Any actual hands-on reviews?

**ctg77** · 11-02-2011, 12:32 PM

Has anyone seen / read / watched / etc any actual HANDS-ON reviews of this phone? I have searched all over the web, but did not know if I am missing something.

I am strongly considering this and / or the Samsung GSII Skyrocket, and have spent enough time test-driving the regular GSII to know I like it. However, Sense blows Touchwiz away, so if the camera and phone reception on this phone can compete with the Skyrocket, and the app-loading is not noticeably hampered by a slightly slower processor + Sense's overhead, I'm going with this one. I really like the look of this one, and it appears to have a higher build quality than the flimsy GSIIs I've seen. Thanks!

**knighthawk321** · 11-02-2011, 01:42 PM

I've been googling reviews for it like crazy and haven't seen one either. With Rogers having it in Canada, maybe we'll see something soon.

**ctg77** · 11-02-2011, 01:52 PM

Hopefully! I have been eligible for an upgrade from my iPhone 3GS for almost 3 months, but waited on the new iPhone to come out. While the 4S is nice, I am considering Android if I can find one that matches the build quality of the iPhones. I work part time at an ice rink and coach ice hockey, so the phone will take lots of abuse.

Thus, most of the Android phones are a fail for me because they are built like cheap plastic garbage in comparison to my 3GS, which has survived hundreds of drops, being hit with slap shots by 11 year olds (who shoot pretty hard!), and being dropped off the Zamboni in the middle of a resurfacing...obviously, the OtterBox helps, but I shudder to think of what some of the flimsy Androids would have done in some of those instances. The HTC is really the first one that seems to be tough enough AND be a "superphone" on AT&T.

**becandl** · 11-02-2011, 04:06 PM

I'm looking for a new phone and I am between the GSII Skyrocket and the HTC Vivid as well. I have never actually had an Android phone and I'm trying to decide (looking around on the web) whether Sense UI is better than TouchWiz. It definitely looks nicer, so I'm thinking I'm going to go with the Vivid as long as it's battery life and other specs match up with that of the Skyrocket. I hope someone gets their hands on one soon!

**Genetic** · 11-02-2011, 04:32 PM

hopefully there is one that pops up soon. i wonder if this will have sense 3.5?

**knighthawk321** · 11-02-2011, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by ctg77

Hopefully! I have been eligible for an upgrade from my iPhone 3GS for almost 3 months, but waited on the new iPhone to come out. While the 4S is nice, I am considering Android if I can find one that matches the build quality of the iPhones. I work part time at an ice rink and coach ice hockey, so the phone will take lots of abuse.

Thus, most of the Android phones are a fail for me because they are built like cheap plastic garbage in comparison to my 3GS, which has survived hundreds of drops, being hit with slap shots by 11 year olds (who shoot pretty hard!), and being dropped off the Zamboni in the middle of a resurfacing...obviously, the OtterBox helps, but I shudder to think of what some of the flimsy Androids would have done in some of those instances. The HTC is really the first one that seems to be tough enough AND be a "superphone" on AT&T.

I totally relate to your concerns. I work in aviation, climbing over, under, around and through Blackhawk and Seahawk helicopters. The chance of a drop-check from 15-20 feet is always a concern, in addition to the scrapes and contusions from getting into all sorts of awkward positions. As soon as they become available, I'm going to be wrapping my Vivid up in a Seidio Convert and keeping it there. HTC phones are well built, but surviving stuff like what we put our phones through requires serious protection, regardless of who makes the phone.

**knighthawk321** · 11-02-2011, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by genetic517

hopefully there is one that pops up soon. i wonder if this will have sense 3.5?

Reports are Sense 3.0 installed, though I would expect an eventual upgrade, as new as this phone is.

**knighthawk321** · 11-02-2011, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by becandl

I'm looking for a new phone and I am between the GSII Skyrocket and the HTC Vivid as well. I have never actually had an Android phone and I'm trying to decide (looking around on the web) whether Sense UI is better than TouchWiz. It definitely looks nicer, so I'm thinking I'm going to go with the Vivid as long as it's battery life and other specs match up with that of the Skyrocket. I hope someone gets their hands on one soon!

You're not going to go wrong with either one. This will be my first Android, too, though I've had the opportunity to play with my wife's Inspire some. I personally like the Sense UI, but I've heard Sammy has made a big improvement on Touchwiz going to version 4. What I like about HTC is that they keep their phones updated more regularly than the other manufacturers. If the carrier is dragging its feet, you can often get the update straight from HTC. Samsung and Moto make you wait for the carrier update more often than not by all reports.

**tbonepat11** · 11-02-2011, 05:49 PM

Review of the Raider in Canada which is the same phone. It is a high powered tank.

**devorama** · 11-02-2011, 06:01 PM

A couple hands on pictures and some impressions:

**knighthawk321** · 11-02-2011, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by devorama

A couple hands on pictures and some impressions:

I get a 404 message on that link, even through the main website. What did they say?

**becandl** · 11-02-2011, 09:05 PM

Link works for me. They just describe the phone a bit and compare it to the iPhone. It looks really nice! I'm hoping they will be in the AT&T stores in 4 days so I can go play around with one. I think I'm going to have to take the HTC over the Samsung. I have played with both types of phones before (in the store and friend's phones), and the HTCs just feel like they were built better than the plasticy Samsungs. Plus, I think Sense UI is looking a lot better and has more features than TouchWiz. I guess you really can't go wrong with either though.

**LazrRocketArm** · 11-02-2011, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by becandl

I'm looking for a new phone and I am between the GSII Skyrocket and the HTC Vivid as well. I have never actually had an Android phone and I'm trying to decide (looking around on the web) whether Sense UI is better than TouchWiz. It definitely looks nicer, so I'm thinking I'm going to go with the Vivid as long as it's battery life and other specs match up with that of the Skyrocket. I hope someone gets their hands on one soon!

If the battery is an issue, don't count on the Vivid. HTC is notoriously bad with battery life. Just compare the stats: both 4.5 inch screens with LTE and vivd has 1620? mah and the skyrocket has 1850.
Expect to get an extended battery, which means thicker phone and new back plate, probably plastic.
Sort of defeats the purpose of the metallic back that is standard.

**envygreen** · 11-03-2011, 09:53 AM

sadly, they do mention in the review that the Vivid has a plastic back, not aluminum. They did say the build construction felt decent still. I'm still going to get on one Sunday though.

**rquinn19** · 11-03-2011, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by envygreen

sadly, they do mention in the review that the Vivid has a plastic back, not aluminum. They did say the build construction felt decent still. I'm still going to get on one Sunday though.

huh? Watching the video it certainly looked and even sounded like metal. You can hear it when he took it off

**lucidlyseen** · 11-03-2011, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by envygreen

sadly, they do mention in the review that the Vivid has a plastic back, not aluminum. They did say the build construction felt decent still. I'm still going to get on one Sunday though.

The back (the cover that comes off) is metal, not plastic, however the rest of the phone is plastic.

one of the better reviews - check at about 1:50 in you can see the back (this is for the Raider in Canada, but it's the same phone). Also I wouldn't believe those benchmarks, there's no way a dual core is testing that...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpx1ob67_ss[/yt]

**rquinn19** · 11-03-2011, 12:48 PM

Can clearly see a notification light in the video. (Won't see the on the Samsung probably)

**MissMystikle** · 11-03-2011, 03:54 PM

I found an un-boxing video specifically for the AT&T Vivid at TechnoBuffalo:

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_JSRvUVp4Y[/YT]

**Spartoi** · 11-03-2011, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by lucidlyseen

Also I wouldn't believe those benchmarks, there's no way a dual core is testing that...

The Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 is the slowest dual core SoC. Those benchmarks are in line with the scores that the Sensation and Evo 3D.

**blopez24** · 11-03-2011, 09:20 PM

Yeah those bench mark scores are bad in a sense of what it should have at least compared to the skyrocket.

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**knighthawk321** · 11-03-2011, 10:47 PM

I saw the Maple Syrup review, too. I have learned over the years playing with computers (and these are basically hand held computers - heck, 10 years ago, these would be desktops) not to put too much faith in benchmarking programs. Quite often they can be subtly written to favor a particular type of hardware (Intel over AMD or vice versa). Not only that, we're dealing with a hyperdriven version of Moore's law here. The hardware and software are growing by leaps and bounds. By next upgrade, we may be holding 5 or less year old desktops in our hands. For the price point, the Vivid looks just fine. Is it the fastest thing on the planet? Maybe not, but it's damn good and I will likely be quite content with it for the one contract cycle I'm likely to have it. By then, it will probably seem as slow and antiquated as this BlackBerry 9700 does now. The bleeding edge doesn't stay put for very long. Next cycle, we'll probably have quad core, 1080p AMOLEDs, 32GB internal storage, 4GB DDR3 RAM and microSDXC 64 or more. Android rev K may very well be fully cross-platform from phones all the way to desktops. Who knows? Let's enjoy each cycle as we get to them. Remember, these may be the last high end phones we get for $200 on contract at release.

**blopez24** · 11-03-2011, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by knighthawk321

I saw the Maple Syrup review, too. I have learned over the years playing with computers (and these are basically hand held computers - heck, 10 years ago, these would be desktops) not to put too much faith in benchmarking programs. Quite often they can be subtly written to favor a particular type of hardware (Intel over AMD or vice versa). Not only that, we're dealing with a hyperdriven version of Moore's law here. The hardware and software are growing by leaps and bounds. By next upgrade, we may be holding 5 or less year old desktops in our hands. For the price point, the Vivid looks just fine. Is it the fastest thing on the planet? Maybe not, but it's damn good and I will likely be quite content with it for the one contract cycle I'm likely to have it. By then, it will probably seem as slow and antiquated as this BlackBerry 9700 does now. The bleeding edge doesn't stay put for very long. Next cycle, we'll probably have quad core, 1080p AMOLEDs, 32GB internal storage, 4GB DDR3 RAM and microSDXC 64 or more. Android rev K may very well be fully cross-platform from phones all the way to desktops. Who knows? Let's enjoy each cycle as we get to them. Remember, these may be the last high end phones we get for $200 on contract at release.

Touché my friend.

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**knighthawk321** · 11-04-2011, 02:11 PM

Phil posted on the front site about benchmarks, too. Good read. On another front, the hands-on reviews are starting to roll in faster now, and they're generally looking Very good. Looking forward to getting mine.