droid 4 relevance? - Motorola Droid 4

My iphone4 is crapping out on me and its time for something new. The only current phone with a slide out is the lg enact, and reviews on it arnt good. The specs are about the same as the d4 which appears to be a better phone. My work phone is a samsung s5 and while i love it, i hate digital keyboards and i dont really need this big of a powerhouse. All I use my phone for is webbrowsing, facebook, spotify/pandora, gps, email, snapchat and call/txt. Is the d4 capable of these things? My i4 isnt capable of running facebook or spotify without loads of lag/freezing.

droid 4 can do some multi tasking but ive never used spotify/pandora so i cant really comment on how thatd work however i do usually torrent stuff while browsing the web on firefox and maybe listen to music at the same time with everything going fairly smooth. obviously it wont be as good as an s5 but should be alright

D4 actually performs pretty reasonable as long as you keep the bloat out. CM11 and Slimkat are the most upto date rom options, both are stable for daily use I've been using Slimkat 8.8 (4.4.4) with apex launcher and a few background services like skype/kik/snapchat installed with only 320/838mb RAM usage on boot. Battery life isn't great because the Droid 4 only has a 1785mAh battery, but generally I have enough battery to get through the day.

Hey elanzer. Thanks for the feedback! Do you have any experience running music applications such as the ones i listed? Also, is the bsttery removable? Ive seen mixed things in regards to this. If so Id be interested in seeing if there is a upgradable battery option to get a little more juice in there.

apmorgan93 said:
Hey elanzer. Thanks for the feedback! Do you have any experience running music applications such as the ones i listed? Also, is the bsttery removable? Ive seen mixed things in regards to this. If so Id be interested in seeing if there is a upgradable battery option to get a little more juice in there.
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The battery is labeled non-removable by motorola but you can still remove it with tools and install a replacement battery, there's an extended battery by mugen available too.
Since the Droid 4 has a MicroSD slot, I don't use anything like pandora/spotify because I just put my music on a 32gb SD card and play it with Apollo, but I can't see why it hasn't worked. I've used some streaming audio in the background while doing other things without issue.

Ive had my Droid 4 since it come out, Ive recently starting using iheartradio/slacker/di.fm music apps with only the occasional glitch/lock up, i think most of them were caused by too much crap running, im looking at updating to slimkat or cm11 to see if there are any improvements over stock, i hate to get rid of this phone because i cant find any new phones with a tactile keyboard as i too dislike touchscreen typing, only thing that is holding me back from updating to custom rom is ive read that 4g lte isnt working and thats a no go for me

im using cm11 (4.4) and i have 4g lte with verizon that works just fine
from my understanding lte wont work with any other carrier so just verizon so i say its pretty safe to use 4.4
as for the battery you can get a slightly extended one (gold) for 14-15 dollars or the mugen brick which is about 90 dollars the model of the battery is eb41 so you can search for that
if you buy gold or mugen they should come with the screwdriver required to make the change since there are 2 screws holding the plates on the phone
additional stock batteries probably wont have the tools with them

Related

Would you recommend the D3?.

Ok so right now am looking for a phone to buy.
And had the droid x
And droid charge.
So my question is would anybody recommend the d3?
And how is the development for the d3 look in the future?
I heard about motorola unlocking the bootloader but when the day comes, will they only provide it with the new phones? Or would it be like an update?
Absolutely would recommend!
I wholeheartedly recommend the D3 - especially if you are looking for a physical keyboard.
Development is well under way and there are now at least 2 full working ROMs. I've tried both Steel Droid and Monster and both are great - i find monster to be faster and thats my preference.
When I first got the phone, I was pretty bummed that the locked bootloader had put a huge damper on development. Ever since root has been acheived, however, things have been much better and you could not pry my D3 from my cold dead hands.
I hear that Blur is much better than previous iterations, but I use launcher pro so I don't use blur at all.
heres a link to the ROM, Mods and Themes thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1289611
As much as I like my D3, I would not recommend it to anyone looking to get a new phone. unless you absolutely need a keyboard, I would wait for either the Droid Razr or Galaxy Nexus. Both will have better hardware and FAR better screens and will be LTE.
I got a D3 yesterday, after having the D1 the last two years. After about 20 hours using it, I love it. I really dig how fast it is, and the larger screen is nice too.
As soon as I got it home, I rooted it and ran the scripts to remove the VZW apps. I really don't see a need to flash a ROM since this D3 runs so smoothly already. I'd like to edit some PNG files here and there, and that will probably be about it for me. I remember the constant flashing of ROM's, SBF files, and themes on my D1. This time around, I'm really not looking forward to that. It feels to me like VZW and Motorola did a great job with the device as is once you skim off the bloatware.
Like SrulDog, I switched to LP immediately. I've been using LP since about the time it was released, so I am very comfortable with it. It runs great on the D3 too.
I say go for it. I don't know how it compares to the Droids you have owned, but I know it is much better than the D1.
-Mike
kishin14 said:
As much as I like my D3, I would not recommend it to anyone looking to get a new phone. unless you absolutely need a keyboard, I would wait for either the Droid Razr or Galaxy Nexus. Both will have better hardware and FAR better screens and will be LTE.
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Sure the screen looks crap sometimes. But I'm standing in direct sunlight in 100 degree weather right now and I can see every detail on it. Try that on an AMOLED.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
I have had this phone for a couple weeks and I am enjoying it. I had an OG Droid that the screen crapped out on me so this was nice because it works! I am used to the hardware keyboard on a Blackberry Tour/Bold 9650 but that's personal preference. I am getting used to this one though and I can fly on it so I guess it's pretty good for a keyboard.
A couple things I have done are root, freeze a few apps like VCast and run Autokiller at Strict, and the phone is as smooth as butter now. It has the same hardware as the Bionic really so I mean it's as high end as you can get. If you want 4G then as mentioned you should wait, but I have been getting great 3G speeds and yes I have to wait for the Market apps to download a little but it's a lot faster than it has been in the past with my OG Droid.
Well 4g isent really a biggy for me.
More like.batterry life and great rom features really
Androidsims said:
Sure the screen looks crap sometimes. But I'm standing in direct sunlight in 100 degree weather right now and I can see every detail on it. Try that on an AMOLED.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
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+1
/droid3
Great responses here! This is why I love XDA! To answer the question…yes, I would definitely recommend getting a DVD for all the reasons given above. Dev work is going well, CM7 is on the way, and we MAY have an AOSP rom by the weekend (permissions to port pending). The physical keyboard is outstanding, and the screen is good. Even though colors are a bit washed out, being able to view the screen in direct sunlight, with no issues, is a massive bonus. If you don't need the keyboard, and can wait a little while, I would jump all over the Nexus Prime/ galaxy Nexus/ whatever they're calling that 4.65" piece of sexiness! Either way, you'll end up satisfied imo.
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
The biggest bugger for me is the lack of RAM. Phone would have been a whole lot better if it had 1GB ram instead 512MB only. The screen is a letdown IMO, but indeed is great in the sun and also better on the battery.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
Aside from the occasional issues from being in Australia, I must say I recommend the Droid 3. It's excellent!
I still fail to see what the lack of ram is holding us back from. But I've already convinced pne person to buy this phone, and they text me damn near everyday to thank me.
sent from my MONSTERDroid3 from the XDA app
Two years ago the Milestone was an awesome terminal for its time.
Nice design, perfect size, one of the best display ever seen, incredibly good audio quality and decent CPU power.
The only drawbacks were the horrible battery life, the cheap keyboard and the crap camera.
The D3, although can't be considered a bad phone, is the shadow of what the MS1 was.
The performances (I mean the real ones, not the benchmarks) aren't on par with one years old phones, the crap camera and the poor battery life are still there, the keyboard is improved but is still built like a toy, while the phone grown more than the display, the display went from the best available to the worst ever seen, the signal sensitivity went from the top to the "below the average". The audio quality, while better than the HTC phones is not on par with the motorola ancestors.
As I already said, my Desire Z (aka G2) was a better phone in any area, excluding the audio level and the lack of the numeric ROW.
From my point of view was a boring phone, everything worked from the beginning, good battery life, great photos, super stable system, good keyboard, and fantastic tethering capabilities.
The display was also good, not as the one on the Milestone 1, but light years better than the Droid 3's one.
All in all I suggest to buy the D3 only if you can get a very good deal.
If you like a ready to go smartphone, a DZ/G2 is still a way better choice, especially considering its today average price.
gravenimage said:
I still fail to see what the lack of ram is holding us back from.
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x2.
i think people come from older phones and get hung up on the numbers when with a better processor and other amenities a 'low' RAM really isn't a factor and can actually make the phone faster with everything cached and saved to the system memory. I don't even check the RAM since i've never had an issue with slow or choppy speed.
Also i go a whole day with my phone and end with 30% battery at the end of the day. i use it heavy while im out, not as much when home from work but even then i come home with 50-40% battery. I'm not sure what you guys are doing to get poor battery life.
kern417 said:
x2.
I'm not sure what you guys are doing to get poor battery life.
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Usually just using it on modern networks.
The motorola basebands are usually poor (especially on the erly releases), and the power drain has a lot of variation depending on the generation and the make of the BTS/node-b, whatever.
Just for example when I got the milestone 1, with the initial firmware tha battery lasted less than six hour with a vodafone SIM, and almost a day with a three SIM.
The Solutor said:
Usually just using it on modern networks.
The motorola basebands are usually poor (especially on the erly releases), and the power drain has a lot of variation depending on the generation and the make of the BTS/node-b, whatever.
Just for example when I got the milestone 1, with the initial firmware tha battery lasted less than six hour with a vodafone SIM, and almost a day with a three SIM.
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Click to collapse
Idk I hear people on Verizon say the same thing and we get pretty good service just about everywhere. sure at my old job where I was tucked in the basement my phone would die quickly but I couldnt blame that on the phone or the software, like you said it's the radio trying to get signal. I think it more depends on the user and how they use the phone/what services they run.
I had installed Juice Defender originally because i thought it would increase battery life, but i turn my screen on and off so much that it actually drained more battery from turning data off and on all the time, so now i only use it to automatically enable wifi when i'm home and turn off data while i'm asleep. maybe something like that could help you out?
All in all I think the D3 is one of the best Android options out. Plus i'm petty and like the fact that not everyone around here has one since it didn't seem to get a bunch of publicity...people still ask me 'What phone is that???"
kern417 said:
I had installed Juice Defender originally because i thought it would increase battery life, but i turn my screen on and off so much that it actually drained more battery from turning data off and on all the time, so now i only use it to automatically enable wifi when i'm home and turn off data while i'm asleep. maybe something like that could help you out?
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When I bought the MS1 "wi sync plus" was the program that saved the ms1 form a jump out of the window.
Btw i never tried any wi sync+ clone, like juice defender.
I'm about to purchased D3 today. Too bad it's hard to find one here. Already ask the seller to check with the supplier if there is any. I only found Motorola Atrix at one single shop here.
This is definitely my choice right now. In my opinion, 512MB RAM is enough for a dual core 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 SoC processor. PowerVR SGX540 is just nice, too bad that it only support OpenGL 2.0 and not DirectX as in Playstation Vita with PowerVR SGX543.
QWERTY keyboard has improved a lot this time. It had HDMI Type-D, Physical Button for Camera & Sound Volume & Micro-USB. I really hope it will get ICS update when it release and capable of USB Host. Another thing is that Motorola had been bought by Google, I believe Motorola will have latest update every time new Android version released. I hope so
One thing that make me stay away from Samsung Galaxy S2 is that it had one single port Micro USB for everything(HDMI through MHL, USB data, USB Charging, USB Host)
If i use HDMI output, then I cannot use USB Host at the same time. I wonder if the USB Host adapter connected to USB Hub, can it handle and recognize multiple device such as keyboard, mouse,game controller,USB Pendrive etc?
Yeah, but the way I understand it, even the phones that have 1gb of RAM right now (Atrix, Bionic) dont really have 1gb because 512mb is locked to be used with Webtop. And so far as I have been able to find, no other phone has more than 512mb right now. Can anyone confirm?
This mattered to me because I have an Atrix right now on AT&T and I absolutely love the phone, but can't take the ****ty service everywhere anymore, have to switch to Verizon. I had basically three phones I was looking at in the Amazon penny sale, D3, Bionic and the new Samsung qwerty, Supernova or something. So, if the above is right, the D3 I'm getting is essentially the same phone as my Atrix now without Webtop (don't care) or 4g (not here for years, boucou wifi) but with a physical kb, which actually makes it way better. I actually really, really like Gingerblur, and if it's slow I dig Launcherpro, so I should be good, yeah?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
This. Coming from an Atrix getting HDMI mirroring will be a big deal to me; I didn't buy any docks and haven't rooted or reflashed other than official 2.3 update, so the only thing I ever get over HDMI is the media player interface. Which is cool, but I want something else.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Is the D3 any good?

I currently have a Charge and I love every aspect of it... except for the connectivity. I have a friend with a Droid X and he consistently gets better signal with it... when I have nothing he has 3g 2 bars, when I have 1x 1 bar he has 3g 3 bars etc. Also, the gps is absolute crap. I would look at the DX2 but its a derp... and I would be paying full retail so no bionic or razr for me.
Would the D3 be worth my time? All I know about it is that motorola makes superior antennas and such but the screen sucks compared to the charge.
YEs
I went from an Epic to the Droid 3, I would have to saw the Droid 3 was a worthwhile upgrade. Make sure you play with it at the store to confirm you dont mind the UI, I much prefer it over Touchwiz 3.0. Unless you use GoLauncher or ADW then that doesnt matter. Also check it out at the store to see if you dont mind the screen, if they dont have a droid 3 on display, the bionics is very similiar. Its all up to preference on some of that. (typed this in a hurry so I hope it makes sense)
anarchy4sale said:
I went from an Epic to the Droid 3, I would have to saw the Droid 3 was a worthwhile upgrade. Make sure you play with it at the store to confirm you dont mind the UI, I much prefer it over Touchwiz 3.0. Unless you use GoLauncher or ADW then that doesnt matter. Also check it out at the store to see if you dont mind the screen, if they dont have a droid 3 on display, the bionics is very similiar. Its all up to preference on some of that. (typed this in a hurry so I hope it makes sense)
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Thanks. I HATE touchwiz and from what I've seen, Motoblur or whatever they call it would be a significant improvement. I personally use go launcher. Also Ive seen my friends' droid 1 and 2s and i think I would be fine with those. I will assume the D3 is very similar but larger (I like the size of my charge).
Okay I came from tbolt...but I love this phone the keyboard is so nice. Im a die hard aosp guy and I love the new motoblur the virtual keyboard is awesome...the battery life is decent on this phone too unlike all htc phones.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
I have a droid 3 coming from a nexus one and despite the lag in speed, the return of the qwerty keyboard was a major plus for me. I can live with the touch screen only but its does not replace a tangible keyboard.
I have been using the DROID 3 for a few months now and I love it. Many people have complained about the screen and while it is not the best I've seen, it isn't as bad as it has been made out to be. I guess I figured if I wanted to watch a video in HD, why use a 4 inch screen? There were battery and data connectivity issues initially, but these have both seemingly been resolved with the last OTA update. The keyboard is fantastic, mostly because I can't stand using a virtual keyboard. As far as UI goes, the stock one isn't terrible, but I still am using A DW. That is until Hashcode finalizes his CM7 build (very close now).
Side note: The radio hack that they have for it making wired tethering and wireless hotspot work for free are also fantastic!
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App
For those of you stating decent battery life, are you turning off the GSM radio? I know that was a problem on my friends D2 where it wouldn't last a day because the GSM radio kept searching for a signal. I don't know if its on by default or if he managed to turn it on.
I don't like "decent" battery, seeing as its a 3g phone and 4g on the Charge sucks the battery hard, with a "decent" rating also.
...
I go 33 hours, and still had 34% left, with average usage.
512MB RAM sucks, but others are very good.
Root it and Rom it.
MavRom has the best battery life I've seen, I've had this phone since launch day. The keyboard is incredible and you can actually get REAL work done with it. I typed up a 200+ serial number spreadsheet the other day at work and only lost maybe 20% battery over the course of 4 hours, this was with MavRom.
As for the screen, you can't even see the pentile when playing videos and honestly I'm used to it already. 512MB of RAM hasn't been an issue for me, at all.
I got the D3 as a replacement for my D2. Only two complaints: increased size, and increased weight.
Other than that, this phone is AMAZING. Operating speed is faster, I believe the screen looks nicer (which may be because it is bigger), and my battery life has been much better than on my D2. I went to work today at 8am and came home at 9pm with battery still around 90%. Can't complain at all!!!

Atrix HD: Yes or No?

Okay simple question here, have a chance to buy a brand new sealed Atrix HD for $350. Just looking for some input on what you guys would do, to help me decide. Thanks in advance!
rtg293 said:
Okay simple question here, have a chance to buy a brand new sealed Atrix HD for $350. Just looking for some input on what you guys would do, to help me decide. Thanks in advance!
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If you want a phone with Top of the line Hardware and ICS that runs smooth and looks pretty stock. Then yes, the Atrix HD is a sexy phone.
If you are looking for a development community and want to do some flashing and Rom'ing then look for another phone.
I'd write more on this subject, but you are asking a question we have gone over a million times since the phone was released.
Look through the Atrix HD General forum. You will see a lot of post from SGS3 owners and HTC One X owners who returned their phones for the Atrix HD.
Atrix HD Cons:
Battery life is acceptable. But weak.
No NFC chip. (oh darn)
No FM Tuner (meh)
Camera Quality is effected tremendously by lighting conditions.
Battery Cannot be removed, charge time is slow. (no options for extended batteries and no keeping spare around)
No Root access.
Locked Bootloader. ( because of this, we have no root, no custom firmware or tweaked Kernels, and no ROMS!!!)
Look through the rest of the forum please. There is so much on the subject already so check it out for yourself.
For that price? Definitely
Sent from my MB886 using xda app-developers app
Kedakari said:
Atrix HD Cons:
Battery life is acceptable. But weak.
No NFC chip. (oh darn)
No FM Tuner (meh)
Camera Quality is effected tremendously by lighting conditions.
Battery Cannot be removed, charge time is slow. (no options for extended batteries and no keeping spare around)
No Root access.
Locked Bootloader. ( because of this, we have no root, no custom firmware or tweaked Kernels, and no ROMS!!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meh, the development side will come with time, both atrix(es?) had locked bootloaders, so I expected nothing less with this one. We all just get to sit around the campfire and sing kumbaya until the webkit is realeased . NFC or FM aren't really issues at the moment, I'm in rural (and when I say rural, I mean RURAL) Virginia, me and possibly 20 other people in this town even know what NFC stands for . About the ONLY issue I've read about so far is that darn battery! Come on now Moto!
colts187 said:
For that price? Definitely
Sent from my MB886 using xda app-developers app
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LoL my thoughts exactly, almost too good NOT to get.
rtg293 said:
Meh, the development side will come with time, both atrix(es?) had locked bootloaders, so I expected nothing less with this one. We all just get to sit around the campfire and sing kumbaya until the webkit is realeased . NFC or FM aren't really issues at the moment, I'm in rural (and when I say rural, I mean RURAL) Virginia, me and possibly 20 other people in this town even know what NFC stands for . About the ONLY issue I've read about so far is that darn battery! Come on now Moto!
LoL my thoughts exactly, almost too good NOT to get.
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I didnt want to seem like a fan boy that would give you biased information. So I just gave you the cons and let you decide on your own.
I'm between Northern VA and Washington DC in the over developed Tysons area. So NFC and all that Jazz is picking up.
This area is like the east coast's version of Beverly Hills. EVERYONE around here either has the SGS3 or an Iphone.
Looking at the prices for off contract phones, I'd say you have a really good deal.
Get it, its a nice phone and it'll do what it was engineered to do.
As for boot loaders being unlocked, I think it was only the Original Atrix and the Atrix 4g that got unlocked. The Atrix 2 (The phone I upgraded from) Still has a locked bootloader, and STILL has no ICS.
My one and only complaint is that I had a lapdock that I could no longer use because Webtop OS was removed.
I could careless for the bootloader as I dont like messing with non-stock firmware and kernels.
I'd really like to see this phone being rooted because this phone has a lot of potential just in editing the build.prop to be a much better performing phone than the SGS3
Anyways, thats just my 2 cents.
colts187 said:
For that price? Definitely
Sent from my MB886 using xda app-developers app
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Yea for that price, it's too good to pass up. Plus Motorola is the best when it comes to RF and call quality. I keep hearing the build quality on
the Atrix HD is excellent. It's coming to Canada next week! You bet I'll be getting it.
If $49 is all you can afford the Atrix is a good choice. If you can afford $199 the Gs3 is the superior device. Bigger screen, bigger battery, double the RAM, superior camera in all lighting conditions, more dev support, NFC. If you dont like touchwiz, plenty of free launchers. If you don't like the plastic, easy to put a case on. Much harder to fix the shortcomings on the Atrix.
350$ is a great deal for this phone. I wouldn't miss it.
My opinion when i got the s3 i missed my 1x like no other then returned the s3 and went back to the 1x i sold my 1x to get this and havent missed it yet. The only thing im not liking that much is battery life but i can live with that. With the 1x i could easily make it through a day with 5 hour's screen on time with root 3 without root. So im getting about the same time without root. The screen is amazing to me i like it better than fhe 1x and s3 but thats just my opinion. This is an amazing phone for the price
Sent from my MB886 using xda premium
I was in the same boat. I was selling my Atrix 4G with lapdock, car dock, standard dock and a few accessories for $350, planning on upgrading to a galaxy S3 with the proceeds. I got an offer to trade straight up for an Atrix HD (no contract renewal required!) and I took it. I have only played with the phone for an hour or two so far and all seems great.
And... if push comes to shove, I should be able to get at least $350 out of it!
Kedakari said:
If you want a phone with Top of the line Hardware and ICS that runs smooth and looks pretty stock. Then yes, the Atrix HD is a sexy phone.
If you are looking for a development community and want to do some flashing and Rom'ing then look for another phone.
I'd write more on this subject, but you are asking a question we have gone over a million times since the phone was released.
Look through the Atrix HD General forum. You will see a lot of post from SGS3 owners and HTC One X owners who returned their phones for the Atrix HD.
Atrix HD Cons:
Battery life is acceptable. But weak.
No NFC chip. (oh darn)
No FM Tuner (meh)
Camera Quality is effected tremendously by lighting conditions.
Battery Cannot be removed, charge time is slow. (no options for extended batteries and no keeping spare around)
No Root access.
Locked Bootloader. ( because of this, we have no root, no custom firmware or tweaked Kernels, and no ROMS!!!)
Look through the rest of the forum please. There is so much on the subject already so check it out for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, HOX and GS3 users returned to get Atrix HD?! That is the perfect example of insanity. I wouldn't return my Atrix 2 for a AHD, let alone an HOX or my beloved GS3. Unlocked bootloader, removable battery, superior camera, incredible dev support, JB coming very soon, ridiculous aftermarket support.....who'd give that up for a device with pretty much the opposite of that?
I returned my hd and got another one x cuz the battery sucketh
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
I got the AHD cause I had to... All in all, I'm kinda sorry I traded in my RAZR (which was basically a small tab, since I couldn't afford Verizon's wallet raping) for this phone... If I can afford to, I'm returning it, and getting an S III. I don't want that one either, but the options are far better...
I chose the red pill... Now I'm in the mAtrix and I know Kung Fu...
http://android-gz.com
This phone seems like a good value, nice build quality, great screen and nice design. Hope you don't mind me asking a few questions since I've been an iOS user for years and am an Android noob.
1. If music is imported from iTunes to this phone using the Welcome Home apps that AT&T provides, will it play in its current file format, or do I need to change the mp4 to mp3 in iTunes before transferring?
2. I have several email accounts (Yahoo, Comcast, Go Daddy) including Gmail where my contacts are stored. Is the stock email app on this phone unified and capable of adding all the accounts or do I have to use individual email apps? And does it offer both POP and IMAP types?
3. I understand the boot loader is locked but it's important to me that whatever phone I get that it can be updated to JB. Is it at all possible that Moto will update the OS?
4. Is it possible to move apps to the microSD or just photos, videos, etc?
Thanks.
nuance4u said:
This phone seems like a good value, nice build quality, great screen and nice design. Hope you don't mind me asking a few questions since I've been an iOS user for years and am an Android noob.
1. If music is imported from iTunes to this phone using the Welcome Home apps that AT&T provides, will it play in its current file format, or do I need to change the mp4 to mp3 in iTunes before transferring?
2. I have several email accounts (Yahoo, Comcast, Go Daddy) including Gmail where my contacts are stored. Is the stock email app on this phone unified and capable of adding all the accounts or do I have to use individual email apps? And does it offer both POP and IMAP types?
3. I understand the boot loader is locked but it's important to me that whatever phone I get that it can be updated to JB. Is it at all possible that Moto will update the OS?
4. Is it possible to move apps to the microSD or just photos, videos, etc?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. not sure, but aiff files definitely don't work on android phones
2. Yes, and yes, but gmail decides to also add any gmail email you add which can be annoying sometimes (turn off notifications on one of the two apps)
3. it's debateable
4. as far as i know not from stock, but if anyone knows an app that can do this, i would love to know about it.
Well, been away for a couple of days, so I figure everyone needs an update on my original thread topic. I ended up buying it because, well, I am a sucker for a good deal. Initial impressions were about like everyone's experience. Silky smooth, almost vanilla-"like" UI, so-so battery life. I've got to say though, after letting the battery cycle a couple of times, and installing Juice Defender (first app that goes on ANY new phone I get), the battery life has improved significantly. I've been unplugged since about 5:45am, charged about 15 minutes on my hour lunch break in the car, it's now 11pm and I am at 70% with about an hour and a half or so of internet use, about 35 minutes of Backstab HD , and about 15 minutes of Angry Birds.
nuance4u said:
2. I have several email accounts (Yahoo, Comcast, Go Daddy) including Gmail where my contacts are stored. Is the stock email app on this phone unified and capable of adding all the accounts or do I have to use individual email apps? And does it offer both POP and IMAP types?
3. I understand the boot loader is locked but it's important to me that whatever phone I get that it can be updated to JB. Is it at all possible that Moto will update the OS?
4. Is it possible to move apps to the microSD or just photos, videos, etc?
.
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Click to collapse
2. I can answer this partly. The stock gmail app will let you add multiple gmail accounts, so I am assuming you can multiple email accounts also. And it does offer both POP3 and IMAP types.
3. I'm willing to step out on a limb and say yes it will receive an official JB update. If Google hadn't bought Moto, then I wouldn't be near brave enough to touch this topic lol, but I feel pretty secure saying it will receive the update.
4. I know you can do it with TI Backup on other phones, but that requires root, like all "good" android apps , so I'm assuming it may work when someone finally roots this thing. Don't let the "free app2sd" apps fool you though, I've tested about 7 or 8 of them on my AHD so far with no luck.
---edit---
Scratch that answer for 4, apparently app2sd was a feature taken out in ICS.
Yes or No
Thanks folks.. it appears nobody here has been a recent iOS user hence the unclear answer around whether I need to change the iTunes music format.. Am also wondering about ring tones since I created about a dozen using music from iTunes.
Meantime, I ordered a white AHD from Amazon and evidently due to lack of proper box labeling on Moto's part, I was shipped the wrong color twice, so we decided it was best to cancel the order until Amazon could get things figured out. It appears they have now, and showing some proper business etiquette they gave me two credits amounting to more than I paid for the phone
In the interim, I did some more research and read and watched some more reviews of which several reviewers thought the build quality was marginal and complained of flimsy power and volume buttons that were also loose. Has anyone here experienced this? Good to see that Juice Defender helps with the battery issue too since that is obviously another weak link.
And as you may know too, due to slower than desired sales of the HTC One X, the price is dropping to the same as the AHD on Sunday, making this is even more difficult choice, though the One X does not have a microSD slot and from what I've seen, has had some pretty major hardware issues along with a poor job with how Sense screwed up multi-tasking. Any thoughts or recommendations here? I have to wait a few days until my upgrade is reset anyway, so I'm going to take my time. Thanks.
rtg293 said:
Well, been away for a couple of days, so I figure everyone needs an update on my original thread topic. I ended up buying it because, well, I am a sucker for a good deal. Initial impressions were about like everyone's experience. Silky smooth, almost vanilla-"like" UI, so-so battery life. I've got to say though, after letting the battery cycle a couple of times, and installing Juice Defender (first app that goes on ANY new phone I get), the battery life has improved significantly. I've been unplugged since about 5:45am, charged about 15 minutes on my hour lunch break in the car, it's now 11pm and I am at 70% with about an hour and a half or so of internet use, about 35 minutes of Backstab HD , and about 15 minutes of Angry Birds.
2. I can answer this partly. The stock gmail app will let you add multiple gmail accounts, so I am assuming you can multiple email accounts also. And it does offer both POP3 and IMAP types.
3. I'm willing to step out on a limb and say yes it will receive an official JB update. If Google hadn't bought Moto, then I wouldn't be near brave enough to touch this topic lol, but I feel pretty secure saying it will receive the update.
4. I know you can do it with TI Backup on other phones, but that requires root, like all "good" android apps , so I'm assuming it may work when someone finally roots this thing. Don't let the "free app2sd" apps fool you though, I've tested about 7 or 8 of them on my AHD so far with no luck.
---edit---
Scratch that answer for 4, apparently app2sd was a feature taken out in ICS.
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Click to collapse
I was an ios user (ipod touch 4) recently, but i never bought songs from itunes, though all of my songs except the .aiff files uploaded to google music easily, so i say go ahead and try that on your computer first, if it works you should have no problem.
I'm a former iPhone user and currently have a HOX. I was able to use google play music on my mac to transfer my songs to google music and then sync with the phone the google play music app allows to store music on the device or cloud (similar to how the iTunes cloud worked).
As for which device is better, I have had no hardware issues with the phone. Actually the hardware is pretty impressive even without the microSD card and the camera is second to none (that includes my wife's iPhone4s). My only gripe is multitasking but that is fixable by flashing various ROMs and rumored to be fixed in the next software release based on a leaked update. And now that HTC had released source, development is likely to only pick up.
So why am I hanging out in the MAHD forum? I'm intrigued by this device and the slightly smaller screen, the unlock button on the side versus the top and new Motorola skin. In fact I'm using the MAHD launcher and widgets on one.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
I had the hox and it was osm but something about this phone i dont miss the hox. I love the size and screen is osm. Prolly just my prefference
Sent from my MB886 using xda premium

Vivid thoughts

I've been vaguely looking at new phones for the past few months. I currently have a Nexus One which I got used last July and I love it,. but I'm looking for something different. I'd like to have something dual-core and with a higher-resolution screen than my Nexus One. I had been looking at the Atrix or Sensation (with the Sensation, I'd get no AT&T 3G), but they're both dual-core and with qHD screens. Then, a few days ago, I was browsing around eBay and I was shocked to see the prices of the Vivid going for around the prices of the Atrix and Sensation. Out of the three phones, I feel that the Vivid is my best choice. It's the newest, it has LTE, and it has ICS (as does the Sensation, IIRC). I feel like the Vivid has flown under the radar for half a year. It was a flagship-worthy phone on AT&T that was overshadowed by the Galaxy S II and iPhone 4s.
I don't plan on buying anything now (I'm in the process of building a new PC), but I'd like to get something in the next few months. I do have a few questions about the Vivid, however.
I have a standard AT&T 3G SIM card with the 200 MB data plan. Will I need a new SIM for 4G (either HSPA+ or LTE)? I've read that you can use old 3G SIMs but you need to change some APNs to access normal UTMS 3G.
Is there a data on/off toggle on stock Sense 3.6? With my Nexus One, stock Gingerbread has a setting in Wireless and Networks > Mobile Networks > Data enabled which totally toggles data on or off. To save data use and battery life, I only turn on data when I need to use it. Otherwise, I'm on WiFi or not connected to anything at all.
Finally, how is battery life? I've read a lot about how bad the Vivid's battery life is. With my normal usage, I can easily get at least two day's use out of my Nexus One with some life to spare. Could I get something similar out of the Vivid if I turn off all data or WiFi when I'm not using them?
Finally, how is ICS on the Vivid? How much AT&T bloatware is present? My past two Android phones have run stock Android (Nexus One and G1) so I'm not used to bloatware and custom skins. From the little I've used and seen from Sense, I believe that is the most useable of the third-party Android skins, I'm just concerned about the restrictions and crap that AT&T may have put into it.
I think this asks everything, but I'm sure I'll think of more down the line. Thanks!
beanboy89 said:
I've been vaguely looking at new phones for the past few months. I currently have a Nexus One which I got used last July and I love it,. but I'm looking for something different. I'd like to have something dual-core and with a higher-resolution screen than my Nexus One. I had been looking at the Atrix or Sensation (with the Sensation, I'd get no AT&T 3G), but they're both dual-core and with qHD screens. Then, a few days ago, I was browsing around eBay and I was shocked to see the prices of the Vivid going for around the prices of the Atrix and Sensation. Out of the three phones, I feel that the Vivid is my best choice. It's the newest, it has LTE, and it has ICS (as does the Sensation, IIRC). I feel like the Vivid has flown under the radar for half a year. It was a flagship-worthy phone on AT&T that was overshadowed by the Galaxy S II and iPhone 4s.
I don't plan on buying anything now (I'm in the process of building a new PC), but I'd like to get something in the next few months. I do have a few questions about the Vivid, however.
I have a standard AT&T 3G SIM card with the 200 MB data plan. Will I need a new SIM for 4G (either HSPA+ or LTE)? I've read that you can use old 3G SIMs but you need to change some APNs to access normal UTMS 3G.
Is there a data on/off toggle on stock Sense 3.6? With my Nexus One, stock Gingerbread has a setting in Wireless and Networks > Mobile Networks > Data enabled which totally toggles data on or off. To save data use and battery life, I only turn on data when I need to use it. Otherwise, I'm on WiFi or not connected to anything at all.
Finally, how is battery life? I've read a lot about how bad the Vivid's battery life is. With my normal usage, I can easily get at least two day's use out of my Nexus One with some life to spare. Could I get something similar out of the Vivid if I turn off all data or WiFi when I'm not using them?
Finally, how is ICS on the Vivid? How much AT&T bloatware is present? My past two Android phones have run stock Android (Nexus One and G1) so I'm not used to bloatware and custom skins. From the little I've used and seen from Sense, I believe that is the most useable of the third-party Android skins, I'm just concerned about the restrictions and crap that AT&T may have put into it.
I think this asks everything, but I'm sure I'll think of more down the line. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an amazing phone. LTE speeds while maybe a bit much for the avg user are phenomenal (at least in my area). Battery life is bad if you leave data on constantly, but if as you said you turn it off when not using it it's actually pretty good.
You will have to go into an AT&T store to get the LTE sim and have them turn on LTE for your phone, but they don't charge you for it and there's no extra charges for LTE.
ICS is pretty amazing. Pretty damn smooth and very beautiful. Only thing is there isn't much development going on for it. Good thing is that if you want to root you can get the stock ICS feel going on it. I personally prefer it with sense, but some on here would probably call me a heretic for saying that. To each their own.
All in all...definitely a solid buy if you can nab it for $230 or less. Otherwise there are already and also will soon be new phones at a similar or lesser price that'd probably be a better choice. I think that covered most everything you asked lol
Sent from my HTC Holiday using xda premium
Just got the wife a Vivid. I can't speak to the sim card issue but I can tell you that the battery life is about average for similarly spec'd phones. She gets a full day out of it but has to charge it every night. There is an option in the default firmware to turn off the data and this will increase your battery life. Finally I really like the ICS/Sense combo, but that is a complete personal preference thing. I would recommend rooting it to remove bloatware if you are so inclined; the process isn't too difficult but as for all HTC phones it's harder than it needs to be. After root there are many rom options both with and without Sense.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda app-developers app
Ok if you want to use 4g LTE then, you will need a new sim card(ATT will give you a new sim card). But other wise just insert your sim card. You shouldn't have to change you Apn.
The bloat ware is not too bad but the restrictions can get annoying. First of all you can't do any wireless tethering. 2. You can't download any tethering apps from the market or other app att chooses to restrict.
Now I pretty sure that ginger bread has a data toggle. But I know that ics has a data toggle. The toggle can be seen by holding down the power button.
The battery life is not that good. If you want to save power keep WiFi off whenever you can and do not keep your phone on auto brightness, it will kill your battery. Also I've noticed that with facebook, YouTube, WiFi, auto brightness and, plugged into a charger the phones battery level will decline or just never move. The stock battery is a 1620mAh battery. You can improve the battery buy getting a battery case or a bigger battery. I suggest Mugen Power 3400mAh battery: http://www.mugenbattery.com/mugen-power-extended-3400mah-battery-for-htc-vivid-htc-raider-4g/
Also while use a lot of apps the phone will heat up.
If you consider rooting then go to this thread. It will help you with all the roms and other things: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1486024/
The Vivid is a good phone but if you have the money then get the New HTC One x which is way better the vivid. And its only $99 on contract: http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-one-x/
-Kyle
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda app-developers app
I had a Samsung Captivate since the day it came out, but it finally broke. I decided to look on Craigslist because I did not want to use my 2 year upgrade (I'm saving it for the iPhone 5, possibly going to sell it and make a quick buck). Anyways, I found a White Vivid for 120 and jumped on it. I have absolutely no regrets. Like you, I still only had a 3G SIM Card/Plan. I walked into AT&T and they had me out within 10 minutes of entering. That was not an issue at all.
I can only speak for me in saying that the Battery Life will last you quite a long time in Stand-By with Mobile/Wi-Fi turned off. I have no reason to keep it on because I don't need live updates nor do I get tons of emails. I still charge it every night, but with moderate use, I usually end the day with about 70% left. I rooted my phone, but I have always been a fan of Sense, so I am going to keep that. My one complaint is that if I were to put on a case (the guy included an Otterbox Impact case), the phone is uncomfortably large. When it has no case, it feels like a very premium phone with the extra weight.
I honestly can't recommend it. I like mine but honestly sense is too intrusive and development is slow to dead because of ridiculous security measures and let's face it its not getting jelly bean. You want a replacement for your nexus one, get a galaxy nexus from Google. Me personally between my flyer and this phone i really hate HTC nowadays
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Vivid is a nice phone like everyone says but for flashaholics its dead in the water. I'm going Samsung in November..good luck which ever way u go.
Sent from my HTC Holiday using xda app-developers app
I personally love the vivid. When I was picking my upgrade it was between either this, the skyrocket or the lumia 900 (which I'm glad I didn't go with). I picked this mainly because of the higher screen resolution. I like things to look very crisp. The phone gave me exactly what I wanted. It IS a pita to root if you're new to that kind of thing, but there is an all-in-one kit here that makes it muuuuuch easier. Then again, you don't have to do that. I just wanted the att junk off. And that pos of a fb app.
I only have two gripes with the phone. Battery life is sub par, even after removing the junk and later flashing to a de-sensed rom. And I wish it were as wide as the skyrocket. I have enormous monkey hands and the thinness of the phone works against me. I should have gotten the Note lol.
Vivid, Virtuous Inquisition, De-Sensed, badass.
One thing to consider the only way to root is to unlock the bootloader through HTC developers. And if you relock it, it says "re locked" on the bootloader, effectively telling at&t and htc you messed with it voiding your warranty. You can use a program to change the text back to unlocked but that requires s off and s off requires removing a panel with a screw that says "void". And I've come to find if you take the plunge and root your best off with just making changes yourself because there aren't a whole lot of variety when it comes to custom roms. So if you're looking for a good stock phone, and don't care about jelly bean and don't mind that it looks nothing like the ics rom that Google showed off in October, then go for it. However if you want the freedom to customize then look elsewhere. That's my 2 cents
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks everyone for the replies this far. I'm not really that much into rooting and installing custom ROMs, especially on my daily phones. If I screw something up, I'd be out of of a phone for a while. I'm willing to give Sense a try as I've never used it in a "production" environment, so I don't quite know what to expect from it.
Something that I have a question about is a potential audio bug with ICS. I've read that sometimes audio will stop working and you have to reboot the phone for it temporarily fix the problem. Is this a common issue and to what extent does it effect things? Are things like the ringer and alarms effected?
As for battery life, the more that I've thought about it, I don't think it will be too much of a concern. I don't live in a 4G area (I don't think we have HSPA+ and I know we don't have LTE), so I'd be on 3G or EDGE most of the time. Furthermore, I don't use mobile data much at all, maybe 30 minutes a day max. I turn it on when I need it (same with WiFi). I also make sure apps and accounts (aside from Gmail) are not syncing.
I've done some reading about the aforementioned audio problems, and a few places seemed to have mentioned that if you disable "Fast boot" from the Power Options, it fixes the audio problems. Does anyone know more about this?
beanboy89 said:
I've done some reading about the aforementioned audio problems, and a few places seemed to have mentioned that if you disable "Fast boot" from the Power Options, it fixes the audio problems. Does anyone know more about this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What audio problems are you having?
I have no audio problems. Really the only bug I have is the Wifi switching on and off automatically. All and all its a great phone aside from battery life on stock but itst not a geeks phone, not at all. I rooted but considering the re locked bootloader thing and considering there just isn't a solid stock replacement rom, I kinda regret it.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
Cor-master said:
I have no audio problems. Really the only bug I have is the Wifi switching on and off automatically. All and all its a great phone aside from battery life on stock but itst not a geeks phone, not at all. I rooted but considering the re locked bootloader thing and considering there just isn't a solid stock replacement rom, I kinda regret it.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a ton of roms out but have you tried WCX's roms? In my opinion its a great stock rom for you. Fast, no bloat, wifi is stable and battery life is better than stock, not great but better. I'm not here trying to say this is better than that. I can speak for this rom bc I use it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ntQq6vAaOI
strose09 said:
There are a ton of roms out but have you tried WCX's roms? In my opinion its a great stock rom for you. Fast, no bloat, wifi is stable and battery life is better than stock, not great but better. I'm not here trying to say this is better than that. I can speak for this rom bc I use it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ntQq6vAaOI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might give it a try. I put on the stock deodexed at&t rom because I just couldn't find the "perfect" rom for me. I tried Holics which is great but just a bit overkill and as stupid as I sounds the fact the Lee Droid tweaks didn't have the correct ics over scroll color drove me nuts. I tried de Sensed which I loved but couldn't handle the low dialer volume issue.
Pretty much I'm looking for a sense rom with a nice mix of aosp and Sense theming. Really wanna get rid of all traces of the sense green color, and have a pure aosp notification area and bar. I'd prefer something light honestly.
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
strose09 said:
What audio problems are you having?
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Click to collapse
None. It's just a concern that I have about the Vivid after reading various reports about some audio problems that users had encountered after the ICS update.
beanboy89 said:
None. It's just a concern that I have about the Vivid after reading various reports about some audio problems that users had encountered after the ICS update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No audio problems here after ICS. Sometimes if you're listening to headphones the jack might come out at times but its not a big deal, a firm push usually does the trick.

Just got my Nexus 4, Not so sure about it

So got my Nexus 4 16GB during the week, its my first ever Nexus phone however have had a variety of Android phones from the HTC Desire right up to Galaxy S2, have to say I am not 100% sold on the Nexus.
I used to think skins where unnecessary but since getting the Nexus I have come to realise how much more user friendly they make things, simple things like pulling down the notification bar to put in aeroplane mode, orientation screen lock etc, or perhaps battery percentage up beside the battery?
My battery also seems to drain very fast, and I am not using the phone any differently than I did my galaxy S2, auto sync turned of and all the rest.
The camera while being 8mp acts like 5mp at best for some reason, Its not a patch on my SGS2, Ok I only take photos for instagram etc and its fine for that.
When you got your N4 did you instantly fall in love or did it take a while to grow on you? I'm not convinced yet.
But skins are so incredibly ugly and IMO they don't make the phone that much more user friendly (definitely not enough to justify their appearance and sluggishness). TouchWiz on the GS4 still looks like it's meant to run on Gingerbread and it causes random lag where no modern phone should have any trouble.
The quick settings in the notification bar are there, and I think it's just as good an implementation on stock because you can see more of your notifications at any one time. In TouchWiz they take up about half of the notification tray with quick settings, in stock a two fingered swipe or a tap in the top right corner will take you to them. You can edit them and make them easier to get to using a custom ROM, and while you may argue that you shouldn't have to do that it's ludicrously straightforward on a Nexus device.
A custom kernel should also fix your battery drain. I'm getting through a day without any issues and I'm perfectly happy with that. Currently my phone has had 1 day 1 hour of usage with 1 hr 30 minutes screen on time and 45% battery left. Note that the screen was on full brightness during this and Wifi and auto sync were left on.
When you say it acts like 5MP do you mean that the quality is crap or that it's literally taking photos at a 5MP size? If it's the first then that's true and there's really nothing that can be done. If it's the latter then open the camera, press anywhere on the screen to bring up the circle control, go to the settings option (the one that looks like a bunch of sliders) and change the picture size to 8MP.
Personally, I loved my N4 from the moment I got it. After calibration the screen was just about the best I'd seen (and I flashed it straight away, only used stock for a minute or two), it was the smoothest Android experience I had ever had and (unlike my HD2) everything just worked flawlessly for me.
Best phone I ever owned.
Flash a rom + kernel to get the features you're missing. If no likey, return and purchase other phone.
Tip: don't continue with praising skins of HTC or Samsung instead of aosp. Will only get you flamed..
Sounds about right. The best feature is being bland and featureless with the greatest potential to be customized. You are just at the most basic, boring, least impressive starting point. The rest is kind of up to you. Just my opinion.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
dweekie said:
Sounds about right. The best feature is being bland and featureless with the greatest potential to be customized. You are just at the most basic, boring, least impressive starting point. The rest is kind of up to you. Just my opinion.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd take this supposed 'blandness' any day over slow, sluggish and ugly OEM skins.
There are many things on this phone that make it great, such as the screen, silky smoothness and more. But first thing out of the box I was a bit disappointed as well because it has no battery percentage. It annoyed me because I can't tell how much battery life I have left unless I download a widget or pull down the bar. But, I ended up flashing the percentage mod, then flashing kernel, then a rom. Now I can't look back. Battery life got better, colors on my screen got even better and best of all I got a percentage on my battery.
If you compare the battery to something like GS3, this is better, so you might just have to let the phone settle in.
slugger09 said:
So got my Nexus 4 16GB during the week, its my first ever Nexus phone however have had a variety of Android phones from the HTC Desire right up to Galaxy S2, have to say I am not 100% sold on the Nexus.
I used to think skins where unnecessary but since getting the Nexus I have come to realise how much more user friendly they make things, simple things like pulling down the notification bar to put in aeroplane mode, orientation screen lock etc, or perhaps battery percentage up beside the battery?
My battery also seems to drain very fast, and I am not using the phone any differently than I did my galaxy S2, auto sync turned of and all the rest.
The camera while being 8mp acts like 5mp at best for some reason, Its not a patch on my SGS2, Ok I only take photos for instagram etc and its fine for that.
When you got your N4 did you instantly fall in love or did it take a while to grow on you? I'm not convinced yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Skins like Sense and TW only bloat the system. You will get use to the pure experience pretty quick and then you will grow to hate skins
I have always carried my devices naked (the device not me) and don't have any issues with the Nexus naked. It's a bit slippery but you will adjust to that quickly and hold the device a bit tighter.
The battery starts off horrid! It really takes several drain and recharge cycles for the battery to get up to par. Mine makes it through the day just fine now.
Mega pixels don't really mean much if you are not developing poster sized photos. Try using HDR mode and see if you like the photos better.
My .02
Did you not even do any research before getting this phone?? This is vanilla android and most people get this phone for that reason. If you are used to some added skins like Thouchwhiz, Sense, or Motoblur and like that, you should have stuck with one of those phones. Otherwise, root the phone and get to modding and theming or install a cost rom that is feature rich.
slugger09 said:
So got my Nexus 4 16GB during the week, its my first ever Nexus phone however have had a variety of Android phones from the HTC Desire right up to Galaxy S2, have to say I am not 100% sold on the Nexus.
I used to think skins where unnecessary but since getting the Nexus I have come to realise how much more user friendly they make things, simple things like pulling down the notification bar to put in aeroplane mode, orientation screen lock etc, or perhaps battery percentage up beside the battery?
My battery also seems to drain very fast, and I am not using the phone any differently than I did my galaxy S2, auto sync turned of and all the rest.
The camera while being 8mp acts like 5mp at best for some reason, Its not a patch on my SGS2, Ok I only take photos for instagram etc and its fine for that.
When you got your N4 did you instantly fall in love or did it take a while to grow on you? I'm not convinced yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!
1. The airplane mode is there. Just swipe down the notification bar with TWO fingers. Then you get lots of toggle-settings including the airplane mode. The orientation screen lock is not there though. HOWEVER; installing custom ROMs will most likely ADD many more features in the toggles area (like orientation) and so forth.
2. For battery drain, try flashing a custom kernel, such as Franco.Kernel. Not only does it improve battery, but you may calibrate your screen (his app includes a preset for lovely colors + deep blacks), and much more. If you want you can undervolt/overclock as well. Note that you can have a custom kernel while still keeping the STOCK rom installed (default andoird 4.2.2 for example).
I personally enjoy stock android (so I haven't installed a ROM), but i felt francos kernel REALLY improved the device. The battery is improved (doesnt drain as much, nor does the phone heat up as much as before). Also the colors of the screen turned really wonderful aftering being calibrated to 2.2gamma.
Basicly, if you are unhappy, look into some ROMs and kernels. You can find almost anything you want :good:
Different strokes, different folks.. OP gave it a shot and gave an honest, un-smug opinion... It is what it is. Some people just like the gloss on top.. Nothing wrong with that.
slugger09 said:
So got my Nexus 4 16GB during the week, its my first ever Nexus phone however have had a variety of Android phones from the HTC Desire right up to Galaxy S2, have to say I am not 100% sold on the Nexus.
I used to think skins where unnecessary but since getting the Nexus I have come to realise how much more user friendly they make things, simple things like pulling down the notification bar to put in aeroplane mode, orientation screen lock etc, or perhaps battery percentage up beside the battery?
My battery also seems to drain very fast, and I am not using the phone any differently than I did my galaxy S2, auto sync turned of and all the rest.
The camera while being 8mp acts like 5mp at best for some reason, Its not a patch on my SGS2, Ok I only take photos for instagram etc and its fine for that.
When you got your N4 did you instantly fall in love or did it take a while to grow on you? I'm not convinced yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instant love with the N4. Sold it away after a couple of months, went around owning other phones like the iPhone 5, Note 2, GS3, Xperia ZL. Have now come back to the N4. But then again, I knew what I was getting into coz I had the GNex before this.
The point of stock android, is not that it offers features other skins dont. What makes it attractive is that it offers a solid, no BS foundation to which you can add tweaks and functionality suited individually to YOU. You say you want Airplane mode in quick settings, maybe battery percentage next to the battery? Guess what there is a tweak for that and much more. But what happens when you are on TW and you dont want to look like an idiot waving you hands all over the screen in public? Sure you can disable that, but it doesnt mean its gone. Still cramping the software and taking up space. Again, this is just an example. As for battery drain, try kernels like Franco or Trinity. Install BBS and cull out the rogue apps.
You said its your first nexus. Stick around, read and you'll find out what a great piece of hardware this is in perfect sync with the software.
Definitely the best android phone I've owned, coming from a one x and one s and those were great devices as well. Only problem I see is the battery..I leave school with about 10-30% usually around 3 but other than that I love this phone
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
styckx said:
Different strokes, different folks.. OP gave it a shot and gave an honest, un-smug opinion... It is what it is. Some people just like the gloss on top.. Nothing wrong with that.
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Agreed. Btw if anyone thought my posts were meant to be insulting or rude they weren't, they're just my opinions on OEM skins.
OP should check out the Power Toggles app on the Play Store for notification bar toggles, works just like Sense type toggles with customizability.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.painless.pc&hl=en
Yes I think it just needs a few tweaks here and there, not going to the extent of a custom ROM just a kernel etc, first need to work out how to unlock the bootloader and root
Nigeldg said:
Agreed. Btw if anyone thought my posts were meant to be insulting or rude they weren't, they're just my opinions on OEM skins.
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Nah not at all. I posted my thoughts without even reading the rest of the replies. I'm just so used to people taking a licking for daring to not like a Nexus I just assumed maybe OP got a little heat. Apparently it was rather civil.. :good: :laugh::victory:
I love mine, came from a phone with htc sense, and sense was one of the things that killed "skins" for me. That being said yeah there's pluses and minuses to both. Stock Android is just as capable but your going to have to dig and get some apps from the market to get all the features oems put in their skins. I prefer it that way, I can pretty much make my phone perfect to me. I really feel like with an oem skin you don't get the full customizing experience, and that's why I like raw android. However it's not for everyone. Different strokes for different folks
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Phones should come with a 24 hour buyers remorse warranty. Just return it if you're not satisfied. Though, if you're willing to follow the rabbit down the rabbit hole, I'm sure you'll be in awe on how much you can do with Android, let alone the Nexus 4.
slugger09 said:
Yes I think it just needs a few tweaks here and there, not going to the extent of a custom ROM just a kernel etc, first need to work out how to unlock the bootloader and root
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if u really want to unlock the bootloader, you should do it right away, and before actually using the phone, because unlocking it would erase all your personal data (like a phone reset). or you can back up ur phone.
rooting is super easy. 1st, install custom recovery, 2nd, flash supersu zip, and done.
I really love mine, picked it up over a month ago. I thought LTE would be my major gripe but my carrier supports the N4's DC-HSPA radio so in most areas I can get up to 22-23 mbps download speeds where the S3 was getting around 30 on LTE in the same areas (although much better upload speeds). I'm pretty happy with that considering my older HSPA phone was only getting 6-7 max.
I was strongly considering also owning an LTE phone too since I still haven't used my upgrade yet, but I've played with both the One and the S4 and I simply disliked the button layouts of both phones. I'm going to hold off until one of the OEM's releases a flagship that stays closer to the standard layout. The new Xperia phones do, but they're using basically the same hardware as the Nexus 4 anyway which would basically be a sidegrade+LTE and not a significant upgrade. Looks like my final hopes for owning two phones is going to rest with Motorola or Nexus 5 now. I'm very satisfied with this for now though.

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