First impressions from former Ipad returner

[jlee91780]

I got the View yesterday. Again, Sprint staff had no idea about various things. He argued with me that Mobile Hotspot is only available on actual phones, but I finally got him to activate it on my device.

I preface this to say I formerly had an Ipad but returned it because it was useless so I had high expectations for View, specifically desiring its pen function for class; if View didn't work for me, tablets will never work for me. Some reasons to return IPad: (1) Unwieldy to hold and type one-handed (2) Flash continues to thrive despite Apple's attempts to dictate the industry (3) No good way to word process and edit powerpoints. (4) not portable (5) easier to websurf with my laptop

First impressions: (1) 4G not faster than home dsl although that what's salesman advertised (2) 4G goes in and out (3) Wifi not working (4) web pages are the native and not mobile version which is good but also bad in that any site takes resizing on 7 inch screen. (5) Easy to hold in one hand and peck with other hand unlike ipad although I could hold and type all completely one handed on my iPhone faster (6) Write with Scribe pen in finer detail than I guessed from reviews on HTC flyer but haven't tried it in real time at work/conference (7) Google Maps with voice navigation is free although another app TelNav(?) wants to charge me $10/month. (8) Finding myself going back to my netbook to websurf (9) web pages loaded slower than my cheap netbook

Anybody agree with me? Next, I will test this out at work. Not completely sure if I am going to keep it right now. Will test its portability on the bus on my way to work on Monday. I recently discontinued my iPhone and only have a feature phone so we will see if this at all replaces what even a smartphone can do.

 

[chaguewood]

Tablets really are unnecessary items, but they are nice tools to have. I have a Xoom and really like it but will NOT pay Verizon's data charges so I use mine as a wi-fi only basically. I was looking into getting a View because it would be more portable and the stylus capability is a nice touch.

I can't afford the $400 on an SECOND tablet right now, but when it drops to $200-300 I might look into it. I think Sprint's data prices are much more fair.

Nice to hear your initial thoughts and experiences.

 

[yapkuen]

Odd that your WiFi isn't working; I'd imagine that if it were working, your web pages would load faster, especially since you seem to be under spotty 4G coverage. Also, you can set the browser to display mobile versions of sites in the browser settings. It's turned off by default, I think.

 

[bootup#AC]

First impressions: (1) 4G not faster than home dsl although that what's salesman advertised (2) 4G goes in and out (3) Wifi not working (4) web pages are the native and not mobile version which is good but also bad in that any site takes resizing on 7 inch screen. (5) Easy to hold in one hand and peck with other hand unlike ipad although I could hold and type all completely one handed on my iPhone faster (6) Write with Scribe pen in finer detail than I guessed from reviews on HTC flyer but haven't tried it in real time at work/conference (7) Google Maps with voice navigation is free although another app TelNav(?) wants to charge me $10/month. (8) Finding myself going back to my netbook to websurf (9) web pages loaded slower than my cheap netbook

Anybody agree with me? Next, I will test this out at work. Not completely sure if I am going to keep it right now. Will test its portability on the bus on my way to work on Monday. I recently discontinued my iPhone and only have a feature phone so we will see if this at all replaces what even a smartphone can do.

1. I agree. My 4g on the view tested at 2456kps down, while my EVO 4g did 4900 sitting right next it..definitely an issue with the wimax radio.
2. Mine does stay on constant but I am in the Seattle area, one of the first 4g markets
3. No Wifi issues at all. Works Perfectly
4. I've never used the Android Browser on my phone and won't on the view. Maxthon and/or Dolphin work very nice for me
5.Agree with ease of typing..
6. Haven't used the pen yet
7. Not sure I understand the complaint here. Google Maps with navigation does everything it needs to do for me.
8. As I said in 4, websurfing is fine for me using one of the alt browsers. I just trying video in skyfire and it worked perfectly. The netbook is still in its case.

 

[oldpueblo]

WiFi working great here, maybe try fiddling with your router? I haven't been impressed with the 3G radio, I wonder if both radios suffer from some kind of interference in the shell? Otherwise this is as perfect as tablets get right now for me.

 

[jlee91780]

Qualify first impressions from former Ipad returner

Thanks for your replies and suggestions. I wasn't really complaining but was just posting a quick first impression and hadn't done any kind of troubleshooting at all so maybe not fair, although I will say that this is my first Android and although I can see many advantages to the openness of the operating system, things don't work quite as smoothly as the Apple iphone or my brief stint on Ipad; it feels a step closer to a Windows PC where you do have to troubleshoot every now and then.

I will qualify some of my previous comments now so that anybody who was looking into it wouldn't be detracted. Also hope others can give me further suggestions.

(1) The Wifi does see the signal, but its asking for me to push some Wifi protected setup (WPS) security on my router for 5 seconds; I see this is a common security tool from quick Internet search, but this button doesn't exist on my router and I don't see it on the software, never have been asked this on any other device at my house although for a while my router wouldn't accept the password on a newly jailbroken Iphone (???).

(2) My house/area used to block out all AT&T coverage (voice and 3G) on my iphone but so far Sprint voice has been good on my cell phone although 2 bars signal versus 6 outside, but I do often see 4G annoyingly dropped and rarely 3G will also drop on the View. I know their advertising says that 4G may only work sometimes in some buildings; if I can only get 4G outdoors, this is useless and really won't replace home dsl as I hoped. The View mostly has 1 bar signal on 4G. Another signal indicator which looks like a voice signal bar has 5 bars, but this doesn't make sense to me because View doesn't have voice option.

(3) I do see the settings option to load mobile version, but my experience on Iphone and Ipad tells me that although more viewable, you will occassionally miss something important from native site. Why use another web browser, Yapkuen? Why use Skyfire as I did on iphone when Flash is supported on Android?

(7) The Google Maps navigation is much better than on iphone where you don't even get any voice turn-by-turn. I was just wondering if anyone has paid to use the TelNav app that Sprint also advertised in their press release for the View? I will eventually pay $2.99/day to see if any advantage.

(9) New issue: Calling it the View is bad name choice, named after daytime TV show for women. The more I say it, the worst it sounds even while writing this post. I may tell my friends I have the black HTC Flyer instead.

 

[Duvi]

Thanks for your feedback. I'm on the fence... I may order it tomorrow. I was actually planning on getting both the 3D and View 4G tomorrow, but may just stick to getting one of the two, getting the other at a later time. I need to sell some of my Android devices as I have 5, only using one (NS4G).

 

[Duvi]

Tablets really are unnecessary items, but they are nice tools to have. I have a Xoom and really like it but will NOT pay Verizon's data charges so I use mine as a wi-fi only basically. I was looking into getting a View because it would be more portable and the stylus capability is a nice touch.

I can't afford the $400 on an SECOND tablet right now, but when it drops to $200-300 I might look into it. I think Sprint's data prices are much more fair.

Nice to hear your initial thoughts and experiences.

Depending on when you purchase it, the pen won't be free. It's only for a limited time and will cost around $80 I believe. So by the time it drops to $300-$350, it'll cost $80 more to get the scribe.

 

[yapkuen]

RE: the WPS, did you accidentally press the "Wi-Fi Protected Setup" option in the WiFi menu? That's the only time I've ever had the WPS prompt pop up on my Flyer.

Also, the suggestion to use a different browser came from someone else I use stock HTC browser, with mobile versions turned on. Have tried others but don't like them as much.

 

[sndplace]

I would say JLee that beeing this your first Adroid Device your questions and ststments re understandable. I'm sure your not new to forums and know that reading and searching is a very helpfull tools.

Eventhough the stock apps like the Browser should be and is just fine for web browsing devs make some that are better and Faster to use. Some people swear by them and some say they are all the same.

Just like how you Jailbroke your Iphone. Soon there will be a Rom or something that will fix/better things with the view/flyer. Play with your settings and update your PRL . for some this works for others it doesn't. I called Sprint when my 4G speeds seem crapy and they did some sort of update or something so you can try to call them about that if your data is still spotty.

With Sprint you have 30 days to decide so give it a full workout and use Sprint Customer/tec service as much as possible be for you decide to keep it or not.

Goodluck....Enjoy

 

[glidersgalore]

My Wifi set up fast and works great. As for the 3G/4G speeds there is an issue with the device. It is on a thread over at XDA. the tablet is factory set to 1-xrtt. You can see that if you go to the calc, turn the tablet to landscape and enter !+!+4636+!+! then hit the = button. From what everyone says, you have to call Tech Support and they rest it and it works fine.

 

[jlee91780]

2nd impressions from former Ipad returner

After almost a week with this, I am liking my Android tablet more and more. Still looking to have this be a productively tool rather than just a luxury item, but I just started a new job and can't get settled enough to test this on real world tasks.

Comparing to my iPhone, which may be unfair, an Android allows more functionality as well as Flash which will not go extinct as some may report. However, the apps for iphone integrate a little better with the iOS, and on a smartphone you may want more ease of use on tiny screen. Also, on iphone, most of the Google Apps are available, it just takes an extra step like going through the web.

My 3G/4G improved but far from perfect with some software update and I'm gonna call technical today for this hard reset I've heard about. Having 3G/4G is great though because don't have to think about connecting to something else. Also, I've noticed more convenience than managing a mobile hotspot.

GPS is great on 7 inch screen versus my former iphone.

Wifi works anywhere except my home where it keeps asking for WPS security.

Overall, I really like it and won't return it. Still haven't tested scribe and audio recording.

 

[oldpueblo]

Yeah the radio was a requirement for me on my next tablet, the entire point of them is convenience and if you have to do all these extra steps to tether it then convenience is out the window. It's also inconvenient to drain your other device battery. The fact that wifi works everywhere else shows that you should reconfigure your router maybe, or do a firmware update or something. Good process of elimination.