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Hello,
This is a a very short review of my imported Nexus from Expansys. This will go over more nitpick feature some us care about about in terms on quality not the phone.
On thing that is strange to me is that I have 4.01 out of the box but mine also came with a US charger, I have read that expansys sent adapters for others. If this is an import how did I get the US charger inside? Did this happen to anyone else?
The phone is very light and impressive, ICS is agreat OS right away.
Screen Issue - My eyes are sharp and within 30 seconds I can see these displays have the same issues as the GSII seen here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1320942
It very obvious on grey's but heard to see in the systems blues. The screen shots in the link is still an issue even though its a pentile display.
Pentile - I hate pentile so much its not funny, I actuallly hope they go out of business but I have to say it way easier on the eyes the the lower resolutions displays. I have to squint to see the ridges but they are still there plain as day.
If you hate pentile I would say that this has a 65-70% chance that this phone will not bother you.
Stutters - I am disappointed that 2 of 5 button press to the app drawer produces that little stutter. I can make it constantly happen and I have installed zero apps yet nor messed with widgets.
I love the phone and don't get me wrong I am not dissing the phone just an impression from someone who has had almost every model that came out.
I did not post anything positive on purpose because so many articles already did a great job of highlighting the good stuff.
Ok, I picked up the Nexus on December 15th at 9:30 am from Best Buy. I said it on another thread; I think I’m one of the lucky ones that got a good unit. The list of issues that some phones are having I THANKFULLY have not seen. First thing I did with it was unlock it. It is a nexus after all. I’m not rooted as of yet.
First off, the screen is amazing. It’s a PenTile display, fine, who cares. Anyone worried about that, get over it. I think sometimes we spend so much effort researching every little detail on paper and forget that the real world execution of the tech is all that really matters. It’s not a perfect display but I can’t think of too many phones that have a better one. It’s right on par with the iPhone 4S (if not richer), and almost an inch bigger. The whites are ALMOST perfectly white (on mine anyway) and I’m not seeing any blue or green tint. The blacks are just about pure black.
The only lag I have seen on this phone is with home screen swiping (this is very rare), and app drawer especially in the widgets section (this is consistent). From what I have read, this is a bug with 4.0.2 and hopefully fixed with 4.0.3. I know people have roms up and running and say its butter smooth again. The phone is fast has hell. It doesn’t have the break neck speed of the SGS2 but it has a smoothness you really only see on the iPhone. All the native google apps load quick and are very responsive. I have run into some games and general apps that simply don’t play nice with ICS, but these will be fixed in time I’m sure. I also picked up the Xoom on day one, so I’m used to having some apps not working out of the box.
The camera is good, not great, but good. I have read people calling it total garbage; I don’t think that’s true at all. For the life of me I don’t know why they DIDN’T go with the 8 mega pixel one from the SGS2, but they didn’t. It is what it is. My thinking, and I could be totally wrong here, is that the “no shutter lag” was a big selling point. A 5 mega pixel image may have worked better at achieving this. The no shutter lag thing btw is very cool. Great for getting the shots that normally blow by you when you are waiting for the damn phone to snap already… hehe. The only down side is you will get some blurry pictures. Just have to learn to have a steady hand and it works just fine. I have noticed a yellowing of indoor shots when the flash is on. If you can get away with it and there is enough light in the room, just leave the flash off. Without flash the pictures actually look better. Outdoor shots look great. No complaints at all here. Pictures to have on your phone; show friends, post on twitter or facebook, the camera is more than good enough. If you want professional level pictures that you can blow up to poster size, get a real camera.
I spend a lot of time around wifi. I normally have a very strong signal but I will say that as I get further from the router location the weaker the signal gets. This is true for all phones, obviously, but more with the nexus then other phones I have used. My house has almost no coverage from Verizon, but there is enough to make calls and text. When I’m home, wifi is all I use for data. I have had the phone a week, and have yet to drop a single call, miss a text or have a text not go through. People I call say I sound like I’m on a land line. It’s been crystal clear on my side and theirs. I know others have had problems, but I can only speak to my experience. When I leave my house I pick up 3g with no problem. I get the same 3g signal strength as my old Droid Incredible. When I go into town and get into 4g area, I pick it up NO problem at all. Pops right on, and holds it strong. Web browsing is lightning fast and doesn’t drop. To save battery, I leave LTE off when not in town. It’s a good habit to get into. If the coverage isn’t good, don’t try and force it. As far as batter life, I was worried at first. After a few days of charging with the phone off, then letting it run all the way down to dead, the life has been great. (see the screen shot) Admittedly, it was a light use day, but I spent time on wifi, some 4g, some 3g. 46% on 12 hours and 36 min. Can’t complain.
Overall I would have to say it’s the best phone I have ever used. Is it a perfect phone? Nope… But lets think about this. New hardware mixed with a brand new OS on Verizon’s “work-in-progress” LTE network. Anyone who thought this was going to be bug free coming out of the box was kidding themselves. This is a Nexus phone. We will be getting regular updates. Some will fix things, some will break things. One thing you can count on is Google will be supported for at least 18 months. This is something you can’t say for most every phone. If you have the patience to put up with early growing pains, this is a device that will reward you.
I think I have babbled enough… To sum up, phone good…
It’s right on par with the iPhone 4S (if not richer), and almost an inch bigger.???
it makes the iphone 4s look like crap. and just to throw this out there... 4.65">>>3.5".
pukemon said:
it makes the iphone 4s look like crap. and just to throw this out there... 4.65">>>3.5".
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I was trying to be diplomatic... yes, i agree completely i should have just said it...
nice review!
i CAN'T WAIT to pick up mine on saturday, SO EXCITED
coming from my first android phone t-mobile g2
must be an amazing upgrade
GinoSylum said:
I was trying to be diplomatic... yes, i agree completely i should have just said it...
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I dont care, its not an iPhone.....I want a iPhone five.
Got the phone two days ago, have been using it a bit since then, here are some general pros/cons, with a more detailed write up following some more use. Hopefully this can help some people make a decision on whether to purchase or keep the phone themselves. I will not comment on the software (most newer WP7 phones work just about the same here), aside from the Nokia specific apps/stuff.
Anyway, I have read probably two dozen Lumia 900 reviews, and everyone seems to have their own opinion (with some general themes shared amongst them), so here is mine:
Pros
Build quality is fantastic, best phone I have ever held. Feels amazing and snug in your hand. I am a fan of the square look, as opposed to the rounded edges of most devices. I actually prefer the Flash to the Focus S in that respect.
Built in speaker is loud, much louder than my Focus S, which is nice, but maybe a little "tin-ey"
Call quality is amazing, and signal strength is better than my Focus S (plus the 4G in MD really flys)
Screen looks fantastic (indoors). Blacks are inky black, colors pop, whites are less blue than the Focus S, and it seems to be brighter too. I don't understand how someone could choose an SLCD over this display. Sit them side by side (the Titan II in my case), and the colors just look pathetic.
With that said, looking at text is fine. Don't let PPI pundits fool you, you cannot tell a difference between say the Nexus and the 900 (partially because the Nexus uses the dreadful pentile). You really do not need HD resolutions on a 4" display, unless you plan on holding it inches from your face, which is just silly (@ a distance of ~10in, your eye can no longer tell the difference between HD and non-HD on a 4.3in screen, and its only about 7in on an iPhone sized screen). And don't even mention the iPhone, comparatively its like looking at a postage stamp, no thanks!
Auto adjust screen intensity actually works well
Nokia apps are great, especially Drive and ESPN
Color is sexy. An identical theme choice would have been sweet.
Chrome finish on the surrounding lens area is nice
Battery life, holy cow, is great. I am on day two of mild use and am still at 50% battery.
Capacitive buttons have a slightly different feedback to them than I am used to, I like it. They are also slightly more difficult to trigger, which is actually a good thing.
Slightly newer OS version
Nokia specific theme is much better than the default blue
Some Nokia specific sounds, which are generally improvements to the default ones
VVM! The phone has you set it up on first boot, so I assume(hope) it works!
Price, hell yea, I made $80 on this phone!!!
Cons
Bevel around the screen (I hate it, hurts my ear, my biggest gripe)
Speaker can be too loud at low volume settings
Can't seem to get my gmail to sync (very weird, I will need to get this fixed ASAP). All other syncing has worked just fine.
Location and size of lens and chrome is odd, your fingers are always on them when holding the device. Could gunk up that area quickly.
Weird sim card slot (its not terrible, its just strange, not in a good way). Silly Sim card remover (basically a souped up paper clip)
Non-removable battery, though I would gladly give this up for the build quality and design
Its a bit heavy and large. Not extremely so, just more so than expected. I think the device footprint could have been smaller, and I am not sure why it weighs what it does to be honest.
Screen scrolling does not feel quite as responsive as some other models. What I mean by this is scrolling seems to be slower, and you can't really throw it in one direction and have it scroll rapidly through a list quite as fast as I was used to.
Off white capacitive buttons, that do not brighten up like some other models
Pre-installed Tango needs to be replaced do allow for non-WiFi calling
Outdoor screen performance not as awesome as I expected. Don't get me wrong, its better than the Focus S, its just not all I thought it would be. I expected near indifferent performance indoors vs. out, with the hype the display received, but that is not the case.
I am not a fan of the button placement. It will take some getting used to. I have large hands, so the power button where it is is really a strain on my thumb to reach.
I can't really comment on the camera, because I have not used it much. Though what I have heard is the screen itself does not do the images justice. So do not judge their quality until you get them off the device, onto a computer or printed out. Hopefully a software update can address any deficiencies here.
Even though the specs are similar, I consider this a significant upgrade from my Focus S, both in quality, design, and features.
Hopefully this is useful information. And hopefully some more details should be incoming. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Good post emjlr3.
Since we're being honest here, I'll add a couple of gripes to the thread.
Apparant lack of Visual Voicemail. (since found out it is wrongly provisioned account and a call to the ATT rep or online chat will resolve it)
Sim card slot does not sit perfectly frush after inserting sim.
Was surprised at the lack of things in the box. (earphones, instruction manual)
The placement of the mini usb. (I prefer bottom mounted. I suppose we'll never be able to use any music dock easily, etc?)
This is also just my personal opinion. I think it's a great phone. Beautiful and slick. Hope it holds up as well as my HD7 did.
has anyone noticed the purplish reflectance when in direct sunlight?
seems to only happen when I can actually see the suns reflection on the phone screen, and I see what look to be purple sun rays off a few random directions - I guess it must have something to do with the special coating.
The Moto E4 Plus has a crazy crisp display. Just kidding, this is automated text so who knows if this screen is any good. So, you be the judge! A higher rating indicates that it's extremely sharp and clear, and that you cannot see pixels with your naked eye.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Pretty decent for the price $99 USD for Verizon Version and $2.29 to unlock for any carrier
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't know why a lot of YouTube reviews complain about this screen. I guess they review high end phones, so coming from a million ppi to 300 is going to be a shock, but if you stick to the low to mid end phones all the time like me, and get your hands on this phone, you will love it. I see no pixels, no distortion, and have no issues with 720p. It's very clear, crisp, bright, and readable. Overall it's a beautiful screen. Moto did a great job.
bobbyphoenix said:
I don't know why a lot of YouTube reviews complain about this screen. I guess they review high end phones, so coming from a million ppi to 300 is going to be a shock, but if you stick to the low to mid end phones all the time like me, and get your hands on this phone, you will love it. I see no pixels, no distortion, and have no issues with 720p. It's very clear, crisp, bright, and readable. Overall it's a beautiful screen. Moto did a great job.
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Here in the UK, a Moto E4 Plus will set you back £119/$150, (3GB mediatek,) and something like the Huawei P8 Lite 2017 is £129/$165. The P8 is rocking 1080p, is brighter, and has deeper blacks with better viewing angles. When you put both side by side, the E4 looks like a screen from 2015. If the E4 plus was 5", 720p might be OK. At 5.5" however, the low resolution really shows.
I think that the importance of screen resolution depends on how you use your phone. I travel a lot on business and having the extra battery life is more important to me than 1080p. But then my usage is phone for calls, GPS, Skype, Slack and Discord for communications. The higher resolution wouldn't improve any of those.
I use a tablet or laptop for everything else.
The Xiaomi Mi A3 has a crazy crisp display. Just kidding, this is automated text so who knows if this screen is any good. So, you be the judge! A higher rating indicates that it's extremely sharp and clear, and that you cannot see pixels with your naked eye.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
If you have enough time, you can actually count all the pixels by naked eye.
peterf81 said:
If you have enough time, you can actually count all the pixels by naked eye.
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Dont forget the price of the phone.
For the price all are very good.
You took more than you pay for me.
papsr6 said:
Dont forget the price of the phone.
For the price all are very good.
You took more than you pay for me.
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Ya for the price this is a really good phone, the display is the only con but u won't notice it untill u compare it with a full hd panel this aside what u get is a amoled panel and a indisplay finger print scanner
It's a good display knowing it has samoled display , but yes the pixels are visible
I'm coming from an old samsung galaxy j3 (720p) and to be honnest I am NOT disapointed, and no, I cannot count the pixels by naked eye.
It's an amazing phone for its price, and I'm glad I bought it.
Agreed, some people are exaggerating the pixel counting thing
b0b02 said:
I'm coming from an old samsung galaxy j3 (720p) and to be honnest I am NOT disapointed, and no, I cannot count the pixels by naked eye.
It's an amazing phone for its price, and I'm glad I bought it.
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Some people are really blowing things out of proportions. I bet they don't even have this phone / didn't use it for long. They just read some BS on the internet about how awful that display was & now they are crying foul over it on this forum
I'm coming from Mi 8 SE, which has a HDR10 capable super amoled panel. Obviously, it will be foolish to compare Mi A3's panel with that phone but I must say, A3's display rather surprised me. The colors might be over saturated for some people but honestly, it looks quite good. And no, I really couldn't see the pixels. Well, the pixels are kinda visible, specially when you're trying to read an article with white fonts against a dark background Still, the AMOLED panel is good.
(Hey Xiaomi, this doesn't mean you should start this ridiculous trend of putting low res screens on your mid-range devices Especially the Mi A series, which happens to have a huge fan following. Stupid move)
XDA_RealLifeReview said:
The Xiaomi Mi A3 has a crazy crisp display. Just kidding, this is automated text so who knows if this screen is any good. So, you be the judge! A higher rating indicates that it's extremely sharp and clear, and that you cannot see pixels with your naked eye.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
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Any one noticed warm display ? (Yellowish tones)
shake3 said:
Any one noticed warm display ? (Yellowish tones)
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Mine has yellowish tone too. It's not unbearable or anything, but the display is on the warmer side. I know some people like it cool, but I don't mind a display which appears warm. I find it easier on my eyes, especially at night.
evanB70 said:
Mine has yellowish tone too. It's not unbearable or anything, but the display is on the warmer side. I know some people like it cool, but I don't mind a display which appears warm. I find it easier on my eyes, especially at night.
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Agreed with you on soothing warm tones.
I guess I will keep it like that
Display is good and clear. but you can see the pixels with naked ayes if you're close enough...
Night light is also not usable, even on the lowest setting it is too much red/warm. I just want to make the display like 5-10% warmer, and not go into red berserk mode.
If you go into developer mode, does picture color mode or simulated color space help?
I got the phone for my wife, was playing with it for a few hours and these are my findings and comparison with Mi A1:
- A3 has warm tones, A1 is very cool (haven't noticed it before the comparison)
- night light is fine at minimum intensity or just a tad above, definitely not a red berserk. A1 has strong blue hue even with night light (haven't noticed it before).
- A3 has clearly visible pixels, it's a huge downgrade compared to A1 side by side. BUT, after a while, I did not really mind the pixelation of A3 that much (humans can get used probably to anything).
- without my correction glasses, I strongly prefer A3 display over A1. Something how it's being blurred by my eyes makes AMOLED more comfortable.
- colors are nicer/punchier on A3 (confirmed by my wife too)
- brightness seems to be quite low, for the same perceived level I need to configure A3 ~70%, A1 ~50%. I can't imagine using minimum brightness in real life (the same goes with A1), it's barely visible. Need to compare both phones in strong light / outdoors.
- PWM does not flicker at any brightness level
Overall, I would definitely prefer 1080 AMOLED over 720 AMOLED. 720 AMOLED vs. 1080 LCD is a tough call. I'm still debating myself whether I should switch from A1 to A3. I really like the form factor, responsiveness, absolutely clear audio output, 128gb storage, file based encryption and the feel of A3. Non existing "Mi A3 PRO" (Mi CC9) would be a better choice, though bigger form factor is definitely less comfortable for one hand usage (the main reason why I want to replace A1). Decisions, decisions..
_mysiak_ said:
I got the phone for my wife, was playing with it for a few hours and these are my findings and comparison with Mi A1:
- A3 has warm tones, A1 is very cool (haven't noticed it before the comparison)
- night light is fine at minimum intensity or just a tad above, definitely not a red berserk. A1 has strong blue hue even with night light (haven't noticed it before).
- A3 has clearly visible pixels, it's a huge downgrade compared to A1 side by side. BUT, after a while, I did not really mind the pixelation of A3 that much (humans can get used probably to anything).
- without my correction glasses, I strongly prefer A3 display over A1. Something how it's being blurred by my eyes makes AMOLED more comfortable.
- colors are nicer/punchier on A3 (confirmed by my wife too)
- brightness seems to be quite low, for the same perceived level I need to configure A3 ~70%, A1 ~50%. I can't imagine using minimum brightness in real life (the same goes with A1), it's barely visible. Need to compare both phones in strong light / outdoors.
- PWM does not flicker at any brightness level
Overall, I would definitely prefer 1080 AMOLED over 720 AMOLED. 720 AMOLED vs. 1080 LCD is a tough call. I'm still debating myself whether I should switch from A1 to A3. I really like the form factor, responsiveness, absolutely clear audio output, 128gb storage, file based encryption and the feel of A3. Non existing "Mi A3 PRO" (Mi CC9) would be a better choice, though bigger form factor is definitely less comfortable for one hand usage (the main reason why I want to replace A1). Decisions, decisions..
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Stop giving reviews after "playing a few hours" with the gadget. Your wife will be blind soon, but then you will not update your review. This phone can cause blindness. You have been warned.
peterf81 said:
Stop giving reviews after "playing a few hours" with the gadget. Your wife will be blind soon, but then you will not update your review. This phone can cause blindness. You have been warned.
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Oookey..well noted, thanks! I will update the review as soon as she's blind.
peterf81 said:
Stop giving reviews after "playing a few hours" with the gadget. Your wife will be blind soon, but then you will not update your review. This phone can cause blindness. You have been warned.
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Lmao this guy man. He's been spreading literally nothing but hate on every thread. What a sad little man.
bibekmufc said:
Lmao this guy man. He's been spreading literally nothing but hate on every thread. What a sad little man.
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Don't listen to ppl trying to downplay this issue, or you end up with a smartphone that has the worst display in the history and eye damage.
peterf81 said:
Don't listen to ppl trying to downplay this issue, or you end up with a smartphone that has the worst display in the history and eye damage.
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Dude, I had even "worse" display few years back (Huawei P1) - pentile AMOLED with 256ppi (vs. 286ppi on A3). I was using it for about 2 years and I did not go blind. Don't generalize your personal health issues, there are thousands of A3 phones in use, yet I found only ONE health complaint. If it was that serious as you claim, some people couldn't pass the opportunity for a nice law suite. It should be a no-brainer to prove it.
_mysiak_ said:
Dude, I had even "worse" display few years back (Huawei P1) - pentile AMOLED with 256ppi (vs. 286ppi on A3). I was using it for about 2 years and I did not go blind. Don't generalize your personal health issues, there are thousands of A3 phones in use, yet I found only ONE health complaint. If it was that serious as you claim, some people couldn't pass the opportunity for a nice law suite. It should be a no-brainer to prove it.
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You are throwing around numbers and comparing. I am giving first hand experience. Again, I have to repeat myself, there is something very wrong with this display, maybe the combination pwm+pentile+low resolution+something else? that is causing massive eye strain.