WP7->Android regrets...

sykozis

Last week I decided to change carriers as I was tired of the same old crap... I ditched Verizon for Sprint. I was having "issues" when connecting to the WiFi at work that the idiots at Verizon immediately dismissed as an "improperly configured network". Their "solution" to my "issue" was to simply use my data plan....which was all of 300mb. So, it was either ditch Verizon for Sprint (unlimited data for $10/month) or pay the extra per month to get a 5GB data plan.....not gonna happen. Well, I decided to give Android another shot since the local Sprint stores don't stock the HTC Arrive (WP7). Decided to go with the Samsung Transform Ultra. There was the mistake.... The Samsung Transform Ultra runs Android 2.4.....the same as my el-cheapo Craig tablet. Thus far, it's even exhibited similar tendencies. It lags, it locks up, it even loses it's network connection (which sucks as it needs that connection to make phone calls)...it irritates the living crap out of me. After 6 days of Android....I seriously miss my WP7 based HTC Trophy.... Between the stable network connection, pre-emptive texting and stable OS....I'm really wondering if I should exchange this phone for the HTC Arrive before next Tuesday....

dshramek · 05-09-2012, 02:23 | posts: 3,426 | Location: Collierville, Tennessee

You should have got a Galaxy Nexus. Best phone on Sprint, or waited for the Evo 4G

deltatux · 05-09-2012, 03:11 | posts: 18,771 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by sykozis

Last week I decided to change carriers as I was tired of the same old crap... I ditched Verizon for Sprint. I was having "issues" when connecting to the WiFi at work that the idiots at Verizon immediately dismissed as an "improperly configured network". Their "solution" to my "issue" was to simply use my data plan....which was all of 300mb. So, it was either ditch Verizon for Sprint (unlimited data for $10/month) or pay the extra per month to get a 5GB data plan.....not gonna happen. Well, I decided to give Android another shot since the local Sprint stores don't stock the HTC Arrive (WP7). Decided to go with the Samsung Transform Ultra. There was the mistake.... The Samsung Transform Ultra runs Android 2.4.....the same as my el-cheapo Craig tablet. Thus far, it's even exhibited similar tendencies. It lags, it locks up, it even loses it's network connection (which sucks as it needs that connection to make phone calls)...it irritates the living crap out of me. After 6 days of Android....I seriously miss my WP7 based HTC Trophy.... Between the stable network connection, pre-emptive texting and stable OS....I'm really wondering if I should exchange this phone for the HTC Arrive before next Tuesday....

Android 2.4? Android's last version for the 2.x branch was 2.3.7...

You should have gotten something like the HTC Amaze 4G or something. Outside of the regular Samsung Galaxy S line, they suck.

deltatux

sykozis · 05-09-2012, 03:48 | posts: 13,489 | Location: US East Coast

Quote:

Originally Posted by dshramek

You should have got a Galaxy Nexus. Best phone on Sprint, or waited for the Evo 4G

Waiting was not an option as I depend on having internet access at work and with my HTC Trophy not playing nice with the network, I had to pick a phone that was immediately available. I also require that the phone last 10hrs of frequent usage without being charged, which I was told would not be possible with any of the other phones they had in stock save for the iPhone. Oh yeah, and I needed a physical keyboard so the screen/protector doesn't get ruined quite as fast. I've heard oil/grease/chemicals are bad for touch screens =D

deltatux · 05-09-2012, 03:49 | posts: 18,771 | Location: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Originally Posted by sykozis

Waiting was not an option as I depend on having internet access at work and with my HTC Trophy not playing nice with the network, I had to pick a phone that was immediately available. I also require that the phone last 10hrs of frequent usage without being charged, which I was told would not be possible with any of the other phones they had in stock save for the iPhone. Oh yeah, and I needed a physical keyboard so the screen/protector doesn't get ruined quite as fast. I've heard oil/grease/chemicals are bad for touch screens =D

Oil/grease/chemicals last check are bad for electronics period

deltatux

sykozis · *Last edited by sykozis; 05-09-2012 at 04:13.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltatux

Oil/grease/chemicals last check are bad for electronics period

deltatux

Tell that to the people who's cars I keep putting back together!!! They get the crap EVERYWHERE!!! It's a pain trying to keep a cellphone clean.

I actually like my phone. It's quirks are just irritating, as is the short battery life...

scoutingwraith · *Last edited by scoutingwraith; 05-09-2012 at 04:39.*

Head over to XDA forums and see if they have any info on your device to have a Custom ROM installed

Thanks to them I am running an ICS ROM on my HD2

sykozis · 05-09-2012, 05:38 | posts: 13,489 | Location: US East Coast

I have 7 more days to decide if I'm going to keep the phone. The phone itself is actually pretty well made. Kinda disappointed in Samsung for not updating it further or continueing to sell the phone without giving buyers some sort of notice that it won't receive further updates. We complain about support for other products....yet, cellphones seem to have the shortest support period of any device.

kanej2007 · 05-09-2012, 06:58 | posts: 5,700 | Location: Dubai, UAE / London, UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by sykozis

short battery life...

This is the problem with HTC & always has been, unfortunately that is...

I've had many HTC phones including:

HTC Touch HD
HTC Hero
HTC HD2
HTC Desire
HTC Desire HD
HTC Titan II

All were great only battery life could have been better...

Hopefully HTC will improve battery life by increasing it's capacity.

My current Samsung Galaxy Note has a 2500Mah battery which gives me a good 1-2 days of heavy use whereas my previous HTC phones were lucky to last the day.

Even Motorola has a new phone which has a beastly 3300Mah battery which should give it plenty of juice.

Why is HTC struggling to produce a battery with a capacity higher than 2000Mah?

Most of their top high end phones have a tiny battery just having 1600 & 1700Mah...

Apart from battery issues HTC make great & unique phones...

Mikedogg · 05-09-2012, 07:09 | posts: 2,872 | Location: The Freak Show - Earth.

Nokia FTW.

dcx_badass · 05-09-2012, 09:31 | posts: 9,543 | Location: Leeds [UK]

First of all the Samsung Transform Ultra is a budget phone, the HTC Arrive is 3 times the price, you're not comparing like for like, you're apparently running a version of android that doesn't exist as well.

chris2k · 05-09-2012, 09:51 | posts: 1,107 | Location: United Kingdom

Why don't you get a phone that's suitable to your occupation such as these:

Samsung galaxy extreme
http://www.clove.co.uk/samsung-galaxy-extreme

Motorola defy plus
http://www.clove.co.uk/motorola-defy-plus

Cat B10
http://androidcommunity.com/caterpil...gged-20120308/

sykozis · 05-09-2012, 12:14 | posts: 13,489 | Location: US East Coast

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanej2007

This is the problem with HTC & always has been, unfortunately that is...

Ummmm.....I have a Samsung phone. My HTC Trophy lasted anywhere from 2-7 days depending on actual usage. My SAMSUNG Transform Ultra barely lasted 12hrs sitting in my tool box. My old blackberry could survive being used as a cell modem for 8hrs a day and still maintain a 24hr battery life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcx_badass

First of all the Samsung Transform Ultra is a budget phone, the HTC Arrive is 3 times the price, you're not comparing like for like, you're apparently running a version of android that doesn't exist as well.

Subsidized, they're both $100. Also, the HTC Arrive is not 3x the price of the Transform Ultra...

HTC Arrive: $450
Transform Ultra: $350

Those are the retail prices through Sprint.

The underlying hardware the 2 phones use is actually pretty similar. Both run on 1GHz Snapdragon processors....the HTC Arrive just has a ****load more memory.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris2k

Why don't you get a phone that's suitable to your occupation such as these:

Samsung galaxy extreme
http://www.clove.co.uk/samsung-galaxy-extreme

Motorola defy plus
http://www.clove.co.uk/motorola-defy-plus

Cat B10
http://androidcommunity.com/caterpil...gged-20120308/

I'm in the US and limited to phones actually offered here and supported by my wireless carrier.

kanej2007 · 05-10-2012, 10:04 | posts: 5,700 | Location: Dubai, UAE / London, UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by sykozis

My HTC Trophy lasted anywhere from 2-7 days depending on actual usage.

You sure? The battery in the HTC Trophy has a capacity of just 1300 mAh & I'd be surprised you got 2-7 days of standby...

When I say HTC phones are poor for battery I mean generally & not all.

Based on my experience, Sony Ericsson & Nokia are the best for battery life in both standby & normal use.

Anarion · *Last edited by Anarion; 05-12-2012 at 23:47.*

If you don't like it, don't keep it. I'll be switching to WP8 at some point and hopefully this year. I'm sick and tired of buggy firmwares for Galaxy S. There isn't a single one that actually works nicely. And as a phone (for calling) even Nokia 3310 is better.

scoutingwraith · 05-13-2012, 16:09 | posts: 9,222 | Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anarion

If you don't like it, don't keep it. I'll be switching to WP8 at some point and hopefully this year. I'm sick and tired of buggy firmwares for Galaxy S. There isn't a single one that actually works nicely. And as a phone (for calling) even Nokia 3310 is better.

Did Microsoft confirm that they will be upgrading current devices to WP8 ?
Or is it still under speculation....

Anarion · 05-13-2012, 21:14 | posts: 9,146 | Location: Finland

Quote:

Originally Posted by scoutingwraith

Did Microsoft confirm that they will be upgrading current devices to WP8 ?
Or is it still under speculation....

It's still speculation. I'm not getting WP phone now since I do want some beefier hardware (and different screen resolution choices) and I'm waiting for LTE models (Lumia 900 isn't going to have LTE here).

xg-ei8ht · 05-14-2012, 00:37 | posts: 1,730 | Location: London Baby

I have the Samsung galaxy s2. Still the best phone around imo. Other then the S3 which is too big.

Always check xda forums though or get a custon launcher,lockscreen etc, if you want it to look good.

I'm on ics 4.03, but use custom launcher and custom lookscreen.

Battery life could be better. but

http://reviews.cnet.com/2719-11288_7...?tag=page;page

Alexstarfire · **Memory**: 2x2GB @ 468Mhz 6-6-6-18

What usually drags down battery life is most of the crap carriers install. Pick pretty much any custom ROM and you'll get better battery life because they strip all the crap from the carrier. I'm using ICS 4.0.4 on my Captivate and the only time I have issues with battery life is when I'm not on WiFi, which to be fair has only occurred on this ROM and none of the others I've ever had and I haven't bothered too much to try to actually fix it. Chances are it's just cause reception is **** in my house and the modem for the phone is performing under par so it searches for signal nearly 24/7. That'd kill any phone, including the iPhone because my dad seems to keep his on the charger quite often at home.

If you need a physical keyboard then your choice of good phones is going to be very small in general. I really can't think of any that are supposed to be good as all the ones I know of just use a virtual keyboard.

sykozis · 05-20-2012, 21:58 | posts: 13,489 | Location: US East Coast

Wow, I had actually forgotten all about this thread.

Well, I got the phone to stop locking up. It received an update last Saturday, after which I no longer get internet when inside the building at work. Something weird is going on as even standing in the doorway at work I get no internet but, if I take 1 step outside of the building I get a perfect signal. Coworker said it's probably a corrupt update. I took the phone back to Sprint for them to look at it, and their advice was to remove Avast Mobile Security and Advanced Task Killer because "security software interferes with the functionality of Android"... So, I figured I'd ask in this thread instead of starting a new one....

Since articles keep popping up about malware for Android, should I risk running with no security software?? I refuse to use Lookout as quite honestly, they have no real company history and are still a newb company that I don't trust in the least. I've already removed Advanced Task Killer.

dcx_badass · 05-20-2012, 22:20 | posts: 9,543 | Location: Leeds [UK]

I use common sense, don't install dodgy apps and you won't have a single problem. A number of devs have also said not to use task killers a gingerbread and above does it itself just fine.

sykozis · 05-21-2012, 00:20 | posts: 13,489 | Location: US East Coast

I use "common sense" as well when browsing web sites....which I do very limited of on my phone due to the very small screen. I typically flip through the forums here and at THQ as well as FB. However, when things get slow at work, I find myself looking through apps trying to find games to play (which this phone sucks with btw. It's screen is too sensitive)....

I need to keep this phone for at least a year before replacing it....and unless ICS adoption increases drastically, I'll probably go back to Windows Phone at that time. I've pretty well settled on the idea that my next phone will be either the current Android version (whatever the latest release is at that point) or Windows Phone again. Android, for me, offers nothing that Windows Phone doesn't as well. Until such time, I need to ensure this phone functions as best possible.

Anarion · 05-21-2012, 00:26 | posts: 9,146 | Location: Finland

I use Common Sense Internet Security Suite 2012 on my smartphone. It has never failed so far, excellent speed and does not interfere with the OS.

dcx_badass · 05-21-2012, 01:04 | posts: 9,543 | Location: Leeds [UK]

Websites aren't really an issue, you're not going to get dodgy exe/msi files, no active x exploits etc. When getting an app I just look at the number of downloads as an indication.

Lane · *Last edited by Lane; 05-21-2012 at 15:47.*

@Sykosis...

Why buy this Samsung and not take an high end ( SG2, SG3, or new HTC ) ?
( oups sorry just have read the problem you get with touchscreen and particular product )

Seriously this smartphone is far of the actual standard: 1ghz Snapdragon, 3M Pixel camera ... The only thing is it get a keyboard.. but otherwise work pretty well for simple connection, phone etc ..

Well i dont know why you have so problem for connection etc.. i dont this particular model, but otherwise it is absolutely not the case on old samsung.. ( including SG1, Bada cheapo smartphone etc )

Anyway, battery life depend of the usage but depend specially of 2 things.. free apps are full of publicity and last study ( made by microsoft and independant ) show thoses pub use 85% of the battery ... screen use battery a lot, widget use battery etc etc .. If you really need the most, you need clean your phone and / or put some saving battery features at maximum level ..

For sure i will never take a 4S for battery life... even after fix their issue a little but and with use the screen at the minimum luminosity and put the wildest battery save mode or app possible for this.. battery life is a no go in real usage.. (you cant increase performance, double the core and keep the same battery from a model to another).