First impressions

[lodom]

I popped in to the VZW store to have a quick look/feel. It's only slightly bigger and feel is a little "grippier". I couldn't gauge the weight since it was tethered with alarm wire.

As you can guess, the processor feels snappier as does the data connection. I thing the camera will give much better results than my commando 1. And 8 MP should be more than enough for a phone that tends to just snap big ugly files. I do admit the iPhone has raised the bar for phone pix tho.

The cradle charger is on the opposite side so we'll be forced to buy another

My contract ran out last month but I'm not in a hurry to buy just yet. Maybe tomorrow

 

[madmanmarz]

Just got this phone. It's my 3rd Casio (boulder->commando->commando 4g). Prior to this I had the razor maxx but the screen would crack too easily. Finally after a year of ownership I decided that $100 for the new Casio was a better option than another crappy asurion replacement.

Now no hate on the old commando but this phone is in another league performance wise.

So far I like it. My gf has the rugby pro and they are about the same size. Performance seems snappier on the rugby but i trust the casio to be "tougher". Its well built, light but strong, has gorilla glass 2, and some nice bumpers to protect the screen from drops onto flat surfaces. Still I'm sure I'll be needing a case as there is not a big enough bezel around the screen to give me a warm and fuzzy.

Still, performance is good but the touchscreen is a tad sluggish. On that note even though I haven't tried using it in heavy rain/in the shower, maybe it's less sensitive on purpose. The screen definitely didn't freak out yesterday during some light sun showers that wouldve driven my maxx insane. The screen is also very bright and clear although the resolution is a bit disappointing.

Calls are clear and the speaker is nice and loud but the old commando was definitely louder.

The camera is bad ass. It can take 25 shots in .003 seconds. It has a quick shot mode, HDR, a really cool panorama and all types of settings. Casio definitely stepped up their game on it.

There are quite a few pre installed apps such as the usual gzone stuff and so far I have been able to disable all the junk. Unfortunately the phone comes with ICS on it and no word on an update just yet.

One of my fav pre installed widgets is a toggle for the power saving mode. I will definitely be using this until I can get a hold of the extended 2920 mah battery. Coming from the maxx this Casio definitely runs down faster. Its too bad the bigger battery has a different back piece which protrudes out like a bump. Still the size of the phone is excellent for one handed use. I'm over the whole giant phone thing.

Hope this helps anyone looking to buy.

 

[bestaudioguy]

What, its not rooted yet!!

C'mon guys!

 

[dartmar]

Went into my Verizon store to have a look and a feel. No commando's in sight. I asked when they were getting it, they said oh we have it in the back, there is no place for us to display it. They had no less than 3 Samsung S4's and and a number of 3's around too. No wonder they don't sell any. People don't even know it exists!

 

[lodom]

Yeah they've always been the "red-headed step child". Have you ever tried to find accessories?

 

[madmanmarz]

They have definitely been on the back burner, although I found the extended battery and other accessories on the Verizon site. The funny part was this new phone was on display next to the old Commando (can't believe they still sell it!).

I want to get the extended battery but I'm curious whether or not you lose NFC?

Also as far as rooting goes, the old Commando was pretty much impossible to root. Hopefully they update this thing soon but to be honest so far it works really well! Super happy with this phone although I have to say they have some competition from the S4 Active (doesn't seem anywhere near as "tough" though).

 

[constable65]

I just got mine. Switched from the s3. I needed the durability. S3 just seems fragile. S3 was easy to use. On this I have to search for everything I want to do. Cant find how to turn off app notifications.

 

[space wrangler]

I want to get the extended battery but I'm curious whether or not you lose NFC?

The extended battery cover has a NFC logo and the sticker says "when using NFC, tap the NFC logo". Haven't used NFC though.

 

[space wrangler]

Folders on the home page are limited to 16 items.

 

[VinylHanger]

Just got mine. I really miss my old one already. I suppose it will take time to get used to it, but I wish I could get an Android 2.0 skin for it, so all my stuff worked the same.

Things that bug me:
1. I liked my old alarm clock, the new one sucks. Since it is the first thing I use everyday, I am a bit nervous about the new one.

2. Double tapping the unlock. I liked the slide function better.

3. No hard button for the camera.

4. That reminds me, I hate the power button on top. It's too small and feels flimsy. Why does it have to be like every other phone.

5. They changed the lighted touch buttons around. No real need, they could have put them in the same place.

6. The ports don't feel as bulletproof as the old one, especially the headphone port. It flops around on mine.

7. The rubber skin is slick to the touch, and doesn't have much of a bezel around the edge of the glass.

8. To many nooks and crannies in the operating system for stuff. I have to push lots of "buttons" to even find the simplest stuff. This is more Android 4.x.x than the phone though.

That's it so far. I am a huge Casio Commando fan, I don't expect perfection, just total durability. The quirks are what make it so Casio.

I used to toss my old one on the ground when people asked me what phone I had. This one I'm not so sure about. I'm interested in how it will hold up for us.

 

[scary alien]

Nice reviews / feedback guys! :thumbup:

Always been curious about the G'zOne and how durable it is (a friend at work had the first G'zOne that I got to see first-hand and he said he really liked it).

Cheers!

 

[VinylHanger]

Well, I had my first, ok, second total lock up today. It is beginning to feel just like my old one.

All I need now is for it to push updates and auto restarts just as I need to make an important call and it will feel like I'm home again.

 

[tmcdonal]

Just curious - does it have a real flash on the camera and not the always on of the first Commando?

-Tom

 

[whofleck]

My first impression is great!

The upgrade from 2.3 to 4.0 alone is worth the price of the phone; it's simply mind-blowing.

The screen is larger but still suffers from the wonky wallpaper cropping nonsense the earlier Commando had (can be solved via an app). It's also much more responsive to touch. It appears less sturdy or drop-resistant due to the larger screen and smaller frame, but my accidental tests will tell more on that in time; I think I can trust the phone, honestly. The ports seem slightly less secure, but the battery is locked up much tighter than before.

Speaking of the battery, there is so much bloat on this thing that my battery simply will not survive a day on one charge without debloating. Unfortunately, without root (which I intend to help with), I don't know any other alternatives to debloating this phone or saving battery...any advice here would be great, but perhaps that warrants a new thread.

Overall, I believe the appearance and shape and size of the phone have all been improved, along with the numerous hardware and software additions I'm sure you've all read about by now.

To put it bluntly, if you are still using the older version of the Commando you are missing out. The Commando LTE (especially when we discover a root solution) is a phenomenal upgrade in every regard.

I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

 

[space wrangler]

Speaking of the battery, there is so much bloat on this thing that my battery simply will not survive a day on one charge without debloating. Unfortunately, without root (which I intend to help with), I don't know any other alternatives to debloating this phone or saving battery...any advice here would be great, but perhaps that warrants a new thread.

You can disable preinstalled apps.

 

[whofleck]

Just discovered this over the past couple hours, wasn't sure if it actually stopped any resource consumption...thanks for the reply!

 

[bestaudioguy]

My first impression is great!

The upgrade from 2.3 to 4.0 alone is worth the price of the phone; it's simply mind-blowing.

The screen is larger but still suffers from the wonky wallpaper cropping nonsense the earlier Commando had (can be solved via an app). It's also much more responsive to touch. It appears less sturdy or drop-resistant due to the larger screen and smaller frame, but my accidental tests will tell more on that in time; I think I can trust the phone, honestly. The ports seem slightly less secure, but the battery is locked up much tighter than before.

Speaking of the battery, there is so much bloat on this thing that my battery simply will not survive a day on one charge without debloating. Unfortunately, without root (which I intend to help with), I don't know any other alternatives to debloating this phone or saving battery...any advice here would be great, but perhaps that warrants a new thread.

Overall, I believe the appearance and shape and size of the phone have all been improved, along with the numerous hardware and software additions I'm sure you've all read about by now.

To put it bluntly, if you are still using the older version of the Commando you are missing out. The Commando LTE (especially when we discover a root solution) is a phenomenal upgrade in every regard.

I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

Have been using the commando for almost two years. Has been rooted for almost as long (Thanks). On the M080 build too!
Hope a root is discovered soon as my upgrade comes up the end of August!
Really love the phone now so can only imagine what the new one does!

 

[Furrner]

I have been rooted for a couple of weeks now, less than five minutes and very easy to do. It is definitely a step up performance wise over the old Commando. The only issue I have so far is that the GPS tracking is nothing like as good as the old one, I hope it is just a firmware issue that will get fixed when an update comes out.

 

[RealtyPro7]

Just discovered this over the past couple hours, wasn't sure if it actually stopped any resource consumption...thanks for the reply!

Just wondering if you have noticed more free RAM or battery life since deleting or at least disabling the bloat that would let you turn them off? And did those item remain disabled after a power down or battery pull?

 

[RealtyPro7]

I have been rooted for a couple of weeks now, less than five minutes and very easy to do. It is definitely a step up performance wise over the old Commando. The only issue I have so far is that the GPS tracking is nothing like as good as the old one, I hope it is just a firmware issue that will get fixed when an update comes out.

Did that GPS weakness pop up after rooted or did you see it before as well? That is an important function for me and needs to work as well if not better than the old 711. Since starting to use a 4G iPad as a nav in the car rather than the old 3G Commando or built in unit, I found out how badly they were lagging. I hoped to see very good GPS performance when/if I do run back up to the store to grab the 811. I have been using the Google maps nav, the Apple version and Waze. Each seems to have pros and cons. I hope to see a new "super nav" with a blending of Waze and Google! Someday, lol...

 

[Furrner]

Not sure as I had it rooted 2 hours after picking it up.

It seems to work just fine when I am using Waze or Google as navigation during my daily drives, zero issues so far. I noticed that when I used Strava to track bicycle rides it came up short on a known distance ride, about 5 percent. I then did another couple of rides and carried both my old Commando and the new one, each time I got a very similar result. Now I just stuff my old deactivated Commando down in my Camlebak to track the ride and have my new one in the pouch on my chest harness for phone use.

 

[Furrner]

Just wondering if you have noticed more free RAM or battery life since deleting or at least disabling the bloat that would let you turn them off? And did those item remain disabled after a power down or battery pull?

I am sitting at about 250+ free RAM and 829 (was 645 when new) ROM after root and debloat. Not sure if battery life is better as I rooted the phone within a couple of hours of getting it.

 

[scary alien]

Guys,

Looks like the original intent of the thread wasn't really root-related, so let's try to keep those (root) references in the minority so we don't drown-out the non-root posts (I do think there's a good mix in here with a good perspective of root for the non-root folks :thumbup:, but just wanted everyone to be mindful).

Thanks!

 

[RealtyPro7]

Not sure as I had it rooted 2 hours after picking it up.

It seems to work just fine when I am using Waze or Google as navigation during my daily drives, zero issues so far. I noticed that when I used Strava to track bicycle rides it came up short on a known distance ride, about 5 percent.

Not to take the thread in the root vs non rooted direction (mentioned by scary alien) since I don't plan to root if I pick one up, but I am interested to see of others have found their GPS to be a bit off on the 811 since I expect it to be better than my old phone. That is good to know that it at least seems to work fine for navigation. Hope an update corrects the other problem since it will be also used with the mountain biking app as well as some of the car performance apps. I went thru a few ASUS tablets that had bad GPS before giving the 4G iPad a try. It has been flawless in every regard except Apple doesn't always play well with others, and I have Android and Windows products.

The other important concern I have seen posted is that the new phone seems to be less durable and not as water tight. When checking out the one in the store a few times, I couldn't throw it on the floor due to the cable, but the ear phone jack cover did pop right open when smacked against the wall. If that happened even once in the water or rain, that would be the end of the phone, thereby defeating the purpose?

The C711's biggest shortcoming may be low on board storage and nonexistent ram. The store rep told me that the reason the new C811 floor model had most of the ram used up before I even begin to install all my business apps and the extras just for fun, was due to their demo app. I spent some time messing with the phone and shut down, disabled and deleted everything I could and most of the ram was still in use. The amount of on board space seemed fine at about 9GB available and a 32GB SD card can be added. I was told that when the phone was handed to me with the demo removed etc, a few hundred additional MB of ram would be freed for use. Can anyone that picked up their phone verify that immediate gain? Because another store rep told me the exact opposite. That I would likely find much less ram than expected, which is why the other phones now feature 2GB of ram (and quad core) to run all the apps on most phones.

I hope not to "upgrade" to a less durable phone with outdated speed and tech. Casio guessed wrong by assuming that everyone buying rugged phones would be fine with tech specs a year or two behind. Seems to me most of the people looking for a tough phone would rather pay a few extra bucks to have gotten specs more in line with the better phones. And maybe port covers with proper o-rings that would actually keep the water out? If I pick one up, I will be sure to post both the good and the bad once it sees some action at work and play!

 

[Furrner]

It is much, much faster than the old Commando. It would hang and freeze regularly, the new one has so far handled everything I do without a problem. I don't know what you are running but unless it is particularly power hungry I think you will be fine.