Related
Hi,
Post any reviews that you find in this thread, with a small conclusion if possible.
NOTE: I have added a poll to this thread, but do not cast your vote yet. Let as many reviews come in, and then vote.
Reviews: (links to reviews will be added here as they start coming in after being confirmed to be reviewing the final build)
Old Links:
Description: The first review of Xperia to hit the Web. Does not go into much detail on performance and speed but covers a lot of stuff in detail and has a couple of really good pictures.
Link: http://www.jouwmobiel.com/review/view/05-10-2008/Sony+Ericsson+X1
Side-Notes: The biggest concern of theirs was ease-of-use. According to them, using your fingers is hard when you start going into inner menus/windows... However in my opinion, you can set the font size to your needs and can easily overcome this. Furthermore, they say that default panels are great but lacking in functionality - which i agree with, but hopefully new panels will come with more functionality and appeal. (For instance, consider the SpbShell panel or others available at SE's site)
Descriptions: M3's review of Xperia. Not too much detail, just the gyst of it all.
Link: http://m3.idg.se/2.1022/1.183975/fo...ria-x1&usg=ALkJrhjPndp9Yybs6iISJnj1OhWlA9MLBw
Side-Notes: Build quality is great but will Panels live up to the expectations? X-Panels are a bit slow at times - same as what Generation Phone House guys said - but hopefully an update will fix it up. The camera is not as good as can be expected from Sony Ericsson (although in my opinion, having seen sample shots, i think it is great!). TF3D from Touch Pro/Diamond is smoother than Panels - in the sense of switching screens/panels. Spb shell is the absolute best screen at the moment.
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Videos: (links to Youtube and other videos - showcasing the final xperia. Videos included within reviews are not included in this list)
Description: Xperia Testing...
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjatGzL-QRA
Notes: Very nice and really fast. Near the end she switches from landscape to portrait and it is almost instant if not exactly.
Description: A look at SE panel... Very smooth and fast!
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OnnDosWiuY
Description: EMP Xperia Video 1 - Goes over the interface of Xperia via various apps. No dialogue and the video is stretched, but worth looking at.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X824_dDgms
Description: EMP Xperia Video 2 - Word, Excel, browsing, etc.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAE5U-klAHw
Description: Swedish? or some other non-Enligh review. Takes you through panels - more of a quick glance - in the first vid. The second link looks at the keyboard. And the third video again looks at panels though this time using the finger rather than a stylus.
Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTfVYd0fwYQ
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gbFgJ8d4mU
Link 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D24GNI-ZKB4
Notes: i'm really liking what i see...
Old Links:
Description: A demonstration by Xperiancers. Though they say that it is not the final device, but is the pretty close to it - prob. with the increased RAM and all.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zal6JJn5F38
Notes: Fast. Silver looks Good! Showcases the Spb Panel as well!
Thanks to hrcro for sharing.
Description: A demonstration by Generation Phone House of Xperia.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LlrJAncJxE
Notes: "Finishes impeccable design and fun, this XPERIA X1 is a true success. The camera is effective and the presence of a 3.5 jack a real asset! The app is rather fast, only the X Panel has been a bit slow at times..."
Side-notes: Panels work pretty great in his video, but like he said the X Panel is a bit slow at times.
Description: SE Press Conference (Swedish) Videos + Unboxing
Link 1: http://m3.idg.se/2.1022/1.183954/xperia-unboxing
Link 2: http://m3.idg.se/2.1022/1.183853/m3-direktsander-xperia--lanseringen
Thanks to floordust for sharing.
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Click to collapse
Best regards.
Thanks to Jabe for pointing out this review, which is probably the very first Xperia review - i.e. the very first review of the final Xperia device.
Link: http://www.jouwmobiel.com/review/view/05-10-2008/Sony+Ericsson+X1
(You will need to translate using Google Translators...)
The biggest concern of theirs was ease-of-use. According to them, using your fingers is hard when you start going into inner menus/windows... Furthermore, the default panels are great but lacking in functionality but hopefully new panels will come with more functionality and appeal.
Note: There is speculation that this is also a prototype model's review, and we can't confirm as the reviewer does not state it to be the final set and neither are specs, etc. detailed. Hopefully we'll see more reviews come out in the next day or so.
That keyboard review kinda disappointed me, I was hoping it would feel as good (if not better with bigger keys) than the Touch Pro but just have less functionality... Turns out, according to that review, it feels worse AND has less functionality.
I expected the keyboard review to be just like that.
Regarding the reviewer - its MR from Mobile-Review. I've asked him over there to clarify whether the review is a final retail unit.
not totally happy with the review, of course...
I would like pictures in low light conditions too to see how flash works...
The major problem in my opinion is the tiny text size, thats really sad.
Is it smaller than the diamond for exemple? Because diamond is VGA @ 2.8" and Xperia is WVGA in 3", maybe not that different? I'm used with diamond fonts.
Black93300ZX said:
That keyboard review kinda disappointed me, I was hoping it would feel as good (if not better with bigger keys) than the Touch Pro but just have less functionality... Turns out, according to that review, it feels worse AND has less functionality.
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We knew from the beginning that it wouldn't beat Touch Pro's keyboard... HTC did an awesome job with that one.
NZtechfreak said:
I expected the keyboard review to be just like that.
Regarding the reviewer - its MR from Mobile-Review. I've asked him over there to clarify whether the review is a final retail unit.
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Click to collapse
Cool. Please let us know when he responds.
msalmank said:
We knew from the beginning that it wouldn't beat Touch Pro's keyboard... HTC did an awesome job with that one.
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Click to collapse
Well, I knew it wouldn't perform like the TP's keyboard (5 row to 4 row obviously) but I figured with the bigger buttons it would feel good to type on.
In the review he basically said the keyboard was fine, just not the best out there. My impression is that the keyboard is adequate, though not ideal.
NZtechfreak said:
In the review he basically said the keyboard was fine, just not the best out there. My impression is that the keyboard is adequate, though not ideal.
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Click to collapse
Definitely... and though also goes on to say that it is hard to find keys at times and so on, but once you get used to it, it won't be any hassle. It won't match up to Touch Pro's keyboard, but i think it would be pretty good.
"Regrettably, the flat keys. You are constantly with your nails looking for the edges of the keys. Walloons fl on the keyboard is more common than you think. You look regularly to the keyboard to determine where your next button is located. The space between the keys X1 is not sufficient in helping you find the keys. The pressure response is also lower than the Touch Pro. As you have not always good or key is pressed. Touch Pro also has more slope in the keys so you better know where you should be. The number of features that you can reach via the keyboard is less than the Pro. The X1 has no directional buttons and no direct keys for SMS, MMS, or mail. If you or CAPS FN enable you see this on the screen and not through two lights just above the keyboard."
That doesn't sound "fine" to me, that sounds ****ty if you always have to look at the keyboard to know where the next key is.
Black93300ZX said:
"Regrettably, the flat keys. You are constantly with your nails looking for the edges of the keys. Walloons fl on the keyboard is more common than you think. You look regularly to the keyboard to determine where your next button is located. The space between the keys X1 is not sufficient in helping you find the keys. The pressure response is also lower than the Touch Pro. As you have not always good or key is pressed. Touch Pro also has more slope in the keys so you better know where you should be. The number of features that you can reach via the keyboard is less than the Pro. The X1 has no directional buttons and no direct keys for SMS, MMS, or mail. If you or CAPS FN enable you see this on the screen and not through two lights just above the keyboard."
That doesn't sound "fine" to me, that sounds ****ty if you always have to look at the keyboard to know where the next key is.
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Click to collapse
with time and practice, we'll know.
" The keyboard is good, but we have seen better."
Thats after all the criticisms, so sounds like a final summation to me, and hence why it seems adequate.
A few vids from MR with the panels in action
Looks fine, too bad the panels are nothing to write home about at the present time. Looks like we'll all be using Manilla on this thing for the foreseeable future...
NZtechfreak said:
A few vids from MR with the panels in action
Looks fine, too bad the panels are nothing to write home about at the present time. Looks like we'll all be using Manilla on this thing for the foreseeable future...
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Thanks... hopefully we'll see more vidz soon.
Did he confirm if this is a prototype version or a final one?
I agree, the default panels are pretty basic - if you ask me - but given Xperia's hardware and the Panel SDK, there is a lot of potential over here. (thus why i am in favor of Panels over TF3D)
He has confirmed it was the final release.
Agreed on the panels front, but for now its clearly inferior to running Manilla on this phone.
Inspite of everything else I think that this is the next phone for me. Although it may be lacking at the beginning it has huge potential and I think we will only see it once third party devs start taking an interest in this phone. And let's be honest here most non-diamond WinMo phones have now got Manila variants which people are choosing to use over the default (Even on Omnia )
The spec (esp. screen) and build have enough potential for me. Size of the fonts is not an issue and whichever phone I got Spb Shell was always gonna be an option
I am also realising that I may also need a hardware keyboard as opposed to a virtual one - not a fan of the Touch Pro/Diamond (although again I think it will be great eventually once the kinks have been ironed out). We'll see - I get a feeling that it will be on Orange eventually (end of month????)
fuzzmo said:
Inspite of everything else I think that this is the next phone for me. Although it may be lacking at the beginning it has huge potential and I think we will only see it once third party devs start taking an interest in this phone. And let's be honest here most non-diamond WinMo phones have now got Manila variants which people are choosing to use over the default (Even on Omnia )
The spec (esp. screen) and build have enough potential for me. Size of the fonts is not an issue and whichever phone I got Spb Shell was always gonna be an option
I am also realising that I may also need a hardware keyboard as opposed to a virtual one - not a fan of the Touch Pro/Diamond (although again I think it will be great eventually once the kinks have been ironed out). We'll see - I get a feeling that it will be on Orange eventually (end of month????)
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Click to collapse
I agree with what you said. Xperia's initial panels may fail to impress, but it'll boast the best hardware in the market at the moment for a WinMo device. It definitely has a lot of potential.
Furthermore Manila 2D may be something i might be looking it, but once Touch HD comes out - same resolution - there is chance of TF3D being copied over onto Xperia as well which will definitely be able to take it on with its specs.
Touch Pro is the best alternative there is to Xperia at the moment, but in my opinion Xperia is better - more RAM, customizability (panels), higher resolution, better video recording capabilities...
respider said:
not totally happy with the review, of course...
I would like pictures in low light conditions too to see how flash works...
The major problem in my opinion is the tiny text size, thats really sad.
Is it smaller than the diamond for exemple? Because diamond is VGA @ 2.8" and Xperia is WVGA in 3", maybe not that different? I'm used with diamond fonts.
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I don't understand what's all this stuff about small fonts.
First of all, WM has the ability to change font size and developers can decide the size of their displays I don't see where is the problem
Second, I had said this before, for the same font size Xperia beats every other phone hands down in sharpness and detail.
Xperia has the highest density of pixels per sq inch. producing extreme detail and sharpness
Xperia 100000 pixels per sq inch
Diamond 86000
Touch HD 60000
iPhone 27000
Omnia 21000
Pinguino1 said:
I don't understand what's all this stuff about small fonts.
First of all, WM has the ability to change font size and developers can decide the size of their displays I don't see where is the problem
Second, I had said this before, for the same font size Xperia beats every other phone hands down in sharpness and detail.
Xperia has the highest density of pixels per sq inch. producing extreme detail and sharpness
Xperia 100000 pixels per sq inch
Diamond 86000
Touch HD 60000
iPhone 27000
Omnia 21000
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Click to collapse
Cool! I was actually wondering about font size customizability... but since i don't know much about Windows Mobiles in depth (this'll be my first WinMo device, so you could call me a newbie) i didn't wanna sound stupid by asking...
Hey all,
I've been tossing up for weeks between the two, and it's driving me nuts.
Any suggestions, comments or recommendations?
To give you some background, my main quarrels are:
Touch HD
- No hardware keyboard
- Much lower video quality
Xperia
- Much smaller screen (on this point, can anyone tell me whether or not the size difference makes a significant difference to web browsing? although the resolution is the same, the actual physical display makes a difference, so you would have to zoom in anyway on the xperia)
- Resistive touchscreen
Any thoughts?
charbz said:
Hey all,
I've been tossing up for weeks between the two, and it's driving me nuts.
Any suggestions, comments or recommendations?
To give you some background, my main quarrels are:
Touch HD
- No hardware keyboard
- Much lower video quality
Xperia
- Much smaller screen (on this point, can anyone tell me whether or not the size difference makes a significant difference to web browsing? although the resolution is the same, the actual physical display makes a difference, so you would have to zoom in anyway on the xperia)
- Resistive touchscreen
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are MANY threads already that go into great detail about this. Use the search function on the top menu line and let google do the searching. Search for 'hd vs x1' or something like that, and you'll have a multitude of xda forums to look through. Good luck!
Use the searchoption...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=500029
Touch HD Vs Xperia
Fallen Spartan said:
There are MANY threads already that go into great detail about this. Use the search function on the top menu line and let google do the searching. Search for 'hd vs x1' or something like that, and you'll have a multitude of xda forums to look through. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been doing so, for a very long time now. I've owned a tytn and a kaiser, for which I sampled a great range of roms - the flashing and troubleshooting of which I learned on my own through extensive research, reading and experimentation.
I've never asked any stupid questions, nor have I asked anything which I didn't feel was a necessary question for me to move forward.
I've done google search upon google search upon google search, and nothing seems to really give me a down to earth, practical answer. I'm at the point where I'm rereading reviews, forum posts and video reviews.
Sure there may be many answers to many questions, but I still haven't found the answer I want presented in a clear, concise manner (and no, "answer I want" doesn't mean "what I want to hear", but rather "hitting the nail on the head").
I've been tossing up for a long time - and this involves a whole heap of research.
Any help from people who've been using either or both for a decent amount of time would be greatly appreciated.
charbz said:
I've been doing so, for a very long time now. I've owned a tytn and a kaiser, for which I sampled a great range of roms - the flashing and troubleshooting of which I learned on my own through extensive research, reading and experimentation.
I've never asked any stupid questions, nor have I asked anything which I didn't feel was a necessary question for me to move forward.
I've done google search upon google search upon google search, and nothing seems to really give me a down to earth, practical answer. I'm at the point where I'm rereading reviews, forum posts and video reviews.
Sure there may be many answers to many questions, but I still haven't found the answer I want presented in a clear, concise manner (and no, "answer I want" doesn't mean "what I want to hear", but rather "hitting the nail on the head").
I've been tossing up for a long time - and this involves a whole heap of research.
Any help from people who've been using either or both for a decent amount of time would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so you say you have done your research. Hasn't it occurred to you that there are some threads where people have said they own both at some stage or still have both for example xmoo on this thread
Why not PM these people if your aren't getting your answer and ask them nicely why they exchanged one for the other or why they are going back to one etc etc etc
What exactly did you type into your search, because that's the first time I've seen that thread.
My apologies for the inconvenience, although I can genuinely say that I've put a lot of effort into finding infomation in general... I ain't noob posting (intentionally anyway).
charbz said:
What exactly did you type into your search, because that's the first time I've seen that thread.
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Click to collapse
Just typed in a mixture of different search options i.e. Xperia X1, Touch HD, Touch HD Vs Xperia X1, hd vs x1, etc etc etc
Not sure which one it popped up in!
May also be due to date thread started and when you did your searches
using AND between words when one search makes sure it only give results where both search terms are included
Thanks for your advice and timely responses guys.
I pm'd the guy with Touch HD issues and am waiting on a reply now - good idea. I'm going to keep doing some reading, and if anything out of the ordinary pops up, I'll report back here, just so that this thread is at least somewhat constructive.
charbz said:
Hey all,
I've been tossing up for weeks between the two, and it's driving me nuts.
Any suggestions, comments or recommendations?
To give you some background, my main quarrels are:
Touch HD
- No hardware keyboard
- Much lower video quality
Xperia
- Much smaller screen (on this point, can anyone tell me whether or not the size difference makes a significant difference to web browsing? although the resolution is the same, the actual physical display makes a difference, so you would have to zoom in anyway on the xperia)
- Resistive touchscreen
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the touch HD, I can type at a moderate pace with the on screen keyboard, also the T9 give input suggestions so texting is pretty fast.
To be honest I hate the camera on the HD, it just is slow and not worth a damn dime(either the quality is really bad in low light conditions or it so slow that I missed a lot of special moments, kids just don't stand still if you know what I mean), would be much better if they implement a good and fast 3.2 megapixels sensor than a slow 5 megapixels one.
I had a couple of hours with an xperia till I finally decided that I didn't like it at all. Its all personal perceptions, but the panels interface felt really sluggish, its one of the very first batch so it could have been fixed by now. It didn't have the accelerometer so you have to flip out the keyboard to get it to landscape mode and no games like resco bubles or teeter.
The experia didn't came with opera but instead uses the sluggisch internet explorer, I thoroughly hated the internet experience, it was slow and pages didn't load properly if they load at all. The screen was wide but so small you need a magnefying glass to read it.
The keyboard felt cramp and didn't give any good feedback, I would not suggest using it for a prolongue period of time on it or you might develop RSI in your thumbs.
I really wanted to like it cause I had good experience with SE, it looks stylish and has a slide out keyboard that is slightedly tilted, but the small screen is a big turn off, never regretted getting the HD over the xperia.
Both have resistive touch screens
The difference is that the one in xperia is "recessed"
I prefer the Touch HD because of the bigger screen.
It is great to the web (here the size is very important), videos, etc...
The video quality is also very good! (after converting using a program in this forum)
I would choose the Touch HD.
For me the physical keyboard isn't so important...
And the Xperia doesn't have accelerometer.
Welcome to the wonderful hospitality of XDA developers, were you must never voice your "subjective opinions" or ask what individuals may "deem" as a daft question. Course the Irony is in the time it takes to moan an moan about a question, it could have been answered in half the time with a poilite
"oh by the way i found this by searching the forums, might save you a bit of time next time hay, an save duplicate threads! bye for now!"
but anyway
Touch HD, i wouldnt jump up an down about video quality being bad, with the last few Dutty ROMs 2.4-2.6 ive been able to play back xvids and H264 videos without the need for converting them with perfect playback, the interface is smooth and very plesent to use, the keyboard is fine to use, if you have big fingers then turn it on its side. The only thing on this device that is trully crap is the camera, its very slow (all be it slightly better on latest Dutty ROMS) quality is good, but the time from click to megabytes is way too long
I found the X1 to be quite shoddy on the build quality front, the keyboard which i thought was going to be amazing from the reviews wasnt that good but by no means bad, overall, i got the X1, didnt like it, flogged it off on Ebay then used that money to by an HD and ive never looked back.
Wow! No regrets whatsoever in asking the question! Thanks for the great feedback guys, this is exactly what i've been looking for! Touch hd it is! I can't accept my webbrowsing on a screen which isn't practical, and i guess that's what my main problem was now that i think back to it.
Thanks again everyone!
charbz said:
Touch hd it is! I can't accept my webbrowsing on a screen which isn't practical, and i guess that's what my main problem was now that i think back to it.
Thanks again everyone!
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Good decision IMHO! I owned the Xperia X1a for 2 months and although I highly commend its build quality, great screen, and even like the panels (although never found much use for them), I concluded the screen is just too small for me -- I now have the THD and love it! I believe the key parameters for such a decision (and when the Touch Pro 2 vs Touch Diamond 2 come out this will arise again) are: do I need a keyboard, which is more important - room on the screen (size of the things on it) or size in my pocket ---- THD suits me very well.
thanks.. much appreciated
GREEN EYED MONSTERS!!!
people getting jealous that you have such a nice phone!!!!
Seriously speaking......not much flaws about the phone..... only qualms are the camera (no flash) and audio quality ( not that i listen music on it anyway).... so for me.....damn good phone!!!
Nothing bad to say about this phone. All I can say is that Im happy with this phone.
to much new treads
hi,
if you take the time to read en search the forum you will see that all the answers to almost all your questions are out there, opening another thread just makes more tree's in the forest
an old dutch proverb: you can't see the forest because off all the tree's
greetings liang
ps. sorry for the typo in "to much new treads " missed the "h"
what is this forum coming too give the guy a break, in the time it has taken you to moan you could have answered the question, the question has already been asked, nothing will change that, a simple "next time try searching for xyz" after your post will get your point across.
Phone is great, camera isnt so good unless its bright, graphics are "just" exceptable for video playback i mean seriously on the line. there is a little bit of flex in the plastic but nothing alarming, the stylus has long since lost its propper magnatism (used to stick to the top of the phone) headphones are rubbish if you put it in your pocket, the cable has no rubber protector so if you pull it too hard or bend it, you can get crackles or it might die all together. GPS works fine but there is issues with a percieved lag, this hasnt been confirmed to be hardware and might just be because niether igo 8 or tomtom support the screen size without hacks or stretching.
honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is the camera, secondly graphics playback is just exceptable but could be a lot better if HTC brought the drivers for it!
But in saying all that, im happy with this device an wouldnt trade it for anything at the mo.
Check out the existing threads that cover your questions in detail.
This is a redundant thread subject ...
to come in a HTC HD forum full with developers and yes, HD fans, ask this question and wait for answers....really, how **** can somebody be?
you don't even have the excuse to be a noob. well, you certainly act like one!.
I can add one
I wish there were few more hard ware keys
For me, the one thing missing is a hardware button near the bottom of the device to wake it from sleep.
Using the power button at the top is just too tricky one handed.
I also have a G1 and this is easy to wake from sleep and unlock all with one hand.
Currently i use S2U2 and mobilemagic to toggle the screen on and off but as it does not sleep, battery life suffers.
No...i can honestly say this is good device but with this addition, for me, it would be a great device!
thank you for your kind patience.. i have bought it .. some problems with it.. not familar.. but i am not keen to ask questions.. most of them ignored or nasty replies.. i did try to search always.. i cant find .. sigh
Things I do not like...
HARDWARE:
- Extremely long camera shutter delay
- Lack of dedicated camera/user-programable button
- Front buttons smooth; cannot be felt in the dark
- Battery cover feels cheap
- Camera lens lacks a cover
- No flash on the camera
- Reset button hidden behind the battery cover
- Dam! why not make it just a bit more drop proof!??!!
SOFTWARE:
- WiFi connectivity problems (search forum)
- Manila's lack of customization (by standard, or built in means that is...)
- The new manila menus have useless animations that slow input
- The new manila menus require scrolling, further slowing down things
- Manila design is friendly to new users but severely slows down experienced users by not having shortcuts to frequently used features.
- Do not get me started on WinMo... (Although I believe as of yet it is the most customizable, and thus flexible OS for mobile devices. Excluding losers like Openmoko...)
sigh it seems like gps is dead
Alot of people have problems with faulty hardware, after about 5-10 weeks, the reception signal drops and then you struggle to get anything more than 1 or 2 bars of HSDPA, Edge and GPRS don't actually work - and you get dropped calls all the time.
OMG...
i am struggling to get my GPS and WIFI working..
1 more point... pple here seems less friendly? pls dont flame me.. but the reception i get at X1 is far more friendly helpful
i am shocked at the people on here, i cant belive the rudeness of folk on here, really some people need to grow up, listen, if u or anyone ask questions then ask away or pm , some of us will help out, yes try searching first but ill not be rude about it and many of us will ry an be helpful
Negative point on the hardware is the lack of hardware buttons. You could also say the lack of software supporting no hardware button devices.
Also the plastic battery cover makes (small) clicking noises if pressed on specific points.
I assume the somewhat slow response is WinMo related.
Oh, and it's relatively expensive for a phone, for the same price you could get 30 Nokia 3410 phones for it.
leobox1 said:
thanks.. much appreciated
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Hi Leobox,
Now I've updated the ROM, added total Commander, remapped the volume buttons to up/down, added the latest TomTom plus map, added reader software, synced it to Outlook (3 accounts), tweaked it with Montecristoff's HD Tweak, added SOTI controller, Sprite backup, Frequency Tuner, Intelligolf, Laridian Bible, Memmaid, and 4GB of music, photos and clips, it's just about the best pocket device I've ever owned. Main problem with it is lack of sleep for me to do all this stuff and then keep it debugged and updated!!! Things I most miss are camera flash and hardware buttons. Also back cover rigidity could be better.
But the form factor is perfect, the device works damn near perfect, great 'phone, great MP3, good imager, fast and accurate GPS, fast PC. Best device HTC ever made. And a big thank you to Sendo for the original development!
am using touch hd now alread\y.. i love it too.. just that it lags a little for me
Don't get me wrong, I love this phone and think it'd be PERFECT, but nothing ever really does come perfect and for those who are really keen on buying this, I think you should take a look at some of the things I certainly wish they'd done better.
1) No notification LED - Maybe this is a Samsung thing but for a device catered for business, I really wish they've added this small detail that can do so much good! And don't tell me to get NoLED from market either, the point of the LED is that I can see notifications without having to press any buttons.
2) Poor sound and call quality - It might have to do with the Yamaha codec that others on the forum have been complaining about. My phone before the Note was a Motorola Milestone 2/Droid 2, and Motorola beats Samsung's call quality big time. Motorola has CrystalTalk which would spoil anyone who needs to make calls all the time, whether I'm in HK's busy subway or its most crowded districts, I'm able to hear and the other party can hear me just fine. With Samsung Galaxy Note, I push my incoming call volume to the highest and can hardly make out what the other party is saying unless they voice up. The other party can hardly hear me as well. There's no noise-cancellation whatsoever. It's a tad better if you make calls without a headset, but as a girl, it looks super silly holding up the Note to my face. I use Marshall Minor earphones for conversations and they worked wonderfully well with Motorola, not that great with Samsung. I am not sure if high-end noise-cancellation earphones the likes of Sennheiser or Shure would work better but I'm no audiophile and I really don't want to have to pay half the price of the phone for some quality conversations. Music is passable, both on the speaker and on the earphones, but don't expect it to do a good job with low-bass. If you're an audiophile, you'd need a dedicated MP3 player or HTC's Sensation XE might be a better phone for you.
3) Not-so-great power button placement - The Power/Screen Off button is right where the volume rocker buttons are placed on the other side of the phone. I find myself accidentally pushing the screen off button when I really just want to adjust the volume. There's so much space on the top of the phone for this button.
4) No dedicated camera shutter button - Not really a HUGE deal here but a device this big can come with one. I recently notice that the new phones coming out are dropping this
5) Pre-installed keyboard not good enough - Coming from a Milestone which has a dedicated QWERTY slider keyboard, some might think I'm biased about this, but no, I've played with HTC's Sensation keyboards and hardly make a typing error, and it definitely made me switch to an all touch-screen device. For this one, if you don't get the Thumb Keyboard or some other keyboard you're used to, then you might find it quite frustrating to message or type up e-mails. Of course, you can use the S-pen and handwriting recognition, which I find quite pleasantly smart.
6) Poor customizability - Please note that this is not a Note-exclusive problem but with Touch-Wiz. I am not keen of the Touch-Wiz interface and immediately changed the interface to Launcher Pro, unfortunately, many of the widgets that are part of the Touch-Wiz UI can no longer be added. I wish Samsung would change that.
7) Phone does not include S-Pen tutorials as well as other Note-exclusive features - Unless you download the full 190-page manual (English version), there's not much help in getting to know the features of the phone. There are pop-ups now and then telling you certain features, but if I didn't watch a ton of Youtube 'first impression' videos, I wouldn't know of the gestures functionality and other cool features I can do with the S-Pen. However, this is not a reason for NOT buying the phone.
8) Poor Touch-Wiz Low Customizability- If you don't love Touch-Wiz, you won't like the pre-installed interface. You can always change it to Launcher Pro but that means there'd be widgets you cannot use if you don't use Touch-Wiz. I like the Calendar widget but have to make do with Pure Grid Calendar Widget if I use Launcher Pro. And for some reason, if you're a root user, you still cannot change the battery icons (I've created another thread about this), but I probably should not blame this on Touch-Wiz or the ROM Samsung uses, as rooting is fully a personal choice. I just wish we have themes to turn off the ugly green Android is so fond of using (can't wait till ICS comes out because I see blue finally!)
9) S-Pen is hard to draw with off-table - Unless you have a super steady hand, I find writing (not to mention drawing) on the Note a challenge. There's several promotional videos from Samsung showing off the artwork that can be done with the S-Pen just by holding the Note in your hand as you would a PDA but I personally doubt it'd be easy unless you're a seasoned artist with a very steady hand. However, the S-Pen is FUN to use and amazing for jotting notes, so again, it should not be something to deter you from getting this phone if you don't plan on replacing your WACOM pen tablets with this.
10) Battery Removal required for SIM or MicroSD cards access- You'd think a phone of this size will allow you to swap out at least the MicroSD without having to power off, but unfortunately, this is not feasible with the Note.
So far, these are the few "quirks" I don't like about the Galaxy Note, but otherwise, the phone never ceases to amaze others not only because of its size but it's functionality and brilliant screen.
P.S. Forgot to add one more point, there are no A/V or media ports other than MicroUSB and 3.5mm audio jack (no HDMI or other ports) which doesn't bother me but might others.
If those are your gripes, this phone must be amazing.
Thanks for your POV!
With regards to 1,6 and 8, I agree that these are Samsung wide problems at the moment. But obviously its all down to personal preference. I use ADW Ex on my SGS2 but the fact that you can't use the Samsung S widgets on it means I might actually try TW for a while first!
Just out of interest, where did you get your Not from and how much did you pay in total for it?
JoyR2 said:
If those are your gripes, this phone must be amazing.
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Haha...yes, other than the poor voice quality, I do think it's an amazing device.
vinokirk said:
Thanks for your POV!
With regards to 1,6 and 8, I agree that these are Samsung wide problems at the moment. But obviously its all down to personal preference. I use ADW Ex on my SGS2 but the fact that you can't use the Samsung S widgets on it means I might actually try TW for a while first!
Just out of interest, where did you get your Not from and how much did you pay in total for it?
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I got it from a shopping plaza in Mong Kok District of Hong Kong. That plaza sells many 2nd hand as well as new imported phones. I got mine for HK$5760 (~USD 742), they also allowed me to trade-in my good ol' Milestone 2 so I only paid a total of HK$4160 (~USD 536).
1) Notification LED - hopefully we will get a custom kernel with BLN support soon You have rooted it, right??
8) So TouchWiz sux - but there are lots of other Launchers to choose from.
10) Actually you CAN remove the SIM and sdcard without removing the battery - you just need to pry up the edge with a small tool - they are pretty flexible.
I'll add two gripes to your list:
- The protective camera glass on the back is slightly RAISED, so it is gonna get scratched up FAST if you ever put your Note down on any dirty/uneven surface. And because the glass is actually part of the CAMERA (not the case), it's probably not replaceable.
- The S-pen is too small, and pretty laggy in some apps, making it not even worth using (like drawing). And its touch-sensitivity is pretty worthless. And you can't tap the menu/back buttons with it.
But I still love my Note And it's only gonna get better as the custom ROMs start showing up.
RashaMatt said:
8) So TouchWiz sux - but there are lots of other Launchers to choose from.
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...which would make some of the widgets obsolete.
RashaMatt said:
10) Actually you CAN remove the SIM and sdcard without removing the battery - you just need to pry up the edge with a small tool - they are pretty flexible.
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...true, but why need a tool in the first place, why can't Samsung just design it so you can remove them easily?
RashaMatt said:
- The protective camera glass on the back is slightly RAISED, so it is gonna get scratched up FAST if you ever put your Note down on any dirty/uneven surface. And because the glass is actually part of the CAMERA (not the case), it's probably not replaceable.
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Strange, but my camera glass is actually indented into the area surrounded by the metal square. My Note is imported from Poland, I wonder if they have different builds?
RashaMatt said:
- The S-pen is too small, and pretty laggy in some apps, making it not even worth using (like drawing). And its touch-sensitivity is pretty worthless. And you can't tap the menu/back buttons with it.
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Yes, you're right about the small part, I'm Asian and a girl, so my hands are pretty small which makes the pen just right, but I can understand some people with bigger hands will find using it a real pain. I do agree with you on the other points!
wendyalison said:
Strange, but my camera glass is actually indented into the area surrounded by the metal square. My Note is imported from Poland, I wonder if they have different builds?
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I got a Polish "plus" Network model too (from handtec.co.uk) - how weird. Poor quality control...
First some comments on the above gripes :
noled shows you led notifications without you needing to touch the screen. It's pretty decent. I'd rather have a real led but it's not bad at all. Try it.
If you are using the stylus you hit the button and swipe up for the menu, and or swipe left to go back. That's how you get around the button issue.
Now my gripes:
The capacitive buttons (menu, back) are WAY too sensitive and I find myself accidentally hitting them constantly. One handed use is almost possible too, but I keep rubbing those buttons and it wrecks everything.
I think I need more friction to write with the stylus - I don't use it much at the moment.
- Frank
Performance
what about the performance is there an issue or lag
as i couldn't get a conclusion of this point
ChodTheWacko said:
First some comments on the above gripes :
noled shows you led notifications without you needing to touch the screen. It's pretty decent. I'd rather have a real led but it's not bad at all. Try it.
- Frank
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Do you find that NoLed impares the battery function of your phone? I have heard reviews on the SGS2 that it kills the battery while others say it is OK. As far as I am aware, NoLed turns the entire screen on while displaying its mini icons, would be nice if it could just activate a few icons on the top left or right of the screen.
I guess they put the notification LED in the Nexus, keeping it excluisive to that.
I am willing to buy the Note sight unseen because I love my friends S2's and I drooled over the LTE HD edition coming out. The Note is like 50 times better. I can't wait for my shipment on Monday!
tito17182 said:
what about the performance is there an issue or lag
as i couldn't get a conclusion of this point
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Depends what you're running. With Launcher Pro, I do feel a wee bit of lag when I use the Pulse widgets on one of the homescreens, I have 3 of those dragged out though and they all need to gather data, so I wouldn't expect it to go smoothly.
Otherwise, i'm playing Asphalt 6 while playing music with PowerAmp and I don't feel lag.
wendyalison said:
I got it from a shopping plaza in Mong Kok District of Hong Kong. That plaza sells many 2nd hand as well as new imported phones. I got mine for HK$5760 (~USD 742), they also allowed me to trade-in my good ol' Milestone 2 so I only paid a total of HK$4160 (~USD 536).
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AWESOME!!!
I will go there first chance I get!
bbdj69 said:
Do you find that NoLed impares the battery function of your phone? have heard reviews on the SGS2 that it kills the battery while others say it is OK. As far as I am aware, NoLed turns the entire screen on while displaying its mini icons, would be nice if it could just activate a few icons on the top left or right of the screen.
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First of all, remember that this is amoled and each pixel is lit up individually. So it doesn't 'turn the entire screen' on unless you turn the entire screen white. Or you run on an lcd phone with a backlight.
It runs fine for me at the moment Although i want to do more battery tests to see what uses how much power. It could still be the case that noled drains battery via cpu usage or wakeups.
Frank
ChodTheWacko said:
First of all, remember that this is amoled and each pixel is lit up individually. So it doesn't 'turn the entire screen' on unless you turn the entire screen white. Or you run on an lcd phone with a backlight.
It runs fine for me at the moment Although i want to do more battery tests to see what uses how much power. It could still be the case that noled drains battery via cpu usage or wakeups.
Frank
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This is from the NoLed FAQ, similarly to what I have read online, opinion varies:
Q: What about battery drainage ? How much battery percentage does this app consume per hour ?
A: To answer this question, I quote our friend evilhunter101 from xda-forums.com
"That's a question that simply can't be answered for you and everyone else who wonders. Why? Because all the available settings change the battery consumption, as well as what other apps you have installed and what kernel or OS you are using. Simply put, try the app. If you like it, keep it. If not, uninstall it. You have literally got nothing to lose.
P.s. I see no difference with or without NoLED, while others swear its a battery hog. I imagine we have it set up very differently."
wendyalison said:
P.S. Forgot to add one more point, there are no A/V or media ports other than MicroUSB and 3.5mm audio jack (no HDMI or other ports) which doesn't bother me but might others.
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the MHL adaptor for GS2 working well~~
wendyalison said:
Yes, you're right about the small part, I'm Asian and a girl, so my hands are pretty small which makes the pen just right, but I can understand some people with bigger hands will find using it a real pain. I do agree with you on the other points!
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I am a short guy with pretty small hands, so I'm curious about how you feel using it. Is it even possible to do anything one-handed for you? Do you feel it's comfortable holding in one hand and using the other other for navigating? And finally, is it comfortable using the on-screen keyboard, might it be too big?
Thanks for your input so far. Good having people saying what's not so good as well.
wendyalison said:
I got it from a shopping plaza in Mong Kok District of Hong Kong. That plaza sells many 2nd hand as well as new imported phones. I got mine for HK$5760 (~USD 742), they also allowed me to trade-in my good ol' Milestone 2 so I only paid a total of HK$4160 (~USD 536).
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Where did you get the Galaxy Note? at the plaza in argyle street at the end of ladies market? If so I couldn't find one...
Fair comments,
Actually make me feel a lot more confident in buying the Note - just need to convince the wife now!
wendyalison said:
And don't tell me to get NoLED from market either, the point of the LED is that I can see notifications without having to press any buttons.
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Not following this comment. NoLED doesn't require you to press any buttons.
wendyalison said:
It's a tad better if you make calls without a headset, but as a girl, it looks super silly holding up the Note to my face. I use Marshall Minor earphones for conversations and they worked wonderfully well with Motorola, not that great with Samsung.
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Wait, you're saying call quality through earphones is WORSE than call quality just holding the phone? This is very alarming as that's how I make most of my calls. Can anyone else confirm this?
Here are two videos I made with the SIII, first the unboxing, then the demo for the gestures.
Note that I left out the direct call and pick up to be notified functions as I didn't have a microSIM card.
Feel free to ask whatever question about the phone and I'd love to answer or test things for you. Enjoy watching!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GauEbTHJYNk&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edbhVsWdngo
Edit: I forgot to mention that I've fiddled with the S Voice in multiple languages (I'm not a native speaker of either of them) and it surprised me how well I managed to get along with the app. It's responsive, useful and can easily understand you (I'm kind of shouting at it because I wanted to get it right, but it works very nicely). Can't wait for the Romanian version!
Cool!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Tomorrow I'll be giving back the SIII, so post questions, if you have any, while I'm still able to verify things for you!
How were you able to acquire such a beast before release?
I'm with the Samsung Mob!lers Romania and we almost always get the devices prereleased. Unfortunately they are beta products and can have faulty software, but luckily I had no problem whatsoever with the SIII. Stay tuned for a full video hands on and many other Samsung devices
Funniest part is when it open maps in Korean language
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Rate your UX with the new nature inspired TouchWiz. How is it different than S2 TW? Smoother? Any small, but experience enhancing changes?
Reviews have shown that the stock S3 browser is much better and less laggy than the S2. Can you confirm this with real life usage?
Unfortunately I have no S2 at hand to try out, but what I can say based on my experience with TouchWiz is that it's very sharp and quick and in the time I used it I had no intention of using a custom launcher. The browser is the same I have on my Tab 2, and prefer it over Chrome, but I can't say how much faster it is than the predecessors.
There are many users talking about the possible screen issues on the SGIII. Were you able to notice some kind of tinting?
Thank you for your time and great videos by the way.
I saw some topics talking about the display quality, with a slightly pink hue, but the model I have is just perfect. A lot of people complain about the oversaturation, but I think the colors are very very vivid. You get four different display color settings to match your taste, with dynamic being the flashiest and then standard, natural and movie.
I've tested everything out and I never got a force close or any kind of error, although it got stuck in S Voice once, but bear in mind that I don't have an actual production model.
floiancu said:
and prefer it over Chrome
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i read about other reviewers saying this too. very cool. thanks.
And here's the full review, a short presentation of the features. I particularly love the screen, crisp clear as you can see in the close up at the end. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-fcYW3GRS0&feature=youtu.be
Thank you, Flo.
EDIT: Now I see that the other guy has replied to my question about the reader and the answer is that it is available for most sites!
Is there a "reader" type function in the web browser? In one other video demonstrating text reflow, the reviewer pressed an icon in or near the address field to go into a "reader" mode! So clearly it does exist, but the reviewer was browsing mobile wikipedia when he did it, I was wondering if it is available when for example reading an article on Gsmarena in desktop mode?
I didn't see any reader button so I can't say if there was one, when I browsed I simply used the text wrap on the standard double tap zoom, never at different sizes.
If it's the same browser with the one I have on my Tab 2 (ICS 4.0.3) then there is no such feature, but they nay be different.
have u used or looked at a htc one X before? if so could you make a brief comparison of its screen with the sgs3 screen?
I have only seen them separately and I only know that both displays are amazing. A romanian reviewer whom I trudt has made a detailed comparispn between them and he favours the screen of the One X. In terms of resolution or color tones they're both overkill, but he says that the visibility in heavy sunlight is better on the One X.
I can only say that there's nothing you can possibly use the screen for that requires a higher resolution. Check the close up in the end of my gestures video to see how crisp clear it is!
Fantastic mate. Thanks for the videos.
If you still have the device with you can you try to shoot and upload a video showing the multitasking capability. Open as many apps as you can including games and browser and switch back from one another to see how well is it functioning ?
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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?fife3i
I gave the phone back, but I've tested the problem reported on the One X, that the multitasking was not working properly (reloading web pages when switched back to the browser etc) and I can completely vouch for the multitasking on the S III. It switches the apps flawlessly and keeps them in the RAM not requiring a reload.
floiancu said:
And here's the full review, a short presentation of the features. I particularly love the screen, crisp clear as you can see in the close up at the end. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-fcYW3GRS0&feature=youtu.be
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haha love the comparison with the 5110. I had that phone about 14 years ago and it wasn't considered to be a big phone back then.
Facepalm the phone to silence it is EPIC !