[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

Thank you for your reply, but there is something about Samsung which doesnt connect. I mean, i have never used an android since almost 5 years but never have seen high end Samsung devices among any of my circle. All i have heard is, after a year, the device lags a lot.

As posted by Cyborg, Samsung devices are refined and not laggy like previous. I have a note 9 and this device is simply worth the money for the hardware and quality. Samsung makes the best display in the world! You need to see it to believe it. Regarding lag, if the phone has 4 GB RAM, then assured no lag. Regarding updates, my father owns a J7 Prime device and it got updated to November security patch already , my mother has a 2 years old J7 Max, which is still working fine without any issues. Regarding the UI, its android, you can install launchers and customize it to your need.

Coming back to my Note 9. Here is my feedback:

1. best display
2. Very good sound clarity via speakers and headphones, thanks to Dolby Atmos.
3. Best camera and the pro mode is equal to entry level DSLR camera!! It has so many controls and focus points!!
4. Best battery - i have disabled some bloatware and this device is now a beast. I am sure the battery backup will improve once the software improvements improve.
5. Despite using touchwiz, i am yet to experience the famous lag. Samsung has refined the touchwiz in a good way and I am not using any launcher at all. The 6 GB RAM is more than enough to take care of my needs.
6. the Spen has more use cases that i am yet to explore more due to shortage of time.

Overall I am really happy with the Note 9 and the Samsung experience.

[s4ch]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

The Poco F1 was delivered today by Flipkart.

Overall seems like a Value for Money Phone.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Same here! Ordered the Graphite Black Poco F1 6GB/64GB thru FlipKart...

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Got myself Poco F1 and using it since past week or so...

Originally Posted by atnyia

POCO is a great device. It's fast, very fast. It has a great camera, great battery life, great face unlock that works in dark and fast charging...

Thanks for your opinions on the Poco, helped me decide to buy it for my wife - should be here in a couple of days. Does anyone have a recommendation for a flip cover for the Poco F1? I did see the following ones on Amazon but no reviews so not sure of them:

https://www.amazon.in/SmartLike-Wall...+f1+flip+cover

https://www.amazon.in/Johra®-Electro...+f1+flip+cover

Any other suggestions? Definitely prefer a flip cover not just a back cover. Thanks in advance!

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by fordday

For a hearing impaired persion, like me, can someone suggest a phone with very good clarity of the earpiece?

Earlier the feature phones used to have good sound. With the advent of big screens and powerful cameras,
good sound became a non priority. I need the earpiece sound to be loud and having good clarity.

HTC high end phones seems to have good sound. I understand phones need to have good DAC like Wolfson, to output good sound, which most budget hones tend to skip.

Both the Asus Zenfone 5z and the Galaxy S7 and S8 have a audio tuning utility that actually adjusts the levels based on how sensitive your ears are. You could try to see if that utility is available in Play store.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by naveenvenkatesh

Hey Congrats on your new purchase. I have booked the Pixel 2XL as well. Should get it by Friday, 9th. I have also booked a spigen case but i am unable to find a good screen protector. I am looking at something that i not tempered glass. Did you install a screen protector for your Pixel 2XL?

Yes. I tried a number of cases, including Spigen slim armor. It is not as slim, makes the phone look fat. In the end I settled with a simple Plus branded 179Rs cover. I have been using a similar cover for my other phones for more than a year and have been happy. I have also added an author grippr which is a simple 150rs stand that is tremendously useful on a tall phone like pixel 2 xl.


For tempered glass, I first bought a 100rs one from flipkart, but the screen of pixel 2 xl is curved, so it used to hang from the edges. Now I am using 'TrueUpgrade Google Pixel 2xl screen protector (5D glass), curved edge 5D Full Screen (Black)' bought from Amazon for 429, and am very happy. For a day or 2 there were some rainbow or oil spill effect on the screen. This is because there is no glue on the viewing area, the glue is only there on the borders. But after this, there is no such problem. The phone looks very premium now, no more air bubbles/ rainbow effect, and it is secured.

[atnyia]

Originally Posted by s4ch

Does anyone have a recommendation for a flip cover for the Poco F1? I did see the following ones on Amazon but no reviews so not sure of them.

Any other suggestions? Definitely prefer a flip cover not just a back cover. Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately, I have only one recommendation, but that's a back case.

https://www.amazon.in/KAPAVER-Xiaomi...+poco+f1&psc=1

We had bought this cover for Moto G4 Plus of my wife in 2016. The phone was known for it's brittle screen. The phone survived umpteen number of falls in this cover. The current covers from this brand have evolved. They have better ergonomics and softer feel. Currently, we use this cover for both of our phones.

[fordday]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

For quite a while now, I've been asking my wife to make and take phone calls for me. Sometimes I could hear them, sometimes not.

Originally Posted by Traveler

Both the Asus Zenfone 5z and the Galaxy S7 and S8 have a audio tuning utility that actually adjusts the levels based on how sensitive your ears are. You could try to see if that utility is available in Play store.

Thanks to both of you. My hearing has been bad too and its gradually coming down to a level that if an unknown person calls I have difficulty in understanding, though I hear the voice loud but deciphering what the person is saying is difficult. In face to face communication I rely on lip reading.

My asking was late as the online discount sales are coming to a close. Ordered a Nokia 5.1 plus last evening based on the reviews and little belief that it will stand up to its brand. Will update once I lay my hands on it.

[ar@v1nd]

Originally Posted by atnyia

Unfortunately, I have only one recommendation, but that's a back case.

https://www.amazon.in/KAPAVER-Xiaomi...+poco+f1&psc=1

We had bought this cover for Moto G4 Plus of my wife in 2016. The phone was known for it's brittle screen. The phone survived umpteen number of falls in this cover. The current covers from this brand have evolved. They have better ergonomics and softer feel. Currently, we use this cover for both of our phones.

+1 for Kapaver covers. This cover offers very good protection, has excellent finish, reasonable price and looks good too. Adds a bit of bulk compared to thinner covers, but the protection is definitely worth it.

[ar@v1nd]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Guys,

I have a couple of years old Oneplus 3 which is running fine.

However, to be honest i am starting to get bored of it. I also notice the battery life is not as good as it was used to be when new.

The problem which i face is that my budget is limited to 20-25k and in that range there is no mobile phone which offers similar performance as the Oneplus3, and most importantly, has Dash/Fast charging support.

If there is one feature which i absolutely love about the OnePlus3 is the dash charging. Does any phone in the sub-25k range have such feature along with good performance?

OnePlus3 and 3T are superb devices. Excellent build, runs fast enough for today's apps, dash charging support and very good cameras (esp OP3T with its 16MP front camera).

I recently upgraded from OP3T (the battery was dying) to an Asus Zenfone 5Z (@ 22.5K - flipkart sale) but looking back at my decision, I'm still thinking that just replacing the battery would have been a financially better decision.

Sure you get a faster processor, bigger screen etc but unless you are into gaming and stuff, you are not getting something significantly better. Comparing the OP3T camera with Zenfone 5Z and even OnePlus6, I just realized how good the OP3T camera was.

[atnyia]

Just came across this on Flipkart

https://www.flipkart.com/lg-g7-thinq...714ae6c94439ba


A real flagship with no corners cut (just poor battery) & a good 25% cheaper than never settle!!

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by ar@v1nd

OnePlus3 and 3T are superb devices.

The one feature they should add is 'stereo' speakers. If am NOT wrong 'Asus 5Z' comes with stereo speakers.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ar@v1nd

I recently upgraded from OP3T (the battery was dying) to an Asus Zenfone 5Z (@ 22.5K - flipkart sale) but looking back at my decision, I'm still thinking that just replacing the battery would have been a financially better decision.

Someone just vetted that thought process; refer to link

Originally Posted by atnyia

Just came across this on Flipkart
...
A real flagship with no corners cut (just poor battery) & a good 25% cheaper than never settle!!

Beware of the flawed exchange process - several posts on this and other threads on the forum on negative experiences in exchanging the phones.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by fordday

Thanks to both of you. My hearing has been bad too and its gradually coming down to a level that if an unknown person calls I have difficulty in understanding, though I hear the voice loud but deciphering what the person is saying is difficult. In face to face communication I rely on lip reading.

We should probably both have hearing aids that communicate with the phone. Not sure, but I'm guessing this would be a Bluetooth feature. Hmmm... recently spent 1 lakh on two aids (said to have been reduced by 75%!) but they don't. (They have improved male conversation for me, but have yet to be better tweaked for female voices)

If you can hear the sound, but not make out the words, you probably also have HF hearing loss. Anyway, I expect you are consulting with an ENT doc about that --- not that anything can be done. I wish I could lip read!

Anyway, all the best to fellow sufferers. There are probably more of us than we realise, so information on phones for the hard of hearing would be useful.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

They have improved male conversation for me, but have yet to be better tweaked for female voices

Is that a bug or a feature?

[ar@v1nd]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

The one feature they should add is 'stereo' speakers. If am NOT wrong 'Asus 5Z' comes with stereo speakers.

Stereo speakers is mostly a gimmick IMO. One of the speakers is actually the earpiece while the other is the proper speaker at the bottom of the device. The 2 speakers sound quite different so you don't really get any proper stereo effect.

But indeed the loudness and depth of the 5Z speakers are really good. Much better than the competition.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Someone just vetted that thought process; refer to link

Beware of the flawed exchange process - several posts on this and other threads on the forum on negative experiences in exchanging the phones.

Not able to open the link. Can you post the link again?

For me exchange was smooth but the guy was looking around for scratches so yes, I think these guys are instructed to reject the mobiles in case of any damages.

But the exchange value provided is almost always much lesser than market value provided your phone is a reasonably recent model. Doing a full wipe of the mobile and selling on OLX will fetch a better price provided you have the time to do it.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Coming back to my Note 9. Here is my feedback:

1. best display
2. Very good sound clarity via speakers and headphones, thanks to Dolby Atmos.
3. Best camera and the pro mode is equal to entry level DSLR camera!! It has so many controls and focus points!!
4. Best battery - i have disabled some bloatware and this device is now a beast. I am sure the battery backup will improve once the software improvements improve.
5. Despite using touchwiz, i am yet to experience the famous lag. Samsung has refined the touchwiz in a good way and I am not using any launcher at all. The 6 GB RAM is more than enough to take care of my needs.
6. the Spen has more use cases that i am yet to explore more due to shortage of time.

Overall I am really happy with the Note 9 and the Samsung experience.

Thanks for the update on the Note 9 Sairam

My almost 14 month Note 8 is still working like new. Fast, powerful and absolutely no lag anytime. The display is absolutely fabulous, it spoils us so much. Once you get used to this display, any other FHD display appears washed out, especially under bright sunlight.

Use the phone optimizing feature regularly and restart the phone every few days to keep it running perfectly.

Cheers