Xperia Arc or Sensation? Help me decide... - Xperia Arc Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi
I want to change my phone, and I simply cannot decide.
At Vodafone RO, the Arc would cost me 235eur and the Sensation 290eur.
What I want from a phone: decent battery life (I want it to last a day with web browsing); great display: I want a big and high-quality display; good looks and high quality build; decent performance: smooth web browsing, smooth UI but I don't care about gaming performance or 1080p video shooting/playback.
I played with both phones, but never had one for a few days. I noticed that the Sensation is not so fast, actually in some circumstances it's pretty slow; something bugging me at Sensation: closed all running apps and the remaining RAM was still 150mb; tried it with 3 different devices and read about this in a review. Plus, I saw that the web-browsing battery life is lower than Arc's.
What bothers me most about the Arc: the 320mb internal memory; as I know from my P500 (~150mb internal), the memory fills pretty fast...
So my question is: is the not-so-fast Sensation worth over the single-core wonderful-looking Arc? I really want objective opinions and I want to know how's the Arc in real-life, please

Hi There,
I have the Arc, when i bought i also looked at the Sensation and S2..
I use the Arc a fair bit for web browsing and instant messaging and I have to be honest and say i would struggle to get the day out of it. I usually find myself topping it up at my PC during the day. I would only imaging the Sensation is worse though. I had a HTC Desire before the Arc and it drained a lot quicker than the Arc and ran a lot hotter. A few niggles I find with the Arc -
1) Keyboard entry - for some reason its not always 100% accurate.. this improves if i clean the screen so could be down to the screen protector thats factory fitted to the Arc
2) Reboot times - no consistency with my Arc - could be 30 seconds could be 2 minutes
3) I have seem some slowdowns screen redraws slowly etc but nothing that would be put me off using the phone.
Anyway they are my negatives - there are plenty of positives but im sure you are aware of those already
Cheers,
Mick

I also looked at the sensation and desire s but after using my stepdads desire s and my brothers sensation I settled for the arc, I use it heavily for web browsing and some gaming during the day and mine lasts from about 8am til around 11pm the screen is very sharp and clear as im sure youve noticed
Sent from my LT15i using xda premium

One advantage of Xperia arc is that it is recently rooted and you will witness everything from the first succesful rom (CM7) which is coming soon to many custom roms. Basically you will witness xperia arc's developer timeline

I bought an arc in June, and afterwards I had the chance to fiddle a bit with a friend's Sensation. I have to say, I was not that impressed with the latter.
The display is not that great and the overall build quality seems much poorer than other non-HTC phones.
For example, after barely one month of use, my friend's Sensation had the colour faded on the housing at the corners, so it have off a really cheap plastic feeling. He also managed to drop it once to the floor from ~1m and it had a nice dent on the edge...
Whereas my arc still looks brand new! I also dropped it a few times but no visible marks were left.
The only thing I'm a bit disappointed in is the screen. Sony Ericsson say it's scratch resistant, but it's not Gorilla glass. A little extra care is required. Or a screen protector, for that matter.
Overall, I'm glad I got an arc. Rooted, OC'd to 1.6GHz and with v6Supercharger script running, it's lightning fast and smooth, it doesn't lag (and I'm quite a heavy multitasker) and even after ~150 uptime hours, I still have around 150MB of free RAM.
So if you're happy with a single-core, I definitely recommend the arc. If you want dual, the Galaxy S II is the best choice, in my opinion.

Hello,
You said good display, I definately reccomend Arc, I was today comparing display with Optimus 2x ( I know it's not Sensation) and image at arc got crispness and it shows ALOT better darker colours image is brighter(or got more contrast)-i dont know.
Although O2x got higher illuminated screen. And I dont think that S-LCD is better than just LCD.
About battery in Sensation I've read that HTC set battery to charge to 80% (it will show 100%) for security reasons, and more lifetime. It's possible to fix it.

Ive tried both and they both have the pros and cons but i still love the arc for what its worth. HTC just includes alot of widgets and animation. I think that is why alot of people like there phones.

Well, the fact is that I don't really want to mod my next phone. I want to buy a phone that's good as it is.
The only reason I modded my P500 is becuase it's crappy with the stock ROM.
About Sense UI: it's something I really like (although many people say it's just visual crap), we have 2 sense ROMs ported to P500 but sadly GSM doesn't work (those were the ROMs I was looking most forward to). The Arc's UI is pretty elegant but I don't like the fact that it's pretty poor in colors (I like colourful icons on black backgrounds). And I really hate the fact that it's missing smart dialling, that's a feature I use all the time. But there's no perfect device.
@crimilde: I don't want the SGS2; in my opinion, an expensive phone must have a high quality housing to justify its money and the SGS2 is made out of crappy plastic. For me the build quality is very important and I don't want to spend 1600RON on a crappy-plastic toy.
Thanks for your help, my 5 thanks per day limit kicked in on this thread )

Well I used to have a Desire and rooted and installed numerous custom roms.
My 2 penneth... with the Sensation there will soon be numerous roms and you will be able to sort out any battery issues. The screen isn't as good as the Arc BUT when app devs start to take advantage of dual core you'll see the benefits.
I ultimately went for the Arc as the screen is fantastic, battery life is pretty good (of course you should use auto screen brightness as well as oother power tweaks to get more than 1 days usage - I can get more than I could with my desire)
For those talking about keyboard accuracy, just install the gingerbread keyboard from the market and your accuracy probs will be sorted.
Ultimately my advice, go for the Arc, looks great, is fast enough and the screen is brilliant (oh and audio is good too)
Hope this helps!
Sent from my LT15i using XDA App

micks_address said:
Hi There,
I have the Arc, when i bought i also looked at the Sensation and S2..
I use the Arc a fair bit for web browsing and instant messaging and I have to be honest and say i would struggle to get the day out of it. I usually find myself topping it up at my PC during the day. I would only imaging the Sensation is worse though. I had a HTC Desire before the Arc and it drained a lot quicker than the Arc and ran a lot hotter. A few niggles I find with the Arc -
1) Keyboard entry - for some reason its not always 100% accurate.. this improves if i clean the screen so could be down to the screen protector thats factory fitted to the Arc
2) Reboot times - no consistency with my Arc - could be 30 seconds could be 2 minutes
3) I have seem some slowdowns screen redraws slowly etc but nothing that would be put me off using the phone.
Anyway they are my negatives - there are plenty of positives but im sure you are aware of those already
Cheers,
Mick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keyboard entry was a problem from x10, i think they have fixed it for the arc(x12). so far it seems to be fine. try update to the latest fw.
i apply another screen protection on top of the factory default screen protector. it doesn't bother me with the input at all.
i recommend to put another screen protection, couse the factory default screen protector is a little bit tricky to replace.
about batery life, it improves a lot after around 10 full-cycle charges. when i first bought it, it rarely past 24 hour. updated to the latest fw, deleted unwanted bloadware, and optimize batery setting (brightness, timeout time, etc) and now :
it can past 48 hours with normal use (texting, little gaming and wifi)
it can past 24 hours with moderate use (fare gaming and wifi)
it can past 12 hours with heavy use (lots of gaming and wifi)
ps. i use live wallpaper all the time, couse static wallpaper is boring
22VIN said:
Well, the fact is that I don't really want to mod my next phone. I want to buy a phone that's good as it is.
The only reason I modded my P500 is becuase it's crappy with the stock ROM.
@crimilde: I don't want the SGS2; in my opinion, an expensive phone must have a high quality housing to justify its money and the SGS2 is made out of crappy plastic. For me the build quality is very important and I don't want to spend 1600RON on a crappy-plastic toy.
Thanks for your help, my 5 thanks per day limit kicked in on this thread )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, i still haven't mod my arc, still impressed with the oficial fw updates by SE
yeah, i've tried arc and S2, playing around with them before finally diceded arc is better suited for me.
reasons :
- the scroling animation seems to be faster, and it was still with 2.3.2 fw.
- the design.. arc owns s2. s2 is big, fat, and box like. arc is more sexy
- it's a sony, they have good camera reputation, i previously own a k750i

Also id like to add.
The first batch of xperia Arcs are not so great build quality.
I had one, since April, the back made noises, and the buttons got stuck. Camera button was really stiff.
Now that could just of been a one off.
But i recently got a replacement and i have to say this handset feels alot better.
All the problems are gone which i had before.
I actually really enjoy this phone.
It's really nice to hold. I find it fast for my needs.
Which is mostly, emailing, calls, texts and Internet.
A few games which all run smoothly.
Even the more top end games like galaxy on fire 2 runs fine.
I use SwiftKey, which I don't think I could live without now.
It's a amazing keyboard.
I used to like sense, had it on my htc hero.
Looking back at it now, it looks and feels bad.
I used to love it.
They are so much more home screen replacements that do things better.
I don't use the default sonyericsson home.. Why,,, well I don't like it.
What I'm saying is if there is something that you don't like. I'm sure they are a replacement in the market to fill your needs.
I also think htc phones all look the same, boring design in my eyes.
As for battery life all depends on screen brightness, down to how much you use it.
Mine lasts easy a whole day at work.
Also have to hand it to sonyericsson they have keep the updates coming for this device. It's a real treat to receive so many improvements.

You should choose the ARC. With the latest 2.3.3 FW (Generic UK) the phone is fastest, battery life is the best. After about 5 charges (my phone) with moderate use battery lasts abour 40 hours; Heavy use - 10-12 hours; constant use - I managed to get about 5 hours with Wi-Fi, BT, GPS, Auto-Sync on at 75% Brightness. As for internal memory... there is included app2sd with the phone. Any phone has bloatware, things you don't want, you don't need... so root is not actualy modding. I'm also from Romania, Bucharest, I have an Arc and i'm very happy with my choice. Hope you will be with yours. Cheers

22VIN said:
Well, the fact is that I don't really want to mod my next phone. I want to buy a phone that's good as it is.
The only reason I modded my P500 is becuase it's crappy with the stock ROM.
About Sense UI: it's something I really like (although many people say it's just visual crap), we have 2 sense ROMs ported to P500 but sadly GSM doesn't work (those were the ROMs I was looking most forward to). The Arc's UI is pretty elegant but I don't like the fact that it's pretty poor in colors (I like colourful icons on black backgrounds). And I really hate the fact that it's missing smart dialling, that's a feature I use all the time. But there's no perfect device.
@crimilde: I don't want the SGS2; in my opinion, an expensive phone must have a high quality housing to justify its money and the SGS2 is made out of crappy plastic. For me the build quality is very important and I don't want to spend 1600RON on a crappy-plastic toy.
Thanks for your help, my 5 thanks per day limit kicked in on this thread )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What and the Arc's plastic is high quality, the crack problem would seem to put that in doubt. Speaking as an Arc owner I do not expect the front fascia to crack after only about three months, especially for the money paid. The GS2 plastic is pretty darn tough & at least I haven't read reports of it cracking.

I think I'll buy the Sensation afterall. I'm gonna get a bigger contract because I need more traffic and I'll get the Sensation for 210eur. Or I'll change my mind again, I can never know )
Thanks very much for your help
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA App

I hope you are prepared for this kind of problems in HTC Sensation
but i think if you are going to get HTC Sensation XE, these problems are fixed
Goodluck!

The Xperia Arc is definitely better than the sensation in my opinion..
the sensation has a dualcore yeah and the arc just a single-core, but there is no OS out there that supports dualcore yet. so i would go for the xperia arc when it comes to user experience!

Well I got the Sensation afterall
About the display issue: a friend has the Sensation and he has but problems, phones in shop displays don't have problems, in fact I never met anybody with display issues. If it happens to me, well, tough luck
The deathgrip issues don't bother me, I never hold my phone that way.
Yes, I know that for now there's no real support for dual-core phones, but there will be starting with ICS and I bought this phone to keep it for at least 1 year and dual-core is the future. I was afraid that single core phones will soon be left behind...
In a way I regret the Arc, it's an awesome phone and a classy device but in another way I don't, for now I love this phone. And if I don't like it I can always exchange it with another phone, this is a pretty expensive device, so I have many options.
Thanks again very much for all your help!
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

You might wanna wait for Sensation XE with Beats Audio the death grip issues are resolved in that model .. It has much better audio performance and speed,
Edit: Oops you already got it. Congrats Mate.

I think the latest Android Revolution HD ROM has all the features from the new Sensation including "overclock" to 1.5GHz.
Sensation's CPU is a 1.5GHz dualcore but HTC downclocked it to 1.2GHz from what I've heart.
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App

Flo95 said:
I think the latest Android Revolution HD ROM has all the features from the new Sensation including "overclock" to 1.5GHz.
Sensation's CPU is a 1.5GHz dualcore but HTC downclocked it to 1.2GHz from what I've heart.
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, that's true, it's underclocked. But HTC will release an update which brings 1.5ghz. Btw, I played a YouTube 1080p clip and it worked very nice (after the 2.3.4 update and flash player update).
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

Related

Desire vs Galaxy S vs Xperia X10

wana purchase 1 of these phones . which you guys think is better and why?
I had the galaxy s for 3 days (returned because it was too laggy, very laggy!) now have the Desire, and do not regret the decision I have made that day! Love it! very easy to do everything, root, flash, etc gaming, wow just wow, great graphics! and now theres even angry birds!
also, the X10 has android 1.6 (cough cough) Galaxy S 2.1 (yet still laggy, and the horrible "iPhone" look in the menu) Desire 2.2.
Galaxys can play avi, mkv, rmvb etc Desire can too with the use of an app (Rock Player) and I don't know about the X10..
X10 has the old skool TFT (not vert efficient, which giver poor battery life)
Desire, AMOLED/SLCD which are both very good (AMOLED, very good battery life, about 10% of battery use at the end of the day)
Galaxy S SAMOLED better quality for watching movies and has good power efficency, although the battery is very poor due to Android system (guessing).
X10 has 8.1 MP with flash
Desire 5.0 MP with flash
Galaxy S 8.0 without flash
X10 don't know about user exeriance with this phone
Desire very fast, snappy, and rather amazing! feels very well made, 720p very nice!
Galaxy S, laggy, slow, finger prints on the back, feel cheap, and the screen is abit big for my liking
X10 don't know about GPS
Desire 2-4 meter accuracy, very smooth, nice UI
Galaxy S 5-30 meters accuracy, random turn left/right etc...
if you do get the Desire, you won't be disapointed!
Forget about about the X10, had one for about 2 weeks before going to Desire. The difference is huge. Still got it, its a good dust collector though.
Don't know about Galaxy S but remember Paul Obrien from Modaco complaining about build quality.
Maybe wait for Desire HD which hopefully will be out in October.
I currently have both and its a more difficult decision than you'd think... especially as the X10 is due to get 2.1 before the end of the month.
Pros for the X10 include a screen that can be read in bright sunlight, a device that doesn't get uncomfortably warm with prolonged use and a much better email client. The camera is in a different league too...
Battery life is about the same for the two devices.
On the other hand the Desire is better in just about every other respect. How Sony Ericsson can think that its appropriate to still be on 1.6 this far into the game is beyond me.
Of the two I'd definitely choose the Desire unless the camera is your primary smartphone function...
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Between those 3 I'd choose between the Se and desire and then we have the "sorry ericsson" joke . A couple of my friends had an SE unit (not x10, previous) and they tend to break after a while which is not really a problem if you intend to use it within the warranty period
You will not get much of a difference in battery life whatever you get
The SE will probably have a much better camera, if this is a consideration factor , htc are really good at piece of crap cameras . Desire is alright compared to the diamond for example but it's not very good.

moving from desire to galaxy or sensation

well my upgrade is due and ive been offered either devices , ive looked at them in store but really having a hard time deciding. Im not sure about samsungs touchwiz but the design and the quality of the screen really shines .... i was very impressed.
I had a look at the sensation and again i really like the phone however im not keen on the new sense the lock ring is nice but the rest of it does not feel right. One example would be on sense 2.1 my music player intergrated into lock screen on the new sense its like a block in middle of screen which seems untidy same with low battery. However i do like my htc widgets news mail etc ..... which samsung doesent have.
Another thing that concerned me which i havent seen anyone mention in reviews is that the lcds on the sensation suffer from ghosting imagage lag very much like lcds in tellys some years ago, however the improved resolution is a nice touch.
That being said my htc desire has served me well and with the support of the community here it still feels like a great phone i goes part of my decision would be based on which phone has the most support here in the future
Has anyone upgraded to either of these phones over there htc desire and if so what are your initial impression(s) did you keep phone sell on etc would very much like to hear .......
baadnewz (desire developer) upgraded to SGS II but then he sold it and bought sensastion - he said that he couldnt make it without Sense.
I think touchwiz is hopeless
But on another topic I think you're bound to find more support for the Sensation
Sent from my CM7.1 Desire using XDA App
Neophyte has activated himself under sgs2 development. I think per specification sgs with it's Orion snaps anything Qualcomm has come up with atm in half. But it is really poor when it comes to overall feeling of quality and robustness. Sensation is much more robust and you see on the glance it is a premium product, though it is quite understandable that you were impressed with samoled. Last week I was talking to a clerk here at my provider's authorized dealer, I couldn't lift my eyes from it. Must be I left an impression of being extremely rude.
I'd get a Sensation now, but I'll skip this first generation while keeping a close eye where the Desire developers are in the future
I'm skipping too - keeping the Desire, see where things go with the next gen.
ICS and possible quad cores next year will be the next step I think for me, hopefully also with mega improved battery
Lothaen said:
I'm skipping too - keeping the Desire, see where things go with the next gen.
ICS and possible quad cores next year will be the next step I think for me, hopefully also with mega improved battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt about battery. When you look back to where we were in 1999 when we had 900mAh Li-ion, and that in 2011 we have 1400mAh on average, it is clear we stagnated most of the time. I hope so too, but I think it is not possible using current technology and materials, while keeping the same form factor.
Galaxy S:
more RAM, more internal memory, better screen contrast, lower screen resolution, better screen viewing angle, lighter, thinner, Touchwiz, cheap plastic body.
Sensation:
less RAM, less internal memory, lower screen contrast, higher screen resolution, less screen viewing angle, heavier, thicker, Sense 3.0, aluminium body.
Those are my brief comparison for Sensation and SII.
I am also keeping my good old AMOLED Desire and will skip both Sensation and Galaxy SII.
I will be on my way seeking up a new phone again somewhere next year.
erklat said:
I doubt about battery. When you look back to where we were in 1999 when we had 900mAh Li-ion, and that in 2011 we have 1400mAh on average, it is clear we stagnated most of the time. I hope so too, but I think it is not possible using current technology and materials, while keeping the same form factor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lets hope then for better optimization of battery?
I really liked my htc blackstone which could last almost a week without charge...

The HTC One X is a fantastic phone - My Screens

Despite what many may say, I know the OneX has it's issues but putting them aside I have got to seriously say this is one awesome phone and I've owned pretty much a ****load of tech over the years.
Some people have had some issues with screen or battery or whatever, but that's just the way these things are, whether its a phone or an xbox 360 or a tv screen or whatever, electronics aren't always perfect as much as we want them to be just like maybe your girlfriend or wife lol.
I can't put the phone down, my battery drains only because I'm always playing with it, the gorgeous screen, the beautiful white body, putting all the issues aside I just love this phone!!
I've played with the Galaxy S3 and I was disgusted at the UI (albeit innovative), it is fugly. when I look at the One X, god Sense is actually quite beautiful and innovative in it's own way. Not to mention the weak ugly back plastic cover which you could fold over a few times, all qualities that I dislike for some reason and I'm sure I'm not the minority here
Forget benchmarks, I've played Nova 3, Mass Effect, 9mm, Backstab, Asphalt, Modern Combat 3, GTA3 to name a few and all the games are gorgeous and run really well with no lag!
P.s. In case anyone is wondering, I'm using ChompSMS with a custom theme
I agree on the UI front. Having had previous Samsung devices and played a lot with the Galaxy Note the whole UI is fugly compared to Sense.
Albeit the Galaxy range of phones are great as well. Both UIs works well with each having their own unique features.
HOX is a lovely phone on it's own rights. Improved upon with custom roms.
The screen as well, not tried the SGS3 yet but compared to the Note I like the natural colours of the HOX and the whites.
I have to agree. If you have no hardware faults then this phone is amazing. I have one minor one that I will have to get used to. When actually using the phone its amazing.
How did you get Modern combat on you're one x ?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
i emailed gameloft and they sent me a modified apk, but apparently theirs ways to decompile apk to bypass checks that someone posted the other day
(do not message me asking for apk)
I'm hoping Nova2 and PvZ gets an update
Other than that I agree! It's a great phone! Just got my second one in and so far so good (got it unlocked and CWM restored the data from my old phone so I was up and running in no time!).
Right now it's updating all those apps and podcasts I missed while the new one was in the mail.
Not too concerned with the QC issues. Both Apple laptops I've bought with my own money and my N900 had to be sent back RMA'd. This is the first time I've been able to send it back to the retailer for an exchange so things are on the up and up! My old Nexus S should have been sent in (Dust under the FCC) but I just resolved myself to taking it apart every month or so and cleaning it out. Since then, however, I'm planning to resist the urge to dismantle my phones. Just not good on my blood pressure.
mox123 said:
Despite what many may say, I know the OneX has it's issues but putting them aside I have got to seriously say this is one awesome phone and I've owned pretty much a ****load of tech over the years.
I can't put the phone down, my battery drains only because I'm always playing with it, the gorgeous screen, the beautiful white body, putting all the issues aside I just love this phone!!
I've played with the Galaxy S3 and I was disgusted at the UI (albeit innovative), it is fugly. when I look at the One X, god Sense is actually quite beautiful and innovative in it's own way.
Forget benchmarks, I've played Nova 3, Mass Effect, 9mm, Backstab, Asphalt, Modern Combat 3, GTA3 to name a few and all the games are gorgeous!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This 100%
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
+1
Absolutely.. 100% agree..
Have today played with SIII in my hands.. no need to argue, OneX is the undisputable winner, phone of the year / to date. Slightly better performance measurements in some benchmarks (besides some shows OneX better, and some SIII), or 2 hrs more battery time is nothing considering with the built quality and awesome look, especially look at the left side of the SIII, metal(!) frame and metal volume rocker on that side sounds like cheap, bad quality toys.
Will not mention on TouchWizz UI, just in short, menus look like gingerbread though it is ICS 4.0.4
Also IPS SuperLCD2 is way much better than SuperAmoled HD when it comes to being closer to real/natural colors. Why Samsung played with blue subpixels and made them smaller in SIII's pentile matrix? apparently upon listening to criticism they got from public (read as customers plz) + (still cold but a tad warmer in comparison to its predecessors)
check this...
http://pocketnow.com/2012/06/04/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-vs-htc-one-x-video/
Forget everything you have read abt those devices so far, benchmarks, comparisons, others opinions etc. even mines above and just think that you have OneX in one hand and SIII in another, compare these two badboys and say, which one you would prefer to go with? at least two years or even longer from purchase?
Used gs3 yesterday and disappointed with its performance and colour.
So far HTC is best in its user interface and style.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Every phone has its issues.
The HTC One X is a very beautifull designed phone, the best you can buy right now to my opinion.
mox123 said:
Despite what many may say, I know the OneX has it's issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first played with the One X in a store I was blown away and soon bought one.
I went into a store and played with the SGSIII the other day and was left underwhelmed.
Yes, there are a couple of nice touches in Touch Wiz (I watched a long review on youtube) but the feel of it, the look of the device and the screen just left me 'meh'.
Just didnt feel right in the hand and looks like a kids toy TBH….cheap?
I dunno, maybe having a couple of HTC devices before (Hero and Desire S) and then a couple of Blackberrys conditioned me to liking well built and well designed handsets, not airfix models, lol
Steve
Got a link to that wallpaper? That looks fantastic
Shadowgun THD and Riptide both look fantastic on this amazing beast .
Get the Zedge app from store .some great wallpapers on there
i agree, I have also chosen HTC One X over SGS III, simply because of the beautiful build quality, and while I normally prefer Super AMOLED screens, the display used on the One X is just spectacularly good. SGS III was completely overhyped, and with the high expectations people had, it turned out to be "just another android phone"
I will stick with my One X, and Android Revolution HD
I agreed this is indeed beautiful phone. No regret
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA Premium HD app
I waited for the release of the SGS III before deciding which to go for--- SGS III or HOX.
HOX won me over. The Touchwiz UI was a huge turn off and so was the build quality. I hate companies who make up too much of a hype whose products are overrated. I was extremely disappointed with the SGS III.
HOX, on the other hand, impressed me by a far margin. It was like the company scrapped everything from last year and started anew.
HOX is exactly the flagship I've been looking for.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
I agree 100%
I have to agree, it took me a few days to get used to the HOX but I am extremely happy now!
I come from a Samsung Captivate and Samsung Galaxy S2 so my natural things was to upgrade to the SGS3 but I wanted so bad to try another brand. I was waiting forever for a decent Sony but their software suck badly.
Then came the HOX and I jumped in (white one Tegra). At first I have to be honest, I was underwhelmed by the level of blacks (coming from AMOLED and SAMOLED) but oh boy was I wrong, this has to be the most amazing display out there.
Also after a dose of Android Revolution, APM, 3 dot fix and UltraSmooth Rosie this phone flies!!!!
As a bonus I do like Sense very much, not feeling the need to run to ICS/Apex as I did with the horrible TW on my SGS2.
I just got my One X 5 days ago and like to give it a mini review.
Body and build quality: In my personal opinion, the HOX is the BEST LOOKING SMARTPHONE OF ALL TIME. Nuff said.
Screen: Never seen anything like this before on a smartphone, excellent viewing angles, nice warm and accurate colors, text very very sharp, outdoor visibility is incredible. Only complain is that it's easy to scratch the screen.
Call quality: pretty good but not the best
Battery life: it's ok, could be better. It almost doesn't use any juice when it's in idle but soon as you start using it you lose like 5% so I don't know. Wished HTC would have been more generous considering this is non removable ( razr maxx?) still after 5 days of using it, I can see the battery improving cause of calibration.
Performance: good, not mind blowing. Does stutter from time to time. Gaming is awesome, no complaints there, browsing is nice but again could be better ( SGSIII?).
Multitasking: not that much of a deal breaker as I thought, not the best obviously but i definitely can live with it. I do like the transition effect when you enter an app or when you press the recent app button and scroll though them, very slick. Just wished you could see more than one app at a time ( stock ICS?)
Audio and speakers: audio is good, beats does enhance sound but a little gimmicky. Speaker is kinda weak in my opinion, although its pretty clear.
Camera: I won't lie, I hardly use the camera on my phone so can't tell but from the few pics I took I love it. But I'm easy to please in that area that's just me
Sense 4.0: MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER than previous versions, less bloated, like how you manage widgets. Don't like the fact that there's a million clock widgets, a million calculator widgets. Wtf HTC?
I think that's pretty much it. The HOX in my opinion, is a fantastic device. I've never seen a better looking device in my life, the screen is amazing especially outdoor visibility. Performance is quite good and battery life is getting better. HTC is heading in the right direction after disappointing releases like the sensation and evo 3D. They've listened to people and toned down sense, which looks as gorgeous as ever by the way. I wish HTC was making their own SoC so they can match it well with android and sense and make it runs super smooth and give it excellent battery life. Still the one x is a fantastic phone and I would recommend it to anybody. Peace!
started the weekend buying the s3 then exchanged for another s3. extremely happy to be finally with a onex. the s3 was nice but felt very fragile. wasn't happy with 2g reception.wouldn't connect to the internet on 2g.may have been a carrier issue.decided to change carrier and phone. reception issue solved .still 2g but have internet connections albeit slow. 3g performance excellent. but most important the phone just feels right.i use a gel case on my phones and had one on the s3 also but the X just feels better. sense is still far better than touchwiz.had wanted to give the s3 a try as i have a tp2 and a titan but once again i find the user experience with htc just that bit better.

[Q] To buy or not - Xperia Arc S

Currently owner of Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, however I feel the phone is too small for me with its 3.2 inch screen.
I went to look for a phone with bigger screen, not in a way-too-high price class. Xperia Arc S got my attention there. It's performance is a bit better with the processor, firmware is the same(4.0.4) as my LWW etc.
Xperia S was also an idea, but the price is also a lot higher. Xperia U has really limited storage. And I really would prefer Android.
How is the screen in sunlight? Quality of the screen and sound(headphones and loudspeaker)? The actual performance? Camera quality(dark, light)? Battery life on stock firmware? Are there any known bugs/problems with the phone/firmware?
My question is - Would you recommend Arc S or are there any other phones in this price class, that are better?
If Arc S, then which color suits the best for it?
EDIT: Also, forgot to mention, that the shop where I am going to buy a new phone from, has quite limited selection, so post more ideas for other phones, incase it is needed.
First...what is the price of the arc s at ur country? At my country it cost about ~RM1100, which is around ~USD320
If its kinda this price, i recomend looking for a phone with 1gb of ram with the almost near price...
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium
maliceomalice said:
First...what is the price of the arc s at ur country? At my country it cost about ~RM1100, which is around ~USD320
If its kinda this price, i recomend looking for a phone with 1gb of ram with the almost near price...
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
329 euros, Estonia.
I didn't notice any phones with 1GB RAM in that price class.
screen under sunlight is good..if u have some screen guard on then only u might face lil problem..but for me its good visibility under the Mighty Sun
Screen is sharp and with lil sound enhancement pack, audio quality will be damn good on earphones.
Camera quality of our arc s is just awesome ..i have SGS2 and i can say it is better than that
Arc s price has dropped alot and at this price i think it is a very good deal..only problem is the RAM
arpith.fbi said:
screen under sunlight is good..if u have some screen guard on then only u might face lil problem..but for me its good visibility under the Mighty Sun
Screen is sharp and with lil sound enhancement pack, audio quality will be damn good on earphones.
Camera quality of our arc s is just awesome ..i have SGS2 and i can say it is better than that
Arc s price has dropped alot and at this price i think it is a very good deal..only problem is the RAM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My LWW has currently also 512MB of RAM, multitasking was not very good, however with the newest 4.0.4 update, that I recently got, it is not that bad and feels fine for my regular usage.
I have rooted my phone's stock firmware and threw out some unneeded stuff, so that firmware would be running clean. I do not think, that the difference between these 2 phones' firmware would be too high.
How is the audio quality via loudspeaker? My LWW has 2 loudspeakers, quality is great and volume is just loud, phone and it's screen is a bit too small, probably gonna miss these speakers
audio output is good...well not as good as walkman..but it is very good..it doesnt shout with high volume which results in high pitch sound..all i can say is it is good ..
u need to hear it out urself only..we cant describe it
arpith.fbi said:
audio output is good...well not as good as walkman..but it is very good..it doesnt shout with high volume which results in high pitch sound..all i can say is it is good ..
u need to hear it out urself only..we cant describe it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will go to a nearby shop when I have time, just to try out the Arc S, how big it really feels etc.
I also saw quite a nice selection of custom stuff for it
Oh, and battery life, how long can you make with regular usage? Any of you using extended batteries?
Someguyfromhell said:
I will go to a nearby shop when I have time, just to try out the Arc S, how big it really feels etc.
I also saw quite a nice selection of custom stuff for it
Oh, and battery life, how long can you make with regular usage? Any of you using extended batteries?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's difficult to answer your question about battery life. It depends on ROM/Kernel/Baseband...
As for me, battery life of Arc S is awesome!
thuanngotau said:
It's difficult to answer your question about battery life. It depends on ROM/Kernel/Baseband...
As for me, battery life of Arc S is awesome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM/kernel/BB are you using and how long you get?
i get 3 days easily with normal usage with Arconium ICS.. normal usage means texting,few calls and lil 3G data thats all..i am sure with lil more usage you may get atleast 40 hrs
That's a lot better than my Live with Walkman, it has 1200 mAh, but with my usage I can barely get 1,5 days from it. Maximum with no usage was for me 2 days.
Seems like Arc S is a great choice so far, neither could I find any other phones from the shop website, either less phones on the website than in shop or really not so much to choose from. Need to sell my Live with Walkman now first.
u can also consider xperia P as the price of xperia p and arc s is almost same..xperia P has 1Gb of RAM..well screen is lil small but manageable
arpith.fbi said:
u can also consider xperia P as the price of xperia p and arc s is almost same..xperia P has 1Gb of RAM..well screen is lil small but manageable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
0.2 inch difference with screen isn't that bad.
Xperia P seems great, however the battery is quite weak.
Try reading in the xperia s forum regarding xperia p. I read that the battery is not bad..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1656649
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium
maliceomalice said:
Try reading in the xperia s forum regarding xperia p. I read that the battery is not bad..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1656649
Sent from my LT18i using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see quite a lot of different answers and opinions about battery, some say with heavy usage it is in 2 hours empty, others say they can get 1,5 days with it with normal usage.
Some say, that they can't get more than 12 hours out of it, some say they can get same as Arc...
If I only could try it myself for some time...
Samsung galaxy s advance got better specs than arc s but with 5 MP camera but rest are pretty cool and its same price as arc s maybe less cheaper
I reckon you can get a better phone for the price right now, perhaps a second hand SGS2 would be good for you. Arc S is really starting to get laggy except if you flash an AOKP/CM9 ROM ( My opinion ) and the specs in terms of processor + ram is outdated
However, beautiful design, really nice in the hand, really nice screen (amazing what sony did with it). Fairly large and a great camera
better go for xperia P man...i know it is fat..but it is faster..our sexy arc is still sexy but had become old
dinesh690 said:
I reckon you can get a better phone for the price right now, perhaps a second hand SGS2 would be good for you. Arc S is really starting to get laggy except if you flash an AOKP/CM9 ROM ( My opinion ) and the specs in terms of processor + ram is outdated
However, beautiful design, really nice in the hand, really nice screen (amazing what sony did with it). Fairly large and a great camera
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, that I am able to get a phone a lot cheaper from a certain shop, that is the only reason why I want to get one with bigger screen.
arpith.fbi said:
better go for xperia P man...i know it is fat..but it is faster..our sexy arc is still sexy but had become old
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will take a look, if it is really available in the shop and if it inside the max price I am able to pay. It is great phone indeed.
One advantage of sony smartphones is the well structured GUI. It looks simple and clear but I think a Galaxy S II/III/Nexus is better in user experience.
My arc (overclocked to 1.6 GHz, CM9 ICS) is slow and gets overextended in e.g. multi-tasking. every time i have to wait several seconds (or minutes ) until it finished loading. maybe you think "i don't care" but after several times you just go crazy. Furthermore, the internal storage isn't so large. Just install some no-app2sd-apps and you'll have a problem...
However, go to your next electrical retailer and "play" with some smartphones. Take a closer look on multitasking performance, smoothness of the GUI and loading time when you start a game (I recommend to test: Galaxy S II/III/Nexus, Xperia S/P). you'll know if you find your smartphone .

Is the Desire still worth it?

Hello everyone!
My recent decision on upgrading my phone has brought up some questions. I've been looking around and found a few (very good?) deals, one of them being of course HTC Desire (used, 3 months of warranty left) and the other one ZTE Blade (brand new). With both having the same price tag I just can't seem to decide, the Desire seems to have it all: faster processing, more RAM, better camera along with 720p video recording, USB host mode and a known brand name. What puts me off is the relatively average screen size considering my current 3.2" and the Blade's 4.3", and the warranty time I would have left.
Thanks for following so far, it's time for the final questions. Which one would you consider more reasonable in the long run? Have you ever struggled with typing on the Desire? Would it be a pain watching a movie and browsing some web every now and then? Have you perhaps tried both of these phones?
Thank you very much for helping a fellow out here!
Imo desire is still a great smartphone. I don't feel the need to buy a new phone yet.
If you HAVE to choose between those phones, get the Desire. The MIUI-XJ ROM mentioned above is TOP NOTCH, and I've been using my phone INTENSIVLEY for the last 2 years. However, I would really consider more up to date phones if your budget allows for it. Rather pay just a liiiiitle bit more, than being stuck with a phone that is great, but can't keep up with the new boys.(I can not install Google Chrome, for example).
Movie-wise, the screen is just fine.
Hope that helps a bit.
hey, i previously owned zte phones, first was blade (not 4.3 inch screen but 3.5) then was skate with 4.3 screen. i know all the differences of these two between desire. if this place were modaco forum i would recomend you geting desire instead.
the main advantages are phone's basics: screen feels much more better, precise, faster response and real glass instead of half plastic (i did stop using screen protector which was habit of mine for two years too)
second thing is housing, blade feels like egg shell when compared.
headphones output louder, and no annoying hiss. cpu desire is arm7 vs arm6. and menu keys feels more comfortable, not so noisy.
devs support better too, lots of good roms to choose from!
As for typing or browsing we all know bigger screens have advantage, skate is better here.
you should also give a look for desire s, it has more internal memory for apps, so worth paying more.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2
My only objection to the OP is the 720p recording, that is a joke literally on the desire, even in stock rom. Other than that, it still is a great phone (at least for me).
Thanks for the input!
I would get a more recent phone, but having the budget set to 120 euros (148 USD) I just can't seem to find any better deals than these two. Although having had a LG phone (GW620 to be more precise - just horrible multitasking) for a year and a half, I think the Desire can keep me floating for a while.
I'm aware that the 720p recording is more likely a joke, but compared to Skate the camera still seems a lot better (nice for occasional OCR for instance).
Since I do some cycling, running and hiking, sometimes not having a wall plug for a day, another important fact to consider is the battery life and power consumption. Having used a Hero not too long ago, I measured the power consumption when fully charged (above 90% as I've learned HTC's charging mechanism to work) and on USB power pack, which was just 200 mA compared to LG's (despite the "Fully charged" notice) near 700 mA.
Thank you again for all the great help!
I bought my Desire (PVT4 SLCD) back in November 2010. And after rooting and flashing some custom ROMs from the dev forum, I really dont feel like buying a new phone. So yeah, the Desire is still worth it IMO. If you're not that inclined to the NFC feature then the Desire is not a bad choice IMO.

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