Database Users

All i need is a little convincing...

Hey guys. Im new to the forum, I've been over at M3 with my Motorola Cliq. I have a full upgrade available to me, and right now im considering the Vibrant since my fiance just got the captivate and its pretty sexy.
The only problem is, I dont know anyone with a vibrant, so instead of googling for bonehead reviews, i figured id post here and get opinions from people who are actually involved with their phones (and i will most likely root it). So my main question is, why should I get this phone instead of waiting for the G2 or the MyTouch HD? What are its main downfalls? Also, how is root on this phone? Hows the tethering, overclocking/underclocking? It looks like theres plenty of ROM support. Also, after briefly skimming through these forums, I'm seeing a lot of stuff on a "lag fix". What lag are you referring to?
So I welcome your personal opinions, good or bad, i appreciate it. Thanks.
PS - Cosmetically I must admit I'm not impressed. The IPhone-like body repelled me at first, and it really does feel like it may be TOO light. But if the good outweighs the bad, im sure i can get used to these things.

best screen on the market
hummingbird processor is superior to snapdragons
it's thin and light, barely noticeable in your pocket
super easy to root, super easy to tether without apps (instructions for OSX)
major downfalls include waiting on samsung's lackluster support and some users are experiencing GPS issues
i personally thought my vibrant was still more responsive on 2.1 than an EVO i was playing around with on 2.2. i can't wait until this phone gets froyo, it should fly!

lolcopter said:
best screen on the market
hummingbird processor is superior to snapdragons
it's thin and light, barely noticeable in your pocket
super easy to root, super easy to tether without apps (instructions for OSX)
major downfalls include waiting on samsung's lackluster support and some users are experiencing GPS issues
i personally thought my vibrant was still more responsive on 2.1 than an EVO i was playing around with on 2.2. i can't wait until this phone gets froyo, it should fly!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input. Well, I'm pretty used to horrible customer loyalty, having had to deal with Motorola for the past 10 months.
Thin and light: I must say, it feels like a toddler could snap it in half. That is one of my main concerns.

Hardware is cool firmware blows. If gps worked i would buy again

98classic said:
Hardware is cool firmware blows. If gps worked i would buy again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firmware may blow, but arent there ROMs out there that improve it?

Vibrant all the way!!!!! one of the best phone's out there!!!!!!!!

"Vibrant" screen, memory, speed, processor, thin phone, NO SLIDing KEYWORK, trackpad and touchscreen don't make senses to me... So vibrant all the way. For rooting i used "one click rooting" and lag fix i used Ryan's Lag fix, and to fix the GPS i used "vibrant-JI2-GPS.zip" (room manager needed)

TopShelf10 said:
Firmware may blow, but aren't there ROMs out there that improve it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I'm using Bionix's mods & he's got the GPS & all that other stuff fixed in his ROM. As long as you use a custom ROM it's all good.

I was disappointed with the stock firmware, and had started regretting my purchase. Then I rooted the phone and applied the bionix ROM, and now I'm loving my phone.
The thing is, Samsung takes a long while to support upgrades to Android, so if that's a problem, you may want to go HTC G2. Personally, I don't like the slideout keyboard, because they invariably feel more flimsy and prone to break than the candybar style of phone.
The GPS has been a problem for many people, myself included. Samsung has acknowledged the problem and is reportedly working on a fix. I can tell you that the bionix rom, like several others, incorporates a fix that has made it workable for me.
Another issue for many of us is the lack of a front-facing camera. Another poster has found the hardware for it online for $17 US, and I hear that one of the developers may be working on the software.
Overall the phone, once a custom rom is in place, is snappy and a good performer. After flashing the rom, my only real complaint has been the poor T-Mobile coverage, especially in my home. There is a recent rumor that T-Mobile is going to enable UMA (cell phone calls over wifi) for recent Android phones. That would pretty much finish off any of my complaints...
Hope this helps

I have not owned any other smart phones before I purchased this Vibrant. That being said, I absolutely love this phone. The only issues I have had with it is the GPS problem (takes forever to lock on and loses signal randomly than can't find a lock again for quite some time) and the "Lag". For clarification, the "Lag" is a very minor issue that affects only some phones, and is only noticed by the picky users IMO. Basically, you click on something and the phone "lags" out every now and than for maybe 1 second.
Now it needs to be stated that not all Vibrants are experiencing these issues. My wife has a Vibrant as well and has not noticed any major issues with her GPS, while I have on mine.
However, if you have no qualms with modding your device, the two major issues this phone has can easily be fixed. Rooting couldn't be simpler with the One Click Root (You install it on your computer, attach your phone, and click a button, than follow 3 easy steps on your phone). There are One Click Lag fixes that are just as easy (Which can be downloaded from the market). I have used it and it without issue. The GPS can be fixed by either flashing one of the multiple fixes out there, or simply installing a custom ROM from Bionix, or Eugene. (I am currently using Eugenes Frankin-Twiz and my GPS locks on in about 20 seconds, and hasn't lost signal once.)
That being said, I have heard that a JI5 update for our device is being rolled out pretty much as I speak via KIES. Don't know what that update fixes, but from what little I have read, people that had GPS issues are no longer having them after updating. I just backed up my current ROM and will likely be flashing the update shortly to test it out.
Hope this helps in your decision.

IDtheTarget said:
Another issue for many of us is the lack of a front-facing camera. Another poster has found the hardware for it online for $17 US, and I hear that one of the developers may be working on the software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WHAT??? i though it was impossible... do u have a link of this thread, i been looking for this bad not luck. Thanks

Dragoth12 said:
For clarification, the "Lag" is a very minor issue that affects only some phones, and is only noticed by the picky users IMO. Basically, you click on something and the phone "lags" out every now and than for maybe 1 second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You wouldn't say that if you used an app that hits the database hard.
Newsrob for example, an excellent google reader app. It's SLOW on a stock vibrant. Apply any of the lag fixes, and it FLIES.
For many apps, I would actually agree that it's nit-picky. However, Samsung F-ed up by trying to force their stupid proprietary filesystem on all of us when standard ones perform significantly better. There's no good reason to cripple this excellent hardware with crap software when free, open source software that is already in the Linux kernel Android is based on is so much better.

Thanks guys. Im surprised these threads dont have a "thank" button

i do regret jumping the gun on getting the vibrant, because i'm a huge fan of physical keyboards, and the g2 looks to have a pretty decent one. with that said, that is the only advantage the g2 has.
vibrant's pros-
display. i really don't think we'll see another phone that can match this phone's screen for a good while.
tv out. loading movies up on my phone and plugging them into the tv is fantastic!
gpu. everytime i check out some market games, the general comment concensus shows that the galaxy s phones never really have an issue running any games. the ps1 emulator running flawless is pretty much all the proof you need.
dev support. coming from the g1 with cyanogenmod, i was kinda worried that we wouldn't have any decent devs working on this thing, but my worries were unfounded. the user sombionix has made a ROM on his own (as far as i know) that has made this phone into the powerhouse it should be. the battery life is worlds better, it runs like i expected it to run when i first got it, and the list goes on. there's also a handful of other users whipping up some pretty decent themes and mods for us.
that's all i can think of at the moment. my personal cons with the phone are no led notification, no keyboard, and certain elements of touchwiz. i really wanna like tw, but there are some features that should be able to be changed or completely disabled.
so it's really up to you. just know (as i learned) that once you buy a phone you really want, there's gonna be 5 more just around the corner that you'll really want too. so just do some research, weigh the pros and cons, and go from there. luckily for us consumers, we've reached the point where there's nothing but good **** coming out, so let's reap the benefits.

I've noticed alot of Devs are moving towards the Vibrant, that says it all. Yes there are minor issues but fixes are already present and official fixes are on the way. Plus when we get Froyo, this baby will be on steroids. Get it! I hear that Walmart is selling it for $99. That should seal the deal for you.

ttabbal said:
I would actually agree that it's nit-picky.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im actually one of those picky users that you guys are referring to ....processor speed is number one on my list of things that i want out of a smartphonee, thats why i was concerned about this issue, but i hear nothing but positive results from these "lag fixes" so i dont think its enough to affect my decision. heres my list, in order, of important things in a phone for me:
1. Processor - 1gh hummingbird, which can be overclocked/underclocked....+1
2. Storage/Memory - this phone has pllllenty....+2
3. RAM - from what i gather, this phone is up to par, no more no less than the average Android smartphone....0
4. Modding abilities - The developer support for this phone seems very good, with a decent amount of ROMs to choose from that offer your basic root features, and software improvements +1
5. Display - no need to explain....+2
6. Keyboard - Lacks physical keyboard....-1
7. Design - IPhone look is too unoriginal and basic (not looking foward to people asking "derr, is that an iphone??"), phone seems way too prone to damage with being as light as a feather....-2
8. Firmware - I can't grade it, cause it's not something you can judge on paper, but its last on the list because ROMs usually address any issues....0
Well, based on my horrible, makeshift, totally irrelevant grading system...as a non-user, this phone gets a +3.
The only reason im dissecting and trying to pick all of your brains is because, 2yrs is a long time to commit to a phone, and like christpuncher said it will most likely be behind the pack within 6months, and i really want to make sure this phone will put up the longest fight possible.
Android 3.0 should be released around the New Year, whats the likelihood the Vibrant will see that?

huasamaya said:
WHAT??? i though it was impossible... do u have a link of this thread, i been looking for this bad not luck. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here ya go ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770854

More important then specs and what everyone else thinks in a biased Vibrant forum is what do you want and need. I've owned the MyTouch (1rst Gen) HTC G1 and iPhone (jailbroken), HTC Touch Pro II and Vibrant on T-Mobile. And have used the MyTouch Slide for a few days. I don't think you can compare these phones apples to apples.
At least in my expeirence and view, the MyTouch phones are more along the lines of messaging/social phone. It's outta your way when your not using it (small) and feels more like an on the go phone. In contrast my Vibrant feels more like a premier and capable phone. It's more of a multimedia targeted phone and boasts a stronger cpu and better display. The G2 will have a hardware keyboard and if you've used the Touch Pro II's keyboard (best in market IMO) then you'll have an idea how great HTC's hardware keyboards can be. I miss that keyboard but have grown to live without it on my Vibrant. The G2 from what I've read wont carry the huge specs (800mhz cpu?) of the Vibrant but then again it's not targeted at the same market. I see the G1 and G2 as the do everything good phone.
My best advice is to wait till the G2 comes out and head down to a Tmobile store and play with them. I was set on buying the MyTouch Slide when I headed down to the store and check out the Vibrant b/c of the rave reviews. After holding it in my hands and playing with it, I was amazed but still was going to get the MyTouch Slide. Then I compared price, specs, and features and the Vibrant in my case was a steal after I headed to Walmart where I got it for $150. The MyTouch Slide was selling for $179 at Tmobile.
Anyhow, I would personally purchase the Vibrant again over the MyTouch and I would only want the G2 because it adheres to Android rules more so then Samsung does (filesystem and stock apps).

watcher64 said:
Here ya go ...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770854
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PLOP!!! i can't believe it!!! i hope they can make it work!!

TopShelf10 said:
Android 3.0 should be released around the New Year, whats the likelihood the Vibrant will see that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I had to take a shot in the dark I'd say the Vibrant will NOT be seeing 3.0, but that is 100% speculation on my part. I'd imagine the G2 will get 3.0 and probably some updates further than that. That said, the dev support for the Vibrant is outstanding. At the moment I'm rockin' Eugene373's Frankin Twiz and Voodoo lagfix. I'd be willing to bet even if we don't get an "official" 3.0 update that we'll still see it on our Vibrants in due time.

This or the Captivate?

I'm thinking about getting into the world of Android and smartphones but I'm not sure which phone to get. The Samsung Captivate is good and I have used it before but the Bravo just came out and it seems good as well. I'm not sure which one would be a better choice. Can anyone help?

good news for ya! i have the captivate and my wife just got the bravo so if you have any q's id gladly answer as best i could.. do you plan on rooting/modding the captivate at all? if so the captivate forums are packed full of different ideas. I am having a blast fiddling with mine.

yanks27xwc said:
good news for ya! i have the captivate and my wife just got the bravo so if you have any q's id gladly answer as best i could.. do you plan on rooting/modding the captivate at all? if so the captivate forums are packed full of different ideas. I am having a blast fiddling with mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I got either one, I would root it since I'm not a big fan of TouchWiz or MotoBlur and would get rid of it. Is the Bravo as smooth as the Captivate for performance, games, and overall usage? Can you list pros and cons of both?

I too am pondering getting the Bravo or going back to the Captivate, has the Captivates GPS issues been fixed?

If you plan on rooting either then i would base my decesion on aesthetics, screen size, feel in your hand, etc.
pro's
captivate: amoled screen is gorgeous!
1 gig humming bird processor is really quick when given the chance (froyo)
camera is much better on the captivate compared to the bravo. (this is really my wifes lone grip about the phone.
cons: gps issues. mine seems fine..fix within 30 secs and tracks to about 20 meters. but I have heard of some phones being not so good. this is a samsung/att issue and not a firmware problem.
That is really the only issue i have with the phone. in the stock rom (2.1) the bottom keys had a 1/2 second to 1 second delay from when i pressed to when the phone would actually respond.. this was extremely annoying for me..but all was fixed with the froyo leaks
IMO the captivate is a more advaced phone in terms of performance... screen, processor (1gig vs 800mhz), camera. (5mp vs 3mp)
however in terms of feel i prefer the bravo. seems a little heavier and a better build quality i also make less mistakes texting on the bravo..
As of right now theres not any dev's doing anything with the bravo. as you can easily see by this forum. ofcoarse this may change in the near future...
good luck with your decision... look at this way.. youre not getting an Iphone so youre already doing better than most

yanks27xwc said:
If you plan on rooting either then i would base my decesion on aesthetics, screen size, feel in your hand, etc.
pro's
captivate: amoled screen is gorgeous!
1 gig humming bird processor is really quick when given the chance (froyo)
camera is much better on the captivate compared to the bravo. (this is really my wifes lone grip about the phone.
cons: gps issues. mine seems fine..fix within 30 secs and tracks to about 20 meters. but I have heard of some phones being not so good. this is a samsung/att issue and not a firmware problem.
That is really the only issue i have with the phone. in the stock rom (2.1) the bottom keys had a 1/2 second to 1 second delay from when i pressed to when the phone would actually respond.. this was extremely annoying for me..but all was fixed with the froyo leaks
IMO the captivate is a more advaced phone in terms of performance... screen, processor (1gig vs 800mhz), camera. (5mp vs 3mp)
however in terms of feel i prefer the bravo. seems a little heavier and a better build quality i also make less mistakes texting on the bravo..
As of right now theres not any dev's doing anything with the bravo. as you can easily see by this forum. ofcoarse this may change in the near future...
good luck with your decision... look at this way.. youre not getting an Iphone so youre already doing better than most
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I won't really use the GPS so that's not an issue for me. How's battery life on them? Also I heard the screen on the Bravo is actually pretty good for a TFT LCD. Do you think once Froyo comes to the Bravo it will perform just as good as the Captivate?

As a Galaxy S owner I would add that you would need to be clinically insane to choose a Bravo over the Captivate =P
It's just no comparison...Captivate has better specs, MUCH better screen, better camera/video, guaranteed upgrade to Froyo and most likely Gingerbread.
Motoblur sucks bigtime, and who knows, it could take a year before you get Froyo.

Is it worth upgrading right now? I can upgrade in October of 2011, but my dad said I can take his account to upgrade......

What are you using now? Yes the bravo screen is decent but it does not compare to the amoled...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 rollin a ridiculously quick Axura beta 2

i'm using just a regular feature phone. the thing about the bravo that intrigues me is the better battery life, crystal talk, and fm radio

I have both phones.
The captivate is a better phone (spec wise) and the screen and size are awesome, but Samsung really goofed with their file system - reports of lag are true in many database intensive uses (email access) and really makes things annoying. Also, the Samsung email and Calendar customizations have nice pros, but also many cons.
The Bravo is a midrange phone but Moto did a nice job on email and calendar enhancements if you like Exchange integration.
I like the form factor and screen of the captivate, but the Bravo is a good solid phone. If you could get rid of MotoBlur it would be even better, but it is possible to ignore blur and enjoy the phone.
I used to think the Captivate was the hands down winner, but it has enough irritations that I like the Bravo for business use. For movies, the Captivate cant be beat.

dude, the Captivate is packed full of problems. the biggest downside is that it shuts off by itself. Unless you are a real tech wiz, I highly suggest you pick something else in the Galaxy S family. The vibrant is a good start.

get the MOTOROLA BRAVO!
Look at the Motorola Bravo benchmark scores!!
engadget(DOT)com/photos/motorola-mb520-kobe-benchmark-scores/#3285039
It's tons higher than the Samsung Captivate's scores! I have no clue how but it is.
I have a bravo and I'm quite proud of it knowing how much better it is than all of the other phones And it runs so fast! It's almost as good as the Droid X..., but just think, when it gets 2.2, it will TOWER over other phones. And 2.2 will be released for the phone the 1st quarter of 2010. Motorola doesn't know how to advertise phones, this phone is MUCH more powerful than it seems!!!
GET IT!!

BravoMotorola said:
Look at the Motorola Bravo benchmark scores!!
engadget(DOT)com/photos/motorola-mb520-kobe-benchmark-scores/#3285039
It's tons higher than the Samsung Captivate's scores! I have no clue how but it is.
I have a bravo and I'm quite proud of it knowing how much better it is than all of the other phones And it runs so fast! It's almost as good as the Droid X..., but just think, when it gets 2.2, it will TOWER over other phones. And 2.2 will be released for the phone the 1st quarter of 2010. Motorola doesn't know how to advertise phones, this phone is MUCH more powerful than it seems!!!
GET IT!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because the benchmark scores are higher doesn't make it a better phone. I use them as reference for seeing how good a phone is but I don't think too much of them.
I might go to the AT&T store and try the Bravo out for myself. But there's that rumored Motorola phone with the Tegra 2. Should I hold out for that?

Well yea, true.
The benchmark scores are a big deal though, I mean it shows you how powerful the phone is, but the Captivate does have a AMOLED screen and it takes HD video..., but I've always known Motorola to make pretty good quality phones.
And yes...that phone will be really awesome if they can find a way for a battery to power all of that stuff! It seems interesting to wait...and you know the more you wait the better things get, and I think it would be interesting if you waited, and if the phone didn't work out or if it was for a different carrier, then you could always go back to these phones, and by then they will be much cheaper!
If you don't wait then I think you should still get the bravo, it's a really nice phone!!

BravoMotorola said:
Look at the Motorola Bravo benchmark scores!!
engadget(DOT)com/photos/motorola-mb520-kobe-benchmark-scores/#3285039
It's tons higher than the Samsung Captivate's scores! I have no clue how but it is.
I have a bravo and I'm quite proud of it knowing how much better it is than all of the other phones And it runs so fast! It's almost as good as the Droid X..., but just think, when it gets 2.2, it will TOWER over other phones. And 2.2 will be released for the phone the 1st quarter of 2010. Motorola doesn't know how to advertise phones, this phone is MUCH more powerful than it seems!!!
GET IT!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suggest that you do some research in the captivate forum. 1036 quadrant score? If my Galaxy S would score that low I would be worried. I rarely get lower than 2200 quadrant score, personal record is 2504 by the way... only need a lag fix app and preferrably a custom kernel. the galaxy s series are bad ass phones if you enjoy fiddling a bit with them. cheers!

agreed, so much out there you can do with the captivate, i've had so much fun with this phone. not saying i didnt like the bravo, but i'd choose captivate as of right now

Id still consider the bravo...
Once th xda REALLY gets a hold pf this phone, the Bravo, it will be MUCH more powerful. This thing has the capabilities of clocking the processor to 1ghz. And those scores are with 2.1, 2.2 will double the performance and like I said, thats coming soon! I rooted mine and was able to somewhat over clock, got it up to like 1400...but I can't wait until 2.2. It will be an awesome phone. But yea, stock Bravo to stock Galaxy S...Bravo wins. So I'm guessing over powered Galaxy S to over powered Bravo, the Bravo will easily win.

I mentioned this in another thread here, but this is my first smartphone, coming from a Moto RAZR. Two weeks later, I'm not sure how I hung onto that dinosaur for so long. I like the Bravo and will keep it. It may feel like my RAZR in six months, but for now it's a huge leap.

Tis true, you would have to be a crazy to even put the bravo in the same class as the captivate.. Captivate by a longshot wins..

(Q) Need Some Feedback From Current Epic Owners

Hey guys,
I was an Evo owner over the last 7 months and have jumped ship to join the Epic 4G world. What I wanted to know is as far as reliability, have you guys experienced or heard of any issues both to rooted and stock Epics? If so, what seems to trigger these problems. I ask because I had been through a big problem with my EVOs that turned out to be a pretty common issue. Apparently, a lot of EVOs seem to like rebooting on their own at random times throughout the day. It usually occurred during phone calls or while using applications that use up a lot of juice. To me, it seemed as though it was due to an overheating motherboard caused by the large LCD screen that creates more heat and uses more power than AMOLED technology. So, I finally got sick of having to be afraid of using my phone and decided it wasn't worth the hassle. I have heard a lot of good things regarding the Galaxy S line as far as hardware reliability even though the knock on them is the heavy use of cheap materials. So, I wanted to hear it first-hand from the owners themselves. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance and looking forward to pimping out my new Epic!

Vipermuscle83 said:
Hey guys,
I was an Evo owner over the last 7 months and have jumped ship to join the Epic 4G world. What I wanted to know is as far as reliability, have you guys experienced or heard of any issues both to rooted and stock Epics? If so, what seems to trigger these problems. I ask because I had been through a big problem with my EVOs that turned out to be a pretty common issue. Apparently, a lot of EVOs seem to like rebooting on their own at random times throughout the day. It usually occurred during phone calls or while using applications that use up a lot of juice. To me, it seemed as though it was due to an overheating motherboard caused by the large LCD screen that creates more heat and uses more power than AMOLED technology. So, I finally got sick of having to be afraid of using my phone and decided it wasn't worth the hassle. I have heard a lot of good things regarding the Galaxy S line as far as hardware reliability even though the knock on them is the heavy use of cheap materials. So, I wanted to hear it first-hand from the owners themselves. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance and looking forward to pimping out my new Epic!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The knock on the Galaxy S line is not the use of cheap materials, its actually people complaining that its body if fully made of plastic...but people group that up to say that is poor build quality..which it is not..a lot of the component inside the Galaxy S are manufactured by Samsung themselves, and these components are used in varies devices rom EVO, to iphone to etc...
As far as build quality it is actually superior if you look at a teardown video..but as stated..people "group up" poor build quality to be associated with having a plastic body..while plastic may not be people's first choice it is quite durable if not more durable then an EVO...

Well first off i have to say that the epic is the coolest phone i have ever seen and used. when i bought mine it was toss up over the epic or the evo. I hate touch screens i really do. so the fact that the epic had a keyboard and the evo didnt was the selling factor for me. my uncle has an evo. now both phone are great phones but in my opinion the epics screen is so much better. the color and clarity is alot better. i like everything on the epic better than the evo with one exception. the gps on the epic is pure crap. with 2.2 and the skyfire browser, web browsing on the epic is just the same as browsing from a netbook, only smaller. so yeah my only complaint is i wish the gps worked. on 2.1 it works only sometimes and on 2.2 it doesent work at all.

zombiematt said:
Well first off i have to say that the epic is the coolest phone i have ever seen and used. when i bought mine it was toss up over the epic or the evo. I hate touch screens i really do. so the fact that the epic had a keyboard and the evo didnt was the selling factor for me. my uncle has an evo. now both phone are great phones but in my opinion the epics screen is so much better. the color and clarity is alot better. i like everything on the epic better than the evo with one exception. the gps on the epic is pure crap. with 2.2 and the skyfire browser, web browsing on the epic is just the same as browsing from a netbook, only smaller. so yeah my only complaint is i wish the gps worked. on 2.1 it works only sometimes and on 2.2 it doesent work at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can definitely relate with your screen comparison. Before the EVO, I had the Nexus One with T-Mobile (Still my favorite phone EVER) and the AMOLED screen is LIGHTYEARS ahead of the crap LCDs.
Now, about that GPS problem...I've heard a little bit about the GPS problems concerning the Epic. Are there any fixes out for it whether through OTA updates or developers? If so, how well does the GPS work with the fix? I'm not too concerned with the GPS problems just because it's a software flaw that can be fixed but I would think that after the Epic has been out now for over 3 1/2 months, they would have figured a way to fix that problem already.

gTen said:
The knock on the Galaxy S line is not the use of cheap materials, its actually people complaining that its body if fully made of plastic...but people group that up to say that is poor build quality..which it is not..a lot of the component inside the Galaxy S are manufactured by Samsung themselves, and these components are used in varies devices rom EVO, to iphone to etc...
As far as build quality it is actually superior if you look at a teardown video..but as stated..people "group up" poor build quality to be associated with having a plastic body..while plastic may not be people's first choice it is quite durable if not more durable then an EVO...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really helpful information gTen, and it definitely gives me a lot more confidence. Honestly man, I'm just so sick of not being able to mess around with my phone for fear of breaking it. I tend to dabble A LOT at hacking these Androids and the Nexus One was a beast for being able to handle anything I threw at it. My first Evo was great for a couple months and then it just suddenly started going to hell out of the blue.
Now, even though I hack my phones and do alter them quite a bit, I don't do anything that pushes them to the brink of failure...NOT EVEN CLOSE! I usually have a pretty good idea of how much the phone can handle and I don't get too close to the max but with the EVO, simply putting CM6 without changing the kernal or theming seemed like too much. Even my buddies 2 day old STOCK Evo started rebooting randomly about 5-10 times in a 3 hours span right in front of me. We went to the mall to exchange it immediately thereafter. I've seen people that have had this problem whether rooted or stock and I just can't believe that so many people have had this issue and HTC sits on the sidelines and does nothing to fix the issue. I used to be all about HTC until this huge flaw with the EVO rattled my confidence in their phones. I'm hoping I won't be saying the same about Samsung 6 months from now.

if you read other posts in these forums there are ways of flashing back and forth from rom to rom using a program called odin but at the same time ive read that people have problems with drivers and such and it not working right. im a noob and afraid that if i tried doing all of that id ruin my phone. i miss the gps when it worked but if i get lost theres always mapquest lol.

I would just say that my experience with the epic has been amazing. I came from and htc touch diamond which was a good phone but nothing compared to the original touch which I loved, romed, and used for 2 years, but this phone owns those phones by so much(htc). The fact the samsung has given us an amazing base recovery system as well as download mode( which I think is key for any dev phone) not to mention clockworkmod and rom manager, shows great software management potential. If samsung isn't saying that this is great hardware then I don't know why they would make their flagship phone(nexus s) almost a clone other than a few minor upgrades. Rumors are amuck that these phones will be some of the first to see gingerbread updates. Gps wise I have seen great improvement through the test leaks and now on dk28 I get a lock within 5 feet 90% of the time. When we get source I think we will see amazing things from across the galaxy s line, and most of them will be on or ported to the epic. Just my bit for ya;-)
sent by my Nexus S with a keyboard.

I can tell you that gps doesn't seem to be a problem with newer epics. I got mine nov 18 (HW 700.5) and didn't have a problem with gps till I attempted the 2.2.1 update that "leaked" (setup leak). My only major complaint is the slide your finger across notification area brightness control that can't be disabled.... and lack of google apps account support in 2.1 (I miss the most in 2.2). These are not really issues with the phone. Just software that can be fixed. I get good battery life (most of my work day using task killer, which I liked not having to use one in 2.2 got same battery life without TK).
The screen is really nice. Been renting movies on mediahub using the $50 credit. Not worth buying if you can't stream to tv samsung!!
I am happy with my purchase now that I know sprint planned on removing those minor bugs I had and hope they don't trade it with a major (gps).
Hope any of this helps...
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

ErlyD said:
.... and lack of google apps account support in 2.1 (I miss the most in 2.2)....
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What can you do with a google apps account in 2.2 that you can't do in 2.1? I use my work email(google apps) with the gmail application and the talk application without issue.

thanks guys these responses have been exactly what I was looking for. here's another important question. what is the fastest rom available for the Epic? I really don't look for a busy user interface I look for speed, high quadrant scores, and more of a stripped down look...let's say the closest rom to CM6 that's not glitchy. it would be a plus if it also removes touchwiz but not mandatory. Thanks again guys

Vipermuscle83 said:
thanks guys these responses have been exactly what I was looking for. here's another important question. what is the fastest rom available for the Epic? I really don't look for a busy user interface I look for speed, high quadrant scores, and more of a stripped down look...let's say the closest rom to CM6 that's not glitchy. it would be a plus if it also removes touchwiz but not mandatory. Thanks again guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i heard from a friend of mine the ViperRom is super fast and smooth. I'll try it soon. Th Nebula is also very good in terms of speed and stability from what I read from this forum. So you may try both of them

Vipermuscle83 said:
thanks guys these responses have been exactly what I was looking for. here's another important question. what is the fastest rom available for the Epic? I really don't look for a busy user interface I look for speed, high quadrant scores, and more of a stripped down look...let's say the closest rom to CM6 that's not glitchy. it would be a plus if it also removes touchwiz but not mandatory. Thanks again guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running mammons bonsai4all and compared to quantum 1.5 is a lot smoother but I haven't tried q2.0 or viper. Viper to me seems like a final product where as quantum and bonsai seem to be more barebones and you can add more of what you want. But until we get source on 2.2 kernel, these roms are all really similar other than acessories and a few small mostly visual tweaks. Serious kernel tweaks wil be what sets these phones apart from the rest.
sent by my Nexus S with a keyboard.

So far, I'm leaning towards Viper. I have selfish reasons to like that Rom too...it goes along with my username and my car

windyhawk said:
i heard from a friend of mine the ViperRom is super fast and smooth. I'll try it soon. Th Nebula is also very good in terms of speed and stability from what I read from this forum. So you may try both of them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey windyhawk, I'm from the CHI and a die-hard Hawks fan!!! LOL. What a small world! I can't believe the way they just blew that damn game to the POS Avs! I'm so PO'ed it's not even funny!

Other apps dont see a google account on my phone. Like youtube, listen, fi.ance,etc all google apps. Google apps account are visible. In 2.2 everything works as it should. Im lucky google reader worked. The only one that does.
How many google app accounts on your phone?#
Sent from my Samsung Epic using XDA App.

Vipermuscle83 said:
thanks guys these responses have been exactly what I was looking for. here's another important question. what is the fastest rom available for the Epic? I really don't look for a busy user interface I look for speed, high quadrant scores, and more of a stripped down look...let's say the closest rom to CM6 that's not glitchy. it would be a plus if it also removes touchwiz but not mandatory. Thanks again guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cgm is being ported by noobnl. Should be a thread near the top in this forum
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

This has made my day! Can't wait for the finished product. There really is no other rom like CM

I've had no issues with the epic except for some software factors, due to samsung not updating there phones fast enough, other then that pretty flawless.

I wonder what it is about the Samsung Galaxy S line that makes these software updates such a difficult task.

Worthy to get over Samsung Galaxy S?

Hey guys!I'm planning on getting the Samsung Galaxy S soon.But now I'm actually stuck between this and the Samsung Galaxy S.I'm aware that the processor aka the 'Hummingbird 1Ghz processor' on the SGS is faster than the Snapdragon processor on the Nexus One.I'm not really going for the looks but I've realised that the SGS has a lagging problem and I believe that rooting and using the one click lag fix can fix that but I'm not planning to root my phone and I'm going for the SGS mostly because of the large internal memory that can keep lots of apps and the bigger and clearer screen!While the Nexus one only has 190mb available and I believe the Nexus one has some hardware problems like dust under the screen and something wrong with the touch screen.So please help me with this!And lastly,I may also choose Nexus One because its gonna receive all the updates in the earliest time and that's a big advantage!So,please help me with this!

My wife has a bone stock vibrant. It has very little issues with lagging, at least not more than a non-modified nexus one. If it were a lag fest, she would've asked me to get her something else. There are areas the nexus doesn't lag that vibrant does, but many more areas the vibrant runs through that the nexus stutters.
Stock for stock; vibrant. The nexus does get more overall support, but you've already said that's not what you're in to. Heck, even mod to mod I'd keep my vibrant. Lag free and fast.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

AsherChua said:
Hey guys!I'm planning on getting the Samsung Galaxy S soon.But now I'm actually stuck between this and the Samsung Galaxy S.I'm aware that the processor aka the 'Hummingbird 1Ghz processor' on the SGS is faster than the Snapdragon processor on the Nexus One.I'm not really going for the looks but I've realised that the SGS has a lagging problem and I believe that rooting and using the one click lag fix can fix that but I'm not planning to root my phone and I'm going for the SGS mostly because of the large internal memory that can keep lots of apps and the bigger and clearer screen!While the Nexus one only has 190mb available and I believe the Nexus one has some hardware problems like dust under the screen and something wrong with the touch screen.So please help me with this!And lastly,I may also choose Nexus One because its gonna receive all the updates in the earliest time and that's a big advantage!So,please help me with this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could get the Nexus S and get the best of both worlds. It's a Galaxy S (upgraded) with 2.3 Android right now. And since it's another Google phone like the Nexus One it will get OTA updates faster then other phones.

Its actually the Samsung Galaxy S I9000 I'm taking aboutAnd the place I'm buying from,Nexus S isn't available yet.So I'm now only stuck with those 2 choices!

I've played around with a friend's Galaxy S ... to me it's terrible. I can't get over the BACK button being where it is, or the slowness due to it being packed with Samsung and BELL junk, or just the fact that it's plastic... terrible terrible phone.

So its just the placement of buttons or did your friend really mention that its a bad phone?

The funny thing is, is that I actually own a Vibrant and hardware wise I have to say it's an amazing phone. It's definitely better in hardware than an N1. What I love about the N1 if definitely software support and that it has a camera flash/flash light. It depends on if your going for hardware vs software or if you really need an LED flash. As far as lag goes, I used to experience lag till I upgraded to the new unofficial Froyo build released yesterday (12.20.10) by T-Mobile/Samsung. The phone is very fast/responsive now. Maybe not faster than an N1 out of the box, but you can modify it to be just as fast if not faster. My phone is unrooted running 2.2 JK5. Although I might trade this guy in about an hour who has an N1. The only reason/reasons I want to trade is because I love having flash on my phone and all the Dev support from google and the N1 community, although this is my first time ever being in the N1 forums. I hope if I do decide to switch today or tomorrow that I am welcomed by you guys.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

If your phone is ' un-rooted', how are you running a custom rom? (2.2 jk5 is a custom rom, I'm guessing). I know I had to root my Evo in order to flash roms. (as opposed to 'unroot', which is how it comes out of the box).
I would suggest nexus 1, even just based solely on hardware and build quality. Samsung phones have this terrible cheap plasticy build/feel. HTC phones have a much better feel and build quality, in my opinion. Also, it sure sucks to have a camera and not be able to use it if it's the least bit dark.
Just my .02¢
Sent from my wicked, virus infected evo straight from hell.

scottspa74 said:
If your phone is ' un-rooted', how are you running a custom rom? (2.2 jk5 is a custom rom, I'm guessing). I know I had to root my Evo in order to flash roms. (as opposed to 'unroot', which is how it comes out of the box).
I would suggest nexus 1, even just based solely on hardware and build quality. Samsung phones have this terrible cheap plasticy build/feel. HTC phones have a much better feel and build quality, in my opinion. Also, it sure sucks to have a camera and not be able to use it if it's the least bit dark.
Just my .02¢
Sent from my wicked, virus infected evo straight from hell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely value your opinion. The Vibrant was able to upgrade to the unofficial build because its similar to an ota, but you just have to manually push it to the phone. You can check out the Vibrant forums for further explanation. If anyone is wondering, guess who has an N1? Lol. I traded the Vibrant just now and I must say I'm impressed. It does feel solid since its actually made out of metals in opposed to the Vibrant's plastic body. Only thing I miss so far is the Super Amoled display and lightness (weighs less of course since its mostly plastic) of the Vibrant.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

unless you're heavy into games and multimedia it really won't make a difference. with the nexus 1 you get that fast google support. And it's a great phone.
If you are into games and videos hands down vibrant. Especially now newer graphics intensive games are coming out.
I own a vibrant with nero 3 voodoo on it. it's ridiculously fast and gps woes are a thing of the past. The support is there, just not directly from sammy. So there u go.

i LOVE my galaxy S and would never trade it...go for it

thinking about getting a SGS2 need advice

Hi all, I know its down to personal preference, but, I have a SGS1 with 16GB internal memory running 2.3.3. stock, so getting a SGS2 would not improve any of that, do you think its worth getting the SGS2? what would you all do and what would be the improvement i would see?
Thanks for your thoughts

Been playing with one this weekend, they are very fast, have lots of memory and white ones look great.
The downside, everyone has one, sound is worse than SGS1, nexus prime out soon. I would personally get the nexus or wait for the SGS3 etc, surely you want something a bit different, the 2 is just a little bigger and a little faster
Sent using TCP/IP

kezgez said:
Hi all, I know its down to personal preference, but, I have a SGS1 with 16GB internal memory running 2.3.3. stock, so getting a SGS2 would not improve any of that, do you think its worth getting the SGS2? what would you all do and what would be the improvement i would see?
Thanks for your thoughts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
16 GB and 2.3.3... nope, you're right. There would be no improvement whatsoever. (Seriously? )
gsw5700 said:
Been playing with one this weekend, they are very fast, have lots of memory and white ones look great.
The downside, everyone has one, sound is worse than SGS1, nexus prime out soon. I would personally get the nexus or wait for the SGS3 etc, surely you want something a bit different, the 2 is just a little bigger and a little faster
Sent using TCP/IP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, by far. +1

My wife picked one up a week ago, so I can truly compare mine to it side by side and I would say, I like it a lot.
1. Much, much faster.
2. There doesn't appear to be any Lag involved
3. Battery doesn't seem to last very long, but as I tested that part of it early on, it may need a few cycled charges to really say how good/bad it is.
4. GPS is way better than the SGS.
Now, having said all that, the phone is perfect for my wife (she bought the white one). She, having been a long-time blackberry user til her 9700 screen crapped out has been getting used to it, but she's starting to like this phone much better than her blackberry.
Like I said though.. its perfect for my wife. She doesn't know Gingerbread from Shortbread when it comes to this phone, and I intend to keep it that way. Yes this phone runs 2.3.3, but it doesn't seem to bad compared to my SGS with stock 2.3.3 as well. My phone is rooted, but I don't have intentions of rooting hers.
Long story short, its blazing fast, but I wouldn't buy one for myself. Samsung is just too slow on firmware updates to make it worth it for me. In fact any carrier specific phone would be. They are Androids, but they are kind of like Androids bastardized cousin. For me, my next phone is a nexus. I want it to grow as Android grows, and that only happens with Google.

Should wait for SGS 3, far better specs this phone will be awesom
http://phandroid.com/2011/10/10/is-...rther-details-leak-on-samsungs-next-flagship/

My Mrs has a black sgs2 and comparing it to my original sgs is tough.
On the plus side the screen and speed of the sgs2 are really nice. However for everyday use i find it just that little bit too big, also the handset doesn't feel as strong as the original. Im reasonably confident i could drop my phone and survive to tell the tale, but with the 2 i find myself being really careful.
Sound on the 2 really isn't anywhere near the standard of original, i like to hear my music, although I've not seen if supercurio has made much progress on the 2.
Sent From My Android Shizzle!

franklin01 said:
Should wait for SGS 3, far better specs this phone will be awesom
http://phandroid.com/2011/10/10/is-...rther-details-leak-on-samsungs-next-flagship/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, those are awesome specs. But then again, so are the SGII's... definitely not comparable, but awesome nonetheless.
My whole point in this is, specs are just that... specs. The SGS II that my wife has is amazing specs wise. Its head over heals better specs wise than my SGS1.
Here's the problem though... aside from flashier graphics, a bigger screen, and a flash for the camera, its still 2.3.3. So its not a great leap for me to go to it.... its essentially the same phone if you think about it. Sure, the SGS2 will most likely get the upgrade to ICS, but when? After Jello or whatever 'J' is comes out?
The SGS3 will suffer the same fate. It will be up to Samsung to update it, not google.
The SGS3 will be a great phone, but you'll have to wait for a developer to harness its true power. Just like the SG2 and SGS1.
Whereas any nexus incarnation will have google behind it, and updated accordingly.

franklin01 said:
Should wait for SGS 3, far better specs this phone will be awesom
http://phandroid.com/2011/10/10/is-...rther-details-leak-on-samsungs-next-flagship/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.8 GHz dual core, 2GB RAM and samoled plus HD (read: RGB, not pentile)...daaaamn. I'm dropping cash on that the day it comes out unless I get a Nexus Prime instead. The rounded shape makes it look pretty big though.
Could be total BS though, there are two mistakes on the slide: copying is spelt wrong and the SGS doesn't have exynos cpu it has hummingbird. It's also weird that the "copying or reproduction is not allowed" is located like that, usually it would be along the bottom of each slide in a presentation so as not to interfere with any of the content. The way it is kind of screams "single fake slide".

For the record, Samsung renamed all their SoC to Exynos xxxx, even humingbird. I find this stupid, but that's how it is.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

ok, thanks guys, lots to think about.

greeced said:
My whole point in this is, specs are just that... specs. The SGS II that my wife has is amazing specs wise. Its head over heals better specs wise than my SGS1.
Here's the problem though... aside from flashier graphics, a bigger screen, and a flash for the camera, its still 2.3.3. So its not a great leap for me to go to it.... its essentially the same phone if you think about it. Sure, the SGS2 will most likely get the upgrade to ICS, but when? After Jello or whatever 'J' is comes out?
The SGS3 will suffer the same fate. It will be up to Samsung to update it, not google.
The SGS3 will be a great phone, but you'll have to wait for a developer to harness its true power. Just like the SG2 and SGS1.
Whereas any nexus incarnation will have google behind it, and updated accordingly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no problem running stock AOSP Android on any SGS, so what exactly are you waiting for? You say we have to wait for Samsung, then we have to wait for a developer... but in reality, ICS will be on the SGS2 with practically no wait at all.

Please wait a few months to nexus prime. You wont regret!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

seen the specs for the galaxy nexus think the SGS II looks better

upichie said:
I have no problem running stock AOSP Android on any SGS, so what exactly are you waiting for? You say we have to wait for Samsung, then we have to wait for a developer... but in reality, ICS will be on the SGS2 with practically no wait at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Official Samsung Firmwares" are never instantaneous, at least not here in Canada they aren't.
I mean think about it. The original SGS was the flagship phone, and we had to wait a long to go to Froyo when it first came out to the rest of the world... then while the rest of the world was enjoying bug fixes inside 2.2.1, we in Canada never received a 2.2.1 update at all.
Then go over to Gingerbread. Took forever for Canada to yet again see 2.3.3. But that is where Canada is at right now.. INCLUDING THE CURRENT FLAGSHIP SGS2. The rest of the world is either enjoying 2.3.4 or 2.3.5 or 2.3.6.
Lets not even mention the blatant, "reproduceable for anyone" bugs that are in 2.3.3 but not 2.3.4 for our I9000M's... namely swype speech button not working at all on the SGS.
AOSP? You'd have to fill me in on where you're getting your roms that don't void warranty for using them. Thats not a point I care about, but many others out there do.
The SGS2 (My wifes) was released AFTER 2.3.4 came out... yet they put 2.3.3 on it. That make any sense to anyone?
Sure it makes sense.. Carrier branded or "Locked" phones get in the way of quick releases for obvious reasons, and beyond that, samsung has 10 billion different incarnations of the same device that may need tweaking here or there to the rom. Hence slowdowns.
Having said all this, Google Phones don't have that problem.... The Nexus Prime will be what? the 3rd or 4th phone released under the Nexus name? Easy to code for, find bugs and release an update.
All these specs we are seeing for the SGS 3 may or may not be real. Same goes for the Nexus Prime. We'll have to wait and see.... but to me, quick support and updates mean everything.

please correct me if im wrong but the galaxy nexus is made by samsung so wont we have the same software update waits that we get with the SGS1 and 2

No the nexus s is also Samsung but nexus phones get software straight from google.

I have had a Galaxy S for 6 months and I upgraded to a Galaxy S2 a couple of weeks ago.
On the SG1 sound over the earphones is better, battery lasts longer and... that's all.
Everything else is better on the SG2 but the true big reason to upgrade, for me, was the SG2'S 1Gb RAM. I multitask a lot and even with bigmem firmwares and GalaxyTuner task-killer tuning I had apps having to reload almost every time I switched back to them (especially when one of the ones open in the background was the browser, which was very often).
That's the big single reason to upgrade, for me, and I am VERY happy with the SG2 in this regard. This phone is a multitasking king.
Having said all of that, unless you have similar needs I wouldn't advise upgrading. Everything is better on the SG2 but not enough, IMO, to make the upgrade worth it. Wait for something which is a bigger improvement over the SG1, like the Note (not for everyone, I know, but going to be my next smartphone in 6 months or so) or the SG3.
BTW, I see the Galaxy Nexus mentioned a lot, to me it's inferior to my SG2 (NO SD CARD SLOT!?!) apart obviously from ICS, which the SG2 is going to get.

I had a play around on an SGS2, had the opportunity to upgrade from my i9000 relatively cheaply and even though I thought it was great, would have appreciated the additional RAM and more powerful CPU I didn't go for it. The audio quality was just crap compared to my SGS and half the time I listen to music on it whilst working or on the bus or whatever so music's important to me and in that sense it would have been a downgrade.
Also as a matter of personal taste I thought it was a little too big. You could get used to it but the way I see it even with my giant head and giant hands I just about get away with a 4 inch handset (which I find the ideal sort of size) and anything larger just seems a little ostentatious. Unfortunately there currently seems to be a trend towards giant phones which I'm hoping will die out soon because when I do get round to upgrading I don't want to feel like I have to walk around with some Trigger Happy TVesque giant.
Anyways, like the bloke above I think the RAM would be the biggest upgrade, multitasking and all that. I don't really see anything that really needs the dual core processor and GPU wise the SGX540 in the SGS is alright, and seeing as we don't currently get the games you do on iOS it's not like it's really getting pushed that much anyway.
Bottomline I'd say if music is important to you, stick to the SGS. If not and you're a multitasking fiend it's probably worth the upgrade if you can get a good deal.