I've had the E4GT for almost three weeks now (since launch day), and overall I really like it. I would give it a 90/100 rating. But there are some annoying features/issues/bugs with my non-rooted, stock E4GT that I wish could be resolved sooner than later (or at least, someday!). I will say again that the good features of this phone far outweigh the negative ones, but still there are some minor and some more significant issues that do detract from the user experience of this phone (to varying degrees).
In no particular order:
1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness
This sucks in the E4GT, with dramatic, abrupt, and sometimes inappropriate brightness changes. I used this all the time in my Evo 4G but can't in the E4GT because it works so poorly.
2. Screen dimming issue with stock browser
Basically, when I set the brightness at a high level (let's say, for example, the highest setting) for using outdoors and open up the stock internet browser, it 'auto-dims' right after it opens up. This is even with the display brightness auto-setting and the 'auto adjust screen power' setting turned off. It doesn't happen with the other browser I have (skyfire), only the stock one. It's annoying because I like the stock browser but it's less usable outdoors because of this inexplicable auto dimming that happens.
3. Slow Notification light blinking speed/rate
It's too damn slow. There should be an option to adjust the speed. I know there are some apps to help deal with this, but it shouldn't require that.
4. Lock screen lag
I'm used to it popping up immediately in my Evo 4G so it's been somewhat annoying having to wait a full second for it to pop up after pressing the power key. Supposedly it is due to the phone being in some sort of sleep mode to conserve battery life? If so, that's reasonable and perhaps good even.
5. Inability to select emails in stock Email app
Luckily, Microsoft released the hotmail app recently because the stock one, while nice overall, was virtually unusable for me because you cannot select individual/multiple emails to delete. The hotmail app has made this issue a moot point for me.
6. (Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed
This has been an issue more recently. I'm finding that GPS seems to take quite long to lock in a signal quite frequently, sometimes over a few minutes. It seemed like it locked faster before, but now it more often than not takes awhile. I don't live in the middle of Manhattan or anything, but the cloud coverage out here (near Seattle) may play a role.
7. (Always) poor Wifi connection stability
This is one of the most annoying things about my E4GT. I cannot keep a wifi signal in my home for more than 30 minutes at a time, regardless of how close I am to my wireless router. It is easily remedied by toggling the wifi off and on, but still annoying.
8. Poor WiMax reception?
"?" because this is probably related to the poor 4Gcoverage in Tacoma, WA where I live, but at least with my Evo 4G I could get a bit better 4G signal than with my E4GT. I'll see how it is at some point in Seattle, where the 4G coverage is much more ubiquitous.
9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout)
I find it sad that there is no option to keep the screen timeout at 'never', or even at more than 10 minutes. I find this annoying because if I am using google maps to navigate (but without using the navigation app), it will time out.
10. Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone
I don't understand why Samsung would think it's a good idea to make you drag your finger across the screen just to answer a phone call. Don't laugh, but I have missed a few calls because I couldn't whip out the phone and drag the tab fast enough to answer the call.
11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar
What I mean, is that you have to 'drag' the bar all the way up the screen to the top for it to definitely close. If you only drag it up halfway up the screen, for instance, there is no 'inertia' that will continue moving it to the top. So the notification bar may decelerate and then sadly flop back down to the bottom in failure (unlike my Evo 4G where a drag 'flick' will shoot the bar all the way up or down). Oddly, dragging down is easier and doesn't require a full screen drag.
Thoughts?
In no particular order:
1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness
This sucks in the E4GT, with dramatic, abrupt, and sometimes inappropriate brightness changes. I used this all the time in my Evo 4G but can't in the E4GT because it works so poorly.
2. Screen dimming issue with stock browser
Basically, when I set the brightness at a high level (let's say, for example, the highest setting) for using outdoors and open up the stock internet browser, it 'auto-dims' right after it opens up. This is even with the display brightness auto-setting and the 'auto adjust screen power' setting turned off. It doesn't happen with the other browser I have (skyfire), only the stock one. It's annoying because I like the stock browser but it's less usable outdoors because of this inexplicable auto dimming that happens.
3. Slow Notification light blinking speed/rate
It's too damn slow. There should be an option to adjust the speed. I know there are some apps to help deal with this, but it shouldn't require that.
4. Lock screen lag
I'm used to it popping up immediately in my Evo 4G so it's been somewhat annoying having to wait a full second for it to pop up after pressing the power key. Supposedly it is due to the phone being in some sort of sleep mode to conserve battery life? If so, that's reasonable and perhaps good even.
5. Inability to select emails in stock Email app
Luckily, Microsoft released the hotmail app recently because the stock one, while nice overall, was virtually unusable for me because you cannot select individual/multiple emails to delete. The hotmail app has made this issue a moot point for me.
6. (Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed
This has been an issue more recently. I'm finding that GPS seems to take quite long to lock in a signal quite frequently, sometimes over a few minutes. It seemed like it locked faster before, but now it more often than not takes awhile. I don't live in the middle of Manhattan or anything, but the cloud coverage out here (near Seattle) may play a role.
7. (Always) poor Wifi connection stability
This is one of the most annoying things about my E4GT. I cannot keep a wifi signal in my home for more than 30 minutes at a time, regardless of how close I am to my wireless router. It is easily remedied by toggling the wifi off and on, but still annoying.
8. Poor WiMax reception?
"?" because this is probably related to the poor 4Gcoverage in Tacoma, WA where I live, but at least with my Evo 4G I could get a bit better 4G signal than with my E4GT. I'll see how it is at some point in Seattle, where the 4G coverage is much more ubiquitous.
9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout)
I find it sad that there is no option to keep the screen timeout at 'never', or even at more than 10 minutes. I find this annoying because if I am using google maps to navigate (but without using the navigation app), it will time out.
10. Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone
I don't understand why Samsung would think it's a good idea to make you drag your finger across the screen just to answer a phone call. Don't laugh, but I have missed a few calls because I couldn't whip out the phone and drag the tab fast enough to answer the call.
11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar
What I mean, is that you have to 'drag' the bar all the way up the screen to the top for it to definitely close. If you only drag it up halfway up the screen, for instance, there is no 'inertia' that will continue moving it to the top. So the notification bar may decelerate and then sadly flop back down to the bottom in failure (unlike my Evo 4G where a drag 'flick' will shoot the bar all the way up or down). Oddly, dragging down is easier and doesn't require a full screen drag.
Thoughts?
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