Develop Bugs

Looking for your opinions

I'm in the market for a new tablet. I've had a 1st Gen iPad, a Xoom, and most recently an HTC Flyer which I just returned to Best Buy because of the lack of updates and somewhat older specs in a dual core world. While I was there returning it, I stumbled upon this little thing and immediately became interested in knowing more about the A100. So far the reviews I've read say that Android 3.2 a bit buggy still, the battery life isn't what you'd expect out of something so small, and that the viewing angles aren't great. CNET also says it's hard to recommend when you can get a 10 inch tablet for less than $100 more.
So I'd like to know what people who have and use this tablet on a daily basis think. I've tried the 10 inch tablet route, and I wasn't terribly happy with it. I loved the size of the Flyer, but HTC's lack of a clear upgrade path for it was off-putting enough that I returned it.

Most of your answers are in this thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318569
So far ( about a month ) this tablet has been rock solid. I too prefer the 7 inch form factor. Much more portable.

painter_ said:
Most of your answers are in this thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318569
So far ( about a month ) this tablet has been rock solid. I too prefer the 7 inch form factor. Much more portable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that's some good insight. I'm going to do a bit more research, I might just wait til ICS is out and see what the A100's upgrade path looks like. Its definitely #1 on my radar now
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk

I have been using it since it was released and I am very pleased with it. I had the Archos 70 Internet Tablet before this and it was a major upgrade. 3.2 is not really that buggy anymore, so anyone still saying that is just wrong. There were some bugs with specific apps running on 3.2, but I haven't seen any bugs that are due to the OS. I'm not saying that there is nothing I would change, but I have absolutely no buyer's remorse with this.
The device is very snappy and out performs the iPad2 on the benchmarks. The complaints from the reviews are the real downfalls. The viewing angles are not like that of the iPad, so if you plan on viewing your device at weird angles, then yes, it will not suit you. But I am always looking at my device head on, so I don't know why people get so bent out of shape about the viewing angles. The battery life will run about 5 hours of gaming with WiFi on. I use it on and off all day and it always lasts until I go to bed, but I don't spend hours gaming on it.

[email protected] said:
I have been using it since it was released and I am very pleased with it. I had the Archos 70 Internet Tablet before this and it was a major upgrade. 3.2 is not really that buggy anymore, so anyone still saying that is just wrong. There were some bugs with specific apps running on 3.2, but I haven't seen any bugs that are due to the OS. I'm not saying that there is nothing I would change, but I have absolutely no buyer's remorse with this.
The device is very snappy and out performs the iPad2 on the benchmarks. The complaints from the reviews are the real downfalls. The viewing angles are not like that of the iPad, so if you plan on viewing your device at weird angles, then yes, it will not suit you. But I am always looking at my device head on, so I don't know why people get so bent out of shape about the viewing angles. The battery life will run about 5 hours of gaming with WiFi on. I use it on and off all day and it always lasts until I go to bed, but I don't spend hours gaming on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw your review of it on Amazon, and that's what fortified my thought that this was the real deal. Very thorough review, and it covered all the points. I also always look at my devices head on, so the viewing angles don't really bother me.

Is anyone really happy with their A100?

I'm getting rid of my A100 because my three biggest uses, eBooks, Netflix, and Pandora are handled just as well on my Nook Color. Actually the NC comes out on top because of a better screen, working head phone jack, and better battery life. I can even sell the A100 for more, so that made the choice even easier.
While the lack of communication over the update was annoying, the overall quality of the tablet has left a bad taste in my mouth. The only thing that kept me from returning the thing out right was because I got in on the $189 sale. The quality of the tablet, from the crappy screen, to the issues with the head phone jack, and just the cheap feel of construction reminds me more of the cheap "bargain" tablets I've had rather than those from Motorola and Samsung.
So for those of you that still have the A100, are you actually happy with it?

Mine feels solid, the headphone problem has been fixed, the screen is OK, as is the battery life.

I have to ask why you bought a Tegra 2 loaded tablet with dual cameras and HDMI output if you are using it as a glorified e-reader? I had a Nook Color overclocked and running CM7, and my A100 blew the doors off of it. The Nook was a nice, inexpensive Android tablet, but it was sluggish and a bit limited. I'll admit that I'm not crazy about the A100 screen, but I've had no problems with the headphones and the quality of construction. In fact, the Nook had equivalent battery life when overclocked, which was necessary to get decent performance out of it. I got my A100 for $189 also, and I haven't seen a 7" tablet that comes close to the performance and functionality for that price.
Finally, I'll go back to one of my previous posts and wonder why people feel the need to post "fairwells" when they decide to move on to a different device. I STILL have yet to see anyone in the community beg them to reconsider.

Loving mine here the tegra power is great to getting some games to work that wouldn't work on my NC. The build quality is also for mine amazing an battery life doesn't bother me one lil bit because I'm used to having dedicated gaming devices devour battery just as fast or even faster (pspGo anyone? >.>) No head phone issues hear after updating to the gen1 latest rom. Rooted i can take care of the few minor things that bug me like screen brightness at night (rootdim FTW) cache cleaning backing up stuff an different software hacks an tricks to make the device more responsive an fun to use.
An that screen issue.... Rant time
People complain about it way to much an blow it out of praportions I can see if you maybe had the device in a stand it could possibly be a issue but the view range issue can be simply fixed in land scape by flipping the device over in your hands so the home button is on the left. I've had old computer monitors an laptops with worse screens then this an to me the A100 screen is just as good as the one in the NC when your looking at the device like a normal person with it facing you.
In a scale of 10 I rate the acer a100 as a 9 even with the screen issue the 9 is just for acer locking the boot loader cause i'd get more serious into tinkering with this device if I had CWM nandroiding action.
An if you think for a second samsung is a better company cause their tablets look better look up the sidekick4G should be cautious with samsung cause they aren't very timely either on updates or for me known for making reliable software.

You're kidding right? I've used both and I've found that the A100 beat out the NC in every category I could think of except maybe weight.
Sent from my A100 using Tapatalk

the only thing that bothers me is the battery life, some days i have to charge it twice a day...
aside from that, is good for me and with ICS , it will be better

I thoroughly enjoy my A100, the viewing angles could be better, but when I myself am using its never really that much of an issue. I love the form factor and the Tegra 2 grunt is wonderful to have, the stock Honeycomb software build is smooth and extremely stable, add to that a good build quality and I'm happy.
You can say for sure this isn't a major premium device by any means, but the £220 I paid for it it makes my friends Galaxy Tab 10.1 at £420 look a major overprice.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

For me it is one good unexpensive piece of equipment. Since i bought it, my Ipad is useless. I choose A100 to replace my old Galaxy tab, and the difference is unbelievable. Android 3.2 runs smoothly, i can watch movies and episodes online on the tablet, i can download files directly in my microsd card, i have many videoplayers to choose, wonderful widgets. Others tablet, like samsung 10.1 are full of lag, but this one seems to be perfectly balanced. And keep in my mind that, here in Romania, the price is 300 euro (aprox 350 $), and still I think the tablet is perfect.

i like it a lot. Besides using it conventionally, it makes a decent HD HTPC.
Using it in the car with Copilot is enjoying, even for my wife, who hates TT!
Also my granddaughters of 5 and 7 have no trouble with it, they like it at least as good as their 3D GS.

Thoroughly live on the a100 :3

I do like it, but I also have the Droid Razr and a powerful laptop. I wish the a100 could charge through the USB, that the touch on the screen was more precise and that I could move more stuff to the SD card (unrooted). I can live with the viewing angle. It is snappy, very portable (motorcycle) and fun. Overall, a great tablet!

I think many people want a big 10' thing with all the bells and whistles and "settle" for a "cheap" 7" one and are never quite satisfied. But after exposure to 10" iPads, HPs, and even Android tablets, I *wanted* something smaller. This has more features than I actually use and was a GREAT price (thanks to the competition with the Kindle).

Love mine 10X more now that it has ICS.
I might even sleep with it tonight...the wife will be on the couch

thebluetoothkid said:
Love mine 10X more now that it has ICS.
I might even sleep with it tonight...the wife will be on the couch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know haahahahhahahaa... CHROME IS AMAZING.

jschall said:
Mine feels solid, the headphone problem has been fixed, the screen is OK, as is the battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problems here. Once it gets ICS I will be even happier!

djeaton said:
I think many people want a big 10' thing with all the bells and whistles and "settle" for a "cheap" 7" one and are never quite satisfied. But after exposure to 10" iPads, HPs, and even Android tablets, I *wanted* something smaller. This has more features than I actually use and was a GREAT price (thanks to the competition with the Kindle).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, I know people who have 10 inch tabs, but only really use them on the sofa, great, I use mine alot there too, but it fits in my jacket pocket, has all the same graphics prowess as most and the screen is nice for reading the web for quite some time. I'd like another more powerful ten inch tab as well, but the A100 already replaced my netbook so it'd have to be the Prime (or the newer Prime that's fabled for release)
The battery on this is terrible, really, but what excuse does one have to leave the house not fully charged? it's not a road warrior for sure, but for a day out on low brightness and whatnot it's pretty much okay.

Love it
I absolutely love mine. It's actually my 2nd. The first one fell out of my hands falling asleep hit the corner of my nightstand screen spider-webbed, not the top glass the touchscreen. So I ebayed that one then i bought this one. Cannot put it down. Now after this ICS leak thoroughly ecstatic.

removed - wrong forum

djeaton said:
I think many people want a big 10' thing with all the bells and whistles and "settle" for a "cheap" 7" one and are never quite satisfied. But after exposure to 10" iPads, HPs, and even Android tablets, I *wanted* something smaller. This has more features than I actually use and was a GREAT price (thanks to the competition with the Kindle).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10'??? only apple would make something that stupid
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

BAM 'nuff said!
Sent from my A100 using xda premium

1st impression on gnex coming from an ip4

Hello XDA.
The gnex is my 1st android phone and I'm pretty excited to start tweaking it out.
I am coming from a previous generation ip4.
I am mainly switching because I am grandfathered in to Tmo Tzones and iphones don't support Tmo 3g bands, only edge.
My micro-sim adapter will arrive later today so I haven't put my sim in yet, but I've been just playing w/ ICS and inspecting the the unit itself.
Just some thoughts below.
The overall weight is pretty light, but not so light that it feels too cheap. Its ok. Materials are whatever, I guess I've been spoiled with the ip4 metal and glass.
The battery door feels cheap, but when its on you can't really tell so its not a big deal, and also I rather have a removable battery than not.
In terms of size I really like it, ip4 was just too small to browse or watch videos on. Gnex is a bit bigger but I am still able to easily handle it and use with only one hand. Still fits in the front pocket of fitted pants easily as well since its slim.
The slight curve is pretty nice, but I don't like how the whole phone is not symmetrical in thickness.
So yea, fit and finish is mediocre. Ip4 is a cut above the rest in terms of design and materials, but the gnex is a good size and still feels of decent quality in the hand overall so I'm ok with it.
ICS is nice. Pretty intuitive and easy to pick up.
No previous android experience to compare, and I'm still on the dated ios4, but it takes a few apps from cydia for the ip4 to be about where ICS is in terms of options and control out of the box. I can only imagine my options after rooting.
The os feels pretty quick and snappy, but its not as smooth as ios. Ios feels very liquid, while android feels choppy.
Things load quick, but the overall system just doesn't feel as polished.
I didn't fiddle with much, skimmed the apps and browsed settings. I did play with the camera a little. Quality is good enough for a phone camera and I really like how it snaps shots very quickly.
Overall stock system is ok, but I like android. I'm glad for the potential to tweak the phone more and can't wait to mess with it. I hope custom roms run smoother than the stock ics.
Now for my main gripe with this phone.
The screen. I am very underwhelmed.
Right when I opened the phone settings I could see a lot of funky banding on the grey background on all brightness settings.
Viewing angles are also pretty bad. Bluish green tint shows only after a bit less than 30 degrees off center from any angle.
Then I opened up the browser. The whites have issues. Brightness on max is acceptable, but anything else and it gets grainy and ugly. No uniformity.
I don't notice obvious pixelation, but browsing text and everything just looks softer and not as crisp. I felt like I was reading a newspaper haha.
Looked at some photos I snapped. Color representation is very off with this screen. Pics do pop more from the contrast when the brightness is up high though. Luckily the screen falls on the warmer side of things so its easy on my eyes.
What I do like a lot is the blacks are black even on max brightness, compared to the ip4 which has washed out blacks on high brightness.
I also like the slightly higher resolution and bigger screen size of course.
I'm a bit dated on my display tech so I did not know what to expect with the pentile amoled.
It definitely can not live up to apple's "retina" standard. Apples screen looks crystal even if you put your nose up to it.
The 1/3 less sub pixels using pentile really ruins things. Ppi really is probably effectively 200ish and not 300+ as the gnex claims on paper.
Pentile amoled seems very low quality to me. Maybe amoled in general. It has all the issues of a cheap TN lcd panel. Inaccurate colors, bad viewing angle, no screen uniformity. The pluses being extremely deep blacks and good contrast.
If you run your monitors on high brightness the screen might be acceptable, but if not its pretty bad. Unfortunately I run all my screens on very low brightness.
Mind you my monitors and tvs are calibrated and color accuracy matters to me. The ip4s ips screen does very well in this regard. Colors are very natural and also viewing angles are great, typical of ips screens. Its also brighter at max than the gnex and dimmer at min. I have to say the ip4s display is leaps above the gnex in terms of quality. Only down fall is the washed out blacks.
If you are coming from ip4 or spend most of your time on ips/pva displays etc the gnex screen will most likely be a let down.
If you haven't owned an ip4 and don't know what tech your monitor is or dont care then you will most likely be very happy with the gnex screen, just don't put it side by side an iphone 4 or you will notice issues you won't be able to remove from your brain.
For $400 + tax I can't really complain. I'm getting a lot from the phone, but its definitely not a steal of a deal. Samsung cut quite a few corners, the pentile amoled display being the most regrettable for me.
I currently have a docomo version from amazon, but will return it soon after my warrantied google one arrives. I will compare the two. I hope the next one's screen is better.
I'll stick with the gnex despite my gripes since I want to play with android, its got great dev support and its one of the best tzones compatible phone currently, but I am not as thrilled since receiving the phone.
Probably will move on to the sg3 asap if it works on my plan. They better get it right on that phone.

See this is what I have been wondering... have you had any issues so far? I am an iPhone convert as well but I went for the DROID RAZR on verizon and I love it... I was considering trying to get a GN but Im hesitant

There are a lot of threads and posts on defective units with screen issues to what you describe. There is a very likely chance you simply had a defective unit.
When you get the new one and compare, post again. I'm curious. Mine should be in today and I'm worried I'd get one with the screen issues as well.
Sent from my Nexus One using xda premium

vv13 said:
If you are coming from ip4 or spend most of your time on ips/pva displays etc the gnex screen will most likely be a let down.
If you haven't owned an ip4 and don't know what tech your monitor is or dont care then you will most likely be very happy with the gnex screen, just don't put it side by side an iphone 4 or you will notice issues you won't be able to remove from your brain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand your frustrations. However, there are quite a few users on here coming from an iphone 4s who feel the GNex was a step-up in what Android can offer vs iOS. The Nexus series is aimed at development as well, so take that in to regard while Apple's Iphone is aimed at every consumer in the world wanting a general smartphone.
Android blows iOS out of the water in terms of customization and powerfulness because of it's open-source nature - the sky is the limit here.
To tell people that the GNex will be a let-down coming from an iphone 4 is just your opinion and that's all it is. You failed to mention some of the intuitiveness of both platforms. Where's the back button on iOS? On android it's the SAME spot for EVERY app. How easy is it to share content on iOS? On android, you can literally share ANYTHING easily. I think the issue with your mini-review here is that you've been way too accustomed to iOS, so everything now seems inferior to you. I myself have used an iPhone to begin with and then switched to Android later on and will never go back.
Does the iphone support USB on the go? HDMI out? Wifi Direct? NFC? Launcher widgets w/ live data? NOPE!

I'd really like to try one out but this RAZR is good too...
Sent from my DROID RAZR

I have had 3 Galaxy nexus units and two of them had horrible screens with banding and other scratchy textures on the screen (almost like a creased newspaper at low brightness). Luckily, the one I kept has a perfect screen. It has zero banding and perfect uniformity even at 0% brightness. It also doesn't have any tint/hue issues. The other two units had bluish/purpleish whites as the brightness decreased, this one stays pure white.
Basically, they are not all as bad as you describe. But in my personal experience (2 out of 3), most units have pretty crappy screens. This can be attributed to Samsung's quality control, or lack thereof. I don't think the flagship Google phone should go out with any of display the issues you describe, but apparently they do. Personally, I wouldn't settle for it (and didn't). Exchange your phone if you can because there are units out there with perfect screens.

matesims23 said:
See this is what I have been wondering... have you had any issues so far? I am an iPhone convert as well but I went for the DROID RAZR on verizon and I love it... I was considering trying to get a GN but Im hesitant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've only had the phone very briefly, but so far no other issues other than what was stated about the screen.
No major os lag, random shut offs, screen retention, pop noises or anything like that.
The phone does heat up though a bit more than the ip4, and it can be easily felt through the cheap cover. Nothing else really.
Overall the gnex is fine, just my expectations of the screen were set pretty high considering so many touted the display of the phone as one of its strongpoints.
It does not help that i came from the ip4.
Still a fully loaded phone with all specs premium. Just not bleeding edge tech or fancy materials. All for $400 no contract is fair.
Unless you're the cultish type that wants a pure android experience need ics or a google phone whatever, there really is no reason I see to leave the razr.

uoY_redruM said:
There are a lot of threads and posts on defective units with screen issues to what you describe. There is a very likely chance you simply had a defective unit.
When you get the new one and compare, post again. I'm curious. Mine should be in today and I'm worried I'd get one with the screen issues as well.
Sent from my Nexus One using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I definitely will, but after reading up on pentile amoled tech, a lot of these issues mentioned are traits of the technology. I hope on the next phone they are not as severe though.

akira02rex said:
I understand your frustrations. However, there are quite a few users on here coming from an iphone 4s who feel the GNex was a step-up in what Android can offer vs iOS. The Nexus series is aimed at development as well, so take that in to regard while Apple's Iphone is aimed at every consumer in the world wanting a general smartphone.
Android blows iOS out of the water in terms of customization and powerfulness because of it's open-source nature - the sky is the limit here.
To tell people that the GNex will be a let-down coming from an iphone 4 is just your opinion and that's all it is. You failed to mention some of the intuitiveness of both platforms. Where's the back button on iOS? On android it's the SAME spot for EVERY app. How easy is it to share content on iOS? On android, you can literally share ANYTHING easily. I think the issue with your mini-review here is that you've been way too accustomed to iOS, so everything now seems inferior to you. I myself have used an iPhone to begin with and then switched to Android later on and will never go back.
Does the iphone support USB on the go? HDMI out? Wifi Direct? NFC? Launcher widgets w/ live data? NOPE!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you have misinterpreted my let down comment as its only in reference to the screens and not the gnex vs ip4 as a whole.
And have become a bit overly defensive for reasons I'm not sure why.
Regardless, you are right about everything only being a person's opinion.
Other than that we are on the same plane.
I am not for apple's dumbed down os. I am also against them making everything proprietary and putting things on lockdown.
The ip4 is actually my only apple owned product since I just loved the design too much.
As you can see, my initial post says I am thrilled to root and and can't wait to play with what android has to offer.

akira02rex said:
I understand your frustrations. However, there are quite a few users on here coming from an iphone 4s who feel the GNex was a step-up in what Android can offer vs iOS. The Nexus series is aimed at development as well, so take that in to regard while Apple's Iphone is aimed at every consumer in the world wanting a general smartphone.
Android blows iOS out of the water in terms of customization and powerfulness because of it's open-source nature - the sky is the limit here.
To tell people that the GNex will be a let-down coming from an iphone 4 is just your opinion and that's all it is. You failed to mention some of the intuitiveness of both platforms. Where's the back button on iOS? On android it's the SAME spot for EVERY app. How easy is it to share content on iOS? On android, you can literally share ANYTHING easily. I think the issue with your mini-review here is that you've been way too accustomed to iOS, so everything now seems inferior to you. I myself have used an iPhone to begin with and then switched to Android later on and will never go back.
Does the iphone support USB on the go? HDMI out? Wifi Direct? NFC? Launcher widgets w/ live data? NOPE!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This person said it correct. If your comming from ios, you should get another phone thats aimed at every day consumers, this phone was made for ppl who want to take control and like he said the sky is the limit with android.

ra990 said:
I have had 3 Galaxy nexus units and two of them had horrible screens with banding and other scratchy textures on the screen (almost like a creased newspaper at low brightness). Luckily, the one I kept has a perfect screen. It has zero banding and perfect uniformity even at 0% brightness. It also doesn't have any tint/hue issues. The other two units had bluish/purpleish whites as the brightness decreased, this one stays pure white.
Basically, they are not all as bad as you describe. But in my personal experience (2 out of 3), most units have pretty crappy screens. This can be attributed to Samsung's quality control, or lack thereof. I don't think the flagship Google phone should go out with any of display the issues you describe, but apparently they do. Personally, I wouldn't settle for it (and didn't). Exchange your phone if you can because there are units out there with perfect screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats good news.
Would you mind sharing the specifics of your phones build and origin etc..

cheddaface said:
This person said it correct. If your comming from ios, you should get another phone thats aimed at every day consumers, this phone was made for ppl who want to take control and like he said the sky is the limit with android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right if the person was content with ios as a whole.
vv13 said:
No previous android experience to compare, and I'm still on the dated ios4, but it takes a few apps from cydia for the ip4 to be about where ICS is in terms of options and control out of the box. I can only imagine my options after rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vv13 said:
Overall stock system is ok, but I like android. I'm glad for the potential to tweak the phone more and can't wait to mess with it. I hope custom roms run smoother than the stock ics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vv13 said:
I'll stick with the gnex despite my gripes since I want to play with android, its got great dev support and its one of the best tzones compatible phone currently, but I am not as thrilled since receiving the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That from my first post should hint to you what I am aiming for.
Remember I've only had this phone a few days and have not yet had the chance to break the surface, hence this thread being only a 1st impression, Not a full fledged review

Return your unit. I already played with 4 GNexus including mine and none have this issues, and the viewing angles are great. The screen is awesome. My friend changed the iPhone 4 for a GNexus and love the screen.

vv13 said:
Thats good news.
Would you mind sharing the specifics of your phones build and origin etc..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, it is a Jan 2012 build, does not say Made in xxx anywhere on it, just says made by Samsung (someone said that means Korea, but I'm not sure). The other ones I had both said Made in China. I got mine new from Amazon.com (came from a seller named abe-123, order fulfilled by Amazon). It had 4.0.2 build on it (not sure if YAKJU or not, I flashed latest image as soon as I got it). Let me know if you want to know anything else.

I applaud the OP for his opinion from a neutral standpoint. Welcome to the family. I've had my Nexus since late December and was one of the 'lucky' ones that got a near perfect screen on the first go. Like others have said, there is a very broad spectrum ranging from near perfect to absolutely terrible.
I recommend going over this thread if you haven't already when your new unit arrives:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1394358

akira02rex said:
I understand your frustrations. However, there are quite a few users on here coming from an iphone 4s who feel the GNex was a step-up in what Android can offer vs iOS. The Nexus series is aimed at development as well, so take that in to regard while Apple's Iphone is aimed at every consumer in the world wanting a general smartphone.
Android blows iOS out of the water in terms of customization and powerfulness because of it's open-source nature - the sky is the limit here.
To tell people that the GNex will be a let-down coming from an iphone 4 is just your opinion and that's all it is. You failed to mention some of the intuitiveness of both platforms. Where's the back button on iOS? On android it's the SAME spot for EVERY app. How easy is it to share content on iOS? On android, you can literally share ANYTHING easily. I think the issue with your mini-review here is that you've been way too accustomed to iOS, so everything now seems inferior to you. I myself have used an iPhone to begin with and then switched to Android later on and will never go back.
Does the iphone support USB on the go? HDMI out? Wifi Direct? NFC? Launcher widgets w/ live data? NOPE!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jesus. No need to be so defensive. Android is not your girlfriend. Everything he said is true and they are issues Google needs to work out if they want Android to grow as a platform. While smoothness has increased since gingerbread, the fact of the matter is it is still a step behind when it comes to smoothness.
And lets get dispelled that notion that gnex flaws can be disregarded because it is a development phone. Yes, the gnex is intended to be the test bed for Android software. But that doesn't mean that Google doesn't intend to sell every last phone they have to the end user or that they didn't design it with the intent for the majority of users to use the phone like the average consumer.
Sent via Galaxy Nexus

Lmao you guys get so fighting about it. I have an iphone 4s and a Gnex so far rocking the galaxy one because I like the OS but is hard to let go the iphone 4S I could probably get 450$ easy for my iphone but I'm no gonna sell it till I'm 100% sure at this moment is a 50% 50% . Specially when it comes to music. I go to the gym 3-5 times at week and the galaxy nexus with beats audio don't sound right . Any recommendations ? And maybe an app that can make the controller on the beats audiowork
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I think I might try it out
Sent from my DROID RAZR

jgalan14 said:
Lmao you guys get so fighting about it. I have an iphone 4s and a Gnex so far rocking the galaxy one because I like the OS but is hard to let go the iphone 4S I could probably get 450$ easy for my iphone but I'm no gonna sell it till I'm 100% sure at this moment is a 50% 50% . Specially when it comes to music. I go to the gym 3-5 times at week and the galaxy nexus with beats audio don't sound right . Any recommendations ? And maybe an app that can make the controller on the beats audiowork
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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I just came from evo3d with beats audio and i also hit the gym about 4-5 days a week and it worked great on my 3d but i would love it on my nexus but it dosent work??

Well, I hope the one I ordered today doesn't have any issues with the screen!

Is the Desire still worth it?

Hello everyone!
My recent decision on upgrading my phone has brought up some questions. I've been looking around and found a few (very good?) deals, one of them being of course HTC Desire (used, 3 months of warranty left) and the other one ZTE Blade (brand new). With both having the same price tag I just can't seem to decide, the Desire seems to have it all: faster processing, more RAM, better camera along with 720p video recording, USB host mode and a known brand name. What puts me off is the relatively average screen size considering my current 3.2" and the Blade's 4.3", and the warranty time I would have left.
Thanks for following so far, it's time for the final questions. Which one would you consider more reasonable in the long run? Have you ever struggled with typing on the Desire? Would it be a pain watching a movie and browsing some web every now and then? Have you perhaps tried both of these phones?
Thank you very much for helping a fellow out here!

Imo desire is still a great smartphone. I don't feel the need to buy a new phone yet.

If you HAVE to choose between those phones, get the Desire. The MIUI-XJ ROM mentioned above is TOP NOTCH, and I've been using my phone INTENSIVLEY for the last 2 years. However, I would really consider more up to date phones if your budget allows for it. Rather pay just a liiiiitle bit more, than being stuck with a phone that is great, but can't keep up with the new boys.(I can not install Google Chrome, for example).
Movie-wise, the screen is just fine.
Hope that helps a bit.

hey, i previously owned zte phones, first was blade (not 4.3 inch screen but 3.5) then was skate with 4.3 screen. i know all the differences of these two between desire. if this place were modaco forum i would recomend you geting desire instead.
the main advantages are phone's basics: screen feels much more better, precise, faster response and real glass instead of half plastic (i did stop using screen protector which was habit of mine for two years too)
second thing is housing, blade feels like egg shell when compared.
headphones output louder, and no annoying hiss. cpu desire is arm7 vs arm6. and menu keys feels more comfortable, not so noisy.
devs support better too, lots of good roms to choose from!
As for typing or browsing we all know bigger screens have advantage, skate is better here.
you should also give a look for desire s, it has more internal memory for apps, so worth paying more.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

My only objection to the OP is the 720p recording, that is a joke literally on the desire, even in stock rom. Other than that, it still is a great phone (at least for me).

Thanks for the input!
I would get a more recent phone, but having the budget set to 120 euros (148 USD) I just can't seem to find any better deals than these two. Although having had a LG phone (GW620 to be more precise - just horrible multitasking) for a year and a half, I think the Desire can keep me floating for a while.
I'm aware that the 720p recording is more likely a joke, but compared to Skate the camera still seems a lot better (nice for occasional OCR for instance).
Since I do some cycling, running and hiking, sometimes not having a wall plug for a day, another important fact to consider is the battery life and power consumption. Having used a Hero not too long ago, I measured the power consumption when fully charged (above 90% as I've learned HTC's charging mechanism to work) and on USB power pack, which was just 200 mA compared to LG's (despite the "Fully charged" notice) near 700 mA.
Thank you again for all the great help!

I bought my Desire (PVT4 SLCD) back in November 2010. And after rooting and flashing some custom ROMs from the dev forum, I really dont feel like buying a new phone. So yeah, the Desire is still worth it IMO. If you're not that inclined to the NFC feature then the Desire is not a bad choice IMO.

[Q] Need your input before buying!

First of all I would like to begin by stating I am an Android hardcore fan and by no means an Apple fanboy.
With that out of the way I need your help.
I want to buy an android tablet. I was very excited and pre-ordered the new Nexus 9 (currently own the Nexus 7). However after reading the first reviews that came out that talked about the device having serious screen light bleed and overheating I quickly changed my mind and cancelled my order.
So the next thing I did was try to find another good android tablet. I really like the hardware Samsung offers but I really HATE touchwiz. I like my Android stock as google intended. Yet at least in my opinion there is no other good offerings for 10" android tablets out there apart from the Galaxy Tab S (ok I really liked Sony Xperia Z2 tablet but its almost impossible to find).
Never had anything made by Samsung before (tried to stay in the Nexus line of things) because I wanted to stay away from touchwiz and all the bloatware other companies inflict uppon android.
So I went down to a brick and mortar store to see the Galaxy Tab S up close and see if I liked it.
The hardware, build quality and screen are perfect! So here comes the bad part.
I put it to the lag test. I restarted the device, cleared the memory from running apps, removed all widgets and shortcuts from the desktop and loaded up Chrome. Opened two tabs. One for the Verge and one for Phonearena. Waited for the sites to load and when finished tried to quickly scroll through. The thing choked! I mean it lagged and could not keep up with the scrolling. Parts of the website had to be loaded again while I was staring at a blank screen waiting for the tablet to catch up to my scrolling. I do this with my Nexus 7 and the thing keeps up like a champ! I would expect that a device with the specs of the Tab S would fly.
I tried a nearby ipad air (not even 2nd gen) and scrolling was smooth as butter with no lag at all. I also then realised that there was about 10 apps running in the background on the ipad as I had forgot to clear the memory.
Don't know if this is just a chrome problem but I'm really nervous about the lag on this device. And yes I am very picky when it comes to such things. Even the slightest hickup will drive me crazy!
I don't want to buy an ipad cause as I said I want an android device.
What would you do if you were me?
Would you take your chances with the Nexus 9, wait for another tablet to come to market or even go for an ipad?
I am also considering using different roms on the Tab S but its kind of a big risk as it costs a lot of money and I am not sure how good other roms will work on this device.
Anyway sorry for the long post and I am waiting for any answer you give me. Thank you.

Chrome is very laggy for some android devices. It has gotten worst after each update. Yet I dont use chrome and the stock browser works well. This has an amazing screen though.! I get 8 hours battery life while watching youtube. If you would like to root.. You can remove the lag from the bloatware. And the lag is also from touchwiz launcher. I use nova launcher and its much better. As of now we do have a unoffical CM11 custom rom. And as of now android L should be coming within a couple of months or maybe early 2015. So.. The lag maybe removed in android L but it may take a while for it to come to the tab s. The tab s is really light but the edges hurt my hand when holding it landscape. It is also great at watching youtube videos and the video fills up the whole screen vs the ipad doesnt. The screen is also bright at night even on 1/4 brightness. But as of roms, we have a few right now and are still being developed on. The thing is if you drop this tablet and the screen breaks.... You will have the pay for the whole screen, not just the glass. This tablet has knox too. So if you trip knox installing a rom then you have no warrenty. If your worried about price, try looking into some other samsung tablets! There are so many to chose from for your needs. Hope this helps!

First thing you want to do is get rid of chrome get firefox it's flawless on this tablet, next thing would be get a different launcher to replace touchwiz. I absolutely love nova prime but there are many to choose from so just do some research. Once you have done this your tablet will be way better then the ipad imo. If you want to root be warned in advance that there is this virtual circuit breaker called knox and once it trips you have voided your warranty something I wished I knew beforehand.

I was in a similar situation, I had a nexus 7 but used an LG g pad 8.3 and decided I would prefer the extra screen size as I do a lot of media watching. I was hoping for the nexus 9 but was put off by the 4:3 and its overall weight etc. so I opted, slightly reluctantly for the tab s 8.4.
I also hate touchwiz and instantly swapped out the launcher to nova, alas I don't like google now launcher on tablets as it messed up the bbc weather widget... The system does also lag at times and I did also notice it on chrome on some sites, it would just not do anything until it was all loaded up. I used the beta which seemed a little better and just put up with it. Its weird though as it flies through things like app installs but chokes on things like pressing the home button. Now personally I dont care, its just a stutter but its there.
So sadly there is not a perfect solution at the moment, the nexus 9 seems to have its issues which I hope quickly clear up. The tab s is probably the best bet, but its also got its issues. I do hear they are bringing out a version with a better snapdragon chip which might help.
it does have an amazing screen though, which makes me forgive most of its issues! not the no led notification though, I wont forgive them that omission My 8.4 came with a £50 play voucher (well will when it arrives) and that made the decisions easier for me, the relative cost came down into the worth a punt bracket. While im glad I did, its a shame there is little out there for the larger screens for those who want a top notch product with zero flaws.

I was on the nexus 9 fence for quite awhile. I even order and cancelled THREE times!
The Samsung Tab S is or was $404.00 on Amazon so I pushed the button and I'm more than happy with Me decision.
The screen is beautiful, Lollipop will be coming a little after the first of the year,and the build of the device (i bought the white one) is very nice.
The Tab S 10.5 is the best device for the money at this time.

Sound a lot like me OP. I was so set on getting the Nexus 9, pre-ordered one on Amazon, but couldnt wait for delivery so I went to Best Buy and bought one there to play with while I waited for the Amazon order to be delivered. The one I bought from Best Buy had all the issues that some people had been talking about. Overheating was the first thing I noticed right from the start, then after I read the reviews about the back cover being easily pressed in and making a creaking sound, I noticed mine does the same thing, and the cherry on top was right after I bought it for the full $399 plus tax, HTC went and did their "fire sale" and slashed the price to $199 for a limited time/limited quantity and that confirmed my decision to return it and cancel my Amazon order, which I ended up doing reluctantly. Android 5.0 was pretty amazing though and the tablet, at least for me, was the perfect size for portability/comfort for media consumption/web browsing. (Although the 4:3 aspect ratio wasnt the best for netflix/movies both on the tablet and when mirroring the tablet to my tv via chromecast since when mirrored to my tv i would have two black bars on both sides of the screen
I had a nexus 7 before i bought the nexus 9, but it was just too small for web browsing. Screen was amazing on it and build quality was great. I bought an ipad air (first gen with A7 processor), and while the build quality is better than any other tablet in the market and it was an overall very fluid, smooth and lag free experience, iOS isnt for me. Too limited, not enough customizability and since i have an android phone I'd rather stick with an android tablet for better continuity and syncing between my devices. Played with the ipad air for a few days and returned it.
After returning the ipad I decided to pick up the samsung tab s 8.4 . While the screen is great, samsungs bloatware ruins the tablet IMO. Just like you, even the slightest stutter or lag drives me crazy . Chrome definitely was slow and scrolling was choppy. I had it rooted with CF-Auto root, and even after disabling/erasing samsung bloatware and changing the launcher to nova launcher, it still wasnt as fluid and smooth as I want so i returned it. The Tab S is feature packed, but still feels slow and laggy compared to the ipad air i tested for a couple days. With 3gb of ram and the pretty decent processing power, I expected ipad like performance but it definitely fell short.
Now I'm looking at picking up the ipad air 2 but first reading through the forums to see if there are ways to sync my android phone to the ipad.
Why cant we just have a tablet with:
8-9" screen with a 16:9 or similar aspect ratio, 1080p or higher resolution
SD card expandable
Vanilla/Stock Android 5.0 L
Front Facing Speakers
Front/rear facing cameras (not THAT important)
Good build quality
2-3gb ram
Good/fast processor
Sounds like I'm describing the Nvidia Shield from those specs (except for android 5.0), but even the Shield has had some negative reviews dealing with both wireless connectivity issues and build quality defects (cracking trim around the tablet due to heat)
Is that so hard? lol..sorry for the rant

princecharming88 said:
Sound a lot like me OP. I was so set on getting the Nexus 9, pre-ordered one on Amazon, but couldnt wait for delivery so I went to Best Buy and bought one there to play with while I waited for the Amazon order to be delivered. The one I bought from Best Buy had all the issues that some people had been talking about. Overheating was the first thing I noticed right from the start, then after I read the reviews about the back cover being easily pressed in and making a creaking sound, I noticed mine does the same thing, and the cherry on top was right after I bought it for the full $399 plus tax, HTC went and did their "fire sale" and slashed the price to $199 for a limited time/limited quantity and that confirmed my decision to return it and cancel my Amazon order, which I ended up doing reluctantly. Android 5.0 was pretty amazing though and the tablet, at least for me, was the perfect size for portability/comfort for media consumption/web browsing. (Although the 4:3 aspect ratio wasnt the best for netflix/movies both on the tablet and when mirroring the tablet to my tv via chromecast since when mirrored to my tv i would have two black bars on both sides of the screen
I had a nexus 7 before i bought the nexus 9, but it was just too small for web browsing. Screen was amazing on it and build quality was great. I bought an ipad air (first gen with A7 processor), and while the build quality is better than any other tablet in the market and it was an overall very fluid, smooth and lag free experience, iOS isnt for me. Too limited, not enough customizability and since i have an android phone I'd rather stick with an android tablet for better continuity and syncing between my devices. Played with the ipad air for a few days and returned it.
After returning the ipad I decided to pick up the samsung tab s 8.4 . While the screen is great, samsungs bloatware ruins the tablet IMO. Just like you, even the slightest stutter or lag drives me crazy . Chrome definitely was slow and scrolling was choppy. I had it rooted with CF-Auto root, and even after disabling/erasing samsung bloatware and changing the launcher to nova launcher, it still wasnt as fluid and smooth as I want so i returned it. The Tab S is feature packed, but still feels slow and laggy compared to the ipad air i tested for a couple days. With 3gb of ram and the pretty decent processing power, I expected ipad like performance but it definitely fell short.
Now I'm looking at picking up the ipad air 2 but first reading through the forums to see if there are ways to sync my android phone to the ipad.
Why cant we just have a tablet with:
8-9" screen with a 16:9 or similar aspect ratio, 1080p or higher resolution
SD card expandable
Vanilla/Stock Android 5.0 L
Front Facing Speakers
Front/rear facing cameras (not THAT important)
Good build quality
2-3gb ram
Good/fast processor
Sounds like I'm describing the Nvidia Shield from those specs (except for android 5.0), but even the Shield has had some negative reviews dealing with both wireless connectivity issues and build quality defects (cracking trim around the tablet due to heat)
Is that so hard? lol..sorry for the rant
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I agree too. Like the tab s has a great screen but it kills the battery more as you watch videos. I have no lag because I used greenify to hibernate my apps after i exit them. For me only chrome lags because as of each update it gets worse. Firefox works without any lag. We now have cm11 which doesnt lag too.

DUHAsianSKILLZ said:
I agree too. Like the tab s has a great screen but it kills the battery more as you watch videos. I have no lag because I used greenify to hibernate my apps after i exit them. For me only chrome lags because as of each update it gets worse. Firefox works without any lag. We now have cm11 which doesnt lag too.
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Forgot to mention I also tried greenify on the tab s and also removed a bunch of other apps after i had it rooted and still got a bit of lagging. Again, I'm the type that if there is lag/stutters it just ruins the tablet consumption experience for me. I'm mostly using the tablet when I'm on the couch after a day of work/school and dont want to wait for apps to load up forever, sounds pompous of me but if I'm paying $400 + for a device i think its a fair expectation everything will work smoothly out of the box without having to do anything else to it/

I use tapatalk and news+ (rss) heavily and scrolling is jerky. I switched to nova launcher, I've rooted (voided my warranty) and debloated and greenified, the lag is still there.
I have an old iPad 3. Spec wise the S leaves it in the dust. And yet whenever I pick it up I'm amazed at how smooth it is, considering it's running an OS two generations newer than it is. The rss app which looks a lot like news+ (or news+ looks a lot like it) just scrolls through tons of images like it's nothing.
If it weren't for the screen I'd ditch this thing in a second. Basically the S is like a girl who is so hot you put up with all her craziness.

What tablet on the market has the next best screen? for me the quality of the screen is the draw. I was amazed when I saw one on display at Costco a few months ago. Part of the problem is I'm going out of town next week and really wanted a newer tablet to take on the road so I can leave my heavy laptop at home. I have an original Nexus 7 but it's pretty slow.

I hear that in South korea they remade the tab s a bit with less lag. But the new tab s is only in south korea. Like the model is different but has a bit better specs to handle the lag.

barth2 said:
If it weren't for the screen I'd ditch this thing in a second. Basically the S is like a girl who is so hot you put up with all her craziness.
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Perfect analogy to describe the tab S LOL. The screen is pretty amazing, but I'd rather have the girl who is cute, sane and gives great head

princecharming88 said:
Perfect analogy to describe the tab S LOL. The screen is pretty amazing, but I'd rather have the girl who is cute, sane and gives great head
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Lol! Well my girl (Tab s) has a great screen, good battery life, isnt crazy or laggy, has a nice looking butt(back cover), is rooted sadly because i made it happen, and runs really fast. She is really smart and is someone o can talk too. Idk about your girl(tab s) but mine is da bomb. Lol

wth is going on here anyway I also remember someone telling me the tab s was crap because of its benchmarks. which I remembered after watching a couple of hours of films on my flight on such a quality screen.
Yes it has some lag, big deal. Yes it would be better if it wasn't there but compared to the alternatives, there is nothing out there which ticks all the boxes and doesnt appear to be any on the horizon. Its a shame the price doesnt come down or they gloablly do the £50/$75 google play voucher as that makes it decent value for the specs. Its not just the screen, its the size and weight. Its the same damn weight as the nexus 7 and not much bigger at all, but packs in the 8.4 screen and QHD. all easy to hold in the one hand for long periods.
the nexus 9 is 425g compared to 300g of the 7 and tab s. thats almost 50% heavier and for me whos uses the tab for hours a day, thats a big deal. plus (im amazed to say this) I think lolipop is a step backwards. Its about looks and not function, which is the kinda thing I avoided apple for. 4.4.4 would be ideal for me, does the job perfectly without stupid design icons and white all over the place. anyway, thats my rant over

I love my tab s. The screen is where its at!

I really don't understand this obssession people have with smooth scrolling. One of the fist things I do with my desktop browsers is disable smooth scrolling. Whenever I let someone play with my N5 to check it out, the first thing they do is scroll through the 5 pages on my app drawer, and then proceed to say "yeah, it's pretty fast" before handing it back to me. Not once do they open Youtube or a game or some random app to see how the phone really performs.
Having said that, the Tab S LTE (10.5) performs like a champ. The S-AMOLED is absolutely gorgeous, build quality is top notch. Yes, it has a plastic back, but that makes it thin and light. I'm not complaining.
The only downside I can see is the dead custom ROM scene for the Exynos chip. That makes me effectively stuck with stock ROM + Nova Launcher for the life of the device.
I'm so satisfied with my purchase that I'm seriously considering buying a second one (8.4) to take with me on the road.

From what I read in another thread it sounds like Samsung is going entirely to Exynos, which means all of us with Samsung tablets will be SOL for ROM development. They'd rather us an in house chip than pay the extra cost for an outside chip. I love the build and screen, but don't really have any particular allegiance to Samsung.

I'm still waiting to hear more news about the Dell Venue 8 from the 7000 series. It is supposed to be released this month, but I haven't seen any recent information on it.

Thanks for the heads up on that dell tablet. I was really close to buying a tab s. That dell looks sweet though and it has the same screen. I wish we had a release date and price.

I don't get it. Everyone complains about Chrome in favor of Firefox. But I, on my Tab S 10.5, see Chrome being much smoother than Firefox, in terms of loading and scrolling the page. Chrome is flawlessly smooth in most pages (except some very heavy ones), Firefox however lags - even heavily - on pretty much most pages.