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Hi all,
Every time I get a new phone, I like to write a guide giving my impressions and help anyone that may be interested in getting it as well.
Just to give you an overview, I've had android devices since September 2010.
Device history: Motorola Cliq>MyTouch 3G Slide>HTC G2> MyTouch 4G Slide
Now onto the Glide...
Build quality is solid, albeit cheap at times. It's very plasticky and light. All of my previous phones have felt much more dense in the hand. The shiny plastic bezel around the sides gets scratched up very easily, as does the top bezel over the screen. The top bezel wear is mostly from using the keyboard, as when you go to press the top keys, your fingernails may scrape the bezel. The back cover is nice, although I prefer soft touch finishes. My G2 felt the best in the hand. Back cover withstands knocks fairly well, and doesn't show scratches easily.
The charging port cover is a nice touch.
This is the biggest device I've owned thus far, and the bulk is becoming apparent. I wish Samsung worked a little harder on getting the form factor down in size a bit, because I feel as though it's not as optimal as it could be. When I pick up a phone, I want to feel that I'm holding nothing but the screen and keys I need. This phone feels a little wider and taller than necessary. Very blocky. If they tapered the edges more, this phone would be much easier to hold. There's a lot of space between the soft keys and screen and around the screen in general. This is about as big as I will go for form factor, because it's just starting to get a little unmanageable.
I wish Samsung made the screen a little bigger or added a trackpad, instead of making room to stick their logo on the front. The amount of space it takes up is deliberate and offsets the entire screen on the phone.
Screen: It's very bright and colorful. I appreciate the extra screen space over my old phones. This is about the limit for screen size for me. I don't think going any bigger would make the phone any better. I will however mention that the screen resolution is quite low for a screen this size. I didn't think I would notice it as much, but text does become hard to read when you try to zoom out on a webpage. 75% of the time, this is not a big deal but it's prominent enough that I mention it. There's a subtle hint of sharpness missing when it comes to the screen.
I hope that future phones will work more towards having edge to edge displays or displays without bezels (such as the Droid Razr M).
Keyboard: It will take some time to get used to, but it's a decent keyboard. Tactile feedback, although the keys are flat. Not the best keyboard I've used, but heaps better than my previous phone the 4G Slide. The keys are big enough that the flatness doesn't matter much. But it is hard to type on this phone without looking, if that's your thing. The G2 keyboard is hands down the best keyboard I've used on a device. I like the accent colors for different symbols and numbers
Battery: The stock battery that comes with this phone is very good. It holds a charge very well and can last you through the whole day with light to moderate use. I find myself charging my phone less than my previous phone, even though the screen size is bigger. Definite plus.
Speed: This is all relative now. Any phone you buy today will have more than enough power for your daily tasks and beyond. I have noticed that the Tegra 2 chipset is terrifically fast and tackles anything I throw at it effortlessly. I did not expect anything less. I would like to point out that, when under load, the phone does not feel as hot as my older phones did, even though the temps still go fairly high. While playing GTA Vice City over an hour the temperature peaks at around 50 degrees Celsius. I suspect the plastic helps with this, as when my G2 got that hot, the metal accents made it uncomfortable to hold.
What's interesting to note is this: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html
The Tegra 2 ranks all the way down at 640. But just the fact that it's on the list impresses me. I expect that phones will catch up to laptops in terms of computing power within the next 1-2 years. They are already matching laptop chips from 8 years ago.
Faults:
I sorely miss my physical trackpad. I used it on a daily basis, and it's a blaring omission on this device. I would always use my trackpad to wake the phone, as it's very easily accessible and the easiest button to locate on a device. It's also much easier to reach for, vs. the power button. The similar sized Relay 4G manages to incorporate a physical button (not trackpad) in the same size as the Glide. The trackpad was also a great way to edit text on screen without the keyboard open.
Speaking of the power button, I kinda wish it was placed up top. It's in an awkward position, very close to the top corner of the phone. If it's going to be that high up the side of the device, might as well put it on top because you index finger has a longer reach than your thumb (yes, I've thought about this extensively).
The charging port is poorly placed. It's almost impossible to use the keyboard if your phone is charging. There's no good way to wrap your hands around the phone when charging. Also puts unnecessary strain on the cable and port if you're talking on the phone while charging, as it's at the top of the phone. Having the headphone jack right next to it only compounds the problem. Although the keyboard is still ok to use when you have only headphones plugged in.
There is no notification light. Very big miss on Samsung's end with this one. Why they couldn't throw one in is beyond me.
I will update this review, the more I own the phone. If there's anything you'd like me to comment on or compare, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to add it.
Nice review, you showed pretty much the most important downsides of the phone. I would also add RDS radio, which to me is the most important omission. The led notification can be decently passed with NoLed app.
I got mine just a week ago, and I can say I enjoy it, it's surprisingly powerful. As my first smartphone, can't really compare, but overall, it met all my expectations, and for the money I paid (155$) it is a pleasure. In Europe one can't really find anything close as performance to this.
Great phone overall.
Indeed this is an S2 variant with QWERTY sans FM radio hardware and larger screen. I was thinking of getting an S3 Mini instead will probably go for a second Captivate Glide for my gym and car audio use.
God knows when we'll see an S3 QWERTY variant.
Long live hardware QWERTY keyboards!
incidentflux said:
Indeed this is an S2 variant with QWERTY sans FM radio hardware and larger screen. I was thinking of getting an S3 Mini instead will probably go for a second Captivate Glide for my gym and car audio use.
God knows when we'll see an S3 QWERTY variant.
Long live hardware QWERTY keyboards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt we'll ever see any more QWERTY devices. The last one was released in September 2012, and there hasn't been any word on a new phone coming out. And very few of the phones available are actual high end premium stuff. Not the mid range garbage you're used to seeing all the time.
They are getting quite rare and hard to come by.
incidentflux said:
Indeed this is an S2 variant with QWERTY sans FM radio hardware and larger screen. I was thinking of getting an S3 Mini instead will probably go for a second Captivate Glide for my gym and car audio use.
God knows when we'll see an S3 QWERTY variant.
Long live hardware QWERTY keyboards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S3 with a keyboard would be so sweet!
JB
dudejb said:
S3 with a keyboard would be so sweet!
JB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.christianpost.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s3-with-qwerty-keyboard-launching-on-t-mobile-this-month-81229/
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SGH-T699DABTMB-features
Speaking of the Relay 4G, I actually just picked one up.
I can safely say, the hardware is flawless. It actually covers EVERY one of the faults I listed with the Glide.
I don't want to trade in my Glide just yet though, considering dev support for the Glide is much further along (nearly perfect).
If anyone would like direct comparisons or side by side details, please let me know. Both of these phones are arguably the best Android QWERTYs currently on the market.
gtmaster303 said:
Speaking of the Relay 4G, I actually just picked one up.
I can safely say, the hardware is flawless. It actually covers EVERY one of the faults I listed with the Glide.
I don't want to trade in my Glide just yet though, considering dev support for the Glide is much further along (nearly perfect).
If anyone would like direct comparisons or side by side details, please let me know. Both of these phones are arguably the best Android QWERTYs currently on the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed ... i need to get me a relay as well...
gtmaster303 said:
Speaking of the Relay 4G, I actually just picked one up.
I can safely say, the hardware is flawless. It actually covers EVERY one of the faults I listed with the Glide.
I don't want to trade in my Glide just yet though, considering dev support for the Glide is much further along (nearly perfect).
If anyone would like direct comparisons or side by side details, please let me know. Both of these phones are arguably the best Android QWERTYs currently on the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi gtmaster! I found this forum (and you!) looking for a comparative between captivate glide and relay. I read your great review about the glide, and I'll be very interested if you could write some sort of summary telling what is better and what is worse in the relay.
Of course my biggest concern is how the keyboard performs (if not I wouln't be looking for a qwerty ), but for example, how the 5MP camera in the relay compare to the 8MP in the glide, regarding pictures and videos?
Thanks in advance mate!
ninguno2 said:
Hi gtmaster! I found this forum (and you!) looking for a comparative between captivate glide and relay. I read your great review about the glide, and I'll be very interested if you could write some sort of summary telling what is better and what is worse in the relay.
Of course my biggest concern is how the keyboard performs (if not I wouln't be looking for a qwerty ), but for example, how the 5MP camera in the relay compare to the 8MP in the glide, regarding pictures and videos?
Thanks in advance mate!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, been pretty caught up lately, but I haven't forgotten about you. I'll try and get some comparisons up tonight. 12 hours shifts really do take a toll on you
Sent from my Captivate Glide
I think this is a great review. I just wanted to add a few notes from my own perspective.
Keyboard: This is the worst keyboard I've ever owned. My previous devices have been blackberries up until getting a Stratosphere last year. It's soft, the targets are imprecise, and the tactical feedback is... squishy. Being 4-rows sucks, and aside from that it's marginally worse than the Strat in feel (strat is 5 row and, well... better.) Still, compared to BB, a joke. This keyboard actually drops to the level of being fatiguing to use. Where I would have no problem writing a novel on the BB, and a blog post on the Strat, I've actually started to use the virtual keyboard even for poking around in C source files on the terminal in VIM.
Hardware: Damn this tegra 2 is fast and silky. I have a side-by-side debian install and even building C++ projects I feel is only limited by the SD card speed. I can't see needing to upgrade this guy for a long time. Unless the Blaze has a much better keyboard (and has 1900mhz support, I travel the globe, dammit.)
Network: Has been pretty good. I'm travelling in Costa Rica right now, and I get HSPA+ almost everywhere. A few times I have had to re-register on the network (even a reboot wouldn't get me back) but I blame that on latin america cell service.
Wifi: Reception is about on par with other phones. Not as good as my Nexus7, nowhere near as good as my laptop, but if I'm reasonably close to the signal it does OK.
Battery: Bad. I got even got a giant 3800mah beast. Fortunately with thegreatergood's cm10.1, latest litekernel, inverted apps, and ondemand governor, I've gotten it to where it is serviceable. Being a former BB user, I still scratch my head when people think getting through almost an entire day with barely using your device before it dies means it's good. I can get about 2-3 hours of screen time now before things start to get low, and it can idle for days. I'd like more, but soldering the stock battery in parallel to this monster I have in here doesn't seem like an awesome idea.
Overall I'm extremely pleased with this device. It's so fluid and smooth - all of that "Android lag/stutter" I've come to expect over the years (developing on android and such, just never using one as my personal device) is all gone. It's not as "smooth" as my wife's jesusPhone4s, but god the UI on her phone seems so primitive and ugly compared to mine.
I feel like this is the first phone (thanks to thegreatergood, dman and CM10 team) that I'm really happy with since my torch, but I use it more than the torch because that was basically only good for talk/text/email. This phone is inferior at the text/email part, but better at everything else. And I can run a full blown Django dev server on it so I can code on the road .
Review Relay 4G
ninguno2 said:
Hi gtmaster! I found this forum (and you!) looking for a comparative between captivate glide and relay. I read your great review about the glide, and I'll be very interested if you could write some sort of summary telling what is better and what is worse in the relay.
Of course my biggest concern is how the keyboard performs (if not I wouln't be looking for a qwerty ), but for example, how the 5MP camera in the relay compare to the 8MP in the glide, regarding pictures and videos?
Thanks in advance mate!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in response to your query (better late than never)...
The Relay 4G is much better than the Captivate Glide in a lot of key areas. I feel as though Samsung deliberately took the Glide back to the drawing board and corrected most, if not all of the flaws the phone had.
For starters, it's a much better device to hold. The back of the Captivate Glide is very slippery, despite being raised and textured plastic. I don't know why but I'm always scared of dropping it. The Relay 4G has a soft touch finish on the back which nicer to hold and easier to grip. Even though the Relay is marginally bigger than the Glide, the tapered and rounded edges make it fit in the hand naturally. The hand is not made to accommodate flat and angular objects well. This is especially apparent when you hold up an iPhone 4/4S/5. Sure, it's a high end device and feels like a luxury item, but it never felt ergonomic.
The phone has a notification light (Hurrah!). It also has a physical home button. It's well placed and easily accessible, making the phone to turn on a breeze.
The keyboard. Ok, this is where things get interesting.... It's not a bad keyboard by any means. I've used quite a few keyboards over the past few years and this one is somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, the keys are very responsive and properly spaced out (horizontally). But on the other hand, the whole orientation of the keyboard is shifted to the left for some reason. It doesn't feel centered or natural. You can grow accustomed to anything over time, and this by no means a deal breaker but it is a quirk to be mentioned. Also, I noticed that the keys themselves are very thin. Although the typing and feedback is precise, there's not much room between the keys vertically. I feel like Samsung focused hard on trying to cram a number row into a dedicated keyboard space and slightly ruined it.
The camera is decent. It's by no means the best camera you will ever use, and it will get the job done in a pinch. But don't ditch your old point and shoot for this camera. There's a lot of noise whenever you take pictures with a lot of detail. If you put in a little effort though, it will give you some great shots for a phone. I think when Samsung was designing this phone, the camera is where they cut corners and I'm glad they decided to do that here. I'd rather they cut corners here than with the keyboard, battery, or design.
The way I see it is, if you're buying a phone for its camera, you're buying it for the wrong reason. The cameras that manufacturers slap onto the back of phones these days are monumentally better than they used to be, but in the real world they still pale in comparison to a dedicated point and shoot. Sure you can probably get some amazing shots when you put them side by side. But with the phone, the angle, lighting, distance, location, status of your marriage, amount of mortgage you have left, what day of the week it is, and what kind of car you drive all have to be just right to get those amazing shots. Smartphones are closing the gap, but we're not there yet folks...
Overall the Relay feels solid in the hand, but at the end of the day it's still plastic. I don't care what you have to say about plastic or what kind of finish you put on it. The phone still feels cheaper (notice I didn't say cheap outright). It's solid I'll give you that, but you don't get the sense that you have a high end crafted device. Nor is this meant to be. Plastic and quality never go in the same sentence, no matter how hard you try. You cannot escape the fact that this phone is very generic bland looking, plasticky, and boring black. Personally I don't care so much for looks as I do for functionality, but ever since I've moved away from HTC devices and into Samsung devices, I noticed that the physical presentation of the phone isn't anything to write home about. Although I will say the styling is slightly better than the Captivate Glide. But that's like saying Rosie O'Donnell is slightly better looking than Whoopi Goldberg.
The Relay is, what the Captivate Glide should've been. After spending some time with the Relay, I realize that the Glide was more of an afterthought, rather than an actual phone designed for people who love a keyboard. So would I say you get one? ABSOLUTELY. But do I expect more from Samsung, or any manufacturer that's going to make the next android QWERTY? Yes.
Does any of that really matter? Not in the least. Because whoever makes the next QWERTY (assuming there is one), knows that it's a lukewarm market with no competitors and the sole buyers being the low-mid range market, texting teenagers, and us.
Thank you for your reviews.
I don't own a Relay, but reading the specs it looks like glide has better camera (as you said), more powerful processor (please correct me) and gorilla glass, which Relay doesn't have.
Relay apparently has no FM Radio, which is a lack in Glide (not the main, yet i would enjoy).
Glide has 4 soft keys on the front, instead of Relay's 3 (and i think this is a point for Glide, for esthetics and functionality).
Looking at the specs, i don't understand what makes Relay so far better than Glide.
sbiricuda said:
Thank you for your reviews.
I don't own a Relay, but reading the specs it looks like glide has better camera (as you said), more powerful processor (please correct me) and gorilla glass, which Relay doesn't have.
Relay apparently has no FM Radio, which is a lack in Glide (not the main, yet i would enjoy).
Glide has 4 soft keys on the front, instead of Relay's 3 (and i think this is a point for Glide, for esthetics and functionality).
Looking at the specs, i don't understand what makes Relay so far better than Glide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the glide is definitely slower. Gorilla glass is just a gimmick as far as I'm concerned. Sure it may be stronger, but it all depends on how you drop your phone. If it impacts a certain way, it will crack. Sometimes you get lucky and it won't. It has more to do with the design rather than the glass itself.
I would much rather have a physical home button, even if it means I lose a soft key. The ease of use is tremendous.
The relay is an all around better package than the glide. It's not amazingly better in any single way, but all the little changes add up to make a big difference.
Sent from my Captivate Glide
Battery on the Glide, and Relay AT&T
Hello,
Thanks for the great reviews.
I've got two questions, first is the Relay an AT&T phone? I was under the impression it was not.
Second, with regards to the battery on the Glide, for me I've found it rather disappointing, if I barely use the phone, I can get two days out of it. This is not ideal, I don't want a phone just to sit around, I want to talk, text, that's the main maybe some google play stuff, a hard day of use and I've got to charge the battery nightly. I'd love to know tips on battery improvement or a battery of the extended variety that will work with the glide?
Thanks.
tech927
1 full day's use with a battery is not considered to be dsiappointing in the Android world. It is rather considered fair.
tech927 said:
Hello,
Thanks for the great reviews.
I've got two questions, first is the Relay an AT&T phone? I was under the impression it was not.
Second, with regards to the battery on the Glide, for me I've found it rather disappointing, if I barely use the phone, I can get two days out of it. This is not ideal, I don't want a phone just to sit around, I want to talk, text, that's the main maybe some google play stuff, a hard day of use and I've got to charge the battery nightly. I'd love to know tips on battery improvement or a battery of the extended variety that will work with the glide?
Thanks.
tech927
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The relay is a tmobile phone, but it supports AT&Ts bands.
There are quite a few battery threads out there. Go search
Sent from my Galaxy S Relay
Not bought this tablet yet as only the 16gb is currently available in the UK and I'm after the 32gb.
My question is with regards to the S Pen accuracy and responsiveness on this tablet. From the videos I've seen online, the S Pen looks both accurate and responsive. When I tried it out in the shop (Samsung store at Westfield Centre, Stratford), I was pleased with the results. So much so that I've already gone out and bought the S Pen with eraser despite not having a tablet to use it on.
I've been reading every review I can get my hands on, but most just seem to compare the tablet to a standard capacitive screen tablet and almost dismiss the S Pen and functionality that it brings to the table.
One review that seemed to cover the S Pen in detail said it was good but didnt match the feel and responsiveness of the Surface Pro. Has anyone had any issue with using there Note 8.0 for drawing? If the answer is yes (although I suspect there is no issue, only that the reviewer was being particularly picky...), is it only with the pen that comes with the tablet or are all wacom compatible pens slightly unresponsive on this tablet? The exact complaint is to do with lag and palm regection...
- cant post link as I am a new member. it was on AnandTech
If there is lag, then my guess is that its OS or processor related (although the 1.6GHz Samsung Exynos 4412 is no slouch), may be rooting it, replacing the kernal and overclocking it would help. I wouldnt want to replace the ROM as I think alot of the functionality of touchwiz sounds useful.
I cant afford the surface pro plus its larger than I would like. I'm just looking for some confidence that I'm investing in the right device for my intended use (portable sketching, inking and colouring of images using either sketchbook pro or layerpaint). Any other functionality on top of that is a bonus (I do enjoy a bit of gaming).
Sorry for the long post. It's my first and I wanted to be clear with my question and expectations from this tablet.
Ben
hertsjoatmon said:
Sorry for the long post. It's my first and I wanted to be clear with my question and expectations from this tablet.
Ben
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S-Pen is leaps and bounds better than any non-Wacom solution, you already know this but it should be stated regardless. As far as accuracy, it is pretty much the crispest experience available right now. The Win8 tablets have the same digitizer specs, and no increases in sensitivity. The extra real estate on an 11.6" tablet vs. an 8" tablet is about the only benefit the Surface has over any of the Note series. I own a Note 1, Note 2, Note 8.0 and a Fujitsu Tablet PC (previously the most accurate Wacom device in my quiver.) and the Note 8 is far and above the most accurate and sensitivity is excellent. I think most of the reviews are playing with S-Note and assuming that's as good as it gets, but the S-Note app is geared toward writing, and when you use Photoshop Touch, the sensitivity REALLY shines. I can draw fine hairs and detail with ease.
Hope this helps you!
It's accurate and responsive. A fabulous little sketching tablet paired with Sketchbook Pro for tablets.
The calibration of the point to nib is better than I have achieved on my Surface Pro.
Also, you shouldn't compare a Surface Pro to the Note 8.0. They aren't in the same class of machine or tablet.
cmunho said:
Also, you shouldn't compare a Surface Pro to the Note 8.0. They aren't in the same class of machine or tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I get a little extra clarification on this point? What I'm after is a portable tablet that I can use for sketching. I dont care what OS or manufacturer it is. I just want something I can chuck in my backpack and take out and draw on when im away from home. To me, my only options are Samsung Note 10, 8.0 or surface pro. I dont know anything else that is appropriate which is why I have classed them together. Different OS, but similar format and both use Wacom Digitizer tech.
I'm going to have to get it on credit as my funds are tight at the moment so dont want to break the bank. What should i be comparing the Notes to for portable drawing use?
Thanks for you reply
robyr said:
The Win8 tablets have the same digitizer specs, and no increases in sensitivity. The extra real estate on an 11.6" tablet vs. an 8" tablet is about the only benefit the Surface has over any of the Note series.
I think most of the reviews are playing with S-Note and assuming that's as good as it gets, but the S-Note app is geared toward writing, and when you use Photoshop Touch, the sensitivity REALLY shines. I can draw fine hairs and detail with ease.
Hope this helps you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That does help. Thanks!
I hadnt realised the Surface was 11 inches. I thought it was 10". I've only seen them in adverts to be fair and once I saw the price of the pro, had no interest in reasearching it further.
That could be it... I used S-Note for about a minute in the store before deciding to move on to a dedicated drawing programme. Heard complaints about photoshop touch from other forums that are focused around digital art. Thats what lead me to the decision to use Sketchbook Pro (which i already have on my ASUS TF101 but dont use as its horrible on a touch screen) or LayerPaint (which seems to be the most praised but I have no experience with personally).
The trouble I have found with most reviews to date is that they are geared towards general users. I consider this a specialist device which is why im looking for specific feed back on those uses. It will replace my note pad, sketchbook and current tablet.
cmunho said:
The calibration of the point to nib is better than I have achieved on my Surface Pro. QUOTE]
I'm assuming you can adjust this. My girlfriend has the original note phone, but I wasnt particularlly impressed with its accuracy. I tried the *#0*# trick (or what ever the code is) to get you into calibration mode, but it only seemed to help a little bit. the point on the screen seemed to be perminantly offset from where i was pointing the tip. This was very frustrating, Id get used to it in one orientation, then turn the phone 90 degrees and completely miss the point i was trying to draw next.
I've also read the trick about taking the button of the S Pens so that you can fine tune the pressure sensitivitiy by adjusting the potentiometer closest to the tip (turn clockwise to decrease, anti clockwise to increase sensitivity).
So it seems like there is room to manuvor to adjust the experience to my prefference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not much of an artist, but I do love to doodle and I've found that doing so on the Note 8 is as close to doing it on paper as I've ever seen on a computing device (outside of an actual Wacom tablet, that is). The bigger part for me, however, is the ability to take hand written notes. For this, the accuracy is nearly perfect and its ability to ignore my palm while writing justified the extra cost over a standard tablet.
Why this part is glossed over in most reviews of the device is beyond me. Unless there's another device on the market in at a reasonably similar price point, the head lines may as well read "Galaxy Note 8 is sill not an iPad Mini".
hertsjoatmon said:
Can I get a little extra clarification on this point? What I'm after is a portable tablet that I can use for sketching. I dont care what OS or manufacturer it is. I just want something I can chuck in my backpack and take out and draw on when im away from home. To me, my only options are Samsung Note 10, 8.0 or surface pro. I dont know anything else that is appropriate which is why I have classed them together. Different OS, but similar format and both use Wacom Digitizer tech.
I'm going to have to get it on credit as my funds are tight at the moment so dont want to break the bank. What should i be comparing the Notes to for portable drawing use?
Thanks for you reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Note 8 is better suited to this. Surface Pro is a full computer in Tablet form factor. But if you just want to sketch, buying a $3 sketchbook is much cheaper since you said you have to buy on credit. Never good to go into debt for things that get outdated so quickly.
hertsjoatmon said:
That does help. Thanks!
I hadnt realised the Surface was 11 inches. I thought it was 10". I've only seen them in adverts to be fair and once I saw the price of the pro, had no interest in reasearching it further.
That could be it... I used S-Note for about a minute in the store before deciding to move on to a dedicated drawing programme. Heard complaints about photoshop touch from other forums that are focused around digital art. Thats what lead me to the decision to use Sketchbook Pro (which i already have on my ASUS TF101 but dont use as its horrible on a touch screen) or LayerPaint (which seems to be the most praised but I have no experience with personally).
The trouble I have found with most reviews to date is that they are geared towards general users. I consider this a specialist device which is why im looking for specific feed back on those uses. It will replace my note pad, sketchbook and current tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LayerPaint is good, but I think Sketchbook Pro is better. The tools are more pencil like and geared toward sketching. I find LayerPaint more difficult to use. But I've also used Sketchbook Pro for a couple years (on iPad, then PC and now on PC and Android). Another app I really enjoy is called Infinite Painter. Good tool, nice developer that I like supporting.
hertsjoatmon said:
cmunho said:
The calibration of the point to nib is better than I have achieved on my Surface Pro. QUOTE]
I'm assuming you can adjust this. My girlfriend has the original note phone, but I wasnt particularlly impressed with its accuracy. I tried the *#0*# trick (or what ever the code is) to get you into calibration mode, but it only seemed to help a little bit. the point on the screen seemed to be perminantly offset from where i was pointing the tip. This was very frustrating, Id get used to it in one orientation, then turn the phone 90 degrees and completely miss the point i was trying to draw next.
I've also read the trick about taking the button of the S Pens so that you can fine tune the pressure sensitivitiy by adjusting the potentiometer closest to the tip (turn clockwise to decrease, anti clockwise to increase sensitivity).
So it seems like there is room to manuvor to adjust the experience to my prefference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Note 1 should not be used to judge modern SPen devices. It had a gimped 256-stage digitizer and very low thresholds. It is in no way comparable to the current gen, amd was generally only good for writing.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
robyr said:
hertsjoatmon said:
The Note 1 should not be used to judge modern SPen devices. It had a gimped 256-stage digitizer and very low thresholds. It is in no way comparable to the current gen, amd was generally only good for writing.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I had an Original Note and it was pretty poor in comparison to what's in the Note II or Note 8.0. Samsung has done a really good job with this device. I think it's a little expensive, but it's exactly what I've been looking for in a tablet for about a year. I think I've tried 5-6 tablets since I started the quest.
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Click to collapse
cmunho said:
robyr said:
Agreed, I had an Original Note and it was pretty poor in comparison to what's in the Note II or Note 8.0. Samsung has done a really good job with this device. I think it's a little expensive, but it's exactly what I've been looking for in a tablet for about a year. I think I've tried 5-6 tablets since I started the quest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. Taking it all on board (including the part about may be not getting one due to money issues) I think I'm definitely on board and want this. I can get 16 months interest free. Paying it back £50 a month is acheivable for me.
The reason I want to move on from pen and paper is the bulk/ storage of said medium and the ability to ink and colour my images for other use. I like the idea of doing short comics. Being able to work on the cells both home and away is a big attraction. In addition I dont like the size and weight of my 10 inch tablet as it means I have to carry a larger bag than is otherwise necessary.
Being able to reduce my 10 inch tab, not pad and sketchbook to just one device that is smaller than all of those individually is huge for me. I also carry a camera with me everywhere (NEX 5N). I think this device would be ideal for me to review and cull any missed shots while out and about. I'm looking at RawDroid for that purpose and using a class 10 MicroSD card with my Camera.
Not decided to wait for the 3G version or not. My phone is a Blackberry Curve 9360. I am able to use that as a wireless mobile hotspot. I dont think my service provider charges me extra for it, but it is an extra step in setting it up when needed. I think reading through what I just wrote, I'm ok with the WIFI only version. How long until the 32GB is available? :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi XDA,
I am considering getting the Note 10.1 2014 LTE version. However as a Student this is a very expensive Device to buy and there are some Questions i have to get answers to first before i can justify getting one. I hope some of you can help me find out what i need to get answers too.
I am studying computer science and i want to use it as a full replacement for pen and paper (Is that even realistically possible?). I have had some time with it in the store but some first hand everyday experience would be very much appreciated. I will try to categorize my questions.
Notetaking
Screen Protectors
Do they work with the Stylus and if so how well?
S-Note
In my short time with the device i noticed that S-Note does not support Portrait mode for the "virtual page" im writing on. Is that true and if so are there alternative apps that work with the S-Pen and allow for portrait notetaking?
Speed and Precision
I usually have to write down a LOT of Math stuff. Can you write fast enough on the note 10.1 to write during a lecture? Is it precise enough for small index numbers etc.?
Samsungs Software (and how i can get rid of their butt-ugly touchwiz crap?)
Lags and Stuff
During my shot time with the device i noticed a lot of lag and applications that were just pathetically slow compared to my Nexus 7 first gen with CM (this little Tab with CM is just so fast it's insane. Literally zero lag all around and insane performance even when HEAVILY Multitasking). Have the recent updates fixed this problem (well it's samsung so lets say made it less bad than before)?
Touchwizz
How much of the Touchwizz features i don't need can be deactivated? if deactived do they make it perform better?
Other Apps
Have you noticed any Problems with other Apps that usually work fine?
Custom Rom Stuff
General Support
I know this device is just on the market but comming from Nexus Devices i really don't want to stick with Samsungs Rom. How good/bad has the Rom Support for other Samsung Devices been in the past? What Problems will i face?
Rooting and Knox
WTF is Knox and why do i have to care when i root. I really don't get what that is and why it exists. Maybe someone can enlighten me
This is my Wishlist for a Custom Rom. Will that ever happen?
CyanogenMod/Stock Based Roms that are just as ridiculously fast as my N7
S-Pen Support for Notetaking (with anything other than S-Note)
Multiwindow Support (i suppose that is bound to touchwizz but have there been ROMs that integrated it into Stock-ish Android before?)
Hardware
Battery life
I have to get out of the house at 7 AM and im Back Home around 5-6PM. In this time this device will be used literally the entire time. I have Wireless Access most of the time so i don't have to rely on LTE completly. Can the Battery handle that? Will the Battery be able to handle this 2 years down the road?
Bigger Stylus
Well writing with the small S-Pen is a really ****ty experience. It's just too flimsy. Has anyone tried any Bigger Wacom Pens that work with the Note?
Smart Wake
Does the Note 10 Support waking up from standby like apples smartcover (and my N7)?
Cover
Talking about Smartcovers. How good are Samsungs Covers for the Note 10.1?
I know this is a very very long list and i am totally fine with any answers that just link to a site or something but i really hope that this device can do what it's named after.
Thanks for any answer i really appreciate them!
I'm studying computer science myself and found the tablet to be amazing for taking notes with. I've been using LectureNotes and its extremely flexible to suit whatever your note taking preference is. It does support portrait mode, but I would recommend using it in landscape (you can adjust the page size and just scroll down). As for writing with the s-pen it does get annoying after some time due to the size.
As for using a stylus there is this huge on going thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2484014
In short, no stylus works perfectly for our tablets aside from the s-pen it comes with. Most of the active styluses do "work" but have an offset of a few mm when writing at an angle (if you hold it straight up it aligns perfectly). For myself, I'm using a surface pro pen and compensated the offset on lecturenotes. I can hardly tell the difference at all.
Here is a screenshot of my notes from my algorithm class: http://i.imgur.com/NsPYFia.png
CircleSquare said:
I'm studying computer science myself and found the tablet to be amazing for taking notes with. I've been using LectureNotes and its extremely flexible to suit whatever your note taking preference is. It does support portrait mode, but I would recommend using it in landscape (you can adjust the page size and just scroll down). As for writing with the s-pen it does get annoying after some time due to the size.
As for using a stylus there is this huge on going thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2484014
In short, no stylus works perfectly for our tablets aside from the s-pen it comes with. Most of the active styluses do "work" but have an offset of a few mm when writing at an angle (if you hold it straight up it aligns perfectly). For myself, I'm using a surface pro pen and compensated the offset on lecturenotes. I can hardly tell the difference at all.
Here is a screenshot of my notes from my algorithm class: http://i.imgur.com/NsPYFia.png
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the Quick Reply. That does look very much like it will suit my needs. Would you say you can use it to completly replace pen and paper?
detrexer said:
Thanks for the Quick Reply. That does look very much like it will suit my needs. Would you say you can use it to completly replace pen and paper?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't used a pen and paper the entire term to take notes! It's actually a lot faster once you get used to it. Copy and pasting helps out a ton when the professor is explaining concepts on the same graph.
Screen Protectors
I don't use them, but have a fellow student that uses one and it seems to work well. Bare in mind it adds some friction if you get a mate screenprotector.
S-Note
Nope never used never tried and just got LectureNotes from the start. I also write in portrait mode. Most fellow students like to write in landscape. I have found that I can write extremely small and read it and don't like to scroll down all the time.
Speed and Precision
Yes it's fast enough. I write in my maths lecture. For me it's faster than paper. I use the plastic tip and there is hardly any friction so the pen moves very fast. Only thing that takes time is when you have to fiddle with menus or stuff like that.
Samsungs Software (and how i can get rid of their butt-ugly touchwiz crap?)
Lags and Stuff
I have had no problems with my device. Even at the beginning I didn't really notice much lag. But there are lots of people that have complained. Once you disable a bunch of touchwiz apps it flies.
Touchwizz
If you disable some touchwiz stuff it will perform a bit faster. I disabled everything but S-Note, Alarms, Action Note and the S-Pen SDK.
Other Apps
Due to the high pixel density some apps that aren't optimized (are badly coded) and perform lots of drawing might not perform as well. But other than that no real issues.
Custom Rom Stuff
General Support
The rom support has been bad. But this is the first device I bought in the launch week so it might pick up.
Rooting and Knox
If you root the know counter will be tripped and you allegedly lose warranty. It seems to be some corporate app allowing you to separate work and company data.
This is my Wishlist for a Custom Rom. Will that ever happen?
S-Pen Support for Notetaking (with anything other than S-Note)
There are native API for styluses as long as the drivers work the native API's should work too
Multiwindow Support (i suppose that is bound to touchwizz but have there been ROMs that integrated it into Stock-ish Android before?)
The multiwindow support on touchwiz is the best I have seen so far.
Hardware
Battery life
My battery lasts about 7 hours with screen on. If you need more battery life get an external battery. They are really cheap, in germany i can get one for 40 bucks with double the capacity as the internal battery.
Bigger Stylus
There seems to be one wacom stylus that works, there is a thread about it. I like the small pen, it's light and I don't get tired when writing with it.
Smart Wake
yes supports the smart wake
Cover
I have an ivso cover i got from amazon.de I'm happy with it
I got the Note about a month ago or so for university. I didn't really plan on replacing paper with that, but no I don't use paper at all anymore. I have found that I can keep stuff organized a lot better in a digital form. If I ever get a sheet of paper I will either run to the scanners scattered around our university and scan it or take a picture and annotate that instead of the actual paper . It really depends on the way of learning if you can "think digitally". A fellow student got the old model and returned it after a week because he found it too distracting. But for me the Note really fits into my way of thinking and doing stuff, but I'm a real techy person, who programs and sees a higher value in having information in a digital form.
To add about knox: If you get squaretrade warranty, someone in another thread said they don't care if you trip it or not and will still honor the warranty.
These are very uplifting answers for me. Heaving two people confirm that you can replace paper with it is almost enough to buy it. I ****ing hate paper... to much clutter...
I very much appreciate all the answers und Grüße aus Aachen an alle
I've replaced paper, not at school, but in office. All note taking in meetings, all "to do" lists are now done on the tablet (I made the conversion a year ago with the original Note 10.1, new one is even better).
detrexer said:
These are very uplifting answers for me. Heaving two people confirm that you can replace paper with it is almost enough to buy it. I ****ing hate paper... to much clutter...
I very much appreciate all the answers und Grüße aus Aachen an alle
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Click to collapse
In my local Media Markt they have it for 500€, easier to return if something happens. Might want to check because only it's roughly the same price as online.
This is the case I have, there is pretty much only one case on amazon.de anyways.
Also look at the colors. I have choosen white because it reminds me of paper. Also the contrast between white on the screen and a black border is too harsh in my opinion.
{Diemex} said:
In my local Media Markt they have it for 500€, easier to return if something happens. Might want to check because only it's roughly the same price as online.
This is the case I have, there is pretty much only one case on amazon.de anyways.
Also look at the colors. I have choosen white because it reminds me of paper. Also the contrast between white on the screen and a black border is too harsh in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same case, it's perfect.
---------- Post added at 01:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:45 AM ----------
detrexer said:
Thanks for the Quick Reply. That does look very much like it will suit my needs. Would you say you can use it to completly replace pen and paper?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it has completely replaced paper for me. At work I need to draw on photos and diagrams etc to send to people. Before I got the Note, I had to print a photo, draw on it, and scan it back in, then attach it to an email.
Using LectureNotes I can just do everything on the tablet and email straight from it. My work notebook is up to about 300 pages now. LectureNotes enables you to email a single page or selection of pages as a pdf straight from the app.
I still like to have a paper notebook to flick through, so I print out my notebook as I go. Of course if I lose it, I can just print it again, unlike a paper notebook...
LectureNotes is complicated to set up initially, but well worth it - once it's set up right, it's amazingly powerful.
If you want a spare s-pen, you can buy one for the old Note 10.1 and trim the back of the nib slightly. This gets rid of any offset.
I did that, then put it into a pen case to make it like a real pen - photos here: http://flickr.com/gp/jackhenriques/d68460/
Motorola Moto 360 (2014) Smart Watch Review
First off, yes you read the title correctly. This is a review of the original 360 and not the brand new one. Why you may ask, well in part because I’ve been meaning to write this for ages and partly because there are simply somethings that you do not pick up on if you have used a device for 2 weeks. Something’s you discover only when you have lived with something for a long time and its only then you discover that there are things, had you been aware of, you may not have bothered getting one. Think of it like a marriage. The first while is all fun and laughter but time can breed contempt. So how well has the 360 held up? Should you snap one up cheap and what lessons have we learnt going forward? Let’s see shall we.
First Impressions: Ahhh casting the mind far back into the depths and it arriving in its round box. Ooh so pretty. Inside the watch itself, round too sitting there, it looks bloody good. They have gone out of their way to make you think that the 360 is a watch, not a smart phone or tiny computer, it’s a watch, round and above all a joy for the eyes to behold and well…………… they pretty much nailed it. The 360 was pretty much the unquestioned pretty one among the first wave of Android Wear devices. It is deserved.
Picking it up and it feels so plush and quality. The strap is real dead cow and feels nice to the touch, the facia with its bare metal glass. So much pretty and quality to the touch. I’m not wild about leather straps, I’d rather metal but it seems that Motorola decided that they couldn’t use standard watch strap fittings. I don’t know if it’s just to be awkward but it’s a bloody annoyance. Something that the new one has corrected so clearly Moto picked up on the feedback. Additionally while the leather strap looks nice it has a traditional buckle mechanism, which is not the most straightforward for taking on and off with regularity. This is going to be an issue going forward.
Specifications: Display 1.56” 320 x 290, 205 ppi, Backlit LCD IPS, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3, Watch Case Dimensions, 46 mm diameter x 11.5 mm high, Weight 60 g (without strap), Battery 320 mAh Wireless charging with charging dock included, Processor TI OMAP™ 3, Memory 4 GB internal storage with 512 MB RAM, Connectivity Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, Wi-Fi, Sensors Pedometer (9-axis sensor), Ambient light sensor, Optical heart rate monitor (PPG), Water Resistance IP67
It also comes in 2 colours, black or silver and a few strap combos too. Though they are proprietary watch straps which is just odd. I mean why do it, urgh.
Accessories: It came with a charger with a built in USB cable, grr. It also came with its little charging dock and a normal micro USB cable for it. If you want more things, like more straps or screen covers, as ever hit up eBay. Sad that they didn’t use normal watch strap attachments but for a bit more money you can still get a fair assortment of straps.
Fit/Comfort: Perfectly fine. It’s a watch, granted it’s a little big for a watch but not wildly so. On it went, and that was basically it. I’d have preferred a metal strap but not enough to go to the bother of actually changing the strap myself.
Screen: AMOLED lovely gorgeous prettiness. The screen is also mostly round, with what’s been dubbed the “flat tire” at the bottom. When the 360 first came out feelings were mixed, some didn’t mind and that thought that it was a good trade-off for having super thin bezels. It’s a shame both perfectly round and thin bezels can’t be had but……. in use you just pick a facia that doesn’t light up the whole screen. Something that isn’t noticeably missing the bottom and then honestly, I didn’t really miss it. Sure when playing with watch faces, perfectly round ones with something obviously missing was the only time it bothered me. Most of the time in use, I didn’t only not mind but I never really even noticed it was there. You just forget that there is anything missing.
However……………… while the “flat tire” thing didn’t bother me what did was the round screen. Does a round screen look pretty, oh god yes it does. Then it’s an AMOLED which just looks sooooooooooooooo pretty it’s just gorgeous, there is just no way around the fact that the 360 is a lovely, super pretty thing. Thing is, there is a reason why we use rectangular monitors and TV’s. A round screen is just stupid. The UI clearly wants things to be square and text especially gets partially cut off at the top and bottom of the screen where it rounds off. It just hammers the functionality and having a Moto 360 and a Sony Smart Watch 3, the Sony is the one I pick up and want to use every day.
UI: Android Wear is Android Wear. It’s in a reasonably rapid state of development still being only a year old. On the whole it’s good, however there is still the screen, rounded and thus missing bits from the top and bottom, issue. The UI is just simply not made with round screens in mind and thus it’s a pain. However the problem is the round face and not the UI in my opinion. Trying not to turn this into an Android Wear review which is a different article entirely. However expect things like swiping in from the upper left to be regularly, mildly frustrating. It’s not terrible but I did get on my nerves.
Features: So the stand out things on the 360, for me, are the round screen, its stunningly good looks, its heart rate sensor and lastly its Qi charging. Now if you are in the know you’ll notice that those are basically the differentiation points between the 360 and the Sony 3.
So that round screen. See above frankly. Pretty but at the price of usability. It really is very pretty but the cost for me is just too high. However if you kept this maybe just for going out of an evening, when pretty really matters then great. It is such a pretty thing.
Heart rate, well it kinda works but it doesn’t seem to continuously monitor so while it is interesting, if you’re a fitness freak why would you be using this device? It would be like wearing dress evening shoes for running. It’ll do the job but it’s clearly the wrong tool for activity.
Qi. Ahhh you know I love Qi charging and I can tell you that every watch should have it. That you slap it down in its little dock, you can instantly see that it’s charging, that any Qi charger works are all boons. It makes charging the thing every night (and you will be charging it every night) not just into a requirement but it turns into a little clock. It lights up with a clock face in the right orientation. Just perfect for living on a bedside table. All Wear watches should have Qi charging.
Build Quality: On the surface, its perfect. The construction quality is exemplary and it’s simply beauteous to behold to both the eye and the fingers. Note that while perfectly built it doesn’t mean you can’t break it. The watch straps and put under pressure can shatter the back screen. While that’s fairly rare it’s a stupid design flaw not a manufacturing issue.
Usability: Take a wild guess what causes a usability issue? Yep that round screen. While it wasn’t as awkward as the Sun S2 with its bevelled edge making it hard to touch things near the edges. The 360 is clean glass right to the edge so you can access it all perfectly. The issue is that the UI is clearly intended for a rectangular screen. So that isn’t really the 360’s fault per say but you get the idea. It doesn’t make anything impossible to do or really much different but a square screen would just be better.
Battery: Well it has a 360mAh battery. The battery is not the issue though, the issue is the screen. That super pretty AMOLED screen you see, needs to be actively transmitting light to be seen. It is an emissive screen and its battery hungry. Then you have the option to have it auto light up with a flick of the wrist or you can have it run in a dim passive mode most of the time so it’s something you can glance at and see. This however is battery destroying. Leaving the screen on and the battery life just plummets like a lead weight. If you make use of the thing or have the dim always lit up feature in use then expect to start charging the thing halfway through your day. I get that the battery itself isn’t the problem, nor can it really grew much physically but that’s not my problem, it’s for Moto engineers to solve. Even if you use it without passively being on still expect the thing to want charged every single night.
Connectivity: So its main method of world communication is via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy. That’s great, it pairs to your phone, the phone does the thinking and data transmission all over that power sipping Bluetooth connection. You also have the option to use Wi-Fi. You can use it to keep your phone and watch in communication, via Wi-Fi and the internet. You know, for when your phone is out of Bluetooth range yet you still need to be connected to it, if not physically near it. Why you may wonder, I certainly did. The only scenario I can see it popping up is if at work you go to the bathroom, leaving your phone behind but are waiting for some urgent email. You need that notification that it’s come in. It’s a stretch I know, mostly it’s a stupid feature that just further hammers the battery. Of course you can just leave Wi-Fi off which is what I do.
Value: When it launched it was what, £200. So pretty but yeah that battery life. Now with its successor just announced, this will have practically identical functionality and features. Seriously they changed almost nothing, as I see it they have added a smaller one for girls, moved the button up a bit and altered the strap attachment to that of a normal standard watch. Like every other watch on earth. Price though, well this one’s fallen so I saw somewhere selling it for £113. The New one is retailing for US$300, that’s £200 and that’s before VAT and the obligatory you’re not an American price hike. So that makes the old one probably less than half the price of the new one. To me that seems like pretty reasonable value in comparison to the new one.
Conclusion: So what have I learned from the Moto 360 (2014.) I’ve learned that pretty only gets you so far. The 360 is pretty, it’s the prettiest Android Wear device I have seen and the old one, to me is still better looking than the new one. I get that while I *****ed about the straps being some weird proprietary thing and that it can break the glass back of you put them under pressure but…… damn it’s a good looking device. If you want a Wear watch for going out, to look great in a business meeting to impress someone for whatever reason or situation the old 360 is a damn fine looking machine. Oh and that AMOLED, ooooooh just soooooooooooooooooo much pretty.
However, those good looks have left it compromised. Round screen, they are just awkward and there is a reason we don’t use round screens or round sheets of paper, it’s a pain. That strap, the weird fit attachment. Yeah, so for me that means I’m pretty much not changing the strap. I’d really like one with a clasp rather than a buckle because the battery life is such that you need to take the damn thing off every 20 min to charge it. Granted its little dock is cool but you really need one for the office and one for your bedside. Though in fairness any old Qi charger will do fine. AMOLED, it’s just the wrong tech for a watch. I need always on to glance ta the thing and that while better than lighting up a whole LCD screen it is still too battery heavy.
So should you buy one? Well I’d easily buy this over its successor, its price slash makes it waaaaaaaaay better value and offers practically identical functionality and features. Still you have to want to sacrifice usability to get that super pretty round screen. for me, na I’ll take the Sony but if you want something to visually impress on a budget, the old Moto 360 is pretty (oh so pretty) option that won’t destroy your wallet.
The screen on Moto 360 is LCD and not AMOLED. AMOLED will be better for a watch because it consume less battery for always on screen with mainly dark background.
Moto 360 1nd and 2nd are LCD IPS
LG Watch R / Urbane are P-OLED
Huawei Watch are OMOLED
So, I wanted to put a word in for Vernee, and specifically for this phone.
I looked around for a forum and didn't find one.
This is a wonderful budget phone, absolutely. A sleeper.
At $180 roughly, it's fantastic.
Everything about it IS a step down from Flagship but the package it delivers punches well above it's class.
This is just a set of observations to help those thinking about digging around the lower priced Chinese offerings.
I'll try and give a comparative review.
The phone is just a few millimeters taller than the OnePlus 5T, a few shorter than the Galaxy 8+ and roughly the same width as the HTC U11.
The screen is 18:9 and tinted in such a way that the screen appears to take up the entire front surface before you fire it up.
Although I have seen reviews that say it is a metal phone, it is not. The back is a very solid form of plastic, treated and painted to look like metal.
Don't get me wrong; it's not a bad look at all. The deep blue looks radiant in the sunlight and the soft texture of it feels wonderful in the hand.
The phone is as heavy as the Mate 9 but feels perfectly weighted. It really feels great to hold and they've curved the back in such a way that it feels far slimmer than it is - which at 9.8mm, it is not.
When you turn the screen on, you notice that Vernee has done a great job with slimming the bezels, and the glass, though not Gorilla glass has a nice, slick feel to it.
It's built to a very high standard; compelling when you think they just begun to make phones in 2016.
The P23 mediatek chip is perfectly adequate for everyday use - I'd say think Qualcomm 820/821 (Lg G4).
There are a few stutters and it's not as fluid as say the OnePlus 5T but it IS quick and the management of it's 4Gbs of ROM keeps lots of apps on tap.
And now, the killer. They've stuffed a huge battery in there. They say it's a 6000 but My Device reads it at 4000.
Any which way, the battery is a revelation. On, and on, and on - It will easily give you 2 days of normal use, all in a relatively tight package - but I'm not like that. I am on it ALL DAY doing everything, with everything on from 08:00 and still, as I come to charge at 23:00 there's 15% in it.
Astonishing.
And I think that's where this phone hits its home run.
It looks good, it feels good, it runs well - you'd be hard pressed to be embarrassed laying it on the table beside the absolute big guns - and you could have five of them for the price.
It's an Astonishing feat.
Think 4 by 4 Beemer or Merc in the bush against the original Toyota Prado.
But unlike a bear-bones interior, you have leather seats, good stereo, manual sun-roof and proper differentials.
You know what I'm talking about.
The Vernee X is not rugged but it's handsome, sure footed, tireless and a joy to carry around.
It will take you dancing all night long, and that, at least, in Miyake.
Yes. There is a catch. The camera.
It's not bad but you'll want great light all the time. And don't try that blurred shallow focus thing, it's not good.
Still there pictures are adequate sometimes and very good at other.
This phone has climbed into my pocket and the company, won my heart and I can't wait to see what Vernee has for us this year and next.
The Doogees, Elephones...are on notice.
So are, in another few years I think, Samsung et.al.
Still no one ROM for this model... Someone from the owners of this unit, could you make a full backup of the firmware and put it in the public domain.
room for vernee x 4gb ram / 64gb
Welcome, we hope that a friend will introduce a Vernee x 4gb / 64gb phone room
Dyxless1986 said:
Still no one ROM for this model... Someone from the owners of this unit, could you make a full backup of the firmware and put it in the public domain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some roms here. Ive not tested but some activity it seems
https://www.needrom.com/category/others/u-v-w-x-y-z/brands-v/vernee/x/
kolembo said:
So, I wanted to put a word in for Vernee, and specifically for this phone.
I looked around for a forum and didn't find one.
This is a wonderful budget phone, absolutely. A sleeper.
At $180 roughly, it's fantastic.
Everything about it IS a step down from Flagship but the package it delivers punches well above it's class.
This is just a set of observations to help those thinking about digging around the lower priced Chinese offerings.
I'll try and give a comparative review.
The phone is just a few millimeters taller than the OnePlus 5T, a few shorter than the Galaxy 8+ and roughly the same width as the HTC U11.
The screen is 18:9 and tinted in such a way that the screen appears to take up the entire front surface before you fire it up.
Although I have seen reviews that say it is a metal phone, it is not. The back is a very solid form of plastic, treated and painted to look like metal.
Don't get me wrong; it's not a bad look at all. The deep blue looks radiant in the sunlight and the soft texture of it feels wonderful in the hand.
The phone is as heavy as the Mate 9 but feels perfectly weighted. It really feels great to hold and they've curved the back in such a way that it feels far slimmer than it is - which at 9.8mm, it is not.
When you turn the screen on, you notice that Vernee has done a great job with slimming the bezels, and the glass, though not Gorilla glass has a nice, slick feel to it.
It's built to a very high standard; compelling when you think they just begun to make phones in 2016.
The P23 mediatek chip is perfectly adequate for everyday use - I'd say think Qualcomm 820/821 (Lg G4).
There are a few stutters and it's not as fluid as say the OnePlus 5T but it IS quick and the management of it's 4Gbs of ROM keeps lots of apps on tap.
And now, the killer. They've stuffed a huge battery in there. They say it's a 6000 but My Device reads it at 4000.
Any which way, the battery is a revelation. On, and on, and on - It will easily give you 2 days of normal use, all in a relatively tight package - but I'm not like that. I am on it ALL DAY doing everything, with everything on from 08:00 and still, as I come to charge at 23:00 there's 15% in it.
Astonishing.
And I think that's where this phone hits its home run.
It looks good, it feels good, it runs well - you'd be hard pressed to be embarrassed laying it on the table beside the absolute big guns - and you could have five of them for the price.
It's an Astonishing feat.
Think 4 by 4 Beemer or Merc in the bush against the original Toyota Prado.
But unlike a bear-bones interior, you have leather seats, good stereo, manual sun-roof and proper differentials.
You know what I'm talking about.
The Vernee X is not rugged but it's handsome, sure footed, tireless and a joy to carry around.
It will take you dancing all night long, and that, at least, in Miyake.
Yes. There is a catch. The camera.
It's not bad but you'll want great light all the time. And don't try that blurred shallow focus thing, it's not good.
Still there pictures are adequate sometimes and very good at other.
This phone has climbed into my pocket and the company, won my heart and I can't wait to see what Vernee has for us this year and next.
The Doogees, Elephones...are on notice.
So are, in another few years I think, Samsung et.al.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im having same phone, camera is useless much better choice is ulefone power 3 or 3s, they have same hardware with much better camera.
I think vernee have problem with drivers, i have tryed to fix it but im not developer if you have any idea for new firmware or update for this camera problem please let me know.
Regards
Dino
After using the phone for a couple of months;
It is slow. The mediatek chip is nowhere near flagship level and it shows.
And the camera is badly optimised - the photos are ok in very good light.
The best thing about this phone is it's amusing battery life.
The screen is also, surprisingly, very good.
In all other respects you must be willing to compromise.
I just got this phone and for the price, you cant beat it. But you are right the chipset is not as good as the snapdragon and thats the major difference here. I dont use the camera so it doesnt bother me.
But great value nevertheless.
kolembo said:
After using the phone for a couple of months;
It is slow. The mediatek chip is nowhere near flagship level and it shows.
And the camera is badly optimised - the photos are ok in very good light.
The best thing about this phone is it's amusing battery life.
The screen is also, surprisingly, very good.
In all other respects you must be willing to compromise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ulefone Power 3 or 3s has better camera optimisation, hardware is the same, so it is better choice in my opinion...
Yes, I think Verne is still too young to optimise Android for it's phones.
It's hardware is very good though - the X is very strong, has a beautiful screen and an unbeatable battery.
It has to do more work getting it's software lined up to it's hardware.
Having used this phone for a year, it's biggest problem is software.
The phone feels sluggish and jittery.
The battery remains excellent. On experimentation, the speed increases vastly when I switch: settings>duraspeed>off
with disable animation to 0 in devolper settings also same lag ?
regards
i will try aslo root the phone later when i have my order , presumably same way as my thread Root vernee M5 page 7
Regards