Same here :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
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Same here :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
So how is Samsung tocuhwisz in Android 4.* compared to on the S2? I dont a have a S2 myself but have used theQuote:
Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden
model occasionally and i have to say that i prefer the look and feel of HTC Sense (have only used v2.2.2).
Well we couldn't resist so opened it early! Keep in mind these impressions are after only a day's use so I can't form any impression about battery life or stability.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden
The sound, which I said was pretty weedy on startup, is actually a lot better than I'd expected. It's not fantastic quality, but it does produce a tidy bit of volume good enough for listening to video clips without headphones. The screen is properly responsive, some of the earlier cheapos had awful resistive screens or rubbish capactitive, but this is fine.
The resolution is the only letdown, as expected, it's 800x480 pixels which is the same as many 3.5" phones. It's actually not as bad as you might think for reading averagely sized text, and it's got a nice tone for photos, but don't expect fine detail in pictures or the ability to ready tiny writing - although obviously it supports all the normal zoom methods. I haven't tried the HDMI out as it's a micro connector (my adaptor's shipping). The sole front-facing camera works, that's about all you can say. Pictures are acceptable in decent light, and certainly good enough for Skype purposes.
The OS fair zips along. The missus has installed some quite hefty apps and it copes well. She hammered it yesterday and the only glitch was that Dolphin Browser froze once, but then it used to do that occasionally on my Desire so I don't know if it's a fault with the app or the hardware - time will tell. 4GB of memory is divided into just under 1GB of pure internal storage, and just over 3GB on a virtual external card - but it's a doddle to transfer between them and most apps install to the SD card anyway. We popped in a spare 4GB microSD card (and contrary to one review I'd read it doesn't stick out) which she's busy filling with photos and music. I'll be staggered if the manufacturer supports any upgrade to Jellybean but I'm sure it won't be too hard for a reasonably tech-literate person to install once there's a stable release.
Wi-fi connected flawlessly and actually seems to have better stability than my old HTC. It charges quickly (the supplied charger is a bit iffy build quality but it's your standard 5v mini USB job) and appears at this stage to have decent if not spectacular battery life.
Is it fantastic? No. Is it a solidly built decent spec bit of kit? Certainly. Obviously a Nexus is going to be better quality, have better support and have more onboard memory, but I honestly can't see it being worth double the purchase price. Give it a few weeks and I'll let you know how it fares out in the real world :)
I also prefer the look of the sense UI on HTC phones, but as far as functionality goes, IMO touchwhiz is better. I say this because I tried the HTC One X before going for the Galaxy S3, and even for its impressive hardware, the sense UI seemed to bog ICS down a bit. Transitions and swipes were not as smooth as they are on the Galaxy S3. Also, video recording was a bit jittery, but that could be down completely to how HTC handles its camera app. I also find that the touchwhiz UI is less intrusive on the S3 than it was on the S2. People complained and probably Samsung listened, or maybe I just like Galaxy S3 way too much. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by BleAivano
Coupled with a lot of extra features AND the most important one of them all, expandable memory, Galaxy S3 was a clear winner for me over HTC One X.
Those are great first impressions, Dave, and a very well written hands-on review I might add. I am still amazed that tablet packs so much for only 70 pounds. The only thing that bothers me though is probably the hardware, but then again, I forget I'm buying this for my parents, who could give two *bleeps* about hardware. Just for swiping through photos, using newspaper apps, basic apps and using Skype, I think 70 pounds is very reasonable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave B
The only reason I might even look at other more expensive tablets is if I wanted to give them some Google Maps GPS functionality as well. But they never go outside the city, and even if they do, they take a flight or a train, so that is again a moot point.
What should be interesting is how it handles a fully loaded microSD card, let's say bigger than 16 GB. Their holiday photos are never gonna get that far, but it's nice to have an option, especially if he would want me to load the tablet with any of his favorite old movies and music.
Have you tried Chrome on it yet? :D
Can't we all agree that the likes of Siri and S-Voice etc are all completely useless and manufacturers should stop putting their efforts into something which is ultimately pointless
I'll have to try the Chrome. TBH I don't use the browser enough to justify much playing with it, as it works fine as it shipped. But being I like Chrome on the home PCs, I'll have to give it a shot.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden
As for the widgets I'm not sure if that was really an OS function or if they just released a lot of widgets you can resize when they released ICS updates. A few of my widgets would allow size changes when I had Gingerbread.
I can't at all agree with that. The Google voice recognition on my Droid works very well, and saves me a lot of time sending texts and making sticky notes. Though the integration to phone commands isn't as good using a different system, I use the voice input on a regular basis with the Google searches.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
While they're far away from what is advertised by the companies, I believe it's a step in the right direction. Both Siri and S-voice are beta voice rec software anyway working on a learning AI model, so they'll only get better as they learn. I believe the ultimate goal is accurate audio transcription, which would save a lot of people a lot of time, but for that to happen, the AI would have to be at least on par with human intelligence, which I don't see happening anytime soon. But they should get close in the next decade or so.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark
From what I have seen of Google Now and its deep integration with Google's search engine, it seems at least a generation ahead of both Siri and S-Voice.
I've tried Chrome on my S3 and hated it, which is weird because I love the desktop version. It just strikes me as an unfinished project, and I've found Dolphin more functional and a bit quicker. Having synched bookmarks was nice, but it took seconds to export/import them from one browser to t'other.Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden
Just another word on the cheap tablet: the stock keyboard is beyond awful. The missus has installed Go Keyboard and spent a worthwhile few minutes tweaking it (eg changing the height of the keys, and making the arrow keys permanently visible) and it's completely transformed the experience for the better.