Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredible 2

[albertdc]

My wife will be up for an upgrade at the end of the month and we are looking at upgrading her to her first real smartphone. She will be a very basic user. Based on prices at Costco, I am looking at getting her either the Samsung Stratosphere or the Incredible 2.
Anybody have strong feelings between the 2 phones - HTC sense vs Touchwiz doesn't matter either way, btw.
Love the idea of having 4G on the Stratosphere, and she likes having a slider phone (though she has never had a good touch-only phone and probably could get used to the Incr2. (I know I quickly got used to my Droid X and am faster on that than she is on her sliding keyboard currently....).

I am concerned about the AMOLED screen of the Stratosphere - we are in Salt Lake City where it is very sunny most of the time. How is the "Super" AMOLED outdoors, practically speaking. Is the Incredible 2 better outdoors with the LCD screen? My Droid X is great outside as long as I turn up the brightness a bit.

Any other considerations when deciding between th Stratosphere and Incredible 2? She won't care about rooting, ICS, etc. She just wants an easy-to-use phone and ability to check email and lightly surf the web....

Thanks in advance
Albert

 

[wewantutopia]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

I was using it while working outdoors on some very sunny days and was pleasantly surprised by how easily I could see it with the brightness turned up in full sun.

I'm not sure your concern of LCD vs. SAMOLED since there is no backlight fighting to pass through an LCD layer. With SAMOLED... each pixel is lit on it's own by definition.

I'd thought I should add, indoors I have it set at 0% brightness and have NO issues seeing the display. It is quite nice!

 

[albertdc]

Thanks for the feedback regarding both outdoor visibility and the fact that you have it turned down to 0% indoors - good to hear.
My comment/worry about the AMOLED outdoors stems from many reviews regarding AMOLED screens in general that state that outdoor visibility is their Achilles heal. In contrast, the screen of the original Droid X had always been touted as being very good outside (which I can vouch for). I am ashamed to admit, however, that I do not know what the Droid X has...I think it is TFT? ...and I have no idea how that compares to standard LCD (incredible 2, I believe) and to AMOLED outdoors, thus the question.


Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[Dubbman]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

Yeah, SAMOLED = easy sun viewing.

 

[MofoMan2000]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

I've had a wonderful time viewing my Stratosphere outdoors, it's quite fantastic. Can't say anything for the DInc2.

 

[Dubbman]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

DINC2 is an LCD backlit, it stands to reason you'll get worse viewing outside with it.

 

[kelton]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

For the first time since buying the Strat, I spent time in glaring bright sun and was able to see the screen perfectly turned up all the way.

I did have the Inc2. My primary complaint with that phone was the antennae. As many have complained, I was dropping calls too much... and in areas that were strong, the Inc2's signal meter showed only two bars when my girlfriend's phone and my blackberry showed twice as many.

I had a OEM extended battery in the Inc2... perhaps that affected the signal. Don't know. But it is a common complaint. If there is one "issue" that is paramount in any cell phone, it's the ability to catch a signal!!!

 

[albertdc]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback regarding the Stratosphere's screen in bright light. Between that, 4G, and a slider keyboard, this looks like a no-brainer over the Inc2 for my wife.

Hopefully it will still be available at Costco for cheap come Christmas-time since my wife is not eligible for her 2-year upgrade until the end of the month. The person at the Costco Verizon booth told me that they could do the upgrade 1 week early (hopefully that is truly the case), but that is still 2 more weeks away... Hmm, now the problem may be that I will take the new phone for myself (to have 4G) and give her my Droid X! LOL!

 

[MofoMan2000]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

Yeah, you can do the upgrade up to 7 days early on Verizon, I know that because I sell their phones.

 

[Last Ride]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

You'll find the DInc2 nearly unreadable in direct sunlight. I had one, and it's a nice phone, but the view in the sun is terrible. And since I'm in Salt Lake as well, I feel I can give you an accurate account of what real-world experience you can expect.

 

[albertdc]

Re: Outdoor visibility - any feedback?: Stratosphere vs Incredibl

You'll find the DInc2 nearly unreadable in direct sunlight. I had one, and it's a nice phone, but the view in the sun is terrible. And since I'm in Salt Lake as well, I feel I can give you an accurate account of what real-world experience you can expect.

Thanks for the feedback on the DInc2 out here in Salt Lake. The Stratosphere is now free at Best Buy -looks like I'll be picking it up for my wife next week when she is up for her upgrade.