[Q] going to buy GN but worried about voice - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Have been wavering between GN and Razr.
I like GN specs/look better. Battery life and voice quality very important.
GN wins on battery life because I can buy the fatter replacement battery - though paying another $60 to make a phone last through the day is irritating.
But what about voice. I actually make a lot of phone calls. Is the call volume really as lousy as made out?
And the speaker - can you hear the phone ringing?? My ears aren't greatest, but my Droid X can jolt me.
Looked at the Volume+ (Sound Boost) app by Meltus, but that only works if the phone is rooted!!
Really love the GN, but this sound stuff is crucial for me. Is the sound/volume good enough to actually use the GN as a phone?
sean

I use my phone all day for work. on my first conference call, the others on the call immediately told me that the voice quality was amazing. Apparently there was a problem with voice quality on my Vibrant but it's very good now. I can hear them very well also.
I'm on the Verizon version. So far, I'm very pleased with the voice quality.

Well just a couple days into my GNex but I can give my input so far. I also heard the complaints about the speaker volume being too low but didn't figure it would be too bad. I do have to say, I am a little disappointed with a few points:
-The speaker volume for calls is pretty low, even on max volume in a quiet room. I don't think you would be able to hear it very well with much background noise, like in the car.
-The in-call volume up to your ear is what I would call acceptable. It may sound silly, but you have to make sure you are holding the phone exactly right against your ear. It's so big and flat that you can't always tell if the phone is lined up right until you move it and suddenly hear the call much better.
-The speaker volume for other uses, like music, sounds better than for voice. I did compare it to my OG Droid by playing the same song on max volume. I'd say the GNex is no more more than 75% of the max output of my Droid. (And call me crazy, but the Droid quality sounded a bit better too. Maybe it's just because the speaker on the GNex is so small.)
-It really doesn't help the matter that the GNex's included ringtones and notifications seem pretty low by design. I'm gonna play around with loading some of my own and seeing if this helps, but with only the defaults you might be hard-pressed to find one that is easily audible without being super annoying.
-I haven't made too many calls yet, but I've already had two different people ask me to speak up. Not sure about that just yet, but again may just be making sure I'm holding the phone in the right position.
All that said, I really can't understate how great my experience has been with the phone so far. The screen size, color, and resolutions are really impressive. ICS is amazing and the phone is super snappy in response times. The regular battery has been acceptable so far too, but I wouldn't expect it to get you through a whole day with any more than low use.
While I haven't personally played with the Razr, I read plenty of reviews. Obviously no ICS for now without modding and I've heard the screen is really underwhelming. No idea how it's sound level/quality holds up but I feel like Motorola tends to out-perform Samsung on average on this point.
So unless the sound is an absolute dealbreaker, there's no way you will find me recommending the Razr over the GNex. Hope that helps.

seandarcy said:
Have been wavering between GN and Razr.
I like GN specs/look better. Battery life and voice quality very important.
GN wins on battery life because I can buy the fatter replacement battery - though paying another $60 to make a phone last through the day is irritating.
But what about voice. I actually make a lot of phone calls. Is the call volume really as lousy as made out?
And the speaker - can you hear the phone ringing?? My ears aren't greatest, but my Droid X can jolt me.
Looked at the Volume+ (Sound Boost) app by Meltus, but that only works if the phone is rooted!!
Really love the GN, but this sound stuff is crucial for me. Is the sound/volume good enough to actually use the GN as a phone?
sean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ringtones and notifications are fairly quiet. I loaded my own though and they are just fine now. As far as voice quality it's excellent for me and everyone says they hear me perfectly.

Thanks all. Bought the GN.
The ring tones are really quiet! Dl'd some others, but even with the loudest ring tones, the speker pretty weak.
I do love it, but not sure I'll keep it.
Thanks,
sean

seandarcy said:
Thanks all. Bought the GN.
The ring tones are really quiet! Dl'd some others, but even with the loudest ring tones, the speker pretty weak.
I do love it, but not sure I'll keep it.
Thanks,
sean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An app called Volume+ will raise the volume. Give it time to take effect.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

kekspernikai said:
An app called Volume+ will raise the volume. Give it time to take effect.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^This. Solved one of my two big issues with the nexus.

Related

But Tilt2 reviews say excellent call quality...

WMExperts, CNET, BoyGenius say things like the call quality and speakerphone in the Tilt2 are excellent. WMExperts say best in the market.
But I read here in the forum of people experiencing muffled sound, low volume, etc.
How to sort this out? What is "reality?"
Obviously this is a feature I am very concerned about before buying the Tilt2. I have relied on Nokia (although they get knocked -- rightfully -- for their OS) for reliable and clear call quality and speakerphone (people don't even notice that you are using a speakerphone).
I think one main factor is network conditions. Under excellent network conditions, you will be able to take advantage of the awesome sound quality that this phone has to offer. The phone volume itself is a bit soft. That doesn't mean sound quality sucks, that means volume sucks.
The speakerphone is a dream though. Dual mics and speakers provide excellent sound quality when using the speakerphone, and the dual mics provide some pretty good noise cancelling.
So while the phone is certainly capable of excellent sound quality, its all up to network quality as well. Personally I think the Tilt2 has more than enough volume for me (way better than the Fuze), and that sound quality has been very good. I especially love using the speakerphone on this thing. Its crystal clear and I love it.
thisisallen said:
WMExperts, CNET, BoyGenius say things like the call quality and speakerphone in the Tilt2 are excellent. WMExperts say best in the market.
But I read here in the forum of people experiencing muffled sound, low volume, etc.
How to sort this out? What is "reality?"
Obviously this is a feature I am very concerned about before buying the Tilt2. I have relied on Nokia (although they get knocked -- rightfully -- for their OS) for reliable and clear call quality and speakerphone (people don't even notice that you are using a speakerphone).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am inclined to agree with you. I have just moved over to the T-Mobile version after almost 4 years on a Wizzard and the call quality sucks in comparison. It sounds really flat. I cant understand why it gets good reviews. No way this is ntwork affected. I have 5 bars of 3G where I am.
jt_armstrong said:
I am inclined to agree with you. I have just moved over to the T-Mobile version after almost 4 years on a Wizzard and the call quality sucks in comparison. It sounds really flat. I cant understand why it gets good reviews. No way this is ntwork affected. I have 5 bars of 3G where I am.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile duffed the output, you can find that anywhere in the forums.. AFAIK it does not affect any other model except the T-Mobile, and there is a file you can replace or install to restore it.
the hardware is definately the best of any phone. just try it out with another phone and youll see. for alot of people the low volume can be solved by hitting volume up, but it still can be a bit soft. the software hasnt really changed from phone to phone and being windows mobile, its easy to get the phone louder through software. i would recommend looking at tweaked audiopara3 files.

[Q]Speakerphone Quality?

How is the Galaxy S2's speaker volume?
Are the speakers awesomely loud and full like on HTC's Touch Pro 2 (AT&T Tilt 2, best phone speakers ever), or low and tinny like the HTC HD2? The GS2 looks awesome, but I've only had HTC phones so I don't have anything else to compare it to.
I use it my phone's speaker for everything: phone calls, listening to radio shows, music and playing videos, so if the GS2's volume is significantly louder and better than my HD2, I'm gonna head to T-Mo and snatch it up.
Thanks in advance!
it's super loud, too loud for comfort if you ask me, when set to max
it does not distort, as in no hiss or vibrate
but is not very tuned to the base side, it's just in flat/normal
not high on treble like other speaker phones (which i absolutely hate, as i can't stand high pitched noise... i meant voice)
AllGamer said:
it's super loud, too loud for comfort if you ask me, when set to max
it does not distort, as in no hiss or vibrate
but is not very tuned to the base side, it's just in flat/normal
not high on treble like other speaker phones (which i absolutely hate, as i can't stand high pitched noise... i meant voice)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has the best speakers ive ever heard on a phone to b honest..
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
The speaker's good and loud for phone calls and navi, but absolutely sucks for music, IMO.
Dude the speaker is great i had tge mytouch 4g and that was my only complaint speaker was super low. on the gs2 it is much louder and also usually when u lay the phone flat on its back it muffles the speaker but for me it makes it a little louder dont know if it is the body glove xase or what but for best experience go to market and grab volume + it works great and is an advanced dsp manager i love it. I had my doubts but it rocks now when im listening to a video i keep it about 4 notches below max
I can't say much as this is my second smartphone but i can tell you when i had an evo3d from sprint the speaker SUCKED ASS and i couldn't hear it for simple calls and texts. I had to install a app called volume plus that uses root to force your volume up which made the speakers crackle but functional. This phones speaker is a godsend compared to that bull****.
Sent from my SGH-T989
I've owned every highend phone on T-Mobile except for the Amaze 4g and I must say this phone has the best speaker phone hands down. I've even owned the Nexus S and Nexus One and none of them compare to this phone as far as sound quality goes.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm going to my local T-Mo store tomorrow and check it out! Early Christmas gift for myself!!!

Speaker quality?

I haven't received my GN yet, but I'll be getting it in the next couple of days.
I was curious about everyone's experience so far with the rear mounted speaker for notification sounds and ringtones. Coming from a Samsung Infuse, I've always hated how quiet the speaker on it was.
Hate to disappoint you, but from what I have read the speaker volume is on the quiet side. However, the audio quality is pretty good.
Coming from an iphone 4s the speaker is incredibly quiet and sounds like crap lol. volume+ helped make it louder so i can at least hear my notifications (kind of a joke it takes a pay app to do that). Luckily the rest of the phone is great
bleomycin said:
Coming from an iphone 4s the speaker is incredibly quiet and sounds like crap lol. volume+ helped make it louder so i can at least hear my notifications (kind of a joke it takes a pay app to do that). Luckily the rest of the phone is great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually never even heard of volume+ until now. Thanks for that.
I had a listen to my sister's galaxy s yesterday. Coming from a Nexus one, I found the loud speaker far superioir both in terms of volume and quality. Can anyone compare the galaxy nexus to the galaxy s so I cab build an image of.its performance please?
bleomycin said:
Coming from an iphone 4s the speaker is incredibly quiet and sounds like crap lol. volume+ helped make it louder so i can at least hear my notifications (kind of a joke it takes a pay app to do that). Luckily the rest of the phone is great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bet ya if you choose a ringtone similar to the ones in the iPhone 4 it will be the same
The speaker's volume is quiet and not loud.
Would love to know if there is a way make it louder without ruin it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Pretty quiet, especially coming from a 4S. I might have to look into the volume + app.. hopefully not at the expense of the speakers though
Sent from my GNex

Speaker hype

So I have heard lots of great things about the speakers on this phone and I'm trying to decide if it's a lot of hype or if I got a phone with bad speakers. I have had the phone for 10 days now and while the clarity is good I'm not impressed with how loud the speakers are. Example is 4 of us were standing around a table watching you tube video yesterday and I wanted some more volume but it was all the way up. We could all hear ok but it wasn't overly loud. Another example is I turned on music player and cranked it all the way up and took a shower, phone was about 3 feet from the shower and I could barely hear the music. So I'm looking for your opinion did I get sub par speakers or am I expecting to much from these speakers?
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app
bc13 said:
So I have heard lots of great things about the speakers on this phone and I'm trying to decide if it's a lot of hype or if I got a phone with bad speakers. I have had the phone for 10 days now and while the clarity is good I'm not impressed with how loud the speakers are. Example is 4 of us were standing around a table watching you tube video yesterday and I wanted some more volume but it was all the way up. We could all hear ok but it wasn't overly loud. Another example is I turned on music player and cranked it all the way up and took a shower, phone was about 3 feet from the shower and I could barely hear the music. So I'm looking for your opinion did I get sub par speakers or am I expecting to much from these speakers?
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you have another phone to compare it to so we can get an idea of comparable volume?
crazyg0od33 said:
do you have another phone to compare it to so we can get an idea of comparable volume?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not had a chance to compare it to another HTC one,but I just compared it to my old droid incredible 2 and the incredible 2 is every bit as loud if not louder. The one sounds a little better but like I said it is no louder than the old incredible 2. Hoping someone that used to have a incredible 2 can let me know what they think also.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app
bc13 said:
Hoping someone that used to have a incredible 2 can let me know what they think also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just compared my old dinc2 with my One, playing the same songs on each phone separately and at the same time, and the One was a little louder than the dinc2. Not by much, but definitely louder. However, the audio quality of the One is much, much better. Though I will happily listen to audio on my One while working, I never did that with the dinc2 given its speaker audio quality. As far as max volume is concerned, mine is plenty loud and I don't need it to be any louder.
Maybe stop by a Verizon store and compare the volume of yours with the display phone.
Mine isn't that much louder than my wife's iPhone either.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 4
I play music on my One while in the shower and I hear it very well, and I don't even have the volume all the way up!
Sent from my HTC One.
xenakis said:
I just compared my old dinc2 with my One, playing the same songs on each phone separately and at the same time, and the One was a little louder than the dinc2. Not by much, but definitely louder. However, the audio quality of the One is much, much better. Though I will happily listen to audio on my One while working, I never did that with the dinc2 given its speaker audio quality. As far as max volume is concerned, mine is plenty loud and I don't need it to be any louder.
Maybe stop by a Verizon store and compare the volume of yours with the display phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped by Verizon today and did just that. I loaded a pearl jam song on both phones on youtube and they sounded the same. But I do agree with you that the sound quality on the one is far superior to the incredible 2, I just wish it was a little louder.
josh995 said:
I play music on my One while in the shower and I hear it very well, and I don't even have the volume all the way up!
Sent from my HTC One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And this is the kind of thing I had heard about the phones speakers before I got it to lead me to believe that the speakers are even better than they are. You must have some better acoustics in your shower than I do. Over all I am happy with the speakers so I wont complain to much.
I've basically found that while this phone isn't all that much louder than other devices I've had. I came from the S4 and that was pretty loud.
However, the One has infinitely better clarity when it comes to the audio. I'll take that. Now if by some crazy magic they can figure out bass, but given the space available I'm sure that will never happen.
I have and have had a lot of android devices. Some of which (Galaxy Nexus) the speaker volume was so low that is required many tweaks via the kernel and third party apps to make it even reasonable. I agree with you that there is a lot of hype in the "boom sound" of the HTC One. Personally, I don't find the volume to be extremely loud but I do find the quality of the sound to be better than any of my other devices. The thin devices we all love jam so much into their size that the speakers often suffer. If you prefer loudness over the quality of the sound there are third party apps you could try. For me the sound is plenty loud and sounds great.
Loudest phone i've ever had. Some things don't seem like they're are that much louder, if noticeable than other phones, but obviously you have the clarity. Youtube may not be the best test as the audio isn't always the greatest. One thing i can note is when volume is maxxed, the notifications are ridiculously loud.
Seems pretty loud to me. I use it to listen to music while I shower and the fan is on. Still hear it fine. I'll be damned if another phone could match that performance.
Seems to be hit and miss with people. I think some had unrealistic expectations. Honestly for me they are perfect. You have to realize in any noisy environment nothing will hold up short of a real larger speaker. These things are outstanding when compared to any other phone.
With beats enabled the volume seems a bit quieter but the quality is much better out of the speakers. If you need a little louder try turning off beats.
?
So which phone would everyone say is the loudest?
If I remember my specs correctly, since there are two speakers, the One can do stereo audio.
My droid DNA was louder than the One but you had to have the phone on a flat surface as a reflector.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 4

Moto Hint

Who is planning to get a Moto Hint? I am curious how the experience of having bot ha Moto 360 and the Moto Hint will be. I wonder if the two devices will compete for your words or if they will have a synergy making having both worthwhile. I do a lot of talking on the phone so a nice bluetooth headset really interests me.
the only thing i'm worried about with the hint is that it will really look like you're talking to yourself
Oh dang I actually haven't heard about these but I think they look like they'll be a pretty good product for those who use such devices. I would splurge but I don't think I would actually use it very often...
I was curious and found the Moto Hint last night at Best Buy. It fit great in the ear and was really comfortable. I could hear callers clearly. Issue is that callers could not hear me well. I was told that every few words were clear then there would be a gap of silence while I continued to speak. I tried with the Note 3 and iPhone 5 and both had the same results. I then covered the sensor making the Hint believe it was in my ear and spoke directly into the mic about an inch from my mouth. Callers heard everything I said clearly. It appears that the BT mic is too far from the mouth to pick up speech properly. I had high hopes for the Hint and am disapointed that it didn't operate as advertised. Will give it the benifit of the doubt and swap it out for another one before giving up.
Make sure the two microphones are aligned and pointed toward your mouth and not your eyes. You may have to consciously rotate the back of the unit upwards slightly when you put it in the ear so microphones line up such that they point to your mouth. Found this in user guide and it works great with this slight adjustment in ear.
where do you live? i cant seem to find the moto hint on bestbuys website. Looking at motorola website doesn't seem like they are on sale yet T^T i wanna try this headset out pretty bad lol
mistamista2000 said:
I was curious and found the Moto Hint last night at Best Buy. It fit great in the ear and was really comfortable. I could hear callers clearly. Issue is that callers could not hear me well. I was told that every few words were clear then there would be a gap of silence while I continued to speak. I tried with the Note 3 and iPhone 5 and both had the same results. I then covered the sensor making the Hint believe it was in my ear and spoke directly into the mic about an inch from my mouth. Callers heard everything I said clearly. It appears that the BT mic is too far from the mouth to pick up speech properly. I had high hopes for the Hint and am disapointed that it didn't operate as advertised. Will give it the benifit of the doubt and swap it out for another one before giving up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also don't see it on the Best Buy website or Amazon. I found it at the Best Buy in Alexandria, VA. I decided to try another unit since the first was so bad. The Best Buy at the Pentagon City location had five in stock. This one is much better. Tried it last night and the person on the other end of the call could hear and understand everyword I said. Not so good this morning so I will follow gadgetg's instructions. I really like the look and feel of the Hint. Will try it for a few more days before I make the decision to keep it or not. My Plantronics Voyager Edge works great, but definitely not as attractive and discreet as the Hint.
Lucky! Keep us updated!
I Def like the way it looks! I would use it at work most considering i mostly use only one eat with my current setup
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
mistamista2000 said:
I also don't see it on the Best Buy website or Amazon. I found it at the Best Buy in Alexandria, VA. I decided to try another unit since the first was so bad. The Best Buy at the Pentagon City location had five in stock. This one is much better. Tried it last night and the person on the other end of the call could hear and understand everyword I said. Not so good this morning so I will follow gadgetg's instructions. I really like the look and feel of the Hint. Will try it for a few more days before I make the decision to keep it or not. My Plantronics Voyager Edge works great, but definitely not as attractive and discreet as the Hint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I live in the DC area. I'll have to check those places out. Hopefully they have some left in stock.
I just left a bestbuy in Jax FL and they didn't have them in the system yet
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
I wonder if the hint is using sensors to detect jaw vibrations like this headset
http://www.amazon.com/Jawbone-II-Bluetooth-NoiseAssassin-Packaging/dp/B001AQYUWC
Got the Hint yesterday at my local best buy in Miami and I really want to like it but I'm still on the fence. Calls are nice and loud with no issues with being heard. My issue is with streaming audio and how quiet it is compared to the call volume. I have the call volume at the lowest setting it's so loud but the streaming has to be over 3/4's just to be able to hear it. It also sounds a but tinny but I imagine the tiny speaker is doing its best. I turned off the Moto voice always listening feature since I'm using it with a iphone 6+ and I imagine that will also help a bit with battery life. If anyone has any suggested settings to improve streaming volume or battery life please chime in. I got the best buy 2 year insurance for $20 so I can always trade this one in if they ever come out with a different hardware version later on.
My wife really wants the Gear S when it launches and thought the hint would be the perfect accessory for it. Just worried she will lose it!
Is hint can used for other phone has not motovoice? Any limition will be?
mmx6688 said:
Is hint can used for other phone has not motovoice? Any limition will be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can. I'm using it with an iPhone 6 plus and it works great. The only limitation is you can't use moto voice. I have to press the mdf to call Siri.
edlex said:
Yes you can. I'm using it with an iPhone 6 plus and it works great. The only limitation is you can't use moto voice. I have to press the mdf to call Siri.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for info. I read some review say the stream sound like music is low and difficult to hear, how about yours? And any problem when talk, need to adjust you head or just feel free to talk in air?
mmx6688 said:
Thanks for info. I read some review say the stream sound like music is low and difficult to hear, how about yours? And any problem when talk, need to adjust you head or just feel free to talk in air?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call volume is very loud but audio streaming and music volume is much lower for some reason.
edlex said:
Call volume is very loud but audio streaming and music volume is much lower for some reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Maybe need report back to moto.
I posted this on the Motorola Forums, but those of you with a Hint or thinking of getting one may find it useful
A US friend recently bought me a 2nd gen Moto Hint on his visit to the UK and I've got to say that the microphone
performance is really erratic. I did loads of testing and searching on the internet in case the problems were:
a) Related to the Nexus 5 I was using
b) Related to a faulty unit
c) Related to me not using the correct "gel" or positioning it in my ear correctly.
After a LOT of digging and reading the few reviews out there, I found that in quite a high proportion of the reviews I did eventually find, people mentioned about how others heard them; that people speaking into the Hint came across as quite faint and distant - exactly the problems I was getting.
A bit more digging and testing later, and I managed to eliminate both a) & b) from the equation... using a really crude test
involving a Bluetooth recorder app, I uncovered the following (Hope this helps!):
Option1.
Believe it or not, I can get consistent clear audio recorded - and subsequently call quality where others can hear me
very clearly if I... Take the Hint out of my ear and BLOW HARD into the front mic before quickly putting it back on!! I know it sounds crazy, but every time I do this, the Hint's mic works flawlessly for me (I should add, there is no debris or or anything else blocking the hole to actually be cleared and my ears are clean )
And this trick works whatever the orientation of the Hint in your ear is.. it can be positioned so the mic is level with your eyes, pointing a bit further down towards your mouth, whatever... this to me, completely dispells any previous info about rotational position in your ear being critical to mic's pick up (no consumer device suitable for everyday use should be that sensitive to position IMHO)
FYI, an audio engineer friend of mine thinks the sudden burst of white noise caused by blowing into the mic, might re-set the noise cancelling audio sampling start up processes but without pulling the thing apart and reverse engineering its code, they're at a complete loss to comprehensively explain why this should work..
FYI 2, The same audio engineer friend thinks the noise cancelling algorithms are broken in some way which is the root cause of the mic pick up being so poor out of the box, and could be fixed with a software update. They've got an older Moto Elite Sliver with Mics positioned no closer to the mouth than the Hint and the mic audio quality in comparison is damned good without having to resort to tricks..
Option 2. A bit more fiddly but also do-able, is to hold your hand up around your ear "Secret Service Agent/FBI Agent" style. Don't actually touch the hint, just have a couple of fingers brushing against the top of your ear with your palm and wrist towards your mouth to help channel the audio from your mouth into the Hint's mic. YMMV and in someways, having to do this to get enough audio to the mic kinda defeats the purpose of having such a small Bluetooth earpiece - may as well hold your phone up to your ear instead!
Anyway, I hope my findings help someone who's had problems, might've left it in a drawer etc.

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