-
After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.
Fix for Pentile Screen?
- Thread starter below_radar_00
- Start date
H
HanSolo
Guest
I think one of the main reasons that Motorola went with pentile is because of lower cost, not necessarily out of a desire to conserve battery life for the average customer. I say this only because, according to the posts I've read here and in reviews on the net, battery life is not great if you're on LTE for extended periods of time. Many of you who are reporting 12 or 15 plus hours of life are on extended batteries anyway.
The article cited to by xmr405o is a good read, but the end result is basically that pentile can be sharp, yet still "grainy". I wouldn't want a "grainy" screen. But regardless, people who love the display are in a great situation. Those who hate it are not. It's completely subjective, and no amount of reading about how pentile display really is or isn't bad is going to change anyone's mind.
Edit: I must add that I don't understand the reasoning of those who love their Bionics but not the screen. Isn't the screen what you look at whenever you're using the phone? If it has an awesome processor, blazing 4G speed, etc., but the games you play or the movies you watch look like garbage, isn't that enough to return it and wait for something better?
Not trying to start a flame war, I'm just curious on the reasoning.
The article cited to by xmr405o is a good read, but the end result is basically that pentile can be sharp, yet still "grainy". I wouldn't want a "grainy" screen. But regardless, people who love the display are in a great situation. Those who hate it are not. It's completely subjective, and no amount of reading about how pentile display really is or isn't bad is going to change anyone's mind.
Edit: I must add that I don't understand the reasoning of those who love their Bionics but not the screen. Isn't the screen what you look at whenever you're using the phone? If it has an awesome processor, blazing 4G speed, etc., but the games you play or the movies you watch look like garbage, isn't that enough to return it and wait for something better?
Not trying to start a flame war, I'm just curious on the reasoning.
sean76
Android Expert
Checked out the Bionic for the first time last night. Colors are definately washed out compared to the phones next to it. The Droid Charge was almost too colorful,very saturated. Surprising they haven't added adjustments to either increase/decrease color level or sharpness,etc, like a TV has. I would probably detune the Charge and increase the Bionic. Also did notice the matrix problem with the Bionic. It seemed more noticeable with certain colors. At times, it wasn't noticeable at all and other images/shots it was like WOW, I really see it there. Also, the pics I took with the Bionic camera all seemed washed out as well. This doesn't bode well for this phone IMO....
ice9mike
Newbie
Mine goes back today. The grainy chainlink screen, the high pitched squeal when listening to music, the slow focusing camera that takes out of focus pictures, the crap battery life, are all reasons I decided to part ways.
I realized the extent of my displeasure with the bionic when I started to dread using it. I never had that problem with the charge. In fact I really enjoy looking at it; saturated colors and all.
There are some great positives about the bionic but they are not overwhelming. If you can put these screens side by side in person, I think you can't help but see the difference.
I realized the extent of my displeasure with the bionic when I started to dread using it. I never had that problem with the charge. In fact I really enjoy looking at it; saturated colors and all.
There are some great positives about the bionic but they are not overwhelming. If you can put these screens side by side in person, I think you can't help but see the difference.
The Pentile screen has two primary pros and that is significantly more efficient battery use and it is the brightest screen technology on the market(which makes outdoor visibility in sunlight extremely good). The cons are that when displaying certain colors next to each other(not all colors) there can be a jagged appearance.
Being unhappy with the Bionic's battery life should have nothing to do with believing/not believing that Pentile is more battery efficient, the two are not mutually exclusive. A phone can have a Pentile screen and still have less than great battery life for a million reasons.
Consider that the HTC Thunderbolt has a single core 1Ghz processor, 4G LTE support, and a Super LCD screen while the Bionic has a dual core 1Ghz processor, 4G LTE support, and a Pentile screen. Now consider that the Bionic has significantly better battery life than the Thunderbolt, it's not even close. While the pentile screen is not the only reason for that, it is a contributing factor.
The phone would have even worse battery life if it had a standard LCD or an AMOLED screen. The phone's battery life is not stellar because it has more battery hogging specs than any phone on the market. The LTE and the dual core processor being the primary culprits, no other phone has to power both of those power hungry parts at the same time. I'd say going with the Pentile display considering these features was out of necessity if they wanted the battery life to be reasonable. If anyone thinks that if Samsung threw a current generation LTE chip into a Galaxy S2 that the battery life would be any better than the Bionic, they are out of their mind.
Every single display on the market has pros and cons, people need to quit with the talking like there are only cons to Pentile and only pros to AMOLED, it makes them look naive. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. If the phone had AMOLED we would be seeing posts here about how it's impossible to see the screen if you stand outside. But because we have a Pentile screen you don't see posts like that. Pick your poison.
Being unhappy with the Bionic's battery life should have nothing to do with believing/not believing that Pentile is more battery efficient, the two are not mutually exclusive. A phone can have a Pentile screen and still have less than great battery life for a million reasons.
Consider that the HTC Thunderbolt has a single core 1Ghz processor, 4G LTE support, and a Super LCD screen while the Bionic has a dual core 1Ghz processor, 4G LTE support, and a Pentile screen. Now consider that the Bionic has significantly better battery life than the Thunderbolt, it's not even close. While the pentile screen is not the only reason for that, it is a contributing factor.
The phone would have even worse battery life if it had a standard LCD or an AMOLED screen. The phone's battery life is not stellar because it has more battery hogging specs than any phone on the market. The LTE and the dual core processor being the primary culprits, no other phone has to power both of those power hungry parts at the same time. I'd say going with the Pentile display considering these features was out of necessity if they wanted the battery life to be reasonable. If anyone thinks that if Samsung threw a current generation LTE chip into a Galaxy S2 that the battery life would be any better than the Bionic, they are out of their mind.
Every single display on the market has pros and cons, people need to quit with the talking like there are only cons to Pentile and only pros to AMOLED, it makes them look naive. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. If the phone had AMOLED we would be seeing posts here about how it's impossible to see the screen if you stand outside. But because we have a Pentile screen you don't see posts like that. Pick your poison.
Zohar127
Member
Back when I was ready to get into the Android world I was comparing a DX2 to the Charge. I went to the store and used the X2 for about 20 minutes. Then I walked over to the Charge and the second I laid eyes upon the SAMOLED+ screen I knew I could never go back to the X2. I used the Charge for about the same amount of time then walked back over to the X2 and it was ridiculous how much worse the pentile screen looked.
Other than the deeper more vibrant colors, the OLED technology blows every other screen out of the water because blacks are black. There is no back light washing across the screen and because of that the colors are pure and when you're looking at a totally black screen it's indistinguishable from the edge of the phone.
As far as battery life goes I'm pretty sure OLED is better because black = OFF and the darker a color is the less electricity it requires. It also doesn't have to run a back light at all times. The only problem is the whites are ever-so-slightly blueish because there's no such thing as a white LED.
It might sound petty, but the Pentile screen will keep me from ever getting a Bionic, or any Moto phone as long as they insist on using it.
Other than the deeper more vibrant colors, the OLED technology blows every other screen out of the water because blacks are black. There is no back light washing across the screen and because of that the colors are pure and when you're looking at a totally black screen it's indistinguishable from the edge of the phone.
As far as battery life goes I'm pretty sure OLED is better because black = OFF and the darker a color is the less electricity it requires. It also doesn't have to run a back light at all times. The only problem is the whites are ever-so-slightly blueish because there's no such thing as a white LED.
It might sound petty, but the Pentile screen will keep me from ever getting a Bionic, or any Moto phone as long as they insist on using it.
marine one
Well-Known Member
How is that done?
droidfan1
Android Enthusiast
You have to be rooted.
Then you need an app. I'm not sure if ROM Toolbox works (free in the market) as I didn't use that.
I used "Android Overclock" which I purchased a long time ago to overclock my droid x.
Remember not to change too much. I only changed my LCD Density from 240 to 260.
Maybe you should have played with it before you bought it to see if you would like it?
nj02vette
Android Expert
The DInc's AMOLED screen was also pentile, if I recall correctly.
Coming from an Incredible to an X, I too at first somewhat questioned the "washed out" screen. But a couple of things need to be kept in mind. First off, you get used to it quickly. Second, the display of the DInc was severely oversaturated, while the DX was actually one of the most color accurate screens available at the time.
I grew to like the fact that my screen actually showed whites as white, instead of bluish and pictures didn't have a cartoonish effect. While it initially appears "vibrant" you don't realize you're looking at a false color palatte.
sean76
Android Expert
So many valid points...when u put them side by side...its basically Apples and Oranges..
xmr405o
Android Expert
You can love the bionic and like the screen. However, I do agree if you hate the display or anything else then thats grounds for returning a phone.
Some people dont think games or movies look like "garbage" on the bionic.
Ya gotta wonder,why are we even having this debate??? My OG's screen isn't HD,but it's smooth and the colors are solid. So why is it that we're going backwards with this tech? Is it so hard to produce a solid looking, clear, color balanced screen? They do it everyday with TV's, computers, etc. I understand HD screens are "coming soon". So why on earth would they go from decent screens in the OG, to matrix looking pentile ones on the Big Boy? Seems completely ret@rded to me.....
nj02vette
Android Expert
Pentile does use less power and is brighter, especially in sunlight. Two very valid reasons for a portable device.
Power becomes even more important when you're running big screens, dual cores, 4G, etc. All in a thinner profile. Those are items that the OG Droid doesn't have to consider.
However, in the end, I honestly believe the choice was made for price, as pentile tech has higher yeilds, or something like that, because there are fewer subpixels. Most likely, the screen was half the price and that was enough to sway decisions.
I'm not saying I agree with the decsion, just that I can understand it. Put a better display on the Bionic and a lot of people would have picked it up, including me.
H
HanSolo
Guest
Why charge $300 for it then? It's just so unreasonable. I'm waiting for Prime, main reason being screen difference. Even if Prime is $400, it will be worth it. Bionic should've been $199.
jamor
Android Expert
Because every LTE Smart Phone will now be $299 coming out on Verizon. Better get used to it.
jamor
Android Expert
There is a big difference between the Incredible AMOLED pentile and Motorola lcd Pentile however.
H
HanSolo
Guest
No, I'll just get used to either paying what a phone is worth, or not buying the POS at Verizon.
RadioShack and Verizon Making Sweet Music Together on September 15, Cutting $100 Off of Select Smartphones - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog
This will be the norm; other outlets selling this thing for what it's most likely worth, which in the case of the Bionic is sure as hell not $300.
They sell em for so much so they can keep you on a contract. No way they're worth $500 or $600. You can get a tablet for that price! But if they lower the prices down,then you can get one for cash outright and without a contract. If it sold for around $300 without a contract,which is probably about right price wise,heck then I'd go out and buy it without a contract!