Related
So after getting my defy, I wondered why its such a secret among the general public - it has its own (awesome) tv advert, its really high quality, and on top of that it has android! Whats not to love?
Anyways here is a list of why any potential buyer should get this rather than a BB, iPhone etc etc
1. Android- maybe one of the more obvious reasons, but it is the most open mobile platform, meaning you can customize it exactly how you would like it rather than how a company thinks you should have it.
Supports a long list of software that any businessperson, gamer and social networker would ever need.
2. Toughness- Ever wanted to watch some youtube in the shower? well now you can, with the motorola defy anything is possible.
Ok maybe not, but still- there are many videos demonstrating how resistant this phone is to water scratches dust sand etc, so if you are one of those people who go through many phones then this is for you.
3. Screen- Soo its not the retina display, or a smexy AMOLED, but it is still amazingly beautiful at about 60% brightness(conserving battery ftw
3.7" takes up most of the phone, making it really small compared to desire, iphone etc which is nice, because wasted space kinda sucks.
4. Price- the most important point of all, its insanely cheap pricetag- £300/$400 ish for a phone that is(should be) competing with the iphone(one of the most sold phones ever, if you havent heard )
Notes:
-Can run angry birds with 0 to minimal lag -when ads appear
-Runs spyro on psx4droid at steady 50fps with minimal frames dropped (only one of my old psx games i tested so far)
-Best multitasking ability ever, wish moto included app switcher in the dropdown though
-1000 to 1100+ on Quadrant. Best score for stock 2.1? If this is the case, then it may beat some of the higher up(?) android models eg G1 when running 2.2, yey
-Decent camera at nighttime, much better than the reviewers have been saying imo. Much better than my old phone, marketed for its camera also 5mp. Obviously cant compete with actual cameras (10+) but then what phone can? excluding the n8.
-You WILL fall in love with swype. Even i was doubtful of its wizardry, however now i dont like typing normally(been about 5 days since i got it)
Real keyboards need swype (C) ?
-Personally i didnt notice the 'lag' in motoblur homescreen, its just their version of elasticity but kinda faily. Obviously switched to Lpro for 3d drawer and multidock. Dont care for the other crap.
Anyways, rant over
Hope you enjoyed the read and contstructive criticism/additional info welcome
These are the things which make me happy to be a defy's owner:
- First of all, the size of the screen compared to the size of the phone, no empty space, just a big screen covering almost all the front side, simply amazing!
- Water proof - wow.
- Great great performances! I know there were good hardware but i've been suprised looking at the score in the quadrant benchmark.
- Price, one of the cheaper phone ever if you consider specs and equipments.
- Android, a lot better than iOS and WP7 but, call me mad, not better than WiMo (i was developing WiMo apps for long time, by the programmer side i have to say there's no other mobile OS open and flexible as WiMo is).
I'm kind of in the same boat, left wondering.
I had a Froyo 2.2 based device before, with a 4.3" LCD and quite the fastest processor out there. I always found 4.3 way toooo big for my uses. The faster benchmark scores just meant my battery beeing empty earlier. I don't really care for the apple iOS hype, or for WP7 (play on both for a while).
What's really cool though is:
- It's water and dust proof/restistant. I have a life besides playing Angry Birds. I ski, hike, bike, I am actually out there when it snows or rains, or is blistering hot. I can drop the phone in the snow and it ain't dead. I can get rained out while bikeing without it crapping out.
- Motoblur. I actually do like it. I do like the Facebook/Twitter integration. I do like the fact I can upload pictures right away. Each Vendor (SE, Moto, HTC, Samsung) adds a little ontop of "stock" Android to differentiate their branch. Out of those Motoblur is actually the nicest I have seen.
- I do like the fact that Motorola has a Eclipse based developer suite that I can download without having to worry about missing bits and pieces, and then having a AVD that looks like my DEFY (ok, using a ARMV5TE emulation is a slight downfall ;-)). I do like the fact that Motorola opensources most of the bits and pieces, so that curious minds can look.
I used my BB 9700 for almost a year and switched to this phone a few days ago. First full touch screen phone I have ever owned and Im, suprisingly, happy with this phone. Fast, tough and sexy.
People should pick up the DEFY just based on the 3G reception alone. I'm so glad it has a OMAP 3630 as well. It clinched the purchase for me.
Sent from my MOTO DEFY
I have a one x, which uses the same krait processor, and among the myriad of problems, the most annoying is the lag and poor responsiveness when swiping on the tiles. It visibly lags behind when I touch it. The animations are not smooth and the tile pops up noticeably later after touching them. This causes a lot of errors and missed tiles. I have to move deliberately slowly and push down with some pressure. The rest of the game is buggy as hell to, like hangups and triggered sounds and crashes. The score counter is always screwed up, not showing the word count for one person or the other, probably because its not optimized for HD screens. My old galaxy s ii had the same lag problems, and now my newly arrived galaxy note also has the same atrocious lag problems. I can get 30-40 words more on my old ipad 1, since it is very smooth and I can let my fingers fly, either in original size or upscaled.
Has anyone tried the game on an SGS3? Are the lag problems a symptom of the android version in general? While I'm at it, I'd like to complain about how choppy the animations and panning are in words with friends.
katamari201 said:
I have a one x, which uses the same krait processor, and among the myriad of problems, the most annoying is the lag and poor responsiveness when swiping on the tiles. It visibly lags behind when I touch it. The animations are not smooth and the tile pops up noticeably later after touching them. This causes a lot of errors and missed tiles. I have to move deliberately slowly and push down with some pressure. The rest of the game is buggy as hell to, like hangups and triggered sounds and crashes. The score counter is always screwed up, not showing the word count for one person or the other, probably because its not optimized for HD screens. My old galaxy s ii had the same lag problems, and now my newly arrived galaxy note also has the same atrocious lag problems. I can get 30-40 words more on my old ipad 1, since it is very smooth and I can let my fingers fly, either in original size or upscaled.
Has anyone tried the game on an SGS3? Are the lag problems a symptom of the android version in general? While I'm at it, I'd like to complain about how choppy the animations and panning are in words with friends.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, yes.. on all android devices, scramble runs horribly especially in the end of the game where it shows which words you've found. The scrolling is beyond slow. I have a nexus 7 tablet and it runs pretty slow as well especially compared to my iPhone 4S. I love android.. but some of the apps just can't compare.
The developers of the app are to blame. They chose to cheap out on the android version, making a horrible port from iOS.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
I would like to preface this with a couple of items:
1. I have owned these Samsung mobiledevices:
Vibrant
GS 2
GS 3
GN 2
N 10
So it IS fair to say that I have a preference for Samsung devices
2. My unit, mfg date 5/11 ...does not seem to suffer from some of the screen issues that others are having. As for overheating... my GS 3 and GN 2 get blisteringly hot when running 3D intensive games. That, is a reality of mobile gaming... that much computing power in such a small, passively cooled form factor is a recipe for poor heat dissipation. Thus, I do not find the GS 4 to be any different (neither a step back nor an improvement in heat dissipation.)
Those caveats aside, here are my initial impressions:
1. Aesthetically speaking, this is the closest in form to an iPhone that I have perceived a galaxy device to be. Does it bother me...not particularly, but it does give credence to those who bemoan "copy cat" and others who say that the galaxy design ethos is a bit... "tired".
2. Remaining on aesthetics for a moment, which is a very subjective matter....mind you, the GS 4 does not hold a candle to the HTC one. In my opinion, one is a ground-up rethink of mobile design with "form" being a primary emphasis... the other a simple continuation of a design that has met with success in the market. While the GS 4 is not ugly... the HTC One IS stunning. I tip my cap to HTC... (and to some extent sony), and hope that it will push Mobile Divisions to approach future design, with part ruler and part brush.
3. Durability: Now I don't have the stones to just drop my phone; nor has my ownership period been long enough to rebuke anyone else...but the device feels surprisingly sturdy in my hands. Reading some of the comments on the board... and coming from the Brick that is the GN 2 (which survived several falls unscathed), I expected the GS 4 to be a porcelain doll. Frail and fragile to the touch. Not the case. It is clearly lighter than the GS 3 and slimmer as well, but it does not feel like it was done to so at the expense of durability. Now I know that there are plenty of comments and reviews that dispute this... but, in MY hands, some of the initial concern that was raised by all reports has been dispelled. I hope (keyword) that the hairline fractures some have experienced are a mfg anomaly and not a design flaw.
4. Smart gestures: I am one, who truly thinks that this could be a revolution in mobile technology...and I admire what Sammy is trying to accomplish here. But (you knew one was coming), the current implementation just feels not-ready-for-primetime. The gestures do not respond as intended all the time... and sometimes they just flat out don't work. When they do... it is impressive, and is a window in the future of interaction with technology. Given time, I think samsung will iron the kinks out.... I just don't think we will see that on the GS 4.
5. UI: Touchwiz is a love or hate proposition for many... personally, I tend to use some functions and replace others. That being said, whether its smart gesture integration, poor coding or loads of bloatware...sammy dropped the ball here. The UI feels clunky and gimmiky... and lags on hardware that should easily breeze through transitions, screen renders and app launches. You can literally feel the Snapdragon chomping on the bit... being restrained by a poorly designed UI. This to me, was the largest disappointment. Not because I don't think I can fix with kernel and Rom installations... but rather because I was so impressed with how far touchwiz had come on my GN2. This feels like a huge step back... with stutters and judder reminiscent of my Vibrant. For me aesthetics are a luxury... but function is a necessity. Multi-window does feel much smoother in this implementation...so there is that, but still, for shame sammy (don't take 1 step back for every 2 forward). Again, our community will most certainly solve these issues... but it should not exist out of the box for premium hardware.
6. Camera: Very simply, impressive. Will it replace your D9...or any nice DSLR? No. Does it take sharp photos, with a bevy of adjustments, filters and post processing perks? Yes. Can it serve as an everyday shooter? Absolutely. Crisp photos, quick autofocus and no shutter lag make it a joy to snap shots with. Low light performance does lag behind some other phones (notably Nokia and HTC)... but I find this to be the only shortcoming.
7. GPS: It works. Well. I will never....ever.... ever...forget the vibrant debacle. It is the first thing I check on all my TMO samsung devices
8. Display: I left this for last... because, really if you didn't read anything else (TL;DR) then know this: the display ALONE is worth the price of admission. Maybe I have been conditioned as such... but when it comes to mobile devices give me the deep blacks of AMOLED over LCD. Furthermore, sammy had learned a bit from the community, and toned down some of the intrinsic oversaturation. The clarity, rendering and overall visual candy of the 1080x1920 Super AMOLDED is OUTSTANDING. Apple, HTC, LG all make excellent flagship phones... this is reality. No one touches the display technology of Samsung, yet... this is fact. The pixel density allows for the obliteration of any aliasing due to the pentile arrangement. It is jaw-dropping. For those who have gotten a device with screen issues... I wouldn't wait, return it and return it and return it until you get one that is perfect, because it is well worth the hassle.
Conclusion:
Is the Galaxy design, tired and in need of a refresh...probably. Is the HTC One the "prettiest" device on the market... certainly. Did touchwiz initially sour my excitement...definitely. However, those who compare the GS3 to GS4 evolution to the iPhone X to iPhone Xs tract... neither know android nor samsung hardware. Though the design is not a complete or even partial refresh (though I love the way the GS4 feels in my hand as compared to the GS3 and even my GN2) this phone is clearly the next step forward in Samsungs continued mobile presence. The hardware is top notch and only slightly fettered by TW. The display is stunning and the camera and accompanying software a leap forward from both the GN2 and GS3. The continued dedication to sd card expansion and removable batteries should not be underscored.
Perhaps the GN3 or the next GS will feature an aesthetic redesign befitting the hardware inside... and if that is of the utmost importance, than by all means you can wait. Or buy the One, (which in my time with, I did truly enjoy...). But...
If you are eligible for the upgrade... or have some coin kicking around, I can say with all confidence that Galaxy S4 is a top flight device... and quite possibly the best available on the market today.
Nice review Poser. I too have had an GS2, GS3, GN2 and now GS4. I feel you have hit it right on the head. TW is disappointing and the hardware isn't very exciting (except cam). But the device is top notch and Sammy did a good job overall. I came from VZW to Tmobs because of Wifi call/text. Such a great feature!!!
I just got a s4. My old phone was the s3. The phone is great but heres my view on it. It is no different than the s3 except it is faster cpu wise and has a higher res screen. If u had an s3 next to an s4 (like i do) and played around with both of them you would think its the same phone. Some of the features are pointless on the s4. Like air guestures (in my opinion). They are novelties. Why wave my hand 3 inches above the screen to scroll through pictures when i could simply just lower my finger 3 inches and swipe through my pics? All and all it is the fastest phone out and im happy i got it. But if i was goin to keep my s3 though, there wouldnt be much differance.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
As much as some people despise TouchWiz and the Samsung Apps that are preloaded, I actually like using some of the features.
I think, so far, my favorite is the Air Hover where I can preview emails.
Nice op. I had the S3 on Sprint, which was a great device as long as I was on Wifi. So far I have been very happy with the S4 on T Mobile. All the pros as noted above, plus an affordable data plan with excellent coverage for my areas. The wifi calling feature is simply awesome and all carriers should have this technology built in. As far as touchwiz goes, I find it to be functionally quite similar to vanilla android, meaning the basic functions work the same way. For example, adding widgets or adding a shortcut to the dock is done easily (as opposed to how the latest Sense does it). The esthetics are a different matter but are easily altered. Lag is zero with some basic tweaks.
Very well worded essay, Poser. My thanks for addressing aspects of the phone that are important to me (how well the GPS works in particular, which few people seem to comment on). I too hope (and expect) that the reports of screen cracks are an indication of defective samples and not a design flaw. I find it hard to believe that the design would not have been subject to a battery of stress tests.
I spent some time looking at and handling the phone at Best Buy, and I liked how it felt in my hand. That experience makes me dismiss comments about the plastic construction. Seeing the phone up close and personal also showed me just how gorgeous the display is (it truly is eye candy), and thanks for emphasizing this point.
Some additional thoughts:
1. Wifi calling is exceptional when it works flawlessly... I have noticed that it does experience voice dropouts, call answering issues and connecting issues. This was a problem that was present in my S3 GN2 and S4, and does seem to be software propigated (independent of access point).
2. Disabling smart gestures and home key activation of S Voice... SIGNIFICANTLY reduces lag
3. The screen is Amazing. I cant say this enough,
Coming form sgsii
While rebooting, flashing roms, running ANY benchmark, taking video, or browsing the web the phone compared to my SGSII gets way hotter than i would have ever imagined. maybe it is just my phone, however i cant get a stable overclock at all. my MAX stable OC is 1999mhz..... really? that's just a 100mhz overhead from stock........ a 5.2% increase in speed is all i can get.......... in contrast my SGSII i was able to get 300mhz out of it (25% increase in speed) and it would run cooler than this phone on stock.....
however at stock speeds the SGS4 is snappy, lag free, FAST, comfortable to hold, poor battery life, bright screen, alright overall
7 out of 10 is what i give MY phone. as it did meet my personal expectations. I was hoping for 2.2ghz cpu stable 550mhz gpu and then i could see it getting as hot as it is now. i guess i just got a poor OC phone
I'm thinking about shorting the circuit board while it is on, and if that doesn't work, i will hook up usb cable to straight 120VAC wall current and see if it explodes. at least i would get a different phone....
overall disappointed in the phone i got, however the phone itself, like most Samsung products is GREAT!
jimmboonline said:
While rebooting, flashing roms, running ANY benchmark, taking video, or browsing the web the phone compared to my SGSII gets way hotter than i would have ever imagined. maybe it is just my phone, however i cant get a stable overclock at all. my MAX stable OC is 1999mhz..... really? that's just a 100mhz overhead from stock........ a 5.2% increase in speed is all i can get.......... in contrast my SGSII i was able to get 300mhz out of it (25% increase in speed) and it would run cooler than this phone on stock.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, IIRC the GS2 only had a dual core CPU clocked around 1.2-1.5GHz, so to be fair you can expect the GS2 to be cooler and more stable since the stock speed is lower and less cores.
jimmboonline said:
I'm thinking about shorting the circuit board while it is on, and if that doesn't work, i will hook up usb cable to straight 120VAC wall current and see if it explodes. at least i would get a different phone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to see a video of that...
Poser said:
I would like to preface this with a couple of items:
1. I have owned these Samsung mobiledevices:
Vibrant
GS 2
GS 3
GN 2
N 10
So it IS fair to say that I have a preference for Samsung devices
2. My unit, mfg date 5/11 ...does not seem to suffer from some of the screen issues that others are having. As for overheating... my GS 3 and GN 2 get blisteringly hot when running 3D intensive games. That, is a reality of mobile gaming... that much computing power in such a small, passively cooled form factor is a recipe for poor heat dissipation. Thus, I do not find the GS 4 to be any different (neither a step back nor an improvement in heat dissipation.)
Those caveats aside, here are my initial impressions:
1. Aesthetically speaking, this is the closest in form to an iPhone that I have perceived a galaxy device to be. Does it bother me...not particularly, but it does give credence to those who bemoan "copy cat" and others who say that the galaxy design ethos is a bit... "tired".
2. Remaining on aesthetics for a moment, which is a very subjective matter....mind you, the GS 4 does not hold a candle to the HTC one. In my opinion, one is a ground-up rethink of mobile design with "form" being a primary emphasis... the other a simple continuation of a design that has met with success in the market. While the GS 4 is not ugly... the HTC One IS stunning. I tip my cap to HTC... (and to some extent sony), and hope that it will push Mobile Divisions to approach future design, with part ruler and part brush.
3. Durability: Now I don't have the stones to just drop my phone; nor has my ownership period been long enough to rebuke anyone else...but the device feels surprisingly sturdy in my hands. Reading some of the comments on the board... and coming from the Brick that is the GN 2 (which survived several falls unscathed), I expected the GS 4 to be a porcelain doll. Frail and fragile to the touch. Not the case. It is clearly lighter than the GS 3 and slimmer as well, but it does not feel like it was done to so at the expense of durability. Now I know that there are plenty of comments and reviews that dispute this... but, in MY hands, some of the initial concern that was raised by all reports has been dispelled. I hope (keyword) that the hairline fractures some have experienced are a mfg anomaly and not a design flaw.
4. Smart gestures: I am one, who truly thinks that this could be a revolution in mobile technology...and I admire what Sammy is trying to accomplish here. But (you knew one was coming), the current implementation just feels not-ready-for-primetime. The gestures do not respond as intended all the time... and sometimes they just flat out don't work. When they do... it is impressive, and is a window in the future of interaction with technology. Given time, I think samsung will iron the kinks out.... I just don't think we will see that on the GS 4.
5. UI: Touchwiz is a love or hate proposition for many... personally, I tend to use some functions and replace others. That being said, whether its smart gesture integration, poor coding or loads of bloatware...sammy dropped the ball here. The UI feels clunky and gimmiky... and lags on hardware that should easily breeze through transitions, screen renders and app launches. You can literally feel the Snapdragon chomping on the bit... being restrained by a poorly designed UI. This to me, was the largest disappointment. Not because I don't think I can fix with kernel and Rom installations... but rather because I was so impressed with how far touchwiz had come on my GN2. This feels like a huge step back... with stutters and judder reminiscent of my Vibrant. For me aesthetics are a luxury... but function is a necessity. Multi-window does feel much smoother in this implementation...so there is that, but still, for shame sammy (don't take 1 step back for every 2 forward). Again, our community will most certainly solve these issues... but it should not exist out of the box for premium hardware.
6. Camera: Very simply, impressive. Will it replace your D9...or any nice DSLR? No. Does it take sharp photos, with a bevy of adjustments, filters and post processing perks? Yes. Can it serve as an everyday shooter? Absolutely. Crisp photos, quick autofocus and no shutter lag make it a joy to snap shots with. Low light performance does lag behind some other phones (notably Nokia and HTC)... but I find this to be the only shortcoming.
7. GPS: It works. Well. I will never....ever.... ever...forget the vibrant debacle. It is the first thing I check on all my TMO samsung devices
8. Display: I left this for last... because, really if you didn't read anything else (TL;DR) then know this: the display ALONE is worth the price of admission. Maybe I have been conditioned as such... but when it comes to mobile devices give me the deep blacks of AMOLED over LCD. Furthermore, sammy had learned a bit from the community, and toned down some of the intrinsic oversaturation. The clarity, rendering and overall visual candy of the 1080x1920 Super AMOLDED is OUTSTANDING. Apple, HTC, LG all make excellent flagship phones... this is reality. No one touches the display technology of Samsung, yet... this is fact. The pixel density allows for the obliteration of any aliasing due to the pentile arrangement. It is jaw-dropping. For those who have gotten a device with screen issues... I wouldn't wait, return it and return it and return it until you get one that is perfect, because it is well worth the hassle.
Conclusion:
Is the Galaxy design, tired and in need of a refresh...probably. Is the HTC One the "prettiest" device on the market... certainly. Did touchwiz initially sour my excitement...definitely. However, those who compare the GS3 to GS4 evolution to the iPhone X to iPhone Xs tract... neither know android nor samsung hardware. Though the design is not a complete or even partial refresh (though I love the way the GS4 feels in my hand as compared to the GS3 and even my GN2) this phone is clearly the next step forward in Samsungs continued mobile presence. The hardware is top notch and only slightly fettered by TW. The display is stunning and the camera and accompanying software a leap forward from both the GN2 and GS3. The continued dedication to sd card expansion and removable batteries should not be underscored.
Perhaps the GN3 or the next GS will feature an aesthetic redesign befitting the hardware inside... and if that is of the utmost importance, than by all means you can wait. Or buy the One, (which in my time with, I did truly enjoy...). But...
If you are eligible for the upgrade... or have some coin kicking around, I can say with all confidence that Galaxy S4 is a top flight device... and quite possibly the best available on the market today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
great review OP, thanks!
Hi,
currently I am thinking about swithing from N7 2012 (grouper) to 8.4 (non-LTE) and I am little bit scared from what I read here or on any other sites...
I read lot about lags, poor performance, these problems were slightly mentioned even in reviews. But when I am reading here how many problems 8.4 user`s have I am thinking of buying Shield Tablet.
Can anybody please provide his own opinion on the 8.4 version? Is really real life performance that bad? - Benchmarks show different things...
Thanks for your replies...
senel said:
Hi,
currently I am thinking about swithing from N7 2012 (grouper) to 8.4 (non-LTE) and I am little bit scared from what I read here or on any other sites...
I read lot about lags, poor performance, these problems were slightly mentioned even in reviews. But when I am reading here how many problems 8.4 user`s have I am thinking of buying Shield Tablet.
Can anybody please provide his own opinion on the 8.4 version? Is really real life performance that bad? - Benchmarks show different things...
Thanks for your replies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 8.4 Tab s and performance wise I think it's good. I haven't noticed any lags. I'm not running anything out of the ordinary though. I don't play games on it. Mostly for media consumption. Battery life has also been good. It can comfortably last a day browsing and watching videos.
Quality control on the other hand I'm not too happy about. This is my third Tab S. The first two had a dead pixel, so I exchanged them. On this one no dead pixel, but there's a pink tint on a slight tilt. It's noticeable when I put the Tab S on a desk for example in portrait orientation. Obviously in that case I would be viewing the device tilted since it would be uncomfortable for me to put my head directly over it over the desk.
I am afraid of input lags mentioned here on forums. I'd like the tablet for taking notes and mainly consume content.
I am not hardcore gamer, but sometimes I like to play games like FIFA or Autumn Dynasty.
YouTube videos shows pretty good gaming performance and also pretty significant lags in Touchwiz. Are there really that bad or is was solved by update?
I would say it's pretty decent replacement for Nexus 7. Shield tablet also looks good (and has stylus - big plus) but the display and is not as good.
senel said:
I am afraid of input lags mentioned here on forums. I'd like the tablet for taking notes and mainly consume content.
I am not hardcore gamer, but sometimes I like to play games like FIFA or Autumn Dynasty.
YouTube videos shows pretty good gaming performance and also pretty significant lags in Touchwiz. Are there really that bad or is was solved by update?
I would say it's pretty decent replacement for Nexus 7. Shield tablet also looks good (and has stylus - big plus) but the display and is not as good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TouchWiz has been fine for me. No lag.
senel said:
I am afraid of input lags mentioned here on forums. I'd like the tablet for taking notes and mainly consume content.
I am not hardcore gamer, but sometimes I like to play games like FIFA or Autumn Dynasty.
YouTube videos shows pretty good gaming performance and also pretty significant lags in Touchwiz. Are there really that bad or is was solved by update?
I would say it's pretty decent replacement for Nexus 7. Shield tablet also looks good (and has stylus - big plus) but the display and is not as good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not going to pay 5 dollars to test a game for you, but I would be happy to download fifa14 and any other free game to test for you.
I am getting unbearable lag in Simpsons Tapped Out, so I'm curious to know how other games perform on this tablet. Let me know if any games come to mind that you would like me to test out
senel said:
I am afraid of input lags mentioned here on forums. I'd like the tablet for taking notes and mainly consume content.
I am not hardcore gamer, but sometimes I like to play games like FIFA or Autumn Dynasty.
YouTube videos shows pretty good gaming performance and also pretty significant lags in Touchwiz. Are there really that bad or is was solved by update?
I would say it's pretty decent replacement for Nexus 7. Shield tablet also looks good (and has stylus - big plus) but the display and is not as good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love my Tab S 8.4, but I have two concerns about it:
- Screen homogeneity
- Performances
Let's start with screen homogeneity:
I exchanged the tablet several times and tested some more in stores. All of them were affected by screen homogeneity issues. I am being really touchy here, as it is only visible in specific situations: Extremely dark homogenous images that are not black, looked at in the darkness. The background used for TouchWiz settings for instance si affected: When looking at it in the darkness, I can see a gradiant from a dark deep blue to a lighter, green tinted blue. It looks quite good, but it's a deflect known as "mura effect".
Besides that, this is pretty much a non issue when looking at bright/mixed colors. The colors are vibrant, the contrast increadible, the blacks are black and the viewing angles are excellent. The counterpart is that the low quality of some textures become much more obvious with such a good screen.
Now, the performance part is more annoying:
Coming from a Note 8.0 and a Nexus 7 2013, I was hoping for much better performances on the Tab S 8.4. And I am disappointed.
The unit does to be swifter, but it's lacks smoothness. It could be related to the amount of pixels to display, to the lack of GFX power, to poor Exynos/Firmware optimization, to TW issue... but the result is a lack of perceived performances compared to my previous tablets.
Again, I am being touchy: I am used to perfectly smooth animations on 2013 tablets, and I notice stuttering and slower animations in general on this one. Here are some examples comparing Nexus 7 2013 to Tab S 8.4:
- Opening/Closing windows or apps animation: This one is 100% smooth on the N7, while often stuttering on S 8.4. At its best it can look smooth, but N7 will still look smoother. It also affects fading effects during loading times: In the playstore for instance, when loading a new page the fading effect tends to stutter.
On another hand, apps are loading slightly faster on Tab S 8.4.
- Games: I tested Riptide GP2 and Asphalt 8, and am now installing Fifa 14. Both game are running ok, but suffer from DPS drops. Riptide GP2 automatically goes for average settings, and still doesn't run as smooth as it does on my N7.
- Perfect Viewer (Comics reader) and Moon+ Reader (e-book reader): Two of my favourite apps, both of them are quite obviously running smoother on my N7 than on Tab S 8.4. By smoother, I mean scrolling pages with a higher FPS.
- Web browsing: No issue here, the pages are loading quickly (maybe even faster than on N7)
- Benchmarks: No issues here either. The Tab S 8.4 is a killer in benchmarks, with theorically a good 50% more performances than N7 2013. It looks like the power is there, and is optimized for benchmarks.
- TW scrolling: Extremely smooth, nothing to report here. Every launcher I tried ran smoothly when it comes to scrolling, but all are still affected with transitions during loading times.
As a bottomline, my feeling is mixed up. The power is obviously there, but it looks like only few apps are optimized for it. I hope to see improvement in future firmware, official or not.
Because even through these issues, this is an increadible piece of hardware. Difficilt to handle without a cover (it is too thin, and so are its borders), but well built, extremely slim and with an increadible display. It would definitely be an iPad killer if it was backed up by as much optimization efforts as Apple puts in its devices.
ukael said:
I love my Tab S 8.4, but I have two concerns about it:
- Screen homogeneity
- Performances
Let's start with screen homogeneity:
I exchanged the tablet several times and tested some more in stores. All of them were affected by screen homogeneity issues. I am being really touchy here, as it is only visible in specific situations: Extremely dark homogenous images that are not black, looked at in the darkness. The background used for TouchWiz settings for instance si affected: When looking at it in the darkness, I can see a gradiant from a dark deep blue to a lighter, green tinted blue. It looks quite good, but it's a deflect known as "mura effect".
Besides that, this is pretty much a non issue when looking at bright/mixed colors. The colors are vibrant, the contrast increadible, the blacks are black and the viewing angles are excellent. The counterpart is that the low quality of some textures become much more obvious with such a good screen.
Now, the performance part is more annoying:
Coming from a Note 8.0 and a Nexus 7 2013, I was hoping for much better performances on the Tab S 8.4. And I am disappointed.
The unit does to be swifter, but it's lacks smoothness. It could be related to the amount of pixels to display, to the lack of GFX power, to poor Exynos/Firmware optimization, to TW issue... but the result is a lack of perceived performances compared to my previous tablets.
Again, I am being touchy: I am used to perfectly smooth animations on 2013 tablets, and I notice stuttering and slower animations in general on this one. Here are some examples comparing Nexus 7 2013 to Tab S 8.4:
- Opening/Closing windows or apps animation: This one is 100% smooth on the N7, while often stuttering on S 8.4. At its best it can look smooth, but N7 will still look smoother. It also affects fading effects during loading times: In the playstore for instance, when loading a new page the fading effect tends to stutter.
On another hand, apps are loading slightly faster on Tab S 8.4.
- Games: I tested Riptide GP2 and Asphalt 8, and am now installing Fifa 14. Both game are running ok, but suffer from DPS drops. Riptide GP2 automatically goes for average settings, and still doesn't run as smooth as it does on my N7.
- Perfect Viewer (Comics reader) and Moon+ Reader (e-book reader): Two of my favourite apps, both of them are quite obviously running smoother on my N7 than on Tab S 8.4. By smoother, I mean scrolling pages with a higher FPS.
- Web browsing: No issue here, the pages are loading quickly (maybe even faster than on N7)
- Benchmarks: No issues here either. The Tab S 8.4 is a killer in benchmarks, with theorically a good 50% more performances than N7 2013. It looks like the power is there, and is optimized for benchmarks.
- TW scrolling: Extremely smooth, nothing to report here. Every launcher I tried ran smoothly when it comes to scrolling, but all are still affected with transitions during loading times.
As a bottomline, my feeling is mixed up. The power is obviously there, but it looks like only few apps are optimized for it. I hope to see improvement in future firmware, official or not.
Because even through these issues, this is an increadible piece of hardware. Difficilt to handle without a cover (it is too thin, and so are its borders), but well built, extremely slim and with an increadible display. It would definitely be an iPad killer if it was backed up by as much optimization efforts as Apple puts in its devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your exhaustive post. It gives me pretty good overview over the 8.4 situation and basically confirms my worris. However I`m still tillted towards to buy it.
I read that using 3rd party cases that covers whole back causes back cover deformations. It would be major issue for me if it`s true. Samsung stated that it was SW issue, however many users were complaining about poor plastic used to back cover. So I understand that solution is to OEM cover. Am I right?
And another question: About the year ago Samsung stated that future Exynos 5 power devices (http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/samsungs-exynos-5-octa-hmp/) will use 8 cores at same time. This was only mention I found since then. What`s the situation now? Can 8.4 use all 8 cores simultaneously?
senel said:
Thank you for your exhaustive post. It gives me pretty good overview over the 8.4 situation and basically confirms my worris. However I`m still tillted towards to buy it.
I read that using 3rd party cases that covers whole back causes back cover deformations. It would be major issue for me if it`s true. Samsung stated that it was SW issue, however many users were complaining about poor plastic used to back cover. So I understand that solution is to OEM cover. Am I right?
And another question: About the year ago Samsung stated that future Exynos 5 power devices (http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/samsungs-exynos-5-octa-hmp/) will use 8 cores at same time. This was only mention I found since then. What`s the situation now? Can 8.4 use all 8 cores simultaneously?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not seen any tab affected by the back cover issues. The quality of the back on mine looks excellent, and feels great.
I personally use the official book cover. It's a little bit heavy, but extremely slim and nicely hardened. Once in position, it has a strong grip on the tab and becomes an efficient support with multiple viewing angles.
senel said:
Hi,
currently I am thinking about swithing from N7 2012 (grouper) to 8.4 (non-LTE) and I am little bit scared from what I read here or on any other sites...
I read lot about lags, poor performance, these problems were slightly mentioned even in reviews. But when I am reading here how many problems 8.4 user`s have I am thinking of buying Shield Tablet.
Can anybody please provide his own opinion on the 8.4 version? Is really real life performance that bad? - Benchmarks show different things...
Thanks for your replies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey man, I have the SM-T700 rooted and with the SkyHigh kernel, OCed to 2.1GHz, and UVed and it's fully stable, as well and runs cool. I absolutely love it. Build quality is very good, feels solid but light. For me, everything is perfect! It runs games and all apps incredibly. The smoothness of the touch input is the 2nd thing I noticed were very good. The first was the ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL display! I could hardly spot a single pixel from 2 Inches away!! The colors are brilliantly vibrant! I would definitely recommend it for any and all uses. I can't find a single flaw!(and I've tried to!) The book cover case is also very nice, sturdy, and feels good in your hand! Definitely a great choice! Excells in performance and beauty!
---------- Post added at 01:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:15 AM ----------
senel said:
Hi,
currently I am thinking about swithing from N7 2012 (grouper) to 8.4 (non-LTE) and I am little bit scared from what I read here or on any other sites...
I read lot about lags, poor performance, these problems were slightly mentioned even in reviews. But when I am reading here how many problems 8.4 user`s have I am thinking of buying Shield Tablet.
Can anybody please provide his own opinion on the 8.4 version? Is really real life performance that bad? - Benchmarks show different things...
Thanks for your replies...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take my tablet everywhere! And I have no issues with battery life! Real life performance for me is very good! No hangs or lags with touchwiz for me.
---------- Post added at 01:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 AM ----------
senel said:
Thank you for your exhaustive post. It gives me pretty good overview over the 8.4 situation and basically confirms my worris. However I`m still tillted towards to buy it.
I read that using 3rd party cases that covers whole back causes back cover deformations. It would be major issue for me if it`s true. Samsung stated that it was SW issue, however many users were complaining about poor plastic used to back cover. So I understand that solution is to OEM cover. Am I right?
And another question: About the year ago Samsung stated that future Exynos 5 power devices (http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/09/samsungs-exynos-5-octa-hmp/) will use 8 cores at same time. This was only mention I found since then. What`s the situation now? Can 8.4 use all 8 cores simultaneously?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep! The little cores take on smaller tasks while the big ones do the heavy lifting.
Once more, thank you guys for feedback.
Today, I ordered tablet, price was little bit ridiculous in my country - almost $600 for non-LTE variant, lol.
Next problem is cover, Samsung does not sell their`s covers in my country and I dont want to pay another $80 - $120 on ebay for Samsung book cover or flip cover.
Can somebody recommend me good cover? I am thinking about this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Baseus-Leather-Case-Cover-with-Sleep-function-For-Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-S-8-4-T700-/281400790543?pt=US_Tablet_eReader_Cases_Covers_Keyboard_Folios&var=&hash=item4184cb4e0f
How do these two games run on the Razer phone?
DC Legends
StarWars Galaxy Of Heroes
Do they run as good as they do on iPhone?
I had Note 8 and they ran poor. Frame rate wasn’t smooth. They ran poor on GS8+ too.
Is there Visual voicemail on the phone like with any provider? Or Att?
Is it only GSM? I’d use Att as my provider if no cdma.
Ran both games just now with out game booster at 90hz 0 issues. Will run game booster tommorow and share my results
Thanks. They ran perfectly smooth or something?
If they run good on the Razer, why do you think that is? It’s essentially the same phone as the others I tried except with the screen being faster hz but I’m not sure if that would make a difference.
Smooth no issues, the only difference is clock speed and ram... Guessing those factors played a role, will see if i can screen record and upload the video
These games don’t run good on the Note 8 and the Razer and Note 8 have the same cpu and gpu with the Note 8 at 6gb ram and Razer 8gb. Don’t think the ram would make any difference. Frame rate isn’t that good on the Note 8. It’s decent but I can see jerky game play and menus/screens don’t load as good as I think they should.
My iPhone 6s Plus plays these two games absolutely perfect. Very fast screen loading and very smooth gameplay. My iPhone 8 Plus is even faster with loading etc of course.
I just don’t get it. The over two year old iPhone 6s Plus is perfect yet the Note 8 doesn’t even come close.
I just wonder if the Razer having less or no bloat and the screen makes the difference.
These two games are the only games I play consistently. Then WorldWarfare once in a while.
YT Link Star Wars
DC Legends
The SW video is at 720p(Newb Mistake), the DC one is at FullHD after moving the recorder Settings >.>
Thank you. Was the number shown the frame rate?
That looked like it runs a bit better then my note 8 when I had it but not 100% sure.
Be nice if there was someplace local to test.
Do you like those games at all?
buggs1a said:
Thank you. Was the number shown the frame rate?
That looked like it runs a bit better then my note 8 when I had it but not 100% sure.
Be nice if there was someplace local to test.
Do you like those games at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the Green #s where frame rate, i do like the style of games as you can see in the SW game im lv 20, but im also poor and cant afford micro transactions so i have to grind it out.
Im more oriented into controller supported games like the GTA's. MAX Payne 1, limbo and currently Street Fighter IV on mobile and a TON of Emulators.
Honorable mentions : Need for Speed No limits, Tekken, Mario run and Hitman Sniper.
Is there anyway I could use that screen recorder app on my Moto X Pure? Free? I’d like to see the frame rate of those 2 games on my only android phone.
And is this possible to do on iPhone? See the frame rate?
Just my opinion but it would seem to me that it would be easier to make games run smoothly on an iPhone because of the OS and hardware are designed together. That would make it easier to optimize for. Android is all over the place with OS version and hardware that it runs on. That is just the difference between a closed and open system.
buggs1a said:
Is there anyway I could use that screen recorder app on my Moto X Pure? Free? I’d like to see the frame rate of those 2 games on my only android phone.
And is this possible to do on iPhone? See the frame rate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Recorder is free at the store
DU Recorder
as for the FPS i enabled them in Developer Options, but i dont know if the fps counter available in all phones.
I don’t see a developer options in the du app.
Ok I see. The developer option is in the phone system settings. But which one shows FPS?
Anyone know?
buggs1a said:
Anyone know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Under monitoring
Thanks. I don’t have that. How can I get that info otherwise?
I wonder why the Moto X Pure doesn’t have that option?
I sold my moto x Pure last night. Now I need an unlocked cdma and gsm phone but don’t know what to get.
So the issue I have with this comparison is your comparing a game quality of play ability for 2 different OS's. They will NEVER be comparable. The programming for one phone vs the other is different. Memory management is different. graphics processing is different. The processor itself runs different because of the load the OS puts onto the system itself. The better part of the comparison is between the Note 8 and the Razer. The answer is probobly a mixture of Ram, screen refresh rates and OS.
I agree with you ^^^^
I just got the Razer Phone today.
It plays DC Legends great. Much better then the s8+ I tried last year and much better then the note 8. No idea why. Maybe ram. But don’t think it’s been optimized for the 120hz screen because I guess if it was you’d be able to tell and it’d be way way smooth. But it was in the couple battles I did close to my iPhones and no android I’ve tried even comes close except the Razer does. It’s nice.
I have not tried Star Wars Galaxy Of Heroes. Will tomorrow or tonight.
The ui in the Razer is super smooth and fast. Not even 120hz. Apps open way fast and web pages load super quick.
Best phone speakers by a lot.
Screen is overall really nice but with one major issue. Major to me. It’s viewing angle is terrible. It’s a typical IPS screen. Looks nice but once you’re off center it immediately falls way short. Still ok but I’m just rating it very poor. I’d guess any other high end phone last year to now has a better viewing angle. All iPhones since 6s Plus have a better screen I think.
So a speedy phone is let down buy an ok screen. Clear text etc but poor viewing angle let it down. Enough that if the gs9+ plays my games good I’m getting that instead. But of course their screens are amazing.
I like the Razer a lot except for the screen viewing angle. I lay my phone down on my bed flat while I use it and it’s always slightly above my face so I’m off center.
Take that back. My iPhone 8 Plus has a poor viewing angle too.