Develop Bugs

Bought a galaxy s II… comparison to my EVO 3D

So I added another line to my account yesterday. Decided (with the 14 day trial period in mind) to try out samsung’s “epic 4G touch” or the galaxy s II as people call it.
First of all, I will say that I went into this with an unbiased motive. I love my evo 3D, but I am always open minded and the fact that my last Samsung phone was terrible (Samsung moment) will have nothing to do with this review. There are pros and cons to any mobile device. There are pros and cons to my 3D. That being said… here is my analysis.
Display – first of all, I will say that the galaxy s II absolutely trumps the evo 3D in the color department on the display. Simply beautiful vibrant colors no matter what you have on the screen. I was immediately impressed by this. Pictures, HD wallpapers, side by side I could see a huge difference in the evo and the sgs2. The touch screen responsiveness, however, was a different story. I was almost annoyed by the sgs2’s inferior responsiveness compared to the 3D. The evo would respond to the slightest tap or flick on the screen whereas the sgs2 required considerably more effort to get the point across to the UI. This was especially obnoxious when texting and trying to quickly back out of the messaging app after hitting send. The evo responds to every touch, and does so immediately, without delay.
UI – a lot of people knock the sense UI. One thing I realized when comparing the two was the evo’s UI is very simple and straight forward/easy to manipulate. I hated touchwiz and the stock launcher as soon as I began to interact with it. I immediately installed zeam launcher to get rid of the obnoxious “iphone look and feel” of the Stock Sammy launcher. I do, however, ABSOLUTELY LOVE the way Samsung implemented the messaging application with the lock screen – simple, straight forward, and very logical. One thing that really annoys me with the sense UI is when you receive a message from anybody and navigate from the lock screen to your messages, it just takes you to your inbox, rather than the actual message. The sgs2 is very efficient for heavy texters such as myself – unlock the phone, bam you are right there reading the entire message. I find the lock screen a little annoying sometimes, however, when simply wanting to unlock the device. I don’t understand why it is necessary to slide the entire lockscreen image off the screen. Sense is better at this. Several times I have had to flick a couple times to unlock the phone. Whereas the “lockring” style of sense is again more simple and straight forward. Also, there is some delay when putting the device (sgs2) to sleep and waking it up. I simply find that annoying and think this should be a simple on and off process. The evo, again, more responsive and simplified with this basic function. And I like having custom shortcuts on my lock screen… which the sgs2 UI does not offer. Overall I would say the two were about even for me… good pros to both, and significant cons to both (for my needs).
Camera and other hardware – the video quality on the sgs2 was better than the evo, not by much, but better. The 1080p video recording was very nice looking on the display and had better quality/color overall when I viewed them on the computer. Last night when I was talking to my fiancé on the phone she said she could hear some static noise. It was faint at first but got louder on her end, I couldn’t hear it, but I called her on my evo and it went away immediately. Seems the microphone isn’t up to par with the 3D’s.
The big one…. POWER CONSUMPTION – so here I am on 6 hours 33 minutes of moderately heavy use with the sgs2 (about 100 or so text messages, a couple phone calls, and a little bit of web browsing, plus the tinkering and fidgeting with the phone that we all do when we are bored, lol.) and I am looking at a battery depleted to 70% remaining… I also work in a location where signal strength isn’t very strong, and 4G is nowhere to be found, but I have to say that I was expecting less. The phone is very efficient when it comes to utilizing power. I am pretty confident that by the end of the night I will still have a little bit left over. To be perfectly honest, it would be hard to get an accurate comparison of the evo’s battery drain because since a few days after I bought it I had the seido “brick battery” in it lol. Maybe somebody else can chime in on how their 3D is doing on a stock battery under similar conditions (with no undervolting, or overclocking… as my phone is 100% stock right now).
Going back to the display, again, I think the evo’s screen size is optimal for me. The sgs2 seems a little too wide when holding it and trying to reach the keys to send a message. Also, the stock keyboard is terrible on the sgs2. But I have always used smartkeyboard pro anyways, so it didn’t effect me, just something I noticed. The buttons were annoyingly tiny and spaced too far… I felt like I was typing on an iphone (oh em gee ***t hits fan nowz)… i suppose that bit about the KB could have been included in the UI review, but oh well.
Software – I personally think sense 3.0 blows this thing out of the water in so many ways. I hate the slowness and bulkiness of the Samsung UI, there is no customization of the messaging app whatsoever, whereas sense you have a plethora of added features such as MMS size, secure box, message forwarding, integration with facebook, etc. The music player on the Samsung is way better, however, and the sound quality is mind boggling. I could not believe the difference between the two it was really night and day. Again, pros and cons to each. Overall, I find the sgs2 to be a lot slower than the evo when it comes to responsiveness and overall tasking. Also, I find that my 3G cuts out and the phone roams a little bit more when I am at work. My evo would rarely jump into roaming mode even in areas where signal was not as strong. Also, my 4G seems to be slower by about 250 kb/s on average, I have not seen the phone download any faster than 1 mb/s as of yet. My evo does this on a regular basis.
Overall, I would have to say that both are good, but key elements in the UI make the evo a better choice for me. I HATE lag and unresponsiveness. The sgs2 lags incessantly when using the home, back, and menu keys on the bottom of the phone. That lag is relayed to tasks you are wanting to execute such as backing out of your emails or messages quickly. I am not the type to take my time when exiting applications, so my phone should be able to keep up. The evo is instantly responding to commands executed via the soft keys on the phone. I am constantly hitting the back key more than necessary to close out of my messages. It is annoying.
Again, overall, the sgs2 has some nice hardware. The camera is absolutely astounding and the screen (although a little too big, even for me) has an amazingly colorful and brilliant display. Difference is night and day between the two. And I am actually impressed with the sgs2’s power consumption. As I said, despite the large colorful screen, inch for inch, I get the feeling it sucks a little less juice than the evo simply due to how much I have been using it and where the battery level is right now.
As of right now, I think I would take the evo and just live with the smaller, less colorful display.
There it is in a nutshell.

nice. I have wanted to trade my EVO 3D for a Galaxy S2 and some cash. when I opened a Sprint account the EVO 3D barely came out.

cobraboy85 said:
So I added another line to my account yesterday. Decided (with the 14 day trial period in mind) to try out samsung’s “epic 4G touch” or the galaxy s II as people call it.
First of all, I will say that I went into this with an unbiased motive. I love my evo 3D, but I am always open minded and the fact that my last Samsung phone was terrible (Samsung moment) will have nothing to do with this review. There are pros and cons to any mobile device. There are pros and cons to my 3D. That being said… here is my analysis.
Display – first of all, I will say that the galaxy s II absolutely trumps the evo 3D in the color department on the display. Simply beautiful vibrant colors no matter what you have on the screen. I was immediately impressed by this. Pictures, HD wallpapers, side by side I could see a huge difference in the evo and the sgs2. The touch screen responsiveness, however, was a different story. I was almost annoyed by the sgs2’s inferior responsiveness compared to the 3D. The evo would respond to the slightest tap or flick on the screen whereas the sgs2 required considerably more effort to get the point across to the UI. This was especially obnoxious when texting and trying to quickly back out of the messaging app after hitting send. The evo responds to every touch, and does so immediately, without delay.
UI – a lot of people knock the sense UI. One thing I realized when comparing the two was the evo’s UI is very simple and straight forward/easy to manipulate. I hated touchwiz and the stock launcher as soon as I began to interact with it. I immediately installed zeam launcher to get rid of the obnoxious “iphone look and feel” of the Stock Sammy launcher. I do, however, ABSOLUTELY LOVE the way Samsung implemented the messaging application with the lock screen – simple, straight forward, and very logical. One thing that really annoys me with the sense UI is when you receive a message from anybody and navigate from the lock screen to your messages, it just takes you to your inbox, rather than the actual message. The sgs2 is very efficient for heavy texters such as myself – unlock the phone, bam you are right there reading the entire message. I find the lock screen a little annoying sometimes, however, when simply wanting to unlock the device. I don’t understand why it is necessary to slide the entire lockscreen image off the screen. Sense is better at this. Several times I have had to flick a couple times to unlock the phone. Whereas the “lockring” style of sense is again more simple and straight forward. Also, there is some delay when putting the device (sgs2) to sleep and waking it up. I simply find that annoying and think this should be a simple on and off process. The evo, again, more responsive and simplified with this basic function. And I like having custom shortcuts on my lock screen… which the sgs2 UI does not offer. Overall I would say the two were about even for me… good pros to both, and significant cons to both (for my needs).
Camera and other hardware – the video quality on the sgs2 was better than the evo, not by much, but better. The 1080p video recording was very nice looking on the display and had better quality/color overall when I viewed them on the computer. Last night when I was talking to my fiancé on the phone she said she could hear some static noise. It was faint at first but got louder on her end, I couldn’t hear it, but I called her on my evo and it went away immediately. Seems the microphone isn’t up to par with the 3D’s.
The big one…. POWER CONSUMPTION – so here I am on 6 hours 33 minutes of moderately heavy use with the sgs2 (about 100 or so text messages, a couple phone calls, and a little bit of web browsing, plus the tinkering and fidgeting with the phone that we all do when we are bored, lol.) and I am looking at a battery depleted to 70% remaining… I also work in a location where signal strength isn’t very strong, and 4G is nowhere to be found, but I have to say that I was expecting less. The phone is very efficient when it comes to utilizing power. I am pretty confident that by the end of the night I will still have a little bit left over. To be perfectly honest, it would be hard to get an accurate comparison of the evo’s battery drain because since a few days after I bought it I had the seido “brick battery” in it lol. Maybe somebody else can chime in on how their 3D is doing on a stock battery under similar conditions (with no undervolting, or overclocking… as my phone is 100% stock right now).
Going back to the display, again, I think the evo’s screen size is optimal for me. The sgs2 seems a little too wide when holding it and trying to reach the keys to send a message. Also, the stock keyboard is terrible on the sgs2. But I have always used smartkeyboard pro anyways, so it didn’t effect me, just something I noticed. The buttons were annoyingly tiny and spaced too far… I felt like I was typing on an iphone (oh em gee ***t hits fan nowz)… i suppose that bit about the KB could have been included in the UI review, but oh well.
Software – I personally think sense 3.0 blows this thing out of the water in so many ways. I hate the slowness and bulkiness of the Samsung UI, there is no customization of the messaging app whatsoever, whereas sense you have a plethora of added features such as MMS size, secure box, message forwarding, integration with facebook, etc. The music player on the Samsung is way better, however, and the sound quality is mind boggling. I could not believe the difference between the two it was really night and day. Again, pros and cons to each. Overall, I find the sgs2 to be a lot slower than the evo when it comes to responsiveness and overall tasking. Also, I find that my 3G cuts out and the phone roams a little bit more when I am at work. My evo would rarely jump into roaming mode even in areas where signal was not as strong. Also, my 4G seems to be slower by about 250 kb/s on average, I have not seen the phone download any faster than 1 mb/s as of yet. My evo does this on a regular basis.
Overall, I would have to say that both are good, but key elements in the UI make the evo a better choice for me. I HATE lag and unresponsiveness. The sgs2 lags incessantly when using the home, back, and menu keys on the bottom of the phone. That lag is relayed to tasks you are wanting to execute such as backing out of your emails or messages quickly. I am not the type to take my time when exiting applications, so my phone should be able to keep up. The evo is instantly responding to commands executed via the soft keys on the phone. I am constantly hitting the back key more than necessary to close out of my messages. It is annoying.
Again, overall, the sgs2 has some nice hardware. The camera is absolutely astounding and the screen (although a little too big, even for me) has an amazingly colorful and brilliant display. Difference is night and day between the two. And I am actually impressed with the sgs2’s power consumption. As I said, despite the large colorful screen, inch for inch, I get the feeling it sucks a little less juice than the evo simply due to how much I have been using it and where the battery level is right now.
As of right now, I think I would take the evo and just live with the smaller, less colorful display.
There it is in a nutshell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should try the international version of the gs2
Sent from my GT-I9100

Does SGS2 lag at all?
Except the design lag to enable double tap feature of Vlingo, I don't think there is a UI lag...
Just read you picked the sprint version, possible with the Qualcomm QoC.

Does the sprint version use the tegra chip set? And the issue is never the processors....
yumadtho?

Also... approaching the 10 hour mark... still pretty moderate to heavy use and at 51% ... I am impressed by the power consumption. Not too many droid phones get you to that 15 hour mark with this kind of use. This one has done exceptionally well for a full day
yumadtho?

Well I've never experienced lag on my sgs 2. Frankly I hate sense because it is too slow for me. That's the reason why I opted for the sgs 2 instead of the sensation. Moreover your opinion of it being slower than a evo 3d or sensation is not found in any reviews, and in fact the opposite is stated. But I guess your experience was different so oh well.
$1 gets you a reply

How does it say the sense UI is slower? My overall opinion is that the sgs2 isn't up to par as far as UI. and this thread is not about the sensation... I clearly stated that the sgs2 feels as boring and dull and slow as an iphone... with the same terrible "cartoon like" look.
yumadtho?

Yeah, I think he just misunderstood you. No reason to get mad, they are both great phones.

yumadtho???

Thanks for the comparison

Moved

Liked ur first impression. For me. It's def evo 3d<photon<epic touch 4g.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Lag? I dont get it you may have to spend a little more time with the phone. TW4 is pretty good,smooth and fast as far as Im concerned. Ive been using Samsungs for along time so maybe Im just use to them but there is no lagging on mine

cobraboy85 said:
Does the sprint version use the tegra chip set? And the issue is never the processors....
yumadtho?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, the Epic Touch has the same exynos that's in the international version. I too never experienced any lag, I think you might've gotten a lemon. I do agree that sense's lockscreen is awesome and sense 3.0 has more usable widgets than touchwiz. I put go launcher and agile lock on mine so it'll be a lot more customizable. You should try it too if you dislike touchwiz.

U have to be kidding right? My phone has never lagged at all. I have the evo 3d, photon, and iPhone 4. Each phone is great but I found the e4gt to be the fastest out of my Android devices.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

xisaacbx said:
U have to be kidding right? My phone has never lagged at all. I have the evo 3d, photon, and iPhone 4. Each phone is great but I found the e4gt to be the fastest out of my Android devices.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree...
I been on the Evo 3D and the Photon. In order from Good to Worst I say GS2 > Photon > Evo3D
Between the Epic Touch and Evo 3D I say the Epic Touch wins at Display + Camera + Back Speaker + CPU + Screen Size
Evo 3D wins at Radios *Wifi/3G/4G/Voice* and at UI *Sense*
So in the end, im on EpicTouch till the next best thing comes out.
PS. My phone has no lag either. Also forgot to mention the Hardware Acceleration on the stock browser also kills the stock browser on the 3D

Isn't touchwiz the only launcher that's hardware accelerated? I've never seen any ui lag...
Sent from my §ãM§ûñG GåLâXÿ §2 éPîç 4G TøùçH

Thanks for this review im coming from evo 3d and i got bored of mine so i wanna get the epic touch 4g and gonna get tmobile version to at the same time just wish tmobile had true unlimited becuase there fast here even more stable then wimax for sure
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium

rrmzr1 said:
Liked ur first impression. For me. It's def evo 3d<photon<epic touch 4g.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got to be kidding. They say anyone can have an opinion and it is just that, but I need to tell you this....Your opinion is totally wrong, lol

The Biggest Issues and Gripes of the Galaxy Nexus?

Hey folks, I may be swapping my HTC Amaze 4G for a Galaxy Nexus soon, but before I do, I'd like to know the general opinions of the downsides to owning a Galaxy Nexus! I've read about a lot of the weaknesses of the Galaxy Nexus, but until I actually own one, it's pretty hard for me to pinpoint the legitimacy of these points that I see in video reviews and whatnot, so I'd like to ask you guys regarding your first hand experiences with the device. List your complaints about the Galaxy Nexus here, any contribution is appreciated!
What I've come up with so far:
- lack of microSD card
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired
I plan on rooting and installing custom ROMs as soon as I bring the device home, so please put that into consideration as well
Thanks in advance!

- lack of microSD card:
this one had me worried too when i first got the nexus but its not that bad you just have to keep and eye on the storage.
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been:
its still pretty good and plenty good enough for casual pics. This is a phone we;re talking about, any $200 camera will take better pics than most phones maybe with the exception of the nokia 808 but that thing is more camera than phone.
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be:
best screen ive used, imo its the best screen on a phone until the gs3 comes out with its rgb 720p super amoled plus screen. There are better screens that are 720p rgb but they are LCD not amoled, depends what you like better both have their advantages.
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired:
My major complaint with build quality are the screen inconsistencies. check out this thread for more info. otherwise the phone is solid, i really like the curved design it feels more natural against your face or in your pocket.
if you are getting a straight trade for the amaze than you are getting the better part of the deal.

There is absolutely nothing I can complain about, as I come from a Nexus One. I'm not even entitled to complain.

- pentile... i can see the pixels very easily on my gnex compared to an iphone4... i still prefer AMOLED though
- frontlit CMOS camera
- no cheap pogo-pin charger
everything else about this phone is pretty much perfect

The screen is totally clear as pentile isn't so noticeable at such a high resolution. Not sure where you heard that.
And the build quality is actually superb, super solid and no creaking at all. Its very impressive.

RogerPodacter said:
The screen is totally clear as pentile isn't so noticeable at such a high resolution. Not sure where you heard that.
And the build quality is actually superb, super solid and no creaking at all. Its very impressive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear a slight creaking from the "lid".

Low ringtone audio

Razer(x) said:
Low ringtone audio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
volume+ will sort that
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

- lack of microSD card
Not an issue for me
- camera is decent but not as good as it could've been
I really wish the camera was better, this is my biggest gripe.
- although the screen is gorgeous, the pentile display doesn't allow it to be as clear and crisp as it should be
Not an issue, love the screen
- build quality of the phone leaves much to be desired
Not an issue, I like the back-plate, curved design and weight off the phone is spread out so it feels optimum light
I was using AKOP and now stock 4.0.4, I sometimes experience data drops, all of a sudden bars turn gray, I just reboot the phone. I'm sure it'll be fixed at some point.
Overall fantastic phone.

My biggest gripe is that I can't think of a gripe. I like being pensive, angry, bitter, despondent, even aggressively violent, but this phone has turned me into a lovable cute like a puppy type cuddle bug.

mudferret said:
My biggest gripe is that I can't think of a gripe. I like being pensive, angry, bitter, despondent, even aggressively violent, but this phone has turned me into a lovable cute like a puppy type cuddle bug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This deserves a thank you.

Biggest gripe? Not being able to make a reliable phone call with this device. My device suffers from what's known as the "audio reboot" or "one-way audio" issue. Not every device has this issue so if you buy Nexus, it's a crap shoot. Or, if you enjoy installing custom ROMs you may also not suffer from this issue. And finally, while I haven't found 100% definitive proof of this, it seems that it's only the Verizon/CDMA version that suffers from this... I don't think anyone with the AT&T/GSM version has this problem.
The next update, which was scheduled for "sometime in March" then "early April" - both which came and went and still no update - is supposed to fix this issue. If it does not, I'm going with another device. I need my phone to function as a phone and right now, it does not do that on a reliable basis.
Honestly, other than that one (but very important) issue, the device is flawless.

No SD card is my only gripe but I knew that going in. So I can't complain all that much. Just gotta manage data more often and can't keep backups on phone as aggressively.
bow chicka wow wow.

My complaints are more so concerning the Os as opposed to the phone itself. Sometimes my widgets stop working, Beautiful Home the time stays stuck and I have to reboot. And often times the YouTube widget will not load. I'm using ADW Launcher EX, don't know if that has anything to do with it but it happens. I have screen burn in too. Where the navigation bar is and the virtual buttons on the bottom of the phone. Whenever I watch a full screen video or movie it's noticeable, and it's hard to ignore once you notice it. I wish they would have put in a better GPU and not one that is 2 years old too because the longer I use the phone the more it lags don't know if it's the ram or GPU but it lags from time to time. And the reason Google hasn't fixed whatever needs to be fixed so it can be as smooth as Crapples IOs is beyond me. But it's better than the Nexus One. So I'm good until the Quad Core Nexus is released.
From my Sexii G Nexii 4.0.4

[email protected] said:
My complaints are more so concerning the Os as opposed to the phone itself. Sometimes my widgets stop working, Beautiful Home the time stays stuck and I have to reboot. And often times the YouTube widget will not load. I'm using ADW Launcher EX, don't know if that has anything to do with it but it happens. I have screen burn in too. Where the navigation bar is and the virtual buttons on the bottom of the phone. Whenever I watch a full screen video or movie it's noticeable, and it's hard to ignore once you notice it. I wish they would have put in a better GPU and not one that is 2 years old too because the longer I use the phone the more it lags don't know if it's the ram or GPU but it lags from time to time. And the reason Google hasn't fixed whatever needs to be fixed so it can be as smooth as Crapples IOs is beyond me. But it's better than the Nexus One. So I'm good until the Quad Core Nexus is released.
From my Sexii G Nexii 4.0.4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova launcher prime.
bow chicka wow wow.

I only wish that there was universal mass storage or sd card support so the thing would work with my car stereo. Going from stereo integration to aux cable was kind of a buzz kill.
And the camera is ok but I wish it were better too.

The phone is so slick you'll likely drop it and the screen may break. Better get a protective case for it. My Diztronic Rev3 case was inexpensive and adds needed grip. Great phone, otherwise IMHO.

I too came from an Amaze 4g...and man do I miss the camera. I was running bulletproof...but still doesn't come close to how smooth the Gnexus is. If you were looking to upgrade, id say go for it...but if your coming from a sense device, you might wanna check out the HTC one s or X.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

babymatteo said:
I too came from an Amaze 4g...and man do I miss the camera. I was running bulletproof...but still doesn't come close to how smooth the Gnexus is. If you were looking to upgrade, id say go for it...but if your coming from a sense device, you might wanna check out the HTC one s or X.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I saw your name around the Amaze 4G forums before
I'm sure I'll miss the camera too, but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make for an overall better phone, plus I never really liked Sense anyway since it has way too much overhead on the OS
Thanks so much for input people, much appreciated!
One thing I forgot to mention was the screen burn-ins, I've heard that they get pretty noticeable after 6 months or so... can anyone provide some insight on this and if there's a possible solution/prevention?

what i hate is the sound whenever i set it on a table or something...it rattles (i know its the autofocus on the camera...its waaaaaay to loose on this phone)

What a boring Sunday, I'ma make a long post to kill time.

I'm gonna talk about my one week+ old HOX, and like always, I have a lot to say.
To start with, my last phone was the Omnia II, and it was a piece of ****. I had no idea someone was capable of producing something so stupid I'm just totally shocked I mostly used it as a regular phone+music player. It sucked mainly because of the WM6.5 OS, its just funny how someone could even sell such a thing and call it a smartphone. Firstly the performance sucks and it's obvious, nothing goes beyond 10fps in WM6.5, you'd be lucky to get over 5. The music player playlist scrolls at about 3fps, the keyboard has a half second to one second lag, the browser runs at about 0.8fps, it is a full featured browser but you can barely browse the most plain mobile sites. With performance like this, multitasking can kiss my ass, how about get any single task done right before you can multitask? That resistive touchscreen also sucked, I was stupid I didn't do enough research to know the difference. Why would you have a phone screen that is NOT covered with glass? Why? Ignoring the obvious hardness differences, it sucks when those reflections on my screen are distorted, I wanna see a perfect mirror reflection, I'm a perfectionist ok? And of course there are about three apps for WM. I know there are more but they look like windows 95 and has tiny ui elements designed for styluses so they don't count. And those ones that look like windows XP or with lame 3d themes, SPB shell or some ****, those don't count as well.
Look at iPhone! That's how it should be done, everything must be perfectly smooth period. If its not smooth it's not even worth mentioning I don't care how many features you have. iPhone 4 really kicked android in the ass with that retina display. I still don't get it, even today people are releasing phones with this "qHD" resolution, wtf? That's just laughable it's lower than a phone released two years ago! With a much smaller screen! Really? Who's gonna accept that? Sometimes they even call it their "flagship" product, gimme a break. 720p is the minimum period.
So just a few weeks ago I was struggling to decide between the iPhone 4s, HOX the S3, and Sony's yet to be released waterproof 1.5ghz dual core phone. I can't wait for the Sony because iPhone 5 is coming out by the time they release it so that's out of the question. I already have the iPad so I decided to try out an android phone, already got a taste of iOS. I picked the HOX and here is why.
The Galaxy S III isn't as good looking as the HOX to begein with. Maybe Samsung has been having too many problems with patents their design is severely compromised it looks like a really cheap phone but obviously with latest technologies like that screen and its thickness. That bottom part looks really bad it reminds me of a really ugly version of the Omnia II, it looks so 2006 if you unrest and what I mean. That top part also look really bad with those obvious holes for sensors and cameras, they should be hidden like on the HOX. The back side and the rim also look like a very cheep phone but thinner and bigger.
The galaxy s3 screen is also bigger I think, but with the same resolution which makes its bigger size a negative fetus because it's harder to use. Oh wait, in fact it's of a lower resolution because of that pentile ****, it only has 2/3 the number of sub pixels as the HOX. The amoled display is vibrant but that's not equivalent to good because it's too vibrant and the colors are inaccurate. Take a look at a professional display review of the s3 all three primaries are way off they are over saturated. White balance is non existent it's too blue and sometimes green it hurts my eyes. The amoled display is also far dimmer than the HOX, doesn't bother me much but it's also a down point.
The S3 is slightly faster and has a bigger battery. But the Sense UI also look better and no I'm not a fan of flashing ROMs anymore. Honestly I don't give a **** about performance as long as it's smooth I'm happy, and I don't play 3d games at all. I saw this review concluding the s3 has a mich much battery life, I don't know what to say about their stupidity, it must have been tough finding someone to do that video review with a straight face. They test battery life by playing a video that's basically a static image, on max screen brightness. Ok to start with, the HOX has a much brighter screen, in fact, 60% brighter if I remember correctly. So the HOX shouldn't be competing on max brightness. It should be on 60%. Secondly that S3 has a freakin amoled display how can you compare that with an LCD? That stupid video they use is mostly dark blue with a small rainbow so the total display output of an oled display displaying that image is probably less than 33%. So, we should have the HOX's screen brightness decreased by another 66% down to 20% max brightness to be fair. Or, we should have a video with realistic scenarios like full white google home pages. But of course, the s3 with a bigger battery and it's more advanced processor is probably better on battery life in any case, just not by THAT much.
But that battery life advantage doesn't nearly compare with the HOX's much better looking unibody and its solid feel. HOX's better camera quality and speed. HOX's studio quality display, I just wish that display is 10-bit, cuz sometimes you see banding. Beats Audio is mostly advertising but it's not a bad addition.
However, using the HOX for a week, I found a couple of problems with android phones. For example, they're never ashamed of releasing unfinished products are they? How come LWP pauses when I swipe between home screens? Wtf is that all about? Releasing a feature that's partly or completely useless? It's not too bothering on non-parallax and slow LWPs, but that's not the best part of having a LWP is it? That's a big one but there are also some small ones like the photo stack widget, it resets to the first picture all the time. I can't uninstall useless ****s like google+, showme, latitude, local, locations, navigation, car.... I mean do we not have enough navigation apps already? I don't even think you can uninstall the setup wizard. In iOS you can't uninstall newsstand or reminder but at least you can hide them in a folder and their icons look really good, much better than "show me" at least. The system also doesn't come with a file manager, I wonder how youre supposed to empty your download folder, do you just let it eat up all your storage? And oh, the three dots of death, not too bothering, but it just leaves you thinking if HTC even test their phone, might as well just not have any of the touch buttons so I can feel lest wasteful?
and honestly, I don't like android's multitask system, because you don't know what's running and what's not running. In iOS you always know nothing is running, you don't worry about battery life. But in android they could all be running for all I know, but sometimes I also want an app to run in the background. There should be a better way to manage that. Like having a multitask bar like iOS, have most apps go on save state, but you can allow certain apps to run a background process which could be independently managed from save state. So I don't have to either kill an app or let it eat my battery.
Overall, I'm still really satisfied with the device. It's generally as smooth as the iPhone, browser performance is on par with the iPad2 which is good enough. Audio performance is also good with my Etymotic Research MC-5. And the screen is just a treat sometimes I press the power button just to see the beautiful screen showing my wallpaper. And the unibody, it feels much better than the S3 glossy plastic.

thx for this objective review
all ur info r 100% spot on
enjoy the hox, upcoming update that we have it leaked will solve the 3dot menu and 90% if the bugs also boost performance by a good margin (real performance not benchs)
yea too bad HTC made a very big mistake
they worked so hard for such a great device and total reboot for them but then shot themselves in the foot by rushing it out as they were worried about the s3 but it really had the opposite effect many of the early new comer adopters jumped ship (1.26 was a disaster)
speaking of the s3 my employer shares all ur points and he is dying to switch it with the hox

starting from ICS you can disable system apps (not all but most of them, maps and google+ for sure for example, and they bother you... like they bother me, lol)
just dont update them and from application's settings tap "disable" and they'll disappear from launcher (i guess it just "chmod -r" the apk), you dont have to be rooted for that
i've picked mine yesterday, used and bought 06-29 but the owner wanted to try the S3 and payed it a good price... it's awesome, no wifi issues of yellowish screen.
so far i'm really entusiastic...

jacobgong said:
But of course, the s3 with a bigger battery and it's more advanced processor is probably better on battery life in any case, just not by THAT much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great write up. And your bottom line conclusion's spot on. No phone is perfect. You compare the good against the bad against what's important to you and decide from there. No one's "wrong" in picking any of the phones you mentioned if it's "right" for them. After using the phone for a couple of months now there are some things that I'd like to see done differently and make me wonder what HTC was thinking. Then there's things that are so well done and seem so intuitive that they just make me smile. I just played a two hour and forty minute movie using HTC Watch via Media Link and not only did it work flawlessly in 720p, it only consumed 20% of my battery. The fact that a phone, any phone, can now do that is pretty amazing.
As for battery life. Exynos Quad is highly overrated; that or Teg3 is underrated. Comparing the One X to the SGS3 and adjusting for the differences in battery size, the One X actually performs better than the SGS3 in all but video playback where the darks of the content favor AMOLED. It's meaningless in real life because of the smaller fixed battery in the One X, but HTC, Nvidia, or both deserve a lot of credit for extracting that type of efficiency from a chip that's not exactly modern.
Enjoy your new phone...

But for some reason HTC decided you shouldn't be able to disable Google+ or show me, or setup wizard. While you can disable Facebook and YouTube.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

jacobgong said:
But for some reason HTC decided you shouldn't be able to disable Google+ or show me, or setup wizard. While you can disable Facebook and YouTube.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uninstall updates then you can disable.

New Note 2 user first impressions

I thought I would create this post for others who might be considering moving to the Note 2.
I was previously using an Evo 4G. It was a decent phone after it was rooted, but battery life was still poor. After a lot of research and back-and-forth, I made the plunge and upgraded to the Note 2.
Here are my observations after having been using the Note 2 now for a week:
1. The size factor goes away quickly.
I was prepared to have a hard time adjusting to the size of the Note 2. The screen is larger than my entire Evo 4G! But after using it for a day, I was used to it and really liking it. Like I have read in so many other posts, I don't think I could ever go back to a small phone again. The size is really great.​2. TouchWiz takes some getting used to.
TouchWiz is the layer Samsung puts on top of Android, like HTC uses Sense. Before blowing away my stock rom on the Evo, I had been using Sense, and thought it was decent. Then I upgraded my rom on the Evo to a Jellybean AOSP rom, and really liked that much better.
TouchWiz is similar to the AOSP, with some peculiarities that take some getting used to, but over all I think it is superior to HTC's Sense. I don't know how much of it is the software and how much of it is a beast of a phone, but there is very, very little lag or stutter ever on the Note 2. It's just a joy to use.
The homescreen clock, however, is atrocious and was quickly replaced. I'm currently running WPClock 2 live wallpaper and like it much better, but still not quite what I'm looking for.​3. The camera is amazing
For either stills or video, for a phone camera this takes truly awesome photos. It's not up to the level of my Canon T2i, but for something that slides into my pocket, it comes pretty darn close. A whole 'nuther level from where the Evo 4G was. Not even in the same league. And the burst mode - just hold the button and it rattles off 6-frames-per-second. Again, not prosumer level, but for a phone it's pretty sweet.​4. Speaker phone is great
I have found myself actually using the speaker phone, and the people I'm talking to can't believe that they are on speaker.​5. Did I mention the screen is gorgeous?
Every time this past week I have needed to use the phone, it's made me smile. It's just a joy to look at. I know others will talk ppi and resolution and AMOLED etc, but from a sheer usability standpoint the display is just lovely. Bright, crisp, vibrant. It is just that good.​There are other things I'm sure I'll think of once I close this post.
But if you are looking for a new phone and are considering the Note 2, stop it and go get one. I don't regret it for a minute.

Great observations. I'm shocked you didn't mention the battery life though!
Here are some tips and app suggestions for you:
S-Pen Toolbox - this lets you customise an app menu when you pull out the S-Pen
SwipePad + recent apps add-on - the best multi-tasking-app launching - app swithching program available
My script calculator - maths with pen and paper -sort of
Smart Screen Off - excellent if you have a flip cover or wallet style case
Now some tips:
The S-Pen is not only for taking notes, retouching photos and being artistic! It is veryeuseful when web browsing. The hover function works like "mouse over". It interacts with pull down menus on many web pages and enlarges thumnails!! Not many people know that!
As you seem to like photography I can also recommend:
PhotoshopTouch
PicsPlayPro
Snapseed
TouchRetouch
Afterfocus
Pro HDR Camera - wipes the floor with the stock camera HDR
If you don't have a case, get one. If you want a screen protector avoid the syrupy soft plastic ones. They do not look very nice -fter a few days with the S-Pen. I use cheap hard plastic ones that you can pick up for between $5-$10 for two. I change these every two months or so.
Enjoy you Note

Great post! (both of you, actually).
I concur with #1, absolutely. I think thats the biggest "hesitation" for most folk. And after a few days of using it, it didn't feel ridiculously big, as I feared, or others had mentioned. Weirdly, I think it looks smaller with a case on it. *shrug*
And yes, for once, I have a battery that I NEVER have to worry about.

Dmwitz said:
Great observations. I'm shocked you didn't mention the battery life though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I'm still exploring the battery life. I was a little surprised that I didn't experience the kind of battery life that others reported, and am experimenting with the reasons. Map was eating my battery, which I couldn't figure out because GPS radio was turned off, and I had not used the map app. Turns out it is actually Google Services through map and it automatically tracks your location, so now that I have turned that off, my battery is lasting longer.
Dmwitz said:
Here are some tips and app suggestions for you:
S-Pen Toolbox - this lets you customise an app menu when you pull out the S-Pen
SwipePad + recent apps add-on - the best multi-tasking-app launching - app swithching program available
My script calculator - maths with pen and paper -sort of
Smart Screen Off - excellent if you have a flip cover or wallet style case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great recommendations! Thanks!
Dmwitz said:
Now some tips:
The S-Pen is not only for taking notes, retouching photos and being artistic! It is veryeuseful when web browsing. The hover function works like "mouse over". It interacts with pull down menus on many web pages and enlarges thumnails!! Not many people know that!
As you seem to like photography I can also recommend:
PhotoshopTouch
PicsPlayPro
Snapseed
TouchRetouch
Afterfocus
Pro HDR Camera - wipes the floor with the stock camera HDR
If you don't have a case, get one. If you want a screen protector avoid the syrupy soft plastic ones. They do not look very nice -fter a few days with the S-Pen. I use cheap hard plastic ones that you can pick up for between $5-$10 for two. I change these every two months or so.
Enjoy you Note
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just picked up a flip cover from Samsung, so will be really interested to see how well Smart Screen Off app works with it. I have also ordered the Sena case leather pouch.
As for screen protectors, I prefer to not use one. I know some are worried about scratching their screen. I think like this. In my generation, (grew up in the 70's) a lot of grandparents put plastic set covers on the seats of their cars. They were cheap looking, uncomfortable, and squeeky. But the people who bought their car used had awesome seats! I would rather enjoy the screen as designed instead of covering it up. Just me.

Dmwitz said:
As you seem to like photography I can also recommend:
PhotoshopTouch
PicsPlayPro
Snapseed
TouchRetouch
Afterfocus
Pro HDR Camera - wipes the floor with the stock camera HDR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing he didn't mention (and I agree with just about all of those suggestions) is Vignette. It is the only camera app I use, for actually taking pics. Its GUI isn't all happy-pretty-insta-filter-dumbed-down, but it hands-down takes some of the best pics I have ever seen on a phone.

Sorry!
kingdazy said:
One thing he didn't mention (and I agree about all of those suggestions) is Vignette. It is the only camera app I use, for actually taking pics. Its GUI isn't all happy-pretty-insta-filter-dumbed-down, but it hands-down takes some of the best pics I have ever seen on a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vignette was the first photo-filter-camera app I bought!! And I use it alot for the Illford black and white which is really incredible.
I have over 30 camera and retouching apps installed as I write so forgive me for missing that one.
Now after checking how many I have installed I need to mention:
Aviary - the best sharpness filter I have found and also allows you to rotate images for hand to get the horizon…well horizontal
Pixlr -
Paintersque
Little Photo

connman said:
I thought I would create this post for others who might be considering moving to the Note 2.
I was previously using an Evo 4G. It was a decent phone after it was rooted, but battery life was still poor. After a lot of research and back-and-forth, I made the plunge and upgraded to the Note 2.
Here are my observations after having been using the Note 2 now for a week:
1. The size factor goes away quickly.
I was prepared to have a hard time adjusting to the size of the Note 2. The screen is larger than my entire Evo 4G! But after using it for a day, I was used to it and really liking it. Like I have read in so many other posts, I don't think I could ever go back to a small phone again. The size is really great.​2. TouchWiz takes some getting used to.
TouchWiz is the layer Samsung puts on top of Android, like HTC uses Sense. Before blowing away my stock rom on the Evo, I had been using Sense, and thought it was decent. Then I upgraded my rom on the Evo to a Jellybean AOSP rom, and really liked that much better.
TouchWiz is similar to the AOSP, with some peculiarities that take some getting used to, but over all I think it is superior to HTC's Sense. I don't know how much of it is the software and how much of it is a beast of a phone, but there is very, very little lag or stutter ever on the Note 2. It's just a joy to use.
The homescreen clock, however, is atrocious and was quickly replaced. I'm currently running WPClock 2 live wallpaper and like it much better, but still not quite what I'm looking for.​3. The camera is amazing
For either stills or video, for a phone camera this takes truly awesome photos. It's not up to the level of my Canon T2i, but for something that slides into my pocket, it comes pretty darn close. A whole 'nuther level from where the Evo 4G was. Not even in the same league. And the burst mode - just hold the button and it rattles off 6-frames-per-second. Again, not prosumer level, but for a phone it's pretty sweet.​4. Speaker phone is great
I have found myself actually using the speaker phone, and the people I'm talking to can't believe that they are on speaker.​5. Did I mention the screen is gorgeous?
Every time this past week I have needed to use the phone, it's made me smile. It's just a joy to look at. I know others will talk ppi and resolution and AMOLED etc, but from a sheer usability standpoint the display is just lovely. Bright, crisp, vibrant. It is just that good.​There are other things I'm sure I'll think of once I close this post.
But if you are looking for a new phone and are considering the Note 2, stop it and go get one. I don't regret it for a minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great summary of first impressions. Very to the point. I came over from an evo 3d and I can say that even tough I liked sense I have grown to like touchwiz even more. The biggest plus of course is the battery life. Although I don't get the same life as some on here say they get I can use my phone from 7am till about 5pm on regular days. On my 3d I could barely make it to 12pm. All I can imagine is how great the note 3 will be or even this one once we get more updates.
Sent from my Amazing Galaxy Note 2!

This device is a amazing Peace of Technology.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

I agree as of about 3 hours ago

It truly is incredible. I mean coming from the epic touch I knew I was getting an awesome upgrade but until you have it in your hands and are using it you really have no idea how good it's going to be.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

This device is amazing. I had gotten the iphone 5 three days ago and took it back today and exchanged it for the Note 2. Soo glad I did that. This screen is amazing....dont know what I was thinking picking the iPhone 5 over this AMAZING device.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

llfloyd79 said:
This device is amazing. I had gotten the iphone 5 three days ago and took it back today and exchanged it for the Note 2. Soo glad I did that. This screen is amazing....dont know what I was thinking picking the iPhone 5 over this AMAZING device.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know what you were thinking either but at least you came to your senses lol. Welcome home!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

Thanks lol.
Sent from my Galaxy Note II

Impressions - Update
I'm now 2 weeks into my Note 2 upgrade, so thought I would give some additional observations.
Battery life is simply amazing.
After a couple of charge cycles, battery life with moderate usage easily lasts all day without giving it a thought. Depending on usage, might last 2 days. 2. Days. Incredible.​The screen continues to "wow" me.
The size is fantastic. Years ago, I was the proud user of the very first PDA called "Newton." It was by Apple and was way ahead of it's time and had a very large screen. Over time PDA screens became smaller, and phones followed that trend. Finally, there is again a screen big enough to actually use for more than making calls without me having to take my glasses to see the tiny display.
Also, the color and resolution are just incredible. I still smile each time I go to answer a call or text.​Camera continue to impress
Like I mentioned earlier, it's not fair to compare the camera on the phone to a stand-alone prosumer model, but for a phone I think it is about the best I have ever used. Controls are simple, autofocus is fast, color reproduction is accurate, and resolution is very nice.​I'm still not using the S-pen often, but think that is just getting used to having it available.
Overall, the only thing that I would change is I wish I could have upgraded sooner. There is no comparison from where I was with an Evo 4G. I'm a Mac guy, and enjoy the ease of use the Mac OS offers. With that said, Android on this device has the feel Apple has built its reputation on. It's fast, beautiful, ease-of-use (while not totally a function of the phone) is tremendous, TouchWiz interface is perfect for this device, and over all it's just a joy to use.
Truly great design doesn't hinder usage, it makes it intuitive and easy to do complicated things. That's Android, TouchWiz and this device.

Agree with most of what's been said here, I've moved to Note 2 from an old Nokia, MUCH smaller, and now I've got used to making sure it's secure when I'm working, I have to admit to liking it a LOT.
The screen and camera are both excellent, and once I've got used to turning off things that are not needed, the battery life is OK.
there are a few app and android issues, it would be nice to be able to do things like have sounds selectable by time of day, so the alarm can be left active, but ringing and other notifications can be turned off, and I've just posted a Q re being able to run more than one Text to Speech app concurrently.
The only thing I'd change on the hardware side is the position of the On/Off switch, it's altogether too easy to catch it when holding the phone, especially if it's fitted with the flip cover, which mine is.
I've also found an "interesting" issue, but not investigated it yet, when running off a 2.1 A capable 12 V charger unit in the car, with GPS active and other apps in background, the charger appears to be unable to keep the battery charged, so over a longer journey, the battery is being significantly discharged. That may be down to a poor charger cable, but without an app to show battery current, I have no way to know if it's the phone that's eating power, or the lead that's not allowing full charge current to flow.
Have to admit, having resisted the move to a smartphone for some time, now I've bitten the bullet, I am very pleased indeed with the Note 2, and I'm still only just discovering what the thing is really capable of.

Irish Steve said:
Agree with most of what's been said here, I've moved to Note 2 from an old Nokia, MUCH smaller, and now I've got used to making sure it's secure when I'm working, I have to admit to liking it a LOT.
The screen and camera are both excellent, and once I've got used to turning off things that are not needed, the battery life is OK.
there are a few app and android issues, it would be nice to be able to do things like have sounds selectable by time of day, so the alarm can be left active, but ringing and other notifications can be turned off, and I've just posted a...
Have to admit, having resisted the move to a smartphone for some time, now I've bitten the bullet, I am very pleased indeed with the Note 2, and I'm still only just discovering what the thing is really capable of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boy, for your first smartphone, you've set the bar high. I'd be curious to see how your opinions change re: size and function over the next three years.
As far as your "time of day, and sounds" issue, you might want to look into an app called "Tasker", Very Powerful application, you might find it's daunting at first to wrap your head around, but it's exactly what you're looking for.
Sent from my calculator watch.

kingdazy said:
Boy, for your first smartphone, you've set the bar high. I'd be curious to see how your opinions change re: size and function over the next three years.
As far as your "time of day, and sounds" issue, you might want to look into an app called "Tasker", Very Powerful application, you might find it's daunting at first to wrap your head around, but it's exactly what you're looking for.
Sent from my calculator watch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the one redeeming feature for me is over 40 years working with one sort or another of computer, so the learning curve isn't so steep. Tasker will indeed be worth reading up on, as it may well be the answer for some of the things I'm looking for, certainly on some of the sounds on or off issues.
have to admit, it's making me think seriously about the longer term upgrades that I will be doing, the old concept of a desktop or a laptop are starting to look very different in the light of the capabilities of the Note, and I have to say I like being able to look at "full size" web sites with the Note, as there is just so much real estate on the screen, and despite being the wrong side of 60, I can still (just about) read it without going looking for reading glasses, which does help, though some fonts are getting challenging.
I am also wondering about the viability of using Android on a PC or desktop, there are certain aspects of the way it works that appeal a lot more than Windows right now, but that might be me being biased
Thanks for the pointer, that's the good thing about fora like this, the knowledge gets spread around and helps everyone
Cheers
Steve

Loved reading this thread! I'm a very happy LTEvo user, but my wife's E4GT is starting to show its age (she's very rough on devices). I bought a Note 2 via Ebay a couple of days ago. The plan right now is for her to get my LTEvo and I get the note. I'm compelled by the pen. As a long time WinMo user, the only feature I miss from those days was the ability to take quick notes and drawings. I tried capacitive pens, but they generally suck for writing notes as even the finest resolution is still way too large and they're a separate item easy to forget/lose. Can't wait to start playing!

jph8tr said:
Loved reading this thread! I'm a very happy LTEvo user, but my wife's E4GT is starting to show its age (she's very rough on devices). I bought a Note 2 via Ebay a couple of days ago. The plan right now is for her to get my LTEvo and I get the note. I'm compelled by the pen. As a long time WinMo user, the only feature I miss from those days was the ability to take quick notes and drawings. I tried capacitive pens, but they generally suck for writing notes as even the finest resolution is still way too large and they're a separate item easy to forget/lose. Can't wait to start playing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're gonna love the device. It's incredible. I don't use the pen a whole lot but one awesome feature is you can have it set so when you pull it out a notepad pops up. Which is great if you're on a call and need to jot something down in a hurry. No need to look for a pen and paper anymore!
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

I agree on all points, this phone really is the pinnacle of smart phones right now. Not a big fan of TWiz myself but there are some incredible ROMs on this site. I have soft bricked mine quite a few times and have been through probably 90% of the ROMs on this site with mine and it is just so easy to get it working again.

Is this the right phone to get?

For those of you that have this phone, and have had it since close to it's release date, what are your opinions?
I am going to be purchasing a new phone, for use with WindMobile in Canada (i.e. it must be an AWS phone). As far as I can tell this is my best option because I use my phone mostly as a camera so my #1 interest is a camera that does not lag and will open quickly. I also am a fairly heavy user for NUMBER of apps. I have a lot installed and switch between them frequently. I don't play games or watch videos so graphics don't matter much.
The kicker here is I am REALLY hoping to keep this phone for 2 years at least. Do you think that this phone will last? Keeping in mind I don't care about being behind on new technology. I only care that it can handle my volume of use and won't sputter and choke to a slow after 6 months use like the one I have now.
I currently have an Optimus 2X but it is dying. It lags incredibly between tasks and the plastic covering the camera is poor quality and I had to rip it off so the lens is mostly unprotected now. I don't want to deal with stuff like this is I am going to buy a brand new phone. Do you think the Xperia ZL is the right choice?
p.s. I saw a review of the camera where the reviewer said that the photos look great on the BRAVIA screen but once on a computer screen are not very good. Has this been your experience? What about printing?
p.p.s. would appreciate comments about how rugged it is also as I work as a nanny with two 24 month old toddlers. Honestly I want the Z due to it's waterproof encasing but it's not sold new up here in Canada.

so my #1 interest is a camera that does not lag and will open quickly.
--> camera itself is the fastest I've seen. First thing you notice is the super smooth and responsive viewfinder.. even in low light. It always feels 60fps. I compared this to HTC ONE and it's a LOT slower..really.
About opening.. opening of the camera app isn't fastest i've seen (can take 3 secs) but because of the dedicated button you can still open it way faster than phones without button.
I also am a fairly heavy user for NUMBER of apps. I have a lot installed and switch between them frequently. I don't play games or watch videos so graphics don't matter much.
--> Ye as with all 2GB phones multitasking is almost instant and apps never really close.
The kicker here is I am REALLY hoping to keep this phone for 2 years at least. Do you think that this phone will last? Keeping in mind I don't care about being behind on new technology.
Then yes. I don't see why this phone wouldn't make it 2 years.
I only care that it can handle my volume of use and won't sputter and choke to a slow after 6 months use like the one I have now.
With 2GB ram it's pretty future proof IMO.
p.s. I saw a review of the camera where the reviewer said that the photos look great on the BRAVIA screen but once on a computer screen are not very good. Has this been your experience? What about printing?
Well, in my opinion, pictures look suberb on the 5" with bravia engine 2..really gives a wow-factor.
When you then watch them on the PC they look kinda normal/bland/boring..so its just the way you look at it
p.p.s. would appreciate comments about how rugged it is also as I work as a nanny with two 24 month old toddlers. Honestly I want the Z due to it's waterproof encasing but it's not sold new up here in Canada.
The back isn't made from glass but very grippy texture. I haven't dropped mine but the phones feels very sturdy and good quality, except for maybe the little flap on the back for sim/SD.
Honestly I think ZL is very underrated and still (even with new models like Z1) ZL is still my favorite.

Thanks for your quick quick reply!! One clarification I have to ask: I understand what you mean about quality depending on the screen. However when you look on your computer do you think the quality fits the price? Let's put this simply: I am tired of my boyfriend's iphone photos looking SOOOO much better than mine. Can I at least compete now? lol

earthabbey said:
Thanks for your quick quick reply!! One clarification I have to ask: I understand what you mean about quality depending on the screen. However when you look on your computer do you think the quality fits the price? Let's put this simply: I am tired of my boyfriend's iphone photos looking SOOOO much better than mine. Can I at least compete now? lol
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To be honest I really like the camera but the software app just doesn't do it justice. Pictures looked a bit washed out when looked at the computer. You can still install another camera app with less compression effects.
Also, for me the camera opens very quickly, less than 1 second with the latest 267 firmware update.
The phone looks gorgeous with the incredibly small bezel for a 5 inch phone. But if you want an awesome camera phone you really should go with the Galaxy S4. Still the best midrange camera phone I've seen so far is clearly the Nokia Lumia 920 but its a Win8 phone... both phone can be easily unlocked if not offered by Wind and are AWS versions.
Also, lots of people complain about the screen being TFT which is the cheapest technology you can use for a phone nowadays. So the viewing angles aren't good but I personally don't care much. But I think you will notice it right away.
Still, for a lot of other aspects, I prefer the Sony ZL

earthabbey said:
p.p.s. would appreciate comments about how rugged it is also as I work as a nanny with two 24 month old toddlers. Honestly I want the Z due to it's waterproof encasing but it's not sold new up here in Canada.
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the Z is available through Bell FYI.

I just traded it my s3 for an zl very disappointed in camera in dark places there is a ton of noise I have to also take multiple snaps before I can get a shot to have a properly focused pic if I use flash it works fine but using superior auto mode and in a well lit room it still doesn't compare anything to the s3 which had a very quick focus but other then that the phone is well worth it will last you 2 years if you do not abuse it only thing im concerned is the non removable battery... wonder how will it perform in 2 years from now....
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

shahkam said:
I just traded it my s3 for an zl very disappointed in camera in dark places there is a ton of noise I have to also take multiple snaps before I can get a shot to have a properly focused pic if I use flash it works fine but using superior auto mode and in a well lit room it still doesn't compare anything to the s3 which had a very quick focus but other then that the phone is well worth it will last you 2 years if you do not abuse it only thing im concerned is the non removable battery... wonder how will it perform in 2 years from now....
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Do you have the latest update? A lot of reviews I saw said that there were a lot of problems before the latest update.

shahkam said:
I just traded it my s3 for an zl very disappointed in camera in dark places there is a ton of noise I have to also take multiple snaps before I can get a shot to have a properly focused pic if I use flash it works fine but using superior auto mode and in a well lit room it still doesn't compare anything to the s3 which had a very quick focus but other then that the phone is well worth it will last you 2 years if you do not abuse it only thing im concerned is the non removable battery... wonder how will it perform in 2 years from now....
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Don't use superior auto by default, it adds way too much noise. Try using normal with some basic tweaks, you will see a major difference.
Especially with the latest update.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

Well I kind of have the same problem. Own an Optimus 2x and now ordered Zl from an amazon offer (350 euros). I love the white version since - if the black back looks cheap - this is absolutely not the case with the white.
However, I am quite disappointed by the screen. You notice the viewing angles immediately and every time the phone is lying on a table in a darker room, it looks like it is showing a bright Grey picture although background is black. So I wanted to return it.
Then I thought of alternatives, but very successful.. I am looking for a phone with no amoled screen, wo no s4. I really want at least 32gb memory and would be happy if it had a working fm radio like XZL (tried Optimus G and thought that must be a bad joke). The Optimus G was nice, but fm radio crap, and due to non expendable storage, I was really missing USB otg. S4 active would be nice, but no fm radio, feels somehow big and is very overpriced. The new nexus 5 seems to only have 16gb.. LG G2 is very expensive with 32gb. And none of them has a dedicated camera button. So I guess xperia zl is a great package! If only they had included a IPS screen (which can be considered as standard today, even for cheap phones).
Today I looked at the screen in a bright room and then it looked way better than yesterday night when it was dark. So I am thinking of keeping the phone - seems like the package is quite good. Or does anyone of you habe a proposal?
Sent from my LG-P990 using xda app-developers app

My comments:
The poor viewing angles on the screen aren't as horrible as people make it out to be, the screen is still perfectly good and quite a joy to look at. (plus if you like to be private then it stops people from seeing what you're doing easily)
Picture quality is fine, I have an unlocked bootloader(which I did before TA backups were a thing ;_ and even still everything looks great on the screen. Video quality is pretty good in my opinion. In low light, yes the picture quality does tend to suffer but it's still acceptable for it being a phone, I personally haven't tried tweaking with the settings much besides installing the Z1 camera app port.
If you want to see the quality yourself, here are some photos/videos(mind you the outdoor greenery shots were taken a while ago so the latest updates might have improved things):
http://imgur.com/a/qoqg2#0
http://youtu.be/SXxN14HdeGU
Performance has been pretty good, there are a few things I've noticed which can make it a little laggy, like setting a smaller icon size in Apex and the app Twilight can make scrolling a little laggy, but otherwise performance is snappy.
Something that might be of concern is battery life, due to the non-removeable battery. I can usually get through a day before having to charge. I get about 4-5 hours of video watching, so if I only use the screen for a few hours sporadically(15 minutes here, 15 minutes there) then I can usually push it to 24 hours.
One thing I would really suggest is getting at least a decent screen cover, if not case as well, I have one of those meifeng cases from ebay, it's decent enough quality and it's pretty thin, I don't use it every day though. But the built in screen protector is an absolute lint electromagnet, it's like it's sole purpose was to collect lint, not cool. I picked up a skinomi screen protector, just put it on top of the built in one and it works/looks fine.
One thing I like about the skinomi is that it's slightly soft, so it doesn't scratch easily, but it still a good surface for fingering.
The speaker isn't loud enough to be heard over a concert or some power tools, but if you're just at home or in the car then it's quite adequate, the headphone out is also adequate, though it can be a tad quieter than some might like, depending on headphones used.
The microphones are pretty great, that youtube video? The music in person was ear-screeching, yet somehow the microphones managed to pick everything else up pretty well.
The IR Blaster is fun if you normally use multiple remotes for your home.
I can't really think of anything else at the moment, but feel free to ask and I'll try to answer.
Edit:
Shadowman19: Personally I find the viewing angles acceptable knowing that I'm probably never really going to be looking at my phone from these angles anyways, 99% of the time I'm looking at it is straight on.

Personally I don't own a ZL(I currently own an Ion), but i have seen a couple of Z's(the Z screen is similar to the ZL). Honestly, I don't see the difference when tilting the phone(I can definitely see it on my ion). The poor viewing angle claims are exaggerated.