Played with the Incredible at Best Buy today - Nexus One General

I played around with the HTC Incredible for a few minutes today.
- I did not like the look and feel (ID) of the Incredible nearly as much as I thought I would. It looked and felt cheaper than the N1. The shape is boring and the all glass/shiny front does not look good. I am much more pleased with the look and feel of the N1.
- The software shortcut buttons (back/menu/home/search) work quite a bit better on the Incredible compared to the N1 with less chance of an unsuccessful press.
- I didn't notice a huge difference in the touchscreens like I had read about. I didn't try the multitouch test.
- Scrolling between home screens didn't seem as fast as my N1, but I am running a custom ROM and kernel on the N1.
- I like the trackball on the N1 a lot more than the optical sensor on the Incredible. It wasn't very smooth rubbing your finger over the optical sensor. The interface between the sensor and the phone casing was a little rough. The trackball is definitely smoother.
Overall I am happy having an N1 and, if it ever existed, I have lost all Incredible envy.

I'm in Canada so I'll most likely never see one of these guys.
How much were they selling for no contract at Best Buy?

I felt the exact same when I looked at it, in fact, I hated the optical track pad also, n1 scrolled wayyyyy faster with it, and pushint it in is hard on the incredible, but Still I welcome it to the family

I love the trackball. I don't know why so many don't like it. optical track pad just seems like it would be a pain.
I found a trick for the nexus track ball, if you just give it a super hard swipe, it will go clear across an entire sentence me text in one swoop. I see people complain its too slow but its not if you give it a really fast swipe.

I just played with the incredible this morning. first thought is the track pad is horrible compared to the track ball. no matter how fast I swipe my finger, it only moves the cursor a few letters. the nexus track ball will move an entire sentence, like 7 words, if you give it one fast swipe.
the incredible is very light weight, but it just feels plasticky compared to the nexus. the nexus feels like a high quality appliance to me, no contest imo.
the speed of the OS felt pretty much the same. I'm running stock ROM on my nexus, not yet rooted (but I will soon enough!).
overall I can't believe anyone would even feel remotely bad about having the incredible released with slightly better specs, the nexus seems like the better phone to me in every way. the one thing I would like is the dual led flash. I don't care about the 8 gb memory or 8 mp camera one bit. but the extra flash would be nice for those random times when you need that photo in a bar or something, cause the nexus single led isn't very good.

ill take the dual mics over the dual flash though

RogerPodacter said:
overall I can't believe anyone would even feel remotely bad about having the incredible released with slightly better specs, the nexus seems like the better phone to me in every way. the one thing I would like is the dual led flash. I don't care about the 8 gb memory or 8 mp camera one bit. but the extra flash would be nice for those random times when you need that photo in a bar or something, cause the nexus single led isn't very good.
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The only people who feel bad about the Incredible being slightly better are the whiners.
IE the people who weren't happy with the Nexus One even without any other similar device having been announced yet.
NO PHONE is perfect.
Case in point: The Incredible, despite having slightly better hardware, feels cheap and is ugly / boring.
How about we wait until FroYo gets (leaked) and we have it first?
.

Paul22000 said:
The only people who feel bad about the Incredible being slightly better are the whiners.
IE the people who weren't happy with the Nexus One even without any other similar device having been announced yet.
NO PHONE is perfect.
Case in point: The Incredible, despite having slightly better hardware, feels cheap and is ugly / boring.
How about we wait until FroYo gets (leaked) and we have it first?
.
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Click to collapse
This should be the banner of the N1 forum that everyone see's before they post

Paul22000 said:
The only people who feel bad about the Incredible being slightly better are the whiners.
IE the people who weren't happy with the Nexus One even without any other similar device having been announced yet.
NO PHONE is perfect.
Case in point: The Incredible, despite having slightly better hardware, feels cheap and is ugly / boring.
How about we wait until FroYo gets (leaked) and we have it first?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really wanted to disagree with that post to not seem like an N1 fanboy, but I agree.. the Incredible is a giant plastic brick, we will get updates first, and the hardware is only slightly upgraded. It is Incredible, but if you have a Nexus.. its not worth switching over to.
If the Incredible does get developer support, and Froyo gets ported.. then.. um.. maybe we should be worried then. What if Froyo is released quickly for it? We won't have much to brag about but developer support, and.. sexiness? And then if it gets developer support, as much as we have, then it will really be a problem. They may have took root security measures like on the Desire and Legend though, so it may not even matter.

that's what I'm saying, the nexus is such a better built phone that I don't care if the incredible has a 5 gHz CPU, I'd always take the nexus every time.

RogerPodacter said:
that's what I'm saying, the nexus is such a better built phone that I don't care if the incredible has a 5 gHz CPU, I'd always take the nexus every time.
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Did I smell a touch of sarcasm there? you honestly will dump a 5GHz CPU for the nexus?? There is too much love in here guys!

well I was being half sarcastic, but not totally to be honest. sit a nexus next to an incredible and tell me "pick on for free and It's yours, but only one" and I would take the nexus every time no question.

The Nexus One is the first phone I've ever owned that I have no envy of any future phones. It fulfills every single need I have and I can see myself using it beyond 2 years. It's THAT good.

Yup. I agree with above poster. I've never had the latest and greatest and nothing available better. And there won't be for a while, in Canada. I am by no means regretting my purchase and am absolutely in love with the Nexus One. I haven't put it down since I got it 2 and a half weeks ago.
If you have one, love it. If not, then sell it and get yourself an Incredible. Then regret switching.
Jim

the only thing that really annoys me about the phone is battery life. but i guess this is something that no smartphone will do any better in the forseeable future.

I played with an Incredible at a verizon store yesterday. It does seem thinner and snappier.
Still prefer the stock UI.
Biggest sense plus is the exchange server support.

eabinsan said:
the only thing that really annoys me about the phone is battery life. but i guess this is something that no smartphone will do any better in the forseeable future.
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have you tried that GSM Auto (PRL) setting in the other thread? it really seems to work. i have had HORRIBLE battery life for the last month. my battery would die in about 5 hours or maybe 6. so far with this new setting, i am at 4 hours and still at 85%. its made a huge difference so far. but i'm still testing to really know.

battery life is not _horrible_ for me, but it's not great either.
i do have the extended 2800 mAh battery from SEIDO, and i manage to get 3 days out of it. now if this were the performance with the stock battery, i would be a happy camper.

Related

Proud Nexus One owners first Impression of the HTC Droid Incredible

So I just got back from the Verizon store about 10 minutes ago and I thought that I would write my impressions. Keep in mind this is just my opinion and I figured it might help some out that have not had the chance to try the Incredible or may be on the fence with it or the Nexus One (yes, I know that the N1 is no longer coming to Verizon =( but for some a provider means nothing)
Some up front information. I am a long time iPhone user (owned all three) and switched to the ATT band Nexus One about a month ago. I personally, love Android and I am very happy with the switch. I have the newest build of Cyanogen Mod (2.6.33.2). I didn't really do any up front tests (i.e, speedtest,browser, or acid etc) , and this review is more to do with my impressions I did however run the two phones side by side and spent over an hour with it.
Ok, so let's get to it. The first thing is aesthetics and to be honest I thought the Incredible looked nice, and also felt pretty good in hand. It seems to be built good and it seems to have the exact same "rubbery" feeling that the battery cover of the N1 has, but it is on the entire back of the phone. The back cover didn't bother me to much at all and I felt that it added to the whole "droid" feel that Verizon and it's partners are trying to pull off. There are a couple things that would worry me if I was an Incredible owner and that is the material they used when making the phone. I couldn't get over the fact that the phone felt a little cheap, but I still get the feeling that it would last if dropped. I don't really get that feeling with my Nexus One. I feel the build of the Nexus One is a little better (i.e, aluminum), but I have always felt that the phone would not with stand the slightest bit of fall from even 3-5 feet (I have never dropped mine so I really have no experience, again this is only my opinion based on how the phones feel).
The Incredible is fast, really fast. I had the same feeling when I used my Nexus One for the first time and as far as I can see there really is not a huge difference in speed between the two phones. But, there is a giant difference in "touch" the Incredible eats my Nexus One's lunch when it comes to overall touch and snappiness. The new sensor really adds to the whole Android experience and of all the Android phones I have tried none so far even come close to the touch screen on the Incredible. My Nexus One was great and the iPhone's I had was even better, but finally we have an Android phone (in my opinion) that not only competes with the iPhone on touchscreen and multitouch technology, but the Incredible one ups it. It really made the whole experience a lot more enjoyable on the phone. Everything, seems to work like Android was designed to work.
The next big thing I noticed and tested was the N1 trackball vs the Incredible's optical sensor. The sensor was nice and I have mixed feelings between the two. I mean everyone knows that an optical sensor looks better and should last a hell of a lot longer than a trackball and I have always felt that the trackball on the N1 looked way out of place. I have gotten really used to the trackball and I use it quite a bit and it is a lot easier to use than the optical sensor. You won't see a big difference at all if you are just flipping between screens or jumping to a text needed in the browser, but you will when choosing apps (but, really who does that anyways when you have touch) Like I said I have mixed feelings I love the look of the optical sensor, but I really feel the trackball is a little more responsive. It took me a while to get used to the trackball so I am sure if I owned the phone I would get a little more used to it and my opinion would change. I must say that I don't use the trackball often so if I had the choice I am sure I would choose the optical sensor.
Some of the other things I noticed that didn't make a huge impression was Sense vs Vanilla Android. I have used sense off and on with both my N1 (Modaco ROM), and my fiance's Droid Eris. I don't have much of an opinion, but I would give just a slight edge to Vanilla Android just because of the update situation however, if Google really adjusts Android like they are rumored to do and the update situation is non existent my opinion would change and I would like Sense. I guess we will see, but as far as some saying that having Sense will bog down Android I must say that I didn't experience that at all. They both ran just as smooth and will the Incredible's wonderful touch sensor I would give a slight favor to the Incredible with sense over the N1.
I spent about ten minutes with the camera/video camera on both phones and although I couldn't tell a huge difference in the pictures and videos (I know the Incredible sports a 8 mp and the N1 5mp), but I was also not able to upload any pictures to a computer to blow them up. I did send them to my email and I will post later if I notice a big jump or not. I still would give the Incredible the advantage just because why wouldn't I? 8mp is always going to beat 5mp and dual flash is nice.
Next one of my biggest gripes about the N1 and that is the touch sensor buttons on the bottom of the phone. The N1 like many probably know work and work well, but you have to touch the top two thirds of the label to get them to respond at all and I did find for the first little bit of owning the phone I often touched the home screen button when typing a text or email. With the Incredible these work perfectly. Not only do you not have to aim your finger, but they also worked every time I attempted to use them. They are in a different order than the N1 so that took me a minute to get used to, but no biggie. This is the way HTC and Google should of made the N1 work and personally I think they got it right with the Incredible.
I don't have a problem with my N1 when it comes to the 3G dropping issue and that could be that I got the ATT one or maybe I just got lucky. I did try to cover the bottom of the Incredible and it didn't seem to dip at all. Also, there was a Moto Droid right next to the Incredible and they seemed to get the same service so that should be a relief for many.
I wish that I would of had a couple days with this phone so that I could test many other aspects with it like the battery, further tests on 3G and wifi, the overall build, and even the speed. Really the Incredible is a nice phone and in a lot of ways I feel that it lives up to the hype. In my opinion I found my self wishing that I had the screen touch sensor in my N1 it really makes a giant difference even tho the N1 isn't all that bad. I could really do without the extra mega pixels in the camera and to my knowledge they both record at the same levels (I may be wrong with this and if I am then I am sorry). I do wish that the touch sensors on the bottom of the N1 worked as well as the Incredible, but I can live without it. Like I said sense vs Vanilla until I hear differently I would rather get the quicker updates, but if Google addresses this issue I would love to Sense on my N1 (Yes, I know I can with Modaco Sense ROM). The trackball is something that doesn't make a huge difference, but I do worry about how well it will hold up after months of usage.
My final feelings are that although the Incredible is the better phone it is not worth switching over to Verizon for it (although yes I do believe that Verizon is the better provider, but I have a family plan and a contract and that is what I am speaking of). The Incredible looks and feels nice, but I must say I like the overall look and feel of the N1 a little more. Like I said, I couldn't get over the fact that the Incredible felt a little fragile because of the plastic material the phone is made of, but then again the N1's build doesn't feel all that more solid of a phone. The N1 screen looked to me to be a little wider (I could be wrong) and although it sounds wierd it did make a difference, at least to me it did. It will be interesting to see when the Incredible will get the desk dock and car dock because these are big selling points to me with my N1. The deal breaker is the touch screen and how it works. This is the biggest selling point of this phone and that makes me want it, but there is one big thing with my N1 that I really enjoy and that is the wonderful developers behind the N1. I love how easy Google made to root this phone and I really think that a lot of developers make our phones all the more fun to use. Until, I can see the Incredible get these abilities (I am sure they will with great people like Paul the other day rooting the Desire) I would have to go with my N1.
I hope this was helpful to some and that people don't think I was to harsh to either side. I tried my hardest to not come off like a "fanboi" and tried to be as unbiased as possible. I really went in today looking to see if this phone lived up to its hype and I believe it did. I can't see many flaws with owning this phone and I welcome all of our new Android brothers and sisters to the party. Let me know how you all think and thanks for reading I know it's long as hell. Again, A huge thank you to all you developers that pour your hard work into making all of our lives easier. You really make our phones and the Android world all the much better than the competition. Keep up the good work, we love you guys!
Very nice review! For some reason though, even if I could get an Incredible.. I don't think I would o_0 I really don't know why, but.. even though it has better specs (well, not that many matter) I just don't even think I actually "want" it. Is that weird?
They're both great phones, and really are just going to make Android better. Wait, you said the Nexus's screen was wider? Pictures really don't show that.. I thought the Incredible had a wider screen. Weirdness..
Fair enough. I'd say it's just a case of the Incredible coming out later, hence with better hardware. Newer stuff almost always have better components. That's just the way gadgets are. The thing that irks me are people saying that the "old" stuff SUCKS now because there's "new" stuff now. These are the idiots that should be shot.
I too considered the Incredible, but for some reason I felt pangs of loss when I considered not having my Nexy anymore.
Sent from my Nexus One using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Wow, great comparison. I read every word. I can't wait to test out the Incredible myself this weekend!
It seems like it's a much better phone in almost every way (touchscreen, soft buttons, camera).
The only downside is what will happen with 2.2. This has yet to be proven, so it can't be counted as a negative -- yet. Time will tell. Until then, I'm definitely envious since in my eyes it is definitely the better phone. Although I think the N1 is definitely sexier
My mom just got this phone today, and I got to say, Sense UI on that phone is a lot faster than Sense UI on the Nexus.
McFroger3 said:
My mom just got this phone today, and I got to say, Sense UI on that phone is a lot faster than Sense UI on the Nexus.
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That's cause its not made to be on the Nexus, and Paul doesn't have the Desire kernel source to make it a complete build. I don't even know how much of a speed increase that would cause regardless.. I don't like when people say this (what you said) because the Nexus was never made to run Sense UI, and therefore doesn't have the correct optimization, the stock 2.1 Google experience is the Nexus's child.. not Sense. Im assuming you knew this.. though. Oh and edit, everything I said could possibly be wrong. I am not a ROM baker, or developer.
I wish the things that made the Incredible better interested me, I dont take many pictures.. my touchscreen doesn't irritate me.. and the soft buttons do their job well. Another good score for Android though, with next being the Evo - and those new phones Dell are working on.
Eclair~ said:
Very nice review! For some reason though, even if I could get an Incredible.. I don't think I would o_0 I really don't know why, but.. even though it has better specs (well, not that many matter) I just don't even think I actually "want" it. Is that weird?
They're both great phones, and really are just going to make Android better. Wait, you said the Nexus's screen was wider? Pictures really don't show that.. I thought the Incredible had a wider screen. Weirdness..
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No that isn't weird at all and I feel the same. It isn't a big jump from the Nexus One and even if it was I don't feel comfortable doing it until developers have had their way and have root. It will be interesting to see. If I was going to make a jump (which as of now I wont) I would make the jump to the EVO. The Incredible just doesn't have enough over the N1 specs wise.
jacka$$1 said:
Fair enough. I'd say it's just a case of the Incredible coming out later, hence with better hardware. Newer stuff almost always have better components. That's just the way gadgets are. The thing that irks me are people saying that the "old" stuff SUCKS now because there's "new" stuff now. These are the idiots that should be shot.
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I agree to the fullest! I saw some kids on Engadget saying that the Incredivble is faster in every aspect than the N1 and that is not even close to the fact. It is a great phone and yes Verizon and HTC have fixed some of the N1's flaws but all in all this phone is a plastic Desire (that is not a bad thing at all and to each his own) I just wanted to let people know the impressions I got from the phone. To be honest I hope this phone is even more popular than the Moto Droid and then a bunch of people will get it and get more developers interested in Android. I hope it is a huge mainstream success. I love the idea that I have never seen a N1 rather than mine. They can have all that. I love how easy it is to root the N1 and all the talented developers behind it.
Paul22000 said:
Wow, great comparison. I read every word. I can't wait to test out the Incredible myself this weekend!
It seems like it's a much better phone in almost every way (touchscreen, soft buttons, camera).
The only downside is what will happen with 2.2. This has yet to be proven, so it can't be counted as a negative -- yet. Time will tell. Until then, I'm definitely envious since in my eyes it is definitely the better phone. Although I think the N1 is definitely sexier
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I agree the Nexus is a lot sexier. I held them up by each other and both look like great designs. The Incredible has nice specs but most are just small upgrades the Incredible's touch screen is the big difference, but so is the N1 being Google's baby and we will get the upgrades a lot faster. That to me is a bigger selling point. If that changes then I might change my mind. The internal memory, better camera, and better buttons just don't warrant a provider jump in my eyes.
McFroger3 said:
My mom just got this phone today, and I got to say, Sense UI on that phone is a lot faster than Sense UI on the Nexus.
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Click to collapse
Oh yeah I definately agree a hundred percent. It is a whole different ball game. To be fair Paul's Modoco is still in alpha and it is amazing that he even got it to work. We are lucky that we even get the chance to try it out to be honest.
Eclair~ said:
That's cause its not made to be on the Nexus, and Paul doesn't have the Desire kernel source to make it a complete build. I don't even know how much of a speed increase that would cause regardless.. I don't like when people say this (what you said) because the Nexus was never made to run Sense UI, and therefore doesn't have the correct optimization, the stock 2.1 Google experience is the Nexus's child.. not Sense. Im assuming you knew this.. though. Oh and edit, everything I said could possibly be wrong. I am not a ROM baker, or developer.
I wish the things that made the Incredible better interested me, I dont take many pictures.. my touchscreen doesn't irritate me.. and the soft buttons do their job well. Another good score for Android though, with next being the Evo - and those new phones Dell are working on.
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You seem to have the same impression as me. I think that stock Android runs just as good on the Nexus One as Sense does on the Incredible. It comes down to overall what people prefer and for me I prefer Vanilla. None of us will be on top of the Android game for long. Every couple of months a better phone is coming out. It happened to the Moto Droid, now the Nexus One, and soon the Incredible with the EVO 4G. Overall, as Android grows we will all reap the benefits. I really think that the specs in the N1 will be relevant for quite awhile and we wont see many phones that completely stomp it. At least not for another year or so. I am happy with my purchase (especially getting rid of that damn iPhone 3Gs)
angermeans said:
No that isn't weird at all and I feel the same. It isn't a big jump from the Nexus One and even if it was I don't feel comfortable doing it until developers have had their way and have root. It will be interesting to see. If I was going to make a jump (which as of now I wont) I would make the jump to the EVO. The Incredible just doesn't have enough over the N1 specs wise.
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Good review man. I also agree that I'd be more interested in the Evo than the Incredible. Partly because of the bigger screen, partly due to the 4G (though my current provider's, T-mobile, HSPA+ might be faster), and partly because I can't stomach paying $40 more a month over Sprint or T-mo.
Do we know yet if the Evo 4G will have the Maxtouch touchscreen?
angermeans said:
I agree the Nexus is a lot sexier
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I've heard this over and over again and I have to agree - The Droid incredible has a look that pales in comparison to the N1.
Having a great phone that also looks amazing is a huge draw to the reason we get new technology (just ask apple and the people who actually bought a $1700 MacBook air). If looks weren't important for our hardware then we would all be driving economy cars with better MPG specs and having Droid incredibles, instead though we have nice looking cars and a near perfect Nexus 1 that looks amazing.
uansari1 said:
Good review man. I also agree that I'd be more interested in the Evo than the Incredible. Partly because of the bigger screen, partly due to the 4G (though my current provider's, T-mobile, HSPA+ might be faster), and partly because I can't stomach paying $40 more a month over Sprint or T-mo.
Do we know yet if the Evo 4G will have the Maxtouch touchscreen?
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Click to collapse
I don't know if we know for sure if it will or not, but if I was a betting man (and i def am) I would say that HTC and Sprint would be stupid not to. I also believe that I read somewhere that all HTC phones will now have that sensor in it. I can't prove that as I am going to work now, but I will look for the source while I am at work and try to post it (don't you love smart phones). I know people laugh at the term "superphone" but when you compare these phones to the iPhone or Blackberriers these phones are def more of a "superphone" than a smartphone. Apple is going to have their hands full this year and it will be very interesting to see how it plays out. I for one don't care what Apple does in June I would be stupid to jump off the Android band wagon we just have way to much going on.
uansari1 said:
Do we know yet if the Evo 4G will have the Maxtouch touchscreen?
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Click to collapse
Yep, Maxtouch!
http://androidandme.com/2010/04/news/htc-incredible-and-evo-4g-to-feature-new-maxtouch-sensors/
IMO even the EVO is only worth upgrading to if you need 720p recording or would value HDMI out. Personally, I would love to have HDMI (don't care for the HD recording all that much) but it still wouldn't justify ditching my N1. I'm not going to upgrade until the N1 ceases to run newer Android software effectively or significant processing upgrades are made (ie. Dual Core). Who knows I may change my mind but that's how I feel right now.
jasrups said:
IMO even the EVO is only worth upgrading to if you need 720p recording or would value HDMI out. Personally, I would love to have HDMI (don't care for the HD recording all that much) but it still wouldn't justify ditching my N1. I'm not going to upgrade until the N1 ceases to run newer Android software effectively or significant processing upgrades are made (ie. Dual Core). Who knows I may change my mind but that's how I feel right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you. Most picky gadget dweebs tend to upgrade for the sake of having the latest and greatest even though it's only marginally better than the last "toy" they had. I upgrade my phone like I upgrade my PCs: it's only worth upgrading if the new stuff is at least 10 times more powerful than the last one. Which in most cases can take a few years of waiting. AND it's gotta cover what I "need". Most stuff that I "want" should be an included bonus, which the N1 covers quite well (A2DP, wifi tethering).
jasrups said:
IMO even the EVO is only worth upgrading to if you need 720p recording or would value HDMI out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you value a bigger screen.
Or 4G.
Or Sprint.
Or like the style/looks better.
And so on
The touch buttons on the Incredible seem to be actually on the button, unlike the Nexus. And the camera is amazing!

staying with N1 a little longer

I finally got my hands on a NS just a few minutes ago. Given, it was handcuffed to an alarm and a usb charger, and completely not fun to use this way. The camera.apk crashed several times. The market was less than responsive. I figured this was a badly beat up device, and am prolly right, being at a bestbuy store.
The thing is, when it was announced, I was going to buy, sight unseen. Then I read it was really a galaxy S with not much different, possible gps issues, etc - you've all heard this before.
Now, don't go crazy thinking I'm about to flaunt and rave about a wp7 device. No sir, not me. I'm a android nut to the bone. My Nexus One is just going to have to make do a little longer until the multi-core devices come out....
unless....
can someone motivate me as to why i might replace my N1 with a NS ? please, I'm -NOT- looking for a flamewar, or to bash any device. I think the S is badass, but just not badass enough to toss the N1 yet.
Convince me ? Flame me ? whatever, i want to hear why you switched from a N1.
There are plenty of threads about the device for you to make an informed decision. I suggest reading and deciding for yourself instead of creating another one of these threads.
I have a Nexus One.
I sold a G2 Friday.
Bought the Nexus S Saturday.
I found I didnt need a keyboard (I use Swype) and the G2 didnt seem to be
any faster than the N1.
I do like both the N1 and the NS.
The GPS/maps works fine on the NS, used it today.
I wouldnt pay $529 for an NS but if you are off contract its a great phone for $199.
Best phone on the planet right now. At least for the next 15 minutes.
My first impressiong of the NS was...."wtf is this ****" at best buy. It was tied up as well, and for whatever reason it wasn't turning on, felt cheap.
That was about a week ago. Today I headed out to best buy again, apparently the first time around there was no battery in it. I felt better about, and ended picking up for my papa dukes.
I've been ****ting on the NS all week after my first encounter. After using it for a few hours setting it up, holding it. It feels reall really nice in the hand. The N1 feels more "solid" but there's no form to it, it feels like holding a piece of aluminum stock down at the metal yard. The NS feels much more organic. The plastic allows it to feel warm.
Screen - Takes a huge **** on the N1 screen. The size combined with the extra saturation, it's no comparison. Touch screen in about 3 - 4 million times better than the N1. The screen wrapped with a black housing gives the phone a certain "presence" that makes the n1 seem feeble.
Software wise - stock android is trash, always has been. CM 6 runns much smoother than 2.3, no question abuot it.
4" SUPER AMOLED screen.
Game over.
I have a nexus one and I picked up the nexus s a couple of days ago.
The biggest difference for me is the fantastic screen. It's significantly better than the nexus one screen. That alone is worth the upgrade for me.
Speed wise, the nexus s isn't much faster than a nexus one running the aosp gingerbread roms, so I wouldn't buy a nexus s expecting it to be faster.
My reply will sound like everyone else's. This is a flagship phone, and it shows. Spec wise, its comparable to the N1. Experience wise, the N1 can't compare.
2.3 is very streamline. Its smooth. It flows. The 4" SAMOLED screen is incredible. The colors are vivid, the transitions are smooth, and its response is unmatched. Its so responsive, it sometimes presses the buttons before i do!
I have an N1 and I was a skeptic as well, until i turned it on and used it for a day. You simply cannot compare the two. Nexus S all day.
distortedloop said:
4" SUPER AMOLED screen.
Game over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is really all you need to know. I also came from an N1 and loved the amoled screen on there; to put it simply, the Samoled screen on the NS makes the N1 screen look like ****. I didn't think it could really be all that much better but it really is, also the touch sensor and oleophobic coating are fantastic.
I showed my 5 coworkers, who all have iphone4's, my NS yesterday and they all said the exact same thing "that screen is gorgeous."
No LED notification light, and no trackpad/trackball. These are two major sell points for me. So much so I may end up with a MyTouch 4G
if i have anything from N1, Desire, Desire HD, Galaxy S, i wouldnt trade or sell it for Nexsus S.
not that NS isnt better than N1 or Desire, its just FOR ME, the LG star "optimus 2x " or whatever its going to be called coming by Feb . thats like 2 months only from now. duel core processor with Tegra 2 from Nvidia gpu for assuming gpu performance. and on top of that a super amoled screen as well as 8M camera " i think ? "
so it doesn't make sense for me to spend an X ammount TODAY on an adroid phone when a new much better one coming in like exactly 2 months.
NOW, the NS is a developers phone. what does that mean for you that all developers will be baising their games on the Nexus S. thats the standard. for gaming. it will be on Nexus S. much like how games standards was Nexus 1. what does that mean to you is until the next developers phone comes out, ALL the new games for example or apps will run as defult on NS.
that not to say it wont run better on Tegra 2 in the LG phone for example, just like how games runs better on Galaxy S over the Nexus 1.
i think you should stick with your Nexus 1 as well.
going_home said:
Best phone on the planet right now. At least for the next 15 minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. i think the Desire HD has more power and 150% more Ram. and a 4.3 screen
but i love the nexus S though. its a great phone
Das_mobile said:
No LED notification light, and no trackpad/trackball. These are two major sell points for me. So much so I may end up with a MyTouch 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No LED notification light? No problem. NoLED turns on the screen and displays an icon depending on what kind of notification you have (new e-mail, new text, etc). Since it's SAMOLED, the black uses little to no power so it isn't a battery drain.
No trackpad/touchball? I barely used mine on my G1. I don't miss it on my Verizon Fascinate either. Not sure why people want that so badly that it influences their decision on getting a phone or not...
Das_mobile said:
No LED notification light, and no trackpad/trackball. These are two major sell points for me. So much so I may end up with a MyTouch 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was my same thought when I picked up the NS, I needed to have a notification light and thankfully the NoLed app makes the lack of trackball notifications irrelevant now. NoLed works great and looks awesome too and doesn't have any noticeable affect on battery.
ll_l_x_l_ll said:
lol. i think the Desire HD has more power and 150% more Ram. and a 4.3 screen
but i love the nexus S though. its a great phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If they released it on T-mobile in the US, it'd be nice. But it isn't.
JCopernicus said:
My first impressiong of the NS was...."wtf is this ****" at best buy. It was tied up as well, and for whatever reason it wasn't turning on, felt cheap.
That was about a week ago. Today I headed out to best buy again, apparently the first time around there was no battery in it. I felt better about, and ended picking up for my papa dukes.
I've been ****ting on the NS all week after my first encounter. After using it for a few hours setting it up, holding it. It feels reall really nice in the hand. The N1 feels more "solid" but there's no form to it, it feels like holding a piece of aluminum stock down at the metal yard. The NS feels much more organic. The plastic allows it to feel warm.
Screen - Takes a huge **** on the N1 screen. The size combined with the extra saturation, it's no comparison. Touch screen in about 3 - 4 million times better than the N1. The screen wrapped with a black housing gives the phone a certain "presence" that makes the n1 seem feeble.
Software wise - stock android is trash, always has been. CM 6 runns much smoother than 2.3, no question abuot it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JC turning the corner on the NS?! Don't go towards the light!
To the OP, I will probably be returning the Nexus S before the 30 day return policy is up and sticking with the Nexus One as well.
Benefits of Nexus S:
1. SuperAMOLED (Soooo beautiful... 1 of 2 things that kills the Nexus One for me)
2. 4' screen (Personal opinion but I actually like the compactness of the Nexus One's design... I know I'm weird)
3. NFC (Not around yet, wont be for awhile)
4. True multitouch for gaming (I use a wiimote to play emulators so I don't care about multitouch gaming)
5. Better Speaker (I don't blast music through my phones speaker. If Im at home I use my computer, if I'm in the car I use the car speakers, if Im out an about I'll use some earphones)
6. Android updates developed w/ Nexus S in mind(Long as the N1 gets updates as well I'm ok w/ sharing the love)
7. Hummingbird processor (I don't notice any lag on my stock Nexus One)
8. More app storage space (I always keep my Nexus One at 75-80% free)
9. Battery life (2nd thing that kills the Nexus One... but I have a spare battery so my N1 lasts all day)
These are some great benefits for 90% of people to be worth upgrading for. Just that I'm one of the weird 10%
Another option I've been thinking of is actually getting the Samsung Galaxy Tablet to completely replace my Nexus One (with 3g enabled skype app) and Netbook (with a bluetooth keyboard) for $40/mo with T-mobile this doesn't seem like a terrible idea if I find a cool looking European shoulder bag that I wouldn't mind taking with me everywhere to have the tablet with me at all times like a phone
I had to sell my N1 as I couldnt stand the touchscreen going mental from time to time
ap3604 said:
JC turning the corner on the NS?! Don't go towards the light!
To the OP, I will probably be returning the Nexus S before the 30 day return policy is up and sticking with the Nexus One as well.
Benefits of Nexus S:
1. SuperAMOLED (Soooo beautiful... 1 of 2 things that kills the Nexus One for me)
2. 4' screen (Personal opinion but I actually like the compactness of the Nexus One's design... I know I'm weird)
3. NFC (Not around yet, wont be for awhile)
4. True multitouch for gaming (I use a wiimote to play emulators so I don't care about multitouch gaming)
5. Better Speaker (I don't blast music through my phones speaker. If Im at home I use my computer, if I'm in the car I use the car speakers, if Im out an about I'll use some earphones)
6. Android updates developed w/ Nexus S in mind(Long as the N1 gets updates as well I'm ok w/ sharing the love)
7. Hummingbird processor (I don't notice any lag on my stock Nexus One)
8. More app storage space (I always keep my Nexus One at 75-80% free)
9. Battery life (2nd thing that kills the Nexus One... but I have a spare battery so my N1 lasts all day)
These are some great benefits for 90% of people to be worth upgrading for. Just that I'm one of the weird 10%
Another option I've been thinking of is actually getting the Samsung Galaxy Tablet to completely replace my Nexus One (with 3g enabled skype app) and Netbook (with a bluetooth keyboard) for $40/mo with T-mobile this doesn't seem like a terrible idea if I find a cool looking European shoulder bag that I wouldn't mind taking with me everywhere to have the tablet with me at all times like a phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool, and thanks to all the others that replied. i like the list approach, it's how i usually do stuff....
i didn't get to try out the speaker, there was crap super glued to the phone @ the store. :-(
the screen was very very very bright and impressive. almost a G1 to N1 comparison side by side.
thankfully, folks didn't label me as trolling and have seen a similar take before. i think i'll stick with the n1 a little longer given the points in this thread. maybe february i'll buy, or maybe i'll find a NS on craigslist for 1/2 price, who knows. i'm pretty partial to my N1 for now.
thanks everyone !
psp888 said:
I had to sell my N1 as I couldnt stand the touchscreen going mental from time to time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
The N1 had so much potential, but the user experience was greatly impacted (negatively) by the wonky touchscreen behavior (imho). It was also unusable outdoors, here in sunny southern CA.

So I got to compare the old with the new.

(WARNING: This is long.)
My father got word of the Nexus S (he's not much into technology) and wanted one, so I went to Best Buy today to play around with it. I figured I would compare it against my Nexus One with Gingerbread and see how big the difference is.
I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the new Nexus, since it's pretty much a standard Galaxy S device with a few niceties. It was disappointing to find out that it wasn't even convincing me to feel anything.
The Hummingbird CPU on the Nexus S is indeed as fast as it seems, but the experience doesn't feel that much faster than on my Nexus One (especially when using Launcher Pro). I suppose it would be better for Live Wallpapers, but I never caught on to that. I tested a YouTube video both in HD and standard quality, and neither stream played any better on the S though they looked a bit nicer on a bigger screen. It's a definite, hands-down improvement for mobile gaming, though.
The device itself definitely felt as plasticky as the Vibrant, but it's not terrible. However, I prefer the metallic feel of the Nexus One.
The screen is bigger and a bit brighter, but it also has a cooler color temperature, which may contribute to that brightness a bit. Colors from the camera lens seemed less saturated than those on the Nexus One, though they could also be closer to the actual results. I really liked the front-facing camera; I hope video calling takes off soon. (Has FaceTime even been open-sourced yet?)
The S booted up WAY faster than the Nexus One. I did a boot comparison and turned it on about a half-minute later by accident and it still booted before my Nexus One finished.
These differences would be acceptable for an upgrade, but I'm not sure if I'll feel comfortable with losing the microSD slot and trackball. The SD reader can really come in handy, and makes transfers super easy since tons upon tons of phones and laptops have one. (Then again, the Windows Phone 7 team decided to do something similar here as well, so it could be the sign of a trend. I hope not.) Trackball notifications were really, really nifty too, though not as important as the SD reader.
Other than T-Mobile making it unreasonably difficult for me to actually upgrade to the device, the deal-breaker for me was that it didn't seem nearly as innovative as the Nexus One was for me. I could be biased because my first experience on Android was on the G1...and we all know how wonderful that device was. Because of that, hoping onto the Nexus One was like a BIG breath of fresh air and a big reassurance that Android is an exceptional alternative to the iPhone universe. I feel even more so with devices like the G2 (the device I'm set on getting now), Droid X and MT4G, which have been HUGE upgrades from the devices that preceded them. The Nexus S, on the other hand, doesn't even have Wifi Calling (though I guess it'll get it at some point?) or HSPA+. I can't justify spending a small fortune on that.
As for my father, I'm getting him a Nexus One. Coming from an original iPhone, he, and my wallet, will definitely appreciate it.
It wasn't worth it the moment I heard it wouldn't be covered by the phone insurance and no SD card swap. G2 wasn't worth it either in my opinion
Does make you wonder about no ins coverage
I only played with one at Best Buy, but came to many of the OP's conclusions!
No insurance coverage? Wow, that's weird.
Re: boot time, were you comparing a fresh NS against a full-o-****e N1, or was it like for like?
Rusty! said:
Re: boot time, were you comparing a fresh NS against a full-o-****e N1, or was it like for like?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like for like; N1 is running the Gingerbread ROM that's being developed, which comes with a few apps but nothing heavy. That might have slowed its boot time a bit.
Rusty! said:
Re: boot time, were you comparing a fresh NS against a full-o-****e N1, or was it like for like?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I picked my NS from CPW yesterday and have been comparing it with my soon to be retired N1.
I've got FRG83D on the N1 (completely stock, no apps) and it takes twice as long to boot as the NS... but the NS only feels 'half done '! It's still got the old market, it can't see some apps on the market, and it feels Buggy... guess that's why the N1 doesn't have gingerbread yet... they haven't finished it!
The NS screen is nice but the back button doesn't work half the time! Wifi is more sensitive on theN1, 3g is more reliable on the NS. The NS feels a lot quicker but its hard to tell if its the phone or the OS.
I'm waiting on an official GB update for the N1 before I decide which phone goes on fleabay...
lf2k5 said:
I picked my NS from CPW yesterday and have been comparing it with my soon to be retired N1.
I've got FRG83D on the N1 (completely stock, no apps) and it takes twice as long to boot as the NS... but the NS only feels 'half done '! It's still got the old market, it can't see some apps on the market, and it feels Buggy... guess that's why the N1 doesn't have gingerbread yet... they haven't finished it!
The NS screen is nice but the back button doesn't work half the time! Wifi is more sensitive on theN1, 3g is more reliable on the NS. The NS feels a lot quicker but its hard to tell if its the phone or the OS.
I'm waiting on an official GB update for the N1 before I decide which phone goes on fleabay...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back button is a known issue -try and get a swap from CPWH.
To chip in my experience:
Went from a N1 with MIUI (was in love with the ROM, it's awesome, quick looks amazing etc) to Stock NS.
Have to say, N1 has been sat at home not used since the S arrived. The screen on the S is simply amazing, so responsive to touch looks fantastic. The "proper" multi-touch is great too - especially in google maps.
The S feels nice to hold - especially in landscape. The extra bulges make a big difference, it sits very nicely in the hand.
It feels a little less sturdy that the N1 does, deff lighter and doesn't feel like it'd take well to being dropped.
Still slightly worried about the screen - since no one seems to know how easily it'll scratch yet.
Speed wise, the S is quick. Navigation is about the same as N1 on MIUI (maybe a little slower), apps load wise, everything feels nippier.
The phone does lack a few features, but no doubt these will be added over the coming months - either officially or via the dev community.
It remains to be seen how the dev community will take to the S. Early days show a couple of custom roms, kernel and recovery and a few of the "bigger" names starting to work on the phone....
Is the S worth the upgrade - it depends. The overall experience IMO is better than the N1. It seems (so far) easier to get along with out. There's a few features missing - if these are must have's then the S isn't for you.
Go and have a play with one if you can.
FWIW - my fiancée is IN LOVE with the S. She normally hates smartphones, but this seems to be an exception...
You Can Have It
I just came back from Best Buy returning my Nexus S.
Yeah the touch screen had a little more snappy response
and the gpu makes it a little faster than my Nexus One
but the phone is not worth wasting a two year contract
on. Its just not much of an upgrade over the N1.
The lack of any way to move the curser was the last straw.
No track pad or track ball, no NS for me.
I did side by side tests clicking each app simultaneously and both my nexus one and the S loaded identical speeds for most everything.
I was however impressed with the quality and feel of the build of the nexus s. Much more solid and high end feeling than I thought it would be.
RogerPodacter said:
I did side by side tests clicking each app simultaneously and both my nexus one and the S loaded identical speeds for most everything.
I was however impressed with the quality and feel of the build of the nexus s. Much more solid and high end feeling than I thought it would be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got a Nexus One (traded a old netbook for it ) but had a EVO for a while now. Friend I traded with got a Nexus S so I got to play with both a lot. The bottom line is that most apps are pretty simple and would probably run fine on a 400 MHz CPU, but the apps that don't (Google Earth, Maps in 3D view, 3D gallery app, Games, etc) usually require a decent GPU to run 100% smooth, and it becomes obvious that the Adreno 200 can't keep up. It may run decently (20-30 FPS) but once you put the N1 or EVO side by side to the NS you can see that the apps are buttery smooth on second gen hardware.
It also pisses me off that I can't run a LW paper without causing the home screen to lag under 20 FPS while doing certain actions - especially the Microbes wallpaper which looks cool as hell IMO.
I say I will upgrade to watever phone Cyanogen upgrades too... and thats just being real honest loool.
Sent from my Nexus One...
Award Tour said:
usually require a decent GPU to run 100% smooth, and it becomes obvious that the Adreno 200 can't keep up. It may run decently (20-30 FPS) but once you put the N1 or EVO side by side to the NS you can see that the apps are buttery smooth on second gen hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not necessary the Ardeno200 to blame. Gingerbread has got a much better 3D stack they bought from outside, while the N1 and Evo are still using the old one. Currently it is not clear where the NS performance advantage is coming from.
draugaz said:
It is not necessary the Ardeno200 to blame. Gingerbread has got a much better 3D stack they bought from outside, while the N1 and Evo are still using the old one. Currently it is not clear where the NS performance advantage is coming from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can replace the Nexus S with a SGS running 2.1 and you'll see the same results. Its the GPU, we all know it's that. If it wasn't for that weakness, the Nexus One would still be as speedy as the newer phones.
Sent using Tapatalk
Award Tour said:
You can replace the Nexus S with a SGS running 2.1 and you'll see the same results. Its the GPU, we all know it's that. If it wasn't for that weakness, the Nexus One would still be as speedy as the newer phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure? As far as I can tell, the SGS UI is not significantly "smoother" than nexus one.
On the other hand, everyone drools how buttery smooth the WP7 devices are, and almost all of them are using Adreno200. And they even consider some "serious" 3D gaming with XBL.
Does anyone have any infos in regards to battery life on the NS? What is the battery life on the Nexus S? I think comparing battery life with the Nexus One is useless for now, since both devices are not running 2.3 yet!
draugaz said:
Are you sure? As far as I can tell, the SGS UI is not significantly "smoother" than nexus one.
On the other hand, everyone drools how buttery smooth the WP7 devices are, and almost all of them are using Adreno200. And they even consider some "serious" 3D gaming with XBL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm sure, seen it with my own eyes. The SGS suffers from weird lag to due the file system but with it fixed it runs fine, and even without it fixed it still runs smoother in things that rely on the GPU (those things I mentioned). But like I said, weird issues (like the file system lag) aside, running through a list shouldn't require a lot of power; it's when you hit apps that do need the power that you realize the difference.
...and about WP7, I agree. But this isn't WP7, and everything Google has shown so far isn't as optimized. The Adreno 200 will always be weak compared to every other high end GPU but I hope that Honeycomb w/ full HW acceleration (if it even supports the Adreno 200) can at least bring some life to it like WP7 has.
Award Tour said:
Yeah, I'm sure, seen it with my own eyes. The SGS suffers from weird lag to due the file system but with it fixed it runs fine, and even without it fixed it still runs smoother in things that rely on the GPU (those things I mentioned). But like I said, weird issues (like the file system lag) aside, running through a list shouldn't require a lot of power; it's when you hit apps that do need the power that you realize the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Comparing stock for stock, when I scroll a list I can hit 100% CPU utilization on a N1, and ~84% with NS.

[Q] Does the Atrix live up to the Hype?

Ok guys ive been reading mixed comments about the Atrix that its good and that its not. I was in 2 minds whether to get the Atrix or the LG Optimus 2X. Originally I was gonne get which ever I could get my hands on 1st. Both have their pros and cons i.e. camera, ram, locked bootloader, screen quality, internal memory etc
Well I decided to get the LG and this comment made in the o2x forum sealed it
Ive been using my atrix couple weeks an am falling out of love with it fast, after yesterday it ramdomly shut off 2x an today once sofar. The screen is beging to bother me the screendoor washed out look. Allready returned lapdock, that cant even compare to a real laptop in my opion. So im looking hard at the Lg 2x for an upgrade of camera, gyroscope, performance, faster upgrade to gingerbread, real mirroring, 1080p recording an play back, 7.1 sound, totaly unlocked phone. Yes 512mb memory is trade off, but operating system will handly that, an the battery is non issue, I'll have a spare battery or a charging source anyway. Not to mention not paying 20/month to not tether, an having my data speeds throttled down to 1.5mb down an 310kb up lat of 350-800. An Atrix doesnt do LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But now im stiill thinking what to do as Im so impatient and want a dual core phone asap. So I made this poll to see everyones view
Coming from a N1, there's not that much improvement. I'm satisfied, but not amazed by this phone. Still debating if I should return it and wait it out.
My impressions:
-Definitely faster, everything is much snappier, but browsing-wise there's not much of a difference.
-Screen is bright and sharp (as long as you don't put your face within inches of the screen you won't really notice the pentile display. But it's still an annoyance when you notice it)
-Camera is marginally better. Pretty disappointing for a flagship device. Plus the media gallery lags like this is a 2 year old phone when zooming in and out.
-GPS is amazing
-Pretty much Motorblur slows this phone's speed and potential. If this device was stock or able to flash truly custom ROMs, it'd be screaming in speed and blow every competitor out of the water.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Custom ROMS would make it a whole lot better.
19 voters.. 2 responses.. lol
I think it lives up to the hype.. couple quirks I miss from my captivate but.. besides that the phone is solid.
Now I just got to wait for Tango to support our phones :T
Came from the LG Expo. A much better improvement than the last generation phones. The phone just beats about everything out of the expo. Only thing getting to me is that the expo's fingerprint scanner doubled as a trackpad (would've been nice to have for editing text's)
harolds said:
Custom ROMS would make it a whole lot better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This pretty much summed it up
I think this is a situation that there is not enough tangible usage of a dual core for majority of people. Most of people wont notice any improvements in UI speed. We need evolution of software just like in iOS that despite this same architecture people could understand what the new software is bring them.
It feels a bit like a premature technology and we are all living dreaming of tomorrow while we are beta testing for Motorola/Samsung/HTC.
Just 2 cents.
Believe what you want but I love the Atrix. Had a captivate and it doesn't compare. My phone has never rebooted or lagged- I don't know what others do to theirs but my phone is rock solid.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I'm lovin mine all around. For people who return it because of locked bootloader, I'd say that you knew that when you bought it if it's a dealbreaker.
The webtop dock alone has made this phone exceed the hype. All thanks to the devs
You guys rock
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
i have a nexus one and now and atrix and have had it for about a week and i love it. It works great, no random reboots or anything ... just smooth sailing.
I know i can not customize it like I could my N1 but I think that day will come in time. I'll wait ...
Yes, it lived up to the hype in my opinion.
Came from Nexus One. Love the Atrix. It fast and solidly built. Im not sure why everyone said motorblur slow the phone down. I use ADW launcher and it scream.
The Atrix doesn't live up to the Best of CES 2011 hype. The locked bootloader, 1080p "coming soon" recording, overpriced lapdock, overpriced multimedia dock, and good-but-not-great screen keep it from living up to the incredible hype it garnered when it was announced.
Your poll is worded slightly differently: Was the Atrix worth it?
I just came from an ancient Iphone 3g, so the Atrix is absolutely amazing in pretty much every way compared to it and finally getting to use my upgrade was absolutely worth it!
I originally tried out a Captivate for about a week back when I first came up for an upgrade last november. It kept turning itself off (not sleep, total shutdown so I wouldn't receive calls, txt, email ect.) which was a deal breaker. The useless GPS didn't help it's case either. Screen was gorgeous, speed was decent, build quality was ok, battery life was ok. Anyways, I sent the Captivate back after a week, I couldn't have a phone that didn't take phone calls.
First and foremost I love the speed. This thing is lightning fast and seems to have horsepower to burn under the hood. Second is the battery life, I get home from work most of the time with over 40% battery power remaining which is absolutely astounding, my iphone couldn't make it through a full day without getting some juice at my desk and while the captivate did, it was usually at 10-15%. I'm also using the Atrix more than either of the others because I don't feel like I have to conserve battery power to make it through the day.
After those two big features, there are a bunch of less important things that I like:
Finger print scanner is great, I can unlock the phone without even looking at it. I know this doesn't sound important, but it's surprisingly useful when I'm just trying to pull information off my phone quickly and can have it already unlocked as I'm pulling it out of my pocket.
GPS is the best I've experienced on a phone, and better than some dedicated GPS units I've had the displeasure to work with.
Build quality (contrary to some reports I've read) is quite good imo. The phone itself is very sturdy feeling when held by the sides. The back cover is a bit flimsy, but it is also what convinced me to skip getting a case for the Atrix, if it gets scratched I'll just get a new back.
Gorilla Glass is not glued to LCD. Should keep repair costs down.
HDMI out is great, webtop with working firefox extensions is awesome.
Some good, some bad:
Screen resolution is good (colors not so much). The auto-brightness seems to be set a little low imho. I only notice a pentile effect on particularly small+thin fonts.
Camera is surprisingly good in low-light and indoor conditions. Not especially great overall though, tint seems a little off. May just need to set up a custom photoshop filter to correct it.
Call quality is good in quiet conditions, very clear reception and a detailed microphone. Not so good in noisy or windy conditions, the mic picks up a lot of extraneous noise, people are often asking me what's going on or where I am now based on background noise.
I haven't had much reason to use the front facing camera...frankly with AT&T's network I think video chat is a gimmick more than anything else.
I wonder about the finger print scanner/button longevity.
I wouldn't necessarily say the Atrix is the best phone around, but it was the best phone that fit my requirements (ATT, asap, batt life, fast) and so far I like it a lot.
Running ADW Launcher and really like the Advanced Clock widget.
I took mine back and have the Nexus 1 now; I liked the speed but for the most part, my 2.3.3 phone is about as fast; the main thing slowing these phones down now is the network speeds anyway.
If I'm on a wifi network, they're all pretty much the same speed.
Living up to the hype? Definitely not. There are a lot of small problems with this phone that a lot of people don't like; to me, it feels slightly rushed.
I came from an iPhone 4 and I haven't missed the iPhone experience yet. I started with the HTC Inspire which is a nice phone but the battery is rotten and the volume from the phone was pathetic. The Atrix has been an awesome phone for me. It has pretty good battery life so far and yes there are no truly custom ROMs but Adeo (REDUX) has made the UI lag go away on my end and I know others have said the same thing. I am loving the experience of this phone.
Just know that anytime you get a phone shortly after a better one will come out. It's all user preference and what you want and what you think is important. I'm happy but guy x may not be happy. So use one and if you don't like it don't keep it.
I went from a HTC Fuze directly to the Atrix. I love it. (almost) Everything about it. I have played with the Inspire and a couple other 2.1/2.2 devices (girlfriends captivate) and this thing stomps the crap out of them. The colors are just a little off, but that's probably just me going for an extreme upgrade from the phone I had before.
The *ONLY* gripe I have about it is the locked HSUPA. But with all good things come some bad, I think I'm gonna stick it out with the Atrix. Not only that but Spectral Souls looks amazing on it
Guys, please, help me to make a right decision.
Is it possible to buy AT&T version of Motorola Atrix and use it outside US? Is it simple to unlock it? Or where do you recommend to purchase unlocked phone.
P.$.: does motorola have any plans to upgrade it 2.3/3.1 in the future? As I know it's not the trivial to customize firmware for motorola phones (my old G1 can be customized without any problems).
Thanks a lot.
The phone is great nuff said.... We are all a bit too picky but for what its worth this is really the only phone out right now that can take down the iphone 4. My iphone 4 has just been sitting on my night table since I got the Atrix. Atrix has so much more potential and the Android os is so much more pleasing than iIS. Once the bootloader gets cracked its game over!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Genixoid said:
Guys, please, help me to make a right decision.
Is it possible to buy AT&T version of Motorola Atrix and use it outside US? Is it simple to unlock it? Or where do you recommend to purchase unlocked phone.
P.$.: does motorola have any plans to upgrade it 2.3/3.1 in the future? As I know it's not the trivial to customize firmware for motorola phones (my old G1 can be customized without any problems).
Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I am using Atrix on my business trips to EU using local sim cards.
Probably, but the timing of updates is another question.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

NS still holding it's own

I enjoyed reading this:
http://thisismynext.com/2011/05/30/coming-nexus-s/
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
That's kind of how I feel as well after "upgrading" from an Epic 4g... I really wish something out there seemed better than the nexus, a 5 month old phone, release 5 months late on sprint, when in reality it's a year old hardware that launched on the Galaxy S last May...
I really sincerely agree with the blog and wish that a decent phone has come out since then, but all this bull**** with modified android, flaky hardware, and poor support really has me turned off from every phone except for the Nexus series.... When my contract with Sprint is up I'm likely going to be moving to the carrier with the newest Nexus, not with the best 4g coverage, fastest speeds, or newest phone.... but the one with the most reliable.
I just noticed that was posted by Chris Ziegler. I'd imagine that's the same one from Engadget, in which I find it to be very interesting that someone with so much exposure to new technology feels that way.
I agree with the article it's just makes more sense to release a product that works instead of a product that has everything but doesn't work...
This was my first smartphone. Yes, I could've waited a month and got another, and in terms of theoretical performance, better.
But I can't say I regret myself one bit, it's truly an amazing phone and all complaints I had in the beginning has been solved by the amazing devs here on XDA
I'll probably keel this phone for a long while!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
Thanks for the link, phillevy. This article perfectly describes the current situation on the android handset market.
Before I chose the Nexus S, I had ordered 2 HTC Desire S which I sent back because of their crappy build quality (Google brings up lots of threads about this topic). I certainly prefer the looks of the Desire S over the Nexus S, but if you buy a high-end android smartphone you also expect high end build quality. If you buy a cheap (but still very good) ZTE Blade, you can live with wobbly switches and some other flaws in build quality.
Before choosing the Nexus S, I also considered the Galaxy S2. But Samsung's lame update policy and a barely noticeable added value of the dual core processor (besides some games) made me chose the Nexus S which brought up an update notification to 2.3.4 instantly after connecting to my WLAN router.
Bottomline: I'm very satisfied with my unbranded, factory-simlock-free Nexus S. There are certainly some handsets out there which outperform the Nexus S in terms of some features, but not if you have a look at the whole package.
it just feels good knowing i'm not getting crazy, cause i moved from my old htc desire hd for the same reason. Nexus S is not the best in all functionality, but makes everything pretty much well.
DHD makes HD videos and has 8mp cam, but it can focus with that, i can only take photos from static things.
DHD has a huge screen, but somehow its lcd screen is pretty lame, with washed colors (i have a sclcd nexus, but it get a way way better screen).
DHD has dolby-s and srs, but that speaker is awful, you can make it better with several tweaks, but...
to make a long story short, despite all devices with amazing specs arriving out there, i can't see a single one that lets me a little excited... i guess i'm stuck with nexus series!
Yep I agree totally coming from a higher spec G2x. In the end the specs are important but they are not everything. Especially if the experience is degraded by bugs (G2x) or skins (anything Moto). So you get a high spec phone and keep flashing nightly ROMs until you get one that works perfectly. That's quite a waiting game to play, especially if you can just get a Nexus that works perfectly out of the box . I view custom ROMs as something that can *add* to the experience and improve the phone in many ways, but they shouldn't be *necessary* to have a working bug-free, lag-free phone. Nexus FTW.
The Nexus series is the closest you can get to "future-proof" in the smartphone world. That is what made me upgrade from the Epic. Knowing that I will get pretty much every Android update in the foreseeable future (barring any new major hardware requirements implemented by Google...which I don't see happening anytime soon).
Its nice being free from the confines of Touchwiz or MotoBlur. My Nexy is truly MY phone. I can do whatever I want with it. Its a true Android experience.
Having the latest software and the peace of mind that I won't be left in the dust is better than having slightly better hardware in my opinion. The Nexus S 4G can still hold its own. The Hummingbird is still a very high end chip.
mapin0518 said:
Yep I agree totally coming from a higher spec G2x. In the end the specs are important but they are not everything. Especially if the experience is degraded by bugs (G2x) or skins (anything Moto). So you get a high spec phone and keep flashing nightly ROMs until you get one that works perfectly. That's quite a waiting game to play, especially if you can just get a Nexus that works perfectly out of the box . I view custom ROMs as something that can *add* to the experience and improve the phone in many ways, but they shouldn't be *necessary* to have a working bug-free, lag-free phone. Nexus FTW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I just came over from the G2x as well. I went through 3 of 'em, and thought my 3rd was a winner, but that one went all wonky on me too. Supposedly gonna get an update to GB and to fix the "issues" that plague it, but I'm not convinced that a software patch and GB update is gonna fix what's wrong with the G2x.
To be honest, the NS is just a better phone for how I use a phone and I probably should have gotten it in the first place.
Yup, great phone, but needs hardware acceleration asap. Browsing experience, at least compared to my old phone HTC Desire, is hilarious. It lags at rendering flash content or big pictures and scrolling through them is not smooth at all. Another thing that is bugging me is that from the 512mb RAM, 200 is used for the GPU alone, so we're left with 300mb for the system and apps, which is very low. I often find myself left with 30-50mb free RAM and when I open some demanding apps (games for example), it lags until android kills some processes by itself, lags horridly. So I finally got to the point where I need the advanced task killer app.
I am actually surprised that people coming from the Desire HD or Inspire didn't mention anything about this :|
I was on my 4th G2x and I'm done with that phone. Reboots, freezing, can't hold a data connection or Wi-Fi. I was gonna go with a myTouch 4G but decided to go back to the Nexus S. Always loved it and it does me fine.
scmurphy13 said:
I was on my 4th G2x and I'm done with that phone. Reboots, freezing, can't hold a data connection or Wi-Fi. I was gonna go with a myTouch 4G but decided to go back to the Nexus S. Always loved it and it does me fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, glad to see there are quite a few of us that left the G2x for the NS. That phone was nothing but a headache for me (reboots and shutdowns on stock systems with no additional apps installed). I went through 2 of them and ran out of patience (plus I was on day 29 out of 30 of my remorse period so I needed to make a decision!).
I hope Google doesn't go with LG for their Nexus 3. LG has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.
mapin0518 said:
I hope Google doesn't go with LG for their Nexus 3. LG has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.
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Click to collapse
That's what she said!
In all seriousness, I hope not either. The only thing I've ever purchased from LG that was worth a damn has been a washer and dryer.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
lvnatic said:
I am actually surprised that people coming from the Desire HD or Inspire didn't mention anything about this :|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are right, browser experience with dhd is really better, but to be honest, i was so pissed with update delay and annoying bugs that i was in cm7 for daily use!
I have come over from the G2X as well. On my second, I would get data drops like crazy.
But, I have not had a single drop since getting my Nexus S. I love this phone, and Ill probably keep until until the next Nexus phone releases
I upgraded from the Nexus S to the G2x four days before it was released. I used the G2x as my only phone for a bit over a month. Ended up selling it and coming back to the Nexus S. I did not experience any of the reboots, connection problems, or severe screen bleed that others are reporting. I simply prefer the Nexus S. That's means a lot coming from me...I'm the kind of person that upgrades phones around three times a year so I can always have the latest and greatest. I came back for four main reasons.
1) Overall smoother experience both hardware and software wise. Software felt smoother, touchscreen more responsive, and I prefer the feel of the haptic feedback.
2) Updates from Google rather than TMo. No-brainer.
3) Dramatically better battery life. No comparison at all, Nexus S blows away G2x. The NS is the only Android phone I've owned that I didn't need to carry a spare battery around for.
4) Form factor....this was the biggest reason. I'm on my phone for many hours per day. Even after a month I still disliked the feel of the G2x. I just didn't like holding it. It feels like a brick. Coming back to the NS was like a breath of fresh air, even with it's clearly inferior specs and pixelated pentile matrix. People complain of a cheap build quality, but I actually really like it. Sure it's plastic but it doesn't feel flimsy. And it's a pleasure to use. Even the way it flips around when picking it up from the base, the positioning of the power button, the curved screen. I just really like the phone. Keep your 1080p recording, HDMI out, and "Tegra Zone" (to name a few, list goes on and on). I'll keep my Nexus S.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
mhaedo said:
***
2) Updates from Google rather than TMo. No-brainer.
***
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As G2x owners are now experiencing. The phone should have had tasty gingerbread from day 1, but didn't. T-Mo said the wait for GB wouldn't be long, but it's already been 6 or 7 weeks. Now T-Mo says "by summer", whatever that means. In theory that means by June 21.
I do miss the idea of the raw power of the G2x, but I don't miss the G2x. Perhaps the next nexus device will figure out how to utilize a multi-core processor. If so, I'll leave the NS for it.

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