This isn't an Apple versus Android bash thread, it's a iOS user coming over to Android and trying to soften some of the problems I've had, no offense intended!
I tried once making the switch with a Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket but ended up going back to the iPhone because of what I felt were deficiencies in Gingerbread (and the screen res). Nevertheless, I'm back! I picked up an HTC One X before the Customs lock. I love it so far and ICS seems to be much improved over Gingerbread. I still think there are some small things that are designed poorly but perhaps that's a Sense thing versus a vanilla ICS thing. Anyway, I've got some questions that should help me ease the transition, any suggestions greatly appreciated!
When I'm on the phone for more than 10 minutes the screen goes dark and I can't get back to the Phone app, I can't get the screen to come back on. I didn't discover this until I was 22 minutes in to a customer service phone call. I was on hold with AT&T (of all people) and in the process got elevated to another tier in the support area, I needed to enter numbers to continue but could not get the display to come back on. I hit the power button and it disconnected the call. I called back and went thru the same process...again with the same result. What setting controls the display during a phone call? I can't find anything related to this in the settings area. With only one physical button it seems like it can't be turned back on without disconnecting. Very confusing.
When I get notifications and my phone is sitting near me in the off position it would be nice if the screen came on to show whether it's a phone call, phone message, text message, or email. I know when you choose a lock screen you can specify different themes, like weather, friend stream, etc. Is there any way to have the screen come on as part of the notification? It's nice to look down at it and see who or what is calling rather than have to pick it up and power it up to see what's going on.
The Recent Apps button. Seems like a waste to me. When I close windows in it is doing anything with the app like closing it or is it just removing windows but leaving the app running?
Is it me or does the GMail app suck? I can't zoom in on emails? That's unacceptable. This is Google's flagship operating system on HTC's flagship device with their own Gmail app and it can't do something as basic as that? The default email app is ok, what other email apps do you recommend? The gmail widget doesn't update. It's great that I can have a screen one swipe away that shows my gmail box but it never updates. Really?
The battery has been terrible and then fantastic. I watched it go from 13% to 5% in less than 15 minutes with the phone off. This was pretty telling, it was my 2nd day with the phone, I'd been playing with it all day so I wasn't disappointed that it had run down and been charged twice. What I was disappointed about was that I was driving up into the mountains at night with my wife waiting for me to call for directions and to let her know I was close. I checked the battery because I knew I was getting low and I saw it plunge down to 5%. What are the odds this happens to me on day 2 when I'm driving in the mountains! What apps are the biggest killers? Maps? I had GPS off. Lately the battery has been doing great with WIFI off (who needs WIFI when I have 4G LTE hitting 41 Mbps) but then I'll have these spurts where 20% disappears in a matter of 30 minutes with very little use. Still trying to sort that out. Does ICS need Task Killer or is the default Task Killer decent?
Overall I've been very happy with the phone but I have to admit the OS isn't nearly as polished or refined as iOS in some areas. Other areas it's clearly a superior product and with the screen size being valuable to me and the 4G LTE speeds, I can't imagine going back to an iPhone until they improve those things. Thanks!
I tried once making the switch with a Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket but ended up going back to the iPhone because of what I felt were deficiencies in Gingerbread (and the screen res). Nevertheless, I'm back! I picked up an HTC One X before the Customs lock. I love it so far and ICS seems to be much improved over Gingerbread. I still think there are some small things that are designed poorly but perhaps that's a Sense thing versus a vanilla ICS thing. Anyway, I've got some questions that should help me ease the transition, any suggestions greatly appreciated!
When I'm on the phone for more than 10 minutes the screen goes dark and I can't get back to the Phone app, I can't get the screen to come back on. I didn't discover this until I was 22 minutes in to a customer service phone call. I was on hold with AT&T (of all people) and in the process got elevated to another tier in the support area, I needed to enter numbers to continue but could not get the display to come back on. I hit the power button and it disconnected the call. I called back and went thru the same process...again with the same result. What setting controls the display during a phone call? I can't find anything related to this in the settings area. With only one physical button it seems like it can't be turned back on without disconnecting. Very confusing.
When I get notifications and my phone is sitting near me in the off position it would be nice if the screen came on to show whether it's a phone call, phone message, text message, or email. I know when you choose a lock screen you can specify different themes, like weather, friend stream, etc. Is there any way to have the screen come on as part of the notification? It's nice to look down at it and see who or what is calling rather than have to pick it up and power it up to see what's going on.
The Recent Apps button. Seems like a waste to me. When I close windows in it is doing anything with the app like closing it or is it just removing windows but leaving the app running?
Is it me or does the GMail app suck? I can't zoom in on emails? That's unacceptable. This is Google's flagship operating system on HTC's flagship device with their own Gmail app and it can't do something as basic as that? The default email app is ok, what other email apps do you recommend? The gmail widget doesn't update. It's great that I can have a screen one swipe away that shows my gmail box but it never updates. Really?
The battery has been terrible and then fantastic. I watched it go from 13% to 5% in less than 15 minutes with the phone off. This was pretty telling, it was my 2nd day with the phone, I'd been playing with it all day so I wasn't disappointed that it had run down and been charged twice. What I was disappointed about was that I was driving up into the mountains at night with my wife waiting for me to call for directions and to let her know I was close. I checked the battery because I knew I was getting low and I saw it plunge down to 5%. What are the odds this happens to me on day 2 when I'm driving in the mountains! What apps are the biggest killers? Maps? I had GPS off. Lately the battery has been doing great with WIFI off (who needs WIFI when I have 4G LTE hitting 41 Mbps) but then I'll have these spurts where 20% disappears in a matter of 30 minutes with very little use. Still trying to sort that out. Does ICS need Task Killer or is the default Task Killer decent?
Overall I've been very happy with the phone but I have to admit the OS isn't nearly as polished or refined as iOS in some areas. Other areas it's clearly a superior product and with the screen size being valuable to me and the 4G LTE speeds, I can't imagine going back to an iPhone until they improve those things. Thanks!
