having had the mozart for a week I'm thinking of changing it to the samsung cause i'm not that happy with it :s
poor loudspeaker sound volume
dolby just seems to be pointless and not an improvment to sound
seems to have poor battery usage
havn't had a samsung version in my hand yet so can any comment on at least those 2 problems? is it worth the swap.
The screen on the sammy i'd probs prefer as its a lot more vivid (cant from a desire anyway to wp7) and the slightly bigger screen size and I can loose the camera and be happy with 5MP instead of 8MP.
But is the phone actualy better? any advice would be handy before I blow more money lol
The battery life should be better on the Samsung.
All the reviews I read stated that the Omina is better than the Mozart.
* Most HTC WP7 devices are known to have very weak batteries (sometimes 1.230mAh). The Omnia 7 has a 1.500mAh battery.
* The Omnia has a great S-AMOLED screen when the HTC only has a S-Lcd or even an old Lcd screen.
* Also the Omnia 7 has apparently a high quality camera and can take nice pictures or videos. The camera of the HTC is not that good.
* Speakers are always awful on most HTC phones, so the Omnia 7 can only be better.
I used to like HTC, but definitely the Omnia 7 is far far better
think all phones have a battery problem these days they need to discover a new way to power things A day's power on a phone shouldnt be a hard acheivment though rather than say half a day.
thanks artur thats a good help and from the vids etc I'm starting to think the sammy could be better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKvRNcYyx1E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEvjM_w5e3Y
Difference between S-Amoled and Lcd:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtqWFeUynM
People are blowing AMOLED out of proportion. Remember that the WP7 UI is pretty text and contrast heavy. The Pentile pattern in AMOLED lends itself well to pictures, but not at all to text. You'll be having color fringing on all text.
If you go with SLCD, you might have a little light bleed on dark surfaces, that's mostly just noticeable when it's pretty dark around you, but you get really sharp text and no in-your-face colors (yeah, AMOLED has vibrant colors, but they're annoying with time).
Also, when lit up bright, AMOLED draws way more power than SLCD. If a majority of your activity is browsing the web, you'll be dealing mostly with websites that have white or bright backgrounds.
yer i've scoured youtube like a hooker lol all the vids are kinda the same so wanted someone with a voice now think i'm gonna swap to sammy. HTC hub isnt even that good yet anyway so that's no loss.
The problem with S-Amoled:
S-Amoled is great for black. Because the contrast is very high and the black will be truly black.
But on the contrary S-Amoled will not be good for white. It's kind of blue.
Therefore it will be more difficult to read the text on webpages than with lcd.
Also S-Amoled is supposed to consume more battery when the screen displays white color (e.g. when you browse on the Internet).
S-Amoled is also weaker when you are outside.
****
Why you would not wait for the DELL Venue Pro. I think it will be the best WP7 device?
omnia 7 and if thats not upto scrath then i'm going desire HD again on android.
BTW the 8MP camera on the htc seems pretty crap, lots of blur and unviewable pics even though its clear on the screen. There's a long delay with the 2 flashes and the pic taking which makes it terrible. Thats with the default settings though as i've not touched it.
Omnia or Mozart? Are ou kidding?
The Omnia 7 is one of the best WP7 device on the market. The Mozart just an average phone.
Omnia 7 definitely. for the quality of the camera, for the quality of the screen, for the bigger battery, etc.
the sound dosnt seem to be that loud on my samsung omnia 7 either. im goona try different headphones.......
How are you finding the Omnia 7? I have a HD7 I bought a week ago and am unhappy with it, I'm thinking of returning it and getting a Omnia 7 instead.
The only thing i'm concerned about is the camera...I really like both phones. And in my opinion the only diffrences is the display and the camera. I know the diffrences between SAMOLED and SLCD...So the only thing missing is the diffrence in camera.
Is the Mozart 8mp camera better, or is the omnia 5mp camera better.
Could someone, whos tried both tell me his/hers opinion.
I know omina have more camera options, but does that give omina better pictures than mozart.
And how about startup time, from pocket to actually taking the picture.
Mozart have a LED flash, omnia has camera light only, does that give mozart advantage?
So if someone can help me in not buying the wrong device...
I can tell you right now the Omnia will have a better camera. It's not about pixels. The sensor is what matters and HTC's usually are pretty bad.
ericc191 said:
I can tell you right now the Omnia will have a better camera. It's not about pixels. The sensor is what matters and HTC's usually are pretty bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that HTC camera usually are pretty bad...But what about now?
Is Omnia the better one? I know that the sensor are the key feature here...But still 8mp are more than 5 mp...
But which one is the sharpest?
I got the Omnia 7 nearly 2 weeks ago and can say without a shadow of a doubt its better than and HTC device Ive ever owned (from early win mo, to android, its been HTC all the way for me - just to provide evidence of non bias).
The camera is excellent on the Omnia, for both pics and video (I'm editing some bonfire night footage right now so will link to it once done), will also link to some random shots taken in different environments.
From boot time, to general use the phone is simply blazingly fast - and from what I read in another post it seems that samsung used Nand memory in this phone, hence the blazing speeds for games and boot (opposed to built in SD card).
The only negative is its 8GB, and thats it, but I never intended my phone to hold a musical backup nor do I see it as a grind to swap out music thats getting tired, videos are another story as they are generally a 'watch once' media (especially on the phone).
I cant faukt sound quality, I moved from a hero and the difference on audio quality is astounding (mainly use it in the car using the stereo audio in), brilliant.
The screen, well - this is simply astounding, its so clear, no blurring like people have mentioned and the colours are brilliant, to the point where non techy and techy folks are WOW'd by it completely! its my iPhone killer
gingepaul79 said:
I got the Omnia 7 nearly 2 weeks ago and can say without a shadow of a doubt its better than and HTC device Ive ever owned (from early win mo, to android, its been HTC all the way for me - just to provide evidence of non bias).
The camera is excellent on the Omnia, for both pics and video (I'm editing some bonfire night footage right now so will link to it once done), will also link to some random shots taken in different environments.
From boot time, to general use the phone is simply blazingly fast - and from what I read in another post it seems that samsung used Nand memory in this phone, hence the blazing speeds for games and boot (opposed to built in SD card).
The only negative is its 8GB, and thats it, but I never intended my phone to hold a musical backup nor do I see it as a grind to swap out music thats getting tired, videos are another story as they are generally a 'watch once' media (especially on the phone).
I cant faukt sound quality, I moved from a hero and the difference on audio quality is astounding (mainly use it in the car using the stereo audio in), brilliant.
The screen, well - this is simply astounding, its so clear, no blurring like people have mentioned and the colours are brilliant, to the point where non techy and techy folks are WOW'd by it completely! its my iPhone killer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I look forward to seeing some pictures and video if you recorded some.
I've bad my omnia 7 since release date, and it's absolutely amazing. The screen is perfect, I've had no trouble in the sun, no bluey whites that people have mentioned. Also there is no problem with text at all. The phone is really nippy, and much better than other phones running off SD cards.
I also tested out the camera a lot, and love it. The pictures are amazing quality.
I also took some firework footage in 720p, i need to edit it together too. Only one thing i can fault when recording, sometimes the auto focus stopped focusing on the fireworks, which is understandable i guess. i was surprised how well it picked them up anyway. It always managed to pick up the lasers too. (please note this is coming from a complete novice to taking videos).
But overall the 720p video footages is amazing, especially from a phone :O
*EDIT*
Forgot to add, the favourite bit about my phone is the screen, because it is just amazing, when the blacks are so true, you can't see where the edge of the screen is, it blends in with the phone, what iphone can do that?!
First things first, I have the Omnia 7 and I love it. But at the same time, I know it's not going to be for everyone!
Everyone is waxing lyrical about the screen. The screen is indeed fantastic and especially with the black theme with coloured highlights and white text of WP7, the screen really is something to behold.
But having said that, there are factors which people should consider when getting this phone.
Sure it is faster than phones using the microSD cards but which would you rather have? 5GB of usable space, or upgradeable capacity?
For some, 5GB is not going to cut it...a few albums and a few videos and that's your phone full.
You can upgrade the likes of HD7 with a higher capacity card and it will run a little slower than the Omnia 7 but at least you will have most of your music stored on it.
so it's down to screen and speed vs capacity.
like I mentioned before, I have my dedicated mp3 players for music so the Omnia 7 is perfect for me.
If for some reason you prefer the below par sound that your phone will give you and would like to use your phone for music, then I'd have a good think!
plus the HD7 and Mozart screens (esp the latter) are really good.. just don't look at the Omnia 7 screen first!
Related
Hi, I have been offerred this phone free on an upgrade for my HTC touch HD, is this a decent enough upgrade, how does it compare to the HD2?
I have read lots of reviews but lot of them conflict each other, my main areas of concern are as follows:
1. What is the battery life actually like?
2. Is the screen as bad as people say in daylight?
3. What is the camera quality like for stills?
4. Has there been any offical announcments about the DIVX / 720p video recording update?
5. Is there a decent video player comparable to Coreplayer which supports muliple codecs?
Thanks
1. Not the best, but good enough. I use the device pretty heavily and it gets down to about 15% by the end of the day. Light usage can probably last 2 days.
2. It's as good as any other AMOLED device.
3. Pretty good. Low-light shots are not that great. LED flash helps but often it's either not bright enough or the shots get washed out.
4. No
5. Not sure. But I personally prefer to encode my videos so that the default player can accept it.
Thanks,much appreciated.
The developer community for the HD2 is comparatively erm, developed at the moment. Obviously it's still early days, but seeing as the Nexus One tends to be the modder's choice of phone, like the HD2 is for WinMo, I think the Desire will always be in the Shadow of the Nexus to an extent.
A friend with an HD2 struggles to make his last the whole day. He always carries a spare battery. The HD2's screen is very nice, but side by side with the Desire, everything seems washed out and the advantages of AMOLED are clear. Outdoors in sunglight the Desire's screen is poor but not unusable. Using my phone outdoors has never caused me any major problems. I would say the HD2 is more aesthetically pleasing device overall and more customisable at this stage, but with 2.2 almost certainly coming to the device, I think the Desire is a sound choice and don't regret buying it.
I've got an HD2 and I used to cook ROMs for it - WinMo is easier to get your head around than Android IMO - and the community is more developed as WinMo has been around longer. However, I prefer the Desire as the size is better (HD2 is nice but it's huge!!) and it runs better out the box. My HD2 was only good after I'd played about with it
Hardware wise they are very similar. 1ghz Snapdragon, 576 memory. The HD2 has a massive 4.3 inch screen compared to the Desire's 3.7 inch... Put pretty much any phone next to the Desire though and the Desire will make the other phone's screen look quite poor. The clarity and color on the Desire is just... well... it blows any other phone out of the water as far as screen quality. The camera I have found is quite good. The low lights though can sometimes get washed out, but I have found that is an issue even on normal cameras so not really here or there. The phone over all is pretty good. The battery life is kind of sporadic, it really depends on what you do with it, and what you have going. Sometimes it can last days without dropping below 50%, other times I find it dropping like 10% every 20 minutes. I am thinking 2.2 will help out with battery life a bit... and the longer I have the phone the better the battery life seems to get. Between the two devices, it pretty much comes down to which operating system you prefer. I dislike Windows Mobile, and like Android. They are similar phones spec wise, the only thing the HD2 has over the Desire is screen size, and even then the HD2 screen is no where near as nice as the Desire's. If you do want/need the massive size, you could wait for the HTC Supersonic to come out. It's basically an HD2 with Android.
I briefly bought a few phones before settling for the desire. All I can say is its like the leatherman of phones. You just have to hold one of these things & you won't look back
I had lots of smart phones in the past, mainly Win Mobile ones and then deflected over to the other side (iPhone). Not going to get into a debate what is better, but the in my opinion iPhone was and still is a great device. The new iPhone will be even better.
Saying that, I went for this device because it was much more configurable and has much more potential without "jail breaking" etc.
Compared to other devices I'm still impressed about the speed, responsiveness and generally it has been much more "bug free" than any smart phone I have owned in the past and I've owned a lot. I have not had it reboot on me once yet (2 weeks of solid use).
I have a few forced closure of apps but that's an app issue. What made the iPhone great was the apps that was written especially for the iPhone and hopefully the android market will reach that same heights in the future.
Battery life is not great, but I've never had a smart phone last more that a day without charge, but I use it a lot during my train journey into work and have push email, plus other data intensive apps. I bought this phone to give me all this functionality and I find no point in trying to get more than a day if I have to sacrifice not being able to use the phone to its full potential.
Screen is good, nice and crisp. I don't watch movies on the phone, but I encoding it would be better to have it in a resolution suitable for the phone.
In conclusion, I think this phone is worth it, I don't regret buying it and not looking to buy anything else, until....... iPhone 4g.
Thanks again everyone for your comments, these have been really helpful.
I'm not sure which phone to get. I have the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate right now which is just like the focus and i like the captivate (coming from the iPhone 4). I'm just not crazy about android and I have always been a lover of windows mobile. The HD2 is one of my favorite phones out and that's basically the HD7. So which one would you go for. My contract is up with at&t on November 9th so I'm not sure if i should stay and go with the focus or switch to t-mobile and get the HD7. What it really comes down to is The super amoled screen which I love vs the 4.3" screen which I love.
I would go with Dell Venue.
I'm going with the Focus myself.
Haha I'm in the exact same spot. I have a Captivate but am considering going over to WP7. Stuck between the Focus and HD7.
From a practical standpoint I'm leaning more towards the Focus simply because it has an accessible Micro SD slot and of course the superior screen quality. But I love the HD7's form factor and screen size.
Need to see the HD7 in person to determine if I'm willing to take the step back in screen quality. That's really the deciding factor.
I just pre-ordered the HD7. Don't trust engadget's review of the screen. Every other video of the phone shows it is much more vibrant and the blacks are a lot deeper. Probably because every time engadget showed it was at an angle, when realistically the phone will only be viewed directly.
EDIT: I'm coming from an amoled equipped Nexus One.
ryotgz said:
I'm going with the Focus myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As am I. I was originally going to go with HD7/Venue but then decided Focus.
I have to go with the HD7. I have been a fan if HTC for years. At&t 8125, T-Mobile Mda, wing, G1, touch pro 2, HD2, It's only right for my to go back bow that they have another top notch device. I love my vibrant the screen is amazing but
4.3 inches for movies is just better seeing that everything thing is close to being the same. I can live with 16gigs I have 32 right now and have used only 10
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I'd say the Focus because the size is perfect, has a super AMOLED, and is said to have a slightly more responsive screen.
I'm personally hoping the Dell Venue Pro eventually hits Verizon since T-Mobile is just a launch partner.
manlisten said:
Haha I'm in the exact same spot. I have a Captivate but am considering going over to WP7. Stuck between the Focus and HD7.
From a practical standpoint I'm leaning more towards the Focus simply because it has an accessible Micro SD slot and of course the superior screen quality. But I love the HD7's form factor and screen size.
Need to see the HD7 in person to determine if I'm willing to take the step back in screen quality. That's really the deciding factor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know its so hard to make a decision. I love my super amoled but the hd2 has the same screen as the hd7 so if you want you can make your comparison from there.
Halabeaster54 said:
I know its so hard to make a decision. I love my super amoled but the hd2 has the same screen as the hd7 so if you want you can make your comparison from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put the HD2 and the HD7 next to each other and you will see that the HD7 is clearly a better screen. The screen is more comparible to the evo.
Windows Phone 7 is a complete programming break from all earlier incarnations. It would stand to reason that some features wouldn't be implemented in the first pass. Windows Mobile was losing market share at an astonishing rate, and one of the bigger reasons was the lack of a cohesive, polished, smoother user experience. Despite the ability to tether and cut/paste. The marketplace has obviously spoken, and said that user experience is far more important that feature set. Why would a for profit company emphasize the exact ideology that resulted in nothing but eroding market share, when other companies took the exact opposite approach with mind blowing success?
Focus.
Better screen. Much better camera. Expandable memory.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I wouldn't jump on the hd7 just yet. I'm using the hd2 because my iphone4 got stolen and im tired of paying full price for iphones, I would stick with ur iPhone get it unlocked for t-mobile, and use it until something goes wrong, or sell it on ebay for some ridiculous price and get yourself covered for the hd7
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
im on the same boat... i have an evo and need to dump sprint since its signal absolutely blows at home...
originally i want to get me an hd7, but im getting a bit worried after reading some initial reviews (poor build quality, sub par camera) ill hold off on judgement on the screen till i see it personally since i have a newer build evo (hw3) and the screen looks fantastic compared to the hd2 and early evo's (hw1-2), so if the hd7 uses the same screen then it will pass...
on the other hand there is the samsung focus with the super amoled screen, vastly superior battery life reported by reviews, and superior camera, my concerns with this one is the lack of camera flash, plasticky build, and at&t's tiered data plans (has anyone had issues with this since it was applied?)
bottom line...
HD7:
+ screen size, dual flash, kickstand (love it), more developer attention, unlimited data (tethering?)
- battery capacity, average camera, average build, inferior contrast
Samsung Focus:
+ super amoled screen, camera quality, slimmer, battery life
- cheap feel, no camera flash, limited data
opinions? ? ?
mike21pr said:
\
...
Samsung Focus:
+ super amoled screen, camera quality, slimmer, battery life
- cheap feel, no camera flash, limited data
opinions? ? ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the negatives: I've heard mixed reviews on the 'cheap feel,' some say it's not that bad, and even feels pretty good. There is an LED flash on the back, and I still have an unlimited plan.
For the positives: You didn't mention the expandable storage that the focus has, which for me is a huge plus. I've also seen a video with a Samsung exec jabbing his pen into the screen showing that it wont scratch (gorilla glass or something similar?).
Lastly, I'm not sure the battery life is a plus (maybe it is compared to the HTC?), as several sites list it as only average or even below average.
eknutson said:
For the negatives: I've heard mixed reviews on the 'cheap feel,' some say it's not that bad, and even feels pretty good. There is an LED flash on the back, and I still have an unlimited plan.
For the positives: You didn't mention the expandable storage that the focus has, which for me is a huge plus. I've also seen a video with a Samsung exec jabbing his pen into the screen showing that it wont scratch (gorilla glass or something similar?).
Lastly, I'm not sure the battery life is a plus (maybe it is compared to the HTC?), as several sites list it as only average or even below average.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanx for the clarification i must have missed the flash on the back
battery life on super amoled is awesome compared to lcd's, that is till you go to an app that has a white background (email, web, facebook, twitter) so i guess thats something i have to keep in mind...
if i could somehow get unlimited data it would be a wrap
Just read through the thread and having owned a HD7 for a week now i'll give you some pointers:
Pro's
- The Screen is superb. It's huge, bright (brightness on high, not auto) and colours are vibrant. I've had the desire with it's AMOLED screen and can say the difference is minimal, plus when you've got them next to each other the HD7's sheer screen size outways the miniscule (even unnoticable) difference in quality. It is not the same screen as used in the HD2.
- The Build quality is brilliant. No creaks or bends, and the kickstand is firm and sturdy.
- The screen is the most responsive i've ever used. It's fantastic and imo (dare i say it?) better than that apple one. It responds instantly to your touch and scrolling through menus/webpages/etc is flawless. The pinch to zoom is incredibly impressive compared to others too.
- The camera is brilliant. It's crisp, the LED's are rediculously bright, and it takes pictures really quickly. I've been taking about 5 or 6 pictures per 10 seconds which is good if you're like me and take loads then pick the best one.
Cons
- The Battery life on my particular HD7 is dreadful, i get a day and a half at the most with what I would say is average usage. I have to charge it every night which i'm not too fussed about but if that bothers otehrs it's definately something to consider.
- The autofocus on the camera during video recording can be hit and miss. Sometimes it out-focuses itself, but if you hold it for a second or 2 it sorts itself out, so not a problem for me really.
*EDIT* After a further 2 weeks i can confirm Battery life has stabalised and after a "full day" (7am till 11pm) of use i still have half a battery left.
Can the HD7 take an SD card as currently looking at various win 7 devices
Here is the deal guys, Windows Phone 7 was never supposed to have SD card support, I think 16 gigs is more than enough, but anyways. Every time you change the Omni in the focus, you have to reformat I believe your device, so keep that in my mind.
Why MS didn't put SD support is beyond me, but what Samsung did is just use that as expendable memory, it sort of creates 1 partition, if I am understanding it correctly
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
TheGTeam said:
Can the HD7 take an SD card as currently looking at various win 7 devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is a long thread in the HD7 section about that
Hey guys... Ive had both the Samsung Focus and the HTC Surround... not sure which i want to keep though... Surround is louder which i like ringtone wise and i like the soft touch back.. I liked the screen, camera and thickness of the focus more though.... Just looking to see what other peoples thoughts were or maybe what your determining factor was...
focus, compare the screen of both phones side by side and you'll clearly see the difference
Compare them side by side using office or email and you'll notice the surround looks better. The surround does better with the lighter colors. Size really isnt a factor because even though the Focus is thinner (less then an 1/8 of an inch) because when you compare all 3 dimensions the Surround is actually smaller. Both are good picks. Just go with your gut and I'm sure you'll be pleased either way.
do you use your phone as a multimedia device or a business device? Thats kinda what it comes to.
Been using a Surround for more than a week now. It feels substantial but not clumsy and has excellent build quality. I thought the Samsung felt cheaper and had a more pixilated screen. Vote for Surround.
The ATT store I went to had the Focus and Surround side by side.. played with both and bought the Focus eventually. The Focus is really very thin and light and you wont even fell it in your pocket. Also even though its basically all plastic it does not feel cheap.
Definitely keep the Focus.
The way that I decided between the two (well, three for me) was to stand at the AT&T display and play around with both. With one in each hand, making the decision was really rather easy for me.
I was really impressed by the Focus. The large, pretty screen made me happy. I bought one.
Honestly, my impression of the Surround was that it was a terrible joke gone awry. It makes absolutely no sense to me, and it boggles my mind that the Surround was ever manufactured, much less brought to retail. Every time I see one, I want to slap Ralph De La Vega for polluting my potential choices with garbage like that instead of bringing over quality equipment.
That being said, lots of folk really seem to thing that the Surround is not a miscarried fetus of design, and as such what you should take away when considering your personal device should be what matters to you. Think about what you do or want to do with your phone on a daily basis, and apply that to the choices you have at hand. I ended up choosing the Focus, but you may decide that something else fits your desires better.
I'd hate to be the one to bump a thread but I too am looking at these two devices. I have always used qwerty phones (I have the Tilt 2 now) and HTC. However now AT&T only has the LG to choose from for a kb and its screen is small, quality is nominal compared to the other two and the kb feels horrible to the touch (and cheap).
Now I am trying to figure out which of these two phones (Focus/Surround) I want.
Focus: I like the focus for its larger screen, lighter weight and the fact that is has 1gb internal sys mem (sys mem, not storage mem). However all of the store displays of all AT&T stores I went to have a slight image burned onto the screen. They told me the screens are on 24/7 but still...the other phones don't have that. Also it lacks 50% of the space since it doesn't have the 8GB card in it.
HTC Surround: I like the brightness a little more on this screen, plus the HTC software (ie, youtube). The sound is a better obviously and it has the extra 8GB card. The screen is a little smaller though, it has way less sys mem (not storage mem), and less talk time (battery life)...at least based on specs.
I need good images, accurate keyboard for a touch kb, use it for business and space....well I have a 8GB SanDisk so I'm sure it would work in the Focus so space isn't much a concern. Battery life is important as I use my phone a lot. Also important is speed....the HTC has 1/2 the sys mem pretty much as the Focus does...yet I haven't heard anyone make any comments about this yet.
PS: Oh! and I can get the HTC Surround for 1 penny but the Focus is $99.....so that also obviously adds a little imbalance.
jh20001 said:
I'd hate to be the one to bump a thread but I too am looking at these two devices. I have always used qwerty phones (I have the Tilt 2 now) and HTC. However now AT&T only has the LG to choose from for a kb and its screen is small, quality is nominal compared to the other two and the kb feels horrible to the touch (and cheap).
Now I am trying to figure out which of these two phones (Focus/Surround) I want.
Focus: I like the focus for its larger screen, lighter weight and the fact that is has 1gb internal sys mem (sys mem, not storage mem). However all of the store displays of all AT&T stores I went to have a slight image burned onto the screen. They told me the screens are on 24/7 but still...the other phones don't have that. Also it lacks 50% of the space since it doesn't have the 8GB card in it.
HTC Surround: I like the brightness a little more on this screen, plus the HTC software (ie, youtube). The sound is a better obviously and it has the extra 8GB card. The screen is a little smaller though, it has way less sys mem (not storage mem), and less talk time (battery life)...at least based on specs.
I need good images, accurate keyboard for a touch kb, use it for business and space....well I have a 8GB SanDisk so I'm sure it would work in the Focus so space isn't much a concern. Battery life is important as I use my phone a lot. Also important is speed....the HTC has 1/2 the sys mem pretty much as the Focus does...yet I haven't heard anyone make any comments about this yet.
PS: Oh! and I can get the HTC Surround for 1 penny but the Focus is $99.....so that also obviously adds a little imbalance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed is never mentioned because its not that big of an issue. Windows Phone 7 was designed specifically for these devices and as such, has a minimum system requirement, and because of that, they both work very well on any of the devices on the market currently. The extra memory doesn't make much of impact on performance.
To be honest, aside from the SAMOLED screen, the Focus looks boring and feels cheap. Also, Samsung's track record for supporting their own devices has been subpar at most, for this reason alone I steer away from Samsung devices unless its a Samsung TV.
The Surround doesn't win any design awards, but I do think it looks better than the Focus and doesn't feel cheap. The speaker, while not really useful, is great for pumping out music and video (which is good since WP7 is a media-centered device). Not to mention the awesome support that HTC devices get from HTC, from software to updates, HTC has a much better track record than Samsung.
And when it comes to smartphone battery life, I think its safe to say you're not going to get great battery life period. You are gonna have to plug in your phone at least once a day, and anyone expecting it to last any more than that will be in for a surprise. So I usually ignore battery life when looking at phones (unless the battery life is really dismal).
Obviously they both have their ups and downs and its up to you to decide whats most important to you. The screen burn-in issue on the Focus is one I've heard before, so that actually would bother me quite a bit. I haven't heard any issues with the Surround really.
I just hope if I were to choose HTC, if it will last with good use until the end of the day. I am perfectly fine with charging my phone ever night. It's just when I have to charge it i the middle of the day and wonder if I even have a charger near me that bothers me. My tilt 2 has even had this issue (although usually it does ok).
can't speak much for the surround but i have a HTC 7 Trophy and it lasts through the day. however, i use mine for radio for like 6 hours of the day and by about 7pm it's dead, so i charge it at work. but still, that is using the radio for 6 hours...
which one is having trouble getting updated? get the other one.
nrfitchett4 said:
which one is having trouble getting updated? get the other one.
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lol, this has been another factor in choosing. It's the Samsung Focus that has been having troubles. That alone has put a lot of favor towards the surround for me and installs a lot of negative assumption in Samsung's build quality.
jh20001 said:
lol, this has been another factor in choosing. It's the Samsung Focus that has been having troubles. That alone has put a lot of favor towards the surround for me and installs a lot of negative assumption in Samsung's build quality.
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Why don't we wait and see how a real update is handled. If NODO comes out at the same time for both devices (even if it was delayed because of the Samsung), it really doesn't matter, because both received the update at the same time.
Weighing in on the question at hand. The Focus takes some of the best pictures of any smartphone on market today. If that is important to you, then that is reason enough to get the focus.
The Focus has a very nice screen, with gorilla glass. The battery life is top notch. The external speaker isn't bad. Fast NAND memory that may likely be more reliable.
The Samsung simply has higher quality components, even though the two devices share many of the same components.
Now, I do have the Focus, but when buying a WP7 device I wasn't bound to any single carrier, so I was able to research out all the devices thoroughly, and the Focus is the one I went with.
Well I do know that I thank all for their feedback. I have decided to order the HTC Surround. There has been good reasons for both sides to get either phone but the more I read online, the more I see people complaining about the screen burn-in issue as well as upgrading windows and the history of Samsung's own efforts to update their products.
Once I have the Surround I will share my own feedback to help contribute to the pot of knowledge.
Get the Focus. Its faster, has better specs, better battery life, better screen, etc.
Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express
I have a Captivate at the moment but am considering a Focus, no other phone is even in the running. I have been spoiled by the Samsung screen.....nothing else will do. I've looked at the surround but it just can't compare.
jh20001 said:
more I read online, the more I see people complaining about the screen burn-in issue as well as upgrading windows and the history of Samsung's own efforts to update their products.
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I really think this is going to end up like the whole plasma screen burn in issue - something we will hear about for years to come that is more of an issue in word than in reality. Regardless I hope that the Surround works out for you.
As a Surround user, I can say that the battery life is terrible. I love the phone although with moderate usage I still end up having to charge it around 5 PM if I plan on going anywhere that evening. Or if I make any long phone calls.
What do you guys think?
if you have the patience, wait and see. there might be more phones and ones which you like.
But what if nothing does? i cant wait ANOTHER WEEK. besides, if it gets announced next week, it wontbe out for a while.
CES is a few days away, you might as well wait at this point. What's the rush!
It's get updated to the newest version of WP7? I don't really expect any mind blowing devices from Microsoft at CES, otherwise there would be a leak or something by now.
rockstarar said:
But what if nothing does? i cant wait ANOTHER WEEK. besides, if it gets announced next week, it wontbe out for a while.
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Then why the hell are you asking us?
The DVP is cheaper than an HD2, and is a better phone in almost any way.
The only time I'd recommend getting an HD7 is if the person is on a budget (since it's in T-Mo stores you can do an installment on it) or they're ignorant and keep saying "but it's 4.3" dude!!!"
At that poing I figure the battle is lost and they should just do what they want to do.
I say get the DVP if you can, or wait for what's coming out at CES. I don't recommend the HD7. It's quality does not compared with most other WP7 devices...
I agree with N8ter, the HD7 isn't doing WP7 any favors. That said, I wouldn't choose the Dell either but rather go for either of the Samsungs or LG devices (model depends on where you live).
As for waiting until CES - sure you can wait, but like you said yourself, even if there is something amazing announced that's all it is - an announcement. Actual release would be a lot later in the year. Personally though, I don't think we'll see much improvement in terms of hardware for another 8-10 months. Microsoft (and OEMs) put too much time and effort into the 8x50 series to throw it all away so soon after release and start releasing the mythical dual-core handsets.
Realistically, I'm hoping for devices running the same SoC but with improved cameras and 32+ GB storage before the next real wave of devices, but I'm not really holding my breath for that either. The sad thing is that there are phones coming out now doing 1080p video whereas all the WP7 devices struggle (more or less) to encode (not to talk about decoding) even 720p with good framerates.
canadariot2312 said:
It's get updated to the newest version of WP7? I don't really expect any mind blowing devices from Microsoft at CES, otherwise there would be a leak or something by now.
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I agree, I don't think we are going to see anything mind blowing until the fall at the soonest.
N8ter said:
Then why the hell are you asking us?
The DVP is cheaper than an HD2, and is a better phone in almost any way.
The only time I'd recommend getting an HD7 is if the person is on a budget (since it's in T-Mo stores you can do an installment on it) or they're ignorant and keep saying "but it's 4.3" dude!!!"
At that poing I figure the battle is lost and they should just do what they want to do.
I say get the DVP if you can, or wait for what's coming out at CES. I don't recommend the HD7. It's quality does not compared with most other WP7 devices...
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dvp is not cheaper than the hd7, you can get it for 70bucks at walmart right now.
I know you hate the screen, but what are you basing this whole "dvp is better than the hd7" rant on?
Same OS running on less memory. Dell doesn't have the greatest track record on phones, and the dvp has been plagued by issues causing 2 delays.
emigrating said:
I agree with N8ter, the HD7 isn't doing WP7 any favors. That said, I wouldn't choose the Dell either but rather go for either of the Samsungs or LG devices (model depends on where you live).
As for waiting until CES - sure you can wait, but like you said yourself, even if there is something amazing announced that's all it is - an announcement. Actual release would be a lot later in the year. Personally though, I don't think we'll see much improvement in terms of hardware for another 8-10 months. Microsoft (and OEMs) put too much time and effort into the 8x50 series to throw it all away so soon after release and start releasing the mythical dual-core handsets.
Realistically, I'm hoping for devices running the same SoC but with improved cameras and 32+ GB storage before the next real wave of devices, but I'm not really holding my breath for that either. The sad thing is that there are phones coming out now doing 1080p video whereas all the WP7 devices struggle (more or less) to encode (not to talk about decoding) even 720p with good framerates.
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Click to collapse
I say that if you are gonna get a new phone every year (most of us do), then on t-mobile you have 2 choices (for tmous anyways).
HD7: hd2 with wp7 on it instead of winmo, 16gb internal storage (via microsd).
DVP: physical keyboard, less RAM then the hd7, but I think the internal storage is nand so that is a positive.
I was ready to jump on the dell bandwagon, but the device has had so many problems just getting released, that I decided to go with what I knew (hd7).
Everyone bashes the screen, but when I show the phone off, I don't get any comments on the screen being washed out. I get, "wow, that's a big screen, no wonder you can watch tv and movies on it."
If you can get your hands on a dvp, then play with it and go with what you like. But Tmobile stores do not have them to try out and only the 2 MS stores in the USA have them to play with, otherwise you have to order online.
everybody says that, but the hd2 doesnt have 720p recording and it has a 65k color screen vs 16m on thehd7.
rockstarar said:
everybody says that, but the hd2 doesnt have 720p recording and it has a 65k color screen vs 16m on thehd7.
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Don't feel like going over the anatomy of touchscreens.
To the person talking about Walmart prices, don't be ignorant. Walmart prices are double subsidized and if u cancel the line you pay two etf fees (450 total).
You have to be dumb to think those prices are comparable.
Hd2 is 199 from T-Mobile. Dvp is $149 with contract from dell (16gb model).
Why I think its universally better is pretty obvious if you have read my other post. Don't feign ignorance in this thread. I'd hate to assault this one with mega-quotes...
EDIT: Also, the HD2 hardware supports 720p video recording, but Windows Mobile 6.5 does not. 720p recording was disabled in the hardware. So much for that... They use the same cameras. They even have the same pink tint bug that the HD2 exibited.
I don't think Windows Mobile 6.5 supported more than 65k colors. All three phones (HD2, Evo, HD7 use the same TFT LCD panel).
Good job thinking the differences were hardware differences instead of OS/System limitations, though!
EXAMPLE: The Omnia II was released with an AMOLED display that supported 16M colors, but since it ran Windows Mobile 6.5, it was limited to displaying 65k colors. Sound familiar?
Windows Moile 6.5.x on an HD2 = 65k colors
Android on an HD2 = 16M colors
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
The HD7 is $100 from Best Buy. My girlfriend got one from there and loves it. It's a little lighter than the Venue Pro, a little thinner, has twice as much RAM, the same CPU, the same 16GB microSD storage, a better camera even with the red push, better flash, and feels much more solid in my hand than my Focus. The rubbery back is actually really nice on it. What are your specific complaints about the build quality?
What's the Dell's screen like outdoors? I know it's regular AMOLED rather than SAMOLED and those generally don't perform well in the sun.
Read the other thread where I made fairly extensive posts about it.
And the LCD panel on the HD2/Evo/HD7 has worse Viewing Angles than an AMOLED or SAMOLED screen, worse color saturation, and bad contrast as well.
It's not like I didn't carry around both my HD2 (as a media device, it can sync Zune Pass Subscription content) and Vibrant for months after I upgraded my phone.
There are comparisons on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTrmfc1It4E
Sorry, but there's no comparisons between those two display panels. You only need to watch the first 5 seconds of the video to see.
The Venue Pro is bound to weigh more because it has a slide-out keyboard, BTW, but it's easily one of the best constructed phones of 2010. The HD7, not so much (build quality is not on the level of the HD2, even).
The HD7 certainly doesn't have a better camera than the DVP, and the speakers on the HD7 is pretty bad.
N8ter said:
Read the other thread where I made fairly extensive posts about it.
And the LCD panel on the HD2/Evo/HD7 has worse Viewing Angles than an AMOLED or SAMOLED screen, worse color saturation, and bad contrast as well.
It's not like I didn't carry around both my HD2 (as a media device, it can sync Zune Pass Subscription content) and Vibrant for months after I upgraded my phone.
There are comparisons on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTrmfc1It4E
Sorry, but there's no comparisons between those two display panels. You only need to watch the first 5 seconds of the video to see.
The Venue Pro is bound to weigh more because it has a slide-out keyboard, BTW, but it's easily one of the best constructed phones of 2010. The HD7, not so much (build quality is not on the level of the HD2, even).
The HD7 certainly doesn't have a better camera than the DVP, and the speakers on the HD7 is pretty bad.
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First of all, the speakers aren't too bad. Coming from a Blackberry myself though, I see a huge difference. But compared to any other smartphone in the market at the moment they're average. I've yet to see a smartphone whose speakers make me say "wow!" Second, it never surprises me how much people suck on the teet of the "almighty" SAmoled screen. I have an Omnia II, I use Vibrants all the time and ya know what...SAmoled is not all that. You kiddies like to portray it as the end all be all of the mobile phone screen world but its not. In fact, I hate the damn screen on my Omnia II. It looks distorted and ****ty. If that's what you consider "better" than that's your ****. Not everyone wants cartoon colors for everything they see though. As far as viewing angles, you must be one of those people that watch a movie at 90* angle huh? Cuz that's probably the only way you could consider the SAmoled screens better. Better color saturation? Really? Refer to my cartoon colors comment. My Omnia II works fine but I just keep the damn thing because it runs important .cabs I need for work, other than that the "selling points" of SAmoled Samsung phones is wasted on me. The screen looks dim and colorful 90% of the time. Mind you, its not a horrible screen, but people overhyping it so much really makes me laugh. As far as cameras, I haven't seen DVP pics or video so I don't know how good it is, but it'd better be damn good because I've taken some damn nice pics with my HD7. Took a lot of messing with the settings and scenarios but it looks damn good. And I'd love to see what you mean by the HD7 having inferior build quality though. I guess not all phones can have the cheap plastic surrounding that the Vibrant has huh? Or the wiggly cheap feeling slide out keyboard on the DVP? Best constructed phones of 2010 LOL that's why it kept getting delayed eh? So what specific build quality issues are you referring to with the HD7 though? My HD7 hasn't given me one problem since I got it on launch day. Perfect buttons, perfect screen, the metal trim and kickstand have held up extremely well and the phone feels solid. So do tell what these issues are so I can run and trade in my HD7 for a plastic phone sir
eternalemb said:
First of all, the speakers aren't too bad. Coming from a Blackberry myself though, I see a huge difference. But compared to any other smartphone in the market at the moment they're average. I've yet to see a smartphone whose speakers make me say "wow!" Second, it never surprises me how much people suck on the teet of the "almighty" SAmoled screen. I have an Omnia II, I use Vibrants all the time and ya know what...SAmoled is not all that. You kiddies like to portray it as the end all be all of the mobile phone screen world but its not. In fact, I hate the damn screen on my Omnia II. It looks distorted and ****ty. If that's what you consider "better" than that's your ****. Not everyone wants cartoon colors for everything they see though. As far as viewing angles, you must be one of those people that watch a movie at 90* angle huh? Cuz that's probably the only way you could consider the SAmoled screens better. Better color saturation? Really? Refer to my cartoon colors comment. My Omnia II works fine but I just keep the damn thing because it runs important .cabs I need for work, other than that the "selling points" of SAmoled Samsung phones is wasted on me. The screen looks dim and colorful 90% of the time. Mind you, its not a horrible screen, but people overhyping it so much really makes me laugh. As far as cameras, I haven't seen DVP pics or video so I don't know how good it is, but it'd better be damn good because I've taken some damn nice pics with my HD7. Took a lot of messing with the settings and scenarios but it looks damn good. And I'd love to see what you mean by the HD7 having inferior build quality though. I guess not all phones can have the cheap plastic surrounding that the Vibrant has huh? Or the wiggly cheap feeling slide out keyboard on the DVP? Best constructed phones of 2010 LOL that's why it kept getting delayed eh? So what specific build quality issues are you referring to with the HD7 though? My HD7 hasn't given me one problem since I got it on launch day. Perfect buttons, perfect screen, the metal trim and kickstand have held up extremely well and the phone feels solid. So do tell what these issues are so I can run and trade in my HD7 for a plastic phone sir
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I'm not often a kissass but I'd like to give you a standing ovation.
z33dev33l said:
I'm not often a kissass but I'd like to give you a standing ovation.
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Thank you thank you. Far too kind. But somebody had to say it...
When u learn to use paragraphs I will read ur post. But I'm not sifting through that.
Also, do a post search and I'll see I'm no sampled fanboy. The hd7 screen is terrible. Dvp only has an amplest screen. L2read...
Also, Don't call me kiddie. I can get snippy, too.
Its no secret that the hd7 is the worst wp7 device, and no one cares about curve speakers. A bb bold 9780 has way louder and better speakers than an hd7.
As for the screen, the comparison I linked speaks for itself. Its a damn terrible screen...
The dvp's keyboard is not wiggly. You're grasping at straws. Don't confuse it with a g2...
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
eternalemb said:
First of all, the speakers aren't too bad. Coming from a Blackberry myself though, I see a huge difference. But compared to any other smartphone in the market at the moment they're average. I've yet to see a smartphone whose speakers make me say "wow!" Second, it never surprises me how much people suck on the teet of the "almighty" SAmoled screen. I have an Omnia II, I use Vibrants all the time and ya know what...SAmoled is not all that. You kiddies like to portray it as the end all be all of the mobile phone screen world but its not. In fact, I hate the damn screen on my Omnia II. It looks distorted and ****ty. If that's what you consider "better" than that's your ****. Not everyone wants cartoon colors for everything they see though. As far as viewing angles, you must be one of those people that watch a movie at 90* angle huh? Cuz that's probably the only way you could consider the SAmoled screens better. Better color saturation? Really? Refer to my cartoon colors comment. My Omnia II works fine but I just keep the damn thing because it runs important .cabs I need for work, other than that the "selling points" of SAmoled Samsung phones is wasted on me. The screen looks dim and colorful 90% of the time. Mind you, its not a horrible screen, but people overhyping it so much really makes me laugh. As far as cameras, I haven't seen DVP pics or video so I don't know how good it is, but it'd better be damn good because I've taken some damn nice pics with my HD7. Took a lot of messing with the settings and scenarios but it looks damn good. And I'd love to see what you mean by the HD7 having inferior build quality though. I guess not all phones can have the cheap plastic surrounding that the Vibrant has huh? Or the wiggly cheap feeling slide out keyboard on the DVP? Best constructed phones of 2010 LOL that's why it kept getting delayed eh? So what specific build quality issues are you referring to with the HD7 though? My HD7 hasn't given me one problem since I got it on launch day. Perfect buttons, perfect screen, the metal trim and kickstand have held up extremely well and the phone feels solid. So do tell what these issues are so I can run and trade in my HD7 for a plastic phone sir
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I don't think you fully understand. Its more than just colors with amoled and Samoled screens. Every OEM is on the waiting list. HTC, Motorola, LG etc are all wanting these screens.
Dell camera samples, at the very least no pink tint:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10225139&postcount=13
In all actuality the AMOLED SAMOLED means nothing to me, I prefer the larger screen because I have massive gamer thumbs and therefor I go with the HD7. I'm not saying the focus isnt a better device in a lot of ways but for some of us it's just not right though it is awesome. I dont much like the lack of heft and the plasticky feel but meh. I wil also never trust samsung when it comes to updates again even though the manufacturer handles them now its still... shaky. The point is they have a windows phone 7 for every kind of user even with how few are released.
jeffgeno said:
The HD7 is $100 from Best Buy. My girlfriend got one from there and loves it. It's a little lighter than the Venue Pro, a little thinner, has twice as much RAM, the same CPU, the same 16GB microSD storage, a better camera even with the red push, better flash, and feels much more solid in my hand than my Focus. The rubbery back is actually really nice on it. What are your specific complaints about the build quality?
What's the Dell's screen like outdoors? I know it's regular AMOLED rather than SAMOLED and those generally don't perform well in the sun.
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There's no point in debating with him. Every "point" he makes regarding the HD7 seems to be based solely on something he's read or a video that he's seen online...not on first hand experience.
So, I picked up a Desire Eye on launch day. I feel like I was one of the few people intrigued by this device when it was announced. Since then, it has received almost zero attention: Few reviews, no posts on XDA, very little buzz on the internet in general. So, if you're even remotely considering this device and want a little info, here's a personal perspective from someone who bought the phone.
Disclaimer: I have owned dozens of flagship phones over the last several years. I'm also quite a fan of Sense UI and HTC in general. I did not buy this phone for the front facing camera. I don't care about selfies, so I'm probably not the target audience. I really just wanted an M8 with a better camera.
Display
The display is probably my one gripe about the device so far. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it looks washed out to me. When I first turned it on in the store, it immediately looked dull. A lot of the HTC wallpapers and themes are a sort of pastel, so it's really hard to tell, but next to my iPhone 6 Plus, and even a Windows M8 in the store, it just doesn't look as vibrant as I'd expect. Compared to my Note 4, it looks positively depressing, but that's to be expected. That said, it does get plenty bright. I just wish I still had my M8 to compare it with because I swear the M8 had more contrast and vibrance.
Camera
My only real beef with the M8 was the camera, mainly the low megapixel count which made cropping nearly impossible. It also had trouble with exposure and focus. I was really hoping that they fixed that with this phone. I know it's not their flagship and is, in fact, marketed as mid range, but it's really just an M8 with a different build and cameras. I have taken quite a few photo samples and compared them online to the Z3 Compact, iPhone 6 Plus, OnePlus One, G3, and Note 4. There is definitely more detail and you can crop in much further than the M8, but it still gets soft when you do. I also noticed the same issues with exposure. If you're not careful about where you tap to focus, you'll get a blown out sky or dark subject. Focus is fast, but not always accurate. It sometimes blurs the subject instead of the background. Definitely not on par with the focusing systems found in the Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus. Colors are good, if not great. They lean toward the warmer and more vibrant side, which I personally prefer. Overall, it's an upgrade over the M8 and on par with phones like the OnePlus One and G3, at least in my testing.
Build
I know a lot of people are fans of metal, but there are advantages and disadvantages to metal and plastic. The advantages here are water resistance and weight. This is a light phone and it feels good in the hand. Coming from my Note 4, it is significantly lighter and easier to hold. It's also fairly grippy. I don't feel the need for a case. My one complaint about build is the size. This thing is big. It's nearly as big as the iPhone 6 Plus and Note 4, which is kind of sad when you consider the 5.2" screen. Part of this is the 13mp front-facing camera. Part is the speakers, even though the grills are much smaller this time around. They still needed that blank "HTC" strip on the front for components and that adds to the overall size. The camera shutter button is very difficult to press. I only see using this thing under water. If you try to use it for normal pictures, you'll get blur because the phone will move when you try to press it. I find this to be a problem on a lot of phones with dedicated shutter buttons, but it's much more pronounced here.
Battery
My other primary concern with this phone was battery. It's the same internals as the M8 with a bigger screen and a smaller battery. While disappointing, so far it's not as bad as I expected. It seems to be about on par with the M8, though I'm not sure how. Standby time is pretty good (in my limited testing so far) and it doesn't drain horribly fast when the screen is on. Since HTC doesn't show screen on time and I had to install GSAM, I don't have any screen on results yet, but I will be testing that over the next few days.
Performance
This is the reason to get an HTC phone, in my opinion. Sense and stock Android are easily the fastest, best performing versions of Android, in my experience. But Sense brings some nice enhancements to the table that I think are worth it over stock Android. There's no lag or delay anywhere on the phone so far. Everything is fast and fluid. It makes my Note 4 look positively slow. Just the gallery lag on the Note 4 alone is enough to drive someone mad. HTC is doing it right. I'm actually a fan of Blinkfeed, too, though I know other people hate it. Since the introduction of Blinkfeed, I almost always end up putting a widget on my left most homescreen of every other Android phone that gives me a full page of news, though nothing quite compares to HTC's solution. I like their enhancements to the gallery, contacts, etc. Very nice overall experience.
Misc.
1. Minor annoyance, but the stock email client makes you tap to show images on every HTML email. Since I actually use it, it's kind of annoying. I wish they would at least give an option in the settings to "always show".
2. Some of the camera features are really need, like face merge and photo strip. I do miss slow motion video and 4k recording, though.
3. Internal storage is only 16gb. You have a little over 9 free out of the box. This is the only other con to this phone, in my opinion.
4. I'm a pretty big fan of the screen on gestures. I basically never have to use the power button. And now we can launch straight into the camera, too.
5. I received an update yesterday and it auto installed. There's no info anywhere on what it was. The phone just rebooted and installed with no warning.
6. There is a ton of bloatware on this thing (AT&T). Seriously, brace yourselves. It's even more insulting with only 16gb to start with.
7. Bootloader is unlockable at HTC Dev so, there's at least hope that we'll get root soon. The main issue will be S-Off, as usual. But I really only want/need root.
8. The front-facing speakers are every bit as good as you'd expect, despite the water resistant membrane and smaller grills. It's pretty impressive how small and unnoticeable they are.
Wrap Up
Overall, I really like the device. My main concerns are camera quality and battery life, which I will continue to test. I really like the user experience overall, though, and it's one of my favorite phones of the year. I don't think this phone is really getting the attention it deserves. Even the tech bloggers seem to be ignoring it. I hope this helps anyone who's on the fence about this phone and/or looking for more information.
Obligatory Camera Samples
Here are some camera samples. XDA is compressing them, but you get the idea.
Thanks for the review and photos. The camera was better than what I was expecting from the sensor HTC is using, to be honest. The only downside from what I've read in your review is the screen: while I don't like oversatured screens, I also don't appreciate "dark" screens (it hasn't to do with brightness, but with the white tone).
Regarding the speakers, I know you don't have a M8 to compare, but do you notice much of a difference between the devices?
Can you please confirm that it has MHL and it works?
For what it's worth, I held my One M8 side by side with a Desire Eye in store and compared the screens while displaying the same images and websites. They looked pretty much exactly the same to me other than a slight difference in size. Didn't think it looked dull. Of course, the lighting in AT&T was pretty harsh so it wasn't the best environment for comparison. Maybe you just got used to the super punchy over saturated colors of the Note 4?
gtg465x said:
For what it's worth, I held my One M8 side by side with a Desire Eye in store and compared the screens while displaying the same images and websites. They looked pretty much exactly the same to me other than a slight difference in size. Didn't think it looked dull. Of course, the lighting in AT&T was pretty harsh so it wasn't the best environment for comparison. Maybe you just got used to the super punchy over saturated colors of the Note 4?
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That's actually what I was thinking too. Not a bad display by any means.
Thank you for this mini review! Really helpful.
Could you please state in which degree you can use the phone with one hand?
Would it feel closer to the use of a One M8/Galaxy S5/LG G2 or would it compare more to a One Plus One / Iphone 6 Plus (which is for me slightly to big).
The 5.2 inch of the LG G2 is of perfect size, but that phone had way smaller bezzels, so this is in fact something that scares me of the HTC desire EYE.
Waarez said:
Thank you for this mini review! Really helpful.
Could you please state in which degree you can use the phone with one hand?
Would it feel closer to the use of a One M8/Galaxy S5 or would it compare more to a One Plus One / Iphone 6 Plus (which is for me slightly to big).
The 5.2 inch of the LG G2 were perfect.. but this phone had way smaller bezzels, so this is what scares me of the one M8.
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It's definitely closer to the OnePlus One or iphone 6 Plus size wise, but it is MUCH lighter, which does make it easier to handle with one hand. Unless you have gorilla hands, though, you definitely won't be able to reach all four corners of the screen with one hand.
It's tall, rather than wide.
I got the Desire EYE in the mail 2 days ago, it's a really good phone, really fast, takes nice pictures, overall I'm happy about it, the only downside about it is the internal storage, it has like 7 gb out of the 16 dedicated to the OS and stock apps... But other than that, really good phone!
To start off, I will say I am a big HTC fan. I talked about 7 people into buying the One M8 over the S5 this year. I love Sense, Blinkfeed and the snappiness of their devices. I have since sold my One M8 earlier this summer, around May, and have been jumping around to different devices. I strayed from the One M8 mostly due to the camera and the fact that I like to try the latest and greatest devices. I have been using an iPhone 6 since it launched. When I saw the Desire Eye was announced, I got excited. I was really hoping for an M8 Eye, which I think would have been the perfect smartphone for 2014, but this was almost as good. I picked one of these up on Friday at an AT&T store. The guy kind of looked at me funny when I said I wanted one, I don't think he was trained on the device or knew what it was. I didn't open it until Saturday night, but in the store, when playing with it, the first thing I said was, this screen looks washed out. I think it has something to do with the default theme, when I changed it back to one of the same Sense stock themes on the One M8, it didn't look as bad. It is something to do with that pink color they are using. I am torn on the device, it is like 2 steps forward, a couple steps back. I didn't like the first few indoor pictures without flash I took of my 3 month old daughter, so I switched back to the iPhone 6 yesterday because it was her baptism and I didn't want to miss any shots, or risk them coming out badly. One thing that Apple knows is how to make a camera that focuses fast and gives you good pictures. The Boom Sound is also a bit of a disappointment. The bass and clarity seems to be lacking compared to the M8. I played some Vevo music videos on the demo models in store. I am currently thinking about trying to find a second hand M8 Google Play Edition in mint condition (so I have full T-Mobile support for the $30 SIM I have for my play phone line), and keep either it or the Eye and my iPhone 6.
Y2J
Thanks for the review!
The camera doesn't seem bad but for some reason i was expecting it to have a bit more "wow" factor, don't know why and they the shots seem good enough.
You mentioned no-slow motion (i had actually talked about this in the other thread) and the info i read was that it didn't have. However, i was just watching a video review of the desire eye and in the settings i noticed the slow motion icon and the review actually pressed it and it sayed it was slow motion (its an italian video, i actually looked it up to see the translation lol). It was in the camera interface under the " ... " icon and on the modes (it usually says auto) it has the slow motion icon/cartoon - Here is the video @ 11:45
Still no mention of 4k, so that is not from stock but maybe with a mod.
griffin_1 said:
Thanks for the review!
The camera doesn't seem bad but for some reason i was expecting it to have a bit more "wow" factor, don't know why and they the shots seem good enough.
You mentioned no-slow motion (i had actually talked about this in the other thread) and the info i read was that it didn't have. However, i was just watching a video review of the desire eye and in the settings i noticed the slow motion icon and the review actually pressed it and it sayed it was slow motion (its an italian video, i actually looked it up to see the translation lol). It was in the camera interface under the " ... " icon and on the modes (it usually says auto) it has the slow motion icon/cartoon - Here is the video @ 11:45
Still no mention of 4k, so that is not from stock but maybe with a mod.
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I don't see a slow motion option anywhere in the settings. The only video options are for the resolution (MMS, 1080, etc). One thing they did do right, though, is put the video record button back on the main interface full time next to the camera shutter button. They were crazy to ever take that away.
Quality is okay. It's about on par with the OnePlus One and G3, in my testing. Most of the shots I took were on an overcast day, so not the best testing environment, but overall I think it's acceptable. I think I'd still grab my Note 4 or iPhone 6 Plus if I was going somewhere to take a lot of pictures, but I don't feel like I'm carrying around a bad camera when I have this phone.
griffin_1 said:
Thanks for the review!
The camera doesn't seem bad but for some reason i was expecting it to have a bit more "wow" factor, don't know why and they the shots seem good enough.
You mentioned no-slow motion (i had actually talked about this in the other thread) and the info i read was that it didn't have. However, i was just watching a video review of the desire eye and in the settings i noticed the slow motion icon and the review actually pressed it and it sayed it was slow motion (its an italian video, i actually looked it up to see the translation lol). It was in the camera interface under the " ... " icon and on the modes (it usually says auto) it has the slow motion icon/cartoon - Here is the video @ 11:45
Still no mention of 4k, so that is not from stock but maybe with a mod.
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Okay, I was totally wrong about slow motion. I just found the option. It was not where I expected, but I'm stoked to see that it's there!
Great Slow motion on htc is good, at least if its like on the m8. I think only htc and sony in Android lets you record 120fps and then edit what parts to slow down, which is how slow motion should be. Glad to see its there and websites like gsmarena should mention it and update the specs info with that.
battery update?
G1_enthusiast said:
battery update?
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Battery is really good for the capacity. Idle drain with my apps and setting was about 3%/hr. With the screen on, it does seem to lose battery pretty fast, but I was still able to get about 10-13 hours of use with around 3 hours screen time. That's not much worse than most of my other phones do, actually.
I would post screenshots, but I no longer have the phone. As much as I really liked it, I just couldn't live with the camera quality. I was really hoping for better. But if camera isn't your #1 priority, this is a great all around phone. Camera is definitely better than phones like the Moto X. I was just hoping for closer to Note 4/iPhone quality.
How do the camera quality and pictures compare to Samsung S4 or S5?
Thanks.
struff said:
How do the camera quality and pictures compare to Samsung S4 or S5?
Thanks.
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My mom has the S5 And I prefer the Eye´s camera, It´s just... sharper and more clear.
sidle said:
My mom has the S5 And I prefer the Eye´s camera, It´s just... sharper and more clear.
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I'm going to politely however completely disagree. There's no comparison. S5 is one of the best cameras you can get.
Sent from my HTC Desire Eye using Tapatalk
robstunner said:
I'm going to politely however completely disagree. There's no comparison. S5 is one of the best cameras you can get.
Sent from my HTC Desire Eye using Tapatalk
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And yet, I like this one more.
Front HTC Desire Eye:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143110-image/HTC-Desire-EYE.jpg
Front Galaxy S5:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143127-image/Samsung-Galaxy-S5.jpg
Back HTC Desire Eye:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143113-image/HTC-Desire-EYE.jpg
Back Galaxy S5:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/143130-image/Samsung-Galaxy-S5.jpg
Let the photo's speak for themselves. The HTC Desire Eye clearly wins this battle, or even HTC in general. The S5 is litteraly crap in low to medium-light area's.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Firs...-HTC-One-M8-and-the-Samsung-Galaxy-S5_id61506
Fair enough, but in better lighting the s5 proves much better and rarely overexposed the pictures.