone is simply amazing in every way. Huge props to LG on this thing. Sleek and professional design with superb build quality, matched with a high quality screen and a fairly loud speaker. Performance is always snappy, there are very minor stutters every once in a while but such is android. 95 percent of the time it is extremely fluid though. And I actually like LG's UI and the ease of quick memo, much better than Sense.
One thing I'd like to add that I don't think I've heard anyone say yet is that the audio quality is simply amazing. Sounds SO much clearer and natural compared to my Evo (using headphones obviously).
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
I got mine Thursday on my lunch break. That particular one had a problem where I could hear myself in the phone. Not an echo like you get from time to time, but almost like it was going physically through the case of the phone. 24 hours later took it back and exchanged it. The one in the store DID NOT do this and neither does the exchanged one.
Coming from a S2 Epic 4g Touch, which feel off my kitchen table and busted the screen and having to go back to my Evo, this thing flies. I absolutly love the speed. I have not fully tested out what I need it to do, but so far, I have no complaints on the performance.
The things I do dislike. No swappable battery, but this seems to be going the way of the dodo bird anyway. Hopefully the battery consumption is, as great, as they say it is. I was also dissapointed in no SD card and the ringer is crazy quiet, especially when you lay it down with the speaker down. I have never had a phone be this quiet before and the speaker was on the back as well.
Great upgrade but...
I had the HTC EVO 3D last which eventually died on me. Two strips on the phone became unresponsive (had to use predictive texting all the time m ><) and the back camera failed so every time I switched the camera it would just flip the image.
LG Optimus G
PROS
Gorgeous screen
Incredibly fast
Lots of memory space
Light weight
Thin
Beautiful construction
High res camera
Nice software usability
Amazing contact profiles
Great social integration
CONS
Searching contacts takes a long time (it searches every field)
Large white space at the keypad which SHOULD contain most recent contacts
Most recent contacts is in the history tab, a second action to dial
Clicking a user after searching their name in the keypad pastes their phone number instead of auto dials
The home widget screens sometimes lag horribly and visibly refreshes each icon
Camera has a yellow tint
Camera has a blue tint with flash
Poor reception in Atlanta?
Folders can only contain so many icons
Cannot choose picture associated with user
im10er said:
[*]Poor reception in Atlanta?
[/LIST]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're in Atlanta, too? I've noticed, at least in my area, the only places I get 4G is when I'm in my car, on the road. Have only had the phone for a week, though, with not much traveling (just to and from work, and some shops in Edgewood and Ponce area).
My overall impression with this phone, coming from an EVO 4G, is that this thing is simply beautiful. The phone I originally purchased had color-banding issues as well as a slight backlight bleed on the top of the display (viewing a photo in fullscreen from the gallery app, without zooming, shows this bleed, I've noticed), so I took it back for a replacement. The replacement had an even worse backlight bleed in the same place. With some complaining and nagging at the store, I managed to get a second replacement which still has the backlight bleed and color-banding issue. I have since discovered that this is a manufacturing defect that exists on all Optimus G's, which is unfortunate, but I'm learning to live with it. The backlight bleed is easy to ignore, but the color-banding is very noticeable. A simple swipe down of the notifications panel will show the quick settings bar, which has a striped/banned effect on the gradient. Comparing this device's screen to others (SGSIII and iPhone 5) shows that this display is unique in this regard. Such a shame, considering all the great things about this phone.
Also, while the camera isn't flawless, it certainly isn't always trounced by Camera Zoom FX - For example, the other day I was in the coffee shop and took some sample shots with the stock camera that were too dark. Switching to Camera Zoom FX produced an over-exposed picture that wouldn't change exposure, despite metering in different areas of the viewfinder. This left me very confused. Hopefully the stock camera will be fixed (more or less) in the Jellybean Update due this December. I won't root until I get it. Haha
This phone is sex. The camera, although not always top notch, turns out good, detailed photos with very natural tones. I adore this display. I like Samsung's super amoled, so I didn't quite know what to expect, yet this display has stunned me with a warm variety of natural colors.
I personally love the stock keyboard. I had bought swiftkey on my Nexus S and assumed I would need it for this phone as well, but I have been impressed with the stock keyboard to a tremendous extent.
Now, a complaint I do have is regarding the temperature of this processing beast. It tends to run hot. Which sometimes prevents me from putting the screen at 100% brightness. I was a bit shocked, but it seems a small price to pay for a quad core processor and a huge screen.
This is a very nice phone. Love it.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
im10er said:
I had the HTC EVO 3D last which eventually died on me. Two strips on the phone became unresponsive (had to use predictive texting all the time m ><) and the back camera failed so every time I switched the camera it would just flip the image.
LG Optimus G
PROS
Gorgeous screen
Incredibly fast
Lots of memory space
Light weight
Thin
Beautiful construction
High res camera
Nice software usability
Amazing contact profiles
Great social integration
CONS
Searching contacts takes a long time (it searches every field)
Large white space at the keypad which SHOULD contain most recent contacts
Most recent contacts is in the history tab, a second action to dial
Clicking a user after searching their name in the keypad pastes their phone number instead of auto dials
The home widget screens sometimes lag horribly and visibly refreshes each icon
Camera has a yellow tint
Camera has a blue tint with flash
Poor reception in Atlanta?
Folders can only contain so many icons
Cannot choose picture associated with user
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try contact sync from play store. You can use contacts fb pic as contact pic.. If I'm not mistaken ever since 4.0 Facebook stopped allowing to sync FB contacts to mobile contacts
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
this phone is pretty g
so i have been waiting to get an upgrade since march... i was on a blackberry 8530 and it was falling apart. through the months i managed to bypass the evo lte for the gsIII, then to be later completely let down by that device. i guess it came down to value, i couldnt see myself spending 200 bucks for either of these phones so i continued to wait. come october i hear the specs for the OG and it seemed like it was going to be the phone that the gsIII should have been. quad core, 13 mp shooter, and 2 gb ram... epic. I knew the phone was going to come out for 200, compared to the evo lte for about 100 and the sg3III for about 150 regular price. Expecting for there to be deals on these phones, I was still debating on making the purchase for 200 and not too just wait for a price drop. When I saw the preorder price of 150 I got pretty damn excited. heres a phone that just came out for the same price as the sgIII, with better specs. Well I ended up having to wait a little longer for a discover card that I had just been approved for. Come last week I see the best buy price... $100, no freaking way. I got my card walked in the best buy with confidence at made my purchase, actually got one for my dad too. So yeah anyways after one week I have come to some of the same conclusions as the rest of you guys.
Build quality/screen: The phone looks and feels fantastic. This screen is great, I put a couple hd .mkv's and they run so smooth and look so good. I can even play them as a text!
The OS: ICS seems to run with few hiccups, and LG's skin is pleasing. But yeah everything is so smooth and accessible. Apps load so quick. I dont know how much of this is just because its my first android phone or the phone itself. I notice some of you all noticed the stutter when swiping through the home screen menus. I got this alot, especially when exiting apps or switching to landscape mode. I think I found a semi-solution by switching the scroll effect to carousel. It seems much more smooth to play with. I have also noticed the lag when scrolling through longer menus, like in the music app while scrolling through songs. I have a hard time believing this is not a software issue, the cpu and ram on this phone should run those things like butter. Also i think this is a glitch ive experienced like 3 times. I'll be sending a text, usually a long one, and suddenly the delete key gets stuck or something. I cant do anything except sit there and watch my message get deleted. Its super frustrating. It seems to stick even after, backspacing any new character I type. I think I have to exit out and return to the message for it to actually stop.
The battery: I dont know if I'm satisfied. I haven't tried it standby with music for very long, but it seems to drop pretty quick on with normal use. Ive been playing around with leaving wifi off, or on with the data, and either way it still seems pretty draining. Im not even at full brightness. Im really worried how long this thing will last watching movies or playing games. Android is at 44% right now. Also its a shame it isn't removable.
Temp: The phone can get pretty hot also. There is actually a spot, on or right under the logo on the back that actually can get intolerable at times. Maybe it only happens when using the phone while charging, but it was still surprising. The rest of the phone stays pretty cool
The camera: From what I've taken, I'm pretty happy. I like the "cheese shutter" feature for taking self portraits with the main camera. It is weak in low light, but isnt every phone camers? One issue that exists is the flash and the actual taking of the photo seem out of sync. I can't tell if its just me, but I get fulled when the actual photo is snapped, especially when the screen shows a photo right before the flash. I'm sure this could be solved with future updates.
The RAM: Yeah there are two gigs, but I seem to always have around one being used. Even with all tasks stopped, I can't get it under ~960mb in use. It was actually around 1.07gb until I did a restart. I dont know if this is all being sucked up by ICS, but should I be worried?
Storage: Im really upset over the absence of microsd slot, but I knew about that before I made my purchase. I mean 32gb built in is quite a bit more than what comes standard in other phones. I have no idea how people survive with an 8gb iphone, to me with some high quality music and bigger apps, that memory will vanish. I have noticed, though, on the stock file manager, the main directory is "/mnt/sdcard". This is pretty suspicious. I'm wondering if there actually is a card slot, but we just can't access it? Has anyone opened her up to see?
Overall: I love it, and at $100 I can't complain. I am looking forward to the Jelly Bean update or to possibly rooting the device to run a custom rom. Either way great phone!
PS. This is my first post. I wouldnt have registered if I didnt have so much to say.
Mrichelo said:
I managed to get a second replacement which still has the backlight bleed and color-banding issue. I have since discovered that this is a manufacturing defect that exists on all Optimus G's, which is unfortunate, but I'm learning to live with it. The backlight bleed is easy to ignore, but the color-banding is very noticeable. A simple swipe down of the notifications panel will show the quick settings bar, which has a striped/banned effect on the gradient. Comparing this device's screen to others (SGSIII and iPhone 5) shows that this display is unique in this regard. Such a shame, considering all the great things about this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hate it when people say what I'm about to say, but I'm saying it - I have none of these problems. There is no gradient on my quick settings bar. It's solid gray with no banding anywhere. With photos, I've got several with totally black or dark edges around the entire frame and I see no light bleed. My wife has the same phone and doesn't have these issues, either. Not trying to diminish your problem because it's obviously a problem. Only reason I'm saying it is that I haven't read anywhere that these are manufacturing defects.
@mosesjohn, That was a nice post, enjoyed reading through it. About the ram thing, I experience the same thing and I find it quite odd. When I had my Epic 4G using Jellybean, over half of my 512GB of ram was being use so to find that this phone is using half 2GB shocked me. I assumed that android just reserves a certain percentage of ram kinda like all OS reserves memory in a HDD/SSD. Either that of LG's UI is taking up a lot of resources.
Kchitown1977 said:
Try contact sync from play store. You can use contacts fb pic as contact pic.. If I'm not mistaken ever since 4.0 Facebook stopped allowing to sync FB contacts to mobile contacts
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can merge/join contacts if you log into LG Social+. I'm able to get FB photos for contacts (as well as their social statuses). Though, I wish the auto-suggest worked better. Took me a while to get all my contacts linked right.
latindor17 said:
@mosesjohn, That was a nice post, enjoyed reading through it. About the ram thing, I experience the same thing and I find it quite odd. When I had my Epic 4G using Jellybean, over half of my 512GB of ram was being use so to find that this phone is using half 2GB shocked me. I assumed that android just reserves a certain percentage of ram kinda like all OS reserves memory in a HDD/SSD. Either that of LG's UI is taking up a lot of resources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks!
about the ram... it helps knowing im not alone. it might just be that ICS likes to utilize whatever it can, without taking up more than half of the ram. I mean its going to be really hard to use 1 gb of ram with apps/games, and if ICS runs smoother because it uses the rest, fine by me. I just hope its as efficient as possible, without sacrificing performance.
I thought I would create this post for others who might be considering moving to the Note 2.
I was previously using an Evo 4G. It was a decent phone after it was rooted, but battery life was still poor. After a lot of research and back-and-forth, I made the plunge and upgraded to the Note 2.
Here are my observations after having been using the Note 2 now for a week:
1. The size factor goes away quickly.
I was prepared to have a hard time adjusting to the size of the Note 2. The screen is larger than my entire Evo 4G! But after using it for a day, I was used to it and really liking it. Like I have read in so many other posts, I don't think I could ever go back to a small phone again. The size is really great.2. TouchWiz takes some getting used to.
TouchWiz is the layer Samsung puts on top of Android, like HTC uses Sense. Before blowing away my stock rom on the Evo, I had been using Sense, and thought it was decent. Then I upgraded my rom on the Evo to a Jellybean AOSP rom, and really liked that much better.
TouchWiz is similar to the AOSP, with some peculiarities that take some getting used to, but over all I think it is superior to HTC's Sense. I don't know how much of it is the software and how much of it is a beast of a phone, but there is very, very little lag or stutter ever on the Note 2. It's just a joy to use.
The homescreen clock, however, is atrocious and was quickly replaced. I'm currently running WPClock 2 live wallpaper and like it much better, but still not quite what I'm looking for.3. The camera is amazing
For either stills or video, for a phone camera this takes truly awesome photos. It's not up to the level of my Canon T2i, but for something that slides into my pocket, it comes pretty darn close. A whole 'nuther level from where the Evo 4G was. Not even in the same league. And the burst mode - just hold the button and it rattles off 6-frames-per-second. Again, not prosumer level, but for a phone it's pretty sweet.4. Speaker phone is great
I have found myself actually using the speaker phone, and the people I'm talking to can't believe that they are on speaker.5. Did I mention the screen is gorgeous?
Every time this past week I have needed to use the phone, it's made me smile. It's just a joy to look at. I know others will talk ppi and resolution and AMOLED etc, but from a sheer usability standpoint the display is just lovely. Bright, crisp, vibrant. It is just that good.There are other things I'm sure I'll think of once I close this post.
But if you are looking for a new phone and are considering the Note 2, stop it and go get one. I don't regret it for a minute.
Great observations. I'm shocked you didn't mention the battery life though!
Here are some tips and app suggestions for you:
S-Pen Toolbox - this lets you customise an app menu when you pull out the S-Pen
SwipePad + recent apps add-on - the best multi-tasking-app launching - app swithching program available
My script calculator - maths with pen and paper -sort of
Smart Screen Off - excellent if you have a flip cover or wallet style case
Now some tips:
The S-Pen is not only for taking notes, retouching photos and being artistic! It is veryeuseful when web browsing. The hover function works like "mouse over". It interacts with pull down menus on many web pages and enlarges thumnails!! Not many people know that!
As you seem to like photography I can also recommend:
PhotoshopTouch
PicsPlayPro
Snapseed
TouchRetouch
Afterfocus
Pro HDR Camera - wipes the floor with the stock camera HDR
If you don't have a case, get one. If you want a screen protector avoid the syrupy soft plastic ones. They do not look very nice -fter a few days with the S-Pen. I use cheap hard plastic ones that you can pick up for between $5-$10 for two. I change these every two months or so.
Enjoy you Note
Great post! (both of you, actually).
I concur with #1, absolutely. I think thats the biggest "hesitation" for most folk. And after a few days of using it, it didn't feel ridiculously big, as I feared, or others had mentioned. Weirdly, I think it looks smaller with a case on it. *shrug*
And yes, for once, I have a battery that I NEVER have to worry about.
Dmwitz said:
Great observations. I'm shocked you didn't mention the battery life though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I'm still exploring the battery life. I was a little surprised that I didn't experience the kind of battery life that others reported, and am experimenting with the reasons. Map was eating my battery, which I couldn't figure out because GPS radio was turned off, and I had not used the map app. Turns out it is actually Google Services through map and it automatically tracks your location, so now that I have turned that off, my battery is lasting longer.
Dmwitz said:
Here are some tips and app suggestions for you:
S-Pen Toolbox - this lets you customise an app menu when you pull out the S-Pen
SwipePad + recent apps add-on - the best multi-tasking-app launching - app swithching program available
My script calculator - maths with pen and paper -sort of
Smart Screen Off - excellent if you have a flip cover or wallet style case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great recommendations! Thanks!
Dmwitz said:
Now some tips:
The S-Pen is not only for taking notes, retouching photos and being artistic! It is veryeuseful when web browsing. The hover function works like "mouse over". It interacts with pull down menus on many web pages and enlarges thumnails!! Not many people know that!
As you seem to like photography I can also recommend:
PhotoshopTouch
PicsPlayPro
Snapseed
TouchRetouch
Afterfocus
Pro HDR Camera - wipes the floor with the stock camera HDR
If you don't have a case, get one. If you want a screen protector avoid the syrupy soft plastic ones. They do not look very nice -fter a few days with the S-Pen. I use cheap hard plastic ones that you can pick up for between $5-$10 for two. I change these every two months or so.
Enjoy you Note
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just picked up a flip cover from Samsung, so will be really interested to see how well Smart Screen Off app works with it. I have also ordered the Sena case leather pouch.
As for screen protectors, I prefer to not use one. I know some are worried about scratching their screen. I think like this. In my generation, (grew up in the 70's) a lot of grandparents put plastic set covers on the seats of their cars. They were cheap looking, uncomfortable, and squeeky. But the people who bought their car used had awesome seats! I would rather enjoy the screen as designed instead of covering it up. Just me.
Dmwitz said:
As you seem to like photography I can also recommend:
PhotoshopTouch
PicsPlayPro
Snapseed
TouchRetouch
Afterfocus
Pro HDR Camera - wipes the floor with the stock camera HDR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing he didn't mention (and I agree with just about all of those suggestions) is Vignette. It is the only camera app I use, for actually taking pics. Its GUI isn't all happy-pretty-insta-filter-dumbed-down, but it hands-down takes some of the best pics I have ever seen on a phone.
Sorry!
kingdazy said:
One thing he didn't mention (and I agree about all of those suggestions) is Vignette. It is the only camera app I use, for actually taking pics. Its GUI isn't all happy-pretty-insta-filter-dumbed-down, but it hands-down takes some of the best pics I have ever seen on a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vignette was the first photo-filter-camera app I bought!! And I use it alot for the Illford black and white which is really incredible.
I have over 30 camera and retouching apps installed as I write so forgive me for missing that one.
Now after checking how many I have installed I need to mention:
Aviary - the best sharpness filter I have found and also allows you to rotate images for hand to get the horizon…well horizontal
Pixlr -
Paintersque
Little Photo
connman said:
I thought I would create this post for others who might be considering moving to the Note 2.
I was previously using an Evo 4G. It was a decent phone after it was rooted, but battery life was still poor. After a lot of research and back-and-forth, I made the plunge and upgraded to the Note 2.
Here are my observations after having been using the Note 2 now for a week:
1. The size factor goes away quickly.
I was prepared to have a hard time adjusting to the size of the Note 2. The screen is larger than my entire Evo 4G! But after using it for a day, I was used to it and really liking it. Like I have read in so many other posts, I don't think I could ever go back to a small phone again. The size is really great.2. TouchWiz takes some getting used to.
TouchWiz is the layer Samsung puts on top of Android, like HTC uses Sense. Before blowing away my stock rom on the Evo, I had been using Sense, and thought it was decent. Then I upgraded my rom on the Evo to a Jellybean AOSP rom, and really liked that much better.
TouchWiz is similar to the AOSP, with some peculiarities that take some getting used to, but over all I think it is superior to HTC's Sense. I don't know how much of it is the software and how much of it is a beast of a phone, but there is very, very little lag or stutter ever on the Note 2. It's just a joy to use.
The homescreen clock, however, is atrocious and was quickly replaced. I'm currently running WPClock 2 live wallpaper and like it much better, but still not quite what I'm looking for.3. The camera is amazing
For either stills or video, for a phone camera this takes truly awesome photos. It's not up to the level of my Canon T2i, but for something that slides into my pocket, it comes pretty darn close. A whole 'nuther level from where the Evo 4G was. Not even in the same league. And the burst mode - just hold the button and it rattles off 6-frames-per-second. Again, not prosumer level, but for a phone it's pretty sweet.4. Speaker phone is great
I have found myself actually using the speaker phone, and the people I'm talking to can't believe that they are on speaker.5. Did I mention the screen is gorgeous?
Every time this past week I have needed to use the phone, it's made me smile. It's just a joy to look at. I know others will talk ppi and resolution and AMOLED etc, but from a sheer usability standpoint the display is just lovely. Bright, crisp, vibrant. It is just that good.There are other things I'm sure I'll think of once I close this post.
But if you are looking for a new phone and are considering the Note 2, stop it and go get one. I don't regret it for a minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great summary of first impressions. Very to the point. I came over from an evo 3d and I can say that even tough I liked sense I have grown to like touchwiz even more. The biggest plus of course is the battery life. Although I don't get the same life as some on here say they get I can use my phone from 7am till about 5pm on regular days. On my 3d I could barely make it to 12pm. All I can imagine is how great the note 3 will be or even this one once we get more updates.
Sent from my Amazing Galaxy Note 2!
This device is a amazing Peace of Technology.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
I agree as of about 3 hours ago
It truly is incredible. I mean coming from the epic touch I knew I was getting an awesome upgrade but until you have it in your hands and are using it you really have no idea how good it's going to be.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
This device is amazing. I had gotten the iphone 5 three days ago and took it back today and exchanged it for the Note 2. Soo glad I did that. This screen is amazing....dont know what I was thinking picking the iPhone 5 over this AMAZING device.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
llfloyd79 said:
This device is amazing. I had gotten the iphone 5 three days ago and took it back today and exchanged it for the Note 2. Soo glad I did that. This screen is amazing....dont know what I was thinking picking the iPhone 5 over this AMAZING device.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Don't know what you were thinking either but at least you came to your senses lol. Welcome home!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Thanks lol.
Sent from my Galaxy Note II
Impressions - Update
I'm now 2 weeks into my Note 2 upgrade, so thought I would give some additional observations.
Battery life is simply amazing.
After a couple of charge cycles, battery life with moderate usage easily lasts all day without giving it a thought. Depending on usage, might last 2 days. 2. Days. Incredible.The screen continues to "wow" me.
The size is fantastic. Years ago, I was the proud user of the very first PDA called "Newton." It was by Apple and was way ahead of it's time and had a very large screen. Over time PDA screens became smaller, and phones followed that trend. Finally, there is again a screen big enough to actually use for more than making calls without me having to take my glasses to see the tiny display.
Also, the color and resolution are just incredible. I still smile each time I go to answer a call or text.Camera continue to impress
Like I mentioned earlier, it's not fair to compare the camera on the phone to a stand-alone prosumer model, but for a phone I think it is about the best I have ever used. Controls are simple, autofocus is fast, color reproduction is accurate, and resolution is very nice.I'm still not using the S-pen often, but think that is just getting used to having it available.
Overall, the only thing that I would change is I wish I could have upgraded sooner. There is no comparison from where I was with an Evo 4G. I'm a Mac guy, and enjoy the ease of use the Mac OS offers. With that said, Android on this device has the feel Apple has built its reputation on. It's fast, beautiful, ease-of-use (while not totally a function of the phone) is tremendous, TouchWiz interface is perfect for this device, and over all it's just a joy to use.
Truly great design doesn't hinder usage, it makes it intuitive and easy to do complicated things. That's Android, TouchWiz and this device.
Agree with most of what's been said here, I've moved to Note 2 from an old Nokia, MUCH smaller, and now I've got used to making sure it's secure when I'm working, I have to admit to liking it a LOT.
The screen and camera are both excellent, and once I've got used to turning off things that are not needed, the battery life is OK.
there are a few app and android issues, it would be nice to be able to do things like have sounds selectable by time of day, so the alarm can be left active, but ringing and other notifications can be turned off, and I've just posted a Q re being able to run more than one Text to Speech app concurrently.
The only thing I'd change on the hardware side is the position of the On/Off switch, it's altogether too easy to catch it when holding the phone, especially if it's fitted with the flip cover, which mine is.
I've also found an "interesting" issue, but not investigated it yet, when running off a 2.1 A capable 12 V charger unit in the car, with GPS active and other apps in background, the charger appears to be unable to keep the battery charged, so over a longer journey, the battery is being significantly discharged. That may be down to a poor charger cable, but without an app to show battery current, I have no way to know if it's the phone that's eating power, or the lead that's not allowing full charge current to flow.
Have to admit, having resisted the move to a smartphone for some time, now I've bitten the bullet, I am very pleased indeed with the Note 2, and I'm still only just discovering what the thing is really capable of.
Irish Steve said:
Agree with most of what's been said here, I've moved to Note 2 from an old Nokia, MUCH smaller, and now I've got used to making sure it's secure when I'm working, I have to admit to liking it a LOT.
The screen and camera are both excellent, and once I've got used to turning off things that are not needed, the battery life is OK.
there are a few app and android issues, it would be nice to be able to do things like have sounds selectable by time of day, so the alarm can be left active, but ringing and other notifications can be turned off, and I've just posted a...
Have to admit, having resisted the move to a smartphone for some time, now I've bitten the bullet, I am very pleased indeed with the Note 2, and I'm still only just discovering what the thing is really capable of.
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Boy, for your first smartphone, you've set the bar high. I'd be curious to see how your opinions change re: size and function over the next three years.
As far as your "time of day, and sounds" issue, you might want to look into an app called "Tasker", Very Powerful application, you might find it's daunting at first to wrap your head around, but it's exactly what you're looking for.
Sent from my calculator watch.
kingdazy said:
Boy, for your first smartphone, you've set the bar high. I'd be curious to see how your opinions change re: size and function over the next three years.
As far as your "time of day, and sounds" issue, you might want to look into an app called "Tasker", Very Powerful application, you might find it's daunting at first to wrap your head around, but it's exactly what you're looking for.
Sent from my calculator watch.
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Click to collapse
the one redeeming feature for me is over 40 years working with one sort or another of computer, so the learning curve isn't so steep. Tasker will indeed be worth reading up on, as it may well be the answer for some of the things I'm looking for, certainly on some of the sounds on or off issues.
have to admit, it's making me think seriously about the longer term upgrades that I will be doing, the old concept of a desktop or a laptop are starting to look very different in the light of the capabilities of the Note, and I have to say I like being able to look at "full size" web sites with the Note, as there is just so much real estate on the screen, and despite being the wrong side of 60, I can still (just about) read it without going looking for reading glasses, which does help, though some fonts are getting challenging.
I am also wondering about the viability of using Android on a PC or desktop, there are certain aspects of the way it works that appeal a lot more than Windows right now, but that might be me being biased
Thanks for the pointer, that's the good thing about fora like this, the knowledge gets spread around and helps everyone
Cheers
Steve
Loved reading this thread! I'm a very happy LTEvo user, but my wife's E4GT is starting to show its age (she's very rough on devices). I bought a Note 2 via Ebay a couple of days ago. The plan right now is for her to get my LTEvo and I get the note. I'm compelled by the pen. As a long time WinMo user, the only feature I miss from those days was the ability to take quick notes and drawings. I tried capacitive pens, but they generally suck for writing notes as even the finest resolution is still way too large and they're a separate item easy to forget/lose. Can't wait to start playing!
jph8tr said:
Loved reading this thread! I'm a very happy LTEvo user, but my wife's E4GT is starting to show its age (she's very rough on devices). I bought a Note 2 via Ebay a couple of days ago. The plan right now is for her to get my LTEvo and I get the note. I'm compelled by the pen. As a long time WinMo user, the only feature I miss from those days was the ability to take quick notes and drawings. I tried capacitive pens, but they generally suck for writing notes as even the finest resolution is still way too large and they're a separate item easy to forget/lose. Can't wait to start playing!
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Click to collapse
You're gonna love the device. It's incredible. I don't use the pen a whole lot but one awesome feature is you can have it set so when you pull it out a notepad pops up. Which is great if you're on a call and need to jot something down in a hurry. No need to look for a pen and paper anymore!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
I agree on all points, this phone really is the pinnacle of smart phones right now. Not a big fan of TWiz myself but there are some incredible ROMs on this site. I have soft bricked mine quite a few times and have been through probably 90% of the ROMs on this site with mine and it is just so easy to get it working again.