Frustrating Experience So Far - Input Desired

[XontheP]

I recently got my HTC One from AT&T, my first Android device. I'm coming from an iPhone 3GS. My experience so far has been both amazement and frustration. The iPhone is like driving a Corolla with an automatic transmission, you get in and go. As dependable as it gets, you don't have to learn anything, just know how to turn it on, off, and shut the doors. The One is like a roadster - exhilarating, but you're always tinkering with it. I'm a tech-savvy guy, a programmer by profession, so technology doesn't intimidate me. All this being said...

I'd like input on how I could improve on any of these rants.

I'm in disbelief that they could make this top of the line phone, and give so little thought to the fact that it's primarily a phone. The interface is unintelligible unless you're in dim light, and I've accidentally dialed whomever several times. To make a voice call you have to unlock the phone, hold down the home button, when Google opens you have to press the microphone, speak your command, visually check that it understood your command, then press the button to call. With the iPhone, even the old 3GS, you push the home button, locked or not, and say "call home". Boom. I've lost calls because I couldn't get this phone to answer, you can't just push "Answer" you have to slide the icon off the screen, and it's finicky. Try doing that when you've been awakened by a call. Good luck. On the positive side, the voice dialing works great with the bluetooth in my car, so I retain that functionality. However, the ringtone doesn't. So I get a default ringtone in Bluetooth, and a custom ringtone from my phone at the same time. A wonderful cacophony.

On that same note, to snooze or turn off the clock alarm is the same way. You have to find the right tiny icon to snooze or turn off the alarm, and slide it off the screen. From a dead sleep, by the time I've accomplished that, everyone in the house is awake.

Blinkfeed sucks, it would be great if they allowed custom feeds, but as it stands now it's a total waste. Funny because that's what they're advertising for this phone. Fortunately, I was able to pull from the knowledge on this site and figured out how to bypass it. A small frustration eased.

Battery life is horrid. I have it on battery saver, and make sure I disable bluetooth and enable/disable wifi when applicable, and it will last several days without a charge if I'm only wanting a phone. But internet usage sucks it down very fast (Chrome seems to be worse than stock internet), and if I even think about streaming anything the battery gauge sinks like a stone. I've read dozens of articles on battery life, and I seem to be doing everything I can, it's just the nature of the beast.

Would a custom launcher help with any of this? Lessen the steps to make or answer a call, or give an easier interface than sliding a finicky icon off the screen? I know some of you are going to laugh and say you don't have any problems swiping to unlock, but for some reason I'm often having to do it several times before it takes.

Or how about rooting it? I think that's the most ridiculous notion, like buying a brand new sports car then gutting and rebuilding it. But if that's what it takes...

Input, comments, or slams on any of this welcomed.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I recently got my HTC One from AT&T, my first Android device. I'm coming from an iPhone 3GS. My experience so far has been both amazement and frustration. The iPhone is like driving a Corolla with an automatic transmission, you get in and go. As dependable as it gets, you don't have to learn anything, just know how to turn it on, off, and shut the doors. The One is like a roadster - exhilarating, but you're always tinkering with it. I'm a tech-savvy guy, a programmer by profession, so technology doesn't intimidate me. All this being said...

I'd like input on how I could improve on any of these rants.

I'm in disbelief that they could make this top of the line phone, and give so little thought to the fact that it's primarily a phone. The interface is unintelligible unless you're in dim light, and I've accidentally dialed whomever several times. To make a voice call you have to unlock the phone, hold down the home button, when Google opens you have to press the microphone, speak your command, visually check that it understood your command, then press the button to call. With the iPhone, even the old 3GS, you push the home button, locked or not, and say "call home". Boom. I've lost calls because I couldn't get this phone to answer, you can't just push "Answer" you have to slide the icon off the screen, and it's finicky. Try doing that when you've been awakened by a call. Good luck. On the positive side, the voice dialing works great with the bluetooth in my car, so I retain that functionality. However, the ringtone doesn't. So I get a default ringtone in Bluetooth, and a custom ringtone from my phone at the same time. A wonderful cacophony.

On that same note, to snooze or turn off the clock alarm is the same way. You have to find the right tiny icon to snooze or turn off the alarm, and slide it off the screen. From a dead sleep, by the time I've accomplished that, everyone in the house is awake.

Blinkfeed sucks, it would be great if they allowed custom feeds, but as it stands now it's a total waste. Funny because that's what they're advertising for this phone. Fortunately, I was able to pull from the knowledge on this site and figured out how to bypass it. A small frustration eased.

Battery life is horrid. I have it on battery saver, and make sure I disable bluetooth and enable/disable wifi when applicable, and it will last several days without a charge if I'm only wanting a phone. But internet usage sucks it down very fast (Chrome seems to be worse than stock internet), and if I even think about streaming anything the battery gauge sinks like a stone. I've read dozens of articles on battery life, and I seem to be doing everything I can, it's just the nature of the beast.

Would a custom launcher help with any of this? Lessen the steps to make or answer a call, or give an easier interface than sliding a finicky icon off the screen? I know some of you are going to laugh and say you don't have any problems swiping to unlock, but for some reason I'm often having to do it several times before it takes.

Or how about rooting it? I think that's the most ridiculous notion, like buying a brand new sports car then gutting and rebuilding it. But if that's what it takes...

Input, comments, or slams on any of this welcomed.

Welcome to the forums!
I don't have the One...but I can try to answer your questions.

A new launcher won't really help. The underlying...disgust you have is based in the ROM itself. Rooting and flashing a different ROM may help some of your concerns. Be advised, the only way to find out is to try; Rooting voids the OS warranty.

A counter suggestion, maybe you have a friend who has an older Android you can buy off them. Use that as practice. I would research what devices can be rooted and flashed a ROM. That opens you to test some ROMs from developers.

 

[TimmyB]

Greetings, and welcome. Sorry you aren't having the greatest experience, so far.

I am always hesitant to jump into these for two reasons. First, I don't consider myself to be any kind of an expert. Second, often the person asking for the help ends up attacking, because he didn't find the advice useful or helpful.

It's kind of funny that you used the car analogy. I use them all the time on this forum, but sometimes, the humor is lost. I always think of the iPhone as the car at the amusement park that the little kids get to drive; it can actually be steered, but there is a metal rail that runs right down the middle of the car, so that even with a small child driving it, it will stay on the road!

Regarding the dim screen, is there a chance that your "Power Saver" setting is fixing your screen brightness? My wife and I both have Ones and she had been complaining about her screen, as well. When I saw it outside, I saw what she meant. It was virtually worthless. Then, I turned off that setting and, POW! She loves her screen, now!

Regarding battery life (and I'm not trying to be condescending, so forgive me if it comes out that way), what is it that precludes you from plugging it in each night? I plug mine in at bedtime, and I usually have 40-60% battery left at the end of the day. No, I'm not a heavy user, but on days where I have been particularly active, I haven't noticed any great issues, such that I wouldn't make it through the night.

As far as rooting, etc., I agree with you: if you need to do this with a brand new phone to get it to work correctly, this is not the phone for you.

Best of luck. I hope your future experiences are brighter!

 

[benhmadison]

I recently got my HTC One from AT&T, my first Android device. I'm coming from an iPhone 3GS. My experience so far has been both amazement and frustration. The iPhone is like driving a Corolla with an automatic transmission, you get in and go. As dependable as it gets, you don't have to learn anything, just know how to turn it on, off, and shut the doors. The One is like a roadster - exhilarating, but you're always tinkering with it. I'm a tech-savvy guy, a programmer by profession, so technology doesn't intimidate me. All this being said...

I'd like input on how I could improve on any of these rants.

I'm in disbelief that they could make this top of the line phone, and give so little thought to the fact that it's primarily a phone. The interface is unintelligible unless you're in dim light, and I've accidentally dialed whomever several times. To make a voice call you have to unlock the phone, hold down the home button, when Google opens you have to press the microphone, speak your command, visually check that it understood your command, then press the button to call. With the iPhone, even the old 3GS, you push the home button, locked or not, and say "call home". Boom. I've lost calls because I couldn't get this phone to answer, you can't just push "Answer" you have to slide the icon off the screen, and it's finicky. Try doing that when you've been awakened by a call. Good luck. On the positive side, the voice dialing works great with the bluetooth in my car, so I retain that functionality. However, the ringtone doesn't. So I get a default ringtone in Bluetooth, and a custom ringtone from my phone at the same time. A wonderful cacophony.

On that same note, to snooze or turn off the clock alarm is the same way. You have to find the right tiny icon to snooze or turn off the alarm, and slide it off the screen. From a dead sleep, by the time I've accomplished that, everyone in the house is awake.

Blinkfeed sucks, it would be great if they allowed custom feeds, but as it stands now it's a total waste. Funny because that's what they're advertising for this phone. Fortunately, I was able to pull from the knowledge on this site and figured out how to bypass it. A small frustration eased.

Battery life is horrid. I have it on battery saver, and make sure I disable bluetooth and enable/disable wifi when applicable, and it will last several days without a charge if I'm only wanting a phone. But internet usage sucks it down very fast (Chrome seems to be worse than stock internet), and if I even think about streaming anything the battery gauge sinks like a stone. I've read dozens of articles on battery life, and I seem to be doing everything I can, it's just the nature of the beast.

Would a custom launcher help with any of this? Lessen the steps to make or answer a call, or give an easier interface than sliding a finicky icon off the screen? I know some of you are going to laugh and say you don't have any problems swiping to unlock, but for some reason I'm often having to do it several times before it takes.

Or how about rooting it? I think that's the most ridiculous notion, like buying a brand new sports car then gutting and rebuilding it. But if that's what it takes...

Input, comments, or slams on any of this welcomed.

It sounds like you expect the ONE to be the same as an iPhone and it's not. I found the one to be very easy to use. I don't mean to sound rude but if sliding an icon to answer or turn off an alarm is too much trouble I think you may be better off with an iPhone.
I hope you get used to it and end up loving android but it is a completely different system so try to keep an open mind.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Cattails_r_Edible]

Until you get over the fact you no longer have an iPhone, you will be frustrated! I love blinkfeed, so can't help you there! All Android phones work the same as far as alarms and answering calls, once your used to it, it's not that bad! Battery life is subjective, mine usually lasts between 8 and 10 hours! When used heavily, I just plug it in! Might be you just prefer the way apple does things, if so get a new iPhone!

SENT FROM ANDROID CENTRAL'S TOP SMARTPHONE OF 2013!! WOOT WOOT!

 

[bembol]

I recently got my HTC One...

I'm in disbelief that they could make this top of the line phone, and give so little thought to the fact that it's primarily a phone. The interface is unintelligible unless you're in dim light, and I've accidentally dialed whomever several times. To make a voice call you have to unlock the phone, hold down the home button, when Google opens you have to press the microphone, speak your command, visually check that it understood your command, then press the button to call. With the iPhone, even the old 3GS, you push the home button, locked or not, and say "call home". Boom. I've lost calls because I couldn't get this phone to answer, you can't just push "Answer" you have to slide the icon off the screen, and it's finicky. Try doing that when you've been awakened by a call. Good luck. On the positive side, the voice dialing works great with the bluetooth in my car, so I retain that functionality. However, the ringtone doesn't. So I get a default ringtone in Bluetooth, and a custom ringtone from my phone at the same time. A wonderful cacophony.

>>> I agree the Phone UI blows, I hate it too and also I've accidentally called people back. I hate that the Keypad has the "Last Call."

K.I.S.S. It can get annoying especially if you're Busy/Occupied or don't have Handsfree (my Coupe does but my boy's doesn't) in the Car. At least with the S4, I set it up so the Home Key answers calls.

On that same note, to snooze or turn off the clock alarm is the same way. You have to find the right tiny icon to snooze or turn off the alarm, and slide it off the screen. From a dead sleep, by the time I've accomplished that, everyone in the house is awake.

Blinkfeed sucks, it would be great if they allowed custom feeds, but as it stands now it's a total waste. Funny because that's what they're advertising for this phone. Fortunately, I was able to pull from the knowledge on this site and figured out how to bypass it. A small frustration eased.

>>> It's a hit or miss. I got over it after a day or two.

Battery life is horrid. I have it on battery saver, and make sure I disable bluetooth and enable/disable wifi when applicable, and it will last several days without a charge if I'm only wanting a phone. But internet usage sucks it down very fast (Chrome seems to be worse than stock internet), and if I even think about streaming anything the battery gauge sinks like a stone. I've read dozens of articles on battery life, and I seem to be doing everything I can, it's just the nature of the beast.

>>> It lasted 12 hours shift, had 14% so I'm happy. Browsing, Texting, Streaming (YouTube, Mobile TV) for an hour and used Bluetooth/Music for 4 hours.

Would a custom launcher help with any of this? Lessen the steps to make or answer a call, or give an easier interface than sliding a finicky icon off the screen? I know some of you are going to laugh and say you don't have any problems swiping to unlock, but for some reason I'm often having to do it several times before it takes.

>>> It's doesn't really solve all your problems but Nova Launcher Prime (favorite launcher) helps a bit.

Or how about rooting it? I think that's the most ridiculous notion, like buying a brand new sports car then gutting and rebuilding it. But if that's what it takes...

>>> 12 androids and never got into Rooting. Lazy, can't be bothered.

Input, comments, or slams on any of this welcomed.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Power saver does impact screen brightness. If you were to take the phone (any Android phone) from any member of these forums and pull up the battery stats, screen would be the #1 user of battery. It's only natural that screen brightness would be adversely impacted by power saver. I keep my screen about 60-70% brightness at all times and have no problem viewing it in any condition. I'd recommend you turn off power saver and set it around where I have it and see if you're happier with the performance.
Behind the wheel is an entirely different experience for me than it is for a lot of people. I drive a Ford Fusion, and my HTC One connects directly to my car via Ford (Microsoft) Sync. I can push a button on my steering wheel and say call whoever. The voice command is picked up by a microphone array in my rear view mirror. Since the phone book is downloaded to the car, the car knows who to dial. My recommendation for you here is to bring up Google Now before you power down your screen. This way you can just unlock it and say "Google" to put your device into listening mode. This will be a bit more helpful than trying to find the microphone button while driving. Also, some third party car dock apps will have a large button for voice commands, maybe check those out.
Likewise, third party apps will handle your alarm clock needs as well. There are a ton of them out there. Stock works fine for me, however my absolute favorite is Clock 4.2. The dev basically ported the stock Android clock from the Nexus 4.2 firmware into a downloadable app on the play store. It has a decent sized button to snooze or silence the alarm. Clock 4.2 is free on the Play Store, just search for it and give it a shot.
Blinkfeed is what it is. A lot of people like it (that's me), while a lot of others really can't stand it. It seems to me you're in the second camp, and that's ok. There are plenty of options out there for news aggregators. Do some searching and see what floats your boat there. Flipboard is a popular pick, just so you have somewhere to start.
To tackle your battery woes, I have some suggestions you may wish to try. It sounds to me you are trying to do the right thing by toggling your radios for wifi, BT, etc. Maybe pick up some NFC tags to assist you in automating this. It saves you from menu hunting and setting each one up. If you don't want to spend the money, there's a cool free app called Power Toggles that will put toggles for your radios and things right in the notification pull down. This will assist you in that respect. Clearly, this won't be the primary cause of your battery drain. In your settings menu there is an option for Power. If you tap that, the phone will show you what apps are eating your battery the most. Go through at least the top few entries in the list and see if they're apps you don't necessarily need using your data connection. The usual cause of weird drain (like you seem to be experiencing) is an app that's constantly polling your data connection when it's unnecessary. You can then either streamline the settings for that (those) app(s) and it should help you out a lot. If that doesn't work, download a battery monitor app from the Play Store and let it run for a day or two. The app will tell you why your battery life is terrible and you'll know how to proceed from there. For a reference point, my battery lasts me all day easily. I use a fair enough amount of data, and have a few hours of screen on time in an average day. There is no reason you shouldn't be seeing the same results unless you're using data/playing games for a long time on end.
Android takes a lot to get it set up the way we like it. People like us are always fooling around, trying to make the experience better. On Android this can be achieved by finding the right third party solutions, or, reverting to stock Android solutions if you're on a non-stock phone like we are now. Keep fooling around and finding the right tools to solve your issues. I'm always willing to answer any questions or help anyone who needs it. Just shoot me a message.
Good luck, sir!

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I'm sure that I can help with some of this. To make phone calls it's really easy, you just hit the phone icon. Seriously, I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything. You don't HAVE to use voice commands at all for anything. I just hit the phone button and search for the contact I want to dial (actually, at this point, they're all in my recent call list, which is just a swipe of the screen away once I'm in the phone app).

As for battery life, expecting several days out of any current smartphone is somewhat unrealistic. The fact that you've been able to manage anywhere close to that at, even with everything disabled, is amazing. My point I guess is that you need to take some time to adjust to the fact that you have a new and powerful smartphone. It has a much higher-resolution display, and a faster data connection (faster everything, really) and that takes a toll on battery life. Plug it in during the day, or get an external battery pack.

Yes, Blinkfeed could use the ability to add custom feeds, but as it is it's not that bad (set it to not sync and it won't use battery at all).

I hope that helps.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Scott Kenyon]

@OP, BTW I oftentimes put my thumb on the clock and flick it upwards to unlock the phone. It works better than the dumb lock icon thing.

 

[cgardnervt]

Another huge battery saver is to turn off your GPS and the Google location services as well. You will save a TON of battery that ways. Also turn off auto brightness and set it to something in the 25% range. If you do not use Google now also disable that.

 

[mrbootcrm]

How to make a phone call on the HTC One.
1: Entering the phone app. Either swipe up on the phone icon from the lock screen or press the phone icon once unlocked.
2. Finding a contact. Either use history, favorites, or, start dialing their name (any part of it) by using the letters on the number pad. My dad's name is Charles so if I dial 242 his name comes up. Then I just hit his contact entry in the top of the phone app.
3. Use the people widget for regularly called contacts to direct dial from a home screen. Learn about widgets to get familiar with them.
4. Use a home screen shortcut (same way as adding a widget but use the pull down in the home screen customize window to select shortcuts) to add direct dial to a single person.
5. Use Google Now to voice dial. You don't have to press the microphone button, just say "Google" and tell it to call "x".
Those are the basics but one of them should be to your liking.

 

[Danger_Mouse#AC]

If voice calling is that big of a deal for you, you could switch to an s4. It would work similarly to an Iphone since it has a physical home button like you're used to.

Not sure about the alarm. There are plenty of third party apps in the Play store you could try out.

As far as battery life, top tier phones are powerful with large screens and fast connections. It won't last as long as your 3gs simply because it does a lot more hardware wise. Thankfully the One has decent battery life and will accommodate more users. All it sounds like you need to do is plug it in before going to bed. Maybe a small change of habit is in order?

 

[anon(6089242)]

Once you'll get used to it you will forget about all other phones. Learning all about your android can be lots of fun!
About rooting: don't do it!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[XontheP]

Thanks all, I appreciate the input. I thought I'd get some critical responses, and I'm kind of surprised none have been too critical.

Golfdriver - would a different launcher possibly give me a different login experience and a different slider? I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try one.

Tim - great car analogy! And the power saver mode might be dimming the screen, but I have a power widget with 3 levels of brightness, and I try to keep it as dim as possible. But taking off the power saver mode might help. And I have a charger next to the bed, and at the office, and in the car, and... I'm just a little disappointed that it's as battery hungry as it is. Unless I'm only using it as a phone, then the battery life is spectacular.

Ben & Cattails - that's what I've been telling myself. I should have mentioned my return period is over at AT&T, so I'm "stuck" with it, be that a good thing or a bad thing. I'll get used to it.

Bembol - thanks. I may give a launcher a try.

Scott - great input, thanks. My Kia Soul has a great hands free bluetooth system, so I'm golden when in the car. But when I'm at the grocery store and want to make a quick call home I'm stopping in the aisle and monkying with my phone to make a quick call home. I monitor the power usage, and it's normally Chrome or internet that is the biggest culprit. I understand that streaming audio or video through internet will consume battery quickly, but even browsing chews it up much faster than I anticipated. And I'm usually careful about toggling wifi on and off when applicable. And I'm flicking the big clock up, but it sometimes doesn't "stick" for me. I'm sure it will become second nature soon.

Kevin - thanks for your input. That's part of my frustration, on the best phone made (arguably), it shouldn't take so many steps to make it work like a phone. Once again, iPhone = single button push, 2 words. I really don't want to search contacts, or type anything to make a call. I'm doing it, but I can't help but think that the designers have completely lost sight of the fact that it is, after all, a phone.

cgardner - I have not disabled location services. It's not showing up as a drain, unless it's hidden in Chrome or internet. I may look at that, but that's something I'll forget to turn back on until I'm going 75 down the interstate and want to turn on nav or maps. Auto brightness is turned off, but the brightness slider is all the way up. However, I have a power widget with 3 brightness levels, and I always try to keep it at the lowest level for a given situation.

Mrbootcrm - thanks for your input, on voice dialing I just wasn't giving it enough time. It's a slower process than I'm used to, but it is working. That helps a bunch. And I haven't considered a people widget, that would be a much more pleasant experience than navigating contacts in that horrible gray and black phone interface.

Thanks again all for great input. I'm sure I'll come to appreciate it more, some things I absolutely love about the phone, but those are mainly the things outside the root functions of a phone.

 

[mrbootcrm]

Thanks all, I appreciate the input. I thought I'd get some critical responses, and I'm kind of surprised none have been too critical.

Golfdriver - would a different launcher possibly give me a different login experience and a different slider? I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try one.

Tim - great car analogy! And the power saver mode might be dimming the screen, but I have a power widget with 3 levels of brightness, and I try to keep it as dim as possible. But taking off the power saver mode might help. And I have a charger next to the bed, and at the office, and in the car, and... I'm just a little disappointed that it's as battery hungry as it is. Unless I'm only using it as a phone, then the battery life is spectacular.

Ben & Cattails - that's what I've been telling myself. I should have mentioned my return period is over at AT&T, so I'm "stuck" with it, be that a good thing or a bad thing. I'll get used to it.

Bembol - thanks. I may give a launcher a try.

Scott - great input, thanks. My Kia Soul has a great hands free bluetooth system, so I'm golden when in the car. But when I'm at the grocery store and want to make a quick call home I'm stopping in the aisle and monkying with my phone to make a quick call home. I monitor the power usage, and it's normally Chrome or internet that is the biggest culprit. I understand that streaming audio or video through internet will consume battery quickly, but even browsing chews it up much faster than I anticipated. And I'm usually careful about toggling wifi on and off when applicable. And I'm flicking the big clock up, but it sometimes doesn't "stick" for me. I'm sure it will become second nature soon.

Kevin - thanks for your input. That's part of my frustration, on the best phone made (arguably), it shouldn't take so many steps to make it work like a phone. Once again, iPhone = single button push, 2 words. I really don't want to search contacts, or type anything to make a call. I'm doing it, but I can't help but think that the designers have completely lost sight of the fact that it is, after all, a phone.

cgardner - I have not disabled location services. It's not showing up as a drain, unless it's hidden in Chrome or internet. I may look at that, but that's something I'll forget to turn back on until I'm going 75 down the interstate and want to turn on nav or maps. Auto brightness is turned off, but the brightness slider is all the way up. However, I have a power widget with 3 brightness levels, and I always try to keep it at the lowest level for a given situation.

Mrbootcrm - thanks for your input, on voice dialing I just wasn't giving it enough time. It's a slower process than I'm used to, but it is working. That helps a bunch. And I haven't considered a people widget, that would be a much more pleasant experience than navigating contacts in that horrible gray and black phone interface.

Thanks again all for great input. I'm sure I'll come to appreciate it more, some things I absolutely love about the phone, but those are mainly the things outside the root functions of a phone.

No problem. And yeah. Learn widgets. They save so much time. I will say I'm a bit confused about it taking longer for voice dailing. When holding down home, the second Google Now comes up if you say "Google" you'll get an instant sound notification that it's listening where you can ask it to call, text, set an alarm, set a location reminder, the list goes on. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. With alarms I think you can also use the volume rocker and home button to silence but I'm not certain on this one. I would test it but I don't want an alarm going off right now. Anyhow, best luck and feel free to keep asking. I'll try to address your other issues when I'm less tired.

 

[anon(21022)]

Yeah about Google Now, if your voice search language is set to English US, and you activate the Google keyword (all in the Google Now settings), then you can just say Google after launching Now and it'll listen to your query, without having to tap the mic icon

Sent from my HTC One 801e using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Golfdriver97]

Thanks all, I appreciate the input. I thought I'd get some critical responses, and I'm kind of surprised none have been too critical.

Golfdriver - would a different launcher possibly give me a different login experience and a different slider? I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try one.

Tim - great car analogy! And the power saver mode might be dimming the screen, but I have a power widget with 3 levels of brightness, and I try to keep it as dim as possible. But taking off the power saver mode might help. And I have a charger next to the bed, and at the office, and in the car, and... I'm just a little disappointed that it's as battery hungry as it is. Unless I'm only using it as a phone, then the battery life is spectacular.

Ben & Cattails - that's what I've been telling myself. I should have mentioned my return period is over at AT&T, so I'm "stuck" with it, be that a good thing or a bad thing. I'll get used to it.

Bembol - thanks. I may give a launcher a try.

Scott - great input, thanks. My Kia Soul has a great hands free bluetooth system, so I'm golden when in the car. But when I'm at the grocery store and want to make a quick call home I'm stopping in the aisle and monkying with my phone to make a quick call home. I monitor the power usage, and it's normally Chrome or internet that is the biggest culprit. I understand that streaming audio or video through internet will consume battery quickly, but even browsing chews it up much faster than I anticipated. And I'm usually careful about toggling wifi on and off when applicable. And I'm flicking the big clock up, but it sometimes doesn't "stick" for me. I'm sure it will become second nature soon.

Kevin - thanks for your input. That's part of my frustration, on the best phone made (arguably), it shouldn't take so many steps to make it work like a phone. Once again, iPhone = single button push, 2 words. I really don't want to search contacts, or type anything to make a call. I'm doing it, but I can't help but think that the designers have completely lost sight of the fact that it is, after all, a phone.

cgardner - I have not disabled location services. It's not showing up as a drain, unless it's hidden in Chrome or internet. I may look at that, but that's something I'll forget to turn back on until I'm going 75 down the interstate and want to turn on nav or maps. Auto brightness is turned off, but the brightness slider is all the way up. However, I have a power widget with 3 brightness levels, and I always try to keep it at the lowest level for a given situation.

Mrbootcrm - thanks for your input, on voice dialing I just wasn't giving it enough time. It's a slower process than I'm used to, but it is working. That helps a bunch. And I haven't considered a people widget, that would be a much more pleasant experience than navigating contacts in that horrible gray and black phone interface.

Thanks again all for great input. I'm sure I'll come to appreciate it more, some things I absolutely love about the phone, but those are mainly the things outside the root functions of a phone.

Probably not. Launchers change the UI, but not really in the way you are describing. However, since most are free, it wouldn't hurt to give one a try.

Sent from a M.O.A.R. Galaxy S3

 

[mcpricex]

Everybody who moves from years of iOS to android goes through the same withdrawal symptoms as you are experiencing and it is perfectly normal. The vast majority go on to love android but it just takes a little time, sticking with the car analogy's, its like being used to a left hand drive with automatic transmission and suddenly jumping into a right hand drive manual, everything is in the wrong place and nothing works as it should do, but before you know it you'll wonder how you ever managed to drive anywhere.

Most of your concerns have already been covered very well so all I can add is the following.

Alarm - hitting the volume rocker dismisses an alarm, I have mine set to go off several times a day and I can hit it without even taking the phone out of my pocket.

Battery life is all about the screen and any comparison with the ibone is going to be unrealistic. Again, in car terms its like switching from a 2 litre engine to a V12 and then complaining about fuel consumption. For a much bigger screen I would say you are doing very well.

Rooting is not really going to help you at this point, all it will do is void your warranty and give you slightly different versions of the same problems you already have. If you still have the same issues in six months then I would consider it but not before that. The same is true of launchers, they just give you a different way of accessing the same apps and issues as you have now, but as the most popular ones like Nova have a free version, it doesn't hurt to try.

Best of luck.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Try the Chrome Beta browser

Sent from my HTC One using AC Forums mobile app with data compression turned on. It may make a difference in your battery life, and will also not chew through data as quickly.

 

[_X_]

Welcome to the Android community

Screen size is the biggest cause of the battery drain. Android devices typically have larger screens than iPhones that is why the battery is not as good. If you use your phone for making calls and quick text messages you'll see your phone battery life will last.

A different launcher will not change the lockscreen usually only a ROM does this. However you can change the lock screen behavior on the settings section of your device. Also by NFC, see below


NFC, note I have not use this method, but many folks report they use NFC to alter the way they use their Android device. In particular I heard of a guy using NFC on his car to disabled the lockscreen. I've been thinking of doing the same thing and also have my gps app launched.


Like you I hate searching for contacts in my phone book. So I use these methods to make my life easier (back to launchers) I use ADW.Launcher with Google Gestures. I set my gesture on ADW.Launcher to call Gestures (the app) when I swipe up. Adw launches Gestures I start spelling the contacts name in the app. I usually don't get more than the first letter before the contact shows up

The second technique is to have a home screen with shortcuts dedicated to the people I call most. (Forget widgets that's too much work). In effect it's like launching an app but it directly dials the person. I also have links for text messages... God I'm lazy, but hey a phone is supposed to make our lives easier.

Take heart you seem to be a bit discouraged that nobody bashed you. Please let us know if you still desire such activity I'm sure some kind AC member will take up that torch .