[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

So finally bought the MotoX 2nd generation in Dec 2014 which again going to complete one year in the upcoming Christmas vacations. Again no signs of agin despite couple drops. rather expecting to keep using it for couple of more years until Motorola or some other trustworthy brand comes up with something more 'smarter' than MotoX.

Looks like we got the Moto X Gen2 at the same time. Mine too was bought end December 2014.

Last couple of months I was struggling with battery issues. The phone would die on me by lunch time after charging whole night and removing from charger at 8am.

It would abruptly shut off at 15% without warning.

I tried cache wipe, full factory reset but no luck. Finally took it to Moto Care before the warranty runs out. They diagnosed the phone to a faulty battery. They will repair it under warranty but they need 15 days for the part to arrive.

Yes it was a good phone but the camera sucked and even when new battery was so so.

Let's see how it works after it's back from repair.

Now since I don't have a usable phone, I'm decided on the Nexus 5X. Moto X style, Nexus 6P was too bulky.

Hopefully the Nexus 5X will be good for a year till the new gen power efficient chipsets start rolling out next year.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Last couple of months I was struggling with battery issues. The phone would die on me by lunch time after charging whole night and removing from charger at 8am.

Never do that if you want your phones' battery lasts long. I never need to put the phone on charging twice a day. Mostly its every day morning and occasionally can drag it to third day. But I make sure never to let it be plugged once it's charged. Most of the time I take it off once it's 90% completed, means don't let it hit 100% mark too often. Usually takes around 2 hours to complete the charge cycle. Have followed same with previous phone which is still running on stock battery in it's forth year.

Yes it was a good phone but the camera sucked

If you want to use stock camera app then turn off auto-HDR, turn on the manual focus and exposure and use this mode.

If you still want better quality then use third party camera apps like pro-capture, open camera or camera zoom FX and set the resolution to true 8 MP in 4:3 ratio mode (3264x2448). Those pictures will be much greater than the 13 MP captured using stock app. Inbuilt post processing performed at 13 MP sucks. There is no way to reduce resolution in the stock camera app.

If you still want better pictures and have time, patience and steady hands to capture the shots then use Google Camera with HDR-on in true 8 MP mode, you will love those pics. Night results will also improve by following these tricks but don't expect anything better than other good cellphone cameras.

I never had battery or camera related complaints with this phone.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Never do that if you want your phones' battery lasts long. I never need to put the phone on charging twice a day. Mostly its every day morning and occasionally can drag it to third day. But I make sure never to let it be plugged once it's charged. Most of the time I take it off once it's 90% completed, means don't let it hit 100% mark too often. Usually takes around 2 hours to complete the charge cycle. Have followed same with previous phone which is still running on stock battery in it's forth year.

I had to resort to charging whole night only because of this problem. Else I would charge it only in the morning when leaving for work and it would last me till next morning.

Also, the 90% and not full 100% is not true. Either won't matter. Charging whole night is usually not recommended but the phones and chargers nowadays are designed to cut off and then let battery discharge once at 100% till 95-96% then again follow trickle charge. Overcharging in phone batteries is not possible nowadays. So even if you leave it overnight, you aren't doing anything bad.

This was the first phone that I have had with a battery problem since 1999.

If you want to use stock camera app then turn off auto-HDR, turn on the manual focus and exposure and use this mode.

If you still want better pictures and have time, patience and steady hands to capture the shots then use Google Camera with HDR-on in true 8 MP mode, you will love those pics. Night results will also improve by following these tricks but don't expect anything better than other good cellphone cameras.

I switched out of the stock camera app within a week of getting the phone as it was horrible to use. The photos were so bad compared to my Galaxy S3 that I thought I did a big mistake getting this phone.

It improved a lot with the google camera but nowhere close to my mom's old Iphone 5 and my old S3. The S3 was brilliant in camera department.

You can get usable photos in HDR mode when lighting conditions are good. It struggles royally in low light and challenging lighting condition.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

You can get usable photos in HDR mode when lighting conditions are good. It struggles royally in low light and challenging lighting condition.

I am sure you haven't tried tuening the resolution down. Please try out 8 MP mode also once you get the phone back. About night captures, all are inferior, maybe Motorolas are bit more inferior but the difference is nothing like you mentioned.

Posting few of the full sized images I captured using the MotoX. No editing except blurring down the number plates and resaving them with 85% JPG compression so that can be uploaded on TBhp in 100% size. Download and see them on your computer screen:


Late evening shot, see the time of capture in Exif:






Night shot:





Night shot. This was clicked by screen taping while video capturing was on:





Sunny day macro:






Random click on cloudy day which should go in weird and wacky mod job thread:






And here are screenshots of today's battery backup captured right now which is one of the inferior day from battery point of view since I am forced to use only phone and phine data for internet related tasks since my broadband is not working since yesterday. Still not a bad one for an Android having just 2200mah battery with every feature turned on including GPS:

[seafalkon]

Friends,, my Sony xperia M if showing the following message on the screen-

Type password to decrypt storage.

The phone is remaining unusable and after checking forums , understand the only way to repair is to repair using PC software or to change the mother board completely. Has anybody experienced this issue?

Any feedback or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Seriously consider the iPhone 6-64GB. It meets most of your needs and meets/surpasses the above phones in terms of peace of mind / lag free ownership!

Originally Posted by vb-san

Even though you said no iOS, it would worth checking out the suggestion below. An iPhone 6S 64GB really caters to all the requirements you mentioned. For a standard phone user, its brilliant.

Thanks guys. I agree. In terms of premium build & the simple use I have (phone, messaging, music, browsing), the iPhone meets my needs to the T. I don't go for any hacks or custom ROMs either. Keep the phone as stock as possible (unlike my cars ).

Just that I prefer the Android interface & design. Plenty of iPhones in the family that I've played with...they're nice, but I like Android more.

Originally Posted by mukul32

Phones are great only for those type of people who either can't resist showing off their phone, or need only a good 'phone', may it be alien to any sort of functionality. Forget tech-savvy, even a street smart person who may be used to Android, and who knows exactly what he wants out of his phone, would find the experience of an iPhone way too inadequate.

Hold your horses, buddy! Phamilyman made a simple suggestion to me. Don't get all worked up over that.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Its not that too big the note 4 but to me the advantage of removable battery, sd card and overall screen including one of the best cameras and super speed system tilted me towards the note.

Too big man! No way I'm going with a 5.7" screen. Period. In fact, I'm also getting tempted by the Z5 compact.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Along with the S6 and Z5, you should definitely add the Moto X Force launching in January.

Cool. I'm in no hurry. Will wait till Jan.

You can even drive a truck over it and the screen didn't break

I'm never going to subject my phone to rough use.

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Never do that if you want your phones' battery lasts long. I never need to put the phone on charging twice a day. Mostly its every day morning and occasionally can drag it to third day. But I make sure never to let it be plugged once it's charged.

Really? I thought that, once the battery is fully charged, it'll run off the electric power. Had tried that with my laptop. When it was plugged in and I removed the battery, it still kept running.

[VW2010]

@GTO

Too big man! No way I'm going with a 5.7" screen. Period. In fact, I'm also getting tempted by the Z5 compact.

After seeing your usage demand I think it's too big and not really needed. I think you should consider pure Android like a moto or nexus. In fact Nexus 5 can turn out to be best bet at almost no big cost

Moto indestructible one looks like best

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Along with the S6 and Z5, you should definitely add the Moto X Force launching in January.

It has a shatterproof screen which is insane (check the videos below).

The Z5 is a good option but it will never be as abuse friendly vs the Moto X force. One is the front screen and second is even back is glass panel.

Actually, the shatterproof screen has a big disadvantage in normal use. Since the screen is made out of plastic, the regular drops that one is bound to suffer, show significant scratches.
So, while you can drive trucks over it and the screen won't "shatter", there would be a no. of marks on the screen after a couple of 5 foot drops.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just that I prefer the Android interface & design. Plenty of iPhones in the family that I've played with...they're nice, but I like Android more.

Talking about premium build, just got a One Plus X for a friend, and man am I surprised by the premium build quality at 17k. All glass back and stainless steel. Good specs too, 3 GB of ram, 16GB+expandable memory upto 128GB or a second 4G sim, 13MP/8MP shooters, light weight and compact. Could be a ideal companion that you are looking for and doesn't break the bank. And it's on open sale (at least was yesterday on Amazon). And nowadays I feel that its better to go for a mid range premium phone and change it every year rather than being stuck with a 3040k premium device for 2-3 years. So you are always up to date with the tech hardware.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxSEhMoqj1M

Cheers...

[VW2010]

Actually, the shatterproof screen has a big disadvantage in normal use. Since the screen is made out of plastic, the regular drops that one is bound to suffer, show significant scratches.

That regular drops in an S6 or Iphone can be pretty costly to fix. Ask my 2 year old and my current S5 screen. Luckily the glass alone broke and LCD is fine. My screen looks like war zone.

With a Tempered glass or screen protector you can even avoid those scratches?

And definitely its going to withstand those massive drops which makes it a great phone for rough use.

[sagarpadaki]

I am planning to buy a Mid range android phone in Jan 2016. Was using Nexus 4 but unfortunately it started throwing up network reception issues with Vodafone.Currently i am using a moto G2

Main requirements are
1. 12+ hours battery life
2. Snappy performance even after installing 15 to 20 apps
3. Decent camera
4. Minimal bloatware.
5. Good display
6. Max budget 17K


Please suggest.TIA

[sukhoi]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I am planning to buy a Mid range android phone in Jan 2016. Was using Nexus 4 but unfortunately it started throwing up network reception issues with Vodafone.Currently i am using a moto G2

While not an expert but since you are using Moto and if are satisfied with their offerings, you could consider the Moto X Play (around 18.5) so you would have to stretch your budget a bit. Fellow BHPian saadat1992 is using it and could provide first hand reviews as well.

Originally Posted by saadat1992

Got the Marshmallow update for my Moto X, yesterday!
It's very snappy but the multitasking screen is kinda laggy.

Another option could be the One Plus X of which have read good reviews (no first hand experience).

Originally Posted by dkaile

Talking about premium build, just got a One Plus X for a friend, and man am I surprised by the premium build quality at 17k. All glass back and stainless steel. Good specs too, 3 GB of ram, 16GB+expandable memory upto 128GB or a second 4G sim, 13MP/8MP shooters, light weight and compact. Could be a ideal companion that you are looking for and doesn't break the bank. And it's on open sale (at least was yesterday on Amazon). And nowadays I feel that its better to go for a mid range premium phone and change it every year rather than being stuck with a 3040k premium device for 2-3 years. So you are always up to date with the tech hardware.
Cheers...

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
S

[tbppjpr]

Is it really plastic glass? I don't see any such mention on their page. All it says is 5 layer protection which includes flexible AMOLED display and aluminum chasis along with 4 years warranty of shatterproof:

https://www.motorola.com/us/Moto-Sha...tershield.html

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Marauder

Actually, the shatterproof screen has a big disadvantage in normal use. Since the screen is made out of plastic, the regular drops that one is bound to suffer, show significant scratches.
So, while you can drive trucks over it and the screen won't "shatter", there would be a no. of marks on the screen after a couple of 5 foot drops.

Yes but the top most layer is replaceable if it gets scratched. You could probably put a regular screen guard over the display for scratch prevention.

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Is it really plastic glass? I don't see any such mention on their page. All it says is 5 layer protection which includes flexible AMOLED display and aluminum chasis along with 4 years warranty of shatterproof:

https://www.motorola.com/us/Moto-Sha...tershield.html

Yup the key to the shatterproof technology is the absence of glass. It's made of layers of plastic of different materials. On top of that it intentionally uses AMOLED as the panel is flexible and doesn't break like a regular LCD.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hold your horses, buddy! Phamilyman made a simple suggestion to me. Don't get all worked up over that.

Was not getting worked up. And that comment was not specific to your question either. And if anyone feels it was harsh, I'm extremely sorry again.

But I don't feel it was all that wrong. It was probably taken the wrong way. I criticized the iPhone. Not the iPhone user. That the iPhone is meant for the "Bro, its an iPhoneee!!!" types, or the "I won't trust anything except an iPhone." types.
I was not even remotely suggesting that anyone among us were like that. And, I'd never question a BHPian's intellect. That he is a part of this place is by itself enough proof of everyone's intellect. I do have all the respect for anyone who is part of this community. We are family, let's stay family.
So, I feel we should just move on from this. What say?