Topic: Android

[anomaly]

about 2 weeks ago the wife and i broke down and signed up for smart phones.

had to make adjustment financially by reducing our text plan and lowering our "land line" cable internet speed to justify the added Data plans but it seems worth the sacrifices since the internet supplies about 75% of my free time fun and this would just be one more way to spend that time.

anyway we had planed on getting the HTC Incredible even despite the long back-order mostly for the up to date hardware and OLED screens. (after using my ZuneHD OLED its to go back to LCD/TFT). but since the initial order due to supply issues HTC has changed the screens (a few times) and according to Verizon the different screen revisions are not identifiable on the box. only by powering the device on can you tell what screen you got. which at this point is a crapshoot and the odds are in favor of some LCD based screen so by powering on the phones we would have to pay $35 to exchange the phones for something else.
 
so now im met with the choice of changing my order to the Droid X. the main basic differences from what ive read between the Droid Incredible vs the Droid X is the X has decently faster hardware, a bigger screen and a different UI. so im pretty sure i will be switching my order to the X. the only down side (other than normal preference stuff) is the bootloader is apparently locked. i don't know much about that end of Android stuff but ive heard that can mess up some fun development stuff.

any opinions or comments on the phones in question or the bootloader situation?

[nanaki254]

my opinion is to cancel the text plan, and just use the data plan for instant messaging needs.. or is the plan like the iphone where you "must" choose all 3 (voice, text, data)?

and i'm sure there is a way to unlock it in the near future, though can't be certain

[anomaly]

my opinion is to cancel the text plan, and just use the data plan for instant messaging

yea thats exactly what we are doing. but we are keeping 250msgs for $5 a month due to friend and family that text us randomly.

i read that even if the bootloader is locked Devs can still write stuff for it, just not custom ROMs. but like i said im a smart phone n00blet and i don't know jack about any of that stuff yet.

[GeNe]

The iPhone does not require a text plan, FYI.  It's just 10 or 15 cents a text if you don't have one.

[nanaki254]

really? when i asked the ATT booth about the iphone they said the text and data were mandatory   

[mephisto_kur]

Do not get a text plan.  Use google voice.  You sign up for a gv phone number and give all your texting friends the gv number.  Texting through gv is completely free of charge.

Are you really planning on rooting your phone?  There are pluses to rooting, but even as a true geek I have not found the need.

Amoled screens are very nice, but you should compare by sight, not by what you have heard. Amlcd screens are also much improved since you got your zune.  Are they a good? Probably not as good as a modern amoled, but I would say they are certainly great screens anyway.

Ask any questions.  I've been on my droid since december.

[mephisto_kur]

Oh, one more thing.  Htc's senseUI looks pretty at first, but you can't turn that shit off without root access, and it severely limits how customizable your screen is.  The Eris is a great phone but that stupid senseUI kills it.

[mephisto_kur]

http://www.droidforums.net

[GeNe]

really? when i asked the ATT booth about the iphone they said the text and data were mandatory   

Yeah, the AT&T guy has it wrong.  You have the option for no text plan...I just looked it up...it's "None - $0.20 per Text/Instant Message; $0.30 per Picture/Video Message."

[anomaly]

Do not get a text plan.  Use google voice.  You sign up for a gv phone number and give all your texting friends the gv number.  Texting through gv is completely free of charge.

thats good to know. ive always hated the huge unrealistic markup for text plans. i never thought text used much resources on a carrier anyway. i guess they just charge on that fact of the demand that ppl "need" it

Are you really planning on rooting your phone?  There are pluses to rooting, but even as a true geek I have not found the need.

i dont know really, i know im am all about tweaking my PC and i cant see this being much different. i guess it would just come down to risk vs. fun/convenience. i don't want to break the phone, thats for sure!

Amoled screens are very nice, but you should compare by sight, not by what you have heard. Amlcd screens are also much improved since you got your zune.  Are they a good? Probably not as good as a modern amoled, but I would say they are certainly great screens anyway.

yea, i hear ya. i am just so in love with the AMOLED on my ZuneHD, i just love the contrast ratio. i know AMOLEDs tend to be over saturated but the bright colors and dark blacks really get me. i haven't seen a Droid X in person so i don't know what to expect. ive seen the EVO screen and that looked pretty good and read that the X screen is better that the EVO so im OK with it under those assumptions.

ether way at this point the screen becomes a non issue due to the fact the screen that comes on the Incredible is a last minute crapshoot just to get units shipped.

with all that in mind i guess it comes down to the UI & CPU/GPU. ive read that SENSE is the best UI to date right next to Palm OS. ( i haven't used ether) the X comes with some slimmed down version of MotoBlur that can get laggy sometimes but will more than likely get fixed with 2.2. so basically leaves room for improvement. on the HTC end the UI is pretty much capped on hardware resources since the Qualcom tends to be a bit slower than the Omap on both CPU and GPU power.

i guess its the Droid X for me then. even if the X isnt rootable or whatever im sure overclocking the Snapdragon would only come close to the power of the Omap @ stock anyway regardless.


question on google talk/google voice.

which one is the IM software? and does it stay logged in all the time? reason im asking is that my wife an i text 95% of the time because of our work schedule. so i need something that stays logged in 24/7.

[mephisto_kur]

Doesn't work like that. You start an app, android doesn't kill it unless it really needs the memory and it is the oldest non used app, or you kill it manually.  Just start gv or gt up and it will run until the next reboot, from my experience.  Gtalk is the IM.  Gvoice is the sms/answering srrvice.  My wife and I use gtalk often, when her stupid htc hasn't killed the process.  SensUI castrated her phone

[anomaly]

sounds like i might be in the same boat as you then. my wife will more than likely be getting the Incredible w/Sense due to the size difference. im not sure if the version of sence is different or not from the one on the other phones but ive heard only good things about the UI on the Incredible. i guess we wont know until it gets here.... 

[mephisto_kur]

If she isn't a tweaker, she'll most likely be fine.  You, however, will like sense, then slowly realize how bad it is.

My wife has gotten the last update, newest sense, android 2.1.  The newest sense is actually worse.  Battery hog apps that can't be turned off.

[anomaly]

that make sense. lol

most reviews said the Incredible battery life sux, when IMO it should be pretty light on battery considering the hardware.

but it will be good for my wife. shes no tweaker. she just likes stuff to work and to not be slow.

 i will like being able to customize the widgets size and location with the X. but i just hope everything runs like silk. i hate laggy touch screens. i cant tell you how many times ive just wanted to throw my voyager!! moving thur menus like a annoying slide show, however using the ZuneHD scrolling is like moving on a air hockey table i love it! just hoping for a similar experience with the phone i get.

[Trlgg]

gtalk never needs to be reopened on my blackberry, always stays logged in.