Vanilla Android vs HTC Sense UI

[Enjroid]

Hey guys i'm new here and this may be a dumb question but Vanilla Android is just the plain google user interface correct? My main concerns are the features the Vanilla phones like the Nexus One has that the Incredible may not. So if any, i wana know what kind of features i will lose with the Sense UI..like for example the live wallpapers??

 

[woop]

You don't "lose" anything when you have Sense. You still have all the stock Android applications (and if you didn't, you could always download them off the Market). What Sense essentially does is "pretty" things up for you. You get additional HTC widgets, as well as the launcher at the bottom. You also get an HTC on-screen keyboard (vs. Android one) and the browser looks different. You don't lose any functionality at all. And yes, Sense on 2.1 still has live wallpapers.

 

[Enjroid]

Thanks, that's great so i guess the only advantage Vanilla has over Sense are the quicker updates?

 

[axel_2078]

Thanks, that's great so i guess the only advantage Vanilla has over Sense are the quicker updates?

As far as I can tell, yes.

 

[Tumaz04]

I heard someone state awhile back (not in this forum), that Vanilla is more customizable then Sense. Is there any truth to this? If so, why? Thanks in advance.

 

[woop]

I heard someone state awhile back (not in this forum), that Vanilla is more customizable then Sense. Is there any truth to this? If so, why? Thanks in advance.

Any Android phone is customizable.. its open source. If you don't like Sense, root, and flash a ROM without Sense, and you get the same thing.

 

[Stroupified]

Thanks, that's great so i guess the only advantage Vanilla has over Sense are the quicker updates?

ask the Droid, it looks like it might get the Official Verizon update the same time as the Eris does.

 

[Flaring Afro]

^ I agree. The droid still has not received any updates. With the updates, even without sense the manufacturer has to make sure their phone won't have any new issues with the updates so they will have to test a lot.

Now, the N1 will receive updates faster because it's google's phone.

 

[Minndroid]

I got a Sense question for you guys. Is there a way to change the background color of Sense? For example, it looks like 2.1 is using a rainbow motif whereas the Eris (1.5?) has more of a greenish brown background. And if I remember correctly the HD2 has a black background on WinMo. Does anyone know if this is customizable or are we stuck with skittles?

 

[AndroidsOfTara]

You don't "lose" anything when you have Sense. You still have all the stock Android applications (and if you didn't, you could always download them off the Market).

Um, what about things like the stock Android Contacts app? I personally like that better than the HTC People app, but I don't ever remember seeing it on the Eris I had for a while.

On the Eris, I was able to switch to the stock Android Home app, but I found no way of getting rid of all the HTC Sense apps and using the stock Android ones.

 

[Enjroid]

Good question Tara, i want to know too!

 

[Flaring Afro]

I have heard you can uninstall sense if you want.

 

[woop]

Um, what about things like the stock Android Contacts app? I personally like that better than the HTC People app, but I don't ever remember seeing it on the Eris I had for a while.

On the Eris, I was able to switch to the stock Android Home app, but I found no way of getting rid of all the HTC Sense apps and using the stock Android ones.

Theres no way to completely turn off all Sense elements because HTC has integrated it so deeply into the OS. There will always be Sense, even with it turned off (just to a lesser degree). I would think the only way possible would be to delete the entire UI off the phone - which I have no clue if its feasible as I don't own a Sense phone. In terms of the contact apps, are you referring to how their face shows and you can choose between #, email, or social network? I'm pretty sure that is still on the phone, as the people widget is only a widget, and not a full application. Again, I don't own a Sense phone so I can't physically check for you.

 

[woop]

^ I agree. The droid still has not received any updates. With the updates, even without sense the manufacturer has to make sure their phone won't have any new issues with the updates so they will have to test a lot.

Now, the N1 will receive updates faster because it's google's phone.

From what I understand, the original problem with the Droid updates was not Motorola's fault, but rather the distribution company in charge of sending out the updates (take that for what its worth). Now, I believe there is a kink in the update itself that needs to be reworked (hence a second delay).

 

[AndroidsOfTara]

In terms of the contact apps, are you referring to how their face shows and you can choose between #, email, or social network? I'm pretty sure that is still on the phone, as the people widget is only a widget, and not a full application. Again, I don't own a Sense phone so I can't physically check for you.

I'm referring to the contact manager on SenseUI Android phones called "People." It is an app, not a widget. The People app completely replaces the stock Android Contacts app.

While the People app is indeed a nice contact manager, I didn't like it because of all the social networking functionality baked into it.

 

[cwrig]

My opinion is that HTC Sense was a real benefit over Android 1.5 or 1.6. Its added a lot of function the OS did not have (Social networking etc...)

But Andorid 2.1 has most of what Sense has built into the OS now. IMHO Sense brings very little to the table on top of 2.1. I dont see anything in Sense that I crave that 2.1 OS or a 3rd party widget does not provide.

But we have seen how long HTC takes to release updates. Heros (like mine) are still on 1.5.

 

[plugnpl4y]

I also believe phones having HTC's SenseUI are flash enabled. I know my Droid Eris will load flash objects but my coworkers N1 will not (even though it's ironically, made by HTC).

 

[AndroidsOfTara]

My opinion is that HTC Sense was a real benefit over Android 1.5 or 1.6. Its added a lot of function the OS did not have (Social networking etc...)

But Andorid 2.1 has most of what Sense has built into the OS now. IMHO Sense brings very little to the table on top of 2.1. I dont see anything in Sense that I crave that 2.1 OS or a 3rd party widget does not provide.

I agree with this completely.

I still find it amusing that swiping between homescreens on slower devices like the Eris or Hero is still smoother than my rooted Droid with 2.1. Even with my Droid overclocked to maybe 800MHz, the Hero class devices still seem to swipe smoother. I think it has to do with the much higher resolution of the Droid, but it's still funny.

 

[red arrow]

I have heard you can uninstall sense if you want.

Does anyone here know if this has been confirmed? I've seen the video of SENSE UI being turned off on DESIRE and thought that would be a nice feature for INCREDIBLE as well. HTC Desire goes "Sense-less" and turns into Nexus One? | Android Central Another thing, can they really call it INCREDIBLE upon release with those leaked specs? After Sprint's anouncement Tuesday, HTC might as well call it LACKLUSTER. Stupid VZW, I've been waiting for this damn phone since November.

 

[Flaring Afro]

Does anyone here know if this has been confirmed? I've seen the video of SENSE UI being turned off on DESIRE and thought that would be a nice feature for INCREDIBLE as well. HTC Desire goes "Sense-less" and turns into Nexus One? | Android Central Another thing, can they really call it INCREDIBLE upon release with those leaked specs? After Sprint's anouncement Tuesday, HTC might as well call it LACKLUSTER. Stupid VZW, I've been waiting for this damn phone since November.

To expand on what I said earlier, I heard someone mention it. I'd check the eris part of this forum for confirmation.

Also, the evo is mostly show as it's screen is tft lcd (which isn't very readable in sunlight and drains the battery MUCH faster than amoled). The Incredible will have 8gb of space over 1 gb too (and it's possible the incredible will have 1gb of ram).

As a thought on battery, my htc touch has a 1100mah battery, a 2.5" lcd screen, and a 400mhz cpu and always had terrible battery life (im on 20% battery at the end of the day when I didn't use the phone that much at all, on a oem battery that's about 6 months old). My phone also doesn't even use 3g, so how do you think the evo will do with a 1300 or 1400 battery, 4.3" lcd, and 4g? The practicality of the Incredible should be enormously better.

 

[drhill]

Also, the evo is mostly show as it's screen is tft lcd (which isn't very readable in sunlight and drains the battery MUCH faster than amoled).

Actually OLED is horrendous in sunlight. The battery issue hasn't been definitively proven yet from anything I've seen. I'm not saying it isn't true, I just don't know for a fact. A lot of people complained about the N1's battery when it came out, but I don't know if that was from other use.

 

[Flaring Afro]

Actually OLED is horrendous in sunlight. The battery issue hasn't been definitively proven yet from anything I've seen. I'm not saying it isn't true, I just don't know for a fact. A lot of people complained about the N1's battery when it came out, but I don't know if that was from other use.

Actually, amoled has a much higher contrast ratio so it is better technology for sunlight, and by reviews it IS better. Also, by battery tests in reviews they do have less power drain (not to mention oled in other applications has been proven less power hungry than lcds).

People complaining about the N1's battery may be new to smartphones. I saw one complaint that they had to charge it every night INSTEAD OF ONCE A WEEK. Also, when you (or at least I) have a new phone you tend to play with it a lot more the first week or so using up the battery much faster. Also, could be because of the 1Ghz processor.

 

[drhill]

I agree about the battery, though I feel like android has room to get better with that, but hopefully screen technology will help.

Contrast ratio isn't everything. The currently implementation suffers from poor daylight viewing, Super AMOLED isn't supposed to have that problem. TFT can have it too depending on what is covering it.

The screen outside CAN'T be this bad for everyone using an N1. - Android Central Forums

Nexus One review -- Engadget

 

[Flaring Afro]

Contrast ratio isn't everything. The currently implementation suffers from poor daylight viewing, Super AMOLED isn't supposed to have that problem. TFT can have it too depending on what is covering it.

The screen outside CAN'T be this bad for everyone using an N1. - Android Central Forums

Nexus One review -- Engadget

I've seen good reviews on other amoled phones (not the super amoled). Hopefully the incredible will have a better screen. In those pics though, it looks as good as the droid, just more reflective so the camera flash probably made it even worse. Maybe the incredible screen will be less reflective?

 

[drhill]

Hopefully.