Database Develop

Need some Feedback: Should i buy the Droid Bionic?

Hello XDArs,
Currently i am using the Droid Revolution, but planning on buying the Bionic. Any suggestions/feedback that you guys can give me about the Bionic?
I have been reading user reviews all over the internet, but i feel true review comes from somebody who has used/operated the phone for a longer period of time.
Please throw in any feedback...

The bionic is awesome. It is super fast and its just a very nice device. I must tell you one thing so you are not caught off guard. The screen is not great. It looks very good but when you compare it to an iphone 4 or Samsung charge under low light it will not look as good as either of the mentioned phones. In the daylight even under direct sunlight it looks awesome and better than any other screen I had. I highly recommend the extended battery especially because its only 25 bucks.

If you're looking to root your phone and start flashing roms and kernels right away I would go with something else since it'll probably be a short while for the bootloader to get unlocked
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

After a few days of use, I can tell you that its a fantastic device. The overall experience is positive, and I would only caution you about the camera focus issue, and minor bugs in skin. Both of these will probably be solved in the near future... It is a new phone after all.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

awesome..thank u for the input...anybody use bluetooth on the bionic..is it buggy?

Don't ask and don't listen to.
Just buy one if you feel like it.

1 word for the DB = SWAG...nuff said...
Now go buy 1... XD
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

I'm in the same boat as OP. However, I have the tbolt. I want the latest and greatest, and the wife will inherit the bolt.
I get it that the Bionic is pretty nifty, but is there anything in verizon's pipeline(around the corner) worth waiting for over the Bionic?
Thanks, all!

Best Android device I've used.
Screen its great. As long as you don't put out directly up to your eye ball, it is a beautiful high resolution display that is perfectly viewable on direct sunlight.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

Okay so I have add plenty of new phones, and the Bionic Dual Core Processor and incredible 4g coverage is the perfect mix that will satisfy anyone. I am a owner of the Motorola Droid x (3g coverage only) , HTC thunderbolt (3G and 4G), and now the Motorola Droid Bionic, and this far the bionic is deff the best phone. I reccommend to get it now because vzw has a special on extended batteries for under 30$. This is a amazing deal because the life of the phones is 24+ with moderate use and 4g coverage almost always available.

acPIZZA said:
Best Android device I've used.
Screen its great. As long as you don't put out directly up to your eye ball, it is a beautiful high resolution display that is perfectly viewable on direct sunlight.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium
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i see so many people complaining about the pixelation effect(lol...as people put their eyeball directly on the display..lol)..i even tried it....and my eyes started to pain,dropped the idea...and checked the display(normally) and i was blown away..it was very good actually...
---------- Post added at 11:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 PM ----------
patelhj1 said:
Okay so I have add plenty of new phones, and the Bionic Dual Core Processor and incredible 4g coverage is the perfect mix that will satisfy anyone. I am a owner of the Motorola Droid x (3g coverage only) , HTC thunderbolt (3G and 4G), and now the Motorola Droid Bionic, and this far the bionic is deff the best phone. I reccommend to get it now because vzw has a special on extended batteries for under 30$. This is a amazing deal because the life of the phones is 24+ with moderate use and 4g coverage almost always available.
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Click to collapse
24+ hours..??? and you have so many phones..u shud sell your bionic to me,..

The bionic is very quick. I came from a droid x and this beats the droid x in speed in every possible way. Web browsing feels just as quick, if not faster, than an ipad 2. I recently connected my droid to my tv with an HDMI cable and i'm really happy with the different options it gives you.
People are talking about this screen "problem" but I never noticed anything wrong with the screen until the threads started to pop up.
The only thing that I'd like to figure out is how to put pictures into folders to organize what I want to see.
If all this appeals to you I say get the bionic with the extended battery.

If you have to ask yourself "hmm...should I buy this?" the answer is don't buy it. Only buy something you truly want. You already have the experience of 4G, all that's left is to get a powerful phone, and if you can get something like the Prime in a couple months, I'd tell you to wait for that.

I am just looking/fishing for hard facts.....want to buy based on facts.....
Berzerker7 said:
If you have to ask yourself "hmm...should I buy this?" the answer is don't buy it. Only buy something you truly want. You already have the experience of 4G, all that's left is to get a powerful phone, and if you can get something like the Prime in a couple months, I'd tell you to wait for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my VS910 4G using XDA App

afma_afma said:
i see so many people complaining about the pixelation effect(lol...as people put their eyeball directly on the display..lol)..i even tried it....and my eyes started to pain,dropped the idea...and checked the display(normally) and i was blown away..it was very good actually...
---------- Post added at 11:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 PM ----------
24+ hours..??? and you have so many phones..u shud sell your bionic to me,..
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Click to collapse
Yeah, its the same people that will walk up to a 36" 720p television screen and complain about the lack of full hd, when in fact the difference isn't noticeable to the eye unless you are right on top of it.
Holding the phone as little as 12 inches, give or take yields a beautifully crisp image. Text and all.
Even engadget digs the screens. They raved about the qhd in the x2, and for some reason I feel this one is even better (I owned, and am currently trying to sell the x2). For the most part they are usually right in the ballpark with their reviews, imo.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium

I upgraded from an OG Droid, and this phone is flat amazing comparatively. Get the extended battery though, and turn off 4G if you aren't using it. It's a battery hog. I got about 14 hours out of the stock battery with 4G off most of the day; only used about 30 minutes worth throughout the day. I had 30% battery left after about 14 hours on the extended battery (first day, batteries seem to get better after about a week) and that was with about an hour of solid 4G usage in there.
One odd thing about this (and in searching, it seems to be happening on other 4G phones, so it must have something to do with 4G and 3G decisions on the phone) but from time to time, 3G disappears. There is a thread about this question here, but I can't post because I don't have 10 posts and it's a development thread. All you have to do to fix the data connection is put the phone in Airplane mode for a second, then turn airplane mode off. It resets the radio and 3G comes back. Even if you turn on and use 4G, 3G doesn't want to come back until you reset the radio.
All in all, great phone, much better battery than OG Droid, awesome display, camera needs work and motorola is working on it, very smooth and fast, and the 4G is blazing. My best download is 21Mbps, and my best upload is 7.7Mbps.

afma_afma said:
awesome..thank u for the input...anybody use bluetooth on the bionic..is it buggy?
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Click to collapse
Somewhat buggy.
If you have a Nissan or Infiniti with BT, BT is going to suck no matter what due to Nissan's horrible implementation. That said, Bionic's BT was the best of HTC, Samsung, and Moto phones I had. The least amount of distortion I've had while using the car's speakerphone. I've seen some complaints with Ford's SYNC as well.
However, it wouldn't automatically connect with the car all the time and it would randomly drop at times. I'd have to tell it to manually connect with the car or it would just sit there. Even with the manual connections, it would take longer than other phones.
Not a huge deal, but it is somewhat annoying.
Biggest annoyance can be the screen. You have to look at it and play with it to see if it's something that works for you or not. Works for some, not for others.
I also had some issues using the sdcard storage when connected to my PC. Sometimes only one of sdcards would mount. Sometimes neither would. In those cases, it took a reboot to fix it.
Other than those issues, great phone overall. Great signal and reception, and LTE rocks. Phone ended up not working for me, but it can be a good choice for some.
---------- Post added at 11:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 AM ----------
acPIZZA said:
Yeah, its the same people that will walk up to a 36" 720p television screen and complain about the lack of full hd, when in fact the difference isn't noticeable to the eye unless you are right on top of it.
Holding the phone as little as 12 inches, give or take yields a beautifully crisp image. Text and all.
Even engadget digs the screens. They raved about the qhd in the x2, and for some reason I feel this one is even better (I owned, and am currently trying to sell the x2). For the most part they are usually right in the ballpark with their reviews, imo.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium
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Subjective. Everyone's eyes are different and pick up on different things. I could hold it at over 12" and still see the pixelation. It was really noticeable when green or blue was a dominant color on the screen. Look at the demo of Let's Golf 2 and it was quite obvious when it was all green.
Others will focus on color saturation and make a call either way too.
It'll bother some and not others. Neither opinion is more right than the other as it's a personal thing.

Here's my summary on the phone. This is subjective based upon my few days with the Bionic so its not a final definitive opinion but simply my views on the Bionic.
Pros: Fast device. 4G speed is great. Phone feels pretty light in hand yet still "heavy" enough to where it doesn't feel too bulky. Moto Blur for the most part on the Bionic is pretty tolerable enough to where I actually didn't think about using any home screen replacements. Sound quality is very good out of the speaker. 720p/1080p video recording is decent. ZumoCast works great for streaming audio. Battery life at least from the few days I had the Bionic was pretty good as I got about 17 hours with "moderate" use... however....
Cons: ... the battery life isn't so good when you start to use it beyond "moderate" usage such as streaming video or even heavy audio/bluetooth use. The screen is very lackluster due to it being pentile - I highly recommend you play with the phone via store demo for at least 5-10 minutes to see if this bothers you. Camera quality is so-so and could be better. No camera hard button on the phone like the original Droid had but then again it seems like most phones have abandoned that. A bit overpriced at $299 since I feel $199 is stretching it for this phone.

I have generally good things to say about this phone, but since you already have a LTE phone, I might suggest standing aside until the next generation starts rolling.

How is this phone

Thinking about using my upgrade for this phone......i would love honest feedback positive and negative
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

I love it! Stock it is binged but root and put on GingerVolt its amazing.
GINGERVOLTED!

indyred99 said:
I love it! Stock it is binged but root and put on GingerVolt its amazing.
GINGERVOLTED!
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I agree. Stock it isnt that great, definitely with the bing. Not a bad phone stock tho, i used it stock for about a month.
But once you root and put gingervolt on it, it is amazing. Mt has done some great things with this phone. (and root is easy now with his kit in development section)

The LG Revolution has very little community support. I wouldn't get it if you like having the latest in Android. Get a Nexus phone instead.

thunderbread said:
Thinking about using my upgrade for this phone......i would love honest feedback positive and negative
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Wait a week, see what's happening with the nexus.
Sent from my Incredible using Tapatalk

The LG Revolution is a very good phone. It has a terrible draw back, it doesn't have anything to make it a "flagship" phone. It doesn't have expansive speaker sound. It doesn't have wicked gadgets and dodads. It isn't the thinnest, the lightest, it doesn't have the best screen. Honestly, if you want a phone mentioned above, they are out there. What this phone is, is a phone. But what this phone has, that no other phone has: fans. It has the most loyal fan base of any phone I have ever seen. I have had many phones, and the forums, and the dedications to the development of this phone, are beyond anything you can imagine. And a lot of these guys have never developed until this phone. If these guys were not here, there would be no LG Revolution today. But through, their hard work, dedication, and our desire to want more, the LG survives. LG knows this, they know we are here, I hope they use it as inspiration to create a better phone.
The phone has no major issues. The phone is easy to unlock, get in, and rom away. It is a treat to be able to flash something new, in 5 minutes. Unfortunately, because this is not a "flagship" phone, there is a limited number of developers. But there is a plus to that: quality roms, themes, and mods.
I love my phone. I love the community. I have upgradeitis (to be unhappy a day after owning a product, and a desire to buy bigger and better) (my wife hates it) but I am completely happy with this phone. I don't know how many days I have until I can get a new phone, because I don't care. I am more than fine with using this one, until I get piss ass drunk and destroying it in a mad rage. (story is for dramatic purposes only)

Pretty bad I would say. Especially if you already have a Droid Charge. It has crappy stock software and an overall unrefined feel that usually comes about with LG Android phones. Not even close to being worth wasting an upgrade on especially with all the nicer phones available. Honest opinion lol

adrenaline_rush said:
Pretty bad I would say. Especially if you already have a Droid Charge. It has crappy stock software and an overall unrefined feel that usually comes about with LG Android phones. Not even close to being worth wasting an upgrade on especially with all the nicer phones available. Honest opinion lol
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I attribute this answer to drug use. Really what is going on with the youth today.
-1
And honestly, from the Charge, you are looking at a step up in looks alone (Charge is dang ugly) but mostly it would be a step over, if you remain in stock.
I bought this phone for two reasons: cnet had a review, that compared it to the iphone. (although, it really doesn't beyond the surface, I think the iphone has a better core system) And with in a day, it was opened and unlocked. With in a week it was Superoneclicked. That kind of openness has not been seen for awhile.
If you choose to wait.. I would wait until the Googlrola comes out. Android is all about being open, I would hope that their phone would be as well. It may be a bit, Tmobile, and Sprint will have first crack at a completely Google phone. Until then, you could have this gem.
So I just looked up Motorola in the news, and they are already planning for the RAZRMAX, it will have a better screen than the Samsung Galaxy, and a bigger, better battery.

Some may call me crazy, but I actually upgraded to the Revo from an iPhone 4 and never looked back.
The community, the ease of modifying, and general fun-ness of the phone really made me happy.
My one major complaint about the phone is the poor battery life.
Good programs exist to help out with that, they just don't play well with the phone.
Other than that, I have never regretted the move.

antiwesley said:
Some may call me crazy, but I actually upgraded to the Revo from an iPhone 4 and never looked back.
The community, the ease of modifying, and general fun-ness of the phone really made me happy.
My one major complaint about the phone is the poor battery life.
Good programs exist to help out with that, they just don't play well with the phone.
Other than that, I have never regretted the move.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, but to my recollection, it was notable compared to the Iphone in that department. There are programs, and over and under clocking that can be done. Like I told MT, I just did the Gingervolt 1.3 and the new kernel, and I have a really good battery life. With in the next couple weeks, as Android learns, it will get better.

Can u guess post screen shots using a custom rom for me
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

thunderbread said:
Can u guess post screen shots using a custom rom for me
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Well, I don't think any of us have the original home screens. As far as me, I run gingervolt 1.3, Mt has screen shots on the development pages. And then I am using meezys theme? I should really put that in a signature so I can remember. Its either that, or indys.
Sent from my VS910 4G using xda premium

markapowell said:
Well, I don't think any of us have the original home screens. As far as me, I run gingervolt 1.3, Mt has screen shots on the development pages. And then I am using meezys theme? I should really put that in a signature so I can remember. Its either that, or indys.
Sent from my VS910 4G using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Mines the marble theme! You know the best one!
GINGERVOLTED!

thunderbread said:
Can u guess post screen shots using a custom rom for me
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out the development section and gingervolt 1.3. Then head over to the themes and apps. Check out all the themes in there! Alot of people have really put in time to really get this phone full of awesomeness!
Yes i just said awesomeness lol!
GINGERVOLTED!

markapowell said:
I attribute this answer to drug use. Really what is going on with the youth today.
-1
And honestly, from the Charge, you are looking at a step up in looks alone (Charge is dang ugly) but mostly it would be a step over, if you remain in stock.
I bought this phone for two reasons: cnet had a review, that compared it to the iphone. (although, it really doesn't beyond the surface, I think the iphone has a better core system) And with in a day, it was opened and unlocked. With in a week it was Superoneclicked. That kind of openness has not been seen for awhile.
If you choose to wait.. I would wait until the Googlrola comes out. Android is all about being open, I would hope that their phone would be as well. It may be a bit, Tmobile, and Sprint will have first crack at a completely Google phone. Until then, you could have this gem.
So I just looked up Motorola in the news, and they are already planning for the RAZRMAX, it will have a better screen than the Samsung Galaxy, and a bigger, better battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there's no possible way on earth this phone isn't the greatest device ever made? And your opinion is a fact where mine is "attributed to drug use?" That's pretty childish I think.
I've used the Charge, HTC Thunderbolt, Droid X, Droid 2, Droid 1, Incredible, Fascinate if i'm remembering all. Did you just upgrade from a LG Dare or something? In comparison with these and other phones the Revolution just feels cheap and unrefined. Look anywhere on people's opinions of LG android phones. They aren't exactly in the highest regard. But that probably won't matter to you since someone with opposing views must be on drugs.
It helps looking at things objectively, just because you use this phone doesn't make it great. Also stop writing off your opinions as facts, and let the person decide.
OP get the Galaxy Nexus if you want something that will actually have the current software and will be supported in a timely manner. Also it's a polished and smooth device as evident by the reviews. A future proof device worth upgrading to I would say.

The revolution is the worst of the big screen LTE phones on Verizon. Anyone telling you different is fooling themselves so they can be happy with it. I highly recommend not getting it. In fact I'll ask you not to get it, as I dont want to see Verizon or LG make another dollar off it. Many people have already jumped off board and many others wish they could.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

Okay, All the people on here ripping this phone apart. No right now I wouldn't get this phone again given the choices I have of other LTE phones that have been released since this phones inception. If I went back to when I got the phone there is no other option for me. I think the Charge just looks like a piece of junk (if you like it go for it and buy it). The Thunderbolt is HTC and I'm just anti-HTC because of sense. With the phones out now I would either get the Droid Bionic or wait another month or 2. I don't want the Galaxy Nexus because the storage isn't removable (it's either that or the battery. Either way that's no go for me.) The RAZR doesn't have a removable battery so another no go for me there too. Who knows what will be out in a few months. Above all else OP get what you want. Go to the stores and play with each phone for some time to get used to it. Also, don't forget that Verizon lets you switch phones as long as you do it within a week. At least they used too. I hope this was helpful

If it was today, I wouldn't get this phone.. just like all hardware, new and improved hardware is delivered every day... but when I did get this phone back in the summer, I wouldn't have chosen anything else.. I picked it over the iPhone, over the thunderbolt, and over the charge... several things made me pick it.. the big screen, Netflix( at the time it was the only phone with Netflix.. ) and finally, IMO,it has the most responsive touch screen I have ever seen.. my gf likes it much better than her thunderbolt..
If you can get this phone for under 150 I would still get it today, even with the lte lineup.. it is much better than a lot of their premium phones and 100 times better than their cheap lte android phones..
Sent from my VS910 4G using XDA App

Only big plus for me is the vo-lte
Sent from my VS910 4G using xda premium

thunderbread said:
Thinking about using my upgrade for this phone......i would love honest feedback positive and negative
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't waste upgrade on this phone!!!!!!!! GNEX is coming out on Dec. 9 and the RAZR is awesome itself. You will regret getting this phone once you see how the razr and gnex work. They are both clean and fast. If the gnex has a better radio than previous Samsungs, it will be the bees knees.

[Q] Dilemma now. SGS2 or Vivid?

I've been on Samsung for the last couple years and just picked up the SGS2 a couple weeks ago mainly because it already had root. Now that the Vivid has an unlocked bootloader, just trying to decide if I should jump to it before the 30 days is up?
Anybody here had the SGS2 and gone to the Vivid or vice versa that can assist?
I'm so torn!!

Jirv311 said:
I've been on Samsung for the last couple years and just picked up the SGS2 a couple weeks ago mainly because it already had root. Now that the Vivid has an unlocked bootloader, just trying to decide if I should jump to it before the 30 days is up?
Anybody here had the SGS2 and gone to the Vivid or vice versa that can assist?
I'm so torn!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My opinion: Jump. While I've not tried the GS2, I had a GS1. Other than Voodoo sound, it was pretty rubbish, and I definitely don't trust Samsung to make a smartphone anymore.
Also, Touchwiz looks like poo and runs like it too. Sense is a bit fat, but you get a fully functioning and fully integrated experience.

That all depends....
Do you want an over-saturated, painful to look at, cartoonish display with a bad UI?
Or a higher res, vivid, true color display, decent UI.... and LTE?
See my sig.

ClippinWings said:
That all depends....
Do you want an over-saturated, painful to look at, cartoonish display with a bad UI?
Or a higher res, vivid, true color display, decent UI.... and LTE?
See my sig.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only advantage the vivid has is LTE, but you can get the skyrocket.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

Longcat14 said:
Only advantage the vivid has is LTE, but you can get the skyrocket.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd consider the display a HUGE advantage.... bigger than LTE even.
the SGSII display is so bad I would have returned mine whether the Vivid was released or not. And that's saying something considering i was using a Dell Streak with a shattered screen previous to my SGSII.
And the Skyrocket is a joke...
It takes the already bad screen in the SGSII, and destroys the pixel density by supersizing it without bumping the resolution.

ClippinWings said:
And the Skyrocket is a joke...
It takes the already bad screen in the SGSII, and destroys the pixel density by supersizing it without bumping the resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I didn't care much for the Skyrocket.
So, is it safe to say now that the Vivid will probably end up with MIUI and/or ICS eventually?

Absolutely. It's on HTC's official "Will get ICS" list, which makes AOSP/custom ICS even easier.

How's the quality of the phone itself? As in, how does it feel in hand? My local AT&T store didn't have it and the Best Buy near me that does would not open a box for me to look at so I haven't even held it yet.

Jirv311 said:
I agree. I didn't care much for the Skyrocket.
So, is it safe to say now that the Vivid will probably end up with MIUI and/or ICS eventually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good chance.
Jirv311 said:
How's the quality of the phone itself? As in, how does it feel in hand? My local AT&T store didn't have it and the Best Buy near me that does would not open a box for me to look at so I haven't even held it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, have a free "thanks", I missed the quote button.
It feels pretty solid. It's definitely on the heavier side as compared with Samsung phones, but I honestly don't really notice. Far more durable than my Galaxy S Captivate, and less finicky than the Desire HD line.

Jirv311 said:
How's the quality of the phone itself? As in, how does it feel in hand? My local AT&T store didn't have it and the Best Buy near me that does would not open a box for me to look at so I haven't even held it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went from sgsII to Vivid and at first I was very worried I would hate the weight....
BUT after a week or so, at most, I didn't even notice and now, lighter phones like the sgsII and skyrocket feel extremely cheap.
Honestly the build quality of this phone is 2nd to only the iPhone 4 for quality feeling to me... Certainly a huge step above the flimsy plastic Samsung uses.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk

I had the GSII and the Skyrocket before my vivid. I have to say the dealbreaker for me with the Sammy's was Touchwiz. I hate it. I mean I hate it with a passion. All round the Vivid is more solid. It feels like it will last 2 years if need be.

You should ask this question in the SGS II section, you would get the opposite answers.
You could ask in almost any forum, and always get a response of the forum you are in is better. I would bet even people in the Atrix 2 forum would say that mid range phone is better than both these high end phones.
You can cancel your upgrade, then you have 30 days to decide again. If you just swap phones, the clock doesn't start over, and you only get a few days to decide how you want to spend the next 18 months.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)

quarlow said:
You should ask this question in the SGS II section, you would get the opposite answers.
You could ask in almost any forum, and always get a response of the forum you are in is better. I would bet even people in the Atrix 2 forum would say that mid range phone is better than both these high end phones.
You can cancel your upgrade, then you have 30 days to decide again. If you just swap phones, the clock doesn't start over, and you only get a few days to decide how you want to spend the next 18 months.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may end up trying the Vivid for a couple days to see how I like it. Otherwise, I'll wait on the upgrade.
And I agree, I'm probably asking for some biased responses here but thought I might find somebody who has had both phones that could help.

ClippinWings said:
I went from sgsII to Vivid and at first I was very worried I would hate the weight....
BUT after a week or so, at most, I didn't even notice and now, lighter phones like the sgsII and skyrocket feel extremely cheap.
Honestly the build quality of this phone is 2nd to only the iPhone 4 for quality feeling to me... Certainly a huge step above the flimsy plastic Samsung uses.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
backtothemac said:
I had the GSII and the Skyrocket before my vivid. I have to say the dealbreaker for me with the Sammy's was Touchwiz. I hate it. I mean I hate it with a passion. All round the Vivid is more solid. It feels like it will last 2 years if need be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So since you both had both phones, can you shed any light on differences in speed and battery life between the 2 or is it really even noticeable?

ClippinWings said:
I went from sgsII to Vivid and at first I was very worried I would hate the weight....
BUT after a week or so, at most, I didn't even notice and now, lighter phones like the sgsII and skyrocket feel extremely cheap.
Honestly the build quality of this phone is 2nd to only the iPhone 4 for quality feeling to me... Certainly a huge step above the flimsy plastic Samsung uses.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jesus, it's hilarious when people pull the "LOL, all phones have better build quality then Samsung phones." No, they all have worse, what you have is better build feel.
Drop your vivid from a 4 foot drop, I dare you, and watch it shatter into a million pieces and dent the **** out of your phone.
Me, I've dropped my skyrocket on concrete countless times, no shattered screen (gorilla glass) and the "flimsy" plastic your talking about, I have one minor scratch.
But, at least it's not as bad as the iOS fanboys and their all glass phone, can't drop that from a 6 inch drop without shattering the back.
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Jirv311 said:
So since you both had both phones, can you shed any light on differences in speed and battery life between the 2 or is it really even noticeable?
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Click to collapse
I'm going to assume you mean Skyrocket and SGS II.
The SGS II has the powerful Exynos, so obviously in terms of raw horsepower, it obliterates ALL phones.
The skyrocket has an LTE radio, but honestly, the battery drain is no different then my Infuse, which had AMAZING battery life.
Now that the LTE radio and HSPA+ radio are the same radio (not 2 seperate radios like on VZW's LTE phones and the Vivid), it saves power as it can actually turn off the data when not needed.

It comes down to personal preference. Trying them out is key. Ever tried Samsung touchwiz? Compare it to HTC Sense and there is a huge difference. I'm not alone when I say Sense is the most polished and seamless UI on the market. It integrates many things that other UIs do not. The sheer amount of widgets sense has is pretty amazing too. All of which have a 3d effect when scrolling between screens.
If you will be heavily modding, I say go HTC. Otherwise you will get bored with touchwiz and aosp ROMs, there's hardly even a difference between the two. With HTC you will have a wide variety of sense and aosp roms.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium

I've used both- personally owning a vivid, and helping my friend with his gs2, rooting and romming it with cm7 for him.
The GS2 is extremely light, too light for me but I don't think it's truly a negative. His battery lasts longer than mine, however mine is faster. The camera boots faster and overall using the software feels solid. That is with the vivid locked and slowed down by sense to some extent.
One thing of note that no one states about the galaxy s 2. If you want to shoot 1080p video, it forces the sensor to zoom in almost all the way. If you don't believe me- http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-1085142.html
The vivid does not zoom in at all, making for full sized 1080p footage. I prefer the screen IMMENSELY on the vivid, however I think the gorilla glass is a huge plus on the s2.
Really you need to weigh out what's important to you as both have positives and negatives. After using his galaxy s2 I was extremely happy that I decided to upgrade to the vivid.

Jirv311 said:
So since you both had both phones, can you shed any light on differences in speed and battery life between the 2 or is it really even noticeable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery-wise the Samsung wins, hands down... That's the vivds only weak spot.
Speed, in benchmarks the vjvid gets slaughtered... BUT in reality, its the smoothest phone I've ever used.... So if there is a speed difference it may exist with some graphics intensive games, but is irrelevant in my normal use.
And to answer the question of dropping the vivid... That's what a case is for.... The difference is by the time you put a case on the super thin super dainty sgsII, you loose any advantage of its thin profile.... While the vivid still feels like it was built to handle the zombie apocalypse.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk

Well, I bit the bullet today and picked up the Vivid. I have a week left of my 30 days and so far I like it. The UI does seem a bit more finished. Definitely a little bit of lag in it but I'm sure a kernel can fix that.
I do like the extra thickness of it. I feel more comfortable holding it. Much less like I'm going to drop it.
Now I have some things to learn. Can somebody point to me some good reading on how flashing, S-Off, etc all work on the HTCs? The Samsung scene is a bit different.

Jirv311 said:
Well, I bit the bullet today and picked up the Vivid. I have a week left of my 30 days and so far I like it. The UI does seem a bit more finished. Definitely a little bit of lag in it but I'm sure a kernel can fix that.
I do like the extra thickness of it. I feel more comfortable holding it. Much less like I'm going to drop it.
Now I have some things to learn. Can somebody point to me some good reading on how flashing, S-Off, etc all work on the HTCs? The Samsung scene is a bit different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No S-Off yet, but we still have perm root and can flash ROMs. All in one package right here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1416836

Are you still happy with your Droid 3?

So I know a lot of people have moved on from the Droid 3. I am one of those people that is still perfectly happy with it. I have an extended 3500 math battery that gets me twice as far as stock and it has been a great phone. I also go case less and have come to realize that this is a tough phone after dropping it on concrete and wood floors many times. What so you think of yours?
Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk 2

When i 1st got it it was a upgrade from a lg ally and i loved it i will like the razer but dont have the money for it but my droid 3 i love it its been the best phone i have had i have this $30 lather case for it its been a good phone and way faster then the other phone i had
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA

My XT860 is pretty good. I'm trying to get 2 years out of it, so far it's been only 8 months, but I think it might be able to go a little further.
If we could get ICS fully up and running, I don't think I'll look at getting a new phone until the 2 years have elapsed. I love the phone so much I am buying a secondary backup one from another xda member this weekend.
I have the extended battery in it which usually lasts me the full day. D4 doesn't have removable battery, what gives? I need a keyboard phone and love the power...

The phone is fine - it does everything that I need it to do, will be great through update time next June, and, unless there are a ton of apps that are ICS-only that come out by then, I think it will be fine even if it stays GB. I will likely keep this phone as a GSM travel phone unless my next phone can be the same, and just use the D3 when we are away from Verizon.

I love the droid3. The keyboard and everything about it. I do want the droid4 tho because i hate having things in my pocket. So a thinner phone would be nice
Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk 2

Loving me Droid 3
Even though I've only had the phone for a few days I'll comment anyway. It is probably the best functioning handheld device I've ever had (I've been through quite a few over the years). It replaced a basically defunct make and model of phone that I had an extended warranty for.
edit:
This thing is a horrid battery hog 26 minutes of solid use and it's down from 100% to 80%!

I'm now on my fourth D3 (since August), so not really too happy.

The D3 is OK w/me, love the keyboard,even tho a smaller screen than my other DX & DX2,no complaints, I like this better than my 'ol Inc2, only complaint is the 3G is way slower than with/fi.
---------- Post added at 05:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:15 PM ----------
But I use the one click booster & that helps my 3G speed for a little bit. Bad reception area.

I'm happy with mine I had a extended battery but I had to send it back because it would only work half of the time. I got the profiles setup now with rom toolbox and it has been a huge asset. My next phone is going to be a htc phone miss having one though 90% of my phones have been Motorola

techno-update said:
So I know a lot of people have moved on from the Droid 3. I am one of those people that is still perfectly happy with it. I have an extended 3500 math battery that gets me twice as far as stock and it has been a great phone. I also go case less and have come to realize that this is a tough phone after dropping it on concrete and wood floors many times. What so you think of yours?
Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Careful about the dropping. I thought mine was pretty tough, then one day I dropped about 1 foot while getting out of the car and cracked the screen real good.
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium

I always drop my phone carefully
Sent from my DROID5 EU using XDA

I have a case that is slightly bigger than the phone so I hopefully don't crack the screen. This phone has been good to me.
Sent from my XT862 using XDA

Still love my D3. I've dropped it a ton since I decided to go caseless and aside from ugly chips on the corners (and some gouges in the screen) it has stood up well. I have a backup though just in case.
I won't make it the 2 years. I keep an eye out for busted up phones to fix, and the D4 just started popping up (and the parts to fix it) so I will be moving on as soon as I find a deal. Going to keep with the keyboard phones though.
Sent from my XT862 using XDA

Droid 3 is solid
I started w/the D2,the X's,X2's,Inc2 now the D3. Love the KB. Ok slightly smaller screen but no problem. The D4 KB has other characters-no thanks & it's 4G,not ready for that here. I figure I'll let Red get it built first.
My D3 gives me no problems, the weight makes me feel like this cell is a solid phone, good sound,easy w/the root I've got 98 apps I use with still no problems. So I'd say I'm content & happy w/my Droid 3. No bugs I have to worry about w/my D3, I think Red shuold have carried it longer but 4G took it away.

I still love my Droid 3! It's the device of my dreams. With all the tweaks (esp. Atrix Camera), and rooted, deodexed stock 5.7.894 it's perfect. I wouldn't switch to the Droid 4, not really Global, thicker, no replaceable battery. I really love the screen and its great outdoor performance.

Problem with Android OS (Kernel)
I very love Droid 3.
But now, i have a problem. Android OS drain battery so much.My droid standby overnight. After 7h, Battery is 30%. I checked and see that Android OS is 82%.
I use Badass Bettery monitor to check, Kernel is 70%.
I don't know what is running?
Help me, Please.
Thanks
Droid 3 - Verizon

What apps do you have installed? Words with Friends will do that for me, and so will fb. I use the v6 script and it seems to help tame it.
Sent from my XT862 using XDA

I've had it randomly happen. Did a battery pull and ut was dine
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium

MrObvious said:
What apps do you have installed? Words with Friends will do that for me, and so will fb. I use the v6 script and it seems to help tame it.
Sent from my XT862 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply.
I have installed basic apps: yahoo, root explore, facebook, battery defender, taskmanager, easy task killer, map, battery calibrate, titanium backup.
What is the v6 script? can you guide me?
Thanks do much.
Droid 3 - Verizon

Try uninstalling fb. Also search for V6 Supercharger Script. Basically you install Busybox, Script Manager, then download the script, run as root, and pick a setting and it optimizes RAM.
Sent from my XT862 using XDA

So has anyone considered switching to HTC One?

Was just wondering if anyone had tried the S4 for awhile only to now reconsider going to the HTC One...

What's an HTC One? Never heard of such a device that has the expanding configurable capabilities that the S4 possesses.

oohaylima said:
What's an HTC One? Never heard of such a device that has the expanding configurable capabilities that the S4 possesses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. I havent played with it - so I have no idea what the features are on that phone.... I'll have a look this weekend.

Before buying the S4, I gave heavy consideration to the HTC One. I watched videos and reviews from multiple sources.
Overall, these are the reasons why I chose and will continue to stick with the S4:
- Battery Life - Our battery is much better than the HTC One. I compared it to a friend who has the HTC One and he was averaging about 2hr 45 min on screen time on a typical day where I've been getting close to 5hrs screen on time.
- Latest Android Software - I know it probably doesn't make a huge difference, but I really like 4.2. The lock screen widgets come in handy. Being able to check my Falcon Twitter and Gmail without even unlocking the phone is a huge plus.
- It's Samsung - What this means is that our phone will still be receiving firmware upgrades all the way into mid 2015. Not saying that the HTC One won't, but HTC is in real trouble, and if they go out of business, that my make things very complicated for current HTC users. Plus, even afloat, I've heard awful things about timeliness of firmware updates from HTC.
So yeah, I bought the S4 and I'm not looking back.

Came from the HTC One. I liked it a lot but the S4 works a lot better for me.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

Nope! I will gladly take a 5" 1080p screen over a 4.7" 1080p screen anyday.
Worrying about pixel density in screens this small is silly, I rather have more useable screen real estate.

mjs2011 said:
Before buying the S4, I gave heavy consideration to the HTC One. I watched videos and reviews from multiple sources.
Overall, these are the reasons why I chose and will continue to stick with the S4:
- Battery Life - Our battery is much better than the HTC One. I compared it to a friend who has the HTC One and he was averaging about 2hr 45 min on screen time on a typical day where I've been getting close to 5hrs screen on time.
- Latest Android Software - I know it probably doesn't make a huge difference, but I really like 4.2. The lock screen widgets come in handy. Being able to check my Falcon Twitter and Gmail without even unlocking the phone is a huge plus.
- It's Samsung - What this means is that our phone will still be receiving firmware upgrades all the way into mid 2015. Not saying that the HTC One won't, but HTC is in real trouble, and if they go out of business, that my make things very complicated for current HTC users. Plus, even afloat, I've heard awful things about timeliness of firmware updates from HTC.
So yeah, I bought the S4 and I'm not looking back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^ This
Plus, after having previous HTC devices that lost all official support after 6 months or less I will never buy HTC again.

CCallahan said:
^^ This
Plus, after having previous HTC devices that lost all official support after 6 months or less I will never buy HTC again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. One of my buddies asked me to root his Evo about 6 months ago and I was shocked to have to settle for a Gingerbread ROM. I had thought for sure there would be some stable ICS roms available but every ICS or JB rom had at least one major flaw that my friend wouldn't have been able to live with.
Hell, even my my old LG Optimus V has a stable JB rom.

No removable battery + no expandable memory = no thanks
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

SAShady said:
No removable battery + no expandable memory = no thanks
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely
I love the 90s. Good times.

I had a One for about a week. It's a great phone and a really good attempt by HTC. I still miss a couple things from it but everything already described here outweighs everything it has to offer. I always end up back with Samsung.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

Also had the One for a week. It was a seriously great phone. The design of the phone is just gorgeous. Also the weight of it was really nice.
Sense looked and worked great but is not nearly as customizable as tw. And as good as the design and materials seemed, it was not durable or built well in the least. A 2" drop caused some severe corner rash and even a dent. Battery life was excellent but during my first full day with this device, im on track to destroying the htc as far as battery life.
Was def a great attempt and design, but the overall quality of construction and materials is severely lacking. Ill take my new slippery plastic cheap looking s4 over the one all day every day.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 08:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:57 PM ----------
Also the screen wasnt totally flush with the body of the phone. And the top and bottom trim was perfect on the right side, and both hella gapped on the left side. Like I said, great design, poor build quality.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

SAShady said:
No removable battery + no expandable memory = no thanks
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^ This. Until such time that every manufacturer switches to this unreasonable design thereby forcing me to accept it, I will never purchase a phone (especially at full contract price as I buy most of my devices) that doesn't offer removable battery and expandable memory. I very much dislike having to rely on cloud storage to house the things I want access to at all times.
Having said that, I admit I considered it, because I loved my OG EVO so much (which of course offered both removable batter and expandable storage), until I read a multitude of reviews (mostly positive) but there are some build defects that would absolutely drive my OCD tendencies through the roof, so I opted to stay with the brand I know. Now if they'd just move the power button to the top of the phone I'd be thrilled. lol

I gave this a lot of thought and spent quite a bit of hands on time with both devices before settling with the S4. Every time I think of the HTC One I quickly remind myself of the poor software, camera, ergonomics, and lack of support that HTC provides for their phones. I simply don't trust HTC as a company and the Google S4 helped keep me with Samsung that much more. The minor issues with the S4 will be fixed soon enough and then it won't really be a competition as far as I'm concerned. I'm really curious to how many Ones have been sold compared to the almost 10 million S4s, which came out what, a month after the One. And I actually use the "gimmicky" features of the S4. The other day I was working on my car, hands filthy black, covered in grease and dirt. My dad called instead of missing the call waved my hand over my phone and spoke to him. I don't use these features always but if I'm at work or doing something were I will get dirty I turn them on. I couldn't do that type of stuff on the One. There is also things like the One not supporting quick charge even though it has the same Qualcomm chip? Maybe the metal was getting to hot on charge so they disabled it? Anyway I'm totally content with my S4 and I feel time will just keep reassuring my decision to stick with Samsung. :thumbup:
Sent from my SPH-L720

SAShady said:
No removable battery + no expandable memory = no thanks
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice big screen, lightweight and slim, plus what Shady said, not a chance!

I, like many above, looked very hard at both before pulling the trigger on the S4. I'm coming off a long line of HTC phones, but my wife has had the S3 for about 6 months. I do all the tweaking of the S3, so I use it a fair amount, and had grown to like TW more than Sense. Plus, the S3 always stomped my HTC Evo 4G LTE whenever we'd be looking something up on the internet, downloading something, etc. We'd be doing it side-by-side, and the S3 was better EVERY time, and usually by a large margain. That really planted the bug to move to Samsung for me.
I've never looked back One-wise. I might have a few minutes of doubt early on while learning the phone, but I'd have just returned it and gone back to my Evo, or bought an S3. But I'm just thrilled with the phone at this point. It really works well. I'm out on the lake fishing and pull up a radar map, boom, it's there, every time. On my HTC, very hit or miss on the same lakes. And the daylight pictures are stunning, something I could never say for my HTC's.
Bottom line, the S4 works like I've always wanted a smartphone to work.

Never. Not even a little bit.
Sent from the rabbit hole.

After the review on the HTC One spoke about how awful repairing it would be and how opening the device pretty much destroys the phone I decided to pass. The S4s "lack of build quality" makes me laugh as the the HTC One's guts are awful whereas the S4 is well put together and its plastic outer materials are more reliable than the aluminum of the HTC One (denting and scratching). Also, as the others before me the unibody design of the One against the removable storage and battery of the S4...NO BRAINER! The Sprint variant also shipped with SIM card so that was a huge bonus for me (in the military so being out of country won't force me to buy a new cheapo phone). Samsung is also more likely to get updates and those updates last longer than HTCs. With a Google version on the way I am stoked as it could very well mean we will get some devs to port some of that amazingness over to the branded variants. Also, I did come from HTC Evo 3D in case you think I'm just another Samsung fan-boy.

GS4 to HTC 1
heyjoojoo said:
Was just wondering if anyone had tried the S4 for awhile only to now reconsider going to the HTC One...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
I rooted my EVO 3 years ago in 2-3 carefully researched hours.
I'm into 2 days across macs Linux and windows exploits. Samsung: I'm not very good but if I can't get root this weekend, back it goes!

greenja said:
Yes.
I rooted my EVO 3 years ago in 2-3 carefully researched hours.
I'm into 2 days across macs Linux and windows exploits. Samsung: I'm not very good but if I can't get root this weekend, back it goes!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize basically all of us have it rooted right?