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Sorry for the seemingly inane thread, but hear me out.
I'm considering importing the G2 so that means returning it would be impossible. A few questions before pulling the trigger:
- Are there any showstopping problems I should know about with this device?
- Any features you felt disappointed not to have, such as HDMI?
- Overall, do you feel like the addition of the keyboard is worth it? Is the extra bulk (thickness, weight) a worthy tradeoff? Do the keys feel too cramped?
- Does the phone feel too heavy? Can you listen to music while jogging without it feeling way too bulky?
Thanks for helping me and apologies for making you fill out a survey like this
i really like the phone, ive had a couple of them to compare. its really fast... with the stock rom, small compared to my hd2, they keyboard is going to take a little getting used to(im a custom to the touch pro), the hardware button for the camera is nice, and its native OS is droid.
cbmm said:
i really like the phone, ive had a couple of them to compare. its really fast... with the stock rom, small compared to my hd2, they keyboard is going to take a little getting used to(im a custom to the touch pro), the hardware button for the camera is nice, and its native OS is droid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love it now that I over clocked it. The fact I can't get fully skinned roms is annoying but we already got overclock which has made this phone zooooom zooom. Fasted phone I have ever used.
Pickx said:
Sorry for the seemingly inane thread, but hear me out.
I'm considering importing the G2 so that means returning it would be impossible. A few questions before pulling the trigger:
- Are there any showstopping problems I should know about with this device?
- Any features you felt disappointed not to have, such as HDMI?
- Overall, do you feel like the addition of the keyboard is worth it? Is the extra bulk (thickness, weight) a worthy tradeoff? Do the keys feel too cramped?
- Does the phone feel too heavy? Can you listen to music while jogging without it feeling way too bulky?
Thanks for helping me and apologies for making you fill out a survey like this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only real issue I've encountered thus far is the loose hinge that closes when you're typing in bed, for example, but I've found that holding the phone a little higher so that your fingers are on the sides of the screen keeps it open. Minor annoyance, to be sure.
Other than that, this phone is ****ing awesome. Personally I like the weight, but objectively it's quite heavy compared to other phones. Overall, I highly recommend it.
Honestly i think the build quality is a little inconsistent, which is common when a phone first launches. I would be very nervous if you cant exchange it if something was wrong. Fortunately for me i work at a retail store that sells phones so I can fully inspect a phone before I buy it. I checked out 3 G2's and only 1 of them was good enough to buy, the other 2 had dust under the screen. My hinge is loose as well but im not bothered by it.
I would probably wait for a few models runs until htc has these things ironed out.
i'll let you know i get mine today (swithching from Touch pro 2)
- Are there any showstopping problems I should know about with this device?
not really, the device is great, the hspa coverage (for me) is spotty in areas i frequent, thus the only showstopper (for me)
- Any features you felt disappointed not to have, such as HDMI?
number row on keyboard. sure hdmi out woudl be nice but a lot of things would be. possible rgb leds (unless thats been debunked/solved) around the trackpad and charger led
- Overall, do you feel like the addition of the keyboard is worth it? Is the extra bulk (thickness, weight) a worthy tradeoff? Do the keys feel too cramped?
i like they keyboard, i find that i actually like swype but havent composed a big, long email yet. i dont really like how the keyboard doesnt feel centered and G/H are slightly to the right which is opposite of coming from a G1 with it being to the left due to the chin. the enter key i feel should be a row down but these are all things you can get accustomed to. the spacing and such are good. im not a huge fan of the hinge since when opened it feels a bit wobbly. i dont doubt its sturdy overall just feels "cheap". its like having a door on a ferrari rattle when you close it or something (you wouldnt complain but you wish it wouldnt do that).
- Does the phone feel too heavy? Can you listen to music while jogging without it feeling way too bulky?
the heft is both good and bad. it feels executive like a premium device. the downside is it might be more prone to those accidental drops or something. i dont mind the weight but if i had a pick id wish it would weigh nothing and be 1"x1" but have the display of an ipad. of course these things dont add up.
overall i might take mine back, not for the device at all however. i do like it, its snappy its clean it does what i want (wish the camera was a bit better but again, not a dealbreaker). the only issue i have is with signal, which isnt device related.
- Are there any showstopping problems I should know about with this device?Not really, I get weak signal in my apt, but once they release wifi calling that will be fixed. I also have gotten used to the higne and the reboots seem to have stopped for me.
- Any features you felt disappointed not to have, such as HDMI?
Nope, I came from an iPhone to this phoen though, so I was feature light to begin with
- Overall, do you feel like the addition of the keyboard is worth it? Is the extra bulk (thickness, weight) a worthy tradeoff? Do the keys feel too cramped?
This is my first keyboard phone and its awesome! pefect thickness, and the keyboard feels great.
- Does the phone feel too heavy? Can you listen to music while jogging without it feeling way too bulky?
Nah it feels solid, I would run with it, but I'd get some kind of neoprene sleeve/holster for it.
Pickx said:
Sorry for the seemingly inane thread, but hear me out.
I'm considering importing the G2 so that means returning it would be impossible. A few questions before pulling the trigger:
1- Are there any showstopping problems I should know about with this device?
2- Any features you felt disappointed not to have, such as HDMI?
3- Overall, do you feel like the addition of the keyboard is worth it? Is the extra bulk (thickness, weight) a worthy tradeoff? Do the keys feel too cramped?
4- Does the phone feel too heavy? Can you listen to music while jogging without it feeling way too bulky?
Thanks for helping me and apologies for making you fill out a survey like this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1, not with mine in particular, dead pixels and a weak hinge would really piss me off though.
2. You know that is one thing I would have liked but not needed. I play emulators ALOT on my phone and it would have been very nice to be able to hook up two wii controllers and bust out some old snes games with my wife on the tv.
3. Extra bulk? You need to start lifting weights if its to heavy for you. Keys are very very nice as long as I cut my nails, I had nails that hadnt been cut for two weeks or so and it was annoying. Females probably wouldnt like it, maybe you just need to get used to it.
4. Bulky? Naw I love it, it just feel cheap and weak.
Well, I just sent mine back to Tmobile for a new one.
Hinge became looser over the few weeks of owning it.
Phone would reboot on it's own from time to time.
Force Closed on apps all the time.
Signal would come in and out.
Don't let what I said scare you. I'm sure I just got a really bad apple, err... phone. I love the phone very much, and hopefully the new one works better. It's a really fast little ****er, no lie!
It does what every phone does and it doesn't do what its not meant to do "drive your car? Hopefully in 5 more years" As 3g or hspa, its deffenitely faster than the iphone 4 or any 3g phone "I live next to philly so I get good service, and I home tested myself since you can't blv ppl this days cuz they lie too much". The weight is cute it makes you feel like you have a 550$ hardware. Only thing I don't like is the opening screen, I thought it should be more solid and have a bit more preassure in it. Overall, I personally like it more than vibrant, feels like a more androidish phone. Only thing I desire is to get my hands on some htc sence.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
This is my first smartphone, so I'm pretty excited about what it can do. Only thing I'd really change right now is the SMS notice. The LED flash needs to either be constant (my preference) or much more frequent than it's currently set now. I can't believe that slipped by in UI testing.
Hmm, thanks for the help so far, you guys are really helpful. I've been playing the waiting game with Android since it launched. So many features are always 'right around the corner' and should be implemented any minute now (higher resolutions as rumored in Gingerbread, Tegra 2/ARM9, Super AMOLED on non-Samsung devices,
BUT, hardware keyboards are way too rare nowadays and this keyboard seems to have been executed quite well. Again, rare.
It's very scary to import a device that could end up with a wobbly hinge or repeated resets... but honestly other than the weight and the rootkit, this phone is extremely appealing. Looks dead sexy too.
It is sexy as hell. With that said, I'm on my second because I wanted the better deal from Costco.....100 vs 200
My first one started rebooting on its own (at least it restarted-my captivate shut down and wouldn't turn back on automatically) and now this one has the screen flicker problem when the brightness is set to low. Ill exchange it.
Overall this phone is the best phone I've had since the iPhone was the latest greatest.
Shipping it in with no option to return would make me nervous.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Hmm. Maybe I'll get the Desire Z instead. I'll give it a week or so to see if these have less problems.
- Are there any showstopping problems I should know about with this device?
Not any that I've noticed yet. Build quality throughout the initial release may be an issue- my first G2 had a cracked space bar, weak hinge, and after having the battery die in 6 hours, wouldn't charge or even turn on. The one I've got now? Perfect.
- Any features you felt disappointed not to have, such as HDMI?
Colored notification LED's (whether that's on the speaker or around the track pad), ability to root
- Overall, do you feel like the addition of the keyboard is worth it? Is the extra bulk (thickness, weight) a worthy tradeoff? Do the keys feel too cramped?
The keys most certainly don't feel cramped- it's a very, very spacious keyboard. I personally haven't used it very much, since I'm used to Swype, but the times I have used it (for typing URL's, long emails, or long texts) I've found it very comfortable and easy to use.
- Does the phone feel too heavy? Can you listen to music while jogging without it feeling way too bulky?
No way, I absolutely love the weight of this phone. It feels expensive, if you know what I mean. If you can find a phone with a strong hinge, the build quality feels absolutely fantastic. I don't job, so I can't tell you if it's good for that, but I can't imagine it would be very good for jogging without securing it to yourself in some way.
Hope this helps! This is the first phone that I've bought and truly been completely satisfied with out of the box. Aside from the rooting issues, this phone is perfect.
I absolutely love it! The thinkg flies! My only issues are no wifi hotspot yet and a few radio issues. These two things will be addressed in an ota update so I'm not too worried about it.
I'm really really loving mine. Had the G1 first, then the N1. Haven't had any of the hinge problems or random reboots. Screen is sharp, phone is super snappy (more so then the N1) and feels/looks like an expensive, proper business phone.
The keyboard is nice and got tons of really positive reviews. I personally liked the G1 keyboard better because it had dedicated number keys and overall seemed faster to type on.
As for negatives, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the crappy loudspeaker yet. I'd google some reviews of the speaker first if that factor is important to you.
Overall its a great device and I am very satisfied with it. Having said that I also didn't have any of the problems other users complained about. If you get one that works like mine I think you'd fall equally in love with it.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
I just recently got the G2 about two days ago and I love it! I previously had the Blackberry Pearl for a few years and thought it was time for an upgrade. This is my first Android phone and so far, it's wonderful. I don't have the loose hinge issue or any other visible problems.
Just still getting used to it, looking for the good apps that'll tickle my funny bone, and reading more on "rooting" and the like. I'm enjoying my experience.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
The Good:
-Speedy, apps launch quickly and the phone is very smooth
-Great size, form factor
-Decent screen and brightness
-GOOD keyboard
-Battery life was impressive
The Bad:
-All three I had (yes, I ended up taking the last one back too) did the reboots in low service areas
-On my morning drive, my HD2 never drops my call. The G2 would drop in 3 places every day
-The hinge was very poorly done, and as someone who started the HTC keyboard phones with the Tytn-II, Touch Pro, and Touch Pro 2, I know they can get it right. This was just a stupid, stupid design.
-No 4gb of storage
-What the hell is with the trackpad? Can we just ditch it and save a bit of space?
I could have looked past the hinge issue, but the obvious radio issues combined with the DRM like protection of the ROM, I decided that TMOUS and HTC could shove it with this phone.
Good morning all,
I created this thread in the Inspire forums and thought I'd bring it over here too. It's just my experiences as a daily carrier of both of these devices. It's aimed at people torn between the two handsets, and also to help me ultimately choose which I prefer to keep. Only one will survive.
I've included my running updates in the OP.
___________________________________________________________________
Hello all!
I've had the daunting task to pick between these two phones for the last couple days. I went into the store to actually get the devices in my hand and fully expected to walk out with the Atrix. I've always had a soft spot for HTC, ever since their WoMo phones. I saw the Inspire and was super impressed at how solid the phone felt in my hand. The phone felt very responsive, and I already knew the XDA Inspire team was cranking out some awesome stuff.
I then grabbed the Atrix and was not nearly as wow'd as I had expected to be. I've been following the phone since it's announcement, and pretty much had made up my mind on the spot to pick it up. After spending a half hour goofing around with both phones, I decided the Inspire really won my heart.
Then it happened... The cold sweats... The tossing and turning in bed at night. Images of the Atrix's Tegra 2 laying waste to the earth and doing vile things to my Inspire. My horrid indecision had struck. I decided that I had obviously made the wrong choice, so the next morning I headed off to the store and bought an Atrix without returning my perfectly set up Inspire. I wanted to play with them both side by side and just return whichever one didn't make me happy.
That was a bit over 24 hours ago. After spending the last day with both of the handsets, I am closer to a decision, but it's damn tough. My overall thoughts and struggles follow:
Motorola Atrix:
-Pros:
- Bright, higher resolution screen
- Dual Core processor (even though I thought the experience was pretty weak)
- Battery (theoretical, as I haven't had it long enough to fully experience)
- This goes to the hardware again, but this phone is quite a bit more future proof.
- The handset is light enough to not remind you it's in your pocket at every step.
- GPS (This is the most rock solid phone GPS I've ever used)
- Incredibly loud speaker
- Tons of ram
- HDMI out
-Cons:
- Cheaper build quality (I feel like I need to qualify this. The phone feels solid, but the battery door is, for lack of a better word, brittle)
- Very poor color representation on the otherwise beautiful screen.
- MotoBlur - This is just a very inelegant, unrefined overlay...
- Strange compatibility issues with certain apps
- multiple force closes
- Weak social media integration
- Odd bouts of lag when least expected
- Locked Bootloader (most don't care about this, but it matters when you have a primary developer that has a history of slow patches, feature adds, and os releases.
- Chicklet keyboard is a touch small for me and requires some focus to not miss type.
**FOLLOW-UP**
- I've removed the call quality knock from the Atrix device. It turns out it was entirely my own fault, and while some people, including Motorola, are reporting issues with sound quality on some devices, mine isn't one of them.
HTC Inspire:
-Pros:
- Excellent build quality (the aluminum uni-body is a joy to hold, and has the extra added benefit of being able to be used to fend off an attacker)
- Beautiful 4.3" screen (Yes, it is big, but I'm a fan)
- Sense (I'm not a fan of these proprietary UI's, but Sense shows that HTC can offer up an experience that is easy to like, and provide an attractive interface for a phone OS that is sometimes described as clinical looking)
- The brilliant development community (currently running CoreDroid /drool)
- Very snappy performance from the second gen Snapdragon CPU
- Tons of ram (Not as much as the Atrix, but enough to be a "ton" in my eyes)
- Lovely camera (I used to not care, but I have a new son, so suddenly a camera climbed up the ladder of important features)
- Fantastic out of the box social media integration
- Has that "Just works like it should" feel to it.
- Very clear call quality
- Second best phone gps I've used
-Cons:
- The screen washes out to a grey slab in direct sunlight
- Stock battery life is horrid
- "Electric Razor" ear screen can have some jagged edges and chafe your ear
- Battery door was a ridiculous design decision
- Very current gen hardware (doesn't mean a whole lot if you're not going to be riding this phone for the next two years, but a new day has dawned and it's name is "Multi-core")
- Stock external speaker/notification volume super weak
- odd placement of the number button on the keyboard (thanks iPhone for etching that into my brain)
- recessed power and volume buttons can be a bit tough to find.
- No internal storage (this is just ridiculous)
- Relatively weak GPU
There you have it. That's what I've come up with so far. At the moment, I'm leaning toward the Inspire, as so many of those issues can be (and have been) corrected through roms. In the end, I just don't really get the warm fuzzies from the Atrix. I feel like it's a brilliant set of components tied together with a really sorry software suite, and a manufacturer that doesn't really understand the strengths of their chosen platform, or the customers that choose it.
I will continue carrying both of the devices for the next couple days, but at the moment, the winner is most definitely the Inspire in my eyes. It just feels like it's been polished to a wonderful android flavored candy shine, and with the community behind it, there's really nothing I feel the device won't be able to handle for quite some time.
**Update 1**
The inspire's build quality is top notch. The screen is perfectly alligned and allows no notable give for me. There is also no more light bleed than you expect from an lcd panel, and none to the touch. The battery cover is a pain. Its actually so well fitted that you have to break it in over multiple removals in order to confidently take it off without breaking it. The sim cover fits nicely, and doesn't pose the same pain that the battery cover does. There is a slight raised edge in the center of the sim cover that takes it just out of flush. Its nigh unnoticable. Viewing angles on the inspire's slcd are fantastic. I can see it clearly in a near complete 180 degree angle, with little to no noticable color bleed. It obviously dims as you move from dead center.
The atrix is in the same boat with build quality for the most part. The phone has a good weight, metal rails down the side, well alligned screen, and mostly tight fitting components. I do have some issues here, though. Mainly with the back cover. As noted in my initial post, its very brittle, thin plastic. If you think I broke a sweat taking the inspires battery cover off, you should have seen me trying to get the battery on the atrix. I pulled the top clip free, and almost bent the cover in half fighting the mid phone clips. Also, the back cover on my atrix doesn't line up flush on one side. The last couple issues are the "creakynesss" of the handset. When I grip the phone tightly I can feel the plastic components giving, and settling into place. Not terribly bad, but noticable. The last issue is the fingerprint scanner. It's been pointed out in some reviews, but the scanner is off center on some devices and just looks shoddily thrown together and misalligned.
The atrix beautiful qHD screen also washes out and tints yellow when viewed at extreme angles.
**Update 2**
I've been using the Atrix today as my primary carry handset, and I must say PROPS to Motorola on this battery... I've been beating on it for all I can muster and with almost two full hours of HSPA+ web surfing, Angry Birds while waiting for my food, poking around in the marketplace, and trying out apps, the phone has dropped 25% of the battery in 7 hours of heavy use. I'm pretty damn impressed with that. My focus would be on the charger right now. I'll be going through the exact same process on the Inspire tomorrow to see how everything shakes out.
**Update 3**
I've been carrying my Atrix for the last two days, and I have to admit... It's amazing... I don't mean to sound disappointed, quite the contrary, but I was coming closer to making my decision, and now I'm struggling again.
New Revelations/Findings:
- The little hitches you sometimes see in games like Angry Birds, when scrolling and pinch zooming are all gone... Like, completely gone. That goes for every game/app i've played that is relatively intensive with animation or processing. The Inspire is definitely no slouch, but the performance edge is fully in the Atrix's court.
- The external speaker of the Atrix is LEGEND-(Wait for it)-DARY! I hopped on a conference call last night and it was right on the edge of being as good as the dedicated conference speakers at my office. Really outstanding.
- The screen is also really pretty. I, once again, had to run from hospital to hospital yesterday and while outside was able to see every color, icon, and word on my screen. It made me secure in the fact that no matter where I took the device, i would be able to rely on it 100%, and it would perform as well as I could ever ask for.
I've been using the anti-glare/anti-fingerprint Case-Mate screen protectors on both of the devices since i've purchased them, and these things just destroy the fidelity of the screen. I will be getting my Realook protectors tomorrow, and will get to experience a bit more vibrance from both screens.
I'm still fairly disappointed with the color reproduction of the qHD screen. It's really in your face when you have the two devices sitting side by side. The SLCD screen of the Inspire is much more natural looking.
MotoBlur is still a disappointment, but after setting up LauncherPro Plus and getting Beautiful Widgets, and exploring LauncherPro's new facebook widget (think FriendStream). It's become nearly a non-issue. I've been using ADW as well, and it's great, but the Atrix seems to love LauncherPro, and I love LauncherPro... Guess that's a match made in Android heaven.
My experience, for most part mirrors yours. I went from the Captivate to the Inspire to the Atrix. I kept the Inspire for about a week and immediately missed the screen on the Captivate.
The Inspire's screen is definitely sharp, but I like the contrast on the captivate. The black text sharpness on the Atrix is really good and very comparable to the Inspire and both beat the pants off the Captivate.
I'd have to disagree with the build quality of the Inspire. Yes, aluminum feels solid compared to the plastic on the Atrix and does give you that solid quality feeling, but I had the same plastic alignment issues with two Inspires I went through. The plastic parts just doesn't line up evenly with the aluminum. The battery door was never a problem with me because of the gaps were plastic met aluminum. I was always able to get my finger nails in two places to pull the cover off easily and without destroying the soft touch cover.
Call quality on the Inspire's headset speaker always sounded tinny and lack the volume of the Atrix. The loudspeaker is really, really weak on the Inspire. The Atrix's loudspeaker has surprisingly good range, I hear a semblance of bass when playing media.
Security wise, the fingerprint scanner is a really good feature on the Atrix, makes me wonder why no one has done it before on a mobile phone. So much faster to unlock securely without a passcode or drawing.
The camera on the Inspire is better than the Atrix. The Inspire's pics come out with more contrast and better color. The Atrix has sharp images, but the color look a little washed out and there way more noise. Seems like Motorola wanted sharper images and turn down the noise reduction. Noise reduction is a big killer when it comes to image sharpness.
+1 just for referencing Barney Stinson.
Haha no, but really, this is a good comparison of the Inspire and the Atrix. I agree with most, if not all, of your pros and cons. I really can't help but emphasize the battery life though. I usually end up having to buy a spare battery and charger set for my smartphones, but it seems really unnecessary for the Atrix. If you're a power user, that's reason enough to pick the Atrix over the Inspire.
I agree almost 100%
I sit here with both phones still. I love the Inspire, and Gingerblur on the Atrix makes me love the Atrix.
The interwebz speed is what is forcing the Inspire as my daily driver at the moment.
I have gone through 3 atrix's already, when i have it, i want to sell it, as you can see in my signature, and when i sell it, i want one. thus #3....
I almost NEED to wait and see 4g... and this backhaul att speaks of....
And then there is the Samsung infuse/enfuse? idk... But they say when its dropped, it will most certainly have the capable speeds, as will the 2 other flagship "4g" phones.
I treat my phones with utmost care, as i usually am selling them for the new and next best thing, and want to ensure they can be purchased as a 10/10 quality. That being said, I will say the case-mate case i have on the inspire gives GREAT protection, but makes a big phone even bigger, the atrix with the bodyglove feels tiny in my hands after 2 weeks of driving the inspire... I recently sold another iphone4, and it reminded me of the atrix in my hands, not build quality, as you mentioned above, but size...
4.3 qHD would be a perfect mix for me, and I am sure is what is in store for future HTC devices... but for now, I am in the same dilemia many are.
to Inspire, or not Inspire and Atrix my way through the rough of it...
to the avg user, hdmi out is no biggie, but to the ub3r geek in me who likes to VPN home, CIFS mount shares, and stream, hdmi is a big deal....
oh woe is me.....
Today Inspire still drives me to and from.... CM7rc4 battery gets me through the day, even as an Exchange Admin with more email on touchdown then most people, including gmail push...
But that said, i come right back with the atrix could get me past a full day!
like the good old Blackberry days..
theres my 2 cents, thrown into the pot, both heads up...
~killster
I'm so sick of these threads.
Man_of_Leisure said:
I'm so sick of these threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then don't read 'em... Problem solved.
Divinedark said:
Then don't read 'em... Problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like you have the right to create threads, I have the right to respond to them. If you don't like that, you want a blog, not a forum.
Man_of_Leisure said:
Just like you have the right to create threads, I have the right to respond to them. If you don't like that, you want a blog, not a forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are absolutely correct. I appreciate your need to contribute completely unrelated, and pointless reflections on your own worthless personal opinion in my thread. So many others that are trying to decide between these two devices will find your additions to the subject of this thread invaluable. I truly hope that you will continue to follow that urge to spout your own polished, self-important drivel in the rest of the threads on this forum. If you don't, you will effectively be robbing us of your wisdom.
I'm sorry that I wasted your time reading my relatively well researched and thought out comparison between two close competing devices on the same carrier. From this point forward I'll be sure to continue adding to the typical device war crap like "TEH ATRIX IS A$$" and what not. That should sate your thirst for informative and entertaining topics on this forum.
Again. I'm very sorry.
Man_of_Leisure said:
Just like you have the right to create threads, I have the right to respond to them. If you don't like that, you want a blog, not a forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 I'm pretty sure there's already at least fifteen threads about Inspire vs Atrix. I thank you for taking the time to compare both and noting their strengths and weaknesses but like I said, there's already a ton of these threads and they just repeat the same opinions/info.
Clienterror said:
+1 I'm pretty sure there's already at least fifteen threads about Inspire vs Atrix. I thank you for taking the time to compare both and noting their strengths and weaknesses but like I said, there's already a ton of these threads and they just repeat the same opinions/info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's true that there are a lot of posts that contribute this kind of information, but this one in particular was well thought out and written, and that helps provide a better reference for those interested. I also value those posts that say good things about devices. A lot of posts tend to complain about whatever device they're talking about. It's nice to have some good things to say in order to balance out the amount of user feedback.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
Yea... the majority of threads you see with this same general topic are basically just "The Atrix BLOWS!!!! I'm going back to my Inspire" blah blah blah. He was polite enough to explain his thoughts on the phone thoroughly, and go through his overall opinion on the phone over time, showing what has changed in his mind about each phone. Can kinda think of it more as a "phone review" than a "disgruntled customer".....
There are many Inspire / Atrix threads I've read but this one is a good, unbiased, well written everyday user experience. +1 for op.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Divinedark said:
I do have some issues here, though. Mainly with the back cover. As noted in my initial post, its very brittle, thin plastic. If you think I broke a sweat taking the inspires battery cover off, you should have seen me trying to get the battery on the atrix. I pulled the top clip free, and almost bent the cover in half fighting the mid phone clips. Also, the back cover on my atrix doesn't line up flush on one side. The last couple issues are the "creakynesss" of the handset. When I grip the phone tightly I can feel the plastic components giving, and settling into place. Not terribly bad, but noticable. The last issue is the fingerprint scanner. It's been pointed out in some reviews, but the scanner is off center on some devices and just looks shoddily thrown together and misalligned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery cover design is one of the things I really like about the Atrix. It is flexible on my phone, not brittle at all. It fits well and is a breeze to get on and off -- after the first time. The first time I was also a little scared and it caught at the middle a little. Since then, it is trivial to do. Of course, it spends most of its time covered by two layers of Otterbox Commuter in my case.
I have not noticed any creakiness -- seems very solid to me. It's reinforced by the Otterbox, so I might not ever notice anyway.
My fingerprint scanner doesn't seem to work at all. I get nothing but too short a swipe messages (works for me about 1 time out of 20). I have been assuming this is due it being placed down in a little hole by the Otterbox. I'm perfectly willing to give that up to get the extra protection and reduced slipperiness. My last unprotected phone (BB 9000) only made it a year before I dropped it many times including into 2 feet of water (don't ask, I need to be drinking to talk about it).
Yea.... i had the Defender for a day or so before i returned it for that one reason. Made it a bit more tricky to use the fingerprint reader. Found that too many times when i went to swipe (almost typed Swype in there... and no, not even on my phone. haha) my finger, it would wind up getting stuck with the outer soft casing of the Defender and either stop mid-swipe or skip part of my fingertip.
fingerprint scanner works great for me; when i first got it i thought it would be a useless novelty.
Slade8525 said:
fingerprint scanner works great for me; when i first got it i thought it would be a useless novelty.
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Not saying it doesn't work great. It works phenomenally. The issue is that some cases.... or mostly the OtterBox Defender, has quite a large hole where the fingerprint scanner resides.... and part of that hole is surrounded by the soft silicon/rubber of the outer shell of the case, which can make trying to get a solid swipe across the fingerprint reader a bit of a pain.
This is a pretty good review. I too left for an inspire and couldn't be happier, but I can see why people like their Atrix. Having cm7 was the deal breaker for me but if roms aren't a big deal the Atrix might be a better fit. I also had two phones with extremely bad call quality issues but I hear that's more of an isolated thing.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
I came from the captivate...to the atrix to the inspire and back to the atrix ...the only thing I miss from the inspire is htc sense
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
slimslim said:
There are many Inspire / Atrix threads I've read but this one is a good, unbiased, well written everyday user experience. +1 for op.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
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+1 great unbiased and amusing post. I was about to moan when I saw how long your post was, Divinedark but your well thought out/written comparison made me finish it without realizing it.
Well written OP. It's actually like two reviews of both phones and not just which beats which.
Thank you.
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...
On the fence; convince me.
So, still rocking the nexus 5, but it's time to upgrade since the mic is giving out (my fault for being rough replacing the screen without a heat gun lol).
I know I want a nexus device but I'm not sure if I want to super-size my screen. I've never owned a "phablet", in fact I used to dislike them, but now that they're more common place I might reconsider. My hands are average if not on the larger side so I'm sure I'd get used to it, but do I want to? One handed use is nice when necessary, but is it ever absolutely necessary?
The beefier speakers, cpu, ram, battery, and screen (AMOLED) are all turn-on's. But I want to now how the transition was for all of you, be it to the nexus 6, Note, 6p, or whatever other device was your first big screen phone. Any regrets, big or small? Will you ever down size? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Stop worrying. Once you go phablet, you want want to go back. Plus, front facing mothereffing speakers! I rock the piss out of my nexus 6 and the speakers are just so, damn, good. Back on the size subject, you adapt to the size very fast and I hear the 6p is a narrower device than my N6, so I say go for the 6p.
Why not go with 5x
fingerprinted said:
Why not go with 5x
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It's between the 6p and the 5x for me, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for the jump in size.
mikehunt22 said:
I hear the 6p is a narrower device than my N6, so I say go for the 6p.
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Good to hear, I kinda thought the 6 was a little uncomfortable to handle with its size and design. Plus I prefer the more square design of the 6p over the roundness of the 6.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I came from Galaxy S6, no regrets. I did own the Note 4 before that but after you make the adjustment you'll like having a larger screen.
I came from a Moto X 2014. The device feels huge but very premium and thin. The camera and screen are insanely good. I ended up returning it because when playing music through the aux it would stop randomly. Idk if it was hardware or software but it was annoying. The speakers are good as well but each sound a bit different. I assume it's what sits behind each speakers that gives it the effect that one is louder than the other. I also had weird stutters with apps like instagram, snapchat, and the settings menu. Ultimately I don't think I'll repurchase the device because of its size. I had it for a week and got used to making adjustments to handle a big device but it's so much easier for me to manage my Moto X 2014.
I also have the 5x sitting on my desk. I don't think I can justify the price to upgrade from my Moto X 2014 so that one will also be returned. You might want to check it out. It's more of the workhorse of the two and feels really good in the hand.
You get used to the phone being big for the most part. I was using a phone with a 5 inch screen temporarily after having a samsung note 3 and I did like how much easier it was to handle the phone but at the same time I missed the bigger screen. You need to decide yourself which is more important to you so you don't have buyers remorse.
Just buy my old N6. You'll love it. It's nowhere near as awesome as my 6P, but you'll love it. Yup.
You will adapt to its size after a hour or so of use. You will begin to realize that it isn't even that huge anymore.
Get another Nexus 5 for $100 on Ebay and enjoy life.
I'd love to share my thoughts about this phone with you. I have a lot and I also come from the Nexus 5 and skipped the Nexus 6 entirely because of its size. So strap in...
I was also on the fence back in mid October. I just couldn't make the jump yet. The 5X didn't seem like much of an upgrade to me. It just seemed like they remade the 5 again. I'm not here to argue specs with anyone, but personally, I wasn't too impressed. I was impressed with the 6P specs though. That felt more right in the way of an upgrade. I didn't really need an upgrade, but the screen is slightly raised on my N5. It clicks when you press the right spot. It does not impact functionality at all and it's been like that about 6 months now. I got my N5 brand new on launch, so it held up pretty well I'd say. I have a lot of friends who (despite my best efforts) are with the dark side and recently got the 6+ and 6S+ iPhones. They all justify the size of the phone with the real estate for gaming and movies. I get that, I do. I'd much rather game and watch movies on my 55" HDTV then on my 24" in the bedroom. After playing some games and checking out Netflix on their phones, I did like the bigger size in that sense. That being said, I got the phone delivered to me on November 9th and I am still getting used to it. If you've ever held a 6+, that is what you can expect. I compared my 6P to a buddies 6+ and they are exactly the same size.
My best advice to you (and anyone else in a similar situation) would be to be please, please, please, please, please do not let the threads in the 6P General forum scare you. There's a lot of threads about a lot of defects and issues. They have already acknowledged and addressed these issues and aside from a few bad eggs, from what I've seen the RMA's that have been going out have been better. I have 0 issues with my device. Everything is cut and lined up properly. All flush. Nothing is loose or raised. I decided to make the jump and was ready to order from Project Fi the moment I finally got my invite from them. That happened on 10/16/2015. I ordered the 32gb graphite. I love the overall look and feel of it way more than the N5 which I could not get enough of at launch. The build quality of the phone is amazing. The weight of it and the metal touch make it feel extremely high quality. That's the one thing I always thought Google could take a lesson from Apple in. Despite my opinion on Apple and iOS, I could always appreciate the build quality of the iPhones. They felt so solid and great to hold. None of my phones gave me the same satisfaction as iPhones did. I never had one, but I've played with my friends. It always felt so legit while my phones always felt like cheap lightweight plastic toys. Google finally stepped up in that sense. I have had mine since the 9th of November and so far I have not had a single issue as found in this forum. The phone still sits completely flush on the front or back. No wobbling when you press one of the edges. No bends, the back glass hasn't spontaneously cracked. Everything works 100%. It's solid. It's legit.
The feel is phenomenal. The first thing you will notice is the feel of the aluminum. It feels great. No, I mean great. Amazing, even. The one downside being that it is slippery. Keep a good grip on it. Don't try to balance it on your leg or clothes when you're sitting down. It'll slip. Besides that though? The first time you leave you phone idling in a cool room and pick it up. Oh man, I was not prepared for that. I would compare it to flipping your pillow over to put your face on the cool side. You get the same satisfaction. It's refreshing, every single time. 10/10 would recommend. You don't get that with the N5, no sir.
The next thing that I noticed right away was the haptic feedback. As soon as I pressed the home button I giggled like a schoolgirl. I don't know if my N5 had a defective motor (known issue, I know), but it never, ever felt like that. It feels so much crisper, cleaner and a lot more tight. My N5 kind of sounds and feels loose and rattly. Another thing I love, which isn't really a selling point...at all is that when you listen to the haptic feedback in a dead-quite room, it makes a neat sound. The vibrations just feel deeper and sharper. I can't get enough.
My screen is perfect. Not a single issue. There is no color or hue defects at all. There is no raised edges. Everything is 100% in this department. As mentioned earlier, it is awesome for movies and gaming if that is your thing. I don't really game much besides N64 emulators and as far as videos and movies goes, Netflix and YouTube is pretty much all I use.
Next up is the front facing speakers. The front facing speakers. The front facing speaks blew me away. Coming from a Nexus 5? Absolutely blew my mind. I had both phones, one in my left hand one in my right. I opened YouTube on both and I opened up 'Who Are You' by The Who on both. I played it first on my N5, rooted with V4A installed and finely tuned. My thoughts? "OK, sounds pretty good. Yeah." I had my Viper settings to my liking and that's what I was used to. The very second I pressed play on the 6P I had the biggest grin on my face. It was so LOUD and the sound was coming right at me! You know how when you hold the Nexus 5, half of the time you cover the speaker holes with your hand? It was just the way you held it and the placement of the speaker? Especially in landscape when trying to watch a video... I hated that sooooo much. I love these speakers so much. Some people here say the sound quality is bad, but I haven't noticed that at all. No crackling or popping. Nothing sounds distorted or washed out, but there are others out there a lot more judgmental in those regards than myself.
USB Type-C. Now when I mentioned earlier than I am still getting used to the phone, this is primarily what I mean. I cannot seem to shake the habit of slightly twirling the cable and looking down at it to make sure it's facing the right direction before plugging it in. You don't need to do that anymore, just plug and go. If I don't think about it and just go to plug in, I find myself doing that almost every time.
The buttons. The buttons are nice. They have a clean, crisp click when you press them. Almost like a snap. I like the way the power button is textured. It feels nice when you slide your finger over it. While on topic of the power button, I love the double press to access camera feature. I can't tell you how many pictures I missed (animal or insect that got spooked) waiting to open my N5 camera, even from the lockscreen. Even if the 6P is idle, a quick double press of the power button and the camera is open instantly. It's so fast, I'm blown away every time. I still haven't got used to that either. Oh and the 240 FPS is so cool, just make sure you do it in well lit places otherwise it comes out grainy. I don't want to go as far as to say potato quality, but you'll see what I mean if you try in a dimmer setting.
The only, and I mean only beef I have with the buttons is the placement. I am left handed. The way I hold and use all of my phones is that I primarily support my phones with my right hand and use my left for scrolling, reaching across the screen, zooming, etc. As a result, I got into the habit of using my right hand for single handed use. It just doesn't feel right to use only my left hand with my phones. It's awkward and just not natural for me. So when I want to take a screenshot, I do have to use both hands. My right thumb and then my left hand for the power button, otherwise I end up capturing a bug report. I can take screenshots one handed if I use my left hand, but I just don't do that, ever. Other than that I have no issues with that. I do not have any rattling from them during normal usage or movement of the phone. They do slightly rattle if I shake the phone quite hard. However having button rattle ONLY when I shake it hard enough to see if they rattle is not a turn of for me, at all.
The battery. I am honestly so incredibly impressed with the battery, I cannot even begin to tell you. On my Nexus 5, I would take all sorts of measures to improve battery life as well as screen on time. Granted I did have some things working against me like the Viper drivers and things of that nature, but I would keep the brightness around 50%, usually slightly under. NFC, location, etc. was all off and I was pretty impressed with 3-3.5 hours of screen on time, per charge. With my 6P I get 6 hours of screen on time every single charge. That is with the screen at 100% full brightness at all times. Nothing is turned off either. This is with the phone bare stock. It isn't unlocked or rooted, it is completely factory stock plus about 80 or so user apps installed. At least an hour of YouTube throughout the day, probably more. I also stream Spotify sometimes, not too much though. Aside from that just web browsing. XDA, Facebook, Google+, things of that nature. As far as the brightness goes, I'm not too worried about burn in as I never got any on my Galaxy Nexus and I had that for almost 4 years. The idle drain is insane. I went an entire work day without my phone. I left it in the car and at the end of the day when I went back, it was at 99%. 8 hour shift on full bars LTE. I often find myself using the phone and after so long I'm like yeah it's about time to charge it before it dies. Since I'm used to the Nexus 5 and all, but I pull the shade down and see like 40% left and I can't help but laugh. I love it. Love love love it.
Now as far as the size goes. If that's all you're worried about... Do yourself a favor and go order the phone right now. Just do it. I was so against it myself, but you do get used to it. You really do. Eventually you get the hang of using it one handed no problem. You kinda have to tilt it in towards your palm so you can reach your thumb across to the furthest corner, but that's only if you happen to need to press whatever is in the furthest corner. Texting in landscape was a bit of a curve as well. I don't have huge hands, but I don't have small girly hands either. That's a lot of phone to cover. Instead of just resting it in your fingers, you kind of have to set it further back on your fingers to cradle it. That way you have a bit more reach with your thumbs. It took some getting used to, but now I can text one handed, or landscape with no issues. Believe me though, when you first try you will probably say nope, this isn't happening I am returning it. Don't. You get over that. Really, you do. Everything else about this phone will make you fall in love before you are inconvenienced by the size even once. Seriously, pull the trigger. You want to and you know it, stop kidding yourself. I just got used to the size though, I didn't really fall in love. I would say if they made a phone with the same specs and they found a happy medium between the N5 and the 6P as far as size goes, I'd surely downsize and get it. Not until this phone put in it's 2+ years though. I wouldn't ever send it back to get a smaller screen now that I actually have it.
I have no real complaints with any aspects of the phone. It's been so great I honestly haven't even wanted to unlock or root it yet. Now that Cataclysm is available- and a user over in that thread commented that with systemless root he was able to successfully add cards and complete purchases with Android Pay, I may reconsider. Solid phone and a solid experience using it. Like you said, you have slightly larger hands, so you certainly will acclimate to the size of the phone in little to no time. I hope I could answer some of your questions about the device and alleviate some of your concerns! Let me know if you have any other questions!
tl;dr - Do it and welcome to the 6P forums.
It's OK to sit on the fence. Just make sure not to sit on the phone... It will bend.
6P imo is the best android phone you can buy right now, its a full package, much easier to hold than the N6 too
Jimmy_Noname said:
So, still rocking the nexus 5, but it's time to upgrade since the mic is giving out (my fault for being rough replacing the screen without a heat gun lol).
I know I want a nexus device but I'm not sure if I want to super-size my screen. I've never owned a "phablet", in fact I used to dislike them, but now that they're more common place I might reconsider. My hands are average if not on the larger side so I'm sure I'd get used to it, but do I want to? One handed use is nice when necessary, but is it ever absolutely necessary?
The beefier speakers, cpu, ram, battery, and screen (AMOLED) are all turn-on's. But I want to now how the transition was for all of you, be it to the nexus 6, Note, 6p, or whatever other device was your first big screen phone. Any regrets, big or small? Will you ever down size? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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You'd be surprised how quickly you get used to it. I went from a smaller screen to the OnePlus One and it was a pretty big jump, but I was used to it within a few hours. Now I have the 6P. You won't want to go back to a smaller screen.
Sent from my Nexus 6P
Try it and probably never look back!
I had a Nexus 5X until my 6P came in. Trust me, it's night and day and although the size difference is VRY noticeable, it's not unbearable. You're getting a lot of phone for a rock bottom price. NOT saying the 5X was bad at all, actually quite different. I just wanted the extra screen real estate.
I came from an N5, had the same phablet reservations. But after seeing what Google did with the 5X, it wasn't quite what I was hoping it would be. I love the 6P!
Sent from a 128th Legion Stormtrooper 6P
Rado_vr6 said:
I had a Nexus 5X until my 6P came in. Trust me, it's night and day and although the size difference is VRY noticeable, it's not unbearable. You're getting a lot of phone for a rock bottom price. NOT saying the 5X was bad at all, actually quite different. I just wanted the extra screen real estate.
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Returned my 6p for a 5x and could not be happier. The 6p is a very big and long phone.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
To preface this, here comes a wall of text.
I have evolved from not knowing how to even use a Galaxy S3, to being able to unlock/root/flash/repair my previous Nexus 6, all thanks to the members here, so thanks for all the help, and for reading this!
I am a construction worker by trade, so my phones need to be able to hold up to water, dust, and drops, which means I always have a case on it, and most of the time a screen protector. I do my best to keep them safe, but it doesn't always work out that way. My S4 broke 2 days after I bought it because it dropped on a concrete floor, and my first Nexus 6 fell out of my pocket from 30 stories up when I was in a safety harness hanging off the side of a highrise skeleton. This phone seems to be built pretty well, and feels good in my catcher's mitt-sized hands. I am having a little trouble typing in portait mode, but I am just attributing that to a different size screen and keyboard location relative to the way I hold the phone. I put an Otterbox Defender on it, but haven't decided whether I want a screen protector or not.
Speaking of that, the screen is decent. It isn't great by any means in my opinion, and toggling the Vivid Color setting on and off makes it go from meh to ok. I am not looking for Samsung-esque saturation, but I will echo what has been said about the colors seeming washed out. I am also having a bit of touch response issues, where I have to tap on the same thing multiple times to get it to respond and do what I am asking. Hopefully it is just me not being dexterous enough with my inputs, and not the phone itself. This is why I am unsure about the screen protector, since I think that might make things worse. Also, I have noticed that when backing out from a settings menu, my weather app opens, even though I haven't tapped on the weather.
I turned off the squeeze for Google Assistant already, and the always-on display since this phone will spend a lot of time in my pocket and I am extremely active all day, so I don't want them constantly turning on and wasting battery, or activating and me not knowing it.
I watched some YT videos of music/soundtracks I like, to see if the dual speakers really made a difference, and while it does sound good, to my untrained ears it didn't really sound all too different.
I took a few pictures of my kids and my dog, and they do look fantastic for sure. That is definitely an improvement over my Nexus 6.
To be honest, I am a little disappointed.
Maybe some of you more knowledgable members can shed some light on how I can fix these issues, if it is at all possible?
Thanks!
My previous phones include the Nexus 5, Nexus 6p and now the Pixel XL (I will not be getting the pixel 2 XL.)
I can't comment much on the screen response as I've never experienced the issue on any of the aforementioned devices.
As far as a screen protector, I don't use them. The glass technology used on premium smartphones has come a long way. They're pretty difficult to scratch. However, taking into consideration your line of work, it may not be a bad idea.
In my honest opinion, all previous Nexus/pixel devices have had washed out displays. Especially coming from a Samsung Galaxy which is notorious for saturated and vibrant colors, you're definitely going to notice it.
To combat the color issue on the 6p, I flashed ElementalX kernel and used the EX kernel manager to turn up the color saturation by about 15%. It made a world of difference and the display was much more pleasurable to view. Maybe give a custom kernel with optimized saturation/hue settings a try.
Thank you for the review!
I went into a Verizon store two days ago as was extremely underwhelmed by the Just Black Pixel 2 XL, particularly due to hardware. I was kind of expecting Nexus 6P or HTC level build quality/ in hand feel.
I have been doing my best to talk myself back into liking and wanting a 2 XL; basically repeating to myself what Dieter from the Verge said in his Pixel 2 review " The Pixel 2 and 2 XL are not the nice dining room table where you lay out the fancy silverware for your guests, they are the kitchen counter where you actually eat."
"A lot of phones are designed for one thing above all else, to give you a dazzling first impression. The Pixel 2 does not go in for all that. In fact the first hardware impression is not going to blow your hair back, but then you start to use it and you notice those little things and the software is fast and helps you be more productive."
In my mind he is saying "the hardware is average, but the software makes up for that and makes the Pixel 2 XL a great device in-spite of it lackluster hardware."
So your comment of "To be honest, I am a little disappointed."
Really hit home for me! Being brutally honest with us; what exactly is causing you to be a bit disappointed with your new Pixel?
jj3699 said:
Thank you for the review!
I went into a Verizon store two days ago as was extremely underwhelmed by the Just Black Pixel 2 XL, particularly due to hardware. I was kind of expecting Nexus 6P or HTC level build quality/ in hand feel.
I have been doing my best to talk myself back into liking and wanting a 2 XL; basically repeating to myself what Dieter from the Verge said in his Pixel 2 review " The Pixel 2 and 2 XL are not the nice dining room table where you lay out the fancy silverware for your guests, they are the kitchen counter where you actually eat."
"A lot of phones are designed for one thing above all else, to give you a dazzling first impression. The Pixel 2 does not go in for all that. In fact the first hardware impression is not going to blow your hair back, but then you start to use it and you notice those little things and the software is fast and helps you be more productive."
In my mind he is saying "the hardware is average, but the software makes up for that and makes the Pixel 2 XL a great device in-spite of it lackluster hardware."
So your comment of "To be honest, I am a little disappointed."
Really hit home for me! Being brutally honest with us; what exactly is causing you to be a bit disappointed with your new Pixel?
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I got to use it a good amount last night and this morning, and I would say the thing that bothers me most is that it isn't leaps and bounds better in every way than my 3-year old Nexus 6, aside from the camera.
I am still having the touch response issues, and the constant opening of the weather is bothering me. It seems like there are software bugs that need to be worked out for sure.
The screen is bothering me more and more. It looks like there is a film over it that you just can't get off.
It might be going back, which sucks, because I don't know what else to get.
a.demarco, did you get your 2 XL from a Verizon store or from Google?
It might be that you just got a bad phone and hopefully they can switch it out for you.
I am in similar boat, as to I am unsure what else to get.
I feel like the 2 XL is one of best options out there, but I do not really want that option lol.
I am going to head to Verizon store later today to see if I like the LG V30 hardware and if I do I might end up getting that and running the Pixel launcher on it.
Very similar to what was done on this video.
https://youtu.be/cDC2amW1vlU
jj3699 said:
a.demarco, did you get your 2 XL from a Verizon store or from Google?
It might be that you just got a bad phone and hopefully they can switch it out for you.
I am in similar boat, as to I am unsure what else to get.
I feel like the 2 XL is one of best options out there, but I do not really want that option lol.
I am going to head to Verizon store later today to see if I like the LG V30 hardware and if I do I might end up getting that and running the Pixel launcher on it.
Very similar to what was done on this video.
https://youtu.be/cDC2amW1vlU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Preorder from Verizon... The software glitches are driving me nuts. Every time I leave the Settings menu by pressing the back button, it opens up the weather. I am still having to tap on something multiple times to get it to respond as well. Have done 2 factory resets already, and nothing has changed.
I really don't want the S8+ or the Note8...
a.demarco said:
Preorder from Verizon... The software glitches are driving me nuts. Every time I leave the Settings menu by pressing the back button, it opens up the weather. I am still having to tap on something multiple times to get it to respond as well. Have done 2 factory resets already, and nothing has changed.
I really don't want the S8+ or the Note8...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I would definitely be talking that bad boy right back to the Verizon store and asking them if they can swap it out!
Same, I can definitely do without any Samsung products lol!
So I am thinking V30 or Essential phone; but at the same time I really do not want those either haha... man I wish HTC had their stuff together and was making phones like they did back in Droid Incredible days!