Disappointed

[Guest Gerson2k]

Thanks. I turned mine around and it doesn't rotate the display. I've also checked the menu options and I have the option selected.

Android 2.1 will only orientate one way (IIRC counter clockwise) and it isn't supported on the home screen if using the standard launcher. Install launcher pro as others have suggested - it makes a huge difference.

[Guest oscheng]

I couldn't agree more but if I can't type a message out of the box though I think that I'm entitled to be a bit put out :rolleyes: I've even looked at some of the new budget Android models and they always seem to fail on key things such as the screen.

One of the fundamental paradigm shifts of Android is that if you don't like it... try one of the alternatives.

If the keyboard is insufficiently wide then there isn't a lot that can be done about the screen. However, you have 2 keyboards installed by default. 1 of them has 3 key layouts including a t9 and one where it basically merges 2 adjacent keys on a qwerty layout into 1 bigger key then uses its built-in dictionary to figure out what you are typing.

There are a multitude of other options and while I know that not everything in Android is intuitive (I wish...) you can usually end up with something that you are happy with.

[Guest Maringer]

I agree that the standard Android keyboard isn't up to much. I tried it very, very briefly before installing the HTC keyboard which is much better (though I've since moved on to Swype). As others have mentioned, though, with the plethora of keyboards available on Android the poor standard keyboard shouldn't really be a problem.

As for the interface appearing less smooth than the iPhone, bear in mind that the SF is shifting 2.5 x the pixels of any iPhone (but for the extremely expensive iPhone 4) so it is perhaps not too surprising that it isn't quite as slick. Most people will agree that the much better, higher-resolution screen more than makes up for this and, from my viewpoint, the interface seems slick enough, something which will only improve when Froyo arrives in non-Alpha form!

[Guest flopyro]

Hello,

I just ordered my Blade from eBay this week, i hope to get it by the end of the week, i have one question on you:

what do you mean by: VM to 32 ? -> VideoMemory to 32 Mb? is there an option, or an app to set the video memory to 32mb ?

thank you!

[Guest Rem1x]

Hello,

I just ordered my Blade from eBay this week, i hope to get it by the end of the week, i have one question on you:

what do you mean by: VM to 32 ? -> VideoMemory to 32 Mb? is there an option, or an app to set the video memory to 32mb ?

thank you!

Java Virtual Memory, IIRC.

But yes, there is an app you can run to make it 32MB

[Guest goatee]

Java Virtual Memory, IIRC.

But yes, there is an app you can run to make it 32MB

http://www.appbrain.com/app/vm-heap-tool-(...o2k6.vmheaptool - this is it.

[Guest Xefan]

• the 600 MHz processor seems to be clearly lacking. Scrolling through menus is jerky and the animated wallpapers (e.g. Nexus 1 and water) are not done well

It's a £99 phone, what speed processor are you expecting for that? The iPhone and iPhone 3G only have a ~630mhz processor supposedly underclocked to ~400mhz which is why you saw similar lagging on that with iOS4. I'm not sure what sort of solution you expect here, if you're paying for £99 hardware and expecting it to have the power of £550 hardware then you're living in a fantasy world. But, despite all that, for £99 you're still getting more bang for your buck than you would be with pretty much any other handset on the market. Personally although I notice tiny bits of a lag now and again (I dropped all the Orange crap which did improve things somewhat) I don't find it to be problematic, and certainly not in the context of the price I paid for the device. Perhaps if you want a really wanted a high end phone though you should've shelled out £550 for an HTC Desire or similar, like you will have for your iPhone either over the course of a contract, or outright for a PAYG one. You'll probably then complain about the diminishing returns though- paying 5.5x as much for something that'll net you negligible relative benefit other than the removal of slight jerkiness when the phone is both doing background processing and you're trying to navigate the menus. Hardly seems worth it.

• the screen is bright and sharp but for my older eyes, some of the text (e.g. the menu captions) is uncomfortably small to read

Google for accessibility apps or something, I'm sure they exist aplenty. Be warned though, if you're developing make sure you design your UIs for the standard font sizes as the vast majority of people wont appreciate massive font sizes or whatever, your app will need to scale to meet all needs. But then, as you were a developer by profession you understand the importance of usability and accessibility, right?

• when entering text into a message, the display would not rotate (either way) so there’s not much space to see the message (why leave the contacts list in view when you’re typing a message when you could just pick from a list and then close it ?) and the keypad is just too small for my fingers. I can type comfortably both ways on the iPhone.

Rotate's fine for me, I'm not sure what the problem is. Try installing a different keyboard if that's what you want, maybe even try something like SlideIT.

[Guest flopyro]

Thanks to Rem1x and goatee for the quick response / link, i will download the app now :huh:

thanks again !

edit: ok, i cannot download it, i need the phone to do that :rolleyes:, i will wait for the phone and download it.

Edited November 9, 2010 by flopyro

[Guest goatee]

Ok, the OP has been bashed quite enough. Maybe it's not a fair comparison to make between a £99 handset and one 5 times more expensive, but there's no need to deride him for making the comparison - the performance of the SF beats the HTC Hero which was Android top dog when the iPhone 3GS came out.

In terms of auto-rotate not working, it sounds like your handset is faulty, perhaps the general lack of performance is also down to a faulty handset.

Overall, it's not as smooth as the iPhone, but particularly with Modaco R4 installed, it should generally be really smooth. As others have said, if the stock portrait mode keyboard doesn't suit, try the different touchpal layouts, and you can also try some of the other keyboards on the marketplace. I always come back to Swype, though I don't know if the beta is open to new users.

As some others have said, if performance isn't meeting your expectations, you need to try a handset with Froyo - or ultimately, a handset with a 1GHz CPU.

[Guest tijnam]

IMO in this case the processor speed is not related the smoothness - i think its an android thing - in fact if you have launcer pro or adw launcher , try setting the animation speeds down , i think the default speeds are too high , and it feels even smoother,

also here are some keyboards you could use

http://hubpages.com/hub/Android-Softkeyboa...-should-you-use

Edited November 9, 2010 by tijnam

[Guest finbaar]

Thanks to Rem1x and goatee for the quick response / link, i will download the app now :huh:

thanks again !

edit: ok, i cannot download it, i need the phone to do that :rolleyes:, i will wait for the phone and download it.

Of course you need your phone rooted for VM Heap to work. Sorry for repeating this if you already knew.

[Guest netdudeuk]

I spent quite some time on the device last night and this is where we're at right now

the laggy performance is clearly down to initial boot up. After a couple of minutes the animated wallpapers are smooth and so is the menu scrolling.

the locational services are impressive. Sky map, the compass app and the mapping (street view using the compass, etc) and navigation with audible guidance are good to have for free

the Orange stuff isn't an issue. You don't have to really see it anyway

the bar code scanner app is cool. I installed something else in a flash with it

the Google Shopper app is even more impressive. I scanned a couple of books and there they were with the prices

the Google voice search app is also good but that's also in the iPhone

the wi-fi drop out is a pain. I've seen that there are utilities which apparently prevent the issue but not installed one

I installed the SMS package that looks like the iPhone way of doing things. I've not been able to try it though as I've not had a SIM card to use with it

I installed the K9 mail package but I'm not sure how much I'll like this. It picked up my normal ISP e-mails but I'd need to get used to the look and feel of it. I've already made some of the fonts larger for ease of use.

[Guest bear7364]

Of course you need your phone rooted for VM Heap to work. Sorry for repeating this if you already knew.

I have tried using VM Heap but it keeps crashing every time I try to open it. Does anyone know if it works with Android 2.2 ?

[Guest spences10]

I have tried using VM Heap but it keeps crashing every time I try to open it. Does anyone know if it works with Android 2.2 ?

I think it depend on which ROM you are using, if you have super user installed then got to settings and check for the latest su binary and see if it works after that

It worked for me with RootExplorer :rolleyes:

[Guest bear7364]

I think it depend on which ROM you are using, if you have super user installed then got to settings and check for the latest su binary and see if it works after that

It worked for me with RootExplorer :rolleyes:

Just checked the binaries and they are up to date ! Also having same problem with Root Explorer.

[Guest spences10]

Just checked the binaries and they are up to date ! Also having same problem with Root Explorer.

Oh, ok - it worked for me

Your on 2.2 right? All I can suggest is uninstall SuperUser and reinstall it, then check to make sure the binaries are up to date, thats what id did to get it working on DJ_Steve's froyo alpha

[Guest bear7364]

Oh, ok - it worked for me

Your on 2.2 right? All I can suggest is uninstall SuperUser and reinstall it, then check to make sure the binaries are up to date, thats what id did to get it working on DJ_Steve's froyo alpha

Yep, on 2.2 same as you ! Tried removing and re-install but no joy :rolleyes:

[Guest malooga]

Yep, on 2.2 same as you ! Tried removing and re-install but no joy :rolleyes:

I've got the same problem with VM Heap and Root Explorer, i'm using the gforums 2.2 rom. I use super manager to get around the root explorer problem, is there another alternative to VM Heap?

[Guest jasonXXx]

I've got the same problem with VM Heap and Root Explorer, i'm using the gforums 2.2 rom. I use super manager to get around the root explorer problem, is there another alternative to VM Heap?

you can edit your build.prop with rootexplorer and change the VM heap to 32 there.

[Guest malooga]

you can edit your build.prop with rootexplorer and change the VM heap to 32 there.

I think you've missed something, root explorer doesn't work on my device. Could i do the same thing with super manager?

[Guest bigisy]

Just had a play with mine - it is running a baked version of Paul's R4 with hardware acceleration enabled, launcher pro and the VM pumped up to 32mb. Really, just how smooth do you want it? I am looking forward to Froyo (beta) but this is pretty good as of now. As for typing, I have the HTC keyboard and agree that in portrait it is pretty dire - but hey just turn it round 90 degrees and hey presto even the most ham fisted can mash away to their heart's content. A little work can really pay dividends with this phone!

I have the same baked rom, well, the hardware accelerated option one. What the hell is VM? Seen it mentioned numerous times and fiddling around in the menus on the phone didn't get me anywhere.

Also, I'm loving the San Fran, its no iphone but then its a fraction of the price. Plus the customisability of it is incredible.

edit: I really should read through the full thread before asking questions :rolleyes:

Just changed the VM to 32 and rebooted phone, came on alot quicker than before.

Edited November 9, 2010 by bigisy

[Guest razialita]

i'm having problem with crashing vm heap tools and root manager too.... on gforums 2.2 froyo no luck speeding it up =[

[Guest netdudeuk]

Just had a play with mine - it is running a baked version of Paul's R4 with hardware acceleration enabled, launcher pro and the VM pumped up to 32mb. Really, just how smooth do you want it? I am looking forward to Froyo (beta) but this is pretty good as of now. As for typing, I have the HTC keyboard and agree that in portrait it is pretty dire - but hey just turn it round 90 degrees and hey presto even the most ham fisted can mash away to their heart's content. A little work can really pay dividends with this phone!

I've looked around for the HTC keyboard but didn't find a code or a download source for it. Where's the best place to find it please ?

[Guest Maringer]

I've looked around for the HTC keyboard but didn't find a code or a download source for it. Where's the best place to find it please ?

It's a pinned topic on this very forum!

http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blad...-for-the-blade/

[Guest bigisy]

For keyboards, I can't use anything other than Swype now. Tried the Android, touchpal, Ultra and HTC versions but the lack of tactile feedback makes it weird. Bear in mind this is my pet peeve with touchscreens, no sense of having pressed anything which I need from a keyboard. Swype is perfect for me, really intuitive for a touchscreen.

Initially there was sone lag problems but the vmheap I just did seems to help alot.