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About a week ago, I sent an email to all the HTC brass inquiring about the 30FPS cap that most of us are familiar with. An hour later, I received a "canned response", from one of their customer service reps assuring me that this was done "on purpose" to maximize battery life as well as enhance the user experience.
Story short, Keith Nowak, presumably a high ranking HTC exec, sent me back an email with a lengthy explanation of why the cap was in place. I was originally going to write a story about it for the blog I work for, however, it just doesn't seem worth it now since the information he's given me is basically the same thing that some of us have speculated. Interestingly enough however, he did retract the battery saving and user experience comments that I was first given.
Anyways, check it out:
Hi Adam-
My apologies for the delay in responding, we were investigating this issue, and I wanted to be sure I understood all of the facts before I responded.
Regarding the 30 FPS limitation on the HTC EVO 4G. This is simply a limitation of the hardware used in the device. The HDMI output that delivers HD content is, as you would expect, very resource intense, and as such, puts a limit on the output that can be used for the main display. However, even though there is a 30 FPS limitation, this is roughly equivalent to what most video content (TV and movies) is filmed in (24-30 FPS), meaning that in the vast majority of cases, this is not going to pose any issues for end users.
We have seen reports of a hack that purports to “fix” this, but after investigation, it turns out that this hack is simply allowing data to be pushed through the display interface at a higher speed than it can reasonably handle – resulting in, as you would expect, a choppy, unacceptable image of very poor quality.
I am not sure where information regarding “enhancing the user experience” or “maximize battery life” – but if it came from HTC, please let me know, and we will address the issue, as this is not correct information.
Best-
Keith Nowak
HTC
infamousjax said:
Hi Adam-
My apologies for the delay in responding, we were investigating this issue, and I wanted to be sure I understood all of the facts before I responded.
Regarding the 30 FPS limitation on the HTC EVO 4G. This is simply a limitation of the hardware used in the device. The HDMI output that delivers HD content is, as you would expect, very resource intense, and as such, puts a limit on the output that can be used for the main display. However, even though there is a 30 FPS limitation, this is roughly equivalent to what most video content (TV and movies) is filmed in (24-30 FPS), meaning that in the vast majority of cases, this is not going to pose any issues for end users.
We have seen reports of a hack that purports to “fix” this, but after investigation, it turns out that this hack is simply allowing data to be pushed through the display interface at a higher speed than it can reasonably handle – resulting in, as you would expect, a choppy, unacceptable image of very poor quality.
I am not sure where information regarding “enhancing the user experience” or “maximize battery life” – but if it came from HTC, please let me know, and we will address the issue, as this is not correct information.
Best-
Keith Nowak
HTC
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That is a downright lie. It is something he is simple overemphasizing about vsync issues with the Epson panel, which will be fixed because the devs here are hard at work.
Sure, it is a dirty hack, but the current method works fine. Completely, smooth and superb 'image quality,' and it makes it LESS choppy.
Hmm, they should just release all their sorce code so the devs here can tear it apart.
..yeahhh..i'm not one to be quick to call bs, but come on! I'm running ffolkes Novatek kernel on Fresh 0.5.3 and again, maybe it is just some "hack"..but bottom line is the difference is night and day! The response time is outta this world!
Sounds to me like he has no tech background, and that response was something that he was told to say. I wouldn't imagine at his position he would know the insides of phones and how they work or can be manipulated.
OP, you should reply back asking why use/waste all the resources on a feature that won't be used on a daily basis (maybe once or twice a month, if at all).
OP, if you do reply back. Consider including a link to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAjTo602sQM
That is nothing but improvement in display quality right there.
Video is from this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=713311
infamousjax said:
We have seen reports of a hack that purports to “fix” this, but after investigation, it turns out that this hack is simply allowing data to be pushed through the display interface at a higher speed than it can reasonably handle – resulting in, as you would expect, a choppy, unacceptable image of very poor quality.
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Bull****. I made the video proving it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAjTo602sQM
Tell Keith to salvage his credibility he needs to produce an honest answer. Ask him if he wants to see my run Youtube, or an mp4 video, or anything else, to drop me a line. I'll be happy to continue demonstrating how wrong he is.
The topic on HTC's forum is on page 10. Let's make sure it stays on the front page so support realizes it's a huge customer issue.
http://community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/94/t/3186.aspx
c'mon, lets not start grilling and roasting htc execs. These people are trying to help us and have been very informative on assisting us with this NEW device.
chances are, like said above, he probably forwarded the email directly to the engineering department (probably to someone we cant directly connect with) and got this answer.
i say, to knock it off with all the pushing and shoving of the FPS issue, and lets not end up on their bad side. Theyve been doing a great job so far. If the devs simplify and figure out a better way for us to maximize FPS, then so be it... Its not worth calling people liars and dishonesty.
This makes me sad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilx_cpGZczM
TorxT3D said:
c'mon, lets not start grilling and roasting htc execs. These people are trying to help us and have been very informative on assisting us with this NEW device.
chances are, like said above, he probably forwarded the email directly to the engineering department (probably to someone we cant directly connect with) and got this answer.
i say, to knock it off with all the pushing and shoving of the FPS issue, and lets not end up on their bad side. Theyve been doing a great job so far. If the devs simplify and figure out a better way for us to maximize FPS, then so be it... Its not worth calling people liars and dishonesty.
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Really? Are you being serious? They are trying to help us, how? First, according to them, they are tying up all the resources due to HDMI, which may be a great feature, but is not going to be used by many at all. Second, yeah, they have been doing a great job so far, RIGHT. I guess that's why the Evo had the light leaks, screen separations, other issues as well with the phone so far like bad wifi signal and poor battery.
If they really want to help, they would have released the source code already.
KERKEDAGAIN said:
..yeahhh..i'm not one to be quick to call bs, but come on! I'm running ffolkes Novatek kernel on Fresh 0.5.3 and again, maybe it is just some "hack"..but bottom line is the difference is night and day! The response time is outta this world!
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Click to collapse
where can i get this "hacked" kernel from and will it kill the camera ?
The last HTC rep I spoke to has assured me that they're working on a fix for the 30FPS cap.
TorxT3D said:
c'mon, lets not start grilling and roasting htc execs. These people are trying to help us and have been very informative on assisting us with this NEW device.
chances are, like said above, he probably forwarded the email directly to the engineering department (probably to someone we cant directly connect with) and got this answer.
i say, to knock it off with all the pushing and shoving of the FPS issue, and lets not end up on their bad side. Theyve been doing a great job so far. If the devs simplify and figure out a better way for us to maximize FPS, then so be it... Its not worth calling people liars and dishonesty.
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+1
I am all for better FPS - but even with 30 fps can you honestly tell me you can tell the gears moving better? I can't tell. I have tried both. I went back to another ROM and its not enabled. I can't tell. I get smooth movement. I am not overclocked and my quadrant on 2.1 with no JIT, etc. is around 590.
I get 30fps on gears and 25.1FPS on NeoCore but without seeing those numbers I could not tell the difference between the two in regards to better frames. I have ran both. The only difference for me is the Froyo 2.2 EVOA which is smoother in screen transitions and can multi-task much better in regards to updating and installing severals apps at a time. Otherwise video has yet to create a margin that is noticeable to me.
It has nothing to do with gears moving faster and if you had applied the 30 fps breaking kernel you would see that everything in the os is snappier including scrolling, touch lag etc..
you could just try to play a simple game like doodle jump and you'll notice the difference immediately
jblazea50 said:
you could just try to play a simple game like doodle jump and you'll notice the difference immediately
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Works just fine on the new OTA...
jblazea50 said:
If they really want to help, they would have released the source code already.
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Seriously. We need to just stop asking for a 30FPS cap fix and just keep asking for the source code because honestly, with the source code the devs could just fix most, if not all of this crap already.
jblazea50 said:
you could just try to play a simple game like doodle jump and you'll notice the difference immediately
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I do - I enjoy that game for a while now. I have it loaded on every ROM along with Robo Defense.
What is the BIG difference?
I notice little things about everything so when improvement is made I make comments. But there hasn't been much improvement in that area.
The camera much snappier and the pictures are much better in daylight. I took some great pictures to test at High Resolution and I am impressed with the camera. Before it was just so-so but now some of the pictures of the same images are greatly improved upon for sharpness and color saturation.
See so I do notice differences - perhaps not in the FPS but in other things
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/reviews/2011/03/ars-reviews-the-motorola-xoom.ars
Just read through the whole thing. Exhaustive review. 10 pages in all. Lots of information, esp. for someone like me who is on the fence about the device.
Just don't read the braindead comments...
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Thanks for this. I have been awaiting their review on the Xoom since they announced they were going to be doing an exhaustive one.
Only about halfway through, but I noticed something interesting. When discussing the browser and how most sites are still displaying the mobile version, he seemed to not have done any further searching as if he had, they probably would have found the "about:debug" fix. While I've heard that it isn't a persistent change, it still works out when in a pinch. Just thought it was odd they weren't aware/didn't do further searching on the issue.
Hm. So far this seems to be one of the better reviews out there (outside of the 10 pages of clicking...). Thanks for this.
Very good review. Ars Technica is one of the best Tech Blogs out there, and very rarely do their writers come across as fanboys of one OS or another. This review really confirmed to me that although the Xoom is a great start, it will likely be summer before I purchase an Android tablet to keep (mainly I'm waiting on flash, lower prices, microSD fixed, and more Honeycomb apps). I am very much in support of Honeycomb, but it's not time for me to buy yet.
Just bought a Xoom on Friday. Love it.
I started reading this review and I can't help to notice they say 7 hours of mixed use. I have had email notifications pushing, wifi on the whole time, and got 20 hours @ 50% battery left. This is leaving it on over night and playing games and messing with it for at least 3-4 hours straight, as well as syncing/transferring files, playing games like Words with Friends, etc. So I am very skeptical about this 14 hours of standby time. I got the device to 25 hours and it was still well over 30-35%.
pekosROB said:
Just bought a Xoom on Friday. Love it.
I started reading this review and I can't help to notice they say 7 hours of mixed use. I have had email notifications pushing, wifi on the whole time, and got 20 hours @ 50% battery left. This is leaving it on over night and playing games and messing with it for at least 3-4 hours straight, as well as syncing/transferring files, playing games like Words with Friends, etc. So I am very skeptical about this 14 hours of standby time. I got the device to 25 hours and it was still well over 30-35%.
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That's the issue with discussion on battery life. Unless it's explicitly mentioned what was done, when and for how long, it's hard to gauge exactly could be considered "intensive use" and look at battery life that way.
Ars rocks. Hopefully google will speed things up a bit in regards to the current disadvantages of the Xoom. Thus far, most of them can be cleaned up with a couple of patches. Hopefully it happens soon.
streetmapp said:
That's the issue with discussion on battery life. Unless it's explicitly mentioned what was done, when and for how long, it's hard to gauge exactly could be considered "intensive use" and look at battery life that way.
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Click to collapse
Before charging mine for the second time yesterday when it was around 18%, I had reached 26-27 hours of use. This is after I played, oh I don't know, an hour of Gun Bros, an hour (if not more) of Hex Defense (I think that's what it's called), push notifications on from, gmail, Twitter, fb, browsing, etc. I literally didn't put it down for at least 4 hours straight at one point. The screen was on auto/a third brightness. I even listened to an entire album, so around an hour of music playing.
I really don't see how anyone can have the audacity to say it's standby doesn't last for at least 24 hours.
Did someone get an LTE equipped version that we don't know about? Otherwise I just don't see how that's possible.
pekosROB said:
Before charging mine for the second time yesterday when it was around 18%, I had reached 26-27 hours of use. This is after I played, oh I don't know, an hour of Gun Bros, an hour (if not more) of Hex Defense (I think that's what it's called), push notifications on from, gmail, Twitter, fb, browsing, etc. I literally didn't put it down for at least 4 hours straight at one point. The screen was on auto/a third brightness. I even listened to an entire album, so around an hour of music playing.
I really don't see how anyone can have the audacity to say it's standby doesn't last for at least 24 hours.
Did someone get an LTE equipped version that we don't know about? Otherwise I just don't see how that's possible.
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Same here, at 32% battery I was at 29 hrs of use. And this was after nonstop usuage. It was a new toy and I just played around on it for hours. Battery is definitely solid.
mazz0310 said:
Same here, at 32% battery I was at 29 hrs of use. And this was after nonstop usuage. It was a new toy and I just played around on it for hours. Battery is definitely solid.
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So apparently Moto has stumbled across something here - an Android device that can be used AND last longer than 24 hours without a problem!
Now if only every device could follow in its footsteps... Sure, the battery is bigger than a phone, but so is the screen, not to mention all of the stuff crammed in it (like a barometer I have no idea how to use yet).
The Bad:
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The software is not particularly stable or robust
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It's the first device running Honeycomb. Even with that said, I haven't had any crashes or freezes. It's running great for me.
Requires a proprietary power adapter and can't charge through microUSB
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While frustrating it's understandable. The iPad has a proprietary power adapter and doesn't charge through USB. Plus the Xoom charges pretty quick
Users have to rely on the MTP protocol to manage media on the device
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Agreed, Google needs to build their own "iTunes"
The built-in e-mail client has extremely poor protocol support
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I disagree, I love the built in e-mail client. Regardless their are plenty of other options for Android, and will hopefully be built new for Xoom/Honeycomb.
There are very few third-party Android applications designed for the form factor
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When the iPad came out, there were very few applications those first few weeks as well. It's a brand new OS.
The Google Books e-book application doesn't support side-loading content
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There are other options that do allow this.
Very few websites handle the Honeycomb browser's User-Agent string correctly
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You can change the UA string, or download a new browser. Hopefully it will be fixed in the future though.
The browser's support for advanced CSS3 features lags behind Safari's
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Haven't had any problems yet.
The browser issue is quite dissapoiting to me (as a web developer). I hoped for a full webkit browser with extensions. Maybe Firefox4 for Android will be better?
Magnesus said:
The browser issue is quite dissapoiting to me (as a web developer). I hoped for a full webkit browser with extensions. Maybe Firefox4 for Android will be better?
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Extensions would be nice, and I can't believe Google still hasnt fixed typing lag in the browser yet (on some sites)
While the charger on the Ipad is "proprietary", its the same charger that is used on other devices of theirs. Also the Ipad will charge from USB, but very slowly.
I'm disappointed in their review. It's not very good, and seems in some spots like they're looking for something critical to talk about, like the default email client: yeah, it's not great, but it's been not-great for a while now, and isn't a Xoom-specific issue; they talk about future-proofing issues with browser rendering, correctly stress that it's not a big deal right now, but then make a big deal of it in the conclusion.
The review's written like the author doesn't really care about the device. Engadget's review seems a lot more balanced compared to this one.
(PS. Lots of reviews keep talking about the lack of tablet apps. Wasn't this _exactly_ the same issue when the iPad 1 came out?)
Most of the sites are apple bias they just don't admit it
ydaraishy said:
I'm disappointed in their review. It's not very good, and seems in some spots like they're looking for something critical to talk about, like the default email client: yeah, it's not great, but it's been not-great for a while now, and isn't a Xoom-specific issue; they talk about future-proofing issues with browser rendering, correctly stress that it's not a big deal right now, but then make a big deal of it in the conclusion.
The review's written like the author doesn't really care about the device. Engadget's review seems a lot more balanced compared to this one.
(PS. Lots of reviews keep talking about the lack of tablet apps. Wasn't this _exactly_ the same issue when the iPad 1 came out?)
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ydaraishy said:
(PS. Lots of reviews keep talking about the lack of tablet apps. Wasn't this _exactly_ the same issue when the iPad 1 came out?)
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The iPad launched with ~2000 tablet apps. The Xoom launched with ~20
So what? The "non-tablet" apps still work great a la tapatalk
sangreal06 said:
The iPad launched with ~2000 tablet apps. The Xoom launched with ~20
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sangreal06 said:
The iPad launched with ~2000 tablet apps. The Xoom launched with ~20
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I think you mean 2000 apps that were compatible with the iPad in full-screen. Google made the mistake of labeling the Tablet section in the Market as Tablet Apps. They have since corrected it to be Featured Tablet Apps. Most Android apps work fine on the Xoom, even if they don't support the new Honeycomb UI guidelines. Since Apple just threw their existing UI onto a larger device, there isn't really a comparison here.
Pretty insane review: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/28/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-review/
Very impressive, especially coming from them.
Anyway, he says that Flash didn't work on his review device. Does it work on your shipped devices?
Is the phone as good as the review? Pretty glowing (and surprising) sentiment from Engadget.
It works fine, but he fell into the same trap as me... it just needs turning on!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1054685
Its turned off by default.
Just download flash and enable it in settings..
Ston said:
It works fine, but he fell into the same trap as me... it just needs turning on!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1054685
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Oh wow, I really hope that wasn't the cause in Engadget's review device... That would be sad haha
Yeah its sad that an iphone user had to do the review. Just watching the video of him demonstrating the phone and trying to close a folder hurt my brain. I was yelling backbuttton the whole time in my head.
Its one of the very few devices getting a 9/10 score from them. iPhone 4, Atrix 4G got 9/10 as well.
Nothing new though, I'm still convinced this is my next phone. Only should the device feel so bad in my hand that I start crying will I buy a HTC Sensation.
lol or cry
"Update: Thanks to our reader David, we've now figured out the root of this little problemo. Turns out the browser required us to tick an "enable plugins" box to get Flash running. We did so and, sure enough, in-browser Flash was a go. Frame rates have been consistently high across multiple websites and videos, which is in keeping with the rest of the Galaxy S II's performance."
golf2vr6 said:
"Update: Thanks to our reader David, we've now figured out the root of this little problemo. Turns out the browser required us to tick an "enable plugins" box to get Flash running. We did so and, sure enough, in-browser Flash was a go. Frame rates have been consistently high across multiple websites and videos, which is in keeping with the rest of the Galaxy S II's performance."
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Click to collapse
What if David tells them it's actually an iPhone, will that make it 10/10
I also posted the same in Engadget, asking them to check in settings. Oh Well, atleast they listened to someone! Overall, i am impressed by the review, and the fact that our SGS2 got a 9/10 from engadget shows that it truly is a hallmark device!
Cannot wait to get it.
If this phone had a version of TouchWiz that removed the redundant hub features, and a few other little issues Vlad found, it might have been as close to a 10 as they've seen. They've mentioned on the podcast that there might never be a 10/10, but the SGS2 is nearly there.
I was beginning to get the Transformer itch earlier this week. I kept thinking about how tired I am of reading my news sites (slashdot) on an iTouch and my ever building animosity towards Apple doesn’t help either. Then I started to consider how the dock could really make this thing exactly what I need for at the motocross track. I’ll be able to log and calculate all sorts of information on my bike’s performance like I would on a netbook and also when I am kicking back in the pits I can watch movies or do various other things. Sixteen hours of battery sweetness pretty much sealed the deal. Yesterday I overnighted the Transformer and now I have about 3 hours on the thing. Since I have no tablet, android, or any smartphone experience: here are my unbiased and uneducated thoughts.
I guess it’d be best to go over the common defects that are everywhere. There is a small amount of light bleed on the bottom of the screen. It is not significant, but it is noticeable on dark screens if you look for it. The speaker imbalance is not present on this tablet. No charging issues to note, yet. Bezel width is very comfortable. It isn't small by many standards but its perfect for my grip, non interrupting of viewable screen space. I have zero issue with the plastic body. It isn't aluminum, granted, but the quality feels plenty sturdy and it bothers me none.
Keeping in mind I only have 3 hours on the Transformer so far, here are some things I really like about the Transformer. The screen image is very crisp. The IPS panel does not disappoint. The Android interface is very sleek, and very smooth, I like it a lot. The built-in GPS and ever advancing Google Maps combo is great and I know it’s going to be extremely useful for me this summer. The background shift while you scroll different screens is pretty slick, I thought. The live backgrounds are cool, I checked out a few galaxy imitating live wallpapers off the market. Touch screen responsiveness is fantastic. Web pages are rendered very crisply and are easy on the eyes even during extended paragraph read-through’s.
And for some things I’m not quite digging: Speaker quality is a definite low. In low lighting the camera pictures are not very good, and the color reproduction is a bit low-end (haven’t tried in good lighting yet). No Netflix client. Application processes seem to build up with no obvious way to end them. All the talk about trojans hitting the Android Market has me fairly reluctant on freely trying apps and games. There is plenty of room for improvement in Polaris Office and I strongly hope that comes.
With everything said so far, it is truly exceeding my expectations. It’s a breeze to work with and I believe it’s going to be fantastic for what I need it for and more. I’m absolutely sure I’m going to start using it for work as well.
I hope this quick new comer’s write up is useful to other’s that are eyeing this gem, just as I was a few days ago. I plan to get my mandatory 10 xda posts in over the next week or so, then you’ll mostly see me in the developer’s section as I begin my own rooted work. See you on the other side
Brandon
brandon... said:
I was beginning to get the Transformer itch earlier this week. I kept thinking about how tired I am of reading my news sites (slashdot) on an iTouch and my ever building animosity towards Apple doesn’t help either. Then I started to consider how the dock could really make this thing exactly what I need for at the motocross track. I’ll be able to log and calculate all sorts of information on my bike’s performance like I would on a netbook and also when I am kicking back in the pits I can watch movies or do various other things. Sixteen hours of battery sweetness pretty much sealed the deal. Yesterday I overnighted the Transformer and now I have about 3 hours on the thing. Since I have no tablet, android, or any smartphone experience: here are my unbiased and uneducated thoughts.
I guess it’d be best to go over the common defects that are everywhere. There is a small amount of light bleed on the bottom of the screen. It is not significant, but it is noticeable on dark screens if you look for it. The speaker imbalance is not present on this tablet. No charging issues to note, yet.
Keeping in mind I only have 3 hours on the Transformer so far, here are some things I really like about the Transformer. The screen image is very crisp. The IPS panel does not disappoint. The Android interface is very sleek, and very smooth, I like it a lot. The built-in GPS and ever advancing Google Maps combo is great and I know it’s going to be extremely useful for me this summer. The background shift while you scroll different screens is pretty slick, I thought. The live backgrounds are cool, I checked out a few galaxy imitating live wallpapers off the market. Touch screen responsiveness is fantastic. Web pages are rendered very crisply and are easy on the eyes even during extended paragraph read-through’s.
And for some things I’m not quite digging: Speaker quality is a definite low. In low lighting the camera pictures are not very good, and the color reproduction is a bit low-end (haven’t tried in good lighting yet). No Netflix client. Application processes seem to build up with no obvious way to end them. All the talk about trojans hitting the Android Market has me fairly reluctant on freely trying apps and games. There is plenty of room for improvement in Polaris Office and I strongly hope that comes.
With everything said so far, it is truly exceeding my expectations. It’s a breeze to work with and I believe it’s going to be fantastic for what I need it for and more. I’m absolutely sure I’m going to start using it for work as well.
I hope this quick new comer’s write up is useful to other’s that are eyeing this gem, just as I was a few days ago. I plan to get my mandatory 10 xda posts in over the next week or so, then you’ll mostly see me in the developer’s section as I begin my own rooted work. See you on the other side
Brandon
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Click to collapse
About your issues with the processes, get a task killer for it as there isn't an in built task manager into HC
Look at the reviews or get an antivirus for free apps if you're scared
(I use lookout mobile as it has an inbuilt scanner and locator if you loose the tab)
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
brandon... said:
I was beginning to get the Transformer itch earlier this week. I kept thinking about how tired I am of reading my news sites (slashdot) on an iTouch and my ever building animosity towards Apple doesn’t help either. Then I started to consider how the dock could really make this thing exactly what I need for at the motocross track. I’ll be able to log and calculate all sorts of information on my bike’s performance like I would on a netbook and also when I am kicking back in the pits I can watch movies or do various other things. Sixteen hours of battery sweetness pretty much sealed the deal. Yesterday I overnighted the Transformer and now I have about 3 hours on the thing. Since I have no tablet, android, or any smartphone experience: here are my unbiased and uneducated thoughts.
I guess it’d be best to go over the common defects that are everywhere. There is a small amount of light bleed on the bottom of the screen. It is not significant, but it is noticeable on dark screens if you look for it. The speaker imbalance is not present on this tablet. No charging issues to note, yet.
Keeping in mind I only have 3 hours on the Transformer so far, here are some things I really like about the Transformer. The screen image is very crisp. The IPS panel does not disappoint. The Android interface is very sleek, and very smooth, I like it a lot. The built-in GPS and ever advancing Google Maps combo is great and I know it’s going to be extremely useful for me this summer. The background shift while you scroll different screens is pretty slick, I thought. The live backgrounds are cool, I checked out a few galaxy imitating live wallpapers off the market. Touch screen responsiveness is fantastic. Web pages are rendered very crisply and are easy on the eyes even during extended paragraph read-through’s.
And for some things I’m not quite digging: Speaker quality is a definite low. In low lighting the camera pictures are not very good, and the color reproduction is a bit low-end (haven’t tried in good lighting yet). No Netflix client. Application processes seem to build up with no obvious way to end them. All the talk about trojans hitting the Android Market has me fairly reluctant on freely trying apps and games. There is plenty of room for improvement in Polaris Office and I strongly hope that comes.
With everything said so far, it is truly exceeding my expectations. It’s a breeze to work with and I believe it’s going to be fantastic for what I need it for and more. I’m absolutely sure I’m going to start using it for work as well.
I hope this quick new comer’s write up is useful to other’s that are eyeing this gem, just as I was a few days ago. I plan to get my mandatory 10 xda posts in over the next week or so, then you’ll mostly see me in the developer’s section as I begin my own rooted work. See you on the other side
Brandon
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It's definitely a sweet device. My Nook Color is in it's box awaiting it's new owner
Check out splashtop..awesome. I also like the DLNA feature. I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
MurfsHTC said:
It's definitely a sweet device. My Nook Color is in it's box awaiting it's new owner
Check out splashtop..awesome. I also like the DLNA feature. I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
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Splashtop is sweet, thanks for the recommendation! I am interested in streaming blurays from my home server to the tablet probably downscaling a bit, there any popular methods of doing this yet? Maybe play on has something,I'll look into that
MurfsHTC said:
I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
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Hi,
So, are you playing the network drive movies via a desktop, and using the remote desktop to see the video? Or are you streaming the video files directly to your tablet? Are the video files pre-processed for a scaled down resolution?
I'm wondering because the stock video app and one I downloaded (mobo) doesn't seem to support streaming. I have ES Navigator to navigate to a windows SMB share. I can view files on the windows share, but when I try to open a video file, the tablet saids it can't stream - must download the entire file before it'll play.
Sorry to hijack the thread - but MurfsHTC commented on exactly what I wanted to be able to do.
Thanks.
coachclass said:
Hi,
So, are you playing the network drive movies via a desktop, and using the remote desktop to see the video? Or are you streaming the video files directly to your tablet? Are the video files pre-processed for a scaled down resolution?
I'm wondering because the stock video app and one I downloaded (mobo) doesn't seem to support streaming. I have ES Navigator to navigate to a windows SMB share. I can view files on the windows share, but when I try to open a video file, the tablet saids it can't stream - must download the entire file before it'll play.
Sorry to hijack the thread - but MurfsHTC commented on exactly what I wanted to be able to do.
nks.
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basically I rip my dvds using ripit4me, dvd shrink & dvd decrypter. From there i combine the .vob files into one .vob and then convert them. Initially, I was using Divx and streaming thru the xbox 360. I also experimented with Sothink Converter and Handbrake. Sothink has many conversion options but I prefer handbrake. For some reason the Transformer will not load a .divx , .mp4 Itunes movie(.m4v) or .wmv file thru MyNet. it'll do .mp4 (via Handbrake). In a nutshell, I open MyNet, click on the seagate folder and it streams right to the Transformer. I did try mobo and haven't had much luck either. I use the Seagate GoFlex Net 1TB. Plug into your router, load the software and setup your user account. you can also access the drive thru a web browser. Google Chrome doesn't seem to work. Hope I didn't confuse or rattle on.
Well progress is being made on VLC for Android. That will certainly help.
droid_does said:
About your issues with the processes, get a task killer for it as there isn't an in built task manager into HC
Look at the reviews or get an antivirus for free apps if you're scared
(I use lookout mobile as it has an inbuilt scanner and locator if you loose the tab)
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
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There is absolutely no need to get a task killer app. Let the OS manage that for you. You could even be slowing down your TF by closing apps. There are posts here (In the ultimate TF guide stickied) that detail why.
One of the best uses so far has been a rather reasonable music playback device, if you have quality headphones for it.
Enjoy the the TF Android adventure, it only gets better. Mine is three weeks old, and I have already taken the plunge and rooted, custom Rom, and overclocked mine.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Garf123 said:
There is absolutely no need to get a task killer app. Let the OS manage that for you. You could even be slowing down your TF by closing apps. There are posts here (In the ultimate TF guide stickied) that detail why.
One of the best uses so far has been a rather reasonable music playback device, if you have quality headphones for it.
Enjoy the the TF Android adventure, it only gets better. Mine is three weeks old, and I have already taken the plunge and rooted, custom Rom, and overclocked mine.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
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only for the transformer I've heard
I dont' use task killers at all, but for HC I've read that you could.....just putting it out there
Brandon,
Glad to hear you're enjoying your Transformer. I know I am.
On the volume issue, there's an app: volume+ $1.44 at Amazon that made all the difference in the world after I did the 3.1 update, when it became lower.
About a week or so ago there was a thread on it, if you want to search for volume+. Seems a lot of people were pleased with it. I know I was, now I can't turn my volume all the way up.
Have fun!
sunsetbay said:
Brandon,
Glad to hear you're enjoying your Transformer. I know I am.
On the volume issue, there's an app: volume+ $1.44 at Amazon that made all the difference in the world after I did the 3.1 update, when it became lower.
About a week or so ago there was a thread on it, if you want to search for volume+. Seems a lot of people were pleased with it. I know I was, now I can't turn my volume all the way up.
Have fun!
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Thanks for the looking out but I am in fact having no volume issues
Also i edited the op with two more items I wanted to cover but forgot at the time: bezel width and plastic body. Word to big bird
MurfsHTC said:
It's definitely a sweet device. My Nook Color is in it's box awaiting it's new owner
Check out splashtop..awesome. I also like the DLNA feature. I can sit outside and connect to my Seagate network drive and watch a movie(s) I've ripped over the past year. After a long day at work, I like to wind down with some Fruit Ninja baby!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to sell my Nook Color but decided to keep it as I enjoy watching Netflix on it, there's no working Netflix app yet for the TF.
Well a few too many beers tonight at baseball practice, came home and neglected a few steps during my first venture into rooting, ha! Didn't take but 10 mins to fix, but I am now rooted and on the prime rom. Will be checking it out for the next few hours
@Geekbabe: I think I read PlayOn supports Netflix to Android now. Granted you need to run the PlayOn server on a PC on your network, but it's something.
EDIT: Now running Prime on top of the netformer kernel. So fun.
I still search for and watch reviews of the Galaxy Note to see general opinion, but I completely skip unboxing videos now. They're 99% identical and there's almost nothing worse than a review by someone who has used the phone for oh..... 30 seconds.
I really don't understand why people keep making more and more unboxing videos when so many already exist.
- Frank
ChodTheWacko said:
I still search for and watch reviews of the Galaxy Note to see general opinion, but I completely skip unboxing videos now. They're 99% identical and there's almost nothing worse than a review by someone who has used the phone for oh..... 30 seconds.
I really don't understand why people keep making more and more unboxing videos when so many already exist.
- Frank
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I watched as many as I could find while I was waiting at my doorstep for FedEx to deliver my note. I have not watched one since. I would say there is a time and place for them.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App
Some people get off on them. I am not one of them.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Dont mind unboxing videos much. But what pisses me off is unboxing videos with preopened boxes. Whats the point if youve already opened the box before the video lol.
Side not, videos someone reviewing a product they dont own, showing pictures. That sh1t drives me crazy.
yes i agree with you. i like to see a good review starting with unboxing but there is no video like that. unbox it for 5 mintures review it for 1 minute this is how todays videos like
Well I do unboxing videoa of my own products. And I'm part of this unbox website in the Philippines. I own all devices because its a hobby of mine. Show some love!
I agree they are terrible
Can not stand them - I know I don't have to watch them, but seeing dozens of them in my search result really does piss me off. There should only be one for each major language spoken on earth. If you speak english and you can see there is another english unboxing video on U-tube, don't make another one!!!! I want to see the product, not "and here are the headphones, they're **** so I won't open them........ and here is some paper... hang on......................international warranty....... and here is a usb cable. This is the end where it plugs into the computer, the other end goes in here, um, where is it, er, not sure where it goes......................................................................Lets see what we have here...... wait a minute................................................. yeah, it's a battery. Oh I almost forgot................................. this is George, the postman who brought the package here this morning.............. If you're wondering why he's tied up and gagged, it's decause he didn't want to feature in this video................... but I said he had to, as I have to document everything, right from the beginning............. else it wouldn't be a proper unboxing video....................................................... Here we have the charger - looks cool - I like this charger............................... what does it say.............................................................................................................................................. can't read it............. Hope you enjoyed my product tour................ if you did......................... please subscribe........................ **Mmmph-urghhh**..... Shut it George".
Rant over.
Unboxing videos are a waste of time, maybe except the first one. Running few random games, benchmarks, interesting apps and talking briefly about some things that make this particular model stand out from the crowd is much more informative. But most ppl seem not to get it. I just wonder, who watches this crap, maybe they watch each others' unboxing videos???
I hate videos, period. I prefer reading an article about the gadget, backed up with a few screenshots.