[Q] Would this phone work for me? - Defy General

Hi guys.
This is a post of mine that I made on the general XDA forum:
Hello everyone,
I would like some advice from you guys as I think you know what you're talking about (and I don't in this area )
Situation:
* not an IT'er, hence not informed about these things
* Current phone = Nokia E51
* Has a long battery life and hence very reliable
* I have a long commute to work every day
Lots of time (waiting) on the train
Would like a phone to mitigate the boredom
Expectations for a new cell phone:
* Battery life of minimally 24 hours
I want to be able to take it off the power grid at 7am on a friday only to have to plug it back in again around 7am on saturday with quite some power (20-25%-ish) to spare
* After having done the following:
some texting and a few minutes of calls throughout the day and evening
browsing/using youtube/watching some movies or listening to music for +-2hours
being able to go out with it at night and google some random stuff (i.e. checking which movies they're playing etc.)
without having to worry in any degree whatsoever that I'll be left with a dead phone in case something unexpected happens during the night (car breakdowns or other accidents, hospital visits, friends or family who urgently need to contact me, etc.)
* Other points of interest:
Budget doesn't matter too much, can be cheap and can be expensive
Screen needs to be fit for reading on the internet/some pdf's etc
No physical keyboard
I do not care about the camera functions
Already took a look at:
* Windowsphone / blackberry (Not my cup of tea)
* HTC (Have only heard bad things about this, and all the people I know who had one got rid of it)
* Iphone (Itunes annoys me, and so do the apple people who freak out about their cell phones)
* Samsung Galaxy S2
Was blown away when I saw this phone
Went to order it yesterday after having read unanimously positive reviews (techradar and such)
Then read about the battery life span which renders it useless to me (had no idea that people can live with that kind of thing in this day and age)
Cancelled it about 2 hours ago and got my money back, thankfully.
* Nokia 5800
link to phone
My brother has this and is happy about it
I can't imagine there's nothing better on the market than a 3 year old phone
So long story short:
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you guys might have for a phone that would suit me. Perhaps I'm too demanding for current technology?
Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somebody on a different forum told me to take a look at a Defy and try and get Cyanomod on it. What are your opinions on this, given my needs and concerns?

great phone, and battery life can easily fit under your requirement, with CM7. camera pretty hopeless unless in bright lights, but since you're not bothered, it's a no-brainer.
probably the best phone that fits your requirements, but then again, HTC Incredible S is pretty up there as well. just that Defy is smaller, and tougher.

I'd definitely recommend this phone to you. It's very quick, especially with Android 2.2 or higher and also the battery life is excellent for a smartphone. I can squeeze about 2-3 days out of it with average use (about the same as you are planning to use it).
I don't see a reason why you wouldn't like this phone.
I also had the Nokia N97 which is about the same as the Nokia 5800 (only difference is the keyboard) and I'm very glad I have the Defy now. My N97 would barely last a day and was very slow.

I'm gonna have to agree I came from a nexus one and my defy is as fast, if not faster then it and gets a 24 hour battery easy. When I take my phone off the charger and head to work I don't take it out until lunch it still has a full battery, that and if you do a dirty job like I do it's dirt and water proof so your covered. I just can't wait for a defy 2
Sent from my Defy

Alright. Thanks for the replies guys.
I decided to look into it, then came across these comments:
http://www.cnet.com.au/motorola-defy-339307513.htm#comments
I'll spare you the trouble of reading them, but 95% of them are outspokenly negative (mostly regarding battery life and build quality). I don't know what to make of that.
Also, if I'd get it I'd like to get the latest android OS on it, can i do that without having to make motionblur accounts and what not?

Nietzschean said:
I'll spare you the trouble of reading them, but 95% of them are outspokenly negative (mostly regarding battery life and build quality). I don't know what to make of that.
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Click to collapse
Battery life is significantly improved by installing custom ROMs from what I've heard. And, complaining about the build quality of a rugged phone? That doesn't make any sense.. it feels very solid in the hand, what's more is that additional sense of security you get from the plugged-up sockets.
The problem with most of these reviews are (I'm assuming) that they take the product as-is. The benefits you get from a custom ROM are amazing, but some people just don't bother or haven't even heard of one. Since you've come to this place, I'm guessing you fit in neither of those categories, so good on you
P.S. Quarx is doing a very nice job getting us CM7 on the Defy - that's worth keeping an eye on.

LetoKynes said:
Battery life is significantly improved by installing custom ROMs from what I've heard. And, complaining about the build quality of a rugged phone? That doesn't make any sense.. it feels very solid in the hand, what's more is that additional sense of security you get from the plugged-up sockets.
The problem with most of these reviews are (I'm assuming) that they take the product as-is. The benefits you get from a custom ROM are amazing, but some people just don't bother or haven't even heard of one. Since you've come to this place, I'm guessing you fit in neither of those categories, so good on you
P.S. Quarx is doing a very nice job getting us CM7 on the Defy - that's worth keeping an eye on.
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Click to collapse
Sounds reasonable.
I'm leaning towards this phone more and more, but think that if I get it, it means that I'll have to get CM7 on it (better battery/no branded stuff). Just a bit afraid of messing it up since I don't have any concept of what "flashing" and all the other stuff means.
I found a guide on here, but if anything happens beyond that guide I'd be dead in the water (and even then...).

be brave and take the plunge. you might just find that it isnt that hard after all. even if you do screw up, you wont go far wrong with flashing rsd lite again

Another recommendation for the defy from me. My wife has got the Desire S and it is a lovely phone but the Defy with CM7 gives me better battery life, smaller in the pocket and it runs really smooth and quick. It is pretty rugged so I think that those who complain just abuse their phones.
I am a bit of a battery freak (can't stand the idea of bad battery life) and the defy lasts me several days.
It is the first phone that has lasted me more than 3 months ..... normally I just get bored of them but this one ticks all the boxes.
I am completely new to flashing ROMs and I just followed the FAQ guide for CM7 and it was much easier than I thought it would be. Just read up and follow step by step.

Related

dash crashing/shuting down erratically

Im starting this thread bcuz it was hard for me to find the information about my dash shutting down on me in the middle of stuff (specially online videos) so here it is: battery. Its what I came across looking around the threads (for a while) and it makes sense. Your phone is working great for so long that it seems weird at first and it makes you worried when it just blacks out in the middle of something. Any more advise on this issue will help.
Same problem here... a couple of weeks ago my dash started to suddenly shut down. The battery looked ok, since it reported 60% or so, searching in the forums hinted to the battery dying so I've bought an extended battery in ebay and currently I'm waiting for it to arrive.
followup,
rob331 said:
Im starting this thread bcuz it was hard for me to find the information about my dash shutting down on me in the middle of stuff (specially online videos) so here it is: battery. Its what I came across looking around the threads (for a while) and it makes sense. Your phone is working great for so long that it seems weird at first and it makes you worried when it just blacks out in the middle of something. Any more advise on this issue will help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone started reporting weird power levels since I upgraded to 6.1 (first rickys vanilla version then kavannas). It would show something like 60%, then after pluging it in and turning it off during listening to music, it would show a green light after only 5 mins or less (after turning it back on it showed high 90s on the charge, but after a couple of mins it droped dramatically to mid 70s). It makes me wonder, but I guess the battery is about 3yrs old, so no argument there. If anyone has other reasons why the phone would just black out, post them so there's more information available in one place.
ALSO post the solutions, for example: the battery you bought and a review of the outcome (how the battery plays with the phone, what you learned looking around, EVEN the place you got the battery from and why). This will help many. Thanks
I would definitely recommend getting a new battery if all possible...
shopping for a new battery
Im probably buying the 2200mah if it looks proper, but Im still shopping, so any helpful advise about fit, performance, buying, etc is appreciated.
Oh yah the best place you can get one of those from would be from ebay... thats where I got mine for only 21.95... and that is not a bad price at all...

Can one Gadget (AKA The Desire) do it all?

Hey People, the more I use this excellent phone the more I wonder can it really replace all of my gadgets on a day to day basis?
I wrote a piece on my blog about this in detail, but what do you think?
Gadgets I use the most on a day to day basis are:
Laptop - Internet and E-mail
Camera
Sat Nav
Phone
PMP - Music and Video's
My verdict was 99% a yes, and close to 100%.
Any thoughts!
It can do VOIP/SIP over HSDPA extremely well with a little help from SipDroid which I just set-up. Yay, for the Desire. ^_^ And for cheap calls!!
As for the laptop replacement it's quite adequate for my morning commute to work but when I need to do something fiddly like setup my PBX I prefer to tether my laptop.
As for replacing everything else, yeah pretty much, although whether it can replace one's girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other is a matter for debate.
LOL since when has ones, Girlfriend/Boyfriend etc, been a gadget? (why do I feel like that will spawn innuendo?)
I bought because if this!
Finally AIO device
Internet and E-mail
Camera(before used camera)
Sat Nav
Phone
Music and Video's(before used MP4)
It could, if the battery technology was at a point where the phone could last a decent amount of time when playing videos, music, making calls and surfing. If you do everything on your phone it zaps the battery. That's why I'm keeping my cowon s9 for video/music use.
RXP said:
It could, if the battery technology was at a point where the phone could last a decent amount of time when playing videos, music, making calls and surfing. If you do everything on your phone it zaps the battery. That's why I'm keeping my cowon s9 for video/music use.
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Click to collapse
That's a valid point. I spend a lot of time on the road in my car, so a car charger helps with that!
yes i think that HTC DESIRE is the AIO device anyone needs. but the concern and main problem is here too....if i use all the features all day i only get up to the evening max...then charger is on
So would you compromise the look to interoperate a bigger battery? That's the question here?
maxitup said:
So would you compromise the look to interoperate a bigger battery? That's the question here?
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I think I don't need extra battery, it can last for one day if I use all it's features
I couldn't compromise on the shape, I'm hoping that a 2000mah + extended battery that is the same size will be released. I've actually been using my laptop to charge my desire on the go, lol.
i must say that its replaced a my ipod touch and n97 (email client on n97 was poor, video playback wasn't great and music player could have been better and sat nav was far too buggy) but i have to say i've been really taken with it, picks up emails faster than my outlook does for gmail, screen is fantastic, battery life is roughly the same as my itouch after a day's usage and since google maps navigation has come along its become even better! hopefully a bigger battery will be released soon as mentioned above
I have been a big PC user for most of my life and found I spent many hours on it each day catching up with whatever is happening online, etc.
Since getting this phone, I've actually found I spend half the time on the computer as I used to. I can happily be elsewhere and be able to catch up on forums through my phone with no discomfort
Technology is meant to make life easier and more efficient. The desire has certainly done that for me.
Battery , for me, is the biggest issue.
If we can get a better battery, it would be superb.
I use the phone a lot. (I haven't made a single call with it yet either as my number has still to transfer over).
But, I don't manage to last the whole day without needing a charge early evening.
I think once the novelty of the phone has worn off it will be better, but even then, it's not as if I've been using it so heavily.
Small amount of Satnav to test it out.
Fair amount of internet during the day (switching between mobile data and wireless depending on proximity of wifi network).
Screen more often than not turned almost all the way down, unless light doesn't permit.
I never get through a full day without a charge...
Is there something I'm doing wrong?
Are there any apps which export the phone's current settings, so that the set-up can be analysed by others (like the nice people on here) in order to work out a more power efficient set up?
subharmonic said:
Battery , for me, is the biggest issue.
If we can get a better battery, it would be superb.
I use the phone a lot. (I haven't made a single call with it yet either as my number has still to transfer over).
But, I don't manage to last the whole day without needing a charge early evening.
I think once the novelty of the phone has worn off it will be better, but even then, it's not as if I've been using it so heavily.
Small amount of Satnav to test it out.
Fair amount of internet during the day (switching between mobile data and wireless depending on proximity of wifi network).
Screen more often than not turned almost all the way down, unless light doesn't permit.
I never get through a full day without a charge...
Is there something I'm doing wrong?
Are there any apps which export the phone's current settings, so that the set-up can be analysed by others (like the nice people on here) in order to work out a more power efficient set up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will see looking around these forums there is a lot of discussion an battery life! Personally I find that there are certain Apps that seem to drain my battery very quickly. One culprit for some reason seemed to be the 'Sky News' app? I dont have a list of apps that cause it but like I said read a few of the battery threads and it will give you some idea. The Sat Nav is a huge drain on the battery, and even when connected to my current car charger it drains quicker than it charges. I know why, its because my car charger is only kicking out .5a unlike the required 1a that the device needs (needless to say a better car charger is on its way).
But normally I can get a day out of it no problem. And If I use the Sat Nav its gonna be plugged in to a charger anyway...
I am happier with my Desire than than any other gadget I'be owned. The only problem is memory for apps. I'v havent got that many but I'm still short on space. what's the point in having a superphone if you can't show it off? I have 8 gig memory card but can't use any that space for apps! Madness!
Apps are limited un production by this and won't be a real co.tender to the iPhone appstore until it's solved.
If anyone know how to get apps on to SD on the desire please let me know. Would make this thing pretty perfect.
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Desire can replace a lot of gadgets but it's definitely not a replacement for a laptop or a camera.
IMHO, no. I've used it for a few weeks now, and at one point considered replacing my current phone with it but...
1. Appalling battery life, maybe a working day of usage, and if I'm having to put it on charge in the evening, I'm not using it.
2. Lack of stability - applications crash out at random, shutdowns frequently hang. If I have to take the battery out to reset it, a real pain if I'm out walking, it's not ready for frontline use. While I've been typing this, the browser has completely locked up.
3. Flash memory shortage; when it's rooted, or the OS supports install-to-card, this won't be a problem, but I'm not prepared to spend a lot of time managing memory. If I need to spend a lot of time maintaining the device, I might as well use WM.
4. Odd Calendar syncing - I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I want control of how my calendars are synced to the device; Android doesn't give me that. If I want to look back a few months and check the last time I took a leave day, it may not have synced. Shabby.
5. GPS - I imagine Copilot works well on this, but a few hours testing Google Maps Navigation at the weekend really brought out serious flaws, particularly when passing through areas with no cellular data coverage. A SatNav system has to sit in the dashboard mount and just work reliably for the whole trip or it's worthless, GMN didn't.
It's a nice device to play with, and there are some good, useful applications, but I need a reliable phone, and this isn't it. Hopefully the Evo will be.

So Should I Pop For It?

Time for the eligible upgrade on Verizon for my wife's line. She has my old original Moto Droid and I have the Charge. Gonna pass my Charge on to her and I am for obvious reason leaning heavily towards the G-Nex.
I know there will be fans of other phones out there telling me to get 'x' instead. (then get out of the G-Nex forums trolls !!)
It has been in the wild a little while now. What are your honest impressions? I am expecting a little less crisp display than I have on the charge, and that's okay. I don't watch videos on the phone.
So long as I can achieve an easy down and dirty root to use wifi tether on my laptop in my truck, I'll be happy. No doubt in time, I'l start playing with different ROMS but I'm in no great hurry there. Development is still in the early stages for the LTE but as time goes on they will be refined and nice solid ones will come out.
Hell, with her having wifi with my charge, I might even get rid of comcast net and just use the phones. We're grandfathered in to unlimited.
Anyone out there think I could do better than this phone before I buy it?
I've had it for 2 weeks now and overall I am as happy as can be. No need to list the awesome qualities since we all know them so here are the gripes:
Let's get this out of the way first -- the screen:
It's not as bad as a lot of people are saying. I got to compare it to my friend's Galaxy S II (who just switched to Verizon in order to get the G'nex after playing with mine...) and yes, large areas of darker solid color have a 'linen' or 'grainy' pattern. It's noticeable in the menus the most. FORTUNATELY, with the brightness set to 60-75% the whites don't have that texture which is the most common large area of a single color.
Otherwise, it's not really that noticeable. In normal use, games, browser, etc you don't really ever see it.
The screen also has a yellowish tint but that seems to be the norm these days. As long as you aren't comparing it to another source of "white" your eyes just make the adjustment. iPhones still have the whitest whites but their screen is tiny.
The volume rocker tends to get in the way when playing games in landscape; maybe I'm just holding it wrong though.
The camera quality really is pretty bad compared to what it could be - not megapixels though, I'm one of those who argues megapixels aren't everything - but the picture quality even in bright light isn't that great if you zoom in all the way. Things are pixelated much more than I'd like.
BUT it's a camera phone. I have a DSLR for "real" photos. These are just fine for facebook, taking pictures for reference later, etc. It's still better than the HTC EVO!
The only notification light color is white but that can be fixed with apps.
External speaker is somewhat quiet but so long as I don't have to replace it twice (EVO!) I'm happy with it.
--end cons--
Also, the battery life is great. No problem going a day on a charge without playing games. Light use gets me 12 hours with 50% left.
You really can't get a better phone right now. I'm sure you can in 2-3 months but it will be a carrier modified phone with a locked bootloader, etc.
I say go for it!
thats what I did gave my wife the charge and got the nexus. I tried the razor and took it back the next day. I have no regrets about the nexus. for a new device I had zero bugs in that I can think of. I'm sure I will regret it after ces next month but thats a never ending story with cell phones now adays.
Sent from GALAXY NEXUS
Thank if helped
Yeah like I said, I've read some of the gripes about the phone. Having the Charge currently, which has an incrdible display for clarity and brightness, I expect a bit of degradation there. S'okay ... I don't really game on the phone either.
As for the next latest and greatest? Pfft .... you could drive yourself nutz with that one!! The landscape has been pretty quiet now since all of the phones that made it out prior to the holidays. You may not see some breathtakingly new device come out before summer at the earliest and maybe even next holiday season. I'm not too worried about that.
I was glad to hear the battery life is fair. Does anyone know if Juice Defender is compatible with ICS ? I use the ultimate on my phone and it works well.
Chopstix9 said:
I was glad to hear the battery life is fair. Does anyone know if Juice Defender is compatible with ICS ? I use the ultimate on my phone and it works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only managed to try Juice Defender Ultimate 3.8.0 and it seemed like it worked but the battery life felt worse with it on imo. Could be that JD just isn't ICS compatible to 100% in 3.8.0.
Oh and it also started screwing with my screen. When I unlock, the screen is unresponsive until i manage to somehow reboot the phone by holding the power button down. Didn't get anything like that again when i uninstalled it until last night again, but after checking my phones internal memory there was some juice defender folders left so it may still be conflicting. Will do a factory reset.
Otherwise - Go for it!! Really happy with the phone. And tbh all the negative stuff on this forum is a really serious case of buyers remorse. The things people on this forum notice, normal people NEVER notice. It's normal though. When you pay a substantial amount of money for a phone you're bound to look for the con's rather than appreciate the pro's.
I never noticed anything with my phone until I logged onto XDA and found some threads. Then and only then do I actually notice "faults" (if you can call them that), and even then I have to look really hard... I wouldnt read the crying going on in this forum. I'd just be really happy with the device because it's a great piece of kit. I don't mind miniscule hiccups or faults. People on this forum have a hawk eye for things and dont settle until it's PERFECT lol.
The batterylife was really crap for me the first 2-3 days but that was also with heavy useage since I had just bought it. I find it to be really good now. I can easily go through a whole day and still have 46%-50% battery left before charging during the night.
The camera is alright and in light conditions I find it to be pretty good actually. Low light conditions is fine too but it's no DSLR of course. I don't find the flash making the pictures all "yellow" like someone said on the forums.
Well. Ive had G nexus since verizon release an all the ticky tack issues, screen burn in low volume, reception, non gorilla glass, unhidable buttons poor camera an several more have definatly help me decide that its (imo) a cheaply put to market phone. If it wasnt for ICS this phone would already be a flop. You ask is there anything else out there, well i have for a week been using predominantly a Galaxy Note. Yes it has 2.3 but it will be getting ics soon. Has gorilla glass sweet screen great camera, an great benchmarks across the board. Note is import so no Lte, but where i am at average 7-10mgps on ATT anyway so i dont miss lte. The note is considerable bigger than nexus, but at my age much easier on my eyes. Gluck
If I were going to stay away from the G-Nex I would just get a second Droid Charge. It's a fine phone IMO. The Glass and buttons and stuff? You knew about that stuff before you bought the phone so shame on you !! Or at least you SHOULD have known. I wouldn't pop for 300 bones without a little bit of research first. I'm thinking for $50 more than the Charge, I'll be pleased with it.
Chopstix9 said:
Yeah like I said, I've read some of the gripes about the phone. Having the Charge currently, which has an incrdible display for clarity and brightness, I expect a bit of degradation there. S'okay ... I don't really game on the phone either.
As for the next latest and greatest? Pfft .... you could drive yourself nutz with that one!! The landscape has been pretty quiet now since all of the phones that made it out prior to the holidays. You may not see some breathtakingly new device come out before summer at the earliest and maybe even next holiday season. I'm not too worried about that.
I was glad to hear the battery life is fair. Does anyone know if Juice Defender is compatible with ICS ? I use the ultimate on my phone and it works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen on the Galaxy nexus is way better than any SuperAmoled Plus screen
EddieN said:
I only managed to try Juice Defender Ultimate 3.8.0 and it seemed like it worked but the battery life felt worse with it on imo. Could be that JD just isn't ICS compatible to 100% in 3.8.0.
Oh and it also started screwing with my screen. When I unlock, the screen is unresponsive until i manage to somehow reboot the phone by holding the power button down. Didn't get anything like that again when i uninstalled it until last night again, but after checking my phones internal memory there was some juice defender folders left so it may still be conflicting. Will do a factory reset.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've paid for Juice Defender Ultimate, why would you not try the latest version? Also, did you have the CPU throttling options enabled? There are a couple of the options that have the yellow lettering marking them as experimental that when I enable on my Charge it gives the same indications you describe above. Leaving those disabled but using all other JD features go a long ways to saving battery on my Charge. I don't know if it will work with ICS but that's my experience on the Charge running both Infinity and stock 2.3.6 rooted.
Edit: Current JD version is 3.8.8 .... anyone running it on ICS? With what results?

[Q] Should I buy the HTC Desire Z?

I want to buy the HTC Desire Z but a few things that I read on the net are really freaking me out:
1) BATTERY LIFE: Some users say the battery lasts for less than a day, while others say they have no problem for 2 days. Now I have a ZTE Blade(which I plan to sell) that also has bad battery life, somewhat similar, so its kinda OK as long as its not really that bad.
I wont really have the Wifi turned on 24/7, coz I am a conservative user(although when I get the phone initially I'll check it out every 10 seconds... only for some days).
Can the battery life be fixed by using custom ROMs or Kernels or is it just the underpowered battery pack?
2)Keyboard Hinge: It seems that the screen falls loose when you turn the phone upside down. Some people complain of loose hinges .
I will be using the keyboard frequently.
3)LAG AND BUGS: Actually, its software related so it doesn't really matter I would probably flash a Custom ROM as soon as I get.
So should I buy this phone or not? Please tell me about the other problems in this phone...
If you say "NO", then please suggest an alternative in the same price segment!
Thanks a lot!
Regards,
jj_95nano
I've had my Desire Z since august last year.
Pros:
-great dev support with PLENTY of ROMs to choose from, you get choices between AOSP, GB Sense, GB MIUI, ICS Sense and ICS MIUI.
-good sound quality output through headphone jack
-great screen with nice viewing angles and colours.
-good battery life lasting 2 full days regularly for me under light to medium use.
-great keyboard which has a good feel to it.
-fantastic build quality, i've dropped my DZ a bit more than a handful of times and it barely has any scratches anywhere.
-the "z-hinge" is much more sturdy than it seems and it will definitely last the test of time.
-the phone is blazing fast with AOSP ROMs and can play pretty much every game right now.
-Call quality is really good when there is good reception (read below)
Cons:
-sometimes not-so fantastic performance when it comes to Sense ROMs.
-my keyboard is becoming unresponsive and requires very hard pushes to register the keys Q,W,E and more recently the space bar is having this issue too.
-i have had both wifi and cellular signal death grip issues that occur when the keyboard is out and my hands are wrapped around the device.
-With wifi, a full bar signal can drop down to half signal or less than half if you hold the device as i described.
-With cellular signal, i have very poor reception at my house where i'll get 3/4 bars at the most but a lot of the time, if i hold my phone for more than 30 seconds while the keyboard is out with my hands wrapped around it, i will end up completely losing reception. That said, this has been an issue with previous phones of mine anyway though.
-The device does get hot at times where it can make your hands sweaty but it never really gets burning hot.
-call quality is quite terrible for me at times at my house due to the bad reception that i have and the death grip issues seem to interrupt calls as well at times as i've had a drop outs during calls before.
I hope that helps a bit. Oh and about the tightness of the Z-hinge, i can hold my phone upside down with the keyboard open without it closing, it takes a little bit of practice but my hinge is quite tight and it's still as tight as it was when i bought my phone so as mentioned earlier, the hinge will definitely last the tests of time.
Overall, the pros outweigh the cons for me simply because of how much i love android, so i'd give the phone about an 8/10. If you can find it for like $250USD or less, i'd buy it if i were you, but otherwise, i would just wait for the next best qwerty slider.
magic_android said:
I've had my Desire Z since august last year.
Pros:
-great dev support with PLENTY of ROMs to choose from, you get choices between AOSP, GB Sense, GB MIUI, ICS Sense and ICS MIUI.
-good sound quality output through headphone jack
-great screen with nice viewing angles and colours.
-good battery life lasting 2 full days regularly for me under light to medium use.
-great keyboard which has a good feel to it.
-fantastic build quality, i've dropped my DZ a bit more than a handful of times and it barely has any scratches anywhere.
-the "z-hinge" is much more sturdy than it seems and it will definitely last the test of time.
-the phone is blazing fast with AOSP ROMs and can play pretty much every game right now.
-Call quality is really good when there is good reception (read below)
Cons:
-sometimes not-so fantastic performance when it comes to Sense ROMs.
-my keyboard is becoming unresponsive and requires very hard pushes to register the keys Q,W,E and more recently the space bar is having this issue too.
-i have had both wifi and cellular signal death grip issues that occur when the keyboard is out and my hands are wrapped around the device.
-With wifi, a full bar signal can drop down to half signal or less than half if you hold the device as i described.
-With cellular signal, i have very poor reception at my house where i'll get 3/4 bars at the most but a lot of the time, if i hold my phone for more than 30 seconds while the keyboard is out with my hands wrapped around it, i will end up completely losing reception. That said, this has been an issue with previous phones of mine anyway though.
-The device does get hot at times where it can make your hands sweaty but it never really gets burning hot.
-call quality is quite terrible for me at times at my house due to the bad reception that i have and the death grip issues seem to interrupt calls as well at times as i've had a drop outs during calls before.
I hope that helps a bit. Oh and about the tightness of the Z-hinge, i can hold my phone upside down with the keyboard open without it closing, it takes a little bit of practice but my hinge is quite tight and it's still as tight as it was when i bought my phone so as mentioned earlier, the hinge will definitely last the tests of time.
Overall, the pros outweigh the cons for me simply because of how much i love android, so i'd give the phone about an 8/10. If you can find it for like $250USD or less, i'd buy it if i were you, but otherwise, i would just wait for the next best qwerty slider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for answering!
But there are a few new problems(Call reception, bad signal) that you have just enlightened me about. But should it really matter at a place with full network strength?
But seriously, the PROS seem tooo attractive! The number of ROMS is amazing.
I guess I might just go to an E-store and check out the DZ today!
Then I'll make up my mind.
Thanks again for your helpful post.
jj_95nano said:
Thank you for answering!
But there are a few new problems(Call reception, bad signal) that you have just enlightened me about. But should it really matter at a place with full network strength?
But seriously, the PROS seem tooo attractive! The number of ROMS is amazing.
I guess I might just go to an E-store and check out the DZ today!
Then I'll make up my mind.
Thanks again for your helpful post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my DZ a year and a half ago and i've never encountered major issues other than ROM depending ones.
I live in a french "big city" and never have signal troubles.
Sure he doesn't have incredible performances (mostly with Sense 3.x Roms) and if you want to use it while lying on your bed and holding it above you you will suffer of a loose hinge but if you can find it at a reasonable price, it's still a good deal and one of the best with an HW Keyboard.
Might be worthwhile to check out the official review thread in the General section.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA
If you live somewhere with good reception and you can get the desire z at a good price, then i'd say go for it . When i have good reception, calls sound pretty much perfect. It's just that my carrier somewhat sucks haha.
magic_android said:
If you live somewhere with good reception and you can get the desire z at a good price, then i'd say go for it . When i have good reception, calls sound pretty much perfect. It's just that my carrier somewhat sucks haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying!
My carrier sucks too, but only outside the city, but I get full signal strength with my ZTE Blade in my house. Considering that the ZTE Blade has similar network issues, I think I don't mind the bad reception issue. Things are getting positive for this phone... I couldn't go to see it today, but I'll try tomorrow!
Ditamae said:
Might be worthwhile to check out the official review thread in the General section.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its great you pointed me out to that thread, it added to my knowledge about the DZ!
And I also found a ZTE Blade owner who had upgraded to DZ on that thread!
TenMaKo said:
I bought my DZ a year and a half ago and i've never encountered major issues other than ROM depending ones.
I live in a french "big city" and never have signal troubles.
Sure he doesn't have incredible performances (mostly with Sense 3.x Roms) and if you want to use it while lying on your bed and holding it above you you will suffer of a loose hinge but if you can find it at a reasonable price, it's still a good deal and one of the best with an HW Keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, HW keyboard is important as I always face issues with my existing phone when it comes to using the on-screen keyboard. Well, I'll just grin and bear the loose hinge.
Thanks to everyone on this thread. I seem to like the phone now.I just need to see it in reality to make up my mind.
it's just the keyboard issue, other than that , the phone is awesome
Very quick fix if you feel the keyboard is loose. Check the thread on the spring fix. I did both mine and my girlfriends g2s in 20min. As for reception there are more radios to pick from then on any other device I've used so chances are at least one is good in your area and this may help with battery life too. Also I get about 20 hrs give or take with most roms and I'm a heavy user. My gf still has over 80% battery when she plugs in at night as a light user. Not to mention many after market batteries to pick from.
Did a lot of research before I bought us both g2s and I could not find a better option for us as the keyboard was the hw biggest need for us
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
The screen is meant to be loose, in that it allows you to flip the keyboard open and closed with almost no effort. I actually find it pretty tough to hold the phone in such a way, that it opens when upside down. Any contact with your fingers/hands on the "screen" portion of the phone will prevent it from opening accidentally. You actually have to be holding the back "half" of the phone without touching the front "half" in order for it to open while upside down. A few people have mentioned that the phone opens when they are using the phone and laying down. But I often use my Z while laying on the couch, and have never found this to be an issue. My opinion is that the hinge "issue" has been completely overblown, and don't let it negatively sway your opinion of the phone.
Battery life is obviously a very difficult thing to compare between users, as its very dependent on how you use your phone, and also reception. But with fairly moderate use, the Z will easily get you through the day, and then you charge overnight. With light usage, I can often get 2 days. On the other hand, when I'm hiking in the woods, in poor reception areas, I can kill the battery in 8 hours or less, without even using it. Forcing the phone to EDGE seems to help, as some of the battery drain seems to be from the phone constantly trying to connect to a dodgy 3G signal. Similarly, in less populated areas (but still in built up towns) I will sometimes get battery life much less than the usual 1-2 days I can get at my home and work locations. I guess the moral of the story, your mileage will certainly vary. But for average conditions, I'd say the Z has pretty good battery life for a smartphone.
All that said, the Z is a solid phone, and a great community here. But I'd be hard pressed to recommend buying one at this time. The phone is a year and a half old. The CPU and memory specs are really showing their age. And its unfortunate that flagship devices with hardware keyboards seem to be becoming an extinct species. I'd only consider this device if you really require a hardware keyboard, and can get a good price.
redpoint73 said:
The screen is meant to be loose, in that it allows you to flip the keyboard open and closed with almost no effort. I actually find it pretty tough to hold the phone in such a way, that it opens when upside down. Any contact with your fingers/hands on the "screen" portion of the phone will prevent it from opening accidentally. You actually have to be holding the back "half" of the phone without touching the front "half" in order for it to open while upside down. A few people have mentioned that the phone opens when they are using the phone and laying down. But I often use my Z while laying on the couch, and have never found this to be an issue. My opinion is that the hinge "issue" has been completely overblown, and don't let it negatively sway your opinion of the phone.
Battery life is obviously a very difficult thing to compare between users, as its very dependent on how you use your phone, and also reception. But with fairly moderate use, the Z will easily get you through the day, and then you charge overnight. With light usage, I can often get 2 days. On the other hand, when I'm hiking in the woods, in poor reception areas, I can kill the battery in 8 hours or less, without even using it. Forcing the phone to EDGE seems to help, as some of the battery drain seems to be from the phone constantly trying to connect to a dodgy 3G signal. Similarly, in less populated areas (but still in built up towns) I will sometimes get battery life much less than the usual 1-2 days I can get at my home and work locations. I guess the moral of the story, your mileage will certainly vary. But for average conditions, I'd say the Z has pretty good battery life for a smartphone.
All that said, the Z is a solid phone, and a great community here. But I'd be hard pressed to recommend buying one at this time. The phone is a year and a half old. The CPU and memory specs are really showing their age. And its unfortunate that flagship devices with hardware keyboards seem to be becoming an extinct species. I'd only consider this device if you really require a hardware keyboard, and can get a good price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess if I buy the phone, I'll have better battery life as I have my cellular plan limited to 2G so that is going to make a big difference. Anyways its not like my existing phone(ZTE Blade) has great battery life and reception, so I'm used to this.
And ay the community here is AMAZING, the number of ROMs and Radios is superb! I am no fan of OC'ing so CPU speed doesn't matter. HW keyboard is soo tempting.
Thanks a lot for all your responses... I'll search for the spring fix for the keyboard...
jj_95nano said:
I am no fan of OC'ing so CPU speed doesn't matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually have to say that this statement is a bit backward. If you were into overclocking, that would make up a bit for the lower "stock" CPU clock speed of 800 MHz. As it is, the CPU on the Z is good enough for most tasks. But newer CPUs are pushing 1.5 GHz, and multi cores, and you can really tell the difference. My tablet is a HTC Flyer, with a 1.5 GHz CPU, and it just, well . . . flies. So much more smoother interface experience (even with Sense), smooth video playback (Rockplayer), and this is only with single core (most phones are now coming dual core, and quad core coming soon). Plus 1 GB of RAM means much less dropping of apps from memory. My Flyer acts like I wish my Z would.
Again, don't get me wrong. The Z is solid, and will still have plenty of life left, if you really need the keyboard. But its nowhere near cutting edge, and for me its time to move on. I'll likely be picking up the One X when its released.
redpoint73 said:
Actually have to say that this statement is a bit backward. If you were into overclocking, that would make up a bit for the lower "stock" CPU clock speed of 800 MHz. As it is, the CPU on the Z is good enough for most tasks. But newer CPUs are pushing 1.5 GHz, and multi cores, and you can really tell the difference. My tablet is a HTC Flyer, with a 1.5 GHz CPU, and it just, well . . . flies. So much more smoother interface experience (even with Sense), smooth video playback (Rockplayer), and this is only with single core (most phones are now coming dual core, and quad core coming soon). Plus 1 GB of RAM means much less dropping of apps from memory. My Flyer acts like I wish my Z would.
Again, don't get me wrong. The Z is solid, and will still have plenty of life left, if you really need the keyboard. But its nowhere near cutting edge, and for me its time to move on. I'll likely be picking up the One X when its released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mostly agree with this post and his previous one.
I'm also considering buying an HTC One X.
It seems so great : Tegra3 1.5Ghz QuadCore - 1GB RAM - Screen resolution : 1280*720px, Internal Memory 32GB, Front Camera, NFC, Native ICS + Sense 4 in its full version
Compared to our DZ, that's just like WOW !!
But no hardware keyboard anymore and no real HDMI connection (you need a special cable).... for a 600€ phone.... that really pisses me off.
@ the OP, i think you should wait a couple of months until some new phones come out so that you have more choice. I'm personally HIGHLY considering getting a One X or One S if i can find the money for it as the keyboard on my phone is driving me nuts xD.
redpoint73 said:
Actually have to say that this statement is a bit backward. If you were into overclocking, that would make up a bit for the lower "stock" CPU clock speed of 800 MHz. As it is, the CPU on the Z is good enough for most tasks. But newer CPUs are pushing 1.5 GHz, and multi cores, and you can really tell the difference. My tablet is a HTC Flyer, with a 1.5 GHz CPU, and it just, well . . . flies. So much more smoother interface experience (even with Sense), smooth video playback (Rockplayer), and this is only with single core (most phones are now coming dual core, and quad core coming soon). Plus 1 GB of RAM means much less dropping of apps from memory. My Flyer acts like I wish my Z would.
Again, don't get me wrong. The Z is solid, and will still have plenty of life left, if you really need the keyboard. But its nowhere near cutting edge, and for me its time to move on. I'll likely be picking up the One X when its released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want to contradict you, but I never overclocked my existing phone which is only 600MHz and I was pretty satisfied because I used custom ROMs. The only Overclocking that I did was to OC the GPU. But the stock 800MHz on DZ is good with custom ROMs as I saw on youtube...
Well I'm still a teen so the One X is a tad too expensive. I txt, so HW keyboard is a necessity. I have an iPod touch 4 for 1GHz . I use that for Gaming, media, etc(you obviously know)...
Yes the market is full of Dual and Quad core phones and tabs out there but I might just venture out to that segment when I'm actually looking for a good quality phone to use long-term when I'm older(Coz my parents don't think I'd handle those kinda expensive Gizmos)
magic_android said:
@ the OP, i think you should wait a couple of months until some new phones come out so that you have more choice. I'm personally HIGHLY considering getting a One X or One S if i can find the money for it as the keyboard on my phone is driving me nuts xD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After reviewing the phone in a store I was pretty impressed and there really wasn't anything wrong with the keyboard(firm enough) on that piece so I think I'll just have to have my fingers crossed to get a piece that has a stiff keyboard.
I need to buy a phone quick as my ZTE Blade's value is going down and I don't want to spend too much on upgrading. The only competitor IMHO to the DZ is Xperia Pro. So I think I'd either buy the DZ or the Xperia Pro...
You're talking about the mini pro? Or is there another version of it? The dz will probably have a larger community since that device wasn't advertised too much. It's still a great device though, a friend of mine's got it and I had the chance to play around with it.
The phone's hardware, as redpoint73 stated, is indeed starting to age. It can last for a bit more than a year, if you don't mind the slower hardware. So, it might just be worth it if you upgrade every 1,5-2 years.
Sent from my DZ.
crestofawave said:
You're talking about the mini pro? Or is there another version of it? The dz will probably have a larger community since that device wasn't advertised too much. It's still a great device though, a friend of mine's got it and I had the chance to play around with it.
The phone's hardware, as redpoint73 stated, is indeed starting to age. It can last for a bit more than a year, if you don't mind the slower hardware. So, it might just be worth it if you upgrade every 1,5-2 years.
Sent from my DZ.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I'm talking about this: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_pro-3779.php <<< It has a resolution of 480x854, so its bigger and it has a 1GHz processor. Only thing is that it does not have a good community(or maybe no community...)
I bought my ZTE Blade just 5 months back, so you know that's pretty short... I will obviously upgrade in the future if there is another phone that I fall in love with
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_pro-3779.php
jj_95nano said:
I don't want to contradict you, but I never overclocked my existing phone which is only 600MHz and I was pretty satisfied because I used custom ROMs. The only Overclocking that I did was to OC the GPU. But the stock 800MHz on DZ is good with custom ROMs as I saw on youtube...
Well I'm still a teen so the One X is a tad too expensive. I txt, so HW keyboard is a necessity. I have an iPod touch 4 for 1GHz . I use that for Gaming, media, etc(you obviously know)...
Yes the market is full of Dual and Quad core phones and tabs out there but I might just venture out to that segment when I'm actually looking for a good quality phone to use long-term when I'm older(Coz my parents don't think I'd handle those kinda expensive Gizmos)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its largely a matter of personal preference and needs, so feel free to disagree! Its you buying the phone, after all. But for me, its really quite evident when comparing the Z to more modern phones, the difference in CPU. Lightweight ROMs help, but its really just a Band-Aid when the CPU is falling this far behind. But if you're on a budget, and can get a good deal on a Z, its still a solid phone.
Slightly off topic, but speaking of CPUs on newer phones, have you guys seen the recently posted benchmarks on the US (AT&T) version of the One X (actually One XL)? Dammmnnnn, this thing embarrasses every phone currently on the market, including the Galaxy Nexus. Much less an older phone like the Z:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1565181
jj_95nano said:
No I'm talking about this: http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_pro-3779.php <<< It has a resolution of 480x854, so its bigger and it has a 1GHz processor. Only thing is that it does not have a good community(or maybe no community...)
I bought my ZTE Blade just 5 months back, so you know that's pretty short... I will obviously upgrade in the future if there is another phone that I fall in love with
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_pro-3779.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that we don't care about the slight difference between the 2 processor as you can OC your DZ from 800Mhz to 1.8Ghz without problems (i know u can even go higher but i've never tried). Even if you're not fond of OCing, that's still a possibility.
Screen resolution doesn't seem relevant to me neither. 480*800 VS 480*854.....
On the other hand, the community should be a major argument as it's the one thing that allows our DZ not to be totally outdated.
P.S: Sorry, i'm pretty sure my english is terrible
TenMaKo said:
P.S: Sorry, i'm pretty sure my english is terrible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um, almost perfect, actually. And more better than many native English speakers on XDA. ;-)

Edge 6 vs other flagships

Hey all... Just wondering if anyone here with an Edge has also tried any of the other 2015 flagship phones, and if so what are your thoughts? Obviously you chose the Edge but what were some of the deciding factors?
I have a G4 and looking to dump it. Not sure if I want the Edge or if I wanna wait to see what the One Plus has to offer....
Thanks!
Never even gave that a thought, nothing compares to my gold edge.
Pp.
I had the G4 for almost two weeks. Though I did like the feel of the leather back, I had to return it. This was the first LG phone I had ever bought. Loved it initially, but soon found that it was very laggy, got uncomfortably hot with 10 minutes of internet use & was slow on wi-fi. I Really wanted to like the phone! It did not live up to my hopes. When I talked to T-Mobile, I was told that all my issues were common. Had to move on.
edripiii said:
I had the G4 for almost two weeks. Though I did like the feel of the leather back, I had to return it. This was the first LG phone I had ever bought. Loved it initially, but soon found that it was very laggy, got uncomfortably hot with 10 minutes of internet use & was slow on wi-fi. I Really wanted to like the phone! It did not live up to my hopes. When I talked to T-Mobile, I was told that all my issues were common. Had to move on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My biggest issue with going for a phone with non removable/expandable storage is my phone doubles as my 'iPod' and I have about 40GB of music I need to store on the phone. I guess the 128GB would be my best option... You say you had the G4; Hows battery life compare between the two phones? Its easy to read reviews about that kind of stuff, but if someones witnessed it first hand, I'd rather take their word.
chrisokaly said:
My biggest issue with going for a phone with non removable/expandable storage is my phone doubles as my 'iPod' and I have about 40GB of music I need to store on the phone. I guess the 128GB would be my best option... You say you had the G4; Hows battery life compare between the two phones? Its easy to read reviews about that kind of stuff, but if someones witnessed it first hand, I'd rather take their word.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At first, I was getting great battery life. Moderate use throughout the day and still have 70% battery left at 7pm when I would get home from work. That 70% kept dropping when the overheating outstayed started. At the end, I was down to 40% when getting home.

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