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Hi,
I'm buying a windows mobile based phone, and so far every one I've looked at has some kind of design flaw.
I've already bought and returned a HTC Touch Diamond, because it had a nasty orange cloudy patch on 1 part of the screen.
What I've found so far is:
Touch Diamond: Orange clouds on screens, and random phones with bad contrast.
Xperia X1: Phone housings just crack of their own accord, not due to abuse.
Touch Diamond 2: Allows dust to get between the screen and the touch panel. (This is especially bad for me as I work in a very dusty environment, so the phone would end up full of dust pretty fast.)
I really like the look of the Touch HD, and after searching so far I haven't found reports of any flaws.
So does the Touch HD have any of the above flaws, or any flaws at all?
Or if anyone can name any WM based phones that have specs similar to the above I'd appreciate it, preferably VGA resolution or above.
Thanks in advance.
Well early on there were a lot of people complaining the paint wore away from the metal casing very quickly, although this never happened to me. I don't think there are too many common problems or at least none that I've had myself.
the paint chipping happened to me also, especially around the mini usb connector and also around the stylus area. The edges of the screen are also starting....
Small detail, not very annoying, but hurts when you paid like 500 euro for the device.
have had it for just over a month, I think the raised metal section on the back cover seems to scratch fairly easily (a bit like the X1's back cover, actually) - I would advise putting InvisibleShield or something similar *specifically* on that section.
back cover is a *whee* bit loose from me pulling it open and closed to hard / soft reset the HD, but otherwise of issues.
Wish it had a lanyard hole, though.
Buttons don't light up... How can you see the buttons in the dark? There are little ways of reflecting the screen light, but you know what I mean, buttons that don't light up?!?!?
Smallest ever notification light is on the power button, how you see this when you just put the phone down next to you I have no idea! Bit pointless if you as me.
Back case is a bit 'loose', but thats after constantly taking it off to flash my phone. You could just pad the back with a sticky pad on the inside of the back cover anyway which would stop it from happening.
Haven't had the issue with scratching the 'bulge' around the camera lens, its brushed metal anyway so can't say you'd notice that much.
Other than that, the phone is mint... Get one...
Well for scratches on the metal casing i don't know cause i always look to put it on something soft when i use on the table or other rough surfaces.I watched a video on youtube which showed how hard is to scratch the screen and the back have a look...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVIPSK0P2EY
But just in case if i were you i would get one of these
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH-CPWCPCco&NR=1
Well i've had mine 2 months, i keep it in the material sleeve it came with and have the screen protector on and as of yet its been fine.
The screen protector could do with being replaced as there are a few scuffs on it. Very good device though, i've been very pleased with mine. I've used iphones and was never impressed by them. The only flaw i would pick up would be windows mobile itself... I do get occasional error messages as per windows desktop but nothing major.
If you don't mind there being no hard keyboard then i'd say its a fantastic device.
It's really very annoying
buy this never happened to me.
6 months in...
For “new” potential users I’m 6 months into using my Touch HD.
Good points.
Screen – I use Pocket Informant with mini text in the month view and I can actually read enough of each entry for each day of the month to plan at a glance.
Any kind of detail to look at and the screen helps, it is both large enough and has good enough resolution to see detail. The Iphone looks bright and very crisp but doesn’t get down to the text and other detail the HD can.
Size – it’s a good compromise between screen size and pocketability. It’s also quite slim.
Battery life – I’m pleasantly surprised – it lasts a good 2-3 days and using stuff like CoPilot as a SatNav doesn’t pull it down too quickly.
Stability – a few resets but relatively few and usually because I’ve been a dumbo about doing something.
Multi tasking – recently used the phone on a Bluetooth headset, whilst also guiding the caller using the satnav and also looking up the company he wanted on the internet…all at the same time – stunned it all worked, I even managed to navigate between the various active “screens”.
The “What’s that” factor! – most average “joes” have got into Nokia, Motorola, Iphone etc but the Touch HD is a relative rarity – so if you want to be different!
Phone – signal reception and call quality beat my previous Motorola Rizr Z3 hands down. Also my boss has an Iphone and his call quality is awful. My Touch HD is almost like using a landline – certainly better than the last 3 dedicated phones I’ve had.
Pulling out the stylus wakes the device – great and so obvious!
The actual device itself is still as new! I do use a case though.
Loads more…
Bad points.
I don’t use “touch flo” – many of the things I need to do mean using the stylus so for me its either all or nothing – TF doesn’t do for me!
Few hard key options – I used to have a one key push to bring up my diary (HP4700).
Useless LED “alarm” light on top – too small – too dim.
Camera – sunshine and its OK otherwise not great – no flash etc.
Battery life – it’s good but we are all waiting for more! Surely everyone wants at least a week without charging so you don’t lug a charger everywhere you go.
Stupidly small space of a couple of lines to answer text messages – duh! (I know there are fixes but I’m cautious about warranty and unrecoverable ****-ups!)
Installed…
CoPilot live 7. Works well (especially with the recent free screen resolution update to suit the HD)
Pocket Informant – best PIM/Diary/Contacts program I’ve ever used – I have a lot of diary stuff and quick access to good info.
Magic Button – useful although somewhat overtaken by changes in WM6x
Gsen – tweak for the G sensor options.
HD tweak – useful for customising a load of twiddly things.
Memaid – cleans up a bunch of iteme WM6x leaves woolly.
Pocket TV – useful for viewing various “movie” formats.
Resco File manager – MUCH better than the native WM6x file explorer – how can you live without it?
Accessories…Piel frama case – its ok but the leather around the screen blocks left margin stylus actions slightly (I’m left handed). Also it would be better using a magnetic closure instead of a popper, you can flip a mag closure shut with one hand movement but not the popper version. The front cover is a bit too soft so it would still allow something to crack the screen at a push. It also means if you receive a call by the time you’ve hauled the thing out of your pocket you’ve carried out some unknown screen clicks by gripping the case. Having said this I’ve tried two other cases and gone back to this one.
Thanks for all the replies.
If the paint chipping is the only problem I'll buy one, I'll be getting a case for it so hopefully that will protect it.
I'm moving from an iphone which I managed to keep in pristine condition, right up until I lost it
I tend to use the web browser quite a bit during the day, what kind of battery life could I expect out of the HD with say 2-3 hours browsing on 3g?
Two out of Five stars. (Amazon Review)
"This phone was a nightmare! I hate it with a passion", May 31, 2010
Here is a review of the Xperia X1. I have owned the X1, HTC Touch Pro2, HTC HD2, Nokia E90, Nokia E72, Nokia N95 and Apple iPhone. Other than the iPhone, I really hate this phone.
1) Build Quality - the plastic on this phone peeled off everywhere! The finishing on this phone is very susceptible to friction. The plastic chrome will peel off. The paint on the metal battery cover will scratch or peel off. The internal housing will crack. It's like the device had an earthquake and cracked itself. I didn't even sit on the device or drop it on anything. There is no way to prevent the plastic from cracking and peeling. All of this happened within 6 months.
The keyboard will also loose sensitivity. Over time, you will have to press on the keys harder and harder when you want to type something. The keyboard will only satisfy you for a year. And on top of that, the keyboard sucks. Don't even think about speed typing on this bad boy.
2) Efficiency - the phone is very inefficient. The terrible feedback on the keyboard forces me to use the virtual keyboard on the phone. On top of that, the screen is so small that using the virtual keyboard is a nightmare. This prevents me from being efficient with contact management and note taking. In deterred me from actually using the calendar and responding to text messages and emails. Unlike on the E72, I was not motivated to be organized with the software.
The phone is also very, very slow. Even with the latest firmware, it is very slow. This made me abhor using this phone for any reason. Don't even think about installing software that runs in the background, because it will eat your battery and retard your phone. The only way to make the device run at decent speeds is to minimize the software and the ROM.
3) Battery - the battery life is terrible. It only lasts 12-15 hours on standby without 3G enabled.
4) Camera - the camera doesn't beat the N95, but it's alright. The camera software is sluggish and is very uncomfortable to use. The camera has bad auto focus and weak flash LED.
5) Multimedia - the speakers on the phone is very weak so don't even bother watching movies or listening to music. Since this is a touch screen device, the screen isn't big enough for me to enjoy videos or web-browsing.
The sluggishness of this device also applied to it's Wi-Fi. That's why I avoided web-browsing altogether. It was just plain terrible. In fact, I prefer the Nokia E90 or Nokia E72 for web-browsing (they are non touch screen phones).
6) Phone - the call quality and loudness was at least better than my Nokia E72. However, the X1 speakerphone can't even compare to the E72 speakerphone. Please recall that phones usually have two separate speakers: the speakerphone/loudspeaker and the normal speaker. Well, the X1 has a very bad speakerphone/loudspeaker.
8) Internet - the internet is slow, the screen is small, and the CPU needs an update. This should conclude everything.
9) Price - at 800 U.S. dollars, it was an expensive piece of junk. But now that it is sold for 400 dollars brand new, it's a little more forgiving.
10) Something to consider - regardless of all of the cons I have provided, I enjoyed using the phone because it was highly customizable. Unfortunately, it lacked everything I expected from what was advertised: an awesome keyboard, perfect build quality, fast processor. I tried to make the best of it by customizing it with software and 'tricks' and that alleviated some of the pain. Also, so many people complemented on the beauty of my X1.
11) History on X1: When the X1 first came out, all of the reviewers gave the phone high marks for it's amazing build quality. Within a year, everyone noticed that its cosmetic and physical condition deteriorated greatly. The phone reviewers returned the X1 to the 'lenders' before they got the chance to witness the true nature of this phone.
I recently bought a X1 to use instead of a HD2 I also own, for emails etc. because of the hardware keyboard. I bought the X1 on ebay for £150 mint boxed condition, the HD2 was about £450 new. So far I am really loving the X1 vs the HD2 and wish I'd not bought the HD2 really.
I probably wouldn't be so happy with the X1 if I'd paid full retail price for it though!
Something is wrong with your particluar X1 if it cant last more than 12 hours in standby - leave mine on standby over night not charging at say 50 percent, wake up and its usually about 49 percent so maybe a problem with your battery.
Obviously its not perfect and it has many many problems but i've had it since it came out in the UK and i'm still with it (different one obviously since its been sent back so many times) but it works for me, its does what i want and how i want so its great, and internet browsing is greate and easy! Have you tried Opera Mini Beta? download it from their website - can easily look stuff up on the go!
Hey if i wasn't so much in a rush, i'd post a solution for almost every problem your facing. iv'e had my x1i for a month now and although it took me quite some time searching and posting throughout this forum! iv'e maximized as best as i could,My phones super fast,super stable,not to mention the internet. made mine alot louder both in speakerphone and music without any distort or damage,and all while having a look so good that makes peoples mouth water! anyone else agree?
Zeyn Karim said:
Hey if i wasn't so much in a rush, i'd post a solution for almost every problem your facing. iv'e had my x1i for a month now and although it took me quite some time searching and posting throughout this forum! iv'e maximized as best as i could,My phones super fast,super stable,not to mention the internet. made mine alot louder both in speakerphone and music without any distort or damage,and all while having a look so good that makes peoples mouth water! anyone else agree?
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Click to collapse
I agree with everything you said . I've had my phone for 8 months now and have never had to send it in to get repaired for anything?
I agree with the second poll option but i'm not supprised that this was XDA's #1 device, at the time this device was awesome and sleek.
poetryrocksalot said:
Two out of Five stars. (Amazon Review)
"This phone was a nightmare! I hate it with a passion", May 31, 2010
Here is a review of the Xperia X1. I have owned the X1, HTC Touch Pro2, HTC HD2, Nokia E90, Nokia E72, Nokia N95 and Apple iPhone. Other than the iPhone, I really hate this phone.
1) Build Quality - the plastic on this phone peeled off everywhere! The finishing on this phone is very susceptible to friction. The plastic chrome will peel off. The paint on the metal battery cover will scratch or peel off. The internal housing will crack. It's like the device had an earthquake and cracked itself. I didn't even sit on the device or drop it on anything. There is no way to prevent the plastic from cracking and peeling. All of this happened within 6 months.
The keyboard will also loose sensitivity. Over time, you will have to press on the keys harder and harder when you want to type something. The keyboard will only satisfy you for a year. And on top of that, the keyboard sucks. Don't even think about speed typing on this bad boy.
2) Efficiency - the phone is very inefficient. The terrible feedback on the keyboard forces me to use the virtual keyboard on the phone. On top of that, the screen is so small that using the virtual keyboard is a nightmare. This prevents me from being efficient with contact management and note taking. In deterred me from actually using the calendar and responding to text messages and emails. Unlike on the E72, I was not motivated to be organized with the software.
The phone is also very, very slow. Even with the latest firmware, it is very slow. This made me abhor using this phone for any reason. Don't even think about installing software that runs in the background, because it will eat your battery and retard your phone. The only way to make the device run at decent speeds is to minimize the software and the ROM.
3) Battery - the battery life is terrible. It only lasts 12-15 hours on standby without 3G enabled.
4) Camera - the camera doesn't beat the N95, but it's alright. The camera software is sluggish and is very uncomfortable to use. The camera has bad auto focus and weak flash LED.
5) Multimedia - the speakers on the phone is very weak so don't even bother watching movies or listening to music. Since this is a touch screen device, the screen isn't big enough for me to enjoy videos or web-browsing.
The sluggishness of this device also applied to it's Wi-Fi. That's why I avoided web-browsing altogether. It was just plain terrible. In fact, I prefer the Nokia E90 or Nokia E72 for web-browsing (they are non touch screen phones).
6) Phone - the call quality and loudness was at least better than my Nokia E72. However, the X1 speakerphone can't even compare to the E72 speakerphone. Please recall that phones usually have two separate speakers: the speakerphone/loudspeaker and the normal speaker. Well, the X1 has a very bad speakerphone/loudspeaker.
8) Internet - the internet is slow, the screen is small, and the CPU needs an update. This should conclude everything.
9) Price - at 800 U.S. dollars, it was an expensive piece of junk. But now that it is sold for 400 dollars brand new, it's a little more forgiving.
10) Something to consider - regardless of all of the cons I have provided, I enjoyed using the phone because it was highly customizable. Unfortunately, it lacked everything I expected from what was advertised: an awesome keyboard, perfect build quality, fast processor. I tried to make the best of it by customizing it with software and 'tricks' and that alleviated some of the pain. Also, so many people complemented on the beauty of my X1.
11) History on X1: When the X1 first came out, all of the reviewers gave the phone high marks for it's amazing build quality. Within a year, everyone noticed that its cosmetic and physical condition deteriorated greatly. The phone reviewers returned the X1 to the 'lenders' before they got the chance to witness the true nature of this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had my Xperia for over a year (since feb 2009) and I am still happy with it,
1 My Xperia is the silver version so no paint to scratch off. Usually I carry it around in a case so no real scratches. It does have a couple of the notorious cracks though, (Just under the volume control and above the camera) but they are not noticible unless you look for them and they do not affect the functionality of the device.
2. The keyboard is mostly good for me. It seems to have a few rare times when it is being tempramental but on the whole no issues. I use the onscreen keyboard occasionally and can type relitively well without using the stylus if I have to.
3. My batttery life with the R3A rom was over and around 3 days with light use. My current rom (Christians full rom) requires charging around once a day so I am going to change to a lighter rom.
4. The camera is a bit slow, and the LED flash isnt the best, but I find it does what I need it to do, I use it as my main camera since I cant be bothered carying around two devices and have no complaints. It takes scenery and people quite well, for dark scenes it may take a bit of playing around.
5 Yes the loudspeaker is bad, But I watch movies and play multimedia with the headphones, sound quality is great then. I only run into problems when I want loud speaker for phonecalls in noisy environments, which isnt often.
6 I manage web browsing fine, yes its true I would use a device with a larger screen if I bought one along, but I often dont because the xperia is extreemely portable and web browsing is no problem for me.
7. I haven't run into any problems with the wifi, the wifi seems to operate as well as anyone elses phone.
8. Yes I agree that when it was released it was overpriced, but arnt most devices? the age old lesson is that you should wait a bit before buying somthing, Dont get caught in the hype.
Their is a simple fix for the sound on the Xperia X1. It's called "optxperiabeta02". I've been using it for 7 month's now.
hungry81 said:
I have had my Xperia for over a year (since feb 2009) and I am still happy with it,
1 My Xperia is the silver version so no paint to scratch off. Usually I carry it around in a case so no real scratches. It does have a couple of the notorious cracks though, (Just under the volume control and above the camera) but they are not noticible unless you look for them and they do not affect the functionality of the device.
2. The keyboard is mostly good for me. It seems to have a few rare times when it is being tempramental but on the whole no issues. I use the onscreen keyboard occasionally and can type relitively well without using the stylus if I have to.
3. My batttery life with the R3A rom was over and around 3 days with light use. My current rom (Christians full rom) requires charging around once a day so I am going to change to a lighter rom.
4. The camera is a bit slow, and the LED flash isnt the best, but I find it does what I need it to do, I use it as my main camera since I cant be bothered carying around two devices and have no complaints. It takes scenery and people quite well, for dark scenes it may take a bit of playing around.
5 Yes the loudspeaker is bad, But I watch movies and play multimedia with the headphones, sound quality is great then. I only run into problems when I want loud speaker for phonecalls in noisy environments, which isnt often.
6 I manage web browsing fine, yes its true I would use a device with a larger screen if I bought one along, but I often dont because the xperia is extreemely portable and web browsing is no problem for me.
7. I haven't run into any problems with the wifi, the wifi seems to operate as well as anyone elses phone.
8. Yes I agree that when it was released it was overpriced, but arnt most devices? the age old lesson is that you should wait a bit before buying somthing, Dont get caught in the hype.
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Click to collapse
I owe and use every day my X1 as a main and only
pocket computer since December 2008.
Use is heavily.....
And I must say basically it still rocks.
Regarding the problems from the first post:
I agree that a keyboard gets a bit worse after that time. I didn't happen to SE P990 which I've also used for 1,5 years.
Now I owe also X2 and THIS IS THE KEYBOARD!!
The paint on the black back cover got scratched but
this is what happens to every device.
Plastic peeled off only on the 4 direction pad.
The rest is perfect.
The one crack I have is only be because it dropped badly and nothing else happened actually.
Battery is perfect. If not used heavily it's like 2 days.
The speed: that's interesting.
I don't know what did you do with your X1
@poetry
My X1 is still on R1 firmware (!!!!!)
and it is lightning fast!
I mean really fast....
I also saw lately Omnia I who somebody owned:
that was a crap man......
@poetryrocksalot: I do not agree with you. So far I have only made the best experiences with my Xperia X1.
Build quality: Like I stated on various occasions here at XDA the build quality of my Xperia X1 is absoluetely ok. Ok the paint of the baterry cover comes of but this is only a minor issue. In fact every phone has it's weak points and this one is really not serious. What's more my phone is completely free of cracks.
Battery: Are you kidding me? I have not seen many smartphones that have better endurance with one battery than the X1. I have got two batteries and if I mind how often I use the phone those two batteries easely last 4 days and there is still some power left after those 4 days. There are only a few smartphones out there that last more than a day with one charge.
Screen: What influence has the fact that the X1 is a touchscreen phone on it's performance when it comes to multimedia features (such as playing videos). Would the screen be big enough so you could enjoy your videos if the screen wasn't touchable? Where is the context in this statment? I consider the screen still among the best on the market as long as we talk about quality. It could be bigger that's true but SE never claimed to sell the phone with the biggest display. Show me all phones out there that are capable of playing 800 * 480 movies fluently. There aren't many and the X1 was launched in 2008.
Internet: What makes you think the X1 is bad for webbrowsing? I use Opera 10 and it's by far not sluggish. Normally the speed of webbrowsing depends on the connection whitch itself depends on your provider and the network coverage. Even the HD 2 is slow when using GPRS Once again my phone is not slow neiter on WLAN nor on HSDPA/ UMTS.
Price: It's true the initial price of 800 $ was too much. Thats why I did not get it when it came out. I bought my phone back in November 2009 and I paid 570 Swiss Francs. In $ that is approximately 450. And that was without a contract. It's an old story: Early adopters will always pay the price.
I could go on like this for several lines but I think I have already made clear my attitude. The X1 has its flaws like every product but it's by no means a bad product.
Some remarks from me below. I've had my X1 since september 2008.
Build Quality
Seems to differ a lot from batch to batch, and from color to color. I have a black X1. Noting have peeled off anywhere, but a letter in the SE logo. Almost no scratches on the battery cover. No cracks in the usual places although I've dropped it rather frequently.
However, I do have a crack in the metal surrounding... but the hit the phone took when that appeared made me surprised the phone is still alive at all.
Keyboard. No issues whatsoever. Might need a little cleaning soon.
Cooling of LED bad. Made my vibrator stop working... 'til I dropped the phone the next time. Plastic lens cover broken. Got squeezed into a table corner when I moved.
2) Efficiency
Software updates from SE... sucks.
3) Battery
Not as good as when it was new, but it's ok. Always on 3G.
4) Camera
Can live with it. Not good.
5) Multimedia
Speaker utterly rubbish. The lack of xvid support is crap.
6) Phone
Ok. Nothing more. Nothing less.
8) Internet
Always using Opera Mini 5, way better when Opera Mobile IMHO. Fast and stable.
9) Price
Eh... I don't know. The discounts here in Sweden are very, very, very, very good if you sign up for two years. I pay about the same price as seven Big Mac & Co a month for flat rate data and I can still use all those money to make calls with. Phone was free of charge.
Conclusion: Will probably go for a Desire in two months. Or Iphone 4G. Or something else. Not a Win Mob phone.
Build quality isnt soo good - i noticed the black paint comes off so i got some cheap carbon fiber looking tape and covered it, its protects it well.
i hate the silver parts on it - thought it was metal till one day i noticed there was a crack and i haven't dropped yet,so i attached a piece of string on the bottom to decrease the chances of cracking on its own.
the battery is good in my opinion lasts 3,4 days for me
camera sucks because you have to press down on the button to take a picture which may put the phone focusing out of place, but htc sense roms with touch focus to take a pic is alot better
speaker is weak when outside.
i still think its a great phone, but i dislike the O\s when it comes to efficiency
the processor and its hardware should be fine for a phone.
I acquired a second-hand semi-broken X1 very recently, after owning, testing, repairing or playing with most WM phones on the market. My own conclusion - not bad at all, most impressed by the screen.
Got Nuts ROM and sound optimizer loaded - like it even more, can't say I would ever be happy with the original ROM, but with TF3D ports I got everything I needed. Every device will have its own little quirks and bogies, none will ever be perfect, my only gripe with X1 is the keyboard, but only because I also keep my old trusty 128Mb HTC Universal as a second device and its QWERTY simply can't be beaten. Even Wizard has better keyboard!!!!
X1's keyboard is miserable and next to useless - button feedback is misleading, general inconsistency in pressure requirement and double-typing is common, buttons are fiddly, even for my small and adept fingers - all leading to slow and deliberate usage, which is counter-productive.
No issues whatsoever with anything else. From past experiences with X1s brought in for repairs, main issue is, of course, flex. But that is simply called 'all-slide desease' and should be expected regardless of the make and model.
I do believe the silver version is a much better option, silver metallic parts can be lightly polished and be as good as new, I have no peeling paint or other obvious cracks, apart from tiny, barely noticeable ones here and there. The battery door opening could be better thought out design-wise, even a simple spring lock would be preferable to peeling it off with your fingernails.
Optimizations, tweaks and various add-ons are out there - don't complain about lack of this or that - find the solution!
Almost forgot - those complaining of lack of playback support for this or that - find the solution and you will be surprised how well everything will play. As far as browsers are concerned - nothing beats Opera 10 for me (well, for now anyway), got Opera mini 5 running on my LG Arena - had gutsful, but had no choice, so glad I don't have to on Xperia
This is the most expensive phone I ever bought and I'm pretty satisfied with it, and also the one I have the least amount of gripes with, but it's not perfect unfortunately. My previous phone was the Galaxy S4 which I absolutely loathed from day one (made me wish I never exchanged my Xperia S for it), and the Z3 was a huge jump in quality compared to it.
Things I like a lot about the phone:
Stereo speakers sound pretty good (and by that I mean you can actually listen to it without wanting to tear your ears off), I actually like to listen to stuff using them, on the S4 and XperiaS the sound quality from speakers was unbearable.
Screen is nice, compared to S4 it's a bit less saturated but it seems much more neutral and accurate, white is actually white and not yellowish like on the S4, but black depth is obviously not absolute, but still pretty good. I think I prefer this screen to the AMOLED on S4 and AMOLEDs in general.
The phone is extremely fast and smooth, I'm a smoothness freak and I couldn't stand how laggy the S4 was.
The waterproofing is nice to have, makes you worry a little less about rain and water spills when using the phone near the shower or stuff like that.
Battery life is great, it lasts 3x what my S4 used to last. I still can't get a full day when I do extra heavy usage with hours of google maps.
Camera is pretty good, I don't know why everyone complains about it, it's not the best on the market but it's still in the top 3 best phone cameras available from waht I can tell. I'm more interested in videos on a phone since I have a decent compact camera, and I think the Z3 makes the best videos.
The phone does not overheat, the S4 was often worryingly hot and it also suffered from CPU throttling that basically cut performance in half.
Things I don't like about the phone:
I had a dead pixel on the first one I bought, brought it back and got it replaced, I examined the replacement for dead pixels and couldn't find any, too bad 2 weeks later I noticed a dead green subpixel but it was too late to exchange it (as it isn't covered by the store's warranty, previous one was replaced under customer satisfaction program). I absolutely hate dead pixels but this one is near the bottom and harder to notice.
The device seems extremely fragile and I am getting paranoid after reading a ton of reports from people who had bent phones, cracked glass, failed waterproofing, and all sorts of other breakage. Right now I have one micro scratch on the front glass that I have no idea how it happened, but it's extremely faint and only viewable in a certain angle, at which the touch grid also becomes visible so it's not really a big deal. Other than that I also found a minor scratch on the power button that is noticeable if you look at it closely.
I don't like the new Lollipop firmware, the colors are especially crappy and there doesn't seem to be any way to customize them properly. I'd like to have dark blue accents but there's no way to do so, and even if I select the blue theme, many accents are orange and I don't like it. I still think the Sony interface was at its best on the XperiaS and the original Z.
The SCR24 cover is absolutely worthless. I really can't find any positive qualities in it other than the fact that it saves the back glass from scratches. A cheap ass cover with cheap glitchy software. Except it costs 40€.
Stock keyboard is very nice and fast but I keep running into a glitch while typing in chrome where the stuff I delete using the backspace key keeps coming back. Another glitch that ruins my workflow is the email app which no longer autocompletes addresses in Lollipop and drives me nuts. Hopefully they'll fix these issues.
It happened twice already, out of nowhere I found my phone pretty much unusable as apps kept crashing all over the place (mostly com.android.phone, "enterprise service" and google play service) and I had to reboot. It happened once on Kitkat and once on Lollipop. On Lollipop I also had a random reboot. Did a factory reset and everything seems fine, but I wonder why these android phones keep having issues after OS updates until you factory reset. I had similar issues with the S4, except much worse (something like 3 reboots per day).
Lollipop multiuser mode is worthless, since gues users can also mess up your phone and access the SD card. There should be a way to limit usage only to certain apps, disable installing of apps, and stuff like that. I miss the baby mode from the S4, which came in handy when I wanted to let my little sis or someone try out my phone without having to worry about them accessing stuff I don't want them to.
Another thing I miss from the S4 is dual app multitasking, it was very limited and slowed the already laggy phone to a crawl, but it was great to play youtube in the background or use WhatsApp while doing something else at the same time. SmallApps are nowhere near as useful.
Soft Keys are awful and they make the screen feel smaller than the one on S4. This is noticeable only in some apps, for example Chrome or certain games that are not optimized to hide soft keys.
Overall I'm satisfied with it but I have major worries the phone will break and sometimes I dust off my S4 when I do something risky such as rollerblading, I can already imagine my Z3 shattering as soon as I fall once (which happens very rarely but is obviously still a risk). Not sure it was worth 565€ but so far it has worked better than any other phone I ever had. The dead pixel is also a cause of minor buyer's remorse every time I notice it.
I'd agree with most of that.
I bought a Ringke Fusion case from Amazon for mine, as the phone is obviously made of the worlds slippiest material! I got a clear one, as I like showing off the copper colour of my Z3. I think the phone may be tougher that it looks. I've dropped mine on a tiled floor, and had it slip off a bathroom shelf into an empty porcelain sink without any damage whatsoever.
I also bought a 9H tempered glass screen protector. Best buy ever. I always thought they were an unnecessary luxury, but it makes the screen a pleasure to touch when compared to a "normal" screen protector. Cuts down on fingerprints too.
I'd invest in a magnetic dock too. Saves wear and tear on the flap for the micro USB, which if it's anything like my original Z, will work loose after a few months.
The couple of things I'd add would be that the camera shutter is too close to the end of the phone, and that the lens itself is too far into the top corner. I keep putting my finger over the lens when I hold it landscape!
warface said:
I'd agree with most of that.
<snip>
I'd invest in a magnetic dock too. Saves wear and tear on the flap for the micro USB, which if it's anything like my original Z, will work loose after a few months.
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Regards the mentioned flaps, XZ and X3, what are your thoughts on it after some time on them compared with the XZ? Are they designed better and more robust? I've replaced an XZ one before, but it failed already unbeknown to me and it got wet and is dead now. So I'm in the market for a phone...
Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the G5 is catching a lot crap for almost no reason at all... I've had mine for 1 week now, and no major issues to speak of. It functions as it should, build quality is nearly perfect, and it just works... As the title states, this is all my opinion, so let me break some things down...
Screen bleed: This is bound to happen with most all LCD devices. Even your LCD television will have this issue if the room and screen are dark enough. Some of you that have posted pictures do in fact have a relevant reason for return as it is pretty bad. But also, some of you are just being entirely too picky.
AUX audio noise: This device is native 24bit lossless at 192kHz... MOST of the "cheap" aux cables you buy at the store just don't have the quality wiring inside that you need for this device, and will give you the audio hiss. You're gonna want something that is Audiophile grade (this just simply means high quality), with a thicker wire, better connectors, etc. The basic run of the mill cables just aren't gonna cut it with this device. I ended up going with THIS cable, and my hiss went away. (Your results may vary)
The chin gap: This is directly related to how the battery clips in. The connectors inside the phone are spring loaded and very slightly push back against the battery. On top of that, they are there are two parts that are simply being "snapped" together, so there is bound to be a gap. Again, I too have this "issue" on my phone, but it is so minor that it doesn't really matter. (It's also completely hidden by my case now too) I wouldn't say this is a lack of QC, but rather just certain individuals wanting perfection from a non-perfect world. It's just not gonna happen. An idea for LG, may be to put 2 very small rare earth magnets on either end of the chin module to help combat the spring push from inside the phone?
The clicky power button: Really people? It's a click style power button to begin with. While I will agree the button cap (the part we actually see) could be a bit better than what it is, why is this even a quality complaint? Those of you that are shaking your phone in a silent room and "hearing" the button move are probably mistaken. While the button does have minuscule movement to it, what you are actually hearing is the OIS sensor moving. It's supposed to if you shake the phone.
TL;DR: Complaints are fine if they are legitimate. But most of these are not. It's nothing more than a case of people being far too finicky over the build of a launch device. One can ALWAYS expect to run into SOMETHING they don't like about a first launch device, but should not haze the device to the point of making it potentially fail. If you want things fixed, yes report them, but also look into solutions. Don't haze the product to the point that it scares others away from an otherwise beautifully designed and wonderful product.
Your opinions are always welcome, so let's keep this thread mature if you post. And thank you for reading mine.
tribalartgod said:
Those of you that are shaking your phone in a silent room and "hearing" the button move are probably mistaken. While the button does have minuscule movement to it, what you are actually hearing is the OIS sensor moving. It's supposed to if you shake the phone..
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I have to nitpick here (sorry!). If you lightly hold the button still as you shake the device, there is no noticeable sound. Yet there is certainly a sound from the shaken button and although I am not too familiar with the OIS sensor (I think it has something to do with correcting shaky hands like mine ruining photos?), I am quite sure it is not located in the power button.
However, I cannot yet say I have any complaints about the phone. The button does not actually bother me at all, nor do any of the other complaints I have read here or otherwise. I really think the G5 is an exceptional, well crafted device and I love it! :good:
Had mine for a few days now and I have none of these so called issues. I'm getting really bored of all the comments in the g5 forum, no other forum on this site has to deal with all these comparisons. I don't understand why people that don't even have the phone come here on a daily basis, you prefer the s7 then go, if your holding out for etc m10 then leave. I personally love mine. The only issue I have with this phone at the moment is this forum, you come here for help and all you get it BS.
I'm not sure what the deal is either. The media seems to be running with the "this phone is a mess" story for whatever reason. Could the phone use some more refinement? Can they fix some manufacturing and QC issues? Sure, but it seems they're throwing out a really great combination of hardware and features for no good reason that I can determine. Perhaps the preview models were noticeably worse than production? It's also seems to be random things... Nexus 6P has large sensor bar on back, gloss over it. LG G5 has large sensor bar on back, "goodness the design is terrible". It's just weird. I'm also of the opinion that the rough chamfer is intentional for grip, not a QC issue. Would be interesting to hear LG"s take on that just like their explanation of the microdized finish which allowed them to get rid of the antenna bars. People keep using terms like half baked or not thought out but when you hear from the design team it sounds like that isn't close to being the truth. I can get why some folks might not agree with their choices but I'm not sure about the overall panning that seems to be going on. They're using their own patented aluminum for the phone for goodness' sake, who else is developing their own proprietary materials? I dunno, I guess I'm just in the minority on this one for whatever reason.
mrenzo said:
Had mine for a few days now and I have none of these so called issues. I'm getting really bored of all the comments in the g5 forum, no other forum on this site has to deal with all these comparisons. I don't understand why people that don't even have the phone come here on a daily basis, you prefer the s7 then go, if your holding out for etc m10 then leave. I personally love mine. The only issue I have with this phone at the moment is this forum, you come here for help and all you get it BS.
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Right? You'd think you were on xda-fashionistas with all the whining about how the phone looks/feels compared to x, y, or z. I thought this forum was supposed to be about development and had a technical lean, but it seems like more than half the people here are either trying to start arguments about why they prefer the S7 or complaining about how their 9th trade-in phone has a sub-millimeter gap with the removable module.
Note: This is not an invitation for someone to come in and defend themselves about why they're upset about the primer/paint or the unnoticeable screen bleed. I bought a hand-held computer, not a purse. I came to this forum to talk about the phone functionality, not listen to people tell me that the phone I bought is inferior because of something that has nothing to do with how the phone functions.
bhyurf said:
Note: This is not an invitation for someone to come in and defend themselves about why they're upset about the primer/paint or the unnoticeable screen bleed. I bought a hand-held computer, not a purse. I came to this forum to talk about the phone functionality, not listen to people tell me that the phone I bought is inferior because of something that has nothing to do with how the phone functions.
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Couldn't agree more.
toefurkey said:
I have to nitpick here (sorry!). If you lightly hold the button still as you shake the device, there is no noticeable sound. Yet there is certainly a sound from the shaken button and although I am not too familiar with the OIS sensor (I think it has something to do with correcting shaky hands like mine ruining photos?), I am quite sure it is not located in the power button.
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Sorry to double post... But yes, you are correct. Just tested this on mine. I still have to say tho... It's not as big a deal as many are making it out to be.
I just got my pink G5 yesterday, was at the shop and been through 3 units, first one had the silver line missing underneath the release hatch or scratched off, unit 2 soft white color burn on the screen when all color showing using a test app, on the unit 3, found a small dint just right at the edge between the main unit and battery adapter, but kept it, and didn't care about it as it isn't really noticable unless you really look close, it also has the light bleed when I checked this in a dark room, I have 14 days to return it, if i decide to, but yeh they all have minor problem, this isn't just LG, and i'm very picky but decide to keep the 3rd unit, it's solid built, works well and I really like it.
If people are have problems with their unit and can't accept it, exchange it or get a different phone, no one is forcing you to keep it.
I haven't had the gap issue and just went into the bathroom, no light bleed. Maybe there is a QC problem and I got a solid one? I'm not complaining. I know I'll have the monthly security update in six months while S7 people are still on June.
I'm surprised that the complain threads are allowed to go on. It not only hurts the site,it hurts the company that made the phones. I think some of the writers that review these phones are abusing their power and becoming a bit reckless.
EDIT
Ive also noticed that a lot of complaints are coming from people with 20 post or less
same here, this phone is dope. had the g2 then the g4 now this and havent really been disappointed with any of them. got used to ux 5 pretty quick. not in any rush to root stock feels so smooth once set up. ability to disable the bloat apps is cool. wide angle camera is super cool and the fingerprint scanner is actually really fast idk why people keep mentioning it being slow in reviews.
The clicky power button is annoying, but i'm trying not to use it. The chin gap worries me when it comes to water. Mainly though, people are just too picky.
Jonathan-H said:
The clicky power button is annoying, but i'm trying not to use it. The chin gap worries me when it comes to water. Mainly though, people are just too picky.
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A bit of rain or a splash here and there probably won't be a concern, even with the design of this phone. There's a video out of someone putting it in a sink full of water for 2 minutes and it survives just fine. I would not advise taking it in the shower or pool tho.
I for one love my G5. Started with the G2, fell in love with the rear buttons, migrated briefly to the Nexus 5X (couldn't live without Knock features and rear buttons), and now to the G5.
The G5 is really an evolution of the Nexus 5X, they are almost identical in physical size, except the fingerprint scanner is a smaller diameter, which is the cause of the semi-flakiness. It's too easy to just mash your finger across the sensor and miss the portion that got 'enrolled'. This can be addressed by enrolling your finger multiple times to get a larger portion of your finger tip, I've also found that my phone case helps guide just the tip of your finger to the scanner which greatly increases reliability!
It seems the G5 has been held to a different review standard than other devices due to its modularity. Instead of reviewing the G5 on its own merits plus cool potential for modules, it has been mostly reviewed on the merits of its lack luster existing modules and the weak stock launcher missing an app drawer. If I reviewed a new laptop I wouldn't judge it based on the available accessories, that would be ridiculous! The device reviews should stand on their own, anything else is just a cherry on top.
I don't see anyone mentioning the great call quality, the fantastic signal strength, and hardly any mention of the IR blaster! That thing is so useful - you can change TV channels at the gym, in hospitals, or on your couch if you can't reach the remote. Plus we have USB-C, I can't tell you how great a reversible connector is - no more fumbling at night trying to plug in, got used to this on the NX5 and won't go back.
Here are the main gripes summarized so we can see how ridiculously picky these are -
Light bleed (I would never have even known if I hadn't downloaded a specific app to test this!)
Finger print scanner flaky (see above, this is a non-issue)
Build quality issues (no doubt these do exist in some form or another on every device! my phone is fine)
Missing app drawer (use a 3rd party launcher or Home 4.0 from smart world)
Aesthetic (do you use a case?)
By the way, if you boost the DPI of your screen through ADB the usage experience gets much better! Mine is set to 540.
I think people have been too hard on this phone too, honestly. I just got it today and am pleased I have no chin gap, screen bleed, ECT.
Coming from the "Lagaxy S6" that I got on release because they promised me that the battery and performance would be the best thing since Jesus walked the earth was an absolute lie. I have never owned a phone with more horrible screen on and stand by time in my entire life. It was smooth for the first couple weeks and the usual lag came back (their apologists will never admit it and claim its been fixed) as well as the horrible RAM management fiasco.
Oh my god, what a joy to have a speedy keyboard, a fast messaging app, a phone that actually doesn't chew endless percentage points off my battery with the screen off, and apps still being in memory after a few minutes, I am in heaven. Oh and the spare battery module is nice, as well as the IR blaster someone else mentioned above. I was going to get the HTC 10 but after AndroidCentrals guys kept saying the battery really wasn't special I knew what j needed to do.
Thank you LG, you saved me from a year of absolute hell.
I too think the complaints are a bit too much. G2 , G3, and now G5 user. Haven't found even one negative so far with the G5. Love it!
Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk
cigman said:
I too think the complaints are a bit too much. G2 , G3, and now G5 user. Haven't found even one negative so far with the G5. Love it!
Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk
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Yep, I have not had any of the app crashes, LED bleeding, major chin issues ect that others have mentioned. This has honestly been my best battery life phone since the Galaxy S2 FIVE YEARS AGO. That is insane and quite telling to me, I am glad LG got this right. This is the first LG phone I have ever owned and it makes me wish I had tried their other offerings in the past, I may have been much happier. Once I get my other battery I will slap it in after work at 100% and likely will never have to worry about running out of battery again. I hope LG keeps up this trend because there are definitely a lot of us here who appreciate them being one of the last major flagship carriers to offer this feature.
Speaking of removal battery, I remember how people were literally foaming at the mouth at the loss of such features in other flagships, yet LG listened to smartphone enthusiasts and gave them more options than most other manufacturers. They definitely deserve way more credit for giving the consumer options.
I have never cared for a device's design and I'm not going to start now.
I do think the paint thingy is a good idea in order to hide the antenna lines but it seems to come off very easily, so a case would be mandatory.
Secondly, there are some QC issues across the board when it comes to the paint thingy, light bleeding out the screen, and a variable gap size where the module clips.
When you take into consideration that these days design is (almost) everything, hence the build quality, there's the rant about the G5. In all fairness, if similar issues would have arisen, Samsung or Apple would have also taken a beating.
That being said, even if I would receive a perfectly well built G5, I would still be semi disappointed :
- no camera improvement in low light situations (lights bleeding), although it is still one of the top performers
- no manual controls over filming while is was possible on the V10, why? It is clearly entirely possible since it seems to be a software development choice. I don't get it, LG says the G5 takes after the V10 but it lacks a native high quality DAC (the module is somewhat expensive and not available everywhere) and video manual controls
- this is a killer, only 32 gigs (same base storage since the G2 of old) of internal storage with no possibility to move apps the the SD card nor to convert the SD card into adoptable storage (though I would do it with ADB)
Even if it was possible natively to convert the SD card into adoptable storage, some apps like Spotify would then download everything directly to the small internal storage. I don't know why storage hasn't become a massive issue yet when you consider that OS (and skins like the LG UI), apps and photos aren't getting smaller anytime soon !
On the other hand, I love the secondary wide lens, but I fear it would be too much work to enjoy the G5 as it is. I am already juggling with different storage spaces with my G4 (internal, 128 gigs SD card, cloud and external (backups on my PC)). I need a lot of stuff offline since I'm travelling abroad quite a bit, so streaming content (Google photos, Spotify) is not always an available option.
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
BR7fan said:
I'm surprised that the complain threads are allowed to go on. It not only hurts the site,it hurts the company that made the phones. I think some of the writers that review these phones are abusing their power and becoming a bit reckless.
EDIT
Ive also noticed that a lot of complaints are coming from people with 20 post or less
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Click to collapse
Im even more surprised that this trend of starting threads to actively discredit people with legitimate issues is being allowed at all. When people have issues with a device IT SHOULD HURT THE COMPANY. Treating a massive multi billion dollar world wide corporation like its some sort of tiny start up charity is ridiculous.
You dont want the forum having complaints because it hurts the community somehow? From where im sitting what hurts the community is misleading ignorant crap like what the OP is trying to pull. Trying to convince people nothing is wrong in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary is harmful to a community, only further hurts the reputation of the phone further. What do you think will happen when someone reads a thread like this and goes to buy the phone and finds out all the things he read where true? There goes the credibility of the community just because of some goofy ass notion that a device needs defended from itself.
Screen bleed: This is bound to happen with most all LCD devices. Even your LCD television will have this issue if the room and screen are dark enough. Some of you that have posted pictures do in fact have a relevant reason for return as it is pretty bad. But also, some of you are just being entirely too picky.
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OK find us another flagship phone with LCD screens that had even remotely close to this much backlight bleeding. Ill wait.
Didnt have that issue with my HTC one m8 or my Sony z3v. Dont have that issue with my gaming monitors either. QUALITY LCD panels DO NOT have noticeable backlight bleed. Its a staple of cheap poorly made budget panels.
AUX audio noise: This device is native 24bit lossless at 192kHz... MOST of the "cheap" aux cables you buy at the store just don't have the quality wiring inside that you need for this device, and will give you the audio hiss. You're gonna want something that is Audiophile grade (this just simply means high quality), with a thicker wire, better connectors, etc. The basic run of the mill cables just aren't gonna cut it with this device. I ended up going with THIS cable, and my hiss went away. (Your results may vary)
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Not even remotely close to true at all. The fact that you think the onboard snapdragon DAC is audiophile grade is cute but wildly incorrect. The fact that you think cables can cause this issue is even more incorrect. You dont need any sort of special size for headphone cables to be high quality thats just plain ignorance. We are talking tiny amounts of power not some 1200 watt amp powering 2 OHM subs. Go look at audiophile grade IEMs they dont run large cables at all. Your defense is flat out wrong, what causes that hiss is a number of things but nearly all would be internal. Poor internal shielding, defects in the amp etc. Cables are not going to cause this unless they are cut, or flat out defective.
Also, as a side note lossless would be your music files not the DAC, no special cables are required for higher quality audio and 9 times out of 10 that "thicker high grade" cable is just plastic and crap with the exact same amount of copper as the tiny ****.
Chin gap never bothered me so ill leave that.
The clicky power button: Really people? It's a click style power button to begin with. While I will agree the button cap (the part we actually see) could be a bit better than what it is, why is this even a quality complaint? Those of you that are shaking your phone in a silent room and "hearing" the button move are probably mistaken. While the button does have minuscule movement to it, what you are actually hearing is the OIS sensor moving. It's supposed to if you shake the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an issue at play here where the outer part of the button with the fingerprint sensor is coming unglued from the rest of it. Then its a matter of time before it moves the wrong way and you lose the fingerprint scanner altogether Thats the main reason you see people complaining and returning them because of the power button. The guy at my verizon store said thats the main reason he sees them coming back.
This notion that because you like the phone that you should stick your head in the sand and ignore the issues it has while trying to discredit anyone with actual issues is stupid. So is this mentality that people shouldnt be allowed to discuss said issues here. Just because you like the phone dont mean you get to sweep away all the negative attention its getting and pretend its all unicorns and rainbows in G5 land.
notinterested said:
Im even more surprised that this trend of starting threads to actively discredit people with legitimate issues is being allowed at all. When people have issues with a device IT SHOULD HURT THE COMPANY. Treating a massive multi billion dollar world wide corporation like its some sort of tiny start up charity is ridiculous.
You dont want the forum having complaints because it hurts the community somehow? From where im sitting what hurts the community is misleading ignorant crap like what the OP is trying to pull. Trying to convince people nothing is wrong in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary is harmful to a community, only further hurts the reputation of the phone further. What do you think will happen when someone reads a thread like this and goes to buy the phone and finds out all the things he read where true? There goes the credibility of the community just because of some goofy ass notion that a device needs defended from itself.
OK find us another flagship phone with LCD screens that had even remotely close to this much backlight bleeding. Ill wait.
Didnt have that issue with my HTC one m8 or my Sony z3v. Dont have that issue with my gaming monitors either. QUALITY LCD panels DO NOT have noticeable backlight bleed. Its a staple of cheap poorly made budget panels.
Not even remotely close to true at all. The fact that you think the onboard snapdragon DAC is audiophile grade is cute but wildly incorrect. The fact that you think cables can cause this issue is even more incorrect. You dont need any sort of special size for headphone cables to be high quality thats just plain ignorance. We are talking tiny amounts of power not some 1200 watt amp powering 2 OHM subs. Go look at audiophile grade IEMs they dont run large cables at all. Your defense is flat out wrong, what causes that hiss is a number of things but nearly all would be internal. Poor internal shielding, defects in the amp etc. Cables are not going to cause this unless they are cut, or flat out defective.
Also, as a side note lossless would be your music files not the DAC, no special cables are required for higher quality audio and 9 times out of 10 that "thicker high grade" cable is just plastic and crap with the exact same amount of copper as the tiny ****.
Chin gap never bothered me so ill leave that.
There is an issue at play here where the outer part of the button with the fingerprint sensor is coming unglued from the rest of it. Then its a matter of time before it moves the wrong way and you lose the fingerprint scanner altogether Thats the main reason you see people complaining and returning them because of the power button. The guy at my verizon store said thats the main reason he sees them coming back.
This notion that because you like the phone that you should stick your head in the sand and ignore the issues it has while trying to discredit anyone with actual issues is stupid. So is this mentality that people shouldnt be allowed to discuss said issues here. Just because you like the phone dont mean you get to sweep away all the negative attention its getting and pretend its all unicorns and rainbows in G5 land.
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Well said, I had 3 replacements before i anally gave up and sent the phone back. This doesn't mean i didn't like the phone, i did, i really did but I am not going to pretend those issues dont exist and or will not arise in the future.
I want a device that is future proof not only in terms of performance but build quality. A blazing fast CPU is of no use if you dont have a working button to turn the phone on or off.
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Moto G6, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Moto G6 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Got it activated first on Project Fi 3 days ago, for some reasons - I was "expecting" it to be a little bigger but it's just 2 clicks larger than the Nexus 5X getting traded in with the "generous" upgrade. For an entry/mid-range smartphone in 2018, I voted a 4 out of 5 (not that the absence of NFC or inability to use G.Pay is a make or break deal, I hardly use it & most places still do not accept it as mobile payment here in the US)
Dolby sound is very good, screen is bright & audio played via the speaker is fine - giving it a good workout as we hit the road today for a trip, more on the G6 later ... bootloader still locked at the moment.
Net cost to get this brand new G6 to me is about $120 after the trade-in, not really spend much more than paying someone to replace the old, tired & not as good 2.5 years old battery on the Nexus 5X, so I'm a little biased on this Lenovo/Motorola piece.
Letitride said:
Got it activated first on Project Fi 3 days ago, for some reasons - I was "expecting" it to be a little bigger but it's just 2 clicks larger than the Nexus 5X getting traded in with the "generous" upgrade. For an entry/mid-range smartphone in 2018, I voted a 4 out of 5 (not that the absence of NFC or inability to use G.Pay is a make or break deal, I hardly use it & most places still do not accept it as mobile payment here in the US)
Dolby sound is very good, screen is bright & audio played via the speaker is fine - giving it a good workout as we hit the road today for a trip, more on the G6 later ... bootloader still locked at the moment.
Net cost to get this brand new G6 to me is about $120 after the trade-in, not really spend much more than paying someone to replace the old, tired & not as good 2.5 years old battery on the Nexus 5X, so I'm a little biased on this Lenovo/Motorola piece.
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Similar thoughts as you (also running the Project Fi version of the phone).
- Phone is smaller than I expected.
- Loving the thin bezels, looks much more premium than the actual cost to me ($200)
- I don't use NFC. Don't trust it, so the lack of NFC is not a big deal
- Battery life is good, front facing speaker loud, screen is bright and sharp
- Responsiveness is in line with what you would expect from a $300-400 phone IMO
- Nearly stock Android experience = CLUTCH
Agree with others. Coming from a 5X most everything is acceptable given the price. I was blown away by the speaker. BUT my biggest gripe is the cameras low light performance...its not good by any means, very grainy, colors are bad. Regular outdoor pics are good though. Also wouldve preferred for it to NOT have a glass back since im a klutz and guaranteed to break it.
Have had this phone a couple of weeks now. Got to say I like it a lot. Definitely a step up from my Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 that I had for 3 years. This is also the most expensive phone (about $250) I've had as I'm a cheap skate and no way I'm ever paying $400 plus for a phone. Just can't bring myself to do it. The price I paid for this phone is "high dollar" for me, lol. Still getting used to the new 18x9 screen. A part of me likes it and a part of me likes 16x9 better. Since pretty much all phones are going to this size, I guess I better get used to it. The new screen size almost feels like a "cheater" to me. Moved the menu icons inside screen and made the width smaller making keyboard in portrait view (which is the way I text) actually a little smaller than what I had. Taller view but most stuff you view in landscape has bars so I don't see the benefit to it yet. Most comments I read about it, people love it. Me not so much. Phone itself is very good. Performance is very good, screen resolution is very good, camera is very good, battery life is very good (especially compared to my Redmi Note 2 which was a battery sucker). I like Android 8 and Moto apps. Pretty much bloatware free, and is nice and snappy. Had to put a case on it (put a Spigen on it) cause the phone actually felt a little small in my hands. The case gave it a little more bulk and made it feel a lot better in my hand. Love the fingerprint scanner which to me is the coolest thing since sliced bread (yup I'm a dinosaur). To tell the truth I would probably still be using the Note 2 but it started acting up on me. Now since I got this one though, it pretty much blows away my old phone in every way possible which of course is a good thing since I spent the bucks for a new phone. All in all I'm pretty damned happy with this phone. About the only thing I could say I wished it was, was a bigger phone. I went from a 5.5" 16x9 screen to a 5.7" 18x9 screen and this feels smaller than the other one to me in my hands. In the 18x9 size, I wish a had like a 6" or 6.5" screen. That would give more width that I would like to have. The width on the 16x9 was actually about 1/4" wider than the18x9 one, which is actually a substantial difference when using a keyboard.
Deleted: Double post
MikeO89 said:
Have had this phone a couple of weeks now. Got to say I like it a lot. Definitely a step up from my Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 that I had for 3 years. This is also the most expensive phone (about $250) I've had as I'm a cheap skate and no way I'm ever paying $400 plus for a phone. Just can't bring myself to do it. The price I paid for this phone is "high dollar" for me, lol. Still getting used to the new 18x9 screen. A part of me likes it and a part of me likes 16x9 better. Since pretty much all phones are going to this size, I guess I better get used to it. The new screen size almost feels like a "cheater" to me. Moved the menu icons inside screen and made the width smaller making keyboard in portrait view (which is the way I text) actually a little smaller than what I had. Taller view but most stuff you view in landscape has bars so I don't see the benefit to it yet. Most comments I read about it, people love it. Me not so much. Phone itself is very good. Performance is very good, screen resolution is very good, camera is very good, battery life is very good (especially compared to my Redmi Note 2 which was a battery sucker). I like Android 8 and Moto apps. Pretty much bloatware free, and is nice and snappy. Had to put a case on it (put a Spigen on it) cause the phone actually felt a little small in my hands. The case gave it a little more bulk and made it feel a lot better in my hand. Love the fingerprint scanner which to me is the coolest thing since sliced bread (yup I'm a dinosaur). To tell the truth I would probably still be using the Note 2 but it started acting up on me. Now since I got this one though, it pretty much blows away my old phone in every way possible which of course is a good thing since I spent the bucks for a new phone. All in all I'm pretty damned happy with this phone. About the only thing I could say I wished it was, was a bigger phone. I went from a 5.5" 16x9 screen to a 5.7" 18x9 screen and this feels smaller than the other one to me in my hands. In the 18x9 size, I wish a had like a 6" or 6.5" screen. That would give more width that I would like to have. The width on the 16x9 was actually about 1/4" wider than the18x9 one, which is actually a substantial difference when using a keyboard.
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Great post, MikeO89...
Love your enthusiasm for the G6. It pretty much echoes mine.
I paid £220 here in the UK for mine, and like yourself, it's really about as much as I want to pay for a phone these days. There's been a considerable amount of coverage over the recent release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and certainly the specs do look pretty damn awesome, but at close to nearly a £1000, an eye-watering sum of money for me... well, I just couldn't envisage spending that amount, even if I had it. Maybe when I have the next winning Euromillions lottery ticket, I'll buy one or whatever flagship is out then, but until that auspicious and lucky day arrives, I'm more than happy with my Moto G6.
And which I bought to replace my ageing and battery-dying HTC One M8, which I paid £530 for back in 2014. I remember my Dad at the time saying in almost stunned and amazed disbelief "You want to spend how much on a phone??!!!" as though he'd not quite heard me correctly. Of course, I did try to explain that it was more of a personal pocket computer that just happens to have the ability to make phone calls. After I bought one and he saw it in action and began to understand the capabilities of it... well, he went out and bought one himself!
That was four years ago, and I'm a little bit more price conscious these days, so when my One M8's battery began to die earlier this year, I knew I needed a new phone.
Initially, I made the mistake of assuming that you needed to spend £600 or £700 on a phone to get a quality device. I'd been hearing about the Moto G series phones and the rave reviews they'd received around a year before, so when I heard about this years G6 release, I checked out all the reviews. My initial response was one of skepticism ~ how can a company like Lenovo release a phone with such great features at just a shade over £200 AND make a profit. Surely there's a catch, I mean there has to be, right? Wrong!
As it turns out, the Moto G6 is every bit as good as the reviews say it is. And you don't need to mortgage your soul to own one. I mean, where do I begin... fast turbo charging, really nice vibrant colourful screen, amazing battery life, Android 8 Oreo with next-to-no bloat, and fingerprint unlock. Yeah, I love fingerprint unlock. It's like your very own personal ON switch that nobody else can use, and no more playing join-the-dots and trying to remember which unlock pattern is correct for this device amongst the other devices (tablets) I own.
As for the size and aspect ratio, I love it. Coming from my old HTC One M8 which had an aspect of 16:9 and a resolution of 1080x1920...
...to the Moto G6 with an aspect of 18:9 (Rhetorical question: why isn't it just simply called 2:1) and resolution of 1080x2160, which my calculations reveal to be a 12.5% increase based on number of pixels alone. It is a sort of a cheat, but I feel in a good way. I now have a phone that doesn't feel significantly bigger than my One M8, because the width has stayed the same, but the height has increased, but not by that much when you 'add-on' the One M8's speakers at the top and bottom, but the actual screen size increase on the G6 is quite noticeable.
I use Nova Launcher, and I like tinkering around with Themes, Icon Packs, Wallpapers and Layouts and with the increase vertically, I now have more layout options for things like icons and widgets, because there's an extra couple of rows on the Nova desktop. And 5.7 inches feels about right to me. I'm not sure I would feel comfortable handling something like a 6 inch or larger device. If I can, I like to operate my phone one-handed and the bigger these things get, the more difficult one-handed operation becomes.
I do take your point about black bars in landscape mode though, particularly if you're watching video content, most of which tends to be shot in 16:9 aspect. This doesn't overly bother me really, because I generally don't watch a lot of stuff on my phone anyway. And when I do, I just sort of ignore the black bars. I watch a lot of old films and TV dramas on my TV back when things were shot in 4:3 aspect, and I just got used to seeing left and right black bars on my TV, so on my phone it's really not an issue for me.
I guess we can quibble about the shortcomings of the G6 ~ for example, the one thing I do miss is the left and right stereo HTC BoomSound front facing speakers that provided great quality audio on my old One M8. On the G6 there's only a single mono speaker - it sounds pretty good, but I miss the stereo - gotta dig out my headphones now if I want stereo. Great that there's an old fashioned 3.5mm audio socket on it for me to use my headphones. Won't get that an some £1000 flagships! I jest of course; I'm not having a pop at flagship devices, I'm just amused by the irony of it.
So, on the whole, minor quibbles aside, the Moto G6 is a pretty amazing phone for such a great price. It performs brilliantly and looks great. The Gorilla Glass back adds a touch of class to the device, although it can feel a little bit slippery at times. When I first got it, I had unpleasant visions of it sliding out of my hand and crashing to the concrete outside and cracking all that beautiful glass (the horror, the horror!), so I have now ensconced it in the protective embrace of a Spigen case, which actually looks quite good, and feels good in the hand too.
Well, that pretty much says it all really. A great phone at a great price. Can't really say much more than that... Well, I could, but then I'd be here all night typing superlatives and this post would just go on and on and on and on, etc., etc. and etc.
Ged.
its not the fastest device but for a budget device I really like it.
Overall probably the best bang for your buck if your looking at carrier specific devices. Came from a Galaxy S7 which I kinda went swimming with. I'm loving the 18:9 screen. I do notice the occasional hiccup when multitasking, but the battery life is on another level compared to my old S7.
Love my North American unlocked G6! Great value for the money. The battery life is fine, but I suggest using a browser for some of your social media, if you want to get plenty of power for a day of use.
I've already gotten direct looks at my phone from other people, and some folks can't believe I paid less than $300 for it. Glad I chose the oyster finish vs deep indigo. I do have a case on it, as the glass back is known to crack easily if the phone falls hard on the ground. My B&H order came with a free frosted silicone case, and tempered glass for the screen. Perfect!
Coming from U11 life, this phone seems better.
VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling work out of the box with T-Mobile
Rather loud speaker
I think 2:1 screen is OK
It looks like plain Android
Cam looks OK under low light
Decent reception with B12
It's fast like 6xx processor.
Adjustable screen tint
I am satisfied with the phone for the price.
Cool looking..
I've manageg to buy mine G6 for 129EUR, for that price it's best device I could choose.
Great phone for ~$100 now on eBay that's still getting security updates.
Pros:
+ $100 now on eBay for like-new condition
+ Almost pure stock Android, very little bloat and what is there I actually use (chop twice for flashlight, etc). Very stable.
+ Great band support, unlocked XT1925-6 will work on any US carrier, only missing bands 14, 46, and 71.
+ 3gb RAM is plenty sufficient to keep about three resource-heavy apps active at once.
+ Camera is decent enough and about what you'd expect from a phone in this price range.
+ You can adjust DPI under developer options, which makes content on phone appear larger/smaller so you can fit more on-screen. Very handy.
Cons:
- SD450 is an obvious bottleneck in resource-heavy apps, expect sporadic lag if you're playing PUBGM or running a browser with ten tabs open.
- Battery life could be better, usually end the day around 20% with moderate use. Not bad, but not great either.
If this had a SD600 series and a slightly larger battery it'd easily be 5*. For $100 bucks though it's hard to be upset with it.
Well I found the first problem with this phone. I can't get it to recognize an external microphone to record with the camera. I plugged in an external mic I had (3.5mm with 4 pin plug) and at first thought it was working as I made a couple of videos. Then I noticed in the videos that the sound would go up and down through the video. As I later found out, the volume was going up and down each time I would walk away from the phone while recording being the external mic had a 6 ft cord on it. I then actually tested the external mic this time (like I should have from the beginning) and found out the whole time it was still recording with the onboard mic even with external mic plugged in. The G6 was just ignoring it as a microphone and treating it as a headphone. So now I'm stymied. The onboard mic works well enough but I really wanted to have an external mic if I wanted it. I can hardly find any info on this whole external mic vs onboard mic thing with cellphones. Still like this phone and plan on having it for quite some time but a little bummed about this latest development.
OK, doing a follow up post to the one above concerning the issue with G6 not recognizing external mic when making a video. I had about given up on this and I had been searching like crazy about it. With my lack on finding anyone having similar issues like this, I was starting to think I'm the only one who is trying to use an external mic with this phone to make videos. I thought maybe is was just a jack issue so I then tried same external mic with my voice recorder app. With that app the external mic was working. Now I knew it wasn't the jack. I then installed "Open Camera" from the Google Play Store. There was actually a setting in video settings to select an external mic for recording. I then went ahead and made another video using the external mic and what do you know it worked perfect! One other setting that I'm excited about so far in Open Camera is the video stabilization setting. I don't have the steadiest hands and always had to use a tripod or my videos would come out like being on a boat. Made one with that setting on and it kept the video still as I was shooting it. It made me look like my shake was gone (wish it really was). This Open Camera app just kicks the living **** out of the Moto G6 stock camera app! Sure glad I tried it.
Got one on Motorola promo for $100. Very nice inexpensive backup phone!