Database Users

Pros and Cons

Those of you who have theirs already,
POST'EM UP!

There was a reviews thread around earlier...between that and all the "this phone sux" threads, I think you kinda already have it.

thecodemonk said:
There was a reviews thread around earlier...between that and all the "this phone sux" threads, I think you kinda already have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just thought it'd be nice to have it one place for reference.
you know,in a list form.

Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
Pros:
-The screen is absolutely GORGEOUS, one of my biggest issues with past phones (came from the Hero) was the poor quality of the screen compared to, say, an iPhone. This screen blows it away. Its super crisp, very bright and absolutely massive. Its a true joy to browse the web, shoot pictures, watch videos and just plain interact. 10 minutes after I got it I jumped back on my Hero and was amazed at how I ever lasted the 6 months on it.
-Picture quality (still photos), I thought was quite impressive for a phone, and the front facing camera is cool, however it may be a little gimmicky. My dad has an iPhone and I'm sure when the new one comes out he'll get it and I can see us using the cameras to catch up sometimes when I'm down at school, but you do feel kinda silly walking around with the phone in front of your face.
-The phone itself is rather large (obviously), but feels satisfyingly dense and has just the right amount of weight behind it. Feels great in the hand as well.
-The speed is also mindblowing. Everything just plain feels faster, probably because it is. What I found the most improved was navigating the Marketplace, which strangely always felt laggy to me on the Hero. Not anymore, the Evo is literally click-click-click-click DONE. VERY impressive. Text entry also seems very much improved.
Just like any device, it's not without its faults:
-The camera (video), I feel is a little unimpressive. Still it is a very good camera for a phone, it just doesn't pack that same WOW factor as the rest of the device.
-I'm a little worried how the lens itself will hold up, as many have mentioned, the back does rest right on the glass. This is easily fixed with a case though (which I hope to purchase soon).
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Things I can't address yet:
-The battery life: I received the phone with approximately 25-30% battery and wanted to run it all the way down before I recharged it fully. I was quite impressed at the lengths I had to go to to get it down to 0. I was watching a live stream on USTREAM, had wifi, gps, sync and bluetooth on, screen on full brightness, and was consistently bouncing back and forth between Google Earth, YouTube and web browsing. Even with all of this, it took 3-4 hours to run down completely. Not bad at all for extremely heavy use
-4G, unfortunately Indy isn't scheduled for 4G until 2012. I should be making a trip up to Chicago soon though and can comment further if requested. There are a ton of people who are in 4G areas who can comment on 4G speeds though.
Anything specific just ask, I'd be glad to address any questions you, or anyone, may have.

booyakasha said:
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know if you go to settings>applications>manage applications>HTC sense> and scroll down and click clear defaults, you take off sense.
As soon as you click home it will give you an option for sense or launcher (stock android) and then click automatically choose this option and it will keep whichever you like for default.
However the black notification bar, dialer, and lock screen will all be sense as well. And you cannot have the HTC widgets.

booyakasha said:
Just got mine this afternoon, here are my first impressions:
Pros:
-The screen is absolutely GORGEOUS, one of my biggest issues with past phones (came from the Hero) was the poor quality of the screen compared to, say, an iPhone. This screen blows it away. Its super crisp, very bright and absolutely massive. Its a true joy to browse the web, shoot pictures, watch videos and just plain interact. 10 minutes after I got it I jumped back on my Hero and was amazed at how I ever lasted the 6 months on it.
-Picture quality (still photos), I thought was quite impressive for a phone, and the front facing camera is cool, however it may be a little gimmicky. My dad has an iPhone and I'm sure when the new one comes out he'll get it and I can see us using the cameras to catch up sometimes when I'm down at school, but you do feel kinda silly walking around with the phone in front of your face.
-The phone itself is rather large (obviously), but feels satisfyingly dense and has just the right amount of weight behind it. Feels great in the hand as well.
-The speed is also mindblowing. Everything just plain feels faster, probably because it is. What I found the most improved was navigating the Marketplace, which strangely always felt laggy to me on the Hero. Not anymore, the Evo is literally click-click-click-click DONE. VERY impressive. Text entry also seems very much improved.
Just like any device, it's not without its faults:
-The camera (video), I feel is a little unimpressive. Still it is a very good camera for a phone, it just doesn't pack that same WOW factor as the rest of the device.
-I'm a little worried how the lens itself will hold up, as many have mentioned, the back does rest right on the glass. This is easily fixed with a case though (which I hope to purchase soon).
-SenseUI is also not very appealing to me, I find it incredibly bland and in some sense (no pun intended) flat out ugly. I much prefer the stock Android home. I could also do without the Sprint Bloatware. Both will be addressed with the first custom 2.2 ROM
Things I can't address yet:
-The battery life: I received the phone with approximately 25-30% battery and wanted to run it all the way down before I recharged it fully. I was quite impressed at the lengths I had to go to to get it down to 0. I was watching a live stream on USTREAM, had wifi, gps, sync and bluetooth on, screen on full brightness, and was consistently bouncing back and forth between Google Earth, YouTube and web browsing. Even with all of this, it took 3-4 hours to run down completely. Not bad at all for extremely heavy use
-4G, unfortunately Indy isn't scheduled for 4G until 2012. I should be making a trip up to Chicago soon though and can comment further if requested. There are a ton of people who are in 4G areas who can comment on 4G speeds though.
Anything specific just ask, I'd be glad to address any questions you, or anyone, may have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been to the sprint store and had a chance to play w/ one.
everything seems awesome, except it felt a little jerky,not smooth like the Hero/Eris.
And I noticed a little bit of glitch when going from the camera to home screen too fast. as Sprint has the best plan, I kinda have to go with them.
I just don't wanna think that HTC/Sprint would fudge things up to be cheap. I mean where's the AMOLED love? all in all, I'm sure I'm going to love this phone.

1wingangel said:
I've been to the sprint store and had a chance to play w/ one.
everything seems awesome, except it felt a little jerky,not smooth like the Hero/Eris.
And I noticed a little bit of glitch when going from the camera to home screen too fast. as Sprint has the best plan, I kinda have to go with them.
I just don't wanna think that HTC/Sprint would fudge things up to be cheap. I mean where's the AMOLED love? all in all, I'm sure I'm going to love this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.

Mecha2142 said:
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The jerkiness is def a software problem. I'm sure it's because android isn't meant to be on a screen this huge....yet.
2.2 will surely fix it.
thanx for the screen input, I had no idea about an AMOLED shortage.

samsung i9000 has a Super Amoled on a 4 inch screen, but it is also gonna be considered cheap at $500, and stores in the uk have them for upwards of $600 so i guess you do have a point
ps: i do not actually own either of the two phones
edit: but i wont mind $100 more for a display like the samsung

Sounds like you just got a quirky device. I haven't experienced anything like that. I'm amazed at how smooth and responsive it is :/
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App

engineer14 said:
samsung i9000 has a Super Amoled on a 4 inch screen, but it is also gonna be considered cheap at $500, and stores in the uk have them for upwards of $600 so i guess you do have a point
ps: i do not actually own either of the two phones
edit: but i wont mind $100 more for a display like the samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because Samsung is the company that's producing the AMOLED displays for HTC. Seems like they're cutting the supply they send to them to use in their own devices as of lately. That's why they don't have to charge as much for the devices; they make the displays themselves.

@1wingangel
If that phone was sitting in the Sprint store with everyone playing with it and no task killer installed. I bet every single application was still running and it was still just a lil jerky. I can't imagine people didn't turn all apps and play with it, unless you tried one new out of the box.

jeffrimerman said:
If that phone was sitting in the Sprint store with everyone playing with it and no task killer installed. I bet every single application was still running and it was still just a lil jerky. I can't imagine people didn't turn all apps and play with it, unless you tried one new out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?

1wingangel said:
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah that is true. I haven't noticed any lag with 21 apps running before I installed a task killer. It was lightning fast. My only con is the power drain when it is sitting overnight. And that apps randomly start up in the background. I see my 3g on and arrows going up and down when it was sitting overnight or maybe that happens when I turn on the screen. I lose a third to half my batter overnight, but someone also said it has to be drained and charged a few times and it will get better. My brother has the 3gS and he said it blows it away.

Mecha2142 said:
Here's to hoping the jerkiness you experienced is attributed to early software on the device(s). Regarding AMOLED, there's no way HTC could have possibly included a 4.3" AMOLED display in this phone. There are two main reasons why.
1. AMOLED technology is very expensive as it is at 3.7", I can't imagine how much it would cost for them to order 4.3" displays from their providers. There's no doubt that significant cost would have been diverted to us.
2. AMOLED displays are in short supply. The Droid Incredible's been out of stock for a while because HTC can't get enough AMOLED displays to produce the number of Incredibles that would satisfy the demand of the buying public.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AMOLED display is also craptastic in sunlight. Super AMOLED is better though...but obviously even more expensive with more supply issues.

1wingangel said:
no, it was the display model.
so yeah, I'm sure there were alot of apps running,but isn't the point of having all that ram/rom to be able to have a ton of apps running all at once?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They said it would run all of them at once, not that it would work smoothly with them all running at once No matter how much memory you have allocated, there are still limits~

Xenithflare said:
They said it would run all of them at once, not that it would work smoothly with them all running at once No matter how much memory you have allocated, there are still limits~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay, so I just got back from radioshack, And the guy said that he killed all running background apps and live wallpapers, and it still felt jerky(not laggy),but jerky.
my only thought is that maybe I just never noticed it before,coming from a smaller screen. or maybe the display models just aren't up to par.
p.s. I've also been spoiled by custom roms on mt3g

minus a few bugs the only con is that the screen takes up so much realestate that i am always accidentally activating icons on the screen and the 4 onscreen buttons are way too sensitive.
I was about to buy a BB or Nokia for business and use the EVO for fun but so far this phone is working just fine for business. this is a fast device and i haven't noticed any lag and i am running tons of widgets and running apps that constantly update.
forgot to mention that i will be returning it for a replacement on Tuesday for one without a dead pixel.

1wingangel said:
okay, so I just got back from radioshack, And the guy said that he killed all running background apps and live wallpapers, and it still felt jerky(not laggy),but jerky.
my only thought is that maybe I just never noticed it before,coming from a smaller screen. or maybe the display models just aren't up to par.
p.s. I've also been spoiled by custom roms on mt3g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Judging from demos in my own store, I can attest to the fact that as soon as we put a unit on display (whether GPS or phone), it immediately becomes defective It's like a rule.

No jerkiness here...
Only time I experienced lag was when I tried turning on 4G while downloading/installing about 10 apps at once when I first got it, even then it was hardly noticeable.
YouTube freezes up on me when I try switching from HQ sometimes.
MixZing and Last.FM act weird together for me. Sometimes Last.FM will just close and MixZing will start playing music off my SD card randomly. I uninstall MixZing and haven't had an issue after that. Kind of strange.
Supposedly I am in 4G coverage but I don't get very good signal, not sure what that is about. I don't really mind since I use Wi-Fi at home/work. I'd have to play with it more to see if its an actual problem.
Everything else is pretty awesome.

Hero vs. Evo: my experience

I have had both of these phones for a while now, and have not noticed a huge speed difference between them. (The Hero can get bogged down briefly, but it is very infrequent. And I should say that my first Hero was not nearly as fast as my current one for some reason…)
In my opinion the most noticeable differences are:
Size, of course. My typing on the huge screen is far more accurate on the Evo because the keys are further apart - this is a welcome change for sure. The Evo still fits in pockets easily though, and does not feel much heavier than the Hero. The Evo does feel very solid and high quality though, for sure. And the Evo screen's resolution is superb: it makes the Hero screen look pixelated when looking closely.
I miss the trackball - the nav keys on the Evo are nowhere near as convenient.
Sound quality for calls on my Hero is very good, but the Evo sounds even better. Very loud and clear on both ends. (and each of these sounds way better then the Blackberries I have been using)
3g data throughput is about the same on these phones, and even though I am in the middle of LA, there is no 4g that I can detect. Lame considering the $10 premium.
Battery life has been very good on the Evo. Seems to last as long as my Hero – which is to say at least 24 hours in normal use. And the Evo loses only about 1% charge or less per hour when in standby! (I am not using the Mail app on either phone, because the POP function kills the battery in a few hours. Instead I use the gmail app and have it POP my outside mail accounts for me, and they are pushed to the phone by Google. Works just as well as POP, and the battery life improvement is *drastic.*)
In all I would say if you are happy with the Hero and do not intend to watch movies or do a lot of gaming on your phone, you might want to wait and see which other Android phones come to Sprint.
I would also say that if you are itching for a new large screen phone or if you type a lot, this Evo looks and feels aswesome, and at $200 it is a steal.

Nice review, but let the flame wars begin!

ronnienyc said:
I have had both of these phones for a while now, and have not noticed a huge speed difference between them. (The Hero can get bogged down briefly, but it is very infrequent. And I should say that my first Hero was not nearly as fast as my current one for some reason…)
In my opinion the most noticeable differences are:
Size, of course. My typing on the huge screen is far more accurate on the Evo because the keys are further apart - this is a welcome change for sure. The Evo still fits in pockets easily though, and does not feel much heavier than the Hero. The Evo does feel very solid and high quality though, for sure. And the Evo screen's resolution is superb: it makes the Hero screen look pixelated when looking closely.
I miss the trackball - the nav keys on the Evo are nowhere near as convenient.
Sound quality for calls on my Hero is very good, but the Evo sounds even better. Very loud and clear on both ends. (and each of these sounds way better then the Blackberries I have been using)
3g data throughput is about the same on these phones, and even though I am in the middle of LA, there is no 4g that I can detect. Lame considering the $10 premium.
Battery life has been very good on the Evo. Seems to last as long as my Hero – which is to say at least 24 hours in normal use. And the Evo loses only about 1% charge or less per hour when in standby! (I am not using the Mail app on either phone, because the POP function kills the battery in a few hours. Instead I use the gmail app and have it POP my outside mail accounts for me, and they are pushed to the phone by Google. Works just as well as POP, and the battery life improvement is *drastic.*)
In all I would say if you are happy with the Hero and do not intend to watch movies or do a lot of gaming on your phone, you might want to wait and see which other Android phones come to Sprint.
I would also say that if you are itching for a new large screen phone or if you type a lot, this Evo looks and feels aswesome, and at $200 it is a steal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice bro evo is now back on my mind agian

abcdfv said:
Nice review, but let the flame wars begin!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FLAME ON!!!!
so the hero is a old dude and the evo is a baby new and nice but still annoys you with its screams

I just cant see people comparing... This is like comparing a 2002 Benz to a 2010 Benz. Sure you can update the 2002 to run just as fast and smooth as the 2010, but in the end, the 2010 can be updated even more to run like a 2020....
Sorry, I just use cars as comparisons a lot. The only constant thing that I see people complain about the Evo is... screen size, and what do you know, every new smartphone coming out now is 4+ inches lol.

DirtyShroomz said:
I just cant see people comparing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the obvious reason for comparing is that a lot of people who have bought the Hero are considering the upgrade.

Thanks OP. I appreciate the insight. I like the sound of 1% battery drain per hour while sleeping but I am pretty content with my rooted Hero for now.

rulyskull said:
evo is a baby
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EVO is approaching "teenager" quickly in Sprint/HTC Smart Phone years.

wjason said:
I like the sound of 1% battery drain per hour while sleeping but I am pretty content with my rooted Hero for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the record, I am now getting better battery life out of the Evo! Hard to believe considering the screen size...
And I agree, this thing is large. But I am getting used to it, partly because the type on the screen is so much easier to read.

I love my Hero, as I still my exs!lol

Still doesnt make me wanna switch to the Evo.
My contract is up July 3rd. I was going to get the Evo, but if you say the speed is about the same then whats the point. I'd still rather have a N1 than the Evo.

the hero hasnt even been out for a year and people are already ditching it or talking about ditching it. the hero is still a badass phone. im keeping it till it breaks. and when it does break i'll get the latest and greatest phone cause i'll have all that money saved up and be laughing at the people who cant get it cause they blew all there money on a phone every 6 months.

Stellarex said:
Still doesnt make me wanna switch to the Evo.
..., but if you say the speed is about the same then whats the point. I'd still rather have a N1 than the Evo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed is not the same, but in practice there is not a big difference. Especially if your Hero is overclocked.
I say the main advantage is the huge screen - makes for much more comfortable reading, watching movies, sprint tv, games, etc. (I often strain to see the tiny type on the Hero screen - for example in the gmail app.) Also typing is much easier and more accurate on the big screen.
If you are not interested in a larger screen, keep your Hero.

A Nexus One Fanboy's review of the Vibrant

So I got the wife the T-Mobile variant of the Galaxy S, T-Mo's latest and greatest Android until next month when the 21 mb/s G1 Blaze comes out.
The T-Mo version on paper is the retarded brother compared to Sprint's version (which has a front camera, hard keyboard and LED flash), but T-Mobile's family plan saves us over $50 per month over going to Sprint (we pay $140/month for unlimited minutes and data for two Android phones), and TMo's HSPA+ is very quick here, in many cases faster than Sprint's 4G.
On to the review...
Good: screen is bigger (4"), but not TOO big. The brighter, multi-touchscreen is a generation ahead of ours and very accurate and responsive. Watching Avatar on it is unreal. Though it does not have the resolution of the iPhone 4, the contrast and vibrance is superior. It makes the N1 and iphone4 look a tad washed out by comparison. Samsung has itself a sick little screen here. It's very thin and light. Comes with an internal 8gb memory so with a 32 gb sd card you're carrying 40 gb of space! Speed of phone appears to be really snappy, due to dedicated video processor. You can definitely see the difference in 3d rendering. The speaker is much nicer than ours. IT has a TV out and a mini usb to HDMI support coming, so you can plug it into a TV and embiggen your screen. The camera and camcorder software is very nice (and quick).
Bad: Tmo's version looks like an iPhone, which is silly (maybe so tmo users can stay but still look trendy in public?). It's made of plastic instead of our elegant metal, and is a fingerprint magnet. It doesn't have an LED flash. Night time indoor shots worked fine in ambient light, but forget about taking pictures in a bar. GPS is spotty, but i understand there's already a fix for that (Fixed. It works fine now) No Froyo yet, but Samsug S version has already been leaked on the interwebs and the phone does come with what appears to be flashlite. Uninstallable bloatware. Big Boo to that. Die in a fire, Slacker and TeleNav GPS... (REALLY, TMo? TELENAV GPS?)
Things that make you go, "Meh":
Samsung's user interface is both a blessing and a curse. They've got some interesting widgets (buddy call, buddy updates), but I miss stock. No LED notifier light (like N1's trackball). However this has been remedied by a third party app that renders a small notifier light on the screen when phone is asleep, but eats up battery. The lack of customization ability to the UI's default buttons is an annoyance, but I have to admit the integration of social services (twitter, facebook, snapfish, kodak etc.) into the contacts is impressive and convenient.
End result:
Tmo did castrate a lot of this phone's capability. I'd love to play with Sprint's Epic, which will have the hard keyboard, LED Flash and front facing camera (no wi-fi required for the equivalent of FacePalm).
Though I have an upgrade available now, I'm sticking with the N1 fdr several reasons. It's a more elegant looking phone and it's "pure." It will still get all of Googles software upgrades way before the other Android phones out there-- I love you Froyo! I use the heck out of the LED flash. Plus we have noise cancellation which is a godsend for me.
Also, if i want to use graphics intensive apps and games, I can always temporarily steal the wifie's phone.
PS.
Ok, her phone does something completely awesome that blew me away. i found out accidentally that it can share videos from itself to our TV over the wireless network. It actually took over the TV and played our HD videos on it without any setup at all. All I had to do was longpress any picture or video in the gallery and share it to TV. Supposedly it can also grab media from other sources on the network and play it on the TV but I haven't tried that yet.
Unfortunately, my efforts to rip the app out and install it on the Nexus One have failed miserably...
For now.

Oh, I just saw one yesterday and my buddy is gonna buy one! I am seriously jealous, should i sell my amazingly awesome modded n1 for the galaxy??

If it had a camera flash and stock Android [FroYo] on it, I'd probably switch. Not having stock Android or FroYo on it can be hacked on of course, but updates will always take much longer to hack than on the N1. And the lack of a camera flash is downright absurd in 2010.

I believe DNLA support is the source of the tv sharing.
Awesomeness that can be brough to any device with the right developer.

honestly the camera flash is not a factor unless you plan on taking lots of low light pictures (ie. outdoors at night or in a bar).
I've had apps that turn the N1 into a DLNA server, but none that actually took control of the TV. That was sweet. Probably doesn't hurt that the TV was a Samsung too.
mythamp This phone is very nice, performs great, but it's certainly not worth spending an upgrade from the N1. To be honest, my first thought when holding the phone was, "Wow, this phone feel cheap."
It definitely excels at whatever it is designed to do. That said, they left out a lot of stuff (little and big) we N1 users take for granted.
If you're really that itchy for a new phone, I'd at least wait for the G1 Blaze

tanman1975 said:
If you're really that itchy for a new phone, I'd at least wait for the G1 Blaze
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed! I was slightly itchy for this phone just for the simple fact that I'm getting tired of having to apologize to myself every time the N1 digitizer messes up, but seeing the spy pics of the alleged G1 Blaze have stopped the itch entirely until we see what's up.

I think nexus one is pretty straightforward and clean from massive junk.
The only thing I want from Vibrant is: internal storage.
No camera light is a big minus, but you can expect same thing on all GSM variants.

The Blaze will purportedly max out at 14mbps...not 21.

Paul22000 said:
the lack of a camera flash is downright absurd in 2010.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I never really thought I would use an LED flash coming from the iPhone 3gs but I have to say its just one of those things that once you've had one it sets a standard that you can't go backwards and give it up. I love the ability to have a flashlight and to take pictures in places that are too dark for night mode.
How much do you think T-mobile saved by telling Samsung to not include an LED flash? $2 - 4 per phone? Probably alot considering the amount they might sell but still leaving off an LED flash when BOTH Sprint & Verizon versions have one just screams penny pinching to me.

ap3604 said:
+1
I never really thought I would use an LED flash coming from the iPhone 3gs but I have to say its just one of those things that once you've had one it sets a standard that you can't go backwards and give it up. I love the ability to have a flashlight and to take pictures in places that are too dark for night mode.
How much do you think T-mobile saved by telling Samsung to not include an LED flash? $2 - 4 per phone? Probably alot considering the amount they might sell but still leaving off an LED flash when BOTH Sprint & Verizon versions have one just screams penny pinching to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it was a t-mobile decision, none of the four Galaxy S phones have a flash on them (epic/vibrant/captivate/fascinate).

JCopernicus said:
I don't think it was a t-mobile decision, none of the four Galaxy S phones have a flash on them (epic/vibrant/captivate/fascinate).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You a great man JCopernicus
I think the Epic and Fascinate both have LED flash's. Lemme check to make sure...
Edit: Yeah Sprint told Samsung to have an LED flash on the Epic - http://androidandme.com/2010/07/carriers/sprint/samsung-epic-4g-spec-sheet-finally-surfaces/
And Verizon told Samsung to include one as well on the Fascinate - http://phandroid.com/samsung-fascinate/#specs
So it was T-mobile that decided not to include the LED flash just to save a few bucks and pinch pennies

I agree with everything you posted - I've got my own N1, and scored a Vibrant just for fun.
It just feels cheap and gimmicky, which is weird, because on paper, it really is a good looking phone.
I hate TouchWiz - too many tweaks that don't really make it any more efficient. The amount of bloatware is insane too. Things it should have: TV out, LED flash.

it does have tv out

Doesnt the Vibrant have 16gb internal storage?
As far as the lack of flash im not for sure if i will miss it. My n1 seems to make everything off color using the flash..........also if i want to take pics Ill use my DSLR.
I havent picked the vibrant up yet. I'm going today to get it and use the 14 buyers remorese time to see if i like it.
I also got a guy wanting to trade a new 32gig Iphone 4 for my N1

tanman1975 said:
IT has a TV out and a mini usb to HDMI support coming, so you can plug it into a TV and embiggen your screen. The camera and camcorder software is very nice (and quick).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes... good connectivity embiggens the smallest screen

I always have said nexus build quality is above all other phones, especially the galaxy s t-mobile version. Build quality and materials is a big factor for me, if you're paying 500 dollars, you want it to feel like it.

RogerPodacter said:
I always have said nexus build quality is above all other phones, especially the galaxy s t-mobile version. Build quality and materials is a big factor for me, if you're paying 500 dollars, you want it to feel like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always respect your comments Roger, you speak the truth!

Embiggen.. It's just. fun to say! So played a bit more with the touchwiz, and must say despite its drawbacks, it's growing on me. It has call rejection with text message which I would love. Can we install that? I still can't believe how much nicer the sound is. Bummer is you can only add custom ring tone to contacts in the phone, not, say, a gmail Contact. However the is very good about linking duplicate contacts together automatically. Very nice feature,

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.

All Evo Shift 4G owners please read and respond

I am looking at purchasing a Shift 4G for my mom to upgrade her from her POS blackberry. I currently have the Big Brother to the Shift (the Supersonic), and absolutely love it, I won't give it up for anything, but my mom would be more suited to an iPhone, however sprint doesn't have the iPhone, and I get a 23% discount through my job.
Could several people respond about the Shift please:
1. Average battery life (moderate usage)
2. Size and Feel of the phone for day to day use
3. How does the keyboard feel for texting
4. How smooth does this redesigned Sense OS feel
5. How well does the camera operate
6. Does the screen size feel ok if you use the touchscreen instead of the slideout KB.
I would prefer non-rooted people to respond to these since I won't be rooting her phone. I want to hear all responses both good, and bad.

So you want us to do the research for you?
^ Shift Faced

Lol yup. Go to the store and play with one. Read the reviews online.

I have my phone rooted but nothing major done to it..even rooting it was easy under the right posts and take from here and there and waa laa it worked great, however; i love this phone..a lot..my first android was a G1 and second a Hero(CDMA) and now this..I have been trying to find something more like the G1..The hero felt like a downgrade and now this phone excites me about the new frontier of android. I OC'd my hero with no avail and to be out performed by phones like the droid and ah whatever..it seems to me this phone is the benchmark of performance and as for your questions:
1. I feel as though I get about 12 hours..when I use it to play games and stuff maybe 6-8
2. I enjoy the keyboard..both physical KB and onscreen..I use both cause I came from a hero with no physical kb but i really like both
3. both KB's work great on texting..i prefer the physical for when I have longer messages to write because its faster IMO, even so the virtual has no lag either.
4. Compared to the Sense UI from the Hero this phone is a HUGE improvement..when I first got my phone I was really impressed with the improvements to the UI because it seemed HTC logged on XDA and got all of our gripes then fixed them
5. I finally used the camera this weekend to take pictures for making invitations to my son's birthday party and I was impressed with the facial recognition. Its 5MP so its no Cannon or Sony but it still does a great job with facial recognition and all
6. As I said earlier I use both and the I have no problem with the screen size interfering with the kb..

The phone feels perfect in your hand. Almost like your holding something other than a phone. The sense UI is great, very smooth and fast. The camera also is great. The still picture quality could be improved if you want to be nit picky, however 720p recording is so amazing. The hardware keyboard is very nice and fast as well. I like it better than my blackberry tour. I would recommend this phone to anyone, anyplace, anytime.

I also have evo, and also was considering picking up a shift for my mom (she has a Samsung moment that is barely functional), I went into sprint store and was able to play with one just a little bit. Was not that impressed, sadly (and I'm a big HTC fan).
Mostly, I felt the HW keyboard was almost unusable (I kept mashing multiple buttons at the same time), yet the HW keyboard is what I thought was supposed to be the attraction to otherwise would-be evo buyers.
As for OP 'wanting others to do his research for him', that's not the case at all, he wants to hear from people who have had more than just a few moments with the shift. Give the guy a break.
***maybe I just can't type well- yet I have no issues typing on my evo ****
Sent from my virus infected and nuggified evo using XDA App

I ordered the Shift ready to exchange it for an Evo at the drop of a hat if I didn't like it, but after a while I'm really happy with this phone. It really doesn't get enough credit for how good it is.
The battery life is good enough that I can use it for moderate-heavy use of texting and internet and still have 1/4 of the battery left at the end of the day. I haven't ever used the 4G though, and I imagine that would change things up.
I came a from a Hero, and the Shift is slightly thicker and taller. It feels pretty sturdy, similar to a Droid. If you're looking for iPhone aesthetic you might be disappointed here.
Not a big fan of the keyboard, or keyboards in general really, so I can't really judge this. I find myself using the on-screen KB most of the time, and it works great. If you're curious, the sliding mechanism is the same used in the Droid and not like the G2's snap out hinge. Definitely prefer this, as the keyboard usually stays shut.
As it happens I don't really like Sense either, but it seems to operate the same as it did on the Hero (and probably the Evo.) It's fast and the widgets are cool, so if you like Sense then I guess you'll really dig it. Myself, I'll take Launcher Pro any day.
The camera is really excellent for a phone. Pictures are taken as fast as an iPhone and saved to your SD before you know it. Image quality isn't amazing and the flash function is sorta just there, but this is to be expected.
I'm really happy with this phone. While I would have preferred a Shift without a keyboard, I'm not at all bothered.

I don't have the time to give a lot of info, but I was really surprised last night.
My phone had been unplugged for almost 24 hours, with average (working most of the day) not heavy as normal usage, and i still had 40% battery left.
Coming from the Moment, this phone is so amazing. And even after seeing how my girlfriend's rooted Evo works, it's still pretty amazing.

herbthehammer said:
Lol yup. Go to the store and play with one. Read the reviews online.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have gone to the store and played with it, I have had my mom check it out as well, she said it seemed ok, I thought it felt like crap, the slider was stiff, the screen didnt rotate to adjust for the keyboard being kicked out. I had these issues with it on 3 different display models at 2 different stores (one sprint store, one best buy), Which is why I asked the new shift community to chime in, if it was left up to my impression at the store, i would say the phone is a piece of **** that shouldn't be sold to consumers. However I doubt that is the case, and I wanted feedback from people who already own one.

Khilbron said:
I am looking at purchasing a Shift 4G for my mom to upgrade her from her POS blackberry. I currently have the Big Brother to the Shift (the Supersonic), and absolutely love it, I won't give it up for anything, but my mom would be more suited to an iPhone, however sprint doesn't have the iPhone, and I get a 23% discount through my job.
Could several people respond about the Shift please:
1. Average battery life (moderate usage)
2. Size and Feel of the phone for day to day use
3. How does the keyboard feel for texting
4. How smooth does this redesigned Sense OS feel
5. How well does the camera operate
6. Does the screen size feel ok if you use the touchscreen instead of the slideout KB.
I would prefer non-rooted people to respond to these since I won't be rooting her phone. I want to hear all responses both good, and bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf

Khilbron said:
I have gone to the store and played with it, I have had my mom check it out as well, she said it seemed ok, I thought it felt like crap, the slider was stiff, the screen didnt rotate to adjust for the keyboard being kicked out. I had these issues with it on 3 different display models at 2 different stores (one sprint store, one best buy), Which is why I asked the new shift community to chime in, if it was left up to my impression at the store, i would say the phone is a piece of **** that shouldn't be sold to consumers. However I doubt that is the case, and I wanted feedback from people who already own one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the slider is stiff in the store probably due to the protective plastic still being around the keyboard. Otherwise it's very nice (except mine, which is really loose).
The screen rotates just fine when the keyboard is opened. It takes a half-second, but it rotates on all screens, except perhaps the facebook app.
I would actually say this phone is similar build quality to the evo, if not better. It's also the smaller form, which many people like. Not to mention the fact that it has more potential to be OC'd and if the dev's can figure it out, the potential to be a major powerhouse.

foxsdaddy67 said:
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*sarcasm* No of course I haven't *sarcasm*, however I don't think you have, the first 7 pages of this 11 page subforum are filled with people complaining about broken hinges, bad sliders, charging problems, ect... which is why I put this thread up, I want to see the positive feedback, I want a reason to buy this phone as a gift for my mother. Generally the praise is left out of the forums, and the help me this is Borked takes over. I Love HTC phones, and as I am sitting I don't have a good reason to select this phone for her or go el cheapo and get her an optimus or an intercept.

First off, I think the EVO is a solid device...one of the few on Sprint.
I really like the EVO Shift better. It has a 2nd generation processor in it so it's slightly faster than the regular EVO w/being on a stock rom. I have not done it but heard it's a beast running the modified over clocked kernel.
Keyboard does get some getting used to, and I find myself using the on-screen keyboard for short text messages and the hardware keyboard on longer emails. HTC is know for durability and extended life (compared to other *cough* Kyocera) so I'm not too worried about the keyboard being extended.
I love to hate Sense UI...there are some features that are amazing and other's that just...well, yack.
The volume key's are always getting in my way, but I just have to "de-program" myself and get used to it. I've only had the Shift for a couple days, so I'll let my body catch up.
Did I mention how fast this device is? That is...even running stock!
I haven't heard it mentioned but I think the battery cover is a nuisance and feels cheap. If I had to do a sliding scale scoring on this device, without any industry experience, I would give it a 8/10 - from a consumer review

Mom, grandma, aunt, female cousin, sister, daughter, niece...when will the madness end? Boys and men, start buying these phones for yourselves!

foxsdaddy67 said:
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I was thinking. Do some research for yourself.
powered by the tears of a million orphaned alpacas...

I've said it before and I will say it again. A decent android phone that wont break the bank or make you pay the extra ten bucks a month and for someone that isn't a power user is the LG optimus.
Yeah going from a moment to a shift is, form factor wise, about the same so there wouldn't be much to adjust to operating differently besides no cursor button.
Knowing what I do now, if I couldn't afford a top tier phone and monthly bill, I'd go with the little LG. People are giving it very good ratings on sprint's site.
With the screen not going landscape, maybe in screen settings it was turned off. Plus people probably install all kinds of crap on the display phones it bogs it down and lags terribly.

herbthehammer said:
I've said it before and I will say it again. A decent android phone that wont break the bank or make you pay the extra ten bucks a month and for someone that isn't a power user is the LG optimus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All new smartphone activations will have the $10 fee now, you might as well get a 4G phone.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.

wardfan220 said:
All new smartphone activations will have the $10 fee now, you might as well get a 4G phone.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So regardless if the phone is 4g or not, they are gonna charge an extra ten bucks a month?

herbthehammer said:
So regardless if the phone is 4g or not, they are gonna charge an extra ten bucks a month?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. There is a post here about it somewhere. I'm in my phone so I don't have a link atm.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/18/sprint-data-plan-fees_n_810279.html
^ Shift Faced