Regret getting this phone?

[miophone]

ok... i know it might be a little too soon to start on this, but... i think i regret getting this phone...

not only have i experienced constantly laggy software and regular sync issues, the battery is shockingly poor. (i'm charging twice a day!).
i know there are some people advising to switch off x,y+z functions on the device or uninstall certain apps. but what's the fun of owning such a beautiful phone when i'm stripping it back and squinting to read emails on a screen using 20% brightness.

i've never experienced android before, so i didn't really know what to expect with this phone - i was just excited to move away from the boring world of iphone and have a beautiful big screen, more freedom when it comes to customisation etc. and experience with a new os.
i don't know whether my problems are htc's fault or something to do with android. (i imagine it's the former because, quite frankly, i've only ever heard good things about android).

i so wanted this phone to work for me, but it's looking less and less likely by the day... :-(

 

[CheesyPeteza]

I'm happy with everything except the battery. If something with the same spec comes out with a better battery I might jump ship.

 

[HTCWozz]

Nope, perfectly happy.

No falmes intended, but your in the minority.

 

[karnka]

I've heard a lot of people coming from iPhones to Android who are generally unhappy with the move.

I think that although restricted in many ways Apple make iOS 'just work'. You don't have to tweak anything, you don't have to look for solutions to customise it the way you want. It just does what it does.

Now for me and many other typical 'geeks' Android is perfect. I like to play around with settings and the like and the lack of polish in some places is an acceptable trade off for the flexibility.

Each to his own but I don't think you're necessarily wrong.

 

[jonrwg]

what software laggy?
my battery last me for one whole day. email 10 per day, play angry birds for almost 2 hours, tweet, facebook, foursquare. and my brightness is set to auto. lol..

 

[karnka]

what software laggy?
my battery last me for one whole day. email 10 per day, play angry birds for almost 2 hours, tweet, facebook, foursquare. and my brightness is set to auto. lol..

iOS is generally a slightly smoother experience (transitions etc) than Android. It probably comes from tailoring the O/S to very limited variety of hardware from the ground up.

Again, common complaint of those coming from iOS to Android that it feels slower.

 

[HTCWozz]

iOS is generally a slightly smoother experience (transitions etc) than Android. It probably comes from tailoring the O/S to very limited variety of hardware from the ground up.

Again, common complaint of those coming from iOS to Android that it feels slower.

There is also a mass amount of IOS > Android users who are happy as larry (me inc.) and i even know a few guys who got iPhone4's after thier droids and regretted the move, it goes both ways, one persons experience cannot define the overall judgement of the phone.

 

[karnka]

Totally, and I'm very much on the Android side. Used to have an iPod touch and it's just not the same.

The perceived speed and general smoothness of iOS is a fairly common one though.

 

[PhippsyB]

You've also got to make sure you let your battery fully drain (to the point where the phone turns off) and then charge it to full, and then a bit more, several times. Without doing this the battery will not calibrate properly and you'll definitely be getting no where near as much life out of it as you could be.

 

[miophone]

i'm totally open to the platform change. and, for basics like scrolling through menus etc, i never expected the dhd to be a smooth as iphone 4.

perhaps i'm not a conventional user. i get 300+ [push] work emails a day (sending about 100+), so my usage is certainly higher than average.
i'm even willing to accept the battery life and just carry a second battery around in my bag.

but what i don't understand is the lag i'm experiencing? is it because i'm running an exchange server for my email?
it gets ridiculous at times - i'll type a word and it will take a second or so to slowly appear on the screen.

my setup is a little something like this:
- htc sense connected to facebook and twitter (all sync'd - have also tried with syncs off)
- all widgets removed bar main screen
- minimal apps installed (skype, whatsapp, adobe, kindle, youtube, goggles, ebay, doubletwist). nothing is on autoupdate.
- smartkeyboard

if anyone has any advice, or even just a related forum link i could check out, it would be much appreciated.
i'd love to make this phone work for me.

 

[karnka]

That sounds like the lag on my SGS, which is a completely different problem!

I've had exchange push on in the past and it didn't slow my phone down noticeably.

Something that has been a culprit in the past is a different keyboard. Is smartkeyboard the default HTC one or a third party? I used to use something called SwiftKey and it just made my SGS even worse.

Better keyboard is quite good if you're want a third party (costs a couple of quid but worth it).

 

[arlrb]

iOS will be better, it is designed for one specific type of HW.

New droids will soon appreciate customisation etc, & how to get the best from Android in general.

Patience my petulant child.

 

[miophone]

Something that has been a culprit in the past is a different keyboard. Is smartkeyboard the default HTC one or a third party? I used to use something called SwiftKey and it just made my SGS even worse.

Better keyboard is quite good if you're want a third party (costs a couple of quid but worth it).

it's not the default one. i got the name wrong - it's 'smart keyboard pro'. i use it because it allows me to input in japanese. couldn't find any other solution for that.

 

[karnka]

I do think it's a possible cause of the input delay. I appreciate that won't help you if it's the only suitable japanese solution you can find.

If it's possible can I suggest temporarily removing it, trying the stock HTC one (which I believe is supposed to be quite good) and doing without the japanese for a little while (Even an hour or two).

If that improves matters your question becomes 'Where can I get a decent Japanese KB'

I could of course be totally wrong and wasting your time!

 

[jonrwg]

well, there is a seller selling 1500mAh replacement battery for DHD on ebay. Seller is from HK and the link is available at DHD accessories thread. maybe that can solve your battery issue. about keyboard I didn't experience any lag (well, maybe because i'm using stock HTC), very smooth for me. I came from IOS and Blackberry to Android. Nothing to miss about IOS as i feel boring for the past three years since Iphone launch. What I miss the most is my Blackberry email push !! Other than that i'm happy with my first android phone and let's be patience, android will be better in the future. LOL.

 

[PhippsyB]

Something that has been a culprit in the past is a different keyboard. Is smartkeyboard the default HTC one or a third party? I used to use something called SwiftKey and it just made my SGS even worse.

I don't know, for my HTC Hero at least Smart Keyboard is easily the least laggy keyboard I have used so I doubt it'd be anything related to that.

 

[slothrop]

i have the same problem. android os is consuming like 60% of the battery and it's really slowing every thing down. this phone is amazing when it's working fine, but right now we both have a problem and it's whats making our experience a bit shit!

 

[slothrop]

i just reset my phone. i'm going to install applications one by one to see exactly what is causing it. i'll post here if i find anything. if this doesn't work then i'm probably taking it back to t-mobile

 

[MrPie]

How do you guys find out what is using power consumption? I've tried looking everywhere and for the hell of it i cant find nothing!

I had a 3 hour lesson at uni in one class room so i took my usb along and just kept my phone plugged in all day. I haven't let the phone die yet but i might just do it now. Just uploading a video test in two different conditions. Battery was half way by the time i recorded a 7 minute video and then watched some of it :/

But then again since i was at uni i had no problem and took my USB along.

 

[slothrop]

How do you guys find out what is using power consumption? I've tried looking everywhere and for the hell of it i cant find nothing!

I had a 3 hour lesson at uni in one class room so i took my usb along and just kept my phone plugged in all day. I haven't let the phone die yet but i might just do it now. Just uploading a video test in two different conditions. Battery was half way by the time i recorded a 7 minute video and then watched some of it :/

But then again since i was at uni i had no problem and took my USB along.

go into settings, about phone, battery , battery use. it's gotten to the point where i check this after i do anything on the phone.

 

[slothrop]

also i find spare parts and osmonitor are both useful apps for trying to find out what's wrong

 

[MrPie]

Ahh Much Appreciated. Would have been more sensible to put it in the power options don't you think?

I know HTC are like trying to save money. But they should have really put in a battery that would last for atleast a day without having to charge. Maybe two. Stupid move on their half. Don't know who was planning the costs to manufacture this phone...

Also you guys should get an app called 'Advanced Task Killer' So you can be sure to close any remaining apps. Some can sneakily stay up even though you don't know it. I generally make it stop every other app after using it for a while. And then load them up again.

 

[slothrop]

i dunno i reckon this isn't actually a problem with the battery and is something wrong with the software somehow. when the android os isn't messed up the battery life has seemed pretty decent for me

 

[Walnut Whip]

Right now YES. HTC Sync deleted all my Outlook contacts and Companionlink keeps telling me to connect a USB cable when there's one fully connected. Result: a mobile phone I can't sync with Outlook and that's what I need to do. Frustrated - very!

 

[arlrb]

I read somewhere that task killers are not needed for 2.0 onwards, especially not 2.2. It manages apps/programs itself, just like iOS4.
Sure there maybe glitches in the SW that fool the OS, but task killers can cause more headaches than cure.

Best thing if unsure is to get an app such as easyswitch which lets you switch things like wifi, 3G, BT, sync, GPS etc on or off at the touch of a button from your home screen. This particular one has 12 switches that takes up only 4 grid squares (out of 16 [per screen]).

If an app(s) gets stuck running but you've stopped their usage of these power sucking bits, the app itself will use negligible power.