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Hi, I have been offerred this phone free on an upgrade for my HTC touch HD, is this a decent enough upgrade, how does it compare to the HD2?
I have read lots of reviews but lot of them conflict each other, my main areas of concern are as follows:
1. What is the battery life actually like?
2. Is the screen as bad as people say in daylight?
3. What is the camera quality like for stills?
4. Has there been any offical announcments about the DIVX / 720p video recording update?
5. Is there a decent video player comparable to Coreplayer which supports muliple codecs?
Thanks
1. Not the best, but good enough. I use the device pretty heavily and it gets down to about 15% by the end of the day. Light usage can probably last 2 days.
2. It's as good as any other AMOLED device.
3. Pretty good. Low-light shots are not that great. LED flash helps but often it's either not bright enough or the shots get washed out.
4. No
5. Not sure. But I personally prefer to encode my videos so that the default player can accept it.
Thanks,much appreciated.
The developer community for the HD2 is comparatively erm, developed at the moment. Obviously it's still early days, but seeing as the Nexus One tends to be the modder's choice of phone, like the HD2 is for WinMo, I think the Desire will always be in the Shadow of the Nexus to an extent.
A friend with an HD2 struggles to make his last the whole day. He always carries a spare battery. The HD2's screen is very nice, but side by side with the Desire, everything seems washed out and the advantages of AMOLED are clear. Outdoors in sunglight the Desire's screen is poor but not unusable. Using my phone outdoors has never caused me any major problems. I would say the HD2 is more aesthetically pleasing device overall and more customisable at this stage, but with 2.2 almost certainly coming to the device, I think the Desire is a sound choice and don't regret buying it.
I've got an HD2 and I used to cook ROMs for it - WinMo is easier to get your head around than Android IMO - and the community is more developed as WinMo has been around longer. However, I prefer the Desire as the size is better (HD2 is nice but it's huge!!) and it runs better out the box. My HD2 was only good after I'd played about with it
Hardware wise they are very similar. 1ghz Snapdragon, 576 memory. The HD2 has a massive 4.3 inch screen compared to the Desire's 3.7 inch... Put pretty much any phone next to the Desire though and the Desire will make the other phone's screen look quite poor. The clarity and color on the Desire is just... well... it blows any other phone out of the water as far as screen quality. The camera I have found is quite good. The low lights though can sometimes get washed out, but I have found that is an issue even on normal cameras so not really here or there. The phone over all is pretty good. The battery life is kind of sporadic, it really depends on what you do with it, and what you have going. Sometimes it can last days without dropping below 50%, other times I find it dropping like 10% every 20 minutes. I am thinking 2.2 will help out with battery life a bit... and the longer I have the phone the better the battery life seems to get. Between the two devices, it pretty much comes down to which operating system you prefer. I dislike Windows Mobile, and like Android. They are similar phones spec wise, the only thing the HD2 has over the Desire is screen size, and even then the HD2 screen is no where near as nice as the Desire's. If you do want/need the massive size, you could wait for the HTC Supersonic to come out. It's basically an HD2 with Android.
I briefly bought a few phones before settling for the desire. All I can say is its like the leatherman of phones. You just have to hold one of these things & you won't look back
I had lots of smart phones in the past, mainly Win Mobile ones and then deflected over to the other side (iPhone). Not going to get into a debate what is better, but the in my opinion iPhone was and still is a great device. The new iPhone will be even better.
Saying that, I went for this device because it was much more configurable and has much more potential without "jail breaking" etc.
Compared to other devices I'm still impressed about the speed, responsiveness and generally it has been much more "bug free" than any smart phone I have owned in the past and I've owned a lot. I have not had it reboot on me once yet (2 weeks of solid use).
I have a few forced closure of apps but that's an app issue. What made the iPhone great was the apps that was written especially for the iPhone and hopefully the android market will reach that same heights in the future.
Battery life is not great, but I've never had a smart phone last more that a day without charge, but I use it a lot during my train journey into work and have push email, plus other data intensive apps. I bought this phone to give me all this functionality and I find no point in trying to get more than a day if I have to sacrifice not being able to use the phone to its full potential.
Screen is good, nice and crisp. I don't watch movies on the phone, but I encoding it would be better to have it in a resolution suitable for the phone.
In conclusion, I think this phone is worth it, I don't regret buying it and not looking to buy anything else, until....... iPhone 4g.
Thanks again everyone for your comments, these have been really helpful.
I switched from my iphone 4 at ATT to Sprint last week when I used 20gb and got a bill of $260! I picked up the Photon and was sort of happy with it. The build quality of the Photon was superb and felt like a premium phone. The thing was it would choke when doing normal things. Screen transitions were laggy. After running SETCPU to min=1000, max=1000, the screen transitions were fluid. Then I kept getting screen freezes and had to do a battery pull twice in 5 days of buying it!
Went to the Sprint store and swapped for the ET. Here are some highlights/cons of the ET other than the screen quality.
-boot time is in seconds compared to the full min for the Photon
-screen transitions are butter smooth without having to use SETCPU
-lock screen is better and doesn't lag when you slide to unlock
-touchwiz is overall easier to use and more fluid than motoblur
-build quality is toyish compared to Photons premium feel
-back panel is easier to pop off on ET (minor irritation on Photon)
-overall 'smoothness' of app transitions is better on ET, probably because of the different type of processor used. I highly think 1.2 and 1.0 ghz does anything to do with it.
-no dedicated camera button (could used 3rd party app to use vol. button), but I do miss my camera button quite a bit.
You know the new iphone is probably coming out in the next month on sprint.
I don't believe any apple rumors.
There is more than rumors to support it. If you Google around, you'll a fair amount of evidence indicating that the "big 3" are getting the iPhone. I personally will stick with Android based phones because I find them more robust and useful. I find the iPhone to be more like a glorified toy.
hoang031 said:
I switched from my iphone 4 at ATT to Sprint last week when I used 20gb and got a bill of $260! I picked up the Photon and was sort of happy with it. The build quality of the Photon was superb and felt like a premium phone. The thing was it would choke when doing normal things. Screen transitions were laggy. After running SETCPU to min=1000, max=1000, the screen transitions were fluid. Then I kept getting screen freezes and had to do a battery pull twice in 5 days of buying it!
Went to the Sprint store and swapped for the ET. Here are some highlights/cons of the ET other than the screen quality.
-boot time is in seconds compared to the full min for the Photon
-screen transitions are butter smooth without having to use SETCPU
-lock screen is better and doesn't lag when you slide to unlock
-touchwiz is overall easier to use and more fluid than motoblur
-build quality is toyish compared to Photons premium feel
-back panel is easier to pop off on ET (minor irritation on Photon)
-overall 'smoothness' of app transitions is better on ET, probably because of the different type of processor used. I highly think 1.2 and 1.0 ghz does anything to do with it.
-no dedicated camera button (could used 3rd party app to use vol. button), but I do miss my camera button quite a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two things
3600 quadrant out the box vs 2200 max out the box
Super AMOLED owns qHD Pentile. I liked my evo's screen better than that pentile screen door effect.
hoang031 said:
-no dedicated camera button (could used 3rd party app to use vol. button), but I do miss my camera button quite a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's one of the many things I enjoyed about the first Epic. I always end up moving my finger for a button that doesn't exist anymore.
I had the Photon for about a month.
I would say that is a very fair assessment. Only thing I miss is the speakers and noise cancellation.
Crazy they cut cost on the speaker.
But rather that than anywhere else.
Both stock. 2600 quadrant Photon vs 4100 eptouch.
.: sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch :.
I my self made the switch. I when from the Evo 4g to the photon 4g. The photon is nicely build and really I like the way it felt on my hands, but I had nothing but problems from the photon. It really lag and frost on me plenty of times, I had to do many factory resets, so my last option was to switch it for the Epic touch.
hoang031 said:
I switched from my iphone 4 at ATT to Sprint last week when I used 20gb and got a bill of $260! I picked up the Photon and was sort of happy with it. The build quality of the Photon was superb and felt like a premium phone. The thing was it would choke when doing normal things. Screen transitions were laggy. After running SETCPU to min=1000, max=1000, the screen transitions were fluid. Then I kept getting screen freezes and had to do a battery pull twice in 5 days of buying it!
Went to the Sprint store and swapped for the ET. Here are some highlights/cons of the ET other than the screen quality.
-boot time is in seconds compared to the full min for the Photon
-screen transitions are butter smooth without having to use SETCPU
-lock screen is better and doesn't lag when you slide to unlock
-touchwiz is overall easier to use and more fluid than motoblur
-build quality is toyish compared to Photons premium feel
-back panel is easier to pop off on ET (minor irritation on Photon)
-overall 'smoothness' of app transitions is better on ET, probably because of the different type of processor used. I highly think 1.2 and 1.0 ghz does anything to do with it.
-no dedicated camera button (could used 3rd party app to use vol. button), but I do miss my camera button quite a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can add:
1. When you receive a call on the ET you can actually hear the person on the other end.
2. The ET does not suddenly reboot for no reason
3. You don't have to purchase another launcher to get a smooth UI.
Will admit that the Photon does pick up a signal better than any other phone I have used.
how are you getting 4100 stock quadrant?
I get anywhere from 3200 and 3700 on a fresh boot. I didn't think there would be that much between phone variance at stock.
R1ptide said:
how are you getting 4100 stock quadrant?
I get anywhere from 3200 and 3700 on a fresh boot. I didn't think there would be that much between phone variance at stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same question...
One reason and one reason only. The Camera. I was super phyced to get the Photon. Seemed like everything I needed. But the camera was sub par. The camera on the ET blows the Photon out of the water. However there are many drawbacks to this phone that I am noticing that weren't there/reported on the Photon forums... But the camera was the top priority, so I went with the Sammy.
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
Surprise no one did a first impressions thread yet lol.
In here we give our first impressions of the phone so far like your opinion on the performance, screen, sound, camera, build quality, battery life etc.
First I'll like to say that the build quality is amazing. Coming from an epic 4G, I am not sure if my words have any strength but it just feels so nice. It looks very sexy as well. I can't stop staring at it lol.
This is the best screen I have ever seen. It is so sharp and detail in a way I would have never expected. I personally liked the over saturated colors on Samsung's amoled screens but this screen made me feel as if it was too cartoony looking now.
As for performance, I feel like reviewers gave me false expectations. Don't get me wrong, this is a super fast phone but people made it seemed like there would be no lag at all but I notice occasionally hiccups. Note that this is a minor complaint because for most of the time, this is a very smooth experience. The quadcore processor makes this phone a beast!
Battery life has surpassed my expectations. The standby time is great for me. I can use this phone heavily, stop using it and barely experience a drain. Eco mode helps and it charges fast as well.
I came from an Epic 4G so even the cons of the phone is a pro for me since everything is an upgrade. I have nothing but praise for this phone.
latindor17 said:
Surprise no one did a first impressions thread yet lol.
In here we give our first impressions of the phone so far like your opinion on the performance, screen, sound, camera, build quality, battery life etc.
First I'll like to say that the build quality is amazing. Coming from an epic 4G, I am not sure if my words have any strength but it just feels so nice. It looks very sexy as well. I can't stop staring at it lol.
This is the best screen I have ever seen. It is so sharp and detail in a way I would have never expected. I personally liked the over saturated colors on Samsung's amoled screens but this screen made me feel as if it was too cartoony looking now.
As for performance, I feel like reviewers gave me false expectations. Don't get me wrong, this is a super fast phone but people made it seemed like there would be no lag at all but I notice occasionally hiccups. Note that this is a minor complaint because for most of the time, this is a very smooth experience. The quadcore processor makes this phone a beast!
Battery life has surpassed my expectations. The standby time is great for me. I can use this phone heavily, stop using it and barely experience a drain. Eco mode helps and it charges fast as well.
I came from an Epic 4G so even the cons of the phone is a pro for me since everything is an upgrade. I have nothing but praise for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with your statements. I also do notice small occasional hiccups which are most likely software related. Hopefully LG will address this in a future update or Jelly Bean release.
Camera is pretty much the only complaint I have about the phone. It's really disappointing. Another software issue that I hope LG will fix in the future.
I just played with one 10 minutes ago at the Sprint store and walked away thoroughly impressed. Loved the sleekness and the feel of the phone. Screen was amazing and the camera was awesome. The speed of the phone was blazing fast. Loved the phone. Looking forward to possibly owning one in the near future.
Beamed From My CM10 GS3
This is definitely one of the best phones available I love everything only things that could be better would be jb, aokp or cm10
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
I see little bugs in lgs software sometimes but overall not issues whatsoever. My experience has been in line with everyone else as far as battery it just overheats too much. Im cool with keeping brightness at 31 but i shouldn't have to. I'm sure its the beasty processor i live with it but im hoping for an amazing jellybean ota update. Fingers crossed. .....
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
genaro12543 said:
I see little bugs in lgs software sometimes but overall not issues whatsoever. My experience has been in line with everyone else as far as battery it just overheats too much. Im cool with keeping brightness at 31 but i shouldn't have to. I'm sure its the beasty processor i live with it but im hoping for an amazing jellybean ota update. Fingers crossed. .....
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am seeing small bugs here and there as well. Like the home screen animations "skips" sometimes when swiping through the screens.
Or the Music player list scrolling is pretty smooth and as soon as you play a song, it becomes choppy. What's up LG? A quad-core CPU can't handle playing music and scrolling through a list?
The Korean version is expected to get Jelly Bean next month so hopefully LG and Sprint and get their stuff together and give us the update quick.
I'm coming from the SGSII (ET4G). Off the back, the build quality of this phone is amazing. The phone is beautiful and it feels great in hands. Not that I ever really had any complaints about samsung but wow, now i REALLY feel the difference. Because of sleekness though I am alot more paranoid about dropping this phone. Going to order a case today for it. The display is also great. Although its taking some time to get used to (as far as colors). Performance wise, the phone is much faster than my rooted sgs2. I have noticed a hiccup here and there but its not enough to complain about. After getting official ICS on the SGS2, there were days I just wanted to throw that phone because all the ICS builds were so buggy and battery life was horrendous. So comparing to that, ICS on the LG is great and battery is far better than what I had so it's good for me. Camera wise, I am still playing with it. The photos are okay but not great. Although, has anyone tried the video camera? As far as video is concerned I am very pleased with what I am seeing. All this phone needs is some Jelly.
I'm getting a terrible batter life on mine...down to about 5% by the end of the day. I looked in the battery info and it says Android OS is at 66% for battery use. Anyone have any idea why?
sarspants said:
I'm getting a terrible batter life on mine...down to about 5% by the end of the day. I looked in the battery info and it says Android OS is at 66% for battery use. Anyone have any idea why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get high android os usage also... averaging 8 ish hours
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Android usage is also top battery drainer for me but supposedly this display is supposed to be pretty low power? The display on my 3D absolutely destroyed battery but I'm getting a lot longer out of this phone.
My opinions pretty much reflect everyone else's. This phone is simply amazing in every way. Huge props to LG on this thing. Sleek and professional design with superb build quality, matched with a high quality screen and a fairly loud speaker. Performance is always snappy, there are very minor stutters every once in a while but such is android. 95 percent of the time it is extremely fluid though. And I actually like LG's UI and the ease of quick memo, much better than Sense.
One thing I'd like to add that I don't think I've heard anyone say yet is that the audio quality is simply amazing. Sounds SO much clearer and natural compared to my Evo (using headphones obviously).
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
I got mine Thursday on my lunch break. That particular one had a problem where I could hear myself in the phone. Not an echo like you get from time to time, but almost like it was going physically through the case of the phone. 24 hours later took it back and exchanged it. The one in the store DID NOT do this and neither does the exchanged one.
Coming from a S2 Epic 4g Touch, which feel off my kitchen table and busted the screen and having to go back to my Evo, this thing flies. I absolutly love the speed. I have not fully tested out what I need it to do, but so far, I have no complaints on the performance.
The things I do dislike. No swappable battery, but this seems to be going the way of the dodo bird anyway. Hopefully the battery consumption is, as great, as they say it is. I was also dissapointed in no SD card and the ringer is crazy quiet, especially when you lay it down with the speaker down. I have never had a phone be this quiet before and the speaker was on the back as well.
Great upgrade but...
I had the HTC EVO 3D last which eventually died on me. Two strips on the phone became unresponsive (had to use predictive texting all the time m ><) and the back camera failed so every time I switched the camera it would just flip the image.
LG Optimus G
PROS
Gorgeous screen
Incredibly fast
Lots of memory space
Light weight
Thin
Beautiful construction
High res camera
Nice software usability
Amazing contact profiles
Great social integration
CONS
Searching contacts takes a long time (it searches every field)
Large white space at the keypad which SHOULD contain most recent contacts
Most recent contacts is in the history tab, a second action to dial
Clicking a user after searching their name in the keypad pastes their phone number instead of auto dials
The home widget screens sometimes lag horribly and visibly refreshes each icon
Camera has a yellow tint
Camera has a blue tint with flash
Poor reception in Atlanta?
Folders can only contain so many icons
Cannot choose picture associated with user
im10er said:
[*]Poor reception in Atlanta?
[/LIST]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're in Atlanta, too? I've noticed, at least in my area, the only places I get 4G is when I'm in my car, on the road. Have only had the phone for a week, though, with not much traveling (just to and from work, and some shops in Edgewood and Ponce area).
My overall impression with this phone, coming from an EVO 4G, is that this thing is simply beautiful. The phone I originally purchased had color-banding issues as well as a slight backlight bleed on the top of the display (viewing a photo in fullscreen from the gallery app, without zooming, shows this bleed, I've noticed), so I took it back for a replacement. The replacement had an even worse backlight bleed in the same place. With some complaining and nagging at the store, I managed to get a second replacement which still has the backlight bleed and color-banding issue. I have since discovered that this is a manufacturing defect that exists on all Optimus G's, which is unfortunate, but I'm learning to live with it. The backlight bleed is easy to ignore, but the color-banding is very noticeable. A simple swipe down of the notifications panel will show the quick settings bar, which has a striped/banned effect on the gradient. Comparing this device's screen to others (SGSIII and iPhone 5) shows that this display is unique in this regard. Such a shame, considering all the great things about this phone.
Also, while the camera isn't flawless, it certainly isn't always trounced by Camera Zoom FX - For example, the other day I was in the coffee shop and took some sample shots with the stock camera that were too dark. Switching to Camera Zoom FX produced an over-exposed picture that wouldn't change exposure, despite metering in different areas of the viewfinder. This left me very confused. Hopefully the stock camera will be fixed (more or less) in the Jellybean Update due this December. I won't root until I get it. Haha
This phone is sex. The camera, although not always top notch, turns out good, detailed photos with very natural tones. I adore this display. I like Samsung's super amoled, so I didn't quite know what to expect, yet this display has stunned me with a warm variety of natural colors.
I personally love the stock keyboard. I had bought swiftkey on my Nexus S and assumed I would need it for this phone as well, but I have been impressed with the stock keyboard to a tremendous extent.
Now, a complaint I do have is regarding the temperature of this processing beast. It tends to run hot. Which sometimes prevents me from putting the screen at 100% brightness. I was a bit shocked, but it seems a small price to pay for a quad core processor and a huge screen.
This is a very nice phone. Love it.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
im10er said:
I had the HTC EVO 3D last which eventually died on me. Two strips on the phone became unresponsive (had to use predictive texting all the time m ><) and the back camera failed so every time I switched the camera it would just flip the image.
LG Optimus G
PROS
Gorgeous screen
Incredibly fast
Lots of memory space
Light weight
Thin
Beautiful construction
High res camera
Nice software usability
Amazing contact profiles
Great social integration
CONS
Searching contacts takes a long time (it searches every field)
Large white space at the keypad which SHOULD contain most recent contacts
Most recent contacts is in the history tab, a second action to dial
Clicking a user after searching their name in the keypad pastes their phone number instead of auto dials
The home widget screens sometimes lag horribly and visibly refreshes each icon
Camera has a yellow tint
Camera has a blue tint with flash
Poor reception in Atlanta?
Folders can only contain so many icons
Cannot choose picture associated with user
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try contact sync from play store. You can use contacts fb pic as contact pic.. If I'm not mistaken ever since 4.0 Facebook stopped allowing to sync FB contacts to mobile contacts
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
this phone is pretty g
so i have been waiting to get an upgrade since march... i was on a blackberry 8530 and it was falling apart. through the months i managed to bypass the evo lte for the gsIII, then to be later completely let down by that device. i guess it came down to value, i couldnt see myself spending 200 bucks for either of these phones so i continued to wait. come october i hear the specs for the OG and it seemed like it was going to be the phone that the gsIII should have been. quad core, 13 mp shooter, and 2 gb ram... epic. I knew the phone was going to come out for 200, compared to the evo lte for about 100 and the sg3III for about 150 regular price. Expecting for there to be deals on these phones, I was still debating on making the purchase for 200 and not too just wait for a price drop. When I saw the preorder price of 150 I got pretty damn excited. heres a phone that just came out for the same price as the sgIII, with better specs. Well I ended up having to wait a little longer for a discover card that I had just been approved for. Come last week I see the best buy price... $100, no freaking way. I got my card walked in the best buy with confidence at made my purchase, actually got one for my dad too. So yeah anyways after one week I have come to some of the same conclusions as the rest of you guys.
Build quality/screen: The phone looks and feels fantastic. This screen is great, I put a couple hd .mkv's and they run so smooth and look so good. I can even play them as a text!
The OS: ICS seems to run with few hiccups, and LG's skin is pleasing. But yeah everything is so smooth and accessible. Apps load so quick. I dont know how much of this is just because its my first android phone or the phone itself. I notice some of you all noticed the stutter when swiping through the home screen menus. I got this alot, especially when exiting apps or switching to landscape mode. I think I found a semi-solution by switching the scroll effect to carousel. It seems much more smooth to play with. I have also noticed the lag when scrolling through longer menus, like in the music app while scrolling through songs. I have a hard time believing this is not a software issue, the cpu and ram on this phone should run those things like butter. Also i think this is a glitch ive experienced like 3 times. I'll be sending a text, usually a long one, and suddenly the delete key gets stuck or something. I cant do anything except sit there and watch my message get deleted. Its super frustrating. It seems to stick even after, backspacing any new character I type. I think I have to exit out and return to the message for it to actually stop.
The battery: I dont know if I'm satisfied. I haven't tried it standby with music for very long, but it seems to drop pretty quick on with normal use. Ive been playing around with leaving wifi off, or on with the data, and either way it still seems pretty draining. Im not even at full brightness. Im really worried how long this thing will last watching movies or playing games. Android is at 44% right now. Also its a shame it isn't removable.
Temp: The phone can get pretty hot also. There is actually a spot, on or right under the logo on the back that actually can get intolerable at times. Maybe it only happens when using the phone while charging, but it was still surprising. The rest of the phone stays pretty cool
The camera: From what I've taken, I'm pretty happy. I like the "cheese shutter" feature for taking self portraits with the main camera. It is weak in low light, but isnt every phone camers? One issue that exists is the flash and the actual taking of the photo seem out of sync. I can't tell if its just me, but I get fulled when the actual photo is snapped, especially when the screen shows a photo right before the flash. I'm sure this could be solved with future updates.
The RAM: Yeah there are two gigs, but I seem to always have around one being used. Even with all tasks stopped, I can't get it under ~960mb in use. It was actually around 1.07gb until I did a restart. I dont know if this is all being sucked up by ICS, but should I be worried?
Storage: Im really upset over the absence of microsd slot, but I knew about that before I made my purchase. I mean 32gb built in is quite a bit more than what comes standard in other phones. I have no idea how people survive with an 8gb iphone, to me with some high quality music and bigger apps, that memory will vanish. I have noticed, though, on the stock file manager, the main directory is "/mnt/sdcard". This is pretty suspicious. I'm wondering if there actually is a card slot, but we just can't access it? Has anyone opened her up to see?
Overall: I love it, and at $100 I can't complain. I am looking forward to the Jelly Bean update or to possibly rooting the device to run a custom rom. Either way great phone!
PS. This is my first post. I wouldnt have registered if I didnt have so much to say.
Mrichelo said:
I managed to get a second replacement which still has the backlight bleed and color-banding issue. I have since discovered that this is a manufacturing defect that exists on all Optimus G's, which is unfortunate, but I'm learning to live with it. The backlight bleed is easy to ignore, but the color-banding is very noticeable. A simple swipe down of the notifications panel will show the quick settings bar, which has a striped/banned effect on the gradient. Comparing this device's screen to others (SGSIII and iPhone 5) shows that this display is unique in this regard. Such a shame, considering all the great things about this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hate it when people say what I'm about to say, but I'm saying it - I have none of these problems. There is no gradient on my quick settings bar. It's solid gray with no banding anywhere. With photos, I've got several with totally black or dark edges around the entire frame and I see no light bleed. My wife has the same phone and doesn't have these issues, either. Not trying to diminish your problem because it's obviously a problem. Only reason I'm saying it is that I haven't read anywhere that these are manufacturing defects.
@mosesjohn, That was a nice post, enjoyed reading through it. About the ram thing, I experience the same thing and I find it quite odd. When I had my Epic 4G using Jellybean, over half of my 512GB of ram was being use so to find that this phone is using half 2GB shocked me. I assumed that android just reserves a certain percentage of ram kinda like all OS reserves memory in a HDD/SSD. Either that of LG's UI is taking up a lot of resources.
Kchitown1977 said:
Try contact sync from play store. You can use contacts fb pic as contact pic.. If I'm not mistaken ever since 4.0 Facebook stopped allowing to sync FB contacts to mobile contacts
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can merge/join contacts if you log into LG Social+. I'm able to get FB photos for contacts (as well as their social statuses). Though, I wish the auto-suggest worked better. Took me a while to get all my contacts linked right.
latindor17 said:
@mosesjohn, That was a nice post, enjoyed reading through it. About the ram thing, I experience the same thing and I find it quite odd. When I had my Epic 4G using Jellybean, over half of my 512GB of ram was being use so to find that this phone is using half 2GB shocked me. I assumed that android just reserves a certain percentage of ram kinda like all OS reserves memory in a HDD/SSD. Either that of LG's UI is taking up a lot of resources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks!
about the ram... it helps knowing im not alone. it might just be that ICS likes to utilize whatever it can, without taking up more than half of the ram. I mean its going to be really hard to use 1 gb of ram with apps/games, and if ICS runs smoother because it uses the rest, fine by me. I just hope its as efficient as possible, without sacrificing performance.
I 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.
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great review OP, thanks!