• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Android Hardware Thread - 2010 Edition

Status
Not open for further replies.
So, my wife is one of those who couldn't care less about the new, shiny phones. That is, she used to be, until I gave her my MyTouch. Now, she's addicted to the Market. She just downloaded, like, 40 apps.

I created an Android monster. :lol
 
omg rite said:
Good God. WANT.

And this is why I simply don't understand the love iPhone fans have for that product.
Probably because you've never owned one.
 
jonnybryce said:
Really?

Explain.

The Galaxy S is BUTTERY smooth.. I've played around with the Sony X10 which has a 1GHz processor too, and there's no comparison.

It's also lighter than what you think it's going to be when you pick it up. No problems putting it in my pocket. It just feels nice.

People who are hating on Samsung's TouchWiz should really give this one a try. Kinda feels like the iPhone interface, mixed in with Android awesomeness. Seriously.

Camera, while being only a 5 megapixel can do a lot of point-and-shoot features, plus the ability to record in 720p.

The screen is better than anything I've ever seen before. When you power it up in the dark, it's like you're peering into God's house.

Booted up BBC Life on it through the memory card. Jaw drop.
 
Engadget has reviewed the Streak, and for those who are still worried about the size:
Following the conventionally-sized Mini 3 / Aero, Dell decided to plunge into an untouched territory with its second-ever smartphone. The result is an unusual form factor -- a 10mm-thick slab with a five-inch 800 x 480 LCD (much like the Archos 5 PMP but with capacitive touch overlay). Of course, we've seen it all back in February, but our enthusiasm has not dwindled in the slightest -- the final Streak still has the same sexy figure, is still as rigid, and is still as pocketable in our regular-fit jeans. No, really -- there's been a lot of debate on whether people would actually put the Streak in their pockets, but like we said before, as long as you're not into hippie-tight pants, the slate should happily fit in like a regular phone. The only time that you might struggle is when you're walking up stairs, but a quick push to the outer side of the pocket should do the trick. More on that in the video below.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/06/dell-streak-review/1#c28444556

edit: DELL TAKE ALL MY MONEY PLEASE
 
I'm very close to exchanging my Pixi for an HTC Eris, but every so often I see someone saying it has serious lag issues. Is this a serious issue with the phone?
 
demon said:
I'm very close to exchanging my Pixi for an HTC Eris, but every so often I see someone saying it has serious lag issues. Is this a serious issue with the phone?
It's better than your Pixi. However, don't use a contract upgrade on it. I wouldn't go lower than a Motorola Droid at this point. The Incredible is the best phone on the carrier right now though. PEACE.
 
demon said:
I'm very close to exchanging my Pixi for an HTC Eris, but every so often I see someone saying it has serious lag issues. Is this a serious issue with the phone?

I really wouldn't go with the Eris. I had the Hero (same phone essentially) and was very happy with it when I got it, but I bought that back in October...at this point in time the hardware is very dated. Yeah, you spend a little more for the Droid/Droid Incredible, but for the use and time you get out of a phone I think it is very much worth it.

Now I have the EVO and the Android experience is so much better.
 
demon said:
I'm very close to exchanging my Pixi for an HTC Eris, but every so often I see someone saying it has serious lag issues. Is this a serious issue with the phone?

Why the Eris? If you're buying it 2nd hand I could see that but new, you should definitely consider the Incredible. The Eris can easily bog down, although the 2.1 update helped things quite a bit from what I read, but my Incredible is easily on another level compared to when I owned the Eris for a month.
 
Husker86 said:
I really wouldn't go with the Eris. I had the Hero and was very happy with it when I got it, but I bought that back in October...at this point in time the hardware is very dated. Yeah, you spend a little more for the Droid/Droid Incredible, but for the use and time you get out of a phone I think it is very much worth it.

Now I have the EVO and the Android experience is so much better.
I can't afford anything expensive, and "dated" hardware is relative. This will be my first touchscreen/3G/smarthphone, and I'd be moving up from this:

2rz4eq0.gif


I can't really fall into the "high-end hardware from 3 months ago is outdated now" trap, upgrading every time the seasons change. Who's to say you guys won't be saying the same thing about the Droid/Incredible/Evo six months from now?
 
Husker86 said:
I really wouldn't go with the Eris. I had the Hero (same phone essentially) and was very happy with it when I got it, but I bought that back in October...at this point in time the hardware is very dated. Yeah, you spend a little more for the Droid/Droid Incredible, but for the use and time you get out of a phone I think it is very much worth it.

Now I have the EVO and the Android experience is so much better.
Yeah. The Droid was the first time Android felt slick. The older hardware held it down in performance, though the functionality was all there. PEACE.
 
demon said:
I can't afford anything expensive, and "dated" hardware is relative. This will be my first touchscreen/3G/smarthphone, and I'd be moving up from this:

2rz4eq0.gif


I can't really fall into the "high-end hardware from 3 months ago is outdated now" trap, upgrading every time the seasons change. Who's to say you guys won't be saying the same thing about the Droid/Incredible/Evo six months from now?
No. A bunch of us go the Hero when it came out. I've had it for 6 months, and it's dated. Remember that the hardware in the Hero, Eris and myTouch are pretty much the same. I think they're a 2008 design.

If you use a contract upgrade on it, you'll be shooting yourself in the foot as Verizon has nothing but slick phones coming out. Maybe do the bogo on the Droid and then sell the other one. But don't waste your money on the Eris unless you get it cheap and without a contract extension. PEACE.
 
demon said:
I can't afford anything expensive, and "dated" hardware is relative. This will be my first touchscreen/3G/smarthphone, and I'd be moving up from this:

http://i49.tinypic.com/2rz4eq0.gif[/IMG

I can't really fall into the "high-end hardware from 3 months ago is outdated now" trap, upgrading every time the seasons change. Who's to say you guys won't be saying the same thing about the Droid/Incredible/Evo six months from now?[/QUOTE]

The Hero was laggy from the day I got it, I just didn't know any better because I had not used a current gen Android phone (none were out then, though the Droid followed soon).

I'm sure you would be happy with it, but try them all out. When you have the chance to see them side by side I think you'll realize the difference.

The fact that you will be using this for a couple years even more reaffirms my suggestions, but priorities are priorities so in the end of course do what's best for you.
 
Fuzz Rez said:
I bought Desire few days back and I have to say I do like it but it has one major flaw: Battery life - I have to charge the phone every freaking day and some times I'm out of battery at end of the work day. I'm gonna buy better battery for it and if it doesn't help I'm going buy a new phone again.

Wait 1 week for your battery to improve, and download the latest update (it was released last week, afaik)

Before the update, I couldn't get more than 16-24 hours, now I'm arround 24-48 hours :) :)

And be careful with wifi, it will make your battery drop like a stone. And that will happen also on every mobile OS (Symbian, Meebo, WebOS)


SimleuqiR said:
Is it me or does the Desire seem elongated in that picture?

It's you. They are the same size.
 
I downloaded the HTC Desire 2.1 update 1 over the weekend but have no idea what it does?

Is there a release note for that update saying what it adds?
 
Has this been talked about?

hMotorola Milestone XT720 announced: 8 megapixel cam, 720p video, and Droid heritage

10x0607irdfq3d.jpg


Motorola has just outed a Europe-bound Milestone XT720, a handset intended to grab the attention of camera lovers with an 8 megapixel sensor, 720p / 24fps video and -- a first for Android handsets -- a xenon flash. Speaking of Android, this will come loaded up with version 2.1 when it launches later this month. Plans for 2.2 upgrades are, as usual, not yet formalized and not under discussion. Other specs include a 3.7-inch, 480 x 854 screen, a 550MHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, and a promised 9 hours of talk time and 320 hours of standby time. It looks very much like Moto's selection of Droid-esque handsets that have been prowling the Chinese market, and it seems the company has enjoyed success with the keyboard-less form factor and is pushing it out to Europe. US release plans are also not being discussed -- it might happen and it might not, seems to us like it'll depend on the Euros' reaction. We're just getting to grips with the handset right now, and will furnish you with video of it as soon as we can.

P.S. We're told this handset is closer to the Motoroi than anything else, Motorola describes them as sister devices. We also spotted a network update from Orange on the demo handset, implicating it as a possible carrier for the XT720 in the UK.

More pictures and a video at the link
 
You know, I'm happy WWDC isn't too exciting. Nice new camera, high res screen, but largely very boring.

Evo is still the king, and I still want a Shadow with a front camera.
 
Vyse The Legend said:
This should have been out no later than January (as it was originally rumored to be). At this point, it's a complete waste of everyone's time.

I think it largely depends on the pricing of the thing, the camera is an interesting selling point, but it's specs are sorely lacking. If it is prices competitively, I can see it making a dent in the lower-end Android phone market. Not everyone wants the cremé de la cremé.
 
Picked up an EVO 4G for my fiance and I on Friday and after one weekend all I have to say is wow. Even though we don't live in a 4G coverage area we are covered by 3G and going from my blackberry curve 8330 to the EVO is unbelievable. The sheer number of things you can do is amazing, and talking on the phone isn't even the main draw of the phone. I've spent very little time actually talking, my fiance has spent an amazing number of hours messing around with her phone over the last 3 days. Simply amazing!
 
can someone tell me if Sprint's unlimited data plan is truly unlimited data?

I'm looking at the Evo 4G after some iPhone 4 disappointment. I currently have an iPhone and I don't want to give up my unlimited data plan if I don't have to, considering so many carriers are putting caps on "unlimited" data.

So is Sprint's unlimited data truly unlimited? also, will it remain unlimited, or is theirs going to change soon too? I really like what I'm seeing out of the Evo 4G, but the retention of unlimited data is what will drive my purchase.

thanks in advance.
 
Dreams-Visions said:
can someone tell me if Sprint's unlimited data plan is truly unlimited data?

I'm looking at the Evo 4G after some iPhone 4 disappointment. I currently have an iPhone and I don't want to give up my unlimited data plan if I don't have to, considering so many carriers are putting caps on "unlimited" data.

So is Sprint's unlimited data truly unlimited? also, will it remain unlimited, or is theirs going to change soon too? I really like what I'm seeing out of the Evo 4G, but the retention of unlimited data is what will drive my purchase.

thanks in advance.

5 GB.

I've read online that some people get away with going over but others don't.
 
Jamesfrom818 said:
5 GB.

I've read online that some people get away with going over but others don't.
fuck.

I'd rather not take the chance, I think. I can get grandfathered with the next iPhone to still have real unlimited...and through jailbreaking, I can still tether and create hotspots with it. seems more comfortable than "hoping" passing that 5GB limit won't result in an overage fee...but it certainly could in the future.

looks like I don't really have a choice.


*bigass sigh*
 
Dreams-Visions said:
fuck.

I'd rather not take the chance, I think. I can get grandfathered with the next iPhone to still have real unlimited...and through jailbreaking, I can still tether and create hotspots with it. seems more comfortable than "hoping" passing that 5GB limit won't result in an overage fee...but it certainly could in the future.

looks like I don't really have a choice.


*bigass sigh*


Well if its the Evo 4G that you want...

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=5973

Today Sprint representatives informed Phone Scoop that users of any of its WiMax 4G network services don't have to worry about a data cap. The $10 add-on WiMax plan for the EVO 4G, for example, provides unlimited access to both Sprint's 4G and 3G networks. Some of Sprint's 3G-only network services still retain a 5GB limit.
 
jonnybryce said:
You know, I'm happy WWDC isn't too exciting. Nice new camera, high res screen, but largely very boring.
The battery life on the iPhone 4 ruins that of the Evo, does it not?
 
Dreams-Visions said:
I'm pretty sure 4G is not available in my area. can I still subscribe to it to get unlimited data?

hmmm.


evo has poor battery life? uh oh...
Yeah because that $10 add-on is required haha.

Battery life is all dependant on how you use the phone and what you have it doing when asleep.
 
Husker86 said:
Yeah because that $10 add-on is required haha.

Battery life is all dependant on how you use the phone and what you have it doing when asleep.

not to mention there's always the possibility (and imo, certainty) of 3rd party batteries with higher capacities, as there are on the incredible.

I'm pretty sure 4G is not available in my area. can I still subscribe to it to get unlimited data?

hmmm.

the $10 charge is mandatory, but uncaps all data, 3g and 4g. so you don't "subscribe" to it, it's by default with the phone.
 
RubxQub said:
The battery life on the iPhone 4 ruins that of the Evo, does it not?
I think battery life has to be the next big battlefield all around. Nice jump on the iPhone 4, but it still looks like I'd have to nurse it to get it through a full day without charging. As these devices get more versatile and more powerful, you're only going to want to make use of them more constantly (background services, location services, video recording, web browsing etc., etc., etc.)
 
Manmademan said:
not to mention there's always the possibility (and imo, certainty) of 3rd party batteries with higher capacities, as there are on the incredible.



the $10 charge is mandatory, but uncaps all data, 3g and 4g. so you don't "subscribe" to it, it's by default with the phone.
Husker86 said:
Yeah because that $10 add-on is required haha.

Battery life is all dependant on how you use the phone and what you have it doing when asleep.
nice, thanks.

so the "unlimited everything" plan with an Evo 4G is...$79.99?

$69.99 for the typical + $10 extra/month for unlimited data/4G/WiMax coverage?
 
I wish we could have a seperate threadabout Verizon, Spritn and all that data plan bullshit. This shit is clogging up every phone thread
 
Dreams-Visions said:
nice, thanks.

so the "unlimited everything" plan with an Evo 4G is...$79.99?

$69.99 for the typical + $10 extra/month for unlimited data/4G/WiMax coverage?

correct. there's also a 59.99 plan that you can use as well, but it's unadvertised.
 
RubxQub said:
The battery life on the iPhone 4 ruins that of the Evo, does it not?

Don't believe so. I saw some rated talk times of 6 hours on 3G. I wouldn't say that ruins the EVO, especially considering the much larger screen to light up. And all that video editing would be much easier with that extra .8". :D Just kidding, the new iPhone does look nice but I honestly don't think it compares that well to the EVO or other Android phones on the horizon. Rather, it has a few things I like and several I don't. Posted those in the EVO thread where this came up as well.
 
Manmademan said:
correct. there's also a 59.99 plan that you can use as well, but it's unadvertised.
oh snap. less phone minutes, I presume? or no texting included?

Jacobi said:
I wish we could have a seperate threadabout Verizon, Spritn and all that data plan bullshit. This shit is clogging up every phone thread
sorry. unfortunately, it's the kind of thing that will make or break purchases for some of us.
 
andycapps said:
Don't believe so. I saw some rated talk times of 6 hours on 3G. I wouldn't say that ruins the EVO, especially considering the much larger screen to light up. And all that video editing would be much easier with that extra .8". :D Just kidding, the new iPhone does look nice but I honestly don't think it compares that well to the EVO or other Android phones on the horizon. Rather, it has a few things I like and several I don't. Posted those in the EVO thread where this came up as well.
Different strokes for different folks, no doubt.

Is this review completely unfounded, though?:
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/31/htc-evo-4g-sprint-review/

Simply put, the battery sucks. It’s a deal breaker. I’m really sorry to say that, too. In fact it hurts me because I wanted this phone so bad, but the battery life is horrible. The phone will lose a third of its battery sitting overnight with the GPS, WiFi, and 4G turned off. Even with Advanced Task Killer set to aggressive and auto killing apps every hour, the most I can get out of the phone is about ten hours.

Take yesterday: I pulled it off the charger at 9 am, checked my mail and ESPN a couple of times during church, used the GPS navigation for 13 miles, and then checked my mail a few times throughout the afternoon while I was at a family event. The phone died promptly at 6 pm. It’s that bad.

I’ve tried a few different things like using a static background rather than a live background, turning off widget animation, disabling WiFi/4G/GPS, and setting Advanced Task Killer to aggressive. Nothing makes a significant difference. The phone just sucks the battery dry.

So here’s the problem. Power users are the ones that can fully take advantage of the large screen, but the more they use their phone, the faster it dies. The only way I can see to counter this is to plug in the phone whenever possible. When you sit down at your desk, plug it in. Drive to the store, plug it in. Go to bed, plug it in. You might want to invest in one of those instant charge battery packs, too.
I have no idea, as I've never used one, but this person at least thinks it's horrid.
ZZMitch said:
Thank god you can replace the battery on the Evo then!
Absolutely. If that works for you, cool.
 
RubxQub said:
Different strokes for different folks, no doubt.

Is this review completely unfounded, though?:
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/31/htc-evo-4g-sprint-review/


I have no idea, as I've never used one, but this person at least thinks it's horrid.

Absolutely. If that works for you, cool.
Most people seem to think the MobileCrunch guy is insane. People like to talk about how the internet is awash with Evo battery-haters, but for the most part I see people talking about how they were surprised they got as much as they did out of it, or that they got pretty respectable usages out of it (most people can get a full 12+ hour day in, with moderate activity).
 
RubxQub said:
Is this review completely unfounded, though?:
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/31/htc-evo-4g-sprint-review/


I have no idea, as I've never used one, but this person at least thinks it's horrid.
The way he described the time he used it when it only lasted 10 hours, then yes, I'd say something else was going on.

I decided to run my phone completely dead just to get a full discharge (yeah I know, not really necessary with Li-ion) and with my admittedly light usage (web browsing, couple youtube vids and some texting) it died at around 32 hours on the "off-charger" counter.

To be fair, I did use a Task Killer 2 or 3 times, it's only two clicks because it remembers what you killed before (I am against these normally, but these Sprint apps I can't get rid of until I root annoy me and I fear they may be sucking some battery).

I haven't pinned down what does suck down the battery, but I have a feeling it's some preloaded Sprint/HTC service that runs in the background, which is why I think my battery life may have been due to the Task Killer.

On the other hand, I am sure I'd have no problem killing the battery in 10 hours with all my widgets and other accounts syncing themselves constantly along with heavier usage.
 
Didn't the guy have the phone for less than a week before writing the review?
As with any HTC phone (all smart phones?), battery life is not very good until about a weeks use.

Looking at the specs though I wouldn't expect it to have the best battery life of the bunch!
 
I'm pretty sure this is hardware related, but good news to report from the Orlando, FL area. As you all know, T-Mobile announced an upgrade to all of their towers to support HDSPA/HUSPA in January or February. It seems that now they have upgraded their backbone to support the new possible speeds on devices in at least another market.

My Nexus One is showing it is on the HDSPA network(for the most part) and with testing my connection, I'm getting around 110ms latency and 250-300+KB/s download speeds with about 50KB/s upload speeds when on HDSPA. This is with not being in the downtown Orlando area, but the more spotty East Orlando UCF area too. That represents a great increase on my previous speeds where I'd get about 50-80KB/s download.

I'm really happy about that.

Edit: Now getting around 350-450+KB with like 3 bars indoors lol. And I do mean B as in bytes.
 
I'm like Snookie looking for love, nothing seems to fit yet. :lol
Hopefully Gingerbread and Q4 phones are awesome enough for me to ditch my 3G. By that time, the app difference should be negligible (as in, every app I need will be on Android - Chipotle App please?) and hopefully the UI fleshed and Google Music launched.

sony_ericsson_android_mid.jpg

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/06/sony_ericsson_5-inch_android_device_spotted.html

If only it wasn't so large :(

Also, Sony and Sony Ericsson have created a new touch panel:

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20100607/183263/?P=1
 
Husker86 said:
I decided to run my phone completely dead just to get a full discharge (yeah I know, not really necessary with Li-ion) [...]
There is a lot of confusion on this subject:

1) No, Li-ion doesn't suffer from the dreaded "memory effect". No modern battery chemistry does. Partial charges are not (noticeably) harmful to the battery. Conversely, "full" charges do not improve battery performance.

2) The charge and voltage monitoring algorithms in most smartphones (and in other battery driven devices) absolutely can become more accurate once they've had a chance to measure a full charge cycle or six. It's not that the battery becomes "better" after a week of cycling it, what happens is that the battery meter becomes more accurate once it "knows" how much charge the battery holds, and what voltages the battery outputs at different states of charge.

So yes, running your phone down to zero a few times is a good idea. It calibrates the battery meter, allowing you get make use of more of the battery's potential. Don't make a habit of it, though.
 
RubxQub said:
Different strokes for different folks, no doubt.

Is this review completely unfounded, though?:
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/31/htc-evo-4g-sprint-review/

I think he is.. 10 hours should be pretty doable as long as you're at work and it's sitting in your pocket not being used most of the day. Obviously if you're streaming Pandora all day your battery is not going to last all the time, but most people I know have chargers at their work on their desks for that. For me, it's a big deal about nothing. But yeah, I think he's pretty off in saying the battery is horrible. It's the situation of wanting both something that fits in your pocket (like he said, the back is rounded like the current iPhone and so it seems smaller) yet has a battery that lasts 24 hours. You can't have it both with current battery technology. For me, it's definitely fine. Also, Seidio sells a pack that will fit in the phone with the stock back that will up the battery from 1500 mah to 1750 mah. Should help a bit if someone is really dissatisfied.

I had the Task Killer and got rid of it.. I kept reading on here about how Task Killers are unneeded for these modern phones and am taking people's word at that because I haven't done tests on the battery while using a task killer and when not. I did notice last night in going through my phone's settings that there is a stock and default news app setup that pull info at 30 min, so I turned both of those off as those particular apps don't interest me. So you may want to turn those off as well.

And obviously, all we have to go on with the iPhone is what Apple said, at this point. We don't have real world performance measuring how long it lasts with a Twitter app updating every 20 minutes, browsing, making some phone calls, texting, etc. We just have their figures if you did nothing but talk on the phone, nothing but browse, nothing but listen to music, etc. But I'll say now that it should beat the EVO easily considering it has a .8" smaller screen to light up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom