Active Notifications

[anthony2558]

Gotta love customer service. Haha.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[brianbrain]

I just received two Droid Minis today.

Active Notifications:

YES the Droid Mini has them. YES they are exactly the same as the ones on the Maxx and the Ultra. Case Closed.

The Droid Mini could be LCD or could be OLED. I just don't know. If it IS LCD, it must use a localized LED backlighting technology, as the blacks are OLED level black. The more I examine the screen, the more I lean towards OLED. Either way, the screen is beautiful and the notifications work.

 

[sholzer]

I just received two Droid Minis today.

Active Notifications:

YES the Droid Mini has them. YES they are exactly the same as the ones on the Maxx and the Ultra. Case Closed.

The Droid Mini could be LCD or could be OLED. I just don't know. If it IS LCD, it must use a localized LED backlighting technology, as the blacks are OLED level black. The more I examine the screen, the more I lean towards OLED. Either way, the screen is beautiful and the notifications work.

I like your report. Leans me toward the mini over the X. This was one of the factors. Lastly I have a maxx @4.3 now. Do I want same screen size and way smaller form factor. Or no wireless charging but larger screen. Paying cash too to keep unlimited data so will see how far off outright purchase will be. How'd your 1st day of battery life go?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

[brianbrain]

For me the Moto X vs Mini wasn't too tough of a decision. The Moto's screen is slightly larger, but you lose screen real estate in most apps due to on-screen keys, so the actual usable space in most scenarios should be similar. Additionally, the Mini is thinner, the Mini is slightly smaller, and most importantly (for me), the Mini has Qi wireless charging.

The only thing that would make the Moto X be a tough decision, for me, would be if Verizon had Moto Maker from the get-go and access to the 32GB model. Since these are both things that are months down the road, I got the Mini today - if I'm intrigued enough when Moto Maker comes to Verizon, I'll re-evaluate things then, but I could not be happier with the Mini today.

Something else to keep in mind in regards to these two phones is Verizon's track record for pushing updates. As a Droid Razr owner, you've seen that they did a pretty nice job pushing updates through from Moto quickly and the Razr went from what - gingerbread all the way to JB. You can't say that for a lot of VZ devices. We've all seen how VZ can pick and choose how they want updates to roll out too - take the Galaxy Nexus as an example. Given that the Moto X is just "a device" to VZ but the Droid lineup are their "hero devices", you can expect that (if verizon stays true to form) the Droid line receives updates either first, or at the very latest, at the same time as the Moto X. You would think it would be the opposite, but if VZ stays true to their track record, they'll purposefully hold back Moto X updates "for additional testing" if they are ready before their precious Droid counterparts. Something to think about anyway..

 

[sholzer]

Good point about the usable screen size and buttons.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

[Honestabebread]

The Mini is LCD and the active notifications destroy the battery life. Had a customer come in and their phone had died 50% while sitting dormant for 8 hours. Turned off active notifications and now it drains about a percent an hour while dormant.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[brianbrain]

The Mini is LCD and the active notifications destroy the battery life. Had a customer come in and their phone had died 50% while sitting dormant for 8 hours. Turned off active notifications and now it drains about a percent an hour while dormant.

1) I had only 33% drain over 8.5 hours during active use (and yes, active notifications). I find your experience hard to believe to say the least.

2) how do you know its an LCD panel? Did Motorola make an official statement here that we have not seen because so far it goes between being oled and tft depending on who you ask. My personal opinion is that its oled, but check out my video in the mini shipment thread if you want to see it yourself..

3) how do you know the customer's battery behavior post active notification change? Did the customer sit around for another 8 hours or come back the next day yo report on your "fix"?

Sorry, your story doesn't add up or come anywhere close to my personal experience having owned the phone.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Honestabebread]

They left the phone with me my whole shift. So I personally saw it switch from draining 50% over an 8 hour period to 10% over an 8 hour period. The only variable is if the customer left it dormant or not during their time with it.

Also, its LCD based off the official documentation listed in Verizon's equipment guide. Quite a bit more reliable than looking at it and thinking "oh this looks AMOLED."

I'm glad you are happy with your Droid Mini experience. Its a great phone. However my customer purchased two Minis and both were having issues with short life and both were seemingly fixed after turning off active display.

And why would I make up some random negative stuff about a phone? Don't be silly. I'll report what I see and hear and so will you. Don't be a goober.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[brianbrain]

The problem is, you admit yourself that you don't know what the user did to drain it 50% in 8 hours, yet are assuming that disabling active notifications was the be all end all fix - you can't be sure of that. I have two of these phones that I've spent over 48 hours with now, and I can tell you that neither one has a battery drain issue or problem with active notifications.

Regarding screen tech: I'm not going to say for certain what the screen tech is (and I haven't), however I think stating absolutely that its LCD is premature. Both Verizon and Motorola can't give a clear answer on this yet, and I'm sure you can admit that you've found errors in these equipment guides before.

Bottom line: there is nothing conclusive enough, by your own recount of events, to state that active notifications and screen type are as you said in such an absolute manner. If you want to say you "have a suspicion" or you "believe" then please do and let us listen to the facts. Your original statement listed these items as fact when they are actually assumptions you are making based off of the data you've seen (as all of ours are).

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk 4

 

[brianbrain]

Honestabebread:

I had the opportunity to run side-by-side full brightness on black background tests with a Note II, Lumia 928, iPhone 5, and the Droid Mini.

Looks like the Verizon guide is right. The 928 and Note II showed deeper blacks at full brightness than the IP5 or the Droid Mini. The IP5 and Droid Mini showed very similar results, and we all know the IP5 is an LCD panel. So while this certainly isn't definitive proof, you are most likely correct about the panel being LCD (i'll re-run the tests this evening if people are interested in some photos to see for yourselves).

I don't believe the Active Notifications are causing excess battery drain, however. When comparing a Droid Mini and a Droid Maxx, I began noticing that the Droid Maxx was "pulsing" far more often than the Mini. As it turns out, the Mini doesn't seem to pulse unless it is disturbed - a moderate change in ambient light exposure, detectable physical movement, or a new notification seem to be the only things that trigger the Active Notifications - otherwise they just don't show (likewise, if the phone believes it's in your pocket, the notifications don't show). This is in contrast to the Maxx, where the notifications pulse at regular intervals without any form of sensor stimuli required to trigger them. It appears this was done specifically to reduce how often the notifications are displayed (which is basically, not that often - the phone ends up displaying them pretty much only at times when you're about to flick the phone on anyway), and thus reduce battery life concerns. My battery life was very good yesterday - lots of screen on time, GPS, streaming music, generally playing around with it for no reason, picture and video taking and usage in direct sunlight - the battery finally died after just shy of 14 hours. Today will be a better test as the battery has had a few good cycles now and should be pretty accurate. It is becoming clear, however, that the Active Notifications implementation on the Droid Mini are more of a novelty as the LED is the only thing that's going to notify you in most situations.

Finally, it's worth noting that one of the first things the phones did when I powered them on was to download an update to the Active Notifications. It's possible that this update made the modifications listed above specifically to address battery concerns with the (what we believe to be) LCD screen. I would assume that if a Mini did not receive this update, it could very well be an issue, but this is pure conjecture on my part.

 

[phositadc]

Thanks for those details. Sounds like it probably is LCD, which is a bit sad for the active notifications. That said, I think I prefer an LED. With light flow I can get almost as much information as I can from an active notification.

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[Honestabebread]

I've sold a few of the Minis since launch and it really is an incredible phone. Smarter buy than the Ultra IMO

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Ry]

Can we consider the display situation resolved? It's an LCD. It's not AMOLED like the Ultra and Maxx.

 

[brianbrain]

Ry,

I think you are correct, its most likely that the mini is LCD with a limited implementation of active notifications (they don't appear as often but when they do they display identically to the maxx). The RGB LED makes up for this deficiency, for the most part.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk 4

 

[phositadc]

Fwiw I went to a store today and held a mini side by side with an ultra. Put full black screen on both. Ultra was noticeably blacker.

So yes, in my mind it's resolved. Definitely an LCD.

Sent from my XT1058

 

[jperiod]

I went to the Verizon store yesterday to compare phones. Didn't have a lot of time but I compared the Droid Mini to my current phone which is A Droid Razr M (the predecessar to the mini). The screen on the Mini is brighter and crisper than the Razr M, but the Razr M screen clarity does not fall off as you get off axis as does the Mini. The Mini was a bit more responsive than the Razr M. I couldn't do an accurate test of absolute black levels in the store so I don't know about this. I took a couple of pictures with the camera and tried to compare, but I couldn't see where the Mini was any better than the Razr M. I looked at the active notifications on the MINI and it raised more questions than answers for me. If the main purpose of this feature is to minimize battery drain, it seems to be not worth so much since you have to turn on the whole screen on a TFT display, unless Motorola has made some revolutionary advancement in this area. It seems Motorola made this concession (TFT screen) as a cost cutting measure. They had AMOLED on the Razr M, but eliminated it on the MINI and increased the resolution to 720P. I guess something had to be sacrificed to keep the cost the same and this was it. I think they could have just left the Active Notification off. Maybe a marketing decision.
On the whole, I like the phone. I want to get more information on the Camera performance.I like the overall performance. I like the size , obviously since I own the Razr M. Will look at a bit more in depth soon and will decide between this and new Iphonee 5S

 

[scurvmeister]

Honestabebread:

I don't believe the Active Notifications are causing excess battery drain, however. When comparing a Droid Mini and a Droid Maxx, I began noticing that the Droid Maxx was "pulsing" far more often than the Mini. As it turns out, the Mini doesn't seem to pulse unless it is disturbed - a moderate change in ambient light exposure, detectable physical movement, or a new notification seem to be the only things that trigger the Active Notifications - otherwise they just don't show (likewise, if the phone believes it's in your pocket, the notifications don't show). This is in contrast to the Maxx, where the notifications pulse at regular intervals without any form of sensor stimuli required to trigger them. It appears this was done specifically to reduce how often the notifications are displayed (which is basically, not that often - the phone ends up displaying them pretty much only at times when you're about to flick the phone on anyway), and thus reduce battery life concerns. My battery life was very good yesterday - lots of screen on time, GPS, streaming music, generally playing around with it for no reason, picture and video taking and usage in direct sunlight - the battery finally died after just shy of 14 hours. Today will be a better test as the battery has had a few good cycles now and should be pretty accurate. It is becoming clear, however, that the Active Notifications implementation on the Droid Mini are more of a novelty as the LED is the only thing that's going to notify you in most situations.

Finally, it's worth noting that one of the first things the phones did when I powered them on was to download an update to the Active Notifications. It's possible that this update made the modifications listed above specifically to address battery concerns with the (what we believe to be) LCD screen. I would assume that if a Mini did not receive this update, it could very well be an issue, but this is pure conjecture on my part.

I actually see the Mini's active notification + LED implementation as a more ideal combination to get notifications. The Active notification is not just a novelty on the Mini, it makes it so that when you pull it out of your pocket, it immediately shows the time, notifications, and gives you touch access to the phone without having to push the power button. When it's sitting on a table for a long time, it's kind of a waste to constantly breathe, so it gives you colored LEDs (to see from far away) and wakes up if you bump or move it. Also, it won't breathe at all if it's facedown on the table. To me, this setup is actually more informative than the Ultra or the Maxx with no LED.

 

[Brooke]

I can't seem to get Active Notifications on the Mini. I think it's set up ...

 

[Brooke]

I can't seem to get Active Notifications on the Mini. I think it's set up ...

Partly solved. I had turned the Notifications on for Dialer One, but not for the generic Phone app. Now missed calls, etc., show.
My SMS is textra, and I think it must not be supported?

 

[Stack697]

My SMS is textra, and I think it must not be supported?

Textra is supported - it has to activated in the settings menu --Works perfect for me (miss the stock messaging of the Razr M, the mini's messaging app is the worst, seems cold & sterile absolutely no color)