Desire HD to SGS2 - Thougts and AMA for anyone considering the upgrade! - Desire HD General

I posted this in my ROM thread but thought it may be worth moving it to the General section, as I've noticed users asking what the SGS2 is like coming from the DHD.
These are just some initial thoughts, but feel free to ask me anything about the phone that would influence your decision. Just to be clear, don't turn the thread into a Sensation vs SGS2 thread please!! That said, I have had a good play with the Sensation so can answer some questions about it.
Being a HTC Fan for the best part of a decade, I was apprehensive of making the move to Samsung. Their previous Android offerings all had major flaws and didn't cut it for me. I used to laugh at the original SGS with it's lag/GPS/lack of camera flash issues. I upgrade my phones often and naturally assumed that my next phone would be the Sensation but the whole issue with the bootloader turned my head. Even though HTC have now backtracked, I'm grateful they turned my head because the SGS2 is unbelievably good!
The battery life is a major improvement, with similar usage I now find myself with 20-30% more battery at the end of the day and no longer dread the "15% Remaining" notification.
Although my N1 is an AMOLED model, nothing prepared me for the SAMOLED+ which is just unbelievable. The blacks, colours and clarity are on another level and I know I will really struggle going back to LCD after seeing this.
The speed of the device is just insane. Coming from the N1 to DHD, there wasn't any major improvements in speed as such, just the bigger screen. You'd think that it wouldn't be very noticeable coming from a 1.3Ghz OC DHD to SGS2 but side by side, the SGS2 just chews through everything almost 2x as fast. The browser, as many have shown is buttery smooth and makes for an awesome browsing experience.
The camera is much better and the 1080p recording looks stunning on my 42" 1080p TV with the increased bitrate mod. The main improvement is in low light conditions where the DHD would always give grainy distorted images and videos. I can actually leave my digicam at home now and use the phone for most of my quick picture taking.
Build quality is awesome. People always say that it feels cheap and plastic, but if you are like me and use a case, it "feels" the same just so much lighter. I can now read longer in bed and watch videos without feeling my arm aching! My DHD used to creak slightly when pressing on the touchscreen (the SIM cover) and I have no problems like this and don't forsee any the way the phone is built.
Sound quality through headphones is not as good as the DHD which is a shame. I've had to fiddle with DSPManager and PowerAmp to make it sound good. The stock player sounds horrible and the included 5.1 mode is garbage. I can cope now with my adjustments but really I was disappointed with this. The speaker is much better though and is much clearer than the DHD, so voices are easier to hear on podcasts and radio.
TouchWiz is rubbish. They may have improved it but I HATE the iPhone wannabe look and although I tried my best to use it, I had LP back up and running after an hour or two. I prefer stock Android anyway but can use Sense if I had to. I cannot use TouchWiz.
Phonecall quality is OK. Sounded slightly better on DHD, but people can hear me clearer on the GS2. They sometimes think I have hung up because the line is so clear from background noise.
Overall I can't recommend the phone enough to any DHD users who are not reliant on SENSE UI and want to upgrade to Dual Core.
Regards.

Thanks for the insights d00d, but you really can't compare two phones one with a single core processor and the other a dual core processor in terms of functionality, speed, lag/response. I tried the SGS2 myself on a Vmobile stand in a mall and I'd prefer the matte finish of the DHD over the somehow iphone 3G-ish gloss curved plastic finish for it's case. I'm just waiting for a GSM 3D phone and my brand of choice would be HTC.

plskillme said:
Thanks for the insights d00d, but you really can't compare two phones one with a single core processor and the other a dual core processor in terms of functionality, speed, lag/response. I tried the SGS2 myself on a Vmobile stand in a mall and I'd prefer the matte finish of the DHD over the somehow iphone 3G-ish gloss curved plastic finish for it's case. I'm just waiting for a GSM 3D phone and my brand of choice would be HTC.
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I'm not trying to compare them head to head. This is more of an experiential viewpoint having used both phones and hopefully will help those considering the SGS2 as an upgrade from the DHD.
Regards.

Dude,I made the move just yesterday,and it feels like you've been in my head these two days.I can't stand the abscense of Sense.I'm so used to it that it feels so strange without it,it's like using another OS.All the other stuff though...What can I say?The phone's like a dream come true.
On a side note,Thursday night my DHD works like a charm as always.Fast,smooth and stable.Friday morning,after the call that informed me my GS2 was here,the DHD started behaving strangely.It lags like hell,it's slow and gives random reboots.Perhaps my DHD wasn't the best for overclocking as it couldn't handle 2GHz,but it felt jealous!How advanced is that?

How's the battery life? This is a big issue for me.

Thanks buddy for the comparison. From your insights I won't be upgrading then; due to the sound effects. I very much love the dolby effects, which I would miss in the S2........
Denny
sent from my Beloved Desire HD with ARHD using xda app

How about the white color on the SGS 2? It seems to me that white on Sgs 2 is blueish!
Personally I don't like Super, mega, extra, amoled because of the unnatural colors.

Meatboy42 said:
How's the battery life? This is a big issue for me.
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Battery life is great! While calibrating (first few cycles) it was draining quite fast when in use, but now I am calibrated I find it great. Obviously coming from the DHD, anything would seem better, but I still have a N1 and it outperforms that. The biggest differences I notice are when playing music it hardly moves, I still lose similar to standby drain (-1%-2% per hour) which is mind boggling. That said, super intensive use with lots of white backgrounds (think web browsing on 3G) can drain the battery quickly but yesterday I absolutely hammered the phone with YouTube, Music, Calls, Browsing etc and even after 17hours I was still in double figures (albeit at 10%). DHD would have been dead after 13-14 with similar usage.
vicedens2002 said:
Thanks buddy for the comparison. From your insights I won't be upgrading then; due to the sound effects. I very much love the dolby effects, which I would miss in the S2........
Denny
sent from my Beloved Desire HD with ARHD using xda app
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Yeh, coming from the DHD it was the first thing I noticed. There is a big thread in the SGS2 section started by supercurio, the developer of the Voodoo sound mod on the original SGS, where he analysed the hardware and came to the conclusion that the DAC performed poorly. I was reading this before I got the handset and was wondering could it be that bad? It isn't terrible but it's not great either. After combining PowerAmp and DSP Manager it now sounds much better and because my ears have adjusted i'm quite happy. I would say if DHD was 9/10 the SGS2 is a 7.5/10 for music. If SQ is SUPER important, I mean you one of these people with a full flac music collection and £100 headphones, then I don't think this phone is for you (Sensation is supposed to be good for SQ). The stock player sounds HORRENDOUS.
stylus1828 said:
How about the white color on the SGS 2? It seems to me that white on Sgs 2 is blueish!
Personally I don't like Super, mega, extra, amoled because of the unnatural colors.
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The whites are good, but I guess they are blueish whites. You only really notice this from an angle when the tint becomes apparent. Otherwise the whites are simply brilliant and eye burning bright! The colours can be unnatural at times, but that in a way is the appeal of the SAMOLED+. I understand on a PC monitor when you may be doing graphic and digital image work that having natural colours is important, but on a phone I really appreciate the pop and brilliance of the display. Don't take Youtube videos as a gauge of how the screen looks because to the naked eye, it simply looks AMAZING! As soon as I turned the phone on it was a jaw dropping moment. Unfortunately there is slight banding on some gradients but this is minor and doesn't take anything away from this awesome screen.
Regards.

Thanks for the replay! Why didn't you get the HTC Sensation because the bootloader will be unlocked?!

stylus1828 said:
Thanks for the replay! Why didn't you get the HTC Sensation because the bootloader will be unlocked?!
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That's pretty relative pal.They can unlock the bootloader,but don't think they'll make our lives THAT much easy.Nand-locks and stuff like that will almost surely be there.I hope not though!Not that I'll buy the Sensation,but I will probably be buying HTC again in the future(old habits die hard,don't they? ) and their policies probably won't change.
I have to admit though,messing with the Galaxy S 2 is easy as pie.Once you get the hang of it it's much easier than any HTC I've owned.

As a long time DHD owner and a previous SGS owner, I bought the SGS2 few days ago. Some quick thoughts:
1. I'm quite critical to build quality and I couldn't stand original SGS display bezel and back cover getting loose. Ok, why even consider SGS2 then? Well, I kind of fell in love for Case-Mate Tough case, and I'm happy with it after using it for a day.
Some quick notes about SGS2 build quality in general, display bezel seems very solid and since back cover only covers the back area of the phone (unlike SGS where the back cover went all the way to sides of the phone), and this is a good thing. It seems to be very tightly attached to the body and it has more snaps that attach than original SGS.
Back cover can be pressed a bit down and it makes a little click under camera module. But these are not an issue for me as I got the case on mine.
2. The main reason I bought it, SAMOLED+ display. Okay, first boot and I immediately noticed white is not very good white. It's blueish. I've already used to that, but that's just something that immediately jumped on me after looking at white with DHD LCD display.
Otherwise, viewing angle is awesome, but that doesn't matter much to me as I tend to look at my phone in the front.
Overall of course all the colors are very good looking and sharp. All in all I maybe expected a bit more, but I'm definitely happy with it. But I feel that moving back to DHD LCD display would not be such a big deal that I thought if I had to do that.
3. The physical home-button makes quite loud click when pressed, I'm not a big fan of it.
4. Now here's why I'm having serious second thoughts about having this device: ROM support. My main grudge of course is that there is no CM7 for SGS2 yet. I have to say that I REALLY REALLY, I mean REAAALLY miss CM7. *sigh* It's until now that I'm using Samsung's customized Android, I realize how much I miss massive number of features available in CyanogenMod.
Another thing is that as far as I can see, there is no official CWM support for SGS2, and currently users use a customized version by Chainfire. It's ok though, as long as it works.
All in all my general feelings about the phone itself is good, I like many things over DHD such as improved taking camera photos speed, camera picture quality seems a bit better and ADW screen transitions and 4D drawer runs smoother than on my DHD. But the more I use SGS2, the more I miss my DHD running CM7....
I know, my complaints are mainly related to CM7 not being available on SGS2 so it's pretty subjective view. I also know atinm and Teamhacksung is working on CM7 on SGS2, but I have no idea when it'll be ready. CyanogenMod is just that awesome.

Doesn't CM7 have massive battery issues on the DHD though?

Meatboy42 said:
Doesn't CM7 have massive battery issues on the DHD though?
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It used to have,something to do with the DSP chip not sleeping correctly I think.It has been solved a looooong time now.

Related

moving from galaxy s to desire hd (shall i ? )

hey friends
i m going to buy desire hd tommorow and selling galaxy s ,
just want to make am i making right choice coz i m quite happy with display quality of galaxy s,but not wid its buggy ui and after installing custom ui and softwares make it battery hungry and laggy ......
also i m looking for camera flash and better build quality ,
guide me friends ,deal or no deal
thanks in advance
Go ahead with desire hd, I have changed from milestone to desire hd, htc sense is very user friendly interface, enhanced apps (browse, music player, sms , input ) no need to install third party. I am very happy with desire hd.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
well i m confused about display quality of desire hd as compared to galaxy s
How about going to a store and comparing the screens?
Some prefer LCD, others AMOLED.
You obviously get stronger colours and better blacks with AMOLED, while the LCD isn't bad at all and I'd like to say it is a bit sharper than AMOLED.
Also, and this might be due to the fact that I'm used to LCD, but I always find the colors my friends SGS to be oversaturated, and slightly tinted.
umiss said:
How about going to a store and comparing the screens?
Some prefer LCD, others AMOLED.
You obviously get stronger colours and better blacks with AMOLED, while the LCD isn't bad at all and I'd like to say it is a bit sharper than AMOLED.
Also, and this might be due to the fact that I'm used to LCD, but I always find the colors my friends SGS to be oversaturated, and slightly tinted.
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thts the thing i was looking ,benifits of desire hd display ,i hve heard lcd display are better in direct sunlight than s amoled is it true ?
trust me, the DHD is an amazing device - i'd fully reccomend it!
jeet1988 said:
thts the thing i was looking ,benifits of desire hd display ,i hve heard lcd display are better in direct sunlight than s amoled is it true ?
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that's right
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/21/super-amoled-vs-amoled-vs-lcd-in-direct-sunlight-fight/
alexluckett said:
trust me, the DHD is an amazing device - i'd fully reccomend it!
that's right
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/21/super-amoled-vs-amoled-vs-lcd-in-direct-sunlight-fight/
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thnks bro
buying it now
I much prefer the amoled screen, its taken me ages to get over having a lcd, each time i pick up my desire or blade, i cry a little.
But the rest of the hardware is erm.. Ace. (see what i did?)
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
mikecoffee said:
I much prefer the amoled screen, its taken me ages to get over having a lcd, each time i pick up my desire or blade, i cry a little.
But the rest of the hardware is erm.. Ace. (see what i did?)
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm twist in story
why so?
Personal preferences. AMOLED is good, but LCD ain't bad. Your computer screen is LCD. Try the Desire HD before you buy it.
The build quality of the DHD is very good. Some people complain about the plastic sim and battery covers, but these are necessary from RF engineering point of view (either you have alluminum back with plastic covers, or you have the whole back plastic - you decide which is better). Anyway, I didn't have any of the issues reported here - no sim cover misalignment, no proximity sensor issues (solved by the first OTA update AFAIK), no init bug (I keep USB debuging on just to be sure ), no nothing. Maybe, just maybe, my screen is tilted a little bit, but it might be my imagination playing tricks on me.
AMOLED vs. LCD is really down to the person who uses it. IMO the only good thing about AMOLED technology is the real black. Other than that, the larger viewing angle is unusable and the colours seem "wrong" to me.
Just a little warning - as you might know, the new 1.72 ROM can't be rooted (yet?), so if you intend to buy from a store, check the phone if it has the old 1.32 ROM, so you can root it and then go with the 1.72 root keeping update procedure.
tkolev said:
Just a little warning - as you might know, the new 1.72 ROM can't be rooted (yet?), so if you intend to buy from a store, check the phone if it has the old 1.32 ROM, so you can root it and then go with the 1.72 root keeping update procedure.
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Click to collapse
Highlighted for emphasis due to the importance of this
DHD is a great phone. Love mine to bits. I've been trying to keep an AOSP rom on mine for a while now but keep coming back to Sense. Its just such a fantastic UI. Also the screen is fine. Colours are crisper on AMOLED but text is clearer on SLCD. The text display on AMOLED seems slightly pixelated and blurry to me
I think the S AMOLED screen is great but it's not as sharp. My DHD is sharper than my friends Galaxy S and it is noticable if you stare at both screens. Also after using the DHD the AMOLED seems to have a tint of purple not to mention it's whites never really look white. But boy are the blacks black, I cried a little when I compared. But the thing is the black on the DHD are good anyways.
I agree the dhd is the best phone i've owned, but like i said it just takes a while to get used to screen coming from amoled
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
wht bout the audio quality of dhd ,specially from loud speakers
jeet1988 said:
wht bout the audio quality of dhd ,specially from loud speakers
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I've got a SGS for about 5 months now i switched to DHD. Audio quality is ok but not as good as SGS. Other wise i love it so much as its all leg free with specially with Android Revolution HD rom. I found SLCD does show natural colours then SAMOLED when watching videos. Dolby Mobile sounds great when listening music through headset.
Go for it..
I got the DHD for 3 Days now and its ... omg i cant explain!
the best thing is, i am an android user since G1, and even better , i CAME from G1 ! i was like OMFG *mouth open*
nothing to complain but one thing: after using apps like "Talking Tom the Cat" and same stuff (gf's daughter loves it!) it starts FC such games. it loads the game, i see like 2 seconds of the animated "avatar" than it crashes. a restart fixed it. but after some starts of 2 or 3 other games like that, it happend again.
BUT ONLY with such games!
other games like dungeon defender, nova, exzeus aso run like hell and keep my mouth open!
i was like the little girl in Despicable Me when gettin the fluffy unicorn "ITS SO FLUFFYY!!" but i was like "ITS SO DAMN AWESOME!!"
sry, i am 27 but exited like a 5 year old on christmas
The DHD is far superior. Bigger screen, better build quality (bye bye cheap plastic, hello unibody aluminium), and faster hardware (latest Snapdragon and 768MB RAM vs. outdated Hummingbird and 512MB RAM).
letom said:
I think the S AMOLED screen is great but it's not as sharp. My DHD is sharper than my friends Galaxy S and it is noticable if you stare at both screens. Also after using the DHD the AMOLED seems to have a tint of purple not to mention it's whites never really look white. But boy are the blacks black, I cried a little when I compared. But the thing is the black on the DHD are good anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed exactly the same thing with my friends SGS.
The colors are all tinted blue/purple, but the blacks are wonderful.
SGS also has better digitizer (I read somewhere that is runs at 60hz whereas HTC runs at 50hz and iphone at 100hz, cant remember the source though), but you notice how things move better with your finger on the SGS, just slightly.
On the other hand, I notice random lags all the time on my friends SGS.
It's not an easy choice.
im using DHD now and its an awesome phone, the best that ive ever had.
I was coming from a HTC Magic upgrade, thus the difference is very significant.
However, if i owned a SGS, i wouldnt hv upgraded to a DHD to be honest. There will be a slightly better performance from the DHD compared to the SGS, but its not big enough to justify an upgrade IMO.
I wouldve waited next year, and see how those tegra 2 phones performs, and upgrade to one of them.

Might get the DHD (Inspire), Some questions.

I have some questions for you dhd owners as they are basiclly the same phone, please be honest.
1.how is the screen quality? With super Amoleds and iphone and atrix's high res screens how does the super LCD hold up? Does it look good in person? Text look good? Is it much better looking then say a 3GS? Very important to me, I want a good screen as I went from the Captivate to the 3G3 (my Captivate broke) and it was a huge downgrade imo.
2.Does the LED light do blue, red, yellow as well or just green and orange?
3.How is the camera quality? Wasnt impressed with the N1's camera and I here the desires was bad as well, this good?
4.How is the phone in person? Build quality? Does it feel REALLY big?
5.Will they get 2.3 officially? Beyond? And will it be supported a lot by xda devs in the future?
6.Music quality is very important to me, is the audio loud and good through headphones?
7.is the phone call quality loud and clear, another problem I had with my N1 and I eventually had to get rid of it because the call quality was too low.
8.Battery, be honest. How is it?
9.And finally how happy are you with your DHD and would you reccomend it to someone at this point in time?
Thanks in advance!
solidkevin said:
I have some questions for you dhd owners as they are basiclly the same phone, please be honest.
1.how is the screen quality? With super Amoleds and iphone and atrix's high res screens how does the super LCD hold up? Does it look good in person? Text look good? Is it much better looking then say a 3GS? Very important to me, I want a good screen as I went from the Captivate to the 3G3 (my Captivate broke) and it was a huge downgrade imo.
2.Does the LED light do blue, red, yellow as well or just green and orange?
3.How is the camera quality? Wasnt impressed with the N1's camera and I here the desires was bad as well, this good?
4.How is the phone in person? Build quality? Does it feel REALLY big?
5.Will they get 2.3 officially? Beyond? And will it be supported a lot by xda devs in the future?
6.Music quality is very important to me, is the audio loud and good through headphones?
7.is the phone call quality loud and clear, another problem I had with my N1 and I eventually had to get rid of it because the call quality was too low.
8.Battery, be honest. How is it?
9.And finally how happy are you with your DHD and would you reccomend it to someone at this point in time?
Thanks in advance!
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1. The screen quality is very good. (S)AMOLED vs (S)LCD is a thing that is really down to personal preference. I find LCDs better than AMOLEDs because the colors look more realistic. IMO the only thing AMOLEDs are better is the true black. Viewing angles in AMOLEDs are useless. You never look at your phone at that angle. Compared to iPhone 3G screen the DHD is mindblowing (I think 3GS has the same screen as 3G). Even compared to iPhone 4 the DHD holds its ground. Pixel density is lower but the big screen experience makes up for that.
2. Although the LED is tri-color and theoreticaly it can produce any color, AFAIK there is no way to make it flash other than green or amber for now.
3. Camera quality is good, minding it's a HTC's phone. You can check the camera guide in the sticky thread, there are ways you can improve the camera performance and some actual pictures taken with the DHD.
4. Build quality is amaising. It's my first phone with alluminum body and it makes a difference. Some users reported SIM and/or battery cover misalignment, but I have nothing of the sort. Also on mine DHD the camera is slightly misaligned with the body, but it doesn't interfere with its performance. Actualy I had the same issue with my second Touch HD, while the first one I had was perfect. Anyway that doesn't make photos blurry or anything.
The DHD might seem big, but in a few days you'll realise that it's just that all the other phones are small . I got used to it pretty fast. The fact that most of the area is used by the screen makes it's size reasonable. There is no feeling of a waste of space like on the iPhone.
5. I suppose the DHD will get 2.3 from HTC. Not so sure for anything else, but I'm willing to bet this great forum will not leave the DHD behind
6. The stock headphones are crap. With some quality headphones you can get great sound. Also SRS and Dolby make a difference.
7. Again there are user that complain about low in-call volume. I had no such issues, but it seems that if the headspeaker is not aligned with your ear the volume drops significantly.
8. Battery is good enough. With moderate to heavy use it easily lasts a day. At first it seems bad, because a/ it's still not conditioned and b/ you play with your new phone way too much. Once the excitement about your new toy has passed and the battery has few cycles behind it's back things improve. Charging every night is a must though. I could go through two days only with minimum usage.
9. Being my first Android I'm very excited about the DHD. I bought mine in late October and since then I had no reasons to be sorry about my purchase.
Anyway, if you have the chance to try the phone in person, I suggest you do it. Everyone demands different things from his/her phone and it's always best to see how you feel with the phone.
Thank you very much, main thing I was worried about was the Screen Quality, I mean it not being Amoled or anything and being so big, but thanks again.
solidkevin said:
Thank you very much, main thing I was worried about was the Screen Quality, I mean it not being Amoled or anything and being so big, but thanks again.
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In that case I really think you should try it in a shop and decide for yourself. These are things that can most easily be checked with a live unit. Camera, volume, sound quality require more tweaking and time to evaluate, but screen and size are the two most noticable things in the phone
Yup on the 13th I will go to ATT and check out the inspire, I am kinda worried about the battery life but then again it cant be as bad as the 3GS im using...
solidkevin said:
Thank you very much, main thing I was worried about was the Screen Quality, I mean it not being Amoled or anything and being so big, but thanks again.
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Big and more portable then a tablet or Dell streak 5"
The screen is more natural then the s-amoled screens. No hard non-natural colors bumping in to your eyes.
tkolev said:
1. The screen quality is very good. (S)AMOLED vs (S)LCD is a thing that is really down to personal preference. I find LCDs better than AMOLEDs because the colors look more realistic. IMO the only thing AMOLEDs are better is the true black. Viewing angles in AMOLEDs are useless. You never look at your phone at that angle. Compared to iPhone 3G screen the DHD is mindblowing (I think 3GS has the same screen as 3G). Even compared to iPhone 4 the DHD holds its ground. Pixel density is lower but the big screen experience makes up for that.
2. Although the LED is tri-color and theoreticaly it can produce any color, AFAIK there is no way to make it flash other than green or amber for now.
3. Camera quality is good, minding it's a HTC's phone. You can check the camera guide in the sticky thread, there are ways you can improve the camera performance and some actual pictures taken with the DHD.
4. Build quality is amaising. It's my first phone with alluminum body and it makes a difference. Some users reported SIM and/or battery cover misalignment, but I have nothing of the sort. Also on mine DHD the camera is slightly misaligned with the body, but it doesn't interfere with its performance. Actualy I had the same issue with my second Touch HD, while the first one I had was perfect. Anyway that doesn't make photos blurry or anything.
The DHD might seem big, but in a few days you'll realise that it's just that all the other phones are small . I got used to it pretty fast. The fact that most of the area is used by the screen makes it's size reasonable. There is no feeling of a waste of space like on the iPhone.
5. I suppose the DHD will get 2.3 from HTC. Not so sure for anything else, but I'm willing to bet this great forum will not leave the DHD behind
6. The stock headphones are crap. With some quality headphones you can get great sound. Also SRS and Dolby make a difference.
7. Again there are user that complain about low in-call volume. I had no such issues, but it seems that if the headspeaker is not aligned with your ear the volume drops significantly.
8. Battery is good enough. With moderate to heavy use it easily lasts a day. At first it seems bad, because a/ it's still not conditioned and b/ you play with your new phone way too much. Once the excitement about your new toy has passed and the battery has few cycles behind it's back things improve. Charging every night is a must though. I could go through two days only with minimum usage.
9. Being my first Android I'm very excited about the DHD. I bought mine in late October and since then I had no reasons to be sorry about my purchase.
Anyway, if you have the chance to try the phone in person, I suggest you do it. Everyone demands different things from his/her phone and it's always best to see how you feel with the phone.
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+1 to this.
About audio volume, generally, I dont have any problems but playing YouTube video's useually nets me very low/weak volume. I have no idea why but everything else plays loud. It might be an app issue, methinks.
The only thing that really sucks is the mic.
1. Screen quality is great. Text is clear, images look wonderful, video is more than watchable on a screen this size (all depending on the source, of course).
2. I've only ever seen green and orange, but I've never needed any other colour.
3. It's an HTC phone; The camera is an afterthought, really. Autofocus performs well, images are typical for a camera phone really. For a quick snap at a party it's great, if you want photos to remember take a digital compact with you.
4. I found the phone very big to begin with, but got used to it very quickly. A lot of reviewers said it was too big to use one handed, but that's all I ever do now. I have big hands and can reach the screen with minimal adjustment. If you have smaller hands, you may have more of an issue. FWIW, typing even in portrait mode with both thumbs is easy on a screen this size.
5. No idea about Gingerbread officially, but I wouldn't be surprised if we got 3.0 on it too. Should be able to run the improved UI as the DHD has a dedicated graphics chip and capable CPU.
6. I sold my iPod. Enough said.
7. Like many people, I find that you need the phone placed very exactly over your ear to get good volume out of it. I also find that unless the phone is pressed against my cheek, the person on the other end has trouble hearing me. Not a big deal, just needed to adjust how I hold my phone.
8. I'd like more battery life, obviously, but I get a day out of it with moderate use, a weekend with light use.
9. I would absolutely recommend the DHD to anyone who wanted an android phone with a large screen, capable software and hardware, and the money to afford one. I almost sold it to get a Motorola Defy, but I'm glad I didn't.
4.How is the phone in person? Build quality? Does it feel REALLY big?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my Oppinion the size is not too big. But if you take the DHD than take another Phone, the other one will fell REALLY small!
matzestinks said:
The only thing that really sucks is the mic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying to recommend a AT&T phone for my mom, and I am thinking Inspire or atrix. I was leaning toward inspire because it will be available sooner, has a bigger screen, and a higher Megepixel camera. (plus I like my friends EVO)
I know that everybody likes to defend their phone, it is only natural,but please provide some cold hard feedback. There seems to be a lot of not so minor issues with this phone.
problems seem to be mounting from the feedback online:
1. Battery life is bad. every other 4"+ smartphone has a 1500 mah battery, and still have battery problems, so why make it even worse with a 1230 mah?
2. I am hearing the camera sucks. That is just the opposite of my Vibrant I find the pictures and video are incredibly good, and everyone always asks "did you really take that with your phone?" I figured an 8mp camera should be even better than the 5mp on my samsung, am I wrong about that?
3 The Mic sucks? what does this mean? Do people conplain about sound quality on phonecalls?
Dont get me wrong I love HTC build quality as I have had their phones before, but I dont want to buy a phone that I already know has some not so small problems. I also dont want my mom to have to tweak the heck out of the phone to make the battery last a day, or turn the screen down to where she can barely see it, or turn off 3g for goodness sake.
Are the problems popping up on the forums overblown? should I pick up an inspire, or should we wait for the Atrix?
My 2 cents
I'm a HTC die hard but I've had more issues with the DHD than any other devices before it.
A few (key) issues...
- Random reboots. Happened today during a call when an appointment alarm sounded off. Sometimes it just reboots when idle..
- Screen freeze - sometimes the device will not reach on touch input. Wait it out or reboot...
- Lag problem. The unofficial "USB fix" with reduced lags significantly, but not 100% on my device
- Bluetooth is slow to connect and sometimes only connects with HS profile (no A2DP). Half the times it's okay though. Also, A2DP disconnects randomly.
- Integration with Google navi removed in FW 1.72. But even with FW 1.32 there were problems - ex. Google Navi failing to lookup adress' searched from car panel.
This being a flagship device I expected a lot more. I still like HTC devices but I honestly cannot recommend the DHD to anyone.
HoundDK said:
I'm a HTC die hard but I've had more issues with the DHD than any other devices before it.
A few (key) issues...
- Random reboots. Happened today during a call when an appointment alarm sounded off. Sometimes it just reboots when idle..
- Screen freeze - sometimes the device will not reach on touch input. Wait it out or reboot...
- Lag problem. The unofficial "USB fix" with reduced lags significantly, but not 100% on my device
- Bluetooth is slow to connect and sometimes only connects with HS profile (no A2DP). Half the times it's okay though. Also, A2DP disconnects randomly.
- Integration with Google navi removed in FW 1.72. But even with FW 1.32 there were problems - ex. Google Navi failing to lookup adress' searched from car panel.
This being a flagship device I expected a lot more. I still like HTC devices but I honestly cannot recommend the DHD to anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is something seriously wrong with your phone. For more than 3 months now, I didn't experienced a single random reboot, the only delay I have in touch input is when the phone is installing something and I think that's normal, the only lag issue I had experienced was back in the days when we had no permroot and I had the old version of Visionary (even without temprooting the device). The lag was gone as soon as I deinstalled Visionary, but I turned on USB debugging just in case. I only use BT to connect to my handsfree while driving and when transfering files to/from my laptop and had no problems with that. Don't know about Google navigation because it's not available in Bulgaria, the only flaw in the preinstalled navi app IMO is that it has no landscape mode.
Anyway check what you have installed on your phone and if you have overclocked, reduce the max freq, because the reboots you experience are deffinately not normal nor common.
No problems at all
HoundDK said:
I'm a HTC die hard but I've had more issues with the DHD than any other devices before it.
A few (key) issues...
- Random reboots. Happened today during a call when an appointment alarm sounded off. Sometimes it just reboots when idle..
- Screen freeze - sometimes the device will not reach on touch input. Wait it out or reboot...
- Lag problem. The unofficial "USB fix" with reduced lags significantly, but not 100% on my device
- Bluetooth is slow to connect and sometimes only connects with HS profile (no A2DP). Half the times it's okay though. Also, A2DP disconnects randomly.
- Integration with Google navi removed in FW 1.72. But even with FW 1.32 there were problems - ex. Google Navi failing to lookup adress' searched from car panel.
This being a flagship device I expected a lot more. I still like HTC devices but I honestly cannot recommend the DHD to anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well mate you should go to a service center whit your DHD a friend of mine has simular problems and in the first serie s of the DHD is a lot that gives problems he went back whit it and they give him a new one
Regards
HoundDK said:
I'm a HTC die hard but I've had more issues with the DHD than any other devices before it.
A few (key) issues...
- Random reboots. Happened today during a call when an appointment alarm sounded off. Sometimes it just reboots when idle..
- Screen freeze - sometimes the device will not reach on touch input. Wait it out or reboot...
- Lag problem. The unofficial "USB fix" with reduced lags significantly, but not 100% on my device
- Bluetooth is slow to connect and sometimes only connects with HS profile (no A2DP). Half the times it's okay though. Also, A2DP disconnects randomly.
- Integration with Google navi removed in FW 1.72. But even with FW 1.32 there were problems - ex. Google Navi failing to lookup adress' searched from car panel.
This being a flagship device I expected a lot more. I still like HTC devices but I honestly cannot recommend the DHD to anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do have a faulty phone i believe because i do not have does issues..
As for call phone volume i m on the stock rom and i don't have that kind of issues, weird maybe i put right in the first place i don't know.
1. Screen is fab. My original desire amoled screen wasn't as sharp as dhd and I love it.
2. Size well at first I thought it will be to big but after few days i've got use to it and now holding anything smaller feels weird
3. Build quality well. No problems here really. My SIM cover has maybe 1mm gap but I use barely there protection case and don't pay attention to it.
Aluminium body is great but due to the phone being so thin quite often it slips of my hand but with protective case it makes it slightly thicker and it's just right now...
4. Battery is ok I can easily get day use and it's actually better than original desire
5. Camera well I'm not a photographer but photos look very good to me and I love sense photo enhance feature
6. Sound quality well ring tone could be Lauder and i've not been using my phone as mp3 player.
Voice quality is ok imo
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Thanks for the info mattskeet sounds like a satisfied customer to me!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Just buy your mom an iPhone
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
crankdelly said:
Just buy your mom an iPhone
There's no need to be vulgar.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
What I dont like about the DHD?
1. The battery cover. That thing is damn hard to open.
2. That excess sealing thing at the right side of the LCD.
3. Volume rocker. Its a little to flush and difficult to use.

Upgraded from Desire HD to Galaxy S2

Well guys,
I thought I will take some time to express my feelings over my upgrade from DHD to SGS2. From a normal users perspective not taking into account, the numerous numbers and values
The first thing I felt was the lightness of Galaxy S2. Really light. And very thin too!! But the downside is that the build quality and finishing is nowhere near HTC. The USB jack, earphone jack are all poorly finished. The worst thing is the shiny lining around the screen which is supposed to look like metal. The finishing of the lining is pathetic for a top end phone, it is saddening to see how unevenly light is getting reflected from this surface.The back panel is not as poorly finished as some reviews might tell. It is the most well finished part in the body of the phone I think. Handsfree is bad compared to the one HTC offers, but HTC's wires did have the tendancy to get tangled up very easily.Similary all accesories are inferior compared to DHDs ones.
But ofcourse the lightness is a welcome factor. And most of us will be putting a cover anyway. So poor finishing can be ignored to some extent.
Now coming to the part where the users look almost 90% of the time, the display. It is too good compared to DHD, and this was my primary reason for ditching the DHD.Although AMOLED of SGS2 is the best at present, it too has its flaws. The black crush -The display struggles to distinguish between various black tones, say deep black and shadow black. And color banding is quite evident in the new AMOLED compared to the LCD. But altogether I am amazed with the display. Watching movies is real fun, but some wallpapers do ask for more resolution.
Coming to the UI, I do not miss sense much. Maybe it is due to the fact that sense always reminds me of DHDs dull screen. Whatever the Touch Wiz UI lacks, the display fills up the space... Not literally, but I dont mind staring a few more seconds to the wonderful display. I would say S2 provides a more close to andriod experience. And touch wiz is more colorfull too, with blacks, yellows, greens thrown all around.
Camera is better from DHD. DHD used to produce slightly blurred images, which I think is due to the low shutter speed. No such problems with SGS2.
The most irritating thing is the lag in some important functions. Home screen has some lag to appear after I press the home button. It is due to the software which waits to confirm whether the user has double clicked it or not!!! Stupid!!
The display takes some time to appear after the call is over, this is due to the bad proximity sensor configuration it seems. Again is said to be a software configuration issue.
Another bad thing is the low output of handsfree in a call. Very bad Samsung...
Verdict????
Superb phone!
1. The brilliant display which always remind you that you are looking at the worlds best.
2. Snappier performance.
3. Light weight
4. Good camera
5. Sense is good, but TouchWiz + AMOLED is a Sense killer
Nice to see you're enjoying your new phone, albeit with a few issues
Ordered mine from play.com 2 days ago, so expecting it today/tomorrow
what do u mean by low output of handsfree
See, this is a balanced review/opinion. I agree with most of the points - the GS II is a great phone, not perfect, but pretty damn close.
Hopefully some of the problems like home response time, end of call lag, handsfree volume level and battery life will be ironed out in future firmware releases.
It is possible to adjust headset volume through service menu:
http://answers.pubarticles.com/4766,in-call-volume-low-with-headphones-on-samsung-galaxy-s2-.html
My compliments. I believe the only impartial review ever find onto our phone. I agree with you about everything there are pros and cons and you evaluated them correctly
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Hey,
I'm using the DHD since about 3 months now. Actually got some issues that people tried to call me but got no calls on good connection xD(think it's a provider issue). My cousin has ordered the GS2 last week and is still waiting. I will have a look if this thing will be an opinion . btw I don't like samsung very much at this time, because I had some bad experiences in the past. But how you can say that touchwiz+amoled is a sense killer? The GS2 got a nice display, but I think you can't compare sense with touchwiz AND amoled. So without looking at the nice amoled...what would you say is the better UI? Sense or touchwiz? At the moment I'm using sense 3 on my DHD and I'm really happy, because it's the best UI i've ever used befor.
Imho sense 1.0 still beats touchwiz 4.0 let alone sense 3.0 but touchwiz is't bad, it's just that sense is so much better. I think samsung really want to become the world's leading smartphone. Manufacturer and have really been trying to become much more reliable, updates are frequent and relatively soon after the Google release.
tjtj4444 said:
It is possible to adjust headset volume through service menu:
http://answers.pubarticles.com/4766,in-call-volume-low-with-headphones-on-samsung-galaxy-s2-.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an appliction "Volume+ " which does the same . I am using it and it
works fine.
It is on the site but I don"t remember where
Daniel
Low handsfree voice
qwerty warrior said:
what do u mean by low output of handsfree
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The handsfree speaker output is low during a call, and the microphone wont pick up the sound properly unless it is held very close to the mouth.. Really irritating.
But the handfree volume is great when using the music player. So some issues with software i guess
tjtj4444 said:
It is possible to adjust headset volume through service menu:
http://answers.pubarticles.com/4766,in-call-volume-low-with-headphones-on-samsung-galaxy-s2-.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found this out when i did a bit of searching, but common, this is a basic functionality and they should have tested this out before launching the product
All the defects I have found so far are simple ones to find out, or if the tester had a common sense, and thats what is annoying me.
Using a silicone case wouldnt help for a better finish?
Anyone I saw some comparison videos between SGS1 and 2 and the new ''mat'' plastic looks way better than the glossy one.
I am just afraid of easy scratches on the plastic like Omnia HD
ike2903 said:
Hey,
But how you can say that touchwiz+amoled is a sense killer? The GS2 got a nice display, but I think you can't compare sense with touchwiz AND amoled. So without looking at the nice amoled...what would you say is the better UI? Sense or touchwiz? At the moment I'm using sense 3 on my DHD and I'm really happy, because it's the best UI i've ever used befor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without looking at the amoled, sense is better than Touchwiz 4.0 by a significant margin. But coming from the DHD, I am wowed by the amoled every time I switch the display on. I assure you, that you will feel the same when you compare both the displays. No need to doubt about that.
But sense has its draw backs. You might have noticed that all the designs and themes are now going towards the 2D side from the 3D side.. Like in gingerbread(evident in icon sets), windows phone 7 etc..... Sense still seems to be stuck with the 3D style with the various bars and other things still trying to imitate the 3D curved effect with various tones of black. It is completely a personal preference I admit. Then there is the app drawer of sense, which pretty much sucks without the ability to customize the order of icons, no folders etc.... One day i find the facebook icon in the second page, the next day after installing a few programs the icon is in 3rd page.. Very irritating for me.
Mail client is bad, which will not let you forward attachments unless you download the file on to your device!! Pretty inferior to gmail app.
Sense 3 lockscreen looks cool but no added functionality for me.. I like things simple, or in the long run i feel it to be a little overwhelming.
Where sense scores is the fantastic people application with real social network integration, perfect widgets... And the dedicated dialler. SGS2 does not have a dedicated dialer. Say i opened the dialer and then went to contacts which is a tab next to dialer. The next time i want to dial and when i press the dialer icon, the contacts shows up. Sense dialer searches the call log first and then the contacts. This gives contacts very quickly. Atleast my girlfriends number will come up as soon as I press two letters No such things for touchwiz dialer. Old way of searching contacts still continues.
Touchwiz keyboard uses auto correction when I search contacts. So if I search for baj, it would correct it to bag and shows contacts with bag..Dumb!!

General thoughts so far....

For those of you that now have this phone, what are your thoughts? I'm liking this phone more and more but do I need it, well, not really. I'm perfectly happy with my Nexus 4 running PA but there's something about this that has me wanting it. I think part of it is the fact that it's kind of the underdog. It will be exciting to see what the dev's come up with, ROM wise. Anyway, my brain is just spinning as usual, haha.
davela72 said:
For those of you that now have this phone, what are your thoughts? I'm liking this phone more and more but do I need it, well, not really. I'm perfectly happy with my Nexus 4 running PA but there's something about this that has me wanting it. I think part of it is the fact that it's kind of the underdog. It will be exciting to see what the dev's come up with, ROM wise. Anyway, my brain is just spinning as usual, haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm coming from a sony X10 but the oppo find 5 is working good, I had no dead pixels everything worked out of the box.
I have some problems with contact syncing and gmail updates. Photographs are beautiful, but HDR is not really good on dark spots. (lots of noise because of ISO value's)
I did not wanted the nexus 4 because of the glass back. But I think I would also be happy with the nexus 4. But it is overpriced in the Netherlands, my oppo is cheaper then the nexus 4.
It is super fast compared to my X10. No idea how fast the nexus 4 is.
I think you can better donate some money to charity instead of buying yet another high-end phone
nice
previous phone: HTC Sensation
+ Display: WOW! youtube trailer in HD and people start peeping their eyes out!
+ Sound: I never heard a phone playing it sounds like this
+ Speed: I changed the default (ugly) launcher to APEX, this give's the phone a better feel
+ Camera: Although my previous phone was already 2 year old hence i cannot compare it to recent in-phone-camera's it looks great
+ Desgin: It is sharp but not too sharp edged, it's light and thin. the phone is big in size but because its slim dimensions you will not notice it in your jeans (unless you wear skinny jeans i guess, but who does that )
- Temperature when under load, i feel the device is getting pretty warm, your hands start being sweatty.
- Stock UI
Display
Simply Amazing. Bright & Crisp.
However, the screen responsiveness to your touch isn't very good. I find myself having to tap many things twice or three times to get it registered.​Battery
Terrible. It seems to be draining even while sleeping.
My usual morning routine, I unplugged the phone from the charger. It's charged to 100% over night. I do a few light tasks like replying to text messages, flipping through Flipboard, see one 30 sec YouTube video, brightness setting at 50%.
After 20 minutes of usage, my battery gotten down from 100% to 78%.​Speaker
Nice and loud. Best, I have ever heard. But, when you lay it on its back, the speaker will be completely muffled.​Camera
Sucks. 13MP only in spirit. Colors are over saturated. And, the balance isn't there. Lots of graininess in images, even in ample light. Also, don't use the LED flash. Your pictures will be almost all blown white. Absolutely no setting like macro, scene mode, white balance, panaroma, etc.. Just point and shoot and hope for the best...and often times, it isn't.
My 8MP Nexus and 5MP iPad Mini can take picture and video much better.​Stock Launcher
The widgets are fugly. Period.​Build Quality
Strong like my unibody Macbook Pro. However, the power and volume rockers shifts around. The micro USB port is weak. I feel like I'm gonna break that port anytime soon.​Software
Random reboots at least twice or three times a day. No idea why. I feel like I'm using Windows 95 all over again. Oh, and Gmail doesn't open up. Yeah, seriously, Gmail DOES NOT work on this phone. I have to use the other mail app instead. Latest firmware & Gmail update.
Software is actually 4.1, not 4.2. Coming from Nexus 4, that was a let down. I miss the swype style keyboard on 4.2.​ROM
Currently, as of late March, no ROMs​Side Note
USB wall charger & headphones look EXACTLY like the ones for iPhones. Apple will be calling them soon, if not already.​
Conclusion
Beauty & the Beast.......okay, maybe just the Beauty and not much else.​
Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing. Hopefully a lot of these things can be fixed with future updates. What's the deal with the Gmail not working and is this something that OPPO is aware of?
I really am happy with the phone. Looks great and stands out in the crowd. Screen is fabulous. It's a new kid on the block, so there are a few things that are not quite there yet. But it seems Oppo are really working hard to make a proper go at this. So far weekly updates and regular fixes. I attached a simple benchmark to give you an idea of the spec. I'm sure there are better performers out there, but it seems to hold it's own!
It seems that my take is a lot different than other peoples on the board, or maybe I got really lucky and got the perfect unit, My Droid DNA is in my drawer and my Oppo Find 5 is sitting on my coffee table right now. All I have to say is wow I am really quite surprised with the device, and I have a Droid DNA now, and my previous device was HTC One X International Version. So I have saw some very nice displays lately, and the Oppo Find 5 is right up there with the best of them, it handles its own. The only fault was that I got my Oppo Find 5 with 1 stuck pixel, you don't even notice it only if you look for it when it’s on the black part while its booting up, once the screen comes on you can’t even see it.
+ Display is really NICE! 1 pixel stuck, on par with Droid DNA SLCD3 and just as bright so you don't have to turn it up that far and waste battery.
+ Build Quality I can’t say enough about this, this thing feels like I could Drop it off the roof and it would last.
+ The All black front display looks so good just as nice or better than the One X, and it has that nice curve in the glass that makes it nice to use.
+ I haven't tried the stock ear buds, but with my Sony ear buds, this thing sounds great, no distortion at all, with bass high, all amps sound good.
+ The stock speaker is also a pleasant surprise, it sounds really good at high volume levels also, when set right, no distortion and it gets loud
+ I stuck with the default launcher to give it a try and it is pretty smooth, has a really nice settings layout. I may switch, it reminds me of MIUI
+ The camera is just as good as my HTC DNA, I don't remember which review said it was about like about like an 8MP LG, It shots fine pictures.
+ The white matte finish does not leave any fingerprints and the screen must have that stuff to keep fingerprints off it also, it barley gets fingerprints
+ I have ran plenty of benchmarks and my unit did not get hot at all as someone said, maybe I wasn't holding it where it was getting hot at on their device?
+ The complete design is what really shines on this phone on the outside, it looks so sleek, and I have already caught people glancing and looking at it, and I have only owned it for one day, if that says anything at all?
+ or - Don't know enough about battery life yet but so far mine seems to be holding up better today, now that it is on its second charge, With a full HD Display you have got to know how to manage your battery, turn things off that you are not using at the time, it worked on my One X and that thing was a nightmare. On my One X I also disabled all my apps that I didn't ever use. At least until we get Roms that will take out all the bloat junk. Today my battery is doing really well almost 2 hours screen time and 76% left.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- I would have to say that the launcher would have been better stock, but I like trying new things out. I really hope Paranoid Android comes to this phone that will be my rom of choice. I already know CM and MIUI are coming soon.
-- The Ugly widgets, Oppo have so many better widgets on their other phones (Oppo Finder, Oppo Way, Oppo 3?) all those widgets look better IMO. I wish I could replace them somehow by switching APKs; maybe someone knows how and could let me know?
-- Contrast I like the over saturated look we have a developer that is working on a kernel or app to set your display just how you like it, at least I think so anyway?- hopefully we can get this fixed soon I know it’s being worked on by paperweistage and his kernel hopefully he gets it figures out, but if you want to help he is looking for some help in his kernel thread, He is looking for JDI Display white-sheets. So help out if you can
And support our developer, that’s how we eventually get more custom Kernel Roms and Apps. Donate to them a couple dollars for a cold one or a coffee.
-- or + It is a little bit on the heavy side but look how it’s made! Some could call this a negative but I left it neutral because it is well balanced and with a full metal frame inside around it, I don't really mind it weighing 20 extra grams, at least hopefully my phone won’t shatter into a thousand pieces if it falls on the ground.
Add more later after I use it awhile longer.
Stock Find 5 Score
[/IMG]
BELOW MY DROID DNA with a custom kernel, once we get a custom kernel for the Find 5, I think it will do better than the DNA I couldn't get the scores I'm getting with the Find 5 with my DNA when it was stock maybe 18900 or 19500.
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
drvsbsm, awesome review! I was checking the OPPO forums earlier and was really getting mixed thoughts on the phone. I know this phone is new and things are just getting started and I think that is some of what's driving me to it. I remember when the Nokia N9 came out with it's Hartmann/Meego OS, I fell in love with that thing and it was pretty much a dead platform when released. It looks like OPPO is keeping up with bug fixes and putting out updates so that's a good sign. Most of all though, I think the thing is SEXY, a beautiful device.
I'm guessing the vendor on Amazon is the place to get it from, the one located in HK?
Thanks again guys!
Very , very good rewiew !
knite75 said:
Display
Simply Amazing​Battery
Terrible. It seems to be draining even while sleeping​Speaker
Nice and loud.​Camera
Sucks. My 8MP Nexus and 5MP iPad Mini can take picture and video much better. Absolutely no setting like scene mode, white balance, panaroma, etc in stock camera app​Stock Launcher
The widgets are fugly. Period.​Build Quality
Strong like my unibody Macbook Pro. However, the power and volume rockers shifts around. The micro USB port is weak. I feel like I'm gonna break that port anytime soon.​Software
Random reboots at least twice or three times a day. No idea why. I feel like I'm using Windows 95 all over again. Oh, and Gmail doesn't open up. Yeah, seriously, Gmail DOES NOT work on this phone. I have to use the other mail app instead.​ROM
Currently, as of late March, no ROMs​Side Note
USB wall charger & headphones look EXACTLY like the ones for iPhones. Apple will be calling them soon, if not already.​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1...... The good think is that the almost everything can be repaired (soft related )
Video camera isn't that very good.
Video is okay if the subject stands still. However, when subject runs or any fast moments, then video gets blurry or ghosting.
For example, here's a video of my daughter at her Taekwondo practice. Notice how she gets blurry when she starts running?
http://youtu.be/ln_2YvN6f78
knite75 said:
Video camera isn't that very good.
Video is okay if the subject stands still. However, when subject runs or any fast moments, then video gets blurry or ghosting.
For example, here's a video of my daughter at her Taekwondo practice. Notice how she gets blurry when she starts running?
http://youtu.be/ln_2YvN6f78
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully this will be addressed as OPPO is releasing an update within a few days for camera related issues.
I have a question about the screen durability. I read somewhere, maybe GSMArena, that the screen rippled very easily and was a bit flexible. That sounds very concerning. I've also heard a few things about poor touchscreen response. This may also be hardware only problem that can't be fixed with any updates.
A lot of these smaller phone makers can just buy off the shelf parts (figuratively) and bulid their own phone. They don't need to develop their own hardware components, just how everything fits together and the overall design. The camera is an Exmor RS from Sony, and the screen is probably a 1080p panel from Sharp. Of course the processor is Qualcomm.
The biggest problem these small relatively no name companies face is the software. It's the brains that makes the smartphone smart, and having a small and inexperienced team, especially while trying to make your own skin, can lead to many shortcomings, from bugs to performance issues to compatibility to poor hardware utilization and battery life. A lot of this stuff even the big boys have trouble with and they have far bigger teams with far more experience. Oppo should go the route that BLU is taking in the future. BLU has a really horrible skin, allegedly, and unstable and buggy phones, but they are supposedly putting stock Android on their new Life series line of phones.
From what I've gathered, the screen is made by JDI?
katamari201 said:
I have a question about the screen durability. I read somewhere, maybe GSMArena, that the screen rippled very easily and was a bit flexible. That sounds very concerning. I've also heard a few things about poor touchscreen response. This may also be hardware only problem that can't be fixed with any updates.
A lot of these smaller phone makers can just buy off the shelf parts (figuratively) and bulid their own phone. They don't need to develop their own hardware components, just how everything fits together and the overall design. The camera is an Exmor RS from Sony, and the screen is probably a 1080p panel from Sharp. Of course the processor is Qualcomm.
The biggest problem these small relatively no name companies face is the software. It's the brains that makes the smartphone smart, and having a small and inexperienced team, especially while trying to make your own skin, can lead to many shortcomings, from bugs to performance issues to compatibility to poor hardware utilization and battery life. A lot of this stuff even the big boys have trouble with and they have far bigger teams with far more experience. Oppo should go the route that BLU is taking in the future. BLU has a really horrible skin, allegedly, and unstable and buggy phones, but they are supposedly putting stock Android on their new Life series line of phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen is from JDI. seems pretty sturdy to me. They seem to be keeping on top of things. But they have a very good reputation in the high end Av community. It's also not their 1st phone. Just their first soiree in the international market.
I have had my Find 5 for more than a week now sans screen protector. Unfortunately, there are lots of micro scratches already. And, I'm very conscious about where I put and use my phone.
Same practice, my Nexus 4 fair much better even after six months of usage.
All in all, have screen protector or don't have too long of finger nails.
katamari201 said:
I have a question about the screen durability. I read somewhere, maybe GSMArena, that the screen rippled very easily and was a bit flexible. That sounds very concerning. I've also heard a few things about poor touchscreen response. This may also be hardware only problem that can't be fixed with any updates.
A lot of these smaller phone makers can just buy off the shelf parts (figuratively) and bulid their own phone. They don't need to develop their own hardware components, just how everything fits together and the overall design. The camera is an Exmor RS from Sony, and the screen is probably a 1080p panel from Sharp. Of course the processor is Qualcomm.
The biggest problem these small relatively no name companies face is the software. It's the brains that makes the smartphone smart, and having a small and inexperienced team, especially while trying to make your own skin, can lead to many shortcomings, from bugs to performance issues to compatibility to poor hardware utilization and battery life. A lot of this stuff even the big boys have trouble with and they have far bigger teams with far more experience. Oppo should go the route that BLU is taking in the future. BLU has a really horrible skin, allegedly, and unstable and buggy phones, but they are supposedly putting stock Android on their new Life series line of phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
New firmware 328,it has camera fixes...
No marked improvement or fixes to camera with latest firmware.
Just new feature: panorama.
Oppo should focus on fixing all the basic camera problems, rather than, adding gimmick useless feature.
knite75 said:
No marked improvement or fixes to camera with latest firmware.
Just new feature: panorama.
Oppo should focus on fixing all the basic camera problems, rather than, adding gimmick useless feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow knite please get back to your iphone.
They tweaked a bit around with the iso settings. But not something really spectaculair.
At least they did something. Most companies will be like :"DEAL WITH IT!"
Haas8 said:
Wow knite please get back to your iphone.
They tweaked a bit around with the iso settings. But not something really spectaculair.
At least they did something. Most companies will be like :"DEAL WITH IT!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most company would release software when it's ready and in decent condition for general public consumption... Not beta....or alpha in this case.
Check the camera... Aside from poor image quality.... Do see any basic features like:
Macro
White Balance
Scene Mode
As a matter of fact, on Oppo forums, lots of threads and discussion on how poor the pictures and video are turning out... Oppo just ignore them...basically, saying "DEAL WITH IT!"
Instead, they spent their finite limited development resources in adding useless Panorama feature. When is the last time you took a panorama picture, aside from just wanting to see how it works?
I took a panorama earlier at dinner actually. I did the update out of the box and didn't know it added that so that's cool lol.
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Positive experience of Z1

So many negative threads about how the screen sucks, the camera sucks etc etc. Would be nice to hear from the people who actually like the Z1. Write down your experience with the phone. It doesn't have to be all rosy but hopefully it will give a little bit more nuance.
Sure.
Last Saturday I got my Z1, I've had a Gnex for a long time and my first impressions are very good. The device is amazingly fast, everything works as it should, multitasking is very good, all performance related things are nothing to complain about.
The screen 'dead-on' is also nice the viewing angles people are talking about is something I don't really see as a problem. I just held the phone in an angle and when the colours start to wash out it's an angle I would never use my phone at. Other than that the camera does have noise issues, although it's not too bad IMHO. (do bear in mind I come from the Gnex so pretty much every new device is a big upgrade) I don't think the noise issues aren't too bad though, as Sony can easily fix the noise issues with a software update. Speaking of updates, the Z1 already had 3 updates. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is up to you, but to me it sounds like it's well supported by Sony.
Battery... I feel mixed about it. It's better than my Gnex, but again, pretty much every device is. I did expect a lot more from a 3000 mAh battery though. I had about 23 hours of standby and roughly 4 hours of screen on time. That is with 3G on all the time, wifi on most of the time and applications like Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook running in the background. It's a weird thing though, the xperia ZR gets 11:30 (11 hours and 30 minutes) of browsing in the GSMarena test. While the Z1 gets about half of that. I have the feeling Sony has to do some software optimization, since they can pull it off. (note: the ZR battery is 2300 mAh) How long this will take, and if Sony will even do it, I have no idea. If the problem is related to Qualcomm it may take a long time though since they're not very keen on doing things in a different way. (look at the Nexus 7 2013 and binaries)
Overall I personally think the Xperia Z1 is an amazing device. It's super fast, the build quality is amazing and it feels really good.(get a case though!) There are things to improve on such as battery life and it depends on whether you trust Sony to fix these issues or not.
Positve
Got mine yesterday.
S/W: problems yet
Performance: Extremely quick 9/10
Screen Quality: 8/10 but too early to say if I'm just being jaded by all the moaning.
Camera seems pretty good to me, what a blessing a proper camera button makes.
Shame I can't upload samples of photos / videos etc. I will find a way if request. Anyone wanna buy a Galaxy 3? ho ho..
Oh one thing I don't like, is having to uncover the charger port to charge it up (i know its re waterproofing).
My options are :-
Cut the cover flap off or buy a magnetic charger unit £30.00 !!!!! (I probably will.)
So far pretty dam good phone.
Paul
I've had my XZ1 since Saturday 21st sept, and so far I love it, the camera is good but has issues like the grain and noise which prevent it from being a great one.
Love the sharpness and colours of the screen and it's resolution makes browsing the Web or forums so easy.
I've gotten used to the waterproof tabs after having my Xtz before I got the z1 but at least if you don't like having to keep opening the flap you can use a magnetic charger cable or dock.
That's all I can think of at lol
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screen is best... best contrast and color you can get... no yellow tint or extra blue. no issue at all..
screen performance not so good from an angle... but who use it like that... 98% i use head on... 2 % ready to sacrifice. for head on awesomeness..
battery is a ****. (Wifi and bluetooth on, may be due to this)
Auto mode of camera is a ****..
play around with ISO in manual mode to get best shot for each scenario...
sound from speaker is not so good... even headphone sound (wired) is not good...
performance... nothing can beat it... samsung s4 struggles before this beast..
i am still on 518 firmware and no software issue so far.. using wireless headphones...
jos_031 said:
screen is best... best contrast and color you can get... no yellow tint or extra blue. no issue at all..
screen performance not so good from an angle... but who use it like that... 98% i use head on... 2 % ready to sacrifice. for head on awesomeness..
battery is a ****. (Wifi and bluetooth on, may be due to this)
Auto mode of camera is a ****..
play around with ISO in manual mode to get best shot for each scenario...
sound from speaker is not so good... even headphone sound (wired) is not good...
performance... nothing can beat it... samsung s4 struggles before this beast..
i am still on 518 firmware and no software issue so far.. using wireless headphones...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me it's this above plus
Weird touch screen issues where it goes a bit bonkers when doing the pattern unlock.
Wow a positive thread about the Z1, do my eyes deceive me?
Seriously it's nice to see positive in all the threads of doom and gloom.
Nice
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My showers have become a lot less of a chore and more of a pleasure;
https://vine.co/v/hvY5MVFTLXd?fb_action_ids=10151847100714799
Just add 2 hooks with a little bit of sugru
So I got mine yesterday.
Hardware: I can't tell you how gorgeous this phone is if you haven't seen it yet, the blend of pure vanilla white with the aluminium frame is a spot on direct hit in my eyes. Under the hood HW is even better. The S800 chip seriously flies and it's been a long time but Android is now becoming just as fluid as iOS and WP and it's great to see that.
Software: I am a big fan of the Sony UI simply because it's easy and it looks pretty vanilla, I haven't installed a Homescreen in 2 years now ever since I got a Xperia S and I am not changing that now. There is some minor SW bugs where some dialouges just doesn't show up but I can still press them(if I know their real position)
Camera: The camera is a serious SW mess because I know and I see that Sony has a good camera HW-wise BUT their SW and esspecially Auto mode is seriously one complete mess. Other than the major problems with the noise the camera app is fluid and it's quite promosing to have some nice options like AR and the Livestream mode.
Sound: THe loudspeaker is decent and nothing you would cheer about but it's better than my old XS of course. The headphone jack for me is perfect and I hear absolutely no difference when playing the same song on my XS or my Z1
Screen: THe screen for me is supersharp, I can only see a little difference in sharpness between my XS and Z1 but that is expected but still it's a nice feature. The colours are almost accurate(I had to increase my blue level by +3 to +4), viewing angles aren't the best but they are clearly better than my XS besides head on is the way to go in my world.
Battery: Battery is a mixed bag; Standby is EXCELLENT hours can go and the phone is still on the same percentage. However and this is a big one the battery during Web browsing or other minor things is seriously underperforming. Clearly this is also something wrong with the SW because other Sony phones does not have the same problem.
I hope this gives a good view on the phone, clearly Sony needs to fix the battery and the Camera and for some swap out faulty screens. Other than that my money was well put!
I got my XZ1 on monday and I love it so far! Yeah the viewing angles aren't the best but who is gonna use their phone from those angles? The camera is good, yes it needs some improvements but it isn't unusable.
The waterproof tabs take some getting used to after coming from a Nexus 4 but my battery lasts me about a day and a half almost 2; so I don't have to undo the tab to often.
I like the speaker, it isn't as loud as the one on the Note 2 I had but it is WAY better than the Nexus 4. I really like the notification LED also, its in a really discrete location and its pretty visible; and paired with light manager it is really useful for me.
Wifi has also been good for me, at least compared to my old N4. The overall speed of the phone is awesome! This thing rips!
Coming from the Nexus 4 this was a SOLID upgrade for me. SD card slot, better camera, Snapdragon 800, better speakers (ear piece also), and its waterproof? I can't really complain on my end!
I think people are just being a little too picky. I mean come on the phone has only been out for almost a week now. What else can you expect? Sony has been releasing updates pretty frequently so hopefully everything will get better soon.
So i will do that short: Sony Xperia Z1 is just good. Not perfect. but good and defently better as my old Xperia S. (Whiches i aso not so bad if i compare to to other cellphone from this timewindow)
Mine is good so far, only got it for 2days will test camera etc some more
One thing I can say about the screen:
I went to local store and compared to ZU screen, both on full brightness and my Z1 screen definitely has better colors and details then Z1. I tried the Sony sample pics and compared those.
Better details is due to 5" vs 6.4" I guess. But colors are really better on Z1, also in video I noticed the same result
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Love the z1
Got the Z1 on pre-order, arrived the 17th.
- First thing i notice, phone is not bulky (in oposition to what reviewers say). Second thing, sony actually provides screen protect (Awsome)
- Phone turns on great and continues to perform great, Loving 4g and the speed and smoothness of the whole system.
- Screen contrast is not superb, lost in comparison to the s4, but during video streaming/playback, it performed amazingly as being hit directly by sunlight it was still very clear.
- Overall The phone is amazing, everyone says constantly i can't stop playing around with it (so true).
The only negative i have is battery life. Due to my constant use it drains very very quickly. But i think i'll be able to fix that.
B1nny said:
Sure.
Last Saturday I got my Z1, I've had a Gnex for a long time and my first impressions are very good. The device is amazingly fast, everything works as it should, multitasking is very good, all performance related things are nothing to complain about.
....
Overall I personally think the Xperia Z1 is an amazing device. It's super fast, the build quality is amazing and it feels really good.(get a case though!) There are things to improve on such as battery life and it depends on whether you trust Sony to fix these issues or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you're from the Netherlands. Could you confirm we are still on 14.1.G.1.518 firmware? It seems everyone who has been able to upgrade to 534 firmware has far better camera results, yet I cannot update to this new firmware, still stuck on the old one. I'd love to update the firmware to get better camera results but I do not want to root this phone. I'm on Vodafone RED 4G btw, dunno if it mathers.. Thanks.
bramgg said:
I see you're from the Netherlands. Could you confirm we are still on 14.1.G.1.518 firmware? It seems everyone who has been able to upgrade to 534 firmware has far better camera results, yet I cannot update to this new firmware, still stuck on the old one. I'd love to update the firmware to get better camera results but I do not want to root this phone. I'm on Vodafone RED 4G btw, dunno if it mathers.. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am. I can confirm I didn't get any updates on my unlocked Z1. I updated to 534 manually via flashtool though. (doesn't void warranty) I have no idea why we don't get the updates pushed to our phones.
thought i'd give my 2 cents here as i have been seeing a lot of negative comments, especially from people who judge way too quickly. Back when the Z came out i followed it madly and already had it on pre-order but i ended up getting a htc one. Ive had this phone for 2 days now and compared to my htc one it is a definite improvement. The only thing im getting used to is the size of the phone, i have small hands so you can imagine its not a 1 handed affair, but you cant fault the build quality, i love the fact that sony puts its own screen and back panel protector on (remember the x10). Call quality is amazing i have to say, loud and clear. performance is amazing, i can see the improvements in the chipset s800 has over s600 (was in my htc one), in real life you wont notice it too much but its defo there, games run amazing no lags and hits a very good fps (wild blood, real racing 3 in particular looks and plays amazingly). I've not really played with the camera much but its better than my htc one, that was the only thing i was disappointed with that phone. Now i have been constantly messing about with the phone so cant really give an accurate example of battery life, but what are you supposed to expect from a phone specc'd like this, yes it has a bigger capacity battery, it also has a big screen and a powerful cpu too, if i get a full days use out of it il be happy.
The Z1 is easily the best phone ever built. Its so nice to hold and use. Definitely my favourite phone to date and I have owned nearly all the previous flagship phones from most companies.
Absolutely blown away by this phone it's just amazing for me.
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Xperia Z1 music video
Hi,
I'm totally new to android and the Z1 is my first personal android phone. My expectations where so high coming from many years of All iPhones.
I don't want to start a flame but yes I think android is a little behind (in some aspects) to ios7 BUT this device is actually freaking awesome and looks to me the only one that can beat the iPhone quality.
- High quality. When you touch it you feel that your money are well spent.
- The camera (if we consider is a phone) Is just super good.
- The Sony rom doesn't make me sad as and in a hurry to grab a random 3th party rom
- Display is super good colors looks real and rich. Yes view angles are not awesome but only crazy people use the phone in that way. One thing that NO ONE MENTION is that any phone is close to the iPhone under the sun. Surprise surprise according to phone arena the Z1 is in 2 place. That's for me means A LOT more than insane view angles. The only difect so far is the black. The display show (only in some circumstances) one of the lightest black on the market. You'll may notice it watching a movie (a dark one) in a dark room.
- screen protector: isn't so fragile as many said but yes isn't olephobic
Am I satisfied? A lot!!!!
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