Android phones ever going to get it right?

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Kilack

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#63629 1-Jul-2010 08:04

My first experience with android was with a nexus one.

I owned one for about 2 weeks before selling it, the screen was useless outside, you just couldn't see it.
The multitouch was very limited due to the sensor they used and was inaccurate a lot of times.
Though the body of the nexus was awesome, and loved the trackball (great for notifications and moving too)

The desire also uses the same sensor unfortunately and has sense ui...

Now have gone to the galaxy only to find that it despite it having a very fast cpu and dedicated gpu it lags like crazy possibly because they used cheap internal memory.

What is the problem here? Are they not testing these phones enough before they go out the door?
Are they too busy trying to keep them secretive so don't allow enough people to actually test them? or time constraints? or just trying to save bucks by using cheap parts where they think it wont matter?

Are we ever going to see an android device that uses good all round parts?
It seems motorola are the only ones that actually really care about the quality of the build and use all expensive parts but their devices are dated...

Im thinking the droid x is looking like it could be nice.. but the super amoled screen from the galaxy is so nice..

Ahhh wish I could swap parts from one phone to another :)

What Id really like is...
4 inch super amoled screen from galaxy on the nexus one..
and the cpu/gpu from the galaxy on the nexus one..

Then we would have a nice phone..

Linuxluver

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#346856 1-Jul-2010 08:29

Kilack: My first experience with android was with a nexus one.

I owned one for about 2 weeks before selling it, the screen was useless outside, you just couldn't see it.

When I turn "auto-brightness" on in the Menu -> Settings -> Display, the screen becomes very bright in full sunlight.

The multitouch was very limited due to the sensor they used and was inaccurate a lot of times.
Though the body of the nexus was awesome, and loved the trackball (great for notifications and moving too)

Agreed. It's good enough for swiping and pinch / squeeze, but more complex operations aren't possible. Having said that, I tend to prefer the more simple mode of touch operation, preferring to use the trackball and other controls as they - for me - are more precise. I have big fingers.

The desire also uses the same sensor unfortunately and has sense ui...

I'm not a fan of Sense UI. To me it shouts "bloatware". But that's just me. :-)

Now have gone to the galaxy only to find that it despite it having a very fast cpu and dedicated gpu it lags like crazy possibly because they used cheap internal memory.

This is the Galaxy? Or the Galaxy S?

What is the problem here? Are they not testing these phones enough before they go out the door?
Are they too busy trying to keep them secretive so don't allow enough people to actually test them? or time constraints? or just trying to save bucks by using cheap parts where they think it wont matter?

I haven't used the Desire or the Galaxy, but I'm very happy with my Nexus One.

Are we ever going to see an android device that uses good all round parts?
It seems motorola are the only ones that actually really care about the quality of the build and use all expensive parts but their devices are dated...

What do you base your assessment of parts on? Just curious as I'm not as aware of this as you appear to be.

Im thinking the droid x is looking like it could be nice.. but the super amoled screen from the galaxy is so nice..

Yes....the AMOLED screens are really good. One of the reasons my Nexus One is so easy to use in full daylight (on auto-brightness). ;-)

Ahhh wish I could swap parts from one phone to another :)

What Id really like is...
4 inch super amoled screen from galaxy on the nexus one..
and the cpu/gpu from the galaxy on the nexus one..

Then we would have a nice phone..

Sounds like a project for Lifehacker. :-)

I updated my nexus one to the final Android v2.2 (FRF85b) last night. Very happy so far.

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Kilack

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#346862 1-Jul-2010 08:43

Linuxluver:
Kilack: My first experience with android was with a nexus one.

I owned one for about 2 weeks before selling it, the screen was useless outside, you just couldn't see it.

When I turn "auto-brightness" on in the Menu -> Settings -> Display, the screen becomes very bright in full sunlight.

Yeah I used to whack the brightness onto full and with bright sunlight I would still have problems seeing the screen, too glossy etc.
The galaxy-s uses "super amoled" new type of amoled which is _way_ better in the sun than the nexus, the difference is huge. The nexus one screen is very nice out of the sun, but even then if you see it next to a galaxy-s you will think the nexus one screen is dull :).

The multitouch was very limited due to the sensor they used and was inaccurate a lot of times.
Though the body of the nexus was awesome, and loved the trackball (great for notifications and moving too)

Agreed. It's good enough for swiping and pinch / squeeze, but more complex operations aren't possible. Having said that, I tend to prefer the more simple mode of touch operation, preferring to use the trackball and other controls as they - for me - are more precise. I have big fingers.

The desire also uses the same sensor unfortunately and has sense ui...

I'm not a fan of Sense UI. To me it shouts "bloatware". But that's just me. :-)

Yeah I was listing sense ui as a negative :), I prefer vanilla android.

Now have gone to the galaxy only to find that it despite it having a very fast cpu and dedicated gpu it lags like crazy possibly because they used cheap internal memory.

This is the Galaxy? Or the Galaxy S?

galaxy s

What is the problem here? Are they not testing these phones enough before they go out the door?
Are they too busy trying to keep them secretive so don't allow enough people to actually test them? or time constraints? or just trying to save bucks by using cheap parts where they think it wont matter?

I haven't used the Desire or the Galaxy, but I'm very happy with my Nexus One.

Are we ever going to see an android device that uses good all round parts?
It seems motorola are the only ones that actually really care about the quality of the build and use all expensive parts but their devices are dated...

What do you base your assessment of parts on? Just curious as I'm not as aware of this as you appear to be.

Just reading reviews and my own personal experiences, for example the fact that htc used a cheap touch sensor in the nexus and desire (clearpad 2000) which basically limited both those phones.
Seems samsung tried to save a buck by using cheaper internal storage in the galaxy s but it causes lagging.

There are sites that strip phones down and show the parts that were used so it is easy to see where comanies saved their $$.
It seems currently a lot of phones focus on one thing and forget about the rest a bit..

Im thinking the droid x is looking like it could be nice.. but the super amoled screen from the galaxy is so nice..

Yes....the AMOLED screens are really good. One of the reasons my Nexus One is so easy to use in full daylight (on auto-brightness). ;-)

As I said, check out a super amoled screen (galaxy s) and you will see how much of an improvement it is over a amoled screen (nexus). Unfortunately samsung aren't going to license super amoled screens to other companies for another year from what I read.

Ahhh wish I could swap parts from one phone to another :)

What Id really like is...
4 inch super amoled screen from galaxy on the nexus one..
and the cpu/gpu from the galaxy on the nexus one..

Then we would have a nice phone..

Sounds like a project for Lifehacker. :-)

I updated my nexus one to the final Android v2.2 (FRF85b) last night. Very happy so far.

Yeah that is the other nice thing about the nexus.. that its googles phone and it runs vanilla android so it gets updates right away.. Froyo looks really nice.

vinnieg

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#346889 1-Jul-2010 09:51

Kilack: My first experience with android was with a nexus one.

the screen was useless outside,
- Agreed, pretty much all electronic devices are useless outside in sunlight. It's a real pain :( the industry needs to do more to address this

Now have gone to the galaxy only to find that it despite it having a very fast cpu and dedicated gpu it lags like crazy possibly because they used cheap internal memory.
-True, best bet is to get rid of the Samsung bloatware and use a custom ROM, although I know not everyone wants to do this. However, I prefer custom to manufacturer ROMs

What is the problem here? Are they not testing these phones enough before they go out the door?
Are they too busy trying to keep them secretive so don't allow enough people to actually test them? or time constraints? or just trying to save bucks by using cheap parts where they think it wont matter?
- I think that's one of the issues with most new phones and not only Androids, but the iPhone 4, seems like they wanted to rush it out the door to appease the old AT&T customers and forget to check it, so many reports coming in of even more errors, iMovie not working, iTunes not syncing, Screens with yellow in them, drop testing failing, it's just all push and shove with manufacturers these days and then try and fix the problem later...

Are we ever going to see an android device that uses good all round parts?
It seems motorola are the only ones that actually really care about the quality of the build and use all expensive parts but their devices are dated...
- Depends what you mean, each to their own, I like plastic and brushed aluminium, some people prefer titanium. The Galaxy S feels fine to me, the screen would have to be the best part of course. It might've looked a lot nicer in titanium or brushed aluminium, but then it'd probably be twice as expensive

What Id really like is...
4 inch super amoled screen from galaxy on the nexus one..
and the cpu/gpu from the galaxy on the nexus one..
- Agreed, maybe with a few design changes ;)

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

NZtechfreak

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#346901 1-Jul-2010 10:13

I don't think its the internal memory that is causing the hangs in the Galaxy S - I think its a memory leak somewhere in TouchWiz, because it only gets noticeably bad for me after around a day of use. Current workaround for me is to restart the phone once/twice daily, then its just brilliant.

Trying LauncherPro now to see whether that alleviates the issue. Already tried ADW Launcher - was fantastic and better than LauncherPro from the point of view of features and smoothness of use, but sadly NUKED the battery something awful.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

Kilack

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#346904 1-Jul-2010 10:15

NZtechfreak: I don't think its the internal memory that is causing the hangs in the Galaxy S - I think its a memory leak somewhere in TouchWiz, because it only gets noticeably bad for me after around a day of use. Current workaround for me is to restart the phone once/twice daily, then its just brilliant.

Trying LauncherPro now to see whether that alleviates the issue. Already tried ADW Launcher - was fantastic and better than LauncherPro from the point of view of features and smoothness of use, but sadly NUKED the battery something awful.

I hope you are right, that would be good news...
I wish these manufacturers would give an option of uninstalling their UI's....

Be nice to hear some word from samsung on the issue.. they aren't exactly well known for their great support though..... but with the phone going to so many carriers in the states I am sure they will be looking at the issue.

vinnieg

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#346906 1-Jul-2010 10:23

NZtechfreak: I don't think its the internal memory that is causing the hangs in the Galaxy S - I think its a memory leak somewhere in TouchWiz, because it only gets noticeably bad for me after around a day of use. Current workaround for me is to restart the phone once/twice daily, then its just brilliant.

Trying LauncherPro now to see whether that alleviates the issue. Already tried ADW Launcher - was fantastic and better than LauncherPro from the point of view of features and smoothness of use, but sadly NUKED the battery something awful.

Have you tried launcher pro beta? It's beautifully fast and smooth :) although I too have notice the battery life on it has gone down quite a bit, it seems to be slightly faster than Launcher Pro, have only crashed once so far and that was my fault

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

vinnieg

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#346908 1-Jul-2010 10:27

Whoops, actually i think they just call it launcher pro beta in general now? no crashes on v0.6.3 so far :) Also turned on the Nexus one cube style menus and they looked alright, the Froyo style app bar is good to turn on also

I have moved across the ditch. Now residing in Melbourne as a VOIP/Video Technical Trainer/Engineer.

teihoata

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#346910 1-Jul-2010 10:28

I think Paul O'Brien has released a custom rom over on MoDaCo for the galaxy s. If you don't mind rooting your phone then you should definitely give the rom a try. I'm sure you will find a huge increase in speed

Kilack

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#346975 1-Jul-2010 13:22

teihoata: I think Paul O'Brien has released a custom rom over on MoDaCo for the galaxy s. If you don't mind rooting your phone then you should definitely give the rom a try. I'm sure you will find a huge increase in speed

Yeah am keeping my eye on what he is up to, they basically seem to be trying to move things off the internal sd card (not the external sd card that you can buy and slot in) to the nand storage which I think is only 2 gigs in size but a lot faster but most of that 2 gigs is already being used. That is why I believe it is a hardware issue because they are saying if they dont use the internal sd then it speeds it up by a huge amount.

Kilack

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#346981 1-Jul-2010 13:29

Unless this lag issue is something that can be fixed with an upgrade I know I will be moving to the milestone droid X when it comes out....

4.3 inch screen
8 megapixel camera with dedicated camera button & dual led flash
1ghz arm7 cpu
hdmi out

looking nice...

teihoata

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#347092 1-Jul-2010 20:21

Kilack: Unless this lag issue is something that can be fixed with an upgrade I know I will be moving to the milestone droid X when it comes out....

4.3 inch screen
8 megapixel camera with dedicated camera button & dual led flash
1ghz arm7 cpu
hdmi out

looking nice...

If your going to upgrade from a galaxy s may I suggest you hold off a few more months until the snapdragon 2 phones are out. Rumours are we will have one before years end so anything you buy now will be made redundant within a few months.

1.5ghz dual core on a phone = sweet bliss

Kilack

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#347100 1-Jul-2010 20:50

teihoata:
Kilack: Unless this lag issue is something that can be fixed with an upgrade I know I will be moving to the milestone droid X when it comes out....

4.3 inch screen
8 megapixel camera with dedicated camera button & dual led flash
1ghz arm7 cpu
hdmi out

looking nice...

If your going to upgrade from a galaxy s may I suggest you hold off a few more months until the snapdragon 2 phones are out. Rumours are we will have one before years end so anything you buy now will be made redundant within a few months.

1.5ghz dual core on a phone = sweet bliss

Yeah, always something better around the corner.

I would be more than happy with the galaxy s if it didn't have the lag issue which I consider a pretty serious fault, a phone locking up for 5 seconds when you want to answer a call is pretty nasty. Don't really need dual cores for what I use a phone for, until comes such a time that they have huge amounts of storage too, then they would be great for carrying around your movie collections etc and plugging in to tv's via hdmi but that will be a way down the track. Then the dual cores would be good for handling the 1080p content :) but by the time storage gets that big, probably we will be talking about 8 core phones etc..

I see there is also a samsung phone coming out soon with a pico projector in it, kind of cool :)

Cocoa

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#353724 20-Jul-2010 05:11

Projector phones are definitely starting to get better (the LG eXpo attachement was way to dim to be useful), but the standalone units are still many times brighter so I'd wait another year or two for that tech to mature enough to be integrated well into a phone. Hopefully by that time the cost of lasers will have come down enough to put an AAXA L1 RGB laser projector into some phones.

meanderingmark

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#353772 20-Jul-2010 09:36

meh. I'm happy with my Desire. It works fine.

eXDee

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#354185 20-Jul-2010 21:07

meanderingmark: meh. I'm happy with my Desire. It works fine.

This. Stoked with mine also. I realise it has its limitations, but no device is perfect as you've found. Working awesome and can't wait for froyo.