First impression

GriffonZ

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Hey guys,

First, this post is not meant to incite any iPhone vs Droid nonsense. As you will notice this is my first post here, I currently have an iPhone 4 with AT&T. I basically hate AT&T, and with the release of the Thunderbolt and its use of Verizons 4g network, I got pretty excited about this phone. Please bear in mind this is my first impression of ever really using any Android phone.

So, I just returned from the Verizon store and played with the Thunderbolt for the first time. On first impression versus my iPhone, the keyboard seemed unresponsive, where the iPhone would take light touches to activate a keypress, I had to be much more deliberate with the TB, even after running the calibration. Is there something else I'm missing here? I found it very difficult to type effectively/quickly with the way it was.

The other issue was related to performance in general. When sliding between screens the iPhone transitions smoothly, same with traversing lists. The TB seemed like it had a stutter, and did not feel very fluid at all. Is this something that would be improved by rooting the phone and removing bloatware?

Again, in no way am I trying to start a versus war here, frankly, I WANT to move to a Droid phone, I just was not really impressed with my first experience with this phone. Are my concerns unfounded? Easily fixed? Am I just ignorant ( please tell me yes :) )

Any other iPhone converts here that could chime in? Basically I want to be talked into this thing!

Thanks!
 

nerdslogic

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Not an iphone coverter here....Droid all the way. I don't know about the TB as I have stuck to Moto phone's due to IME their reliability. I just always saw HTC as generic....probably uncalled for and irrational but it is what it is.

I am holding out for the D3....maybe just take a D2 for a run as a test and then decide if you want to hold out for the D3 or whatever. I know both my buddies who are Iphoners....one has a 4....maybe both I dont know...anyway they both Love\hate my D2.
 

CsonkaBear

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Hey guys,

First, this post is not meant to incite any iPhone vs Droid nonsense. As you will notice this is my first post here, I currently have an iPhone 4 with AT&T. I basically hate AT&T, and with the release of the Thunderbolt and its use of Verizons 4g network, I got pretty excited about this phone. Please bear in mind this is my first impression of ever really using any Android phone.

So, I just returned from the Verizon store and played with the Thunderbolt for the first time. On first impression versus my iPhone, the keyboard seemed unresponsive, where the iPhone would take light touches to activate a keypress, I had to be much more deliberate with the TB, even after running the calibration. Is there something else I'm missing here? I found it very difficult to type effectively/quickly with the way it was.

The other issue was related to performance in general. When sliding between screens the iPhone transitions smoothly, same with traversing lists. The TB seemed like it had a stutter, and did not feel very fluid at all. Is this something that would be improved by rooting the phone and removing bloatware?

Again, in no way am I trying to start a versus war here, frankly, I WANT to move to a Droid phone, I just was not really impressed with my first experience with this phone. Are my concerns unfounded? Easily fixed? Am I just ignorant ( please tell me yes :) )

Any other iPhone converts here that could chime in? Basically I want to be talked into this thing!

Thanks!

My advice: Stick with your i-phone.
 

Mikedd_87

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Keep in mind, the phone you tested was a display phone, which people relentlessly load up with crap from the market and change settings on just to play around, as well as the children that get their hands on it.

I get my TB tomorrow, and had a chance to play with one today from a guy at work. All I have to say is WOW, it blew my DX out of the water.

One thing that really impressed me was the "Skins/Scenes" Not sure what it was called, but you could basically set layouts such as your "Work" layout could be tailored to email/calendar widgets, or you could do a "Fun" layout just tailored for games, toys, etc...

I'm impressed, even more excited now to get mine. That was my first impression :)
 

tu3218

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The stuttering you talk about regarding between switching screens, are you mixing that up with the elastic effect? Just curious as I don't see the stutter on mine at least. They are both great phones though.

Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums App
 

alboboy10

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Hey guys,

First, this post is not meant to incite any iPhone vs Droid nonsense. As you will notice this is my first post here, I currently have an iPhone 4 with AT&T. I basically hate AT&T, and with the release of the Thunderbolt and its use of Verizons 4g network, I got pretty excited about this phone. Please bear in mind this is my first impression of ever really using any Android phone.

So, I just returned from the Verizon store and played with the Thunderbolt for the first time. On first impression versus my iPhone, the keyboard seemed unresponsive, where the iPhone would take light touches to activate a keypress, I had to be much more deliberate with the TB, even after running the calibration. Is there something else I'm missing here? I found it very difficult to type effectively/quickly with the way it was.

The other issue was related to performance in general. When sliding between screens the iPhone transitions smoothly, same with traversing lists. The TB seemed like it had a stutter, and did not feel very fluid at all. Is this something that would be improved by rooting the phone and removing bloatware?

Again, in no way am I trying to start a versus war here, frankly, I WANT to move to a Droid phone, I just was not really impressed with my first experience with this phone. Are my concerns unfounded? Easily fixed? Am I just ignorant ( please tell me yes :) )

Any other iPhone converts here that could chime in? Basically I want to be talked into this thing!

Thanks!

One of the phones I saw in the store didn't have an SD card. Another one had task manager (something you should not have) another one had about 30 widgets and a million apps...keep in mind your iphone was configured the way you liked it.

I played with my friends 3GS (about a year ago) and I had a droid 1 (unrooted) and I was glad that I had the D1. Not cause iphone was bad, but cause it was lacking a million things I liked in my D1.

If you like simplicity, Android is not for you.
 

slinky

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I haven't noticed much of any stutter. On occasion it might happen if it's pulling something from the SD card. Honestly, I had an iPhone. I will trade any occasional stuttering and other problems for the freedom to drag and drop any and all MP3 and movie files I have without iTunes getting in the way. I will live with having a somewhat lesser media player provided that I can drag and drop MS Word files and others without having to using @@#%ing WiFi to transfer files using only the application that I intend to use on the iPhone. In Android I can open the app and search for any file I want, just like on any computer.

If you keep stuff in the internal memory, you will have little if any stuttering. To be honest, I didn't notice too much on the Incredible. I haven't noticed any on the Thunderbolt. The keyboard... I don't know. I hate all touchscreen keyboards. :)
 

kptphalkon

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If the only things you rate a phone on are smoothness of screen transitions and touchscreen accuracy (which I have never had a problem with), then not just Android but smartphones are not for you.
 

nerdslogic

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I must admit the iphone 4 owner I do know who's wife just got the TB is talking about switching to VZW for the TB. I am thinking that YOUR TB would be different then the ones you played with in the stores.
 
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GriffonZ

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If the only things you rate a phone on are smoothness of screen transitions and touchscreen accuracy (which I have never had a problem with), then not just Android but smartphones are not for you.

These certainly aren't the only things I would rate a phone on, but, as a quick first impression as far as user experience goes, these stood out to me. I merely wanted to know, are these things other people noticed, was it due to it being a store model, is it the bloat ware, etc

Don't be so quick to judge.
 

alboboy10

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If the only things you rate a phone on are smoothness of screen transitions and touchscreen accuracy (which I have never had a problem with), then not just Android but smartphones are not for you.

These certainly aren't the only things I would rate a phone on, but, as a quick first impression as far as user experience goes, these stood out to me. I merely wanted to know, are these things other people noticed, was it due to it being a store model, is it the bloat ware, etc

Don't be so quick to judge.

That's one of the biggest reasons I'm actually getting TB. My dx is very smooth, but internet is a bit choppy. HTC phones in general don't have that problem. Iphone is smoother with everything, but I don't like the design of their OS.
 

TDevilsG

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Hey guys,

First, this post is not meant to incite any iPhone vs Droid nonsense. As you will notice this is my first post here, I currently have an iPhone 4 with AT&T. I basically hate AT&T, and with the release of the Thunderbolt and its use of Verizons 4g network, I got pretty excited about this phone. Please bear in mind this is my first impression of ever really using any Android phone.

So, I just returned from the Verizon store and played with the Thunderbolt for the first time. On first impression versus my iPhone, the keyboard seemed unresponsive, where the iPhone would take light touches to activate a keypress, I had to be much more deliberate with the TB, even after running the calibration. Is there something else I'm missing here? I found it very difficult to type effectively/quickly with the way it was.

The other issue was related to performance in general. When sliding between screens the iPhone transitions smoothly, same with traversing lists. The TB seemed like it had a stutter, and did not feel very fluid at all. Is this something that would be improved by rooting the phone and removing bloatware?

Again, in no way am I trying to start a versus war here, frankly, I WANT to move to a Droid phone, I just was not really impressed with my first experience with this phone. Are my concerns unfounded? Easily fixed? Am I just ignorant ( please tell me yes :) )

Any other iPhone converts here that could chime in? Basically I want to be talked into this thing!

Thanks!


In response to some of your questions and comments. The keyboard does take a little bit of getting used to. I have switched between several different keyboards, however, and am trying to fit with the one that works best for me. I would immediately recommend Swype and Slideit. Both are fantastic keyboards that make texting on a virtual keyboard much quicker.

I'm not sure what you might have experienced with that screens slowing down when navigating. I have yet to experience this problem on my phone and in fact, this is the fastest navigating phone I have ever used. Granted, I have upgraded from a Droid 1 to the Thunderbolt so I have not experienced using the Iphone, but I did have an Ipod Touch.

I do not think that the "bloatware" described really slows down the phone. Its all very small things and the card is 40 gigs (32 realized).

If you are comfortable with the Iphone, I would suggest sticking with it. Similar to how I am comfortable with my Droid interface and wouldn't go to the Iphone. I have two individual devices dedicated to music: an Ipod Classic (180 gigs) and a Sony Walkman (16 gigs). Thus, I'm looking for a purely powerhouse phone that can load internet pages almost instantaneously and will eventually be rooted and loaded with custom roms. Thats why I love this phone and am glad with the decision. Furthermore, I have seen a difference of night and day with the battery today, as it has lasted with moderate use since 7AM (it's 11:30PM now). I would recommend the TB if you really want to try something new and want blazing fast 4G coverage.
 
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GriffonZ

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Thanks for all the great replies. After reading them all, I decided I needed to have another go with one. So, I headed over to the local Best Buy up the street, where I was able to play around further with one, which you have to specifically ask to use. What a difference.

Seriously, the difference between what I used at Best Buy and the two demos at the Verizon store were night and day. Screens switched effortlessly, the keyboard responded as expected. I'm glad to know I'm not crazy or extremely anal :)

I don't know enough about the Droid platform to say what the difference was yet but, the issues I outlined in my original post were non existent. Maybe it was the abuse from the public, maybe they needed rebooted, I don't know.

Anyways, if anyone else out there reading this ends up having a first impression like I did, make sure to get your hands on a fresh TB for a real impression!

Thanks again everyone.
 
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