Go to a Verizon store? Post your thoughts here!

[popkurn611]

Sadly, my visit to the Verizon store resulted in me canceling my Panda 2 XL pre-order. Did not like the look of the front at all. The way the screen sort of floats above the body was just not appealing to me - and I'm not dropping $1k on a phone that makes me go "eww." Oh well.

I went twice to confirm my first impression and that second impression was the same as the first. Phone just was not designed well, in my opinion. And like you said I'm not spending all that money on something I am not overall excited with. Any chance of getting the 2?

 

[rickms80]

Why? I've seen a lot of people express similar sentiments, but haven't said why. Aside from the arduous "a 'premium' phone should be like X" argument.

Why does it bother you? Do you notice tinting on your TV and computer? Would people have noticed the tint if they weren't actively looking for it and positioning the phone in ways for it to appear/ comparing it side by side to other phones?

ahh...The one I looked at was pretty bad to me. I didn't have to adjust the angle of the phone or anything. It just had a blue tint/washed out look.... It looked like someone went and and screwed with the display settings on a TV demo or something at the local best buy store. It's very obvious with the XL2 at my local store being sandwiched in between the original xl and the P2. I noticed it approaching the display before I even touched the phone. I do notice tint though.

 

[Ominx]

I'm new to these parts but I am eagerly awaiting my panda XL preorder. I'm coming over from 10 years in the Apple camp and it's nice to see these forums are as equally OCD as over there.

I haven't had a chance to stop into a VZW store yet, but I am curious why this blue tint "problem" isn't evident in any review models. I've watched every YouTube video of the XL I could find and I do not see it evident in those models.

So, my guess is there is either some panel variations, or the demo models on display at VZW have something else going on. With that said, my iPhone 7+ does the same thing when viewed from angles, so I personally will not be bothered if it does in fact exist in production models.

 

[Stevenmc8602]

Here's my take on "blue tint". I currently have an HTC 10. Great phone, but it is polarized vertically, which means when wearing sunglasses, the screen goes blank if held in portrait orientation. Shortly after purchasing this phone, I moved to Florida, which makes this a HUGE problem.

In comparison, a slight blue tint is a non issue. Yes, I agree its there. Yes, I agree the N8 has a superior screen. But I"m buying this phone for the software, updates direct from Google, and camera, in that order. Everything I've seen about the screen looks perfectly acceptable to me.

I'll judge it in person when I get mine in my hands this week.

All you had to do was get a screen protector to offset the HTC 10 issue the blue tint won't be that simple... Maybe it won't be in the handsets shipped and people are blowing this out of proportion

 

[Wiley_11]

I'm new to these parts but I am eagerly awaiting my panda XL preorder. I'm coming over from 10 years in the Apple camp and it's nice to see these forums are as equally OCD as over there.

I haven't had a chance to stop into a VZW store yet, but I am curious why this blue tint "problem" isn't evident in any review models. I've watched every YouTube video of the XL I could find and I do not see it evident in those models.

So, my guess is there is either some panel variations, or the demo models on display at VZW have something else going on. With that said, my iPhone 7+ does the same thing when viewed from angles, so I personally will not be bothered if it does in fact exist in production models.

Welcome to Android/Android Central. I hope your pleasantly surprised with your new device.

 

[Pigman]

I didn't play around with it too much, but the size of the phone, and the screen seemed great to me. I didn't think it felt too cheap. I can't wait to get mine.

 

[eak1570]

I'm not sure but on my V30 the blue tint is much less compared to last week. Maybe the blue tint is will go away after a week. (Remember the red tint on HTC 10 when the phone came out)
(Display brightness set at 60%)

 

[Zod1010]

You can't go wrong with all flagship these days.

This. 1,000 this. Whether we're talking the S8, the Note, the V30 or the Pixels, they're all superb devices. If you don't like your Pixel, return it for something else.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Here's my take on "blue tint". I currently have an HTC 10. Great phone, but it is polarized vertically, which means when wearing sunglasses, the screen goes blank if held in portrait orientation. Shortly after purchasing this phone, I moved to Florida, which makes this a HUGE problem.

Hopefully the circular polarizer used with the new Pixels truly does make this a non-issue. Really annoying when wearing sunglasses driving and trying to see navigation.

With that said, my iPhone 7+ does the same thing when viewed from angles, so I personally will not be bothered if it does in fact exist in production models.

As do my Nexus 6 and (2016) Pixel XL. It's simply more visible on phones with cooler displays than warmer.

 

[ChuckG73]

https://youtu.be/qqVHq5gWiAY

 

[TANDC]

Went to a local VZ yesterday and the had Pixel 2 and XL. I had a Pixel 2 on order but after playing with both I just lost excitement. I see a lot of people posting have older phones so I could see this phone being good for those.

But I have a s8 so the bezels are big and the screen small, still has no wireless charging and we did comparisons with phones and didnt see a notable difference.

The front facing speakers are nice but even iPhones have stereo sound.

If you're buying one on preorder I would try and make the time to check out the phone.

We cancelled our order just not worth the cost vs the differences.

 

[Almeuit]

Went to a local VZ yesterday and the had Pixel 2 and XL. I had a Pixel 2 on order but after playing with both I just lost excitement. I see a lot of people posting have older phones so I could see this phone being good for those.

But I have a s8 so the bezels are big and the screen small, still has no wireless charging and we did comparisons with phones and didnt see a notable difference.

The front facing speakers are nice but even iPhones have stereo sound.

If you're buying one on preorder I would try and make the time to check out the phone.

We cancelled our order just not worth the cost vs the differences.

I will be selling my S8+ with the quickness as soon as I get my XL 2 in hand.

 

[anon(5506951)]

I went yesterday, and I was shocked at how cheap the 2 XL felt in my hand, particularly when comparing it to the OG Pixel XL right next to it. It honestly felt like I was holding a plastic toy at the back, whereas the OG XL had that cool to the touch metal, and that reassuring bit of heft to it. The speakers sounded on par with the Nexus 6P, if not slightly lower. Obviously there's no headphone jack, so testing my headset was a no go.

Was it fast and smooth? Sure, but is that worth shelling out over a thousand dollars for it when all is said and done, including the protection plan and any accessories with their applicable taxes? HELL NO. I left feeling deflated after being so hyped for its release. There's no way I'd pay more than $400 for it.

By contrast, while I have my gripes with the Note 8 (battery life, speaker quality, fingerprint scanner placement and inevitable TouchWiz lag), it feels like a premium phone and you're confident that for the most part, you're getting what you pay for.

I also have questions about the LG V30 (screen quality and visibility outdoors, battery life and performance withLG's skin). But I feel like the V30 is the perfect "compromise" phone, in that it doesn't sacrifice too much in the way of features in relation to the Note, other than obviously the S-Pen.

I'd sooner pay for a 6P with 2 XL internals, a much better quality screen (outdoor visibility on it is trash) AND a headphone jack!!, than I would for the actual 2 XL. Sorry, not sorry. I'm torn about where to go from here, but I'm leaning towards the V30. Or I could just replace the battery in my pristine condition Nexus 6P and wait yet another year.

 

[Almeuit]

I went yesterday, and I was shocked at how cheap the 2 XL felt in my hand, particularly when comparing it to the OG Pixel XL right next to it. It honestly felt like I was holding a plastic toy at the back, whereas the OG XL had that cool to the touch metal, and that reassuring bit of heft to it. The speakers sounded on par with the Nexus 6P, if not slightly lower. Obviously there's no headphone jack, so testing my headset was a no go.

Was it fast and smooth? Sure, but is that worth shelling out over a thousand dollars for it when all is said and done, including the protection plan and any accessories with their applicable taxes? HELL NO. I left feeling deflated after being so hyped for its release. There's no way I'd pay more than $400 for it.

By contrast, while I have my gripes with the Note 8 (battery life, speaker quality, fingerprint scanner placement and inevitable TouchWiz lag), it feels like a premium phone and you're confident that for the most part, you're getting what you pay for.

I also have questions about the LG V30 (screen quality and visibility outdoors, battery life and performance withLG's skin). But I feel like the V30 is the perfect "compromise" phone, in that it doesn't sacrifice too much in the way of features in relation to the Note, other than obviously the S-Pen.

I'd sooner pay for a 6P with 2 XL internals and a much better quality screen (outdoor visibility on it is trash, than I would for the actual 2 XL, sorry, not sorry.

I hope you find a phone that works for you .

 

[dmits]

I have a 2 xl pre-ordered and so I went to a Verizon store, I played with the 2 and the 2 xl, mostly the 2 xl and I for one loved it. It didn't feel cheap but light and the popcorned aluminum back felt exactly as I thought it would, like aluminum. It was very fast and I had all the apps open and it didn't even stutter. The launcher is of course bland and I will probably use the BlackBerry launcher with the Stealth icons and use the black theme. I saw on xda how they were going to extract the turned off dark theme which I noticed by switching the wallpaper to the earthrise it turned it on but it was only for the launcher. I do like that dark theme though.

 

[Mike Dee]

Something must be wrong with the displays you all are seeing at your local stores. I don't see this blue tint at all.

I've tried turning and looking at it from numerous angles, to the point that the reps came and thought something was wrong with the demo unit.

Hate that some of you are getting bum units to view.

Ditto

 

[Scottie15]

I hope you find a phone that works for you .

Lol good luck on that.

I've had an LG for years and they load their phones up with bloat and irremovable applications. Can't wait to be on stock Android, the main reason why I am buying.

 

[Almeuit]

Lol good luck on that.

I've had an LG for years and they load their phones up with bloat and irremovable applications. Can't wait to be on stock Android, the main reason why I am buying.

I don't mind bloat too much. I mainly want the latest updates and security patches. The awesome camera is a plus. I can't wait for my panda 2 XL to arrive .

 

[Mike Dee]

So I did stop by a Verizon store, and when I attempted to activate developer mode, it stopped me from doing so, saying "demo mode only". As others have mentioned, it's a good chance the bootloader is locked like the first Pixel.

Also, the black XL looks all-business and understated. I wish the panda version was there for me to compare. I also wish the blue that's from the smaller Pixel 2 was available for the XL.

You can take it out of demo without going to developer mode

 

[Scottie15]

I don't mind bloat too much. I mainly want the latest updates and security patches. The awesome camera is a plus. I can't wait for my panda 2 XL to arrive .

That's the best part about the Pixel: NO BLOAT! No lag, no OEM trash hoarding my memory and killing the life of my device. I'll take that over any Android device, any day.