Related
Hi arc owners,
I am torn between which of two phones to get. I need to know real stories here, what do you love about the arc, what is not so great about it.
Right now, my decision is down to the Xperia Arc, or the Google Nexus S.
The main things about the arc I like over the Nexus S, are:
The camera/video camera
sd card support
the look of the device
the display
The things that I don't think are so great:
possible reliability issues (according to many forums and some reviews)
the update situation (when, how long will I have to wait?)
small internal memory
I would also like to know a few things:
How is the screen in bright daylight
can you put apps on the sd card?
does it have speech to text?
Well, I bought the Nexus S, thanks for all your help!!
Love:
screen (brightness, sharpness, colors, contras, size)
design
camera
performance even with stock launcher
hate:
Nothing really, except the squeaking battery cover. You can be lucky and have one, that's brilliantly made, but if you are unlucky... well... It is a bit annoying, but you can round it by taping something to the inside of the cover. Except that build quality is quite good. Be sure to get a decent pouch oder cover, since the back is quite slippery and has fingerprints all over it very quickly. The pouch I use is made by fitBAG and cleans the whole phone when sliding it in and out - very useful.
App to SD: depends on the App. Every phone with atleast Froyo can do App2SD, but the app needs to support it.
The visibility in sunlight is rather good. I have seen much worse.
Speech to text is possible as far as I know. Since I don't use it and therefore deleted the applications/plugins needed for that, I can't tell you how well it works. But it is there, if you need it.
Update situation isn't that bad actually. It can never get updates as fast as a Google Nexus device, but SE did a good job on 2.3.3 and as far as I know 2.3.4 is scheduled for October.
Hate: The position of the notification LED. I'd rather not have one at all than put it there
Love: Everything else
love:
- best display ever seen !!!
- Bravia video/photo enhancement (only MP4/3gp)
- awsome speech quality, good mics and clear speakers
- camera (you can get awsome results, but some skill and practice is needed)
- very slim and lightweight body (no "brick-effect" like iphone)
- battery (really good after last update)
- Modern and fast launcher. Much better than HTC sense or touchWiz
- very fast (with stock rom up to 1700 in quadrant benchmark)
- very reliable
hate:
- lack of good workmanship (display bordering)
I really love that thing I have chosen it over Nexus S and Galaxy 2
pngface said:
Hate: The position of the notification LED. I'd rather not have one at all than put it there
Love: Everything else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with this. The notification LED is pointless where it is.
I dislike the image compression using stock camera. Full res pictures I take indoors normally range from 500-800 kb
I love everything else
Love:
display, even in bright daylight
camera, advanced but interface is 'idiot proof' which is good for me ;-)
launcher, smooth and fast
design, just not one of the many black boxes around
Hate:
on/off button (to small)
camera button (to small and to hard to press, luckily there's on screen shutter present)
Can't think of anything else right now, anywayz, a phone is always a very personal choice, if possible, just go to a store and try both, pick the one that suits your needs best.
Good luck and maybe soon welcome aboard the Arc
To answer your questions...
possible reliability issues (according to many forums and some reviews)
Not had any reliability problems at all.
the update situation (when, how long will I have to wait?)
Already had one update a month after release (from 2.3.2 to 2.3.3 and loads of other improvements too)
small internal memory
Not actually been a problem for me.
I would also like to know a few things:
How is the screen in bright daylight
Really Really excellent - no problems with visibility at all
can you put apps on the sd card?
Yes if the app supports it.. You can also get something which moves all apps to sd but I don't trust it!
does it have speech to text?
Yes.
[/QUOTE]
LususNaturae said:
Agree with this. The notification LED is pointless where it is.
I dislike the image compression using stock camera. Full res pictures I take indoors normally range from 500-800 kb
I love everything else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use a different camera app, is the compression different?
I love the display of the arc, it's really beautiful. In bright daylight the screen is good for me.
It is possible to put apps on the sd card ( depending on the app).
I also like it's look, most beautiful phone out there imo.
I would recommend it. Although you have to decide for yourself what you want .
In fact I haven't got any big issues with the phone and I really love it.
The notification LED is indeed somewhat pointless in that place but that's no big deal for me at all.
chrisss87 said:
love:
- best display ever seen !!!
- Bravia video/photo enhancement (only MP4/3gp)
- awsome speech quality, good mics and clear speakers
- camera (you can get awsome results, but some skill and practice is needed)
- very slim and lightweight body (no "brick-effect" like iphone)
- battery (really good after last update)
- Modern and fast launcher. Much better than HTC sense or touchWiz
- very fast (with stock rom up to 1700 in quadrant benchmark)
- very reliable
hate:
- lack of good workmanship (display bordering)
I really love that thing I have chosen it over Nexus S and Galaxy 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what made you choose it over the nexus s?
I hate heating issue. But fixed it with setcpu app. I downclock my cpu to 768 mb and i can still play all 3d games and use my phone with no crash and keep it COOL!
And it would be better if case was aluminum or anything stronger. Plastic material is so cheap for that quality nice design.
I love the screen and design and price( over iphone) Really there are so many features then iphone. When i meet someone with iphone and tells iphone is better, i always beat them with showing extra features I love it
I like the plastic.. makes the phone more robust, and resistant to dropping/ knocking.. also has less impact on reception... I do miss the slightly rubberised back of the x10 though..
like:
- Phone design and material.
- Clear and big screen.
- SonyEricsson launcher.
- Phone specs in general.
- Great camera for still photo.
- Good battery after last update.
---
Dislike:
- Can't add more than (5 home screen).
- Small RAM and internal memory
- Camera button it's very hard to use it.
- Power button it most be in right side of device (like Galaxy).
Don't like Keyboard layout and power / sleep button too smalp and deep they should have made it rectangular rather than round. Other than that its all good loving the bigger screen and yah i am still using my iphone 4 gotta admit though my Iphone 4's retina display is much clearer than ARC dont matter what angle you looking from.
What do you arc owners think of this photo compare tool on gsmarena.
It looks like the Arc pictures are less clear than the nexus s. Maybe the arc compresses the shots? Is there any way to fix that in camera?
If you use a different camera app, is the compression different?
can it be minimized?
abhisheak.bansal said:
If you use a different camera app, is the compression different?
can it be minimized?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also use the app Vignette to take pictures, on the highest "super fine" settings the pictures are 4 - 5mb.
LususNaturae said:
I also use the app Vignette to take pictures, on the highest "super fine" settings the pictures are 4 - 5mb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what size are they when you use the stock camera app??
This is promising.
Oh I went to the store today and got a chance to play with both phones;
My impressions of the Arc,
the screen is awesome
the camera seems to have lots of good features
browsing around the UI was quick
I liked the design, even though it was a little hard to tell with all the crazy security attachments all over it
The nexus s was really nice as well, the only thing I noticed was the keyboard on the nexus was a little harder to use than the one on the Arc. But the Arc's keyboard had the crappiest tiniest spacebar! Can you change that??
123go! said:
what size are they when you use the stock camera app??
This is promising.
Oh I went to the store today and got a chance to play with both phones;
My impressions of the Arc,
the screen is awesome
the camera seems to have lots of good features
browsing around the UI was quick
I liked the design, even though it was a little hard to tell with all the crazy security attachments all over it
The nexus s was really nice as well, the only thing I noticed was the keyboard on the nexus was a little harder to use than the one on the Arc. But the Arc's keyboard had the crappiest tiniest spacebar! Can you change that??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just sharing...
I am happy to have ARC because:
-good display (bravia engines). You can still see it clearly under the sun
-sound quality is excellent
-video recording quality is good even under the low light
-camera is 8MP
-light weight and slim
I am dissaponted to have ARC because:
-grip less (the body cover is so slippery and can easily loss of grip, need some kind of rubber material)
-usb port location is quite unusual and make it difficult to use phone while charging
-power and camera buttons are too small and too flat, take effort to use it
-internal memory is to small/low (I run out of memory).. I think we need at least 1 GB, because you will need it when installing so many apps (although you have app2sd, but some apps cant be moved to sd)
-sometime it is laggy (even after update to 2.3.3)
-battery drain so fast (need to turn off apn and wifi when not in use) (but charging is very fast)
BTW, my ARC is not rooted and use 2.3.3 stock rom
Cheers...
123go! said:
what size are they when you use the stock camera app??
This is promising.
Oh I went to the store today and got a chance to play with both phones;
My impressions of the Arc,
the screen is awesome
the camera seems to have lots of good features
browsing around the UI was quick
I liked the design, even though it was a little hard to tell with all the crazy security attachments all over it
The nexus s was really nice as well, the only thing I noticed was the keyboard on the nexus was a little harder to use than the one on the Arc. But the Arc's keyboard had the crappiest tiniest spacebar! Can you change that??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes the spacebar i.e. keyboard can be changed.....u can download different keyboard apps from the market.........
Hi Guys
I´m looking to buy a VR headset, but not sure if the screen size of the Z1 compact is big enough.
Has anyone experience?
Cheers,
Airy
For VR, it is much better to use a phone with a higher resolution. It works fine, but because of the 720p, you will see pixels
I bought one, it doesn't work well with Z1C because the magnet sensor location is different (at the bottom instead of the top). You have to trick the VR apps into reverse-landscape to make the trigger works. Also it's pixelated inside because of our low PPI. But it works well on my sister's LG G3 so... it's something.
One of the main reasons for ordering LeMax2 was the availability of this VR kit.
Came just before vacations so I only had a day so far to play with it.
First off, only cardboard type functionality is supported without special drivers/software. Since I'm running CM, that software is not there: Evidently that's only available on LeTV's own app store, and that seems unavailable even with a Chinese RIM (installed 18S for a short test) unless you chance to have a Chinese phone number to register.
Also missing is support for the pass-through USB port, which mostly seems intended for headphone use. I managed using a Bluetooth headset.
So what actually works?
Well, as I said, it's a better cardboard VR by default, except that I also had to emulate the button using a Bluetooth mouse.
That gives you already quite a bit of functionality, 3D movies for starters. In terms of real VR experience I guess I'll stick to my Oculus devices, but for movies on a plane, I guess there is nothing cooler at the moment, even if the backside may be suboptimal against a headrest.
On the other hand, no VR kit is as easy to put on and off as this, especially when you wear glasses.
I saved so much on the phone, I don't mind not getting any more on this kit. But if somehow LeTV/LeEco were to make LeVR support available on the Google play store, I certainly wouldn't mind!
Lag seems quite tolerable, but there is considerable drift. From the LeTV Web site I got the impression, that that should not be the case, but most likely only with LeTV's own software, in cardboard mode drift may be unavoidable.
Again not an issue in the 'personal movie theater', which I consider the main use case until hardware has grown another two orders of magnitude on a mobile power budget.
Where did you buy it?
whymoo said:
Where did you buy it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spemall.com, they even have the small LeMax2 model in Grey as well as pink.
abufrejoval said:
spemall.com, they even have the small LeMax2 model in Grey as well as pink.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please check your pm abufrejoval. How did you get this headset to work with other VR app beside the stock vr one?
Cardboard just works out of the box
xterminater07 said:
Please check your pm abufrejoval. How did you get this headset to work with other VR app beside the stock vr one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the Google Cardboard project is just bits of cardboard, two fresnel lenses and evidently some kind of "hammer", which translates an external button into a touch on the screen, the only physical interaction supported by cardboard (I use the blutooth mouse for that: I bought and tried the new Microsoft Xbox controller, which supports Blutooth, but none of the Cardboard games seem Controller enabled: Pity!)
So all I did was just to install and launch cardboard applications from the Google Play store: They can't verify if you actually have cardboard "hardware" or some other kind of lenses.
Now, I'm using Cyanogenmod which doesn't contain the VR stub application which the Indian and Chinese ROMs seem to contain. And perhaps that stub application is causing trouble in your case, because it launches whenever you connect the device.
If you don't want to switch to CM, you can simply remove the app from the phone if it's rooted and you have some kind of app-remover or Titanium Backup. Then it won't launch the stub (which evidently isn't useful outside China or without a LeEco app store) and you can use the Cardboard apps without interference. Perhaps you can also just switch away from it, I haven't really tried extensively because my son wanted his phone and I'm not going to try on my "production" phone (swapping a production ROM forth and back with full backups simply takes a while).
Phyiscally and logically LeVR Pro1 seems largely a copy of Samsung Gear VR, even if it's not a downright clone. As far as I can tell its touchpad and back-button duplicate the same thing on Samsung. But without a proper driver it's dead and with a CM ROM at least there is absolutely no reaction if you insert the phone into the headset nor will the external USB-C connector have any use, which is a real pity.
There is a good chance that won't ever change, unless LeEco were to publish driver sources for the LeVR Pro1, which I sincerely doubt. I've also tried installing the VR Setup application on top of the CM ROM (I won't run no EUI ROM for "production"), but it just crashes. Evidently it is deeply intertwined with the Chinese LeEcosystem, for which I have absolutely no interest (while LeEco has absolutely no interest in supporting users which are outside it: I believe they sell their phones below manufacturing price).
While LeEco is trying to enter the North American market, it seems to draw its baseline at the LeEco Max Pro3, which doesn't have the 2560x1440 screen (and is more expensive). They may be launching another VR headset soon, potentially with another phone which is DayDream compliant.
LeEco doesn't seem to believe in backward compatibility or long term support.
Well nor does anyone else, evidently, they only charge for it and that at least LeEco did not.
Essentially we have a super cool Cardboard and I'm happy enough with that, since I have two Oculus Rifts (DK2 and CV1) to ease the pain (actually I also have a DK1 but that's a museum piece now). It allows me to watch movies on a virtual big screen and some of the Cardboard apps are great to impress friends.
Unfortunately there is little chance it Le Max2 or LeVR Pro1 will be good enough for the new Google Day Dream base requirements, so it's basically obsolete already. Should LeEco, CM or some XDA-Developer make it Day Dram compatible anyway (without certification), I'd be happy, but I don't know if Google Day Dream will be such a great success. The fact that essentially all of today's smartphone population is already disqualified may not sit too well with potential VR enthusiasts. And at €1000 for a smart phone which isn't really any faster than the €230 LeEco Le Max 2 in base configuration, a Google Pixel XL may simply be too much of an entry price for Android VR.
Google is doing its best to kill Android while they are grasping to replace the Internet and free choice.
abufrejoval said:
spemall.com, they even have the small LeMax2 model in Grey as well as pink.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
abufrejoval said:
Well the Google Cardboard project is just bits of cardboard, two fresnel lenses and evidently some kind of "hammer", which translates an external button into a touch on the screen, the only physical interaction supported by cardboard (I use the blutooth mouse for that: I bought and tried the new Microsoft Xbox controller, which supports Blutooth, but none of the Cardboard games seem Controller enabled: Pity!)
So all I did was just to install and launch cardboard applications from the Google Play store: They can't verify if you actually have cardboard "hardware" or some other kind of lenses.
Now, I'm using Cyanogenmod which doesn't contain the VR stub application which the Indian and Chinese ROMs seem to contain. And perhaps that stub application is causing trouble in your case, because it launches whenever you connect the device.
If you don't want to switch to CM, you can simply remove the app from the phone if it's rooted and you have some kind of app-remover or Titanium Backup. Then it won't launch the stub (which evidently isn't useful outside China or without a LeEco app store) and you can use the Cardboard apps without interference. Perhaps you can also just switch away from it, I haven't really tried extensively because my son wanted his phone and I'm not going to try on my "production" phone (swapping a production ROM forth and back with full backups simply takes a while).
Phyiscally and logically LeVR Pro1 seems largely a copy of Samsung Gear VR, even if it's not a downright clone. As far as I can tell its touchpad and back-button duplicate the same thing on Samsung. But without a proper driver it's dead and with a CM ROM at least there is absolutely no reaction if you insert the phone into the headset nor will the external USB-C connector have any use, which is a real pity.
There is a good chance that won't ever change, unless LeEco were to publish driver sources for the LeVR Pro1, which I sincerely doubt. I've also tried installing the VR Setup application on top of the CM ROM (I won't run no EUI ROM for "production"), but it just crashes. Evidently it is deeply intertwined with the Chinese LeEcosystem, for which I have absolutely no interest (while LeEco has absolutely no interest in supporting users which are outside it: I believe they sell their phones below manufacturing price).
While LeEco is trying to enter the North American market, it seems to draw its baseline at the LeEco Max Pro3, which doesn't have the 2560x1440 screen (and is more expensive). They may be launching another VR headset soon, potentially with another phone which is DayDream compliant.
LeEco doesn't seem to believe in backward compatibility or long term support.
Well nor does anyone else, evidently, they only charge for it and that at least LeEco did not.
Essentially we have a super cool Cardboard and I'm happy enough with that, since I have two Oculus Rifts (DK2 and CV1) to ease the pain (actually I also have a DK1 but that's a museum piece now). It allows me to watch movies on a virtual big screen and some of the Cardboard apps are great to impress friends.
Unfortunately there is little chance it Le Max2 or LeVR Pro1 will be good enough for the new Google Day Dream base requirements, so it's basically obsolete already. Should LeEco, CM or some XDA-Developer make it Day Dram compatible anyway (without certification), I'd be happy, but I don't know if Google Day Dream will be such a great success. The fact that essentially all of today's smartphone population is already disqualified may not sit too well with potential VR enthusiasts. And at €1000 for a smart phone which isn't really any faster than the €230 LeEco Le Max 2 in base configuration, a Google Pixel XL may simply be too much of an entry price for Android VR.
Google is doing its best to kill Android while they are grasping to replace the Internet and free choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the great reply! I will use titanium backup to try to freeze that VR app. Also the cardboard app from google is limited as well, I don't see many contents from that app. You mentioned you installed the vr app, is it the same one as vr.letv.com? Supposedly that app should work for this headset but I don't have the instruction that came in the box. If you have that pamphlete, do you mind scaning it and uploading it through google drive or mega for me? Did you have clear resolution of your phone? The VR looks like it's 480p instead of what we're seeing 2K on the lemax 2 screen. I hated it, and I wonder if there's a way to fix it?
xterminater07 said:
Thank you for the great reply! I will use titanium backup to try to freeze that VR app. Also the cardboard app from google is limited as well, I don't see many contents from that app. You mentioned you installed the vr app, is it the same one as vr.letv.com? Supposedly that app should work for this headset but I don't have the instruction that came in the box. If you have that pamphlete, do you mind scaning it and uploading it through google drive or mega for me? Did you have clear resolution of your phone? The VR looks like it's 480p instead of what we're seeing 2K on the lemax 2 screen. I hated it, and I wonder if there's a way to fix it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome!
Well the pamphlet is all in Chinese and if you can understand and read that, there is quite a bit more material on the net than information in the pamphlet. It just tells you how to insert the phone into it and that the external USB-C connector is for your headphones (and not for charging).
Google translate helped me understand that much and I tossed it into the trash because there was nothing else beyond that.
I've watched some Chinese videos on YouTube for clues and inspiration (real-time translation still missing there), but my guess is that even within the LeTV ecosystem there isn't actually a lot of content or apps.
Actually there is a video of the LeVR Pro1 presentation on YouTube, which I find quite instructive:
Evidently LeTV's CEO Jia Yueting gave out a couple of devices to some of the most famous actors from his soaps and then instructed them to appear awed and enthusiastic at the great introduction event in spring this year.
I don't think they were such good actors after all, because my impression is that they saw nothing and totally faked it (too bad I can't find the video on YouTube for now). We may be chasing shadows...
Resolution: Cardboard content, whether it's the demos or some of the games (my personal favorite is Bandit Six), will render with the native resolution of the screen. The headset only contains lenses, the resolution comes from the device and it's 2560x1440 (minus the invisible areas) for both eyes together. It certainly looks better than the Samsung Note 3 display inside my Oculus DK2.
The iMax like video demos you get via the "Within" app for example, are recorded with a resolution far below what Le Max 2 can deliver, but there the resolution is determined by the source and the encoding, nothing Le Max 2 can do about it. They are still very impressive so I can only recommend you trying them, both for the visual stimuli (Cuban dance) and the emotional impact (Syrian refugees).
Screen refresh may not be 90Hz, the LCD not as good as Amoled but honestly I can't tell. I was quite surprised at the quality and the lack of lag for both games and iMax type videos. Perhaps I just don't move my head just as rapidly any more these days, the weight of Le Max 2 is also somewhat higher than the Oculus headsets.
There is an app called "Google Cardboard" on the Play Store. It contains a couple of demos inside but it also opens some kind of a "sub-store" containing Google selected demos and applications which can actually be purchased.
I installed most of those and purchased some of the games.
Generally if you enter "Cardboard" into the Play Store, you'll find Cardboard compatible apps (and lots of garbage).
What might be interesting to explore is some of the apps which seem to fake a Samsung Gear VR device to the Play Store and the apps themselves.
I haven't done that myself yet, but that would open up a couple more games, at least if they support mouse or controller inputs and don't depend on the Samsung touch panel in the Gear headset.
Again this isn't long term as Google seems happy to totally ignore what Samsung has done and make DayDream incompatible with everything existing today.
Requiring Vulkan API support for Nougat certification is a clear indication on how much Google cares about the installed base.
If I had any say, resources or influence, I'd make Le Max 2 and the LeVR Pro1 into some kind of a hybrid Steam Link box and MiraCast receiver.
The panel is excellent, the gyros on the phone are great the video decoding power and WiFi hardware are top notch. So using both the Max2 and VR Pro1 to project semi or fully spherical content generated on a very powerful gaming PC wirelessly onto this combo would be technically feasible with latencies acceptible to quite a lot of centent, if not to LoL world championship participants.
Well we can dream, I guess...
abufrejoval said:
You're welcome!
Well the pamphlet is all in Chinese and if you can understand and read that, there is quite a bit more material on the net than information in the pamphlet. It just tells you how to insert the phone into it and that the external USB-C connector is for your headphones (and not for charging).
Google translate helped me understand that much and I tossed it into the trash because there was nothing else beyond that.
I've watched some Chinese videos on YouTube for clues and inspiration (real-time translation still missing there), but my guess is that even within the LeTV ecosystem there isn't actually a lot of content or apps.
Actually there is a video of the LeVR Pro1 presentation on YouTube, which I find quite instructive:
Evidently LeTV's CEO Jia Yueting gave out a couple of devices to some of the most famous actors from his soaps and then instructed them to appear awed and enthusiastic at the great introduction event in spring this year.
I don't think they were such good actors after all, because my impression is that they saw nothing and totally faked it (too bad I can't find the video on YouTube for now). We may be chasing shadows...
Resolution: Cardboard content, whether it's the demos or some of the games (my personal favorite is Bandit Six), will render with the native resolution of the screen. The headset only contains lenses, the resolution comes from the device and it's 2560x1440 (minus the invisible areas) for both eyes together. It certainly looks better than the Samsung Note 3 display inside my Oculus DK2.
The iMax like video demos you get via the "Within" app for example, are recorded with a resolution far below what Le Max 2 can deliver, but there the resolution is determined by the source and the encoding, nothing Le Max 2 can do about it. They are still very impressive so I can only recommend you trying them, both for the visual stimuli (Cuban dance) and the emotional impact (Syrian refugees).
Screen refresh may not be 90Hz, the LCD not as good as Amoled but honestly I can't tell. I was quite surprised at the quality and the lack of lag for both games and iMax type videos. Perhaps I just don't move my head just as rapidly any more these days, the weight of Le Max 2 is also somewhat higher than the Oculus headsets.
There is an app called "Google Cardboard" on the Play Store. It contains a couple of demos inside but it also opens some kind of a "sub-store" containing Google selected demos and applications which can actually be purchased.
I installed most of those and purchased some of the games.
Generally if you enter "Cardboard" into the Play Store, you'll find Cardboard compatible apps (and lots of garbage).
What might be interesting to explore is some of the apps which seem to fake a Samsung Gear VR device to the Play Store and the apps themselves.
I haven't done that myself yet, but that would open up a couple more games, at least if they support mouse or controller inputs and don't depend on the Samsung touch panel in the Gear headset.
Again this isn't long term as Google seems happy to totally ignore what Samsung has done and make DayDream incompatible with everything existing today.
Requiring Vulkan API support for Nougat certification is a clear indication on how much Google cares about the installed base.
If I had any say, resources or influence, I'd make Le Max 2 and the LeVR Pro1 into some kind of a hybrid Steam Link box and MiraCast receiver.
The panel is excellent, the gyros on the phone are great the video decoding power and WiFi hardware are top notch. So using both the Max2 and VR Pro1 to project semi or fully spherical content generated on a very powerful gaming PC wirelessly onto this combo would be technically feasible with latencies acceptible to quite a lot of centent, if not to LoL world championship participants.
Well we can dream, I guess...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will switch to cyanogen once the cm14.1 is released, if it's ever releasing. For now, EUI will not let me go to any other VR contents beside the stock ones. I do like the stock ones now because it just got updated to a whole lot more contents. But to me it is still looking like 480p instead of 1080p or even 2k contents. The only way for me to ever find true 2k is by doing youtube vr but I can't access youtube vr because youtube app is not part of the stock letv vr launcher The full screen view is super super big, it makes my head hurt because it's too close to us. The theatre mode is nice but the background screws it. I wish there's a feedback function for us to tell LeEco to push full screen mode back a little so it's perfectly within one's view. They should also change the dumb background so it doesn't look like we're in a cave of some sort.
I am really interesed in getting this le vr pro 1 however I haven't found it on any website as much as I haven't tried, could you please let me know where you found it?
---------- Post added at 06:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------
Ohh I have found it, but do you think is a great deal? The cost is about the $80 and what do you think about the new leeco's explorer VR that is coming? Would it work with the le max 2?
edwarddd said:
I am really interesed in getting this le vr pro 1 however I haven't found it on any website as much as I haven't tried, could you please let me know where you found it?
---------- Post added at 06:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------
Ohh I have found it, but do you think is a great deal? The cost is about the $80 and what do you think about the new leeco's explorer VR that is coming? Would it work with the le max 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Explore VR is the same as the vr pro 1! Good price bc in china its about $60. I will post tutorial on how to use this VR PROPERLY soon.
It depends on what you look for
edwarddd said:
I am really interesed in getting this le vr pro 1 however I haven't found it on any website as much as I haven't tried, could you please let me know where you found it?
---------- Post added at 06:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------
Ohh I have found it, but do you think is a great deal? The cost is about the $80 and what do you think about the new leeco's explorer VR that is coming? Would it work with the le max 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear the VRExplorer is nothing but a rebrand of LeVR Pro1. If that's the case it definitely works with Le Max 2, because that's what I use.
For my old eyes (>50) high resolution screens better be big!
It's really kind of crazy but Le Max 2 packs more pixels into 5,7" than any of my desktop screens: Magnifying glasses are the only way I'll ever be able to take advantage of all that pixel-estate!
So here is what I did yesterday: I laid down on my bed, put some nice Bluetooth headphones on my ears (Sennheiser MM100), downloaded a movie and some soap episodes on Le Max, slid it into LeVR and put that on my head.
Then I launched "VU Cinema VR 3D Video Player", selected a normal cinema (not the i-max), launched the videos and 'locked the screen': That screen locking fixes video just in front of you, independent of your position, which means I can just watch those movies on a 'really big screen' lying down. Without the locking you'd be looking at the cinema's roof.
It's the most comfortable screen viewing experience you can get without mounting a really, really big screen at your ceiling and you can continue to watch on your back, both sides and perhaps even on your belly.
LeVR is extremely easy to put on and take off and no hassle with the cables. If you should fall asleep, you won't choke or hurt yourself.
Now when it comes to real VR content that is stuff *generated* at native resolution and using your head and body movement as real-time inputs, there are natural limits to the compute power of the mobile platform: It's quite fine for many things, but when it comes to eye candy, my Oculus does better.
For me the decision was simple: Even with LeVR added on top, Le Max 2 was cheaper than any competing device, so LeVR basically came for free.
It's been uphill ever since!
What a awesome response! You did encourage me to buy the le VR pro , I really want to get it, Since I have never tried the "virtual reality" and since I do not have TV, (I know it is rare but I don't have one jajaja) so I am really exited about this, I am still looking, on where I can purchase it, where have you bought it? And at what price?
Please send me a pm if possible!
spemall.com
edwarddd said:
What a awesome response! You did encourage me to buy the le VR pro , I really want to get it, Since I have never tried the "virtual reality" and since I do not have TV, (I know it is rare but I don't have one jajaja) so I am really exited about this, I am still looking, on where I can purchase it, where have you bought it? And at what price?
Please send me a pm if possible!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it from spemall.com (https://www.spemall.com/LETV-LeVR-Pro-1-Helmet-3D-Head-Mounted-Glasses_g.html).
My impression is that spemall.com is somewhat lacking in techincal knowledge (but honest in their financial dealings), which may actually explain why they are perhaps the only ones selling to the West: The 'intended use case' is currently not supported outside China so more 'professional' shops simply won't offer LeVR.
The 'secondary' use case (luxury Google Cardboard) is not well known, but perhaps good enough for many of us.
But you should in fact be able to use any (€10-20) Google Cardboard 'hardware' with your LeMax with perhaps similar fidelity in terms of viewing or interaction quality: In terms of functionality that's all you get at the moment.
I simply enjoy the fact that it looks very cool, is easy to put on and remove even with my glasses and will survive some of the beatings it's likely to get around here.
And I can't stress enough that the entry level LeMax (4GBRAM/32GB Flash) is just a crazy cheap $240 so LeVR Pro1 is essentially for free compared to the competition.
LeVR Pro1 also works (mostly) with OnePlus 5
I've had various problems with my Le Max 2, camera autofocus on Nougat doesn't work with my 6/64 GB device (but works fine with three 4/32 GB others in the extended family) and the touch buttons started to have severe ghost touches, which made the device unusable (it naturally works just fine as I am writing this...), so I got myself a OnePlus 5 with 8/128GB to soothe the pain... and out of curiosity, I inserted that into the LeVR Pro1, to see if it would work...
I am extremely pleased to report that it does work.... mostly. First of all, because the OnePlus is a bit smaller, it fits into the headset with the protective cover mounted, which is a great bonus all on its own: Removing even the simple silicon covers (hard covers are so much worse!) always carries a certain risk of dropping the phone just when it's least protected and I have had so many encounters with Murphy, I really appreciate when he's out of my face for once. The OnePlus is only 1080p, so you'll get a little less resolution, but with movies IMHO that doesn't really matter all that much: You'll also get AMOLED, which is supposed to refresh faster, but again when your primary use case is the mobile "big screen movie theatre", perhaps you won't care, at least, when he video is catching your attention.
"Partial" mostly refers to the fact, that the touch field on the side of LeVR works, but "back" button doesn't, which can be a bit of a bother, if your application requires it. Also any "higher precision" gyro inside the headset (if that actually exists), may not actually be used, but the interal gyros of the OnePlus are pretty good, even if they may eventually get out of sync with your real orientation, depending on the apps. Missing generic support for blue tooth game controllers, such as the ones from Microsoft, is really had to excuse several major releases after the first tentative support for gaming controllers: Shame, Google!
I didn't test very deeply, because for me the headset is mostly about virtual big screen video, not about VR games: Neither the 820 nor the 835 have the power of a GTX 1080ti with a dozen of 4 GHZ cores to support it, but a VR streaming over WLAN should really be possible technically. But Nvidia, Oculus/Facebook and Qualcomm would want to own that on both ends, before they ever make it happen: Greedy, moneysuckers they are!
What vr headset have you tried? Which one is the most comfortable? And which one fits the phone best?
Two things, #1 The OnePlus 3 isn't the best VR experience. The Full HD screen is sharp enough for your naked eye that you probably couldn't perceive the benefit of QHD. But in a VR headset its a different story, as they use magnifying lenses. The broad pixel zoom doesn't make for a great experience.
#2 Don't bother with the novelty, because the novelty is a broken experience, and doesn't represent what true VR experience is like. True VR gear costs hundreds of dollars for good reason. But on Android, its not full VR, its a gimmick. If you want to test a gimmick, you can pickup some chinese ones for $15-$20, because I guarantee you, even at $20, you're going to feel cheated, but you'd feel even worse if you bought a much more expensive set. Unless you're willing to commit to the $300-400+ VR gear, you're not going to get a very good experience anywhere.
Depends on what you are using it for. I use mine for media saved on my NAS. I'm using the VR Gear 2 release and it is definitely fine, not as good as my S7E with it but it works using BubbleUPNP and VAR'S VR great.
Tried a Leelbox as well and that is being returned. I expect they will add Daydream support down the line as that should be achievable by code.
I've got the OnePlus ANT VR headset that OP have always during promotion of OP3, and one DOMO Version 5(I think).
Both are good but both don't have any magnetic or touch control built in.Most apps usually have the "gaze to select" option so it doesn't bother me.
The experience is fluid but not that sharp, but it is very much viewable nonetheless.
I use it occasionally for some VR apps on store like Titans of space etc, and for some VR video content (¬‿¬) you know and it serves the purpose well.
Ordered MI VR Play today at flash sale....will give feedback once i recieve it
I might go for the Google daydream once we have 7 and there is a mod going about to enable daydream. I like how comfortable it looks and the little air controller is neat. Be a gimmick but fun little toy.
I put my vote on the cheap and nice Bobo Z4 vr headset, plus for having earphones built in and a button and volume wheel directly on the vr headset which allows you to control the vr experience without any external controller. Also it cost only about 20 bucks, so it's practically a steal, and available in two color styles.
http://s.aliexpress.com/AFfuMrYB
bobobobo
+1 for bobo vr but gear vr 2017 controller is a big plus , but its five times more expensive
The new Google Daydream compatible motion controller bundled with Bobovr Z5 actually works quite well.
http://s.aliexpress.com/Iz6ZnUBZ
(from AliExpress Android)
Google Daydream V2 would be your best bet.
After months of "which phone next?", I was solidly set on the X⁴.
While researching this purchase, I found the unlocked, for all US carriers, Z2 Play.
Dilemma revisited...
Is the Z2 Play worth the extra $100?
It does have double the internal storage and ups the RAM by 1GB, so it could easily be justified, with that.
Big concern, will Moto Actions, Voice and Display be the same, on both of these as it is on the Moto X Pure Edition?
I'm really hooked on the custom wakeup word and reading my text to me, while driving.
I'd appreciate opinions and other 'vs.' thoughts.
Hey man, Moto Actions, Voice, and Display are all present on the Z2P. The big difference that you need to think about is that the X4 is 5.2 IPS, has a dual camera and no mods. Meanwhile the Z2P is 5.5 AMOLED, single camera, and you can use mods.
kiden said:
Hey man, Moto Actions, Voice, and Display are all present on the Z2P. The big difference that you need to think about is that the X4 is 5.2 IPS, has a dual camera and no mods. Meanwhile the Z2P is 5.5 AMOLED, single camera, and you can use mods.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, there is no custom wakeup word in Moto Voice. I played with the app at best buy and it seems to only have 'show me' commands, but I bought Z2 unlocked version on swappa anyways.
Now, I have a 6P 128 and a Moto X Pure 32 to sell.
I'll keep my Moto X Pure 64 as a backup.
ETA, got the wife an X4 and the battery life is just as great as the Z2 Play.
I've had the Z2 Play for almost 2 months and with same daily usage, the battery life far exceeds the MXPE and 6P.
Hey Pablo, after another month, do you have any words of wisdom on preference between the Z2 and X4? I doubt that I would buy any mods for the Z2, but I like the storage capacity it offers. I will definitely root the phone also and it looks like Z2 is ahead in that area right now also. On the other hand, I like the water resistance, display screen, and dual cameras of the X4. I am not having huge problems with my XPE now; battery life is not great and internal storage is jammed full. So I would like to get a new phone, probably by February. Thank you in advance for your time and thoughts.
G_Man18 said:
Hey Pablo, after another month, do you have any words of wisdom on preference between the Z2 and X4? ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was stuck between these two, but ended up with the Z2. The 4 GB RAM and 64GB internal storage did it. I've had it just shy of three months and the wife has had the X4 for a month. With what I now know about the two, the Z2 would be an easy choice for me.
I prob won't get any mods, either, but the thinness is awesome in my pocket, especially compared to the MXPE.
The X4 is a decent phone, but a few things bother me:
A) Only 32GB internal storage which has 13GB taken up by OS files. I've read that it's some doubling of files, in order to make updates smoother.
B) 3 GB of RAM. The wife has not reported lag issues, but I want more RAM to enable the phone to be able to handle future needs.
C) The camera has a really bad lag, between pressing the go button and the pic actually being captured. I've side loaded a Google Camera apk and every time I test it, it snaps pics right after the button is pressed, but in real world use, she misses what she is trying to capture. Very frustrating.
D) Lack of availability of good cases. I like hybrid cases, like Speck or Incipio, with a hard back and grippy sides. There are no major manufacturers cases available for the X4.
E) X4 is kinda fat in thickness, when compared to the Z2 and I prefer the larger screen on the Z2.
Both batteries greatly out perform the MXPE, even when new. With the same daily usage and charging, I am usually left with at least 50%. The MXPE often required charging, in the evening, in order to make it to bed time.
I am really happy with my Z2 choice. I have been using the ONE BUTTON NAV feature and it's pretty awesome. Sometimes I forget which way to swipe it, when in landscape, using a nav dock and sometimes BACK goes all the way to the home screen, instead of just back one page in the app being used, but overall I like it.
I have rooted it and themed it. Making the backgrounds black is my major motivation for rooting. Since lollipop arrived with all of its white backgrounds and icons I have been a theming junkie. I'll be trying Xposed and Gravity Box, soon, but only for a few tweaks.
I really like tempted glass screen protectors! I think they feel better than a bare screen and they give me security piece of mind. I am using a TG PROJECTOR, to I can't recall which, and it is serving me well. It does not cover the entire screen side to side, but covers enough and the cutouts are accurate.
I have the Sleo snap case for weekend carry and is a great low profile and grippy case. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B072562YNT/ref=oh_aui_i_d_old_o1_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have a Speck Presidio for work days and it's quite grippy.
I also have an Otterbox Commuter for days that require even more protection, but is had a smooth back and is a bit hard to hold on to. I have a GadgetShieldz for a different phone (Z Force I think) that I will add to the back of the Commuter, in hopes of adding grip.
ETA: got the Gadgetshieldz camera and body protectors. I'm not impressed. The sandstone finish seems just as slippery as the Commuter case and the camera protector does not have precise cuts. I reckon they are cheap for a reason.
I have tried this camera protector, but they did not stay applied and are plastic, not glass.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B074FTS66N/ref=oh_aui_i_sh_post_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have GadgetShieldz camera films for both phones on their way, also.
I tried this case, before better cases were available and returned. It is cheap and not grippy.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071ZS9R1X/ref=oh_aui_i_r_o1_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Too bad you missed the $350 price, from Moto's site, that was running for a few weeks! There are a couple on swappa.com right now.
After reviewing both, I've determined the Z2 Play as the far superior option. It's faster (even though not on paper), the camera's better, the software's better, and it has a nicer AMOLED screen.
https://thematridox.com/2017/11/17/moto-x4-review/
https://thematridox.com/2017/07/31/moto-z2-play-and-new-moto-mods-review/
Thanks again Pablo for your thoughtful review/comparison. It did help me decide on the Z2P, and they are marked down again on the Motorola site. Not quite as good as the Black Friday deal, but good enough for me to order one. Now I just need to read up on the best root method so I am ready to go when it gets here in a couple of days.
I've got my Z2 Play (4/64) a few months ago. My wife got new X4 (4/64) this christmas. Both phones has advantages and disadvantages. Z2 Play have a better screen (AMOLED) and X4 have a much much better camera (apart from Z2 Play, wich is rubbish in photoshooting...).
Another voice from me, I've bought both phones :
Moto X4:
+ better camera support on XDA (stock camera is OK, but modded GCam... is often better, especially low-light)
+ newer chipset (better LTE modem - 600 Mbit, Bluetooth 5.0, faster graphics)
+ longer foreseen future (as it's chosen by Google for its Project Fi)
+ water/dustproof
- smaller storage (I've just discovered that - having almost no custom apps, just Spotify and GCam plus e-banking) I have only about 5.5 GB left
- hybrid dual-sim tray
- microSD card can only be formatted as portable storage
- slightly less "snappy" device (but this is just an impression maybe, really hardly noticeable)
Moto Z2 Play:
+ bigger, more impressive screen
+ more RAM (so slightly "snappier", just a little bit)
+ more storage
+ Mods support
+ dual SIM and microSD support at the same time - no "hybrid" slot
- GCam currently not possible (and probably never will be), so camera is noticeably worse, despite of its 1.7 aperture and laser AF
- single main camera (well, I really love the wide-angle one on Moto X4)
- Lenovo already has broken its built-in equalizer after one of latest updates - not working (but at least it sounds really OK even without EQ...)
- worse LTE modem (300 Mbit)
Common for both phones :
+ great battery life !
+ really nice sound via headphones
+ great, highly sensitive FM radio tuner
+ fantastic design and build quality
- so-so support for now