I have had my Xperia Z1 Compact for a few weeks now and for the most part I am very happy with it. The thing that lets the phone down for me is the camera.
1st issue is the photos themselves. The quality of the photos seems very poor and noisy which was extremly disappointing for me as one of the main reasons I chose this phone was for the 20 Mega pixel camera. I have heard that this problem is due to the ISO being ramped up when using auto and can be solved with 3rd party camera apps (an example given was "Perfectly Clear") that clean up the images nicely. I haven't tested this myself but if anyone can recommend any app or tips to getting cleaner images I would be most greatful.
2nd issue is how the camera saves pictures. I have the camera setting set to "burst with long press" which mean every time I take a couple of snaps it creates a new folder for that "burst" which more often than not is a single photo or two. This is annoying enough without the fact that with each new folder it starts repetitively naming the photos "DSC_000001" onward meaning I have 10 separate folders all with about 1-2 pictures in each and most of those pictures are named "DSC_000001" so when it comes to moving these pictures in to a folder on my P.C. I have to rename them manually to keep them in order. What I would like is to have all of my photos saved to one folder with a filename that resembles the date that I took them. For example if I took 3 photos today they would be named "02.05.14-00001" "02.05.14-00002" "02.05.14-00003" respectively. Not only would this make creating albums a lot easier it would help us keep track of when the photos were actually taken.
Please tell me there is a way of doing this! It is so simple. (Also side note on why the multi folder burst thing is terrible. I delete the photos from that burst - empty folder remains.)
3rd issue. This has happened to me a few times now and it is the most frustrating. When I press the 2 stage camera button in sleep mode to bring up the camera and an error comes up saying something along the lines of "Camera could not be found"... The only way I have found to fix this issue is to power down the phone and restart. When the main reason for this function is to get a quick shot off like when your best mate is crossing the finish line of a big race, this error is the last thing you want to see. Trust me I know. (Sorry Ryan I really did try to get a photo of it.)
Any who, if any of you lovely people have a fix or work around for these issues it would be most appreciated. Thank you.
Lawro.Woods said:
I have had my Xperia Z1 Compact for a few weeks now and for the most part I am very happy with it. The thing that lets the phone down for me is the camera.
1st issue is the photos themselves. The quality of the photos seems very poor and noisy which was extremly disappointing for me as one of the main reasons I chose this phone was for the 20 Mega pixel camera. I have heard that this problem is due to the ISO being ramped up when using auto and can be solved with 3rd party camera apps (an example given was "Perfectly Clear") that clean up the images nicely. I haven't tested this myself but if anyone can recommend any app or tips to getting cleaner images I would be most greatful.
2nd issue is how the camera saves pictures. I have the camera setting set to "burst with long press" which mean every time I take a couple of snaps it creates a new folder for that "burst" which more often than not is a single photo or two. This is annoying enough without the fact that with each new folder it starts repetitively naming the photos "DSC_000001" onward meaning I have 10 separate folders all with about 1-2 pictures in each and most of those pictures are named "DSC_000001" so when it comes to moving these pictures in to a folder on my P.C. I have to rename them manually to keep them in order. What I would like is to have all of my photos saved to one folder with a filename that resembles the date that I took them. For example if I took 3 photos today they would be named "02.05.14-00001" "02.05.14-00002" "02.05.14-00003" respectively. Not only would this make creating albums a lot easier it would help us keep track of when the photos were actually taken.
Please tell me there is a way of doing this! It is so simple. (Also side note on why the multi folder burst thing is terrible. I delete the photos from that burst - empty folder remains.)
3rd issue. This has happened to me a few times now and it is the most frustrating. When I press the 2 stage camera button in sleep mode to bring up the camera and an error comes up saying something along the lines of "Camera could not be found"... The only way I have found to fix this issue is to power down the phone and restart. When the main reason for this function is to get a quick shot off like when your best mate is crossing the finish line of a big race, this error is the last thing you want to see. Trust me I know. (Sorry Ryan I really did try to get a photo of it.)
Any who, if any of you lovely people have a fix or work around for these issues it would be most appreciated. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate, I'll tackle issue 1 as not sure about the others. Forgive me if I at any point sound patronising/condescending but obviously I don't know how well-versed you are in photography or not, so don't want to suggest something insulting if you actually know your stuff!!
Yeah, the auto modes (esp. superior auto) aren't great. Especially in low light. But as far as I am concerned, you don't get a phone with a camera this good (f2.0 aperture, 20meg/8meg downsampling) to use the auto modes. Unlike an iPhone, which is designed specifically to be a one-button job, these android phones (the best ones) have decent manual modes as every photographer knows that's how you get the very best results.
I always use manual as you have to for best results (ESPECIALLY in low light). You're correct, the auto mode does ramp up the iso too much. Actually quite a lot of phones do this too much....iphones indoors are a good example.
Tip 1: Stay with the stock camera. It will be purpose built for the sensor and will get you the best results
Tip 2: Always shoot manual
Tip 3: With every shot you take, you want the lowest ISO you can get away with. So practice a bit with different environments and you will soon get a sixth sense about roughly what you'll need. If you're in a restaurant or indoors for example, do a quick experimentation with changing the iso's and see what the scene looks like in real-time (make sure you're phone brightness is high). That's usually a good indicator of how the photo will come out.
Tip 4: Tap to focus on what you want focused, THEN hit capture. Don't just hit capture alone.
Tip 5: Phone camera flashes are TERRIBLE. It's the thermonuclear option when you HAVE to capture whatever is in front of you. Never use one unless you absolutely have to. If I have to use the flash....I don't take the picture. I also don't take any pictures higher than iso 800 as the noise is awful (for all phones). For indoor/lowlight you want 200/400 or worst case scenario 800 if you absolutely have to get that shot.
Tip 6: In manual, you will actually get superior photos if you shoot in the 8megapixel mode. Only ever choose 20megapixel if you are going to be doing some extreme cropping with the photo or are going to be blowing it up to huge sizes somewhere.
Hope that helps?
Thank you for the tips. They are useful and when I have time to mess with manual settings to take a photo I will certainly use them. But the things that originally attracted me to this phone were the quick launch 2 stage button and the burst mode. I wanted to use this phone as a quick point and click camera for capturing fleeting moments. Unfortunately the quick launch immediately opens in auto mode (with that ****ing annoying sound effect I might add) and by the time I've switched to manual and messed around with the settings (which could use a better layout) that fleeting moment might have passed me by.
Good news is I have come up with a backward way of getting the photos to save by date. Dropbox automatically backs up my pictures with a file name done via date and time. Although this isn't a true fix since I still have to delete the burst folders from my phone every now and then this will do for now.
Thanks again for the tips paddy. Hopefully I will work something out.
Lawro.Woods said:
Thank you for the tips. They are useful and when I have time to mess with manual settings to take a photo I will certainly use them. But the things that originally attracted me to this phone were the quick launch 2 stage button and the burst mode. I wanted to use this phone as a quick point and click camera for capturing fleeting moments. Unfortunately the quick launch immediately opens in auto mode (with that ****ing annoying sound effect I might add) and by the time I've switched to manual and messed around with the settings (which could use a better layout) that fleeting moment might have passed me by.
Good news is I have come up with a backward way of getting the photos to save by date. Dropbox automatically backs up my pictures with a file name done via date and time. Although this isn't a true fix since I still have to delete the burst folders from my phone every now and then this will do for now.
Thanks again for the tips paddy. Hopefully I will work something out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries.
Yeah admittedly if you take a lot of sudden/spontaneous shots that you don't have time to adjust for, the results might be less than ideal. To be honest on my xperia and my gs4 before that, after a while you become so quick at changing the manual options it becomes second nature and you can do it fast enough to catch spontaneous moments with the ideal settings.
Phone cameras are much simpler than normal cameras as the aperture (which is EXCELLENT for low light on the xperia - f2.0) is fixed, so really when it comes to mobile photography it's all about ISO, ISO and more ISO. Therefore when I say 'use manual mode' you can get away with JUST altering the iso to your needs and leaving all the other manual settings on auto. Like white balance for example, which the computer is MUCH better at detecting correctly.
Unless you're shooting outdoors on a sunny day, you must learn to assume that 99 times out of 100, your xperia in auto will select an ISO that is far higher than what you can actually get away with using. So it's good practice not to trust it.
Related
I was wondering if there is a way to use either volume button as a shutter while in the camera app. I've been looking around in the forums but I've only seen threads about using those buttons as power buttons.
Thanks
Retro camera in the market can do it.
this was fixed with style before the evo came out
Dude fx camera zoom is a beast I have been using it it let's you remap any keys or even take it via audio command but in full quality 8mp plus it wouldn't be " fx camera" without some sick fx... UI is great got the volume keys on mine doing zoom with voice activated timer so I could still take the pics really just a whole lot of options bought it 2 years ago on the g1 and a hidden gem of an app
This is already available via the Camera Zoom FX app on the market. Not free, but is there. However I have found that it is buggy as hell.
Bugs I have noticed:
1. Pictures won't save. It's like they are stored in the cache. You take a picture, go to gallery to view it and it won't be there. If you reboot the phone it will be.
2. The "FX" don't always work. There are several effects that come stock with the app. They frequently don't do what they are supposed to or won't load at all. I have found that you can exit the program via the back buttons and then start it again to get the FX to load, but even that has stopped working.
3. It actually asks you to download Task Killer the first time you open the app. Going on about camera apps using memory and all. So in other words it has a memory leak and instead of fixing it they want you to manually kill the task.
It does what some in this thread are asking for. However I wouldn't suggest you buy it.
And can I get a mod to verify my account so I can post faster than every 5 minutes... getting this message:
To prevent spam to the forums, new users must wait five minutes between posts. All new user accounts will be verified by moderators before this restriction is removed.
Wish granted!
I was bored this morning. So i decided to make one... for free! (Also no ads!)
It's called: "Simple Cam" made by Insanity Systems on the android market. (unfortunately i can't post the link because i'm a new user it seems... if anybody's kind enough to do so in a reply i would appreciate it!)
it's 15k in size (and i think most of that is the PNG icon to be fair).
Super simple to use: Volume up to take a snap; Volume down to set the flash.
Saves pictures to sd card in folder "cameraPictures".
ENJOY!
P.S. Have a go at the other apps as well maybe you'll find something you like.
taranasus said:
I was bored this morning. So i decided to make one... for free! (Also no ads!)
It's called: "Simple Cam" made by Insanity Systems on the android market. (unfortunately i can't post the link because i'm a new user it seems... if anybody's kind enough to do so in a reply i would appreciate it!)
it's 15k in size (and i think most of that is the PNG icon to be fair).
Super simple to use: Volume up to take a snap; Volume down to set the flash.
Saves pictures to sd card in folder "cameraPictures".
ENJOY!
P.S. Have a go at the other apps as well maybe you'll find something you like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Market link
http://market.android.com/details?id=simplecam.insanitysystems.com
also, this feature is a part of cm7 already
I will update this thread as I found issues.
1. Middle of downloads the phone turned off and refused to switch on. Taking the battery out enabled restarting the phone again.
2. Despite of master reset/factory reset the phone is really laggy. Freezing applications made Defy very responsive but under 2.2.2 it appears no difference at all. (Second factory reset seems brought back somme life to my phone now...)
3. Definitely something is causing an annoying delay at startup even though the phone appears to be ready to use.
4. I have noticed once after a restart the capacitive buttons didn't light up for 1-2 minutes even though I was using the phone. The LauncherPro is installed and I'm suspecting that is the culprit here.
5. Once a number is dialed the phone locks itself. This is rather inconvenience when you need immediately use the key pad to select options. (20 June 2011)
Guidelines - 20 June 2011
I decided to write a guideline for Defy users. The information provided here have already been mentioned by others but normally not in one place. Please follow the steps below every time you flash a new ROM.
1. Master Reset (Whether you like this step or not this is required to do. Imagine upgrading a windows machine, it would be simply a mess in most cases. Any pro users would tell you always to do a clearn install. The same principle with Android applies)
2. Discharge the battery (It seems flashing a ROM messes up the battery calibration. Drain the battery to the point it won't boot then recharge it from the wall socket)
3. Avoid Restoring Apps (Only if is a must. Since Android 2.2 is different to 2.1 many apps might not work very well with the same settings restored from 2.1. Some vendors also offer different version for Android 2.2 or higher. Installing from market is best practice)
4. Avoid using widgets (They are simply battery eaters. Avoid them if they don't provide useful functionality to you)
5. Don't trust all vendors (Many apps placed on Android Market is written by programmers with no experience at all. A badly written app not only drains more battery but also takes up more precious RAM than it should. The less RAM you have, the slower the phone performs)
6. Don't keep large number of emails in your inboxes (They simply take up more memory)
7. Charge your mobile from wall socket when you can. It really does make a difference and also a recommended method by Motorola.
8. Put the Mobile Network to 2G when you can. It does save considerable amount of battery.
9. Switch off the phone once per day for 30 seconds before switching it on again.
Any chance to get hands on SBF for this release
Download available : Here http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/support/update/#
CSharpHeaven said:
4. I have noticed once after a restart the capacitive buttons didn't light up for 1-2 minutes even though I was using the phone. The LauncherPro is installed and I'm suspecting that is the culprit here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I notice on my handset (UK T-Mobile eclair) that the capacitive buttons sometimes dont light up when holding the phone landscape. I think there is a light sensor somewhere which detects the ambient light and adjusts the capacitive button lighting.
techguyone said:
Download available : Here http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/support/update/#
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on cm7 not sure if the phone will be detected by the msu. Will try once getting back home.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
techguyone said:
Download available : Here http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/support/update/#
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will get you the motorola update software.
During the update the .sbf is downloaded. We need to get the sbf, however it is deleted once the update has finished. I think this happens when the motorola software asks to "reboot phone, connect usb and verify update".
Please, if anyone does the update make sure to find the .sbf file and copy it somewhere safe before the update is verified. Then post to xda of course
Olly
binodnepal said:
I am on cm7 not sure if the phone will be detected by the msu. Will try once getting back home.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure either, I reverted to 2.51 and did the update form that point.
Anyone installed CM over 3.4.2_177-3?
Olly
kashavsehra said:
I notice on my handset (UK T-Mobile eclair) that the capacitive buttons sometimes dont light up when holding the phone landscape. I think there is a light sensor somewhere which detects the ambient light and adjusts the capacitive button lighting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. I can actually reconfirm the issue. Last night when I was setting my alarm, with no lights in the room, I noticed once again the capacitive buttons' led were off. I was helding the phone in portrait and I know for sure this problem wasn't there in 2.1 because I always set my alarm after I turn the lights off (Bedroom's). When I press the Home Key to come out of the Alarm app the capacitive buttons lit up again.
binodnepal said:
I am on cm7 not sure if the phone will be detected by the msu. Will try once getting back home.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the msu is compiled by Motorola then I'm sure you won't be able to upgrade. The .msu can contain many other smaller installers that can do all the checking, exactly the way the update program does. Your only solutuion is to revert back to Motorola's stock ROM and give it a try.
Two more very annoying Defy/Froyo issues:
1) You can't disable the lockscreen anymore, so prepare for a lot of annoying swiping. Yes, you can get rid of the slider with an app called "No Lock," but this will also disable your security lock (pin code or pattern) which leaves your phone wide open.
2) The new gallery has more eye candy but less functionality, and it got slower too. If you open the folder list you can't read long folder names anymore. Is there is a way to run the old 2.1 gallery on Froyo?
I found the gallery the worst bit. So poor, I can't believe they let it go out like that. Runs like a dog.
I feel embarrassed for Motorola. Or I would if they were not working hard every day making their great hardware under-perform!
Seriously what a phone once CM is on it!
Olly
Use quickpic off the market, best gallery around
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
rogier666 said:
Two more very annoying Defy/Froyo issues:
1) You can't disable the lockscreen anymore, so prepare for a lot of annoying swiping. Yes, you can get rid of the slider with an app called "No Lock," but this will also disable your security lock (pin code or pattern) which leaves your phone wide open.
2) The new gallery has more eye candy but less functionality, and it got slower too. If you open the folder list you can't read long folder names anymore. Is there is a way to run the old 2.1 gallery on Froyo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I'm concerned Motorola has degraded the phone and I'm not too sure if that is legal or not. I'm referring to the apps Motorola developed such as the video player and the gallery that you pointed out, not the Android itself. The additional Task Manager that was shipped with 2.1 in US is a welcome.
I have found my defy is performing slower, unless those claim Defy performs better with Android 2.2 has some settings that I don't. I ended up installing SetVSel to speed thigns up. It seems to me I'm getting 1/4 less juice out of my battery. I can reconfirm it once I play music on it for a couple of hours.
Not wanting to sound negative all the time, here are some positive things I found so far. I'm very happy with this update because now I got all my emails working on my handset which was important to me which missed the feature for the past 6 months. The browser appears to work very smoothly in most cases. I haven't used the Tasks app yet but that is another welcome addition as I always have a need for such features on portable devices. Other positive things about Android is to thank google not Motorola anyway. The slightly improved dialer worth just mentioning about it.
If Motorola refuses to give us Gingerbread then I hope they provide an update to fix some minor issues that either annoying or impacting the user experience soon enough.
I gotta say I'm pretty surprised about all the issues people are facing with the Froyo update everywhere. I had the french update installed which was one of the first available in Europe before moving on to the leaked 2.3.3 and it was smoother than ever. No bug at all except for the space touch getting a bit crazy while typing a text a few times. I didn't have many applications installed. A few people mentioned the update's fine as long as you don't have much installed on the phone but it starts getting extremely laggy when you keep installing more and more applications. After a factory reset there shouldn't be any lags though !
MrBelter said:
Use quickpic off the market, best gallery around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
QuickPic would be the best gallery app if it would let us change the grid size (the thumbnail previews are too big now) and if it had "all photos" and "all videos" views. Unfortunately QuickPic only does folders.
lotfib said:
I gotta say I'm pretty surprised about all the issues people are facing with the Froyo update everywhere. I had the french update installed which was one of the first available in Europe before moving on to the leaked 2.3.3 and it was smoother than ever. No bug at all except for the space touch getting a bit crazy while typing a text a few times. I didn't have many applications installed. A few people mentioned the update's fine as long as you don't have much installed on the phone but it starts getting extremely laggy when you keep installing more and more applications. After a factory reset there shouldn't be any lags though !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your post. In my experience there was a noticeable performance difference between 2.1 and 2.2.2 before a single application was installed. One theory to why some people are happy with the performance and others are not could be down to different components used in Defy. No one knows for sure if all Defy around the globe use exactly the same components or not. As you pointed out installing apps appears to effect the performance so we can conclude those that are not experiencing performance decrease are not power users.
rogier666 said:
QuickPic would be the best gallery app if it would let us change the grid size (the thumbnail previews are too big now) and if it had "all photos" and "all videos" views. Unfortunately QuickPic only does folders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am confused, all my photos and videos are in folders anyway and all the previews load like lightning so i fail to to see the problem, it is better than any default gallery whichever way you look at it.
Anyway only issue i can find with the retail 2.2 is how low highest screen brightness setting seems to be, the display is really hard to read outside now.
If you have a hundred pictures scattered over ten folders, would you want to tap into those folders one by one to browse all your photos?
Just like there's a unified inbox for mails from many accounts so you don't have to jump from one mailbox to the next, the stock gallery has a unified pictures view (all pictures in one grid) for all your folders.
If you want to swipe through lots of pictures from a bunch of different folders, having them all in one grid beats having to open all the different folders one by one.
If QuickPic would have the same unified picture view and custom picture grid sizes I would throw the stock gallery out. While QuickPic is working on it (are they?) I'll keep both apps.
The problem with the capacitive buttons that not lighting up is worse than I thought. It happens all the time, it doesn't light up and the only way to make it to work, when it gets really bad, by locking the phone (power switch) and unlocking it again.
The battery life noticeably shortened after the update. What I have done today was to completely discharge the battery to the point it doesn't turn on. Recharged it fully again without turning it on and from the wall socket. I'll report back if there was any improvements on Monday.
I also uninstalled VSel and set it to default CPU speed again. Despite of freezing so many apps and services the start up is really slow and I really feel the lag with the phone.
Another Defy/Froyo bug:
Dial *#*#4636#*#* to get into a service menu. From there battery_history/network_usage would tell you network traffic per app since last boot/unplugged/all time.
In Eclair all data was counted. In Froyo it usually doesn't count anything.
I've has my Galaxy Nexus for a couple of days now, on the Three network in the UK.
I hate how most people in reviews rave about phones when they have just forked out for them, and fail to mention any real negatives - presumably because they refuse to accept that something they've spent £500 on might be less than perfect. When you buy one and it's missing features or isn't quite what you expected, it's very annoying.
Here are my thoughts so far. I consider myself a power-user, and have tested almost everything. Overall, people are right. This is the best phone I've touched. I think once devs start optimising their apps to work properly on ICS it'll be even better. Fingers crossed that Cyanogen will address lots of the annoyances below.
I hope this is useful for someone
The Good:
Feels much more complete and unified.
It's lightening fast.
Most of the best bits of Android have transferred.
Screen looks great.
Face unlock works much better than I thought. Even in low light.
I've only had one crash despite installing a tonne of apps and testing every feature. [EDIT: a few FCs today. Mainly from the pre-installed Google Earth).
Radio seems to work fine on Three UK, unlike the SGS II which has data issues due to fast dormancy. Data speeds are great.
Browser generally much better.
Text input much better, but editing is a little confusing and seems to vary depending on app. [EDIT: This is actually phenomenal. I've always had a hardware keyboard or Swype before so no practice on these keyboards. After only 48 hours, I can literally type without looking. It is very good at correcting mistakes.]
Screen size is great for me, as I use my phones as mini-tablets. Doesn't feel bulky in my pocket at all.
BLUETOOTH STEREO FINALLY DOESN'T DISTORT - I can hear hi-hats again instead of just distortion. There is a bit of constant crackling though.
Screen remains responsive when charging. I have had an issue where it wasn't registering touch properly when charging on my Milestone, Desire and SGSII so this is really nice.
The Bad:
EVEN THOUGH I'M SUPPOSEDLY IN AN UNAFFECTED BAND, IF MY PHONE DROPS TO 2G, AND SOMEONE WALKS NEAR ME MAKING A PHONECALL IT PUTS MY PHONE ON SILENT.
The 'menu' button is unpredictable. For example, in most apps it appears at the bottom with the softkeys. In Market it's up at the top, near the search button. In some apps, it has gone. Seems to vary and is confusing.
You're stuck with the Google search box on you home screen. I hate this.
Now the button has gone, if an app doesn't have a search icon, you've lost the ability to search.
Also means no long press search, so you have to go back to the home screen for voice commands. This also means that regardless of what launcher you use, if you want voice search, you NEED to have the Google search widget on your home screen.
No USB Mass Storage – they've opted for media device profile instead. My Xbox recognises it but can't play any content. It doesn't work with my car stereo. It doesn't work with my TV. My laptop will see it, but I can't see certain hidden folders. This has just removed a huge aspect of flexibility from Android. It's no longer universal, and more like an iPhone now in that respect.
Icons are as ugly in real life as everyone expected.
Blue theme clashes with everything except blue. Blue icons on blue background feels very bland.
There is a huge problem with speech to text, whereby it is very slow, and seems to just write a list of names out of my contacts directory rather than writing what I say! Video here: http://youtu.be/qHVptz2EtMk
No longer accepts certain file formats over Bluetooth.
Camera seems buggy when reviewing photos. It works confusingly.
Gallery is not very intuitive at all.
Browser doesn't display Javascript animations properly.
Dropped a few calls.
Wifi range isn't as good as my other Androids
Front facing camera doesn't aim inwards towards your face. It points straight forward at 90 degrees, but it's positioned on the right of the device, so your face isn't central unless you hold the phone at a bit of an angle facing away from you. [EDIT - this is getting very annoying now. You have to have the phone screen pointing almost away from you to video call]
Bluetooth calls don't seem to work. Caller can't hear what I'm saying. [EDIT - I'm told it works on newer kits. Mine is a Jabra stereo receiver]
Bluetooth music has a constant crackling behind it, but it's barely noticeable in loud music.
All albumart appears in the phone gallery.
Google Talk seems to sign out after a while. It's showing all of my contacts as away even though I know they're online. Signing out and in again fixes this temporarily, but I'm guessing I would miss video calls whilst offline.
Phone has gone to permanent sleep about 3 times in 2 and a half days now. Requires a battery pull to get it back on.
Apps - If you can't live without these, I'd recommend waiting to buy until they're fixed
No menu button is shown on Facebook, so there's no way to set it up to sync contacts or notifications. This means no contact photos for now.
Twitter on the other hand syncs all my contacts, despite me telling it not to.
Doesn't support Swype as yet.
Doesn't support MX Video Player.
iPlayer not available in the Market.
Grooveshark app doesn't work due to lack of flash player. You can use Dood's music streamer for a functional but unattractive alternative.
Thanks for the review and honesty. It would be nice if you kept this updated as either your opinion changes or things are fixed from either Google or app developers.
Is web browser as smooth (scrolling, pinch to zoom) as one on the galaxy s2?
I really beginning to wonder if Verizon is going to put these out there in two weeks without some fixes/improvements in place. I mean, if December 8 is real, these phones have got be in sealed boxes already. People will be returning them faster than they sell them.
hrcro said:
Is web browser as smooth (scrolling, pinch to zoom) as one on the galaxy s2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It feels a lot smoother than my Galaxy S II did.
I'm about to test the bluetooth quality, as crackling audio was my biggest pet hate from previous Android versions.
Can you resize the search widget? If we are stuck with it maybe something smaller will help minimize that particular drawback.
have you got an otg usb cable? can you hook up a thumb drive?
Sent from my Google Nexus S using Tapatalk
suomaf said:
have you got an otg usb cable? can you hook up a thumb drive?
Sent from my Google Nexus S using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, please test it. whole forum with owners GN but nobody had test this opportunity yet
I hope yopu don't mind but I am going to hijack this thread and also post a quick review from a similar nerd is maybe over critical. Saves starting a new thread.
The Good
ICS is very polished, much more so than any other version of android, it tries to stay consistent through the whole phone where as in previous versions it was one of my main annoyances.
The device looks fantastic.
The speed is very good, I wouldn't say it is any faster than a SGS2 with a custom rom IMO but it is a lot smother in animation etc. so it feels a lot faster.
The screen is very nice, playing videos when the screen is set up to an acceptable brightness are amazing with colours a lot more natural than the SGS2 or the yellow tint of the iphone 4.
Radio is very good also, getting full signal in my house where as before i would only receive 2-3 bars.
Text input is a lot better although i have found it is unable to keep up with my typing, although it is putting the letters down it almost seems like there is a little delay in the animation of them magnifying.
Notification light is back and I am glad, as I missed that feature on my SGS2.
Has everything, NFC, noise cancelling mic, 720p display and ICS. Its pretty much future proof (in terms of the next few years)
Zero shutter lag is a very good feature
Bad Points
The screen although very nice on full or half brightness is not very good on auto brightness. It is so much lower compared to all my other smart phones it is almost unusable I find so I have had to manually set the brightness.
Auto rotate as I have mentioned in another thread is very inconsistent, very fast in some apps nearly non existent in others.
Sound quality is quiet, not poor quality but very quiet. My SGS2 and iPhone 4 over power it when playing videos.
The browser is fast but it is not as fast as my SGS2 running Check Rom Revolution HD. It is deffo faster than the iPhone 4.
The camera is not great, its not bad but the quality feels like it is from a year old device. Quite grainy, not as good as the SGS2 or the iphone 4s unfortunately.
And lastly a few quirks which I am sure will be sorted out with an over the air update, occasional stutter when opening app draw, gallery doesn't seem terribly smooth when going through photos and the auto rotate is just annoying me.
Other than the above I don't want people to read this and think it is doom and gloom because it isn't. This is a very very good device, I am glad I purchased it because it is still the best phone on the market in my opinion.
Every phone has its niggles but that is why this forum is so great, I am looking forward to the community baked roms which always make a device go from very good to just awesome.
To answer some question, you can't resize the search bar. Its not really a widget its sort of like the controls at the bottom, permanently there.
when typing does it type well, what I mean is it off when typing and you keep getting bad letters up, I had that problem with the SGS2 someone mentioned it was a screen problem that it kept jumping
thanks
bmstrong said:
Can you resize the search widget? If we are stuck with it maybe something smaller will help minimize that particular drawback.
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Nope, can't resize it. It's there permanently. You'd have to install another launcher.
Added a few more to the list, mainly to do with Bluetooth.
Is FM radio working with Spirit FM Radio app?
justabrake said:
when typing does it type well, what I mean is it off when typing and you keep getting bad letters up, I had that problem with the SGS2 someone mentioned it was a screen problem that it kept jumping
thanks
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Yeah it types really well, I don't think I have mistyped once on there and I type real fast.
Good lord. That's a lot of negatives. Thanks for the honest review for undecided minds like me. Just two questions. If you use a 3rd party launcher (for example adw) will the google search bar still be present? Secondly, how does the GPS perform in terms of fix time and accuracy? Does barometer really help GPS fix time? Thanks
luffyp said:
Secondly, how does the GPS perform in terms of fix time and accuracy? Does barometer really help GPS fix time? Thanks
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The GPS fix for me is very fast, easily within a second or so. Much faster than my Desire was, that's for sure.
A lot of those negatives either will be resolved soon by Google or they won't be a problem for the majority of people
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
OP > when typing does it type well, what I mean is it off when typing and you keep getting bad letters up, I had that problem with the SGS2 someone mentioned it was a screen problem that it kept jumping
thanks
mike freegan said:
You're stuck with the Google search box on you home screen. I hate this.
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Ugh.
This is going to be problematic with my live clock wallpaper that is displayed at the top of the screen. Anyone else use WP Clock?
Here's an example of the live wallpaper I'm talking about:
luffyp said:
Good lord. That's a lot of negatives. Thanks for the honest review for undecided minds like me. Just two questions. If you use a 3rd party launcher (for example adw) will the google search bar still be present? Secondly, how does the GPS perform in terms of fix time and accuracy? Does barometer really help GPS fix time? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you have to bare in mind that ICS is a big over haul, so if we were to list all the positives it would be a pretty big list. I am just venting my negatives of the device, but when you compare them to how good the device is they really are small and I would rather have this handset than any other. I forked out for both my SGS2 and the Galaxy Nexus sim free and i am not dissapointed with either. If you are undecided on whether to upgrade you have to look at the fact that this phone does have everything, is a developer phone and has ICS written specifically for it. I would say go for it.
If you use a 3rd party launcher the Google search will not be present, my GPS has been excellent, I have used it for a few car journeys and it is just as good as my SGS2 which was superb.
jms.flynn said:
Well you have to bare in mind that ICS is a big over haul, so if we were to list all the positives it would be a pretty big list. I am just venting my negatives of the device, but when you compare them to how good the device is they really are small and I would rather have this handset than any other. I forked out for both my SGS2 and the Galaxy Nexus sim free and i am not dissapointed with either. If you are undecided on whether to upgrade you have to look at the fact that this phone does have everything, is a developer phone and has ICS written specifically for it. I would say go for it.
If you use a 3rd party launcher the Google search will not be present, my GPS has been excellent, I have used it for a few car journeys and it is just as good as my SGS2 which was superb.
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Yep I know, ICS seems to be the biggest change among the previous Android versions. Together with Google & developers' support, it's why I want to jump ship to the Nexus line. At the moment I'm leaning towards it, just wanna read more reviews. Although the volume adjusting problem that many people are having is a bit of a concern. Hopefully it will be fixed by a software update.
So I used the original Note for a long time and I am used to being able to just hit Menu then Edit on photos to crop or write on them. Am I missing something here or does the Note 2 just lack this ability? I used it quite a bit and I would love to know if there is a way to get it back. I thought I could get it from Samsung Apps, but I see that isn't an option on this phone either. I have tried ones from the Play store but none integrate the same functionality and ease of use.
Any one have any ideas?
View the photo your waiting to edit push your s pen button then tap and hold on screen it will take a screen shot of what your viewing and place it into edit mode for drawing.
A downside to the screen shot method though is that it doesn't save the picture in the sam high quality over what the picture was taken in on max settings with the phones camera.
On a side note I also went onto Samsung apps and was able to get the photo editor app to download, not sure why it wasn't letting you Oo
Sent from my SGH-I317M
Samsung Apps isn't even installed on the AT&T version. I downloaded it from Samsung and it says limited device support.
dbzgod said:
View the photo your waiting to edit push your s pen button then tap and hold on screen it will take a screen shot of what your viewing and place it into edit mode for drawing.
A downside to the screen shot method though is that it doesn't save the picture in the sam high quality over what the picture was taken in on max settings with the phones camera.
On a side note I also went onto Samsung apps and was able to get the photo editor app to download, not sure why it wasn't letting you Oo
Sent from my SGH-I317M
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Click to collapse
Yeah i used it quite a bit too. I tried getting ot from the samsung apps store and same say limited. If any kind soul who already has it can upload the APK here or the apps section for me and the OP and anyone else wanting would get a big thanks from us!!!
THANKS IN ADVANCE
SlickyFats said:
So I used the original Note for a long time and I am used to being able to just hit Menu then Edit on photos to crop or write on them. Am I missing something here or does the Note 2 just lack this ability? I used it quite a bit and I would love to know if there is a way to get it back. I thought I could get it from Samsung Apps, but I see that isn't an option on this phone either. I have tried ones from the Play store but none integrate the same functionality and ease of use.
Any one have any ideas?
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Click to collapse
Sorry I don't have a direct answer for your question, but I do have a suggestion. I use PicSay(Pro) for all my editing and it's awesome! Of course I have not used others for comparison, as with PicSay I have not needed to look elsewhere. It is super-easy to use as well as share. I think it has a really nice selection of options. I'm not certain what the differences are between free vs paid version but I can tell you the paid is WELL worth it. I think I saw it on sale via Amazon not too long ago, you may be able to catch it again sometime for a cheaper price? If you are not looking for a seperate app then kindly disregard my suggestion. :angel:
Here it is:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1549377
Came from original Note. I'm 99% sure this is the one you want.
When you hand your phone to granny to take a photo of you, can she get the job done? Rate this thread to express how you deem the Honor 8's camera software. A higher rating indicates that the software is easy to use, fast, uncluttered, and inclusive of advanced features for when you need them.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
My granny can surely use the camera if it comes down to it. You cannot miss the big button that screams "press me". If you swipe life, you will have the different camera modes and if you swipe right, you will find the setting. I like the camera features it come with that you will find in just about every single flagship device. I also enjoy the "mirror" front facing camera they got going on....makes it quick to check out that lil blemish instead of stamping my face in my bathroom mirror or trying to zoom in on the front face camera. A tap will freeze a frame, double will zoom it in...so simple even my mother is loving it.
I was a bit surprised by the options the default camera app has, just about everything you could ask for and really easy to use. If you just want to take snapshots you really don't need to bother going through the options but when you do it is very straight forward and easy to understand. Even the pro mode is easy to use and understand, much easier and faster than my compact camera. I might just not bring my compact camera along anymore....
lots of customisable options
Love the added feautures
I love the customized features. One complaint is that Huawei's own APPs could be accidentally uninstalled and hard to find them back (there is always a way of course). I also found these APPs may not keep updating to the latest version as there may be no APP server in the US (I am not sure). Last time when I reset the phone, the Huawei Health APP disappeared. I tried to use the latest version but it requires to connecting to the HiCloud which is not available to the US users. I then tried to use the native Health version, it worked again.
Just thought to give my two cents after having the phone for three months.
I have photography as a "serious hobby" with 15 years of experience with DSLRs etc. Honor 8 is the first smartphone I've had where I'm happy with the builtin camera software! With all other phones (Samsung, Motorola) the first thing I've done has been to install a third-party camera app. Now finally with the Nougat/EMUI5 upgrade I'm really happy with the builtin app. Manual controls, raw support, long exposure, quick to launch, gallery app shows histograms and other info, you name it.
The only improvement I'd like would be to be able to store your preferred settings and them easily return to those settings. Now I easily forget delayed shutter etc. on. There is a button to restore default settings, but that resets also raw mode, gps etc. But to be honest, this feature is missing in some DSLRs as well.
That will be great..
Camera app is really good, personally I don't like too much the "Pro mode", looks a little bit ""noob"" (I don't know how to describe it, lol), but it works well.
It is very easy and simple to find in the settings what you need..
EMUI 4.1 had limited shortcut tile and with EMUI 5 number of tiles has increased, many other major changes in the UI made this much better to use
didnt really like emui4.but love emui5
not bad
Got all a basic user needs.