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Nook Color vs Archos 70/101

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/24/archos-70-and-101-internet-tablet-review/
Just $49 more for cameras, kickstands, Android 2.2, less headache, and more.
What do you think? Which one is better?
Anyone used both? Or considering returning the NC for an Archos?

I was just talking about this subject with some friends.
Nook has a much better screen. A 1024x600 res IPS with great angles and crispness. The Archos 70 has a crappy 800x480 TN screen with really bad viewing angles. Screen quality in a tablet is probably most important to me. I want to be able to hold this thing any any direction at any angle and still see it, can't do that with the Archos.
The Nook feels solid... maybe a little too solid, as it is certainly heavier than the Archos 70. The Archos is reportedly very flimsy feeling. This could go either way depending on how much you value solid feeling versus weight.
The Nook has 512MB of RAM and it looks like 1GB or more of app storage space (unfortunately I didn't look at it before installing a few things). The Archos 70 has 256MB of RAM and only a measly 256MB of app storage space. Maybe the modders can fix that if they haven't yet, not sure. But that is a big downer for the Archos to me, I've already installed about 400MB of apps on my Nook in that app space.
Archos seems to have performance on it's side. It's CPU runs at the full 1GHz and it's running Android 2.2 already. My Nook feels sluggish with web browsing (using Dolphin HD), but I'm hoping the Nook update to 2.2 in January can help pep it up some. And maybe someday we'll get a 1GHz kernel.
Archos has a few extra hardware features like Bluetooth, HDMI out, better speakers, and cameras (though probably not a big loss if they are as bad as Engadget says they are).
For me the WAY better screen more than makes up for the slightly slower performance and other features the Nook doesn't have.

Connectivity. Vs. Screen quality... Pick your poison.

Ravynmagi said:
The Archos 70 has 256MB of RAM and only a measly 256MB of app storage space. Maybe the modders can fix that if they haven't yet, not sure.
...
And maybe someday we'll get a 1GHz kernel.
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Just to clarify, RAM, flash storage space, and CPU are not things that can be fixed/improved with software. These are determined by the physical chips that are soldered on to the board.
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.

candre23 said:
Just to clarify, RAM, flash storage space, and CPU are not things that can be fixed/improved with software. These are determined by the physical chips that are soldered on to the board.
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.
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Don't you mean the nk will have the slightest edge once it gets 2.2?

that all depends on what soc graphics chip the archos 70 has because the ti omap proc at 800 can go blow for blow with alot of 1ghz chips

I think most important think is amount of RAM - 256MB is just to little to get going with highend apps like Flash or games.

The Archos 70 8GB model "feels" flimsy because there is a small gap on the inside center, so this flexes. This gap I believe is from the lack of a harddrive which is in the 250GB model. It only feels flimsy when you push on this gap, however it doesn't twist or anything (strong structure), where the 250 with the drive feels like a brick.

Im dying for the update in january. Let's pray for some decent video playback the hardware is there. cmon!!
Sent from my Nook Color

candre23 said:
Just to clarify, RAM, flash storage space, and CPU are not things that can be fixed/improved with software. These are determined by the physical chips that are soldered on to the board.
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.
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I thought the Nook was using a 1GHz CPU that was underclocked to 800MHz. Maybe I'm mistaken?
Regarding the app space, that is a software issue though isn't it?. The Nook partitions what appears to be about 1GB of it's 8GB of flash space for apps. The Archos however only partitions 256MB for apps. Seems like a custom ROM on the Archos could change that up and give more space to apps, or so that is what they say on the archosfans.com forums.

Posted this reply in another thread ... worth repeating ...
While the NC supplier (B&N and it's mfg'er) have a limited track record, the record of Archos is pretty clear ... roll out products that target the 'latest trend' with software that is usually not ready and move on to the next latest thing within a very short time leaving a trail of unsupported devices. If you can live with buying a new thing from Archos every 9-12 mos and knowing support will be GONE after that then go for it.
As said the Nook may not turn out better, but it can't be worse. It has an reasonably up-to-date system now, larger memory, better viewing for it's primary mission. A70 just getting 2.2 and who know what bugs with it (seems to be bugs aplenty); A101 still not very available, what does THAT tell you?
If you want an android multimedia device then the Archos family may be a way to go, but evaluate it against multimedia devices since that is Archos' focus (assuming they have one), not reading and/or tablet functions.
Probably most people on this thread have reading as a primary, tablet second and entertainment third. The screen is really great, pdf reading is real good other than the swipe down instead of swipe sideways, with the Dolphin browser, root, su, multitouch what's not to like? ... did I mention the screen is great?

zdrifter said:
Probably most people on this thread have reading as a primary, tablet second and entertainment third. The screen is really great, pdf reading is real good other than the swipe down instead of swipe sideways, with the Dolphin browser, root, su, multitouch what's not to like? ... did I mention the screen is great?
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Lawl i bought the Nook just to Root. Ive got books on it an thats nice but since my phone died i needed a micro-mobile device so i wouldnt have to switch from tv to pc (1 button but im lazy) the Nook simply had the specs to get it done.
Only plus about archos is the BT for a phone but just the possibility of it for the Nook made it a done deal, Having the 60mb wing i know what Devs can do. The screens obviously the best part but double the ram as similar tablets is amazing, Ive loaded tons of 3D games an still have 200Mbs of ram, and the fact that you can drive to a B&N in most towns. (i hate shipping)
I think there both 7" form factor? but the sexy knock the Nooks got was also a winner
Archos is lacking ram an screen, but if a 1.3mp camera an knowing BT will work makes it up there you go.

Ravynmagi said:
I was just talking about this subject with some friends.
Nook has a much better screen. A 1024x600 res IPS with great angles and crispness. The Archos 70 has a crappy 800x480 TN screen with really bad viewing angles. Screen quality in a tablet is probably most important to me. I want to be able to hold this thing any any direction at any angle and still see it, can't do that with the Archos.
The Nook feels solid... maybe a little too solid, as it is certainly heavier than the Archos 70. The Archos is reportedly very flimsy feeling. This could go either way depending on how much you value solid feeling versus weight.
The Nook has 512MB of RAM and it looks like 1GB or more of app storage space (unfortunately I didn't look at it before installing a few things). The Archos 70 has 256MB of RAM and only a measly 256MB of app storage space. Maybe the modders can fix that if they haven't yet, not sure. But that is a big downer for the Archos to me, I've already installed about 400MB of apps on my Nook in that app space.
Archos seems to have performance on it's side. It's CPU runs at the full 1GHz and it's running Android 2.2 already. My Nook feels sluggish with web browsing (using Dolphin HD), but I'm hoping the Nook update to 2.2 in January can help pep it up some. And maybe someday we'll get a 1GHz kernel.
Archos has a few extra hardware features like Bluetooth, HDMI out, better speakers, and cameras (though probably not a big loss if they are as bad as Engadget says they are).
For me the WAY better screen more than makes up for the slightly slower performance and other features the Nook doesn't have.
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Great points here and everyone else. The low amount of RAM is a shocker, and is a dealbreaker right there. That makes me glad I don't have an Archos.
zdrifter said:
Probably most people on this thread have reading as a primary, tablet second and entertainment third.
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camwinnn said:
Lawl i bought the Nook just to Root.
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Yup, same here, I bought the Nook Color with literally zero intention of reading anything. It's a pure 100% Android browsing/gaming tablet for me
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The only thing that gives me pause about my Nook Color purchase is the lack of Bluetooth and a front facing camera. One of my main uses for this device will be watching shows/movies while doing cardio at the gym. Using a wired heaset is dangerous as one wrong move of the arm and boom, your device goes to the floor. A Bluetooth headset and watching stuff on my phone was great (and safe).
And a front facing camera would be nice for video chat. I think all tablets will have this feature in the future and ones that don't will be knocked down a notch.

B&N have already stated that an update is happening "next year", informaton about it happening in January was not true, people seriously should stop repeating this.
In addition to everything written above Archos has a resistive touchscreen which is said to be really unresponsive.

candre23 said:
There are apps to boost CPU speed a bit, but you will start to run into stability issues if you bump it up too much above what the chip was binned at. A nice 2.2 build might improve things a bit on the NC, but the archos will likely always have an edge. Not just because of its higher clock speed, but also because it has fewer pixels to render.
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Click to collapse
The NC and the Archos Gen8s have the same cpu at different speeds. We've been able to run the NC stable up to about 1.15GHz. Froyo + JIT will go further than oc towards responsiveness.
As for bluetooth, the hardware is at least partially there. I'm still trying to figure it out, so if you know someone who's done ports to a platform with TI bluetooth send them my way.

Thanks for the information everyone, this cleared up my doubts and worries of purchasing the nc.

inferniac90 said:
B&N have already stated that an update is happening "next year", informaton about it happening in January was not true, people seriously should stop repeating this.
In addition to everything written above Archos has a resistive touchscreen which is said to be really unresponsive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So no update in jan?
Sent from my Nook Color

inferniac90 said:
B&N have already stated that an update is happening "next year", informaton about it happening in January was not true, people seriously should stop repeating this.
In addition to everything written above Archos has a resistive touchscreen which is said to be really unresponsive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the new Archos models (70 and 101) have capacitive screens.

jaydon34 said:
So no update in jan?
Sent from my Nook Color
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zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/barnes-noble-confirms-android-22-update-for-nook-color-updated/20759
//not allowed to post links yet
UPDATE: Looks like that confirmation wasn’t really a confirmation after all. There will be an update, but just probably not in January. Here’s the statement from a B&N PR rep:
B&N plans to update the OS sometime in 2011. Regarding applications, we are committed to the NOOKdeveloper program and on track to add apps to our store in early 2011, but do not have plans enable Android Marketplace at this time.
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stwallman said:
Actually, the new Archos models (70 and 101) have capacitive screens.
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You're right, forgot about that, but the viewing angles are still really bad
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/24/archos-70-and-101-internet-tablet-review/

I bought the NC over other devices for many of the reasons already stated (basically THE SCREEN), also because it has very good wifi reception. I believe I read that Archos was having issues with that.

Screen dust?

Ive noticed i have a small fleck of dust (which i find very very irritating). Anyone else got similar? Its most likely a dust flake between the digitizer and the screen as it moves relative to the image underneath. Sure it wasnt there when i bought it.

I've had mine since November and there is no dust under my screen unlike my iPhone 3G that I cleaned only a couple of months ago!

In the daylight i can see its a very white fleck under the digitiser. Very disappointed with this tab so far, slow, buggy and badly built. Such a shame as i love my Galaxy S2.

rovex said:
In the daylight i can see its a very white fleck under the digitiser. Very disappointed with this tab so far, slow, buggy and badly built. Such a shame as i love my Galaxy S2.
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Half the stuff i've seen you moan about I do not have any issue with at all.
I would suggest you stick to your phone or just go buy an ipad as nothing will keep you satisfied.
No doubt you would have lot's to moan about with them as well.
My brother has 2 ipads and I still prefer my Tab 8.9 over them.
I'm running stock with Go Launcher and no problems here from my side. It runs as I would expect it too and it is an addition to my phone and pc, not a replacement of either.

Hate to say it, but choccy31 is right. You make 8.9 appear a lot worse than it is. It's not slow or buggy, with the latest CM9 ICS it's smooth enough and without problems. It's not badly built, you having dust under the screen does not mean we all have it. If you don't like it, you can always sell it, why keep it when everything is wrong with it?

choccy31 said:
Half the stuff i've seen you moan about I do not have any issue with at all.
I would suggest you stick to your phone or just go buy an ipad as nothing will keep you satisfied.
No doubt you would have lot's to moan about with them as well.
My brother has 2 ipads and I still prefer my Tab 8.9 over them.
I'm running stock with Go Launcher and no problems here from my side. It runs as I would expect it too and it is an addition to my phone and pc, not a replacement of either.
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I'm glad someone else agrees..
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda premium

Im sooo sorry i have upset you all, but the thing is rubbish. Its the worst Android device i have used by some way and ive used a lot. Im not the only one complaining about its speed it IS slow, fact there is no debate. Poor video that surprised me even knowing the Tegra limitations. Micro-stutter, lag, jerking. Maybe ill put up some comparison videos between the tab and the S2 and you will see what i mean. If it was cheap it wouldnt be so bad, but Sammy wanted £400 for this?? glad i didnt pay that.
I wont be getting an 'iPad' because its Apple and automatically fails, but i may well sell this on, swallow the loss and get something better. I should have gone with the Zoom, which is getting good support and is much smoother.

So go and sell it already. I dunno what Tab meets your requirements though, I guess the Transformer Prime is probably the closest you can get to the iPad in build and performance. Can't really think of any others that perform particularly better than this one, or that I can guarantee won't get dust (oh sh-------ttttt!!!!) under the screen.
its Apple and automatically fails
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Credibility = gone.

Why credibility gone? I hate the look of iOS which i think is very dull and I find Apple a horrible company. I buy Samsung to support free trade and as a protest to the way apple thinks it can limit choice by suing everyone over idiotic patents it should never have been granted.
The TF prime is better, but its not about raw power, its about optimization. There is no reason this tab needs to be so slow when the xoom isnt or even the Advent Vega!
Im going to wait for a real ICS ROM and see, by that time i may have got over the dust disappointment, but if it doesnt speed up its going.
You seem to think im asking to much for a tab to be able to actually function without stuttering, well i dont think i am. Im used to the slight Android stutter, but this is WAY beyond that. If i drag my finger slowly from screen to screen its smooth until it gets to about 40% of the way across, at which point it starts to stutter, however slowly i swipe. My S2 doesnt do that, even my Desire didnt, even my friends Wildfire doesnt and that has a 600mhz single core CPU.

rovex said:
Why credibility gone? I hate the look of iOS which i think is very dull and I find Apple a horrible company. I buy Samsung to support free trade and as a protest to the way apple thinks it can limit choice by suing everyone over idiotic patents it should never have been granted.
The TF prime is better, but its not about raw power, its about optimization. There is no reason this tab needs to be so slow when the xoom isnt or even the Advent Vega!
Im going to wait for a real ICS ROM and see, by that time i may have got over the dust disappointment, but if it doesnt speed up its going.
You seem to think im asking to much for a tab to be able to actually function without stuttering, well i dont think i am. Im used to the slight Android stutter, but this is WAY beyond that. If i drag my finger slowly from screen to screen its smooth until it gets to about 40% of the way across, at which point it starts to stutter, however slowly i swipe. My S2 doesnt do that, even my Desire didnt, even my friends Wildfire doesnt and that has a 600mhz single core CPU.
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Your Desire didn't? Hmm....as for being markedly worse than the Xoom with TW removed to make the OS more equivalent the performance is the same.
In any case it's hardly fair to compare the 8.9 to the S2 when the latter runs at a lower sub-HD resolution and isn't capable of displaying multiple large widgets. The 8.9 is quite up to HD video play back but then how is that worse than the S2?
I don't think anyone is saying that it's too much to ask for it to function without stuttering but it seems most, including myself, do not see the level of problems you appear to see. The example you give of stuttering at 40% swipe, I really don't see my home screens pause for fractions of a second as I swipe between them; it continues to move smoothly all the way in line with my finger movement.

Its smooth without widgets, but not with them. The more i use, the slower it gets. My S2 is running 6 full screen scrollable widgets, its has no slow down whatsoever. Sure WVGA makes life easier, but the Galaxy note is also smooth with ICS, that is HD and has the same CPU (in most markets). Tablet widgets are no bigger than phone ones., and even if they were the Tab struggles with the same ones my S2 has no issues with, even if they are smaller!
Ive given up using widgets now and it makes the device much nicer to use, but it seems like a waste of the larger screen.
For what its worth i have no issues with gaming.
The Note and S2 will both decode full rate 1080P blu-ray files, the tegra struggles with heavily reduced rate 720P. I have a copy of 'Drive' in 720P on my Laptop, S2 and Tab, the tab stutters and pauses, the others are smooth as silk.

You seem to be forgetting that the CPU and GPU in SGS 2 are more powerful than the Tegra 2 solution. Include also that more powerful device is running on a lower resolution screen, add the a lot more optimized ICS version for SGS 2, and you can clearly see the end result.
Is 8.9 perfectly smooth at this point? No, maybe it will never be, even with official ICS. I doubt we will see the improvement with buggy TouchWiz slapped on it, but at least devs will get some good stuff from it, like camera drivers and kernel. You can just hope for the best, or sell the tablet and purchase another more powerful model, something with Tegra 3 perhaps. We all know what's wrong with this model, we don't need someone to point it out.
High profile 720p and 1080p are just not doable on Tegra 2 solutions, it was like that from the start, there is nothing we can do to make it play nice without stuttering. I do get a decent framerate with DicePlayer on 1.4 GHz with some 720p movies, but not for long, on certain scenes it just becomes choppy. It's choppiest when you start the movie, but if you leave that tablet like that, and not swipe around, it gets better and better, only to be choppy again when more demanding scene comes up.
It is a shame, great screen going to waste, but if i sell it now, i don't know what tablet i would get to replace it. Transformer Prime is not cheap, i would need to add more money to get it, but i just love the form factor on this one. It's a difficult decision, and when the Tegra 3 tablets get their prices slashed, this thing will be even harder to sell.

Im not forgetting anything. My point is that if Tegra is so bad, it should never have been used in a top end device. I only paid £279 for mine, but if i paid the full £399 launch price i would be very upset.
The TF Prime still uses Tegra, the '3' isnt much better, as far as i can see its still broken, they are just throwing more broken cores at the problem in an attempt to fix it.
Its acceptable for now, but i still dont see why it should stutter with hardware acceleration enabled.

rovex said:
Its smooth without widgets, but not with them. The more i use, the slower it gets. My S2 is running 6 full screen scrollable widgets, its has no slow down whatsoever. Sure WVGA makes life easier, but the Galaxy note is also smooth with ICS, that is HD and has the same CPU (in most markets). Tablet widgets are no bigger than phone ones., and even if they were the Tab struggles with the same ones my S2 has no issues with, even if they are smaller!
Ive given up using widgets now and it makes the device much nicer to use, but it seems like a waste of the larger screen.
For what its worth i have no issues with gaming.
The Note and S2 will both decode full rate 1080P blu-ray files, the tegra struggles with heavily reduced rate 720P. I have a copy of 'Drive' in 720P on my Laptop, S2 and Tab, the tab stutters and pauses, the others are smooth as silk.
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Widgets are the same size? 1 full screen widget on the 8.9 carries over twice as much information as 1 full screen widget on the S2.
How does Dual-core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 in the Note equate to Dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 in the 8.9?
As for decoding, I would say that the almost double resolution on the 8.9 vs the S2 is a factor aside from CPU difference.
You say the Note is fine and is that from your own experience?

rovex said:
Why credibility gone? I hate the look of iOS which i think is very dull and I find Apple a horrible company. I buy Samsung to support free trade and as a protest to the way apple thinks it can limit choice by suing everyone over idiotic patents it should never have been granted.
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Because it means you aren't judging something objectively... Samsung have been attempting these crazy law suits too, and they did get their name in the smartphone/tablet market by being as close to Apple as possible... TouchWiz for Android 2 is basically Android hacked to look and act more like iOS and the phones up until S2 were all designed to look like iPhone alternatives (look how the Galaxy S is the iPhone 3GS and then the Galaxy Ace is the iPhone 4...), and the people who design the devices and the legal departments are completely unrelated, it's not like each company is some dude who makes every decision.
rovex said:
or even the Advent Vega!
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I had an Advent Vega... Doesn't even begin to compare to this thing... Was fun for modding but to actually use it was a POS... I mean come on, if you're into modding you can put an unfinished homebrew HoneyComb/ICS on it which doesn't support the camera (lol, the nasty VGA thing) or if not you can run the ridiculous stock ROM with inch-thick navigation bar... The accelerometer doesn't even work right. I think I can put up with choppy homescreen transitions...
You seem to think im asking to much for a tab to be able to actually function without stuttering, well i dont think i am.
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Not at all, we just can't understand why you don't rid yourself of it and get something else if it makes you so mad. We want you to be happy with whatever device you get but at the same time we don't want to be shouted about at how crappy stuff that we like supposedly is.
Im used to the slight Android stutter, but this is WAY beyond that. If i drag my finger slowly from screen to screen its smooth until it gets to about 40% of the way across, at which point it starts to stutter, however slowly i swipe.
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Ah yes, I know what you mean. The homescreens move with my finger but they do lose framerate. Never been important to me as homescreens are, erm, they're just to get you into the apps, and you only swipe between them when you want to see your other widgets/icons, it's not like a frequent thing. I find it stutters a LOT worse when using some live wallpapers, make sure you don't use one of them. A lot of the Honeycomb devices I've used do this though. There aren't many I've seen to run the homescreens smoothly without modding. I mean, for me, it's one of the best Android tablets I've used, the form factor, performance (for the size & weight), screen, etc. all come together really nicely. It's only the homescreen that doesn't seem smooth for me...
Have you tried overclocking? I've heard that can fix the issue. I read somewhere that the homescreens don't use hardware acceleration on this tab.
It's HoneyComb's silly 3D screens thing, the way swiping between them has that unnecessary 3D effect, I mean seriously, what is the practical use of that, it uses way more resources and also affects the intuitiveness of using a touch screen (when you keep things "flat", it creates the feeling of sliding something under your fingers, when the 3D comes in it separates it and feels more like minority report 'gestures'), it seems to be pointless showing off and causes a lot of the stuttering on Android tabs.
Also, have you considered giving the Galaxy Tab 10.1 a try? I've read that it runs better and is more compatible. For me no tabs compare to the Samsung ones in design, weight, etc., the performance isn't perfect but it's the kind of sacrifice you make to get something impossibly thin and light.
My S2 doesnt do that, even my Desire didnt, even my friends Wildfire doesnt and that has a 600mhz single core CPU.
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Yeah but these are all Android 2 devices which run at 800x480...

I never claimed to be objective, i despise Apple, and im very happy to say why. The galaxys look like an evolution of older Sammy phones and the Tabs look like large versions of them. They didnt copy Apple, call it 'convergent evolution' if you must. Apple are being patent trolls, they started it, the others need to finish it.
I love the look of the 8.9, its lovely, i just want the excessive stutter gone. homescreens are important to Android, its not just about the apps.
I know the Vega is rubbish, but it still manages to be smoother than the Tab.. Thats really sad.
Lower res phones should be smoother yes, but the Galaxy Note is smoother as well, that has the same res. The Xoom is smoother, in fact the 8.9 is the worst T2 powered tab ive used. What i want is ICS with Apex launcher than is smooth and jitter free. A pause or 2 i can handle, but not the gritty jerky laggy mess it currently is. It makes it feel so cheap and low end.
As for the dust, i used a statically charged plastic rod, and managed to make the fleck 'jump' off screen, behind the bezel i guess. It may return but its gone or now.

rovex said:
I never claimed to be objective, i despise Apple, and im very happy to say why. The galaxys look like an evolution of older Sammy phones and the Tabs look like large versions of them. They didnt copy Apple, call it 'convergent evolution' if you must. Apple are being patent trolls, they started it, the others need to finish it.
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Well, it's not even worth getting into here, but it's still just a company, no need to take it personally, they all do these same things and our tablets wouldn't exist if iPad didn't, and wouldn't be half as great if they weren't competing with it.
homescreens are important to Android, its not just about the apps.
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But why? What can you actually do on a homescreen?
I know the Vega is rubbish, but it still manages to be smoother than the Tab.. Thats really sad.
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Well, only if you mod the crap out of it, and I'm sure you can mod this tab to run better if you overclock it and use the right ROMs and stuff...
Lower res phones should be smoother yes, but the Galaxy Note is smoother as well, that has the same res.
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And it's running Gingerbread.
The Xoom is smoother
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And bigger, and heavier.
As for the dust, i used a statically charged plastic rod, and managed to make the fleck 'jump' off screen, behind the bezel i guess. It may return but its gone or now.
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Good idea! If it comes back you can just do it again. Great thinking though.

Android has widgets, iOS doesnt. iOS's interface is just a basic list of apps. Android has so much more, yes widgets are apps in a sense i suppose, but they are interactive. If their performance is very poor it ruins the experience. Most apps perform ok in themselves, but the homescreen is the face of the device and it must be smooth.
Yes the Vega must be modded to be smooth, but i standby what i said. A Stock Vega is better than a stock 8.9, and ive done everything i can to make this smooth (ROMs, kernels, overclocks, tweaks), its still slower than a modded Vega.
The Note has ICS now and it destroys the 8.9 with ICS builds. The 8.9 feels like a 500mhz single core unit next to a Note. The Note running GB previously doesnt explain why its faster, it should mean its slower!
The Xoom might be heavier but it has no 'performance enhancing' extras that the 8.9 doesnt have, in fact the 8.9 has faster RAM, or at least a better implemented memory subsystem. Its still manages to be slower.
I simply dont accept the answer 'Blame Honeycomb'. If ICS fixes the issues then i believe Samsung must have changed something else, some limitation or previous decision that was hindering the unit.

Tegra2 for whatever reason is a horrible CPU. I've used a few omap4 tablets and they just seem way smoother than tegra2. I mean a tegra 3 is finally smooth but nvidias cpus seem to be "on paper" good but real world bad each generation. Seem like they come out first with a spec set but poorly implemented once competitors are out. I mean the snapdragon s4 quad will probably destroy tegra 3

The S4 duals beat the T3!
I knew Tegra was old and slow, but i did think that maybe Samsung would have made the best of the bad CPU, it seems they have made the worst of it.

[Q] Worth getting?

I currently have a Galaxy Ace 2 but I have the urge to get something a little more powerful and I noticed the Razr i is quite cheap at £159.99.
A few questions though, given that the device is single core, does everything work really smooth? How do high-intensity games play?
Is Skype compatible?
Many thanks

cined said:
I currently have a Galaxy Ace 2 but I have the urge to get something a little more powerful and I noticed the Razr i is quite cheap at £159.99.
A few questions though, given that the device is single core, does everything work really smooth? How do high-intensity games play?
Is Skype compatible?
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the actual price you won't get anything better:
- the atom single core is fast and power efficient, the phone is really responsive (for an android phone)
- huge battery (2000 mAh)
- a really nice metal frame chassis with kevlar application on the back. And it's a really compact phone, almost the same form factor as an iPhone 5.
- the screen is not really competetive with the new high end full HD displays, nevertheless it's got really vivid but no too overpowered colours and the pentile matrix is only visible if you really want to see it
- multicolor notification LED
- Android is only slightly themed by Motorola. Anyhow the Motorola icons are ugly as hell and you will have to unlock the bootloader to achive root and flash a themed mod to get back the plain AOSP style.
- Skype is compatible. Allmost all (non high-end game) apps are compatible today.
In fact there still are non compatible games. Look up the thread in Mods & Apps for well working games.
In conclusion there are of course better phones on the market, but they are all huge like frying pans and are not available at this price point.

hypophysis said:
For the actual price you won't get anything better:
- the atom single core is fast and power efficient, the phone is really responsive (for an android phone)
- huge battery (2000 mAh)
- a really nice metal frame chassis with kevlar application on the back. And it's a really compact phone, almost the same form factor as an iPhone 5.
- the screen is not really competetive with the new high end full HD displays, nevertheless it's got really vivid but no too overpowered colours and the pentile matrix is only visible if you really want to see it
- multicolor notification LED
- Android is only slightly themed by Motorola. Anyhow the Motorola icons are ugly as hell and you will have to unlock the bootloader to achive root and flash a themed mod to get back the plain AOSP style.
- Skype is compatible. Allmost all (non high-end game) apps are compatible today.
In fact there still are non compatible games. Look up the thread in Mods & Apps for well working games.
In conclusion there are of course better phones on the market, but they are all huge like frying pans and are not available at this price point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the informative reply.
The main thing I wanted to know is wether it'd be worth upgrading from the Ace 2.

cined said:
Thank you for the informative reply.
The main thing I wanted to know is wether it'd be worth upgrading from the Ace 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can anyone else offer any advice please?

cined said:
Can anyone else offer any advice please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try compare ace 2 and razr i on gsmarena.com
there you can see the differece. And in my opinion, the razr i would be a great upgrade for you!

Look, I play all sorts on mine other than NFS most wanted which for me is the only lagging game. The 2ghz processor is brilliant and has multi threading and the phone its self is practically bulletproof haha I drop mine all the time and its still mint. You don't need to ask about upgrading, just do it. There isn't a chance you'll regret it. Its miles ahead of an ace 2
Sent from my RAZR I XT890 using XDA premium

How's HD gaming?

I had an hp slate book x2 and it played games better than any android tablet or phone I've had but returned it due to lack of root. How's the gaming on the new infinity?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

aznmode said:
I had an hp slate book x2 and it played games better than any android tablet or phone I've had but returned it due to lack of root. How's the gaming on the new infinity?
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NFS most wanted plays flawless, but it did that also on the tf700.

Snah001 said:
NFS most wanted plays flawless, but it did that also on the tf700.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Will be getting mine Tuesday so I'll be able to test more games on it.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Got mjne today. Played Dead Trigger 2 on ultra high graphics and the frame rate drops. Im pretty shocked. Going to try somw gameloft games. I know mc4 was smooth on hp slatebook x2 with the same processor.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

So I tried modern combat 4 and its not smooth either.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

It was smooth as hell for me with both games. Sooooo much better than the TF701T
Sent from my New Asus Transformer Pad TF701T using Tapatalk HD

xRevilatioNx said:
It was smooth as hell for me with both games. Sooooo much better than the TF701T
Sent from my New Asus Transformer Pad TF701T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hang on, do you mean those two games were smooth for you on TF701T, so much better than TF700T?

Sorry for the typo. The games are very smooth on my shiny new TF701T
Sent from my New Asus Transformer Pad TF701T using Tapatalk HD

xRevilatioNx said:
Sorry for the typo. The games are very smooth on my shiny new TF701T
Sent from my New Asus Transformer Pad TF701T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your opinion of very smooth seems different than mine (ours). Why don't you post some screenshots with FPS Meter running in MC4?

snake2332 said:
Your opinion of very smooth seems different than mine (ours). Why don't you post some screenshots with FPS Meter running in MC4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to see this as well.
Sent from my HP SlateBook 10 x2 PC using Tapatalk 4

I don't have root..
You guys are also jumping ship before they 4.3 rollout (that started today) that we all know vastly improves 3D gaming.. I have Zero problems. My TF700T was a lag machine on my games. Absolutely no problems whatsoever, on my new device..
Faster, Smoother, More Responsive
Android 4.3 builds on the performance improvements already included in Jelly Bean — vsync timing, triple buffering, reduced touch latency, CPU input boost, and hardware-accelerated 2D rendering — and adds new optimizations that make Android even faster.
For a graphics performance boost, the hardware-accelerated 2D renderer now optimizes the stream of drawing commands, transforming it into a more efficient GPU format by rearranging and merging draw operations. For multithreaded processing, the renderer can also now use multithreading across multiple CPU cores to perform certain tasks.
Android 4.3 also improves rendering for shapes and text. Shapes such as circles and rounded rectangles are now rendered at higher quality in a more efficient manner. Optimizations for text include increased performance when using multiple fonts or complex glyph sets (CJK), higher rendering quality when scaling text, and faster rendering of drop shadows.
Improved window buffer allocation results in a faster image buffer allocation for your apps, reducing the time taken to start rendering when you create a window.
For highest-performance graphics, Android 4.3 introduces support for OpenGL ES 3.0 and makes it accessible to apps through both framework and native APIs. On supported devices, the hardware accelerated 2D rendering engine takes advantage of OpenGL ES 3.0 to optimize texture management and increase gradient rendering fidelity.
OpenGL ES 3.0 for High-Performance Graphics
Android 4.3 introduces platform support for Khronos OpenGL ES 3.0, providing games and other apps with highest-performance 2D and 3D graphics capabilities on supported devices. You can take advantage of OpenGL ES 3.0 and related EGL extensions using either framework APIs or native API bindings through the Android Native Development Kit (NDK).
Key new functionality provided in OpenGL ES 3.0 includes acceleration of advanced visual effects, high quality ETC2/EAC texture compression as a standard feature, a new version of the GLSL ES shading language with integer and 32-bit floating point support, advanced texture rendering, and standardized texture size and render-buffer formats.
You can use the OpenGL ES 3.0 APIs to create highly complex, highly efficient graphics that run across a range of compatible Android devices, and you can support a single, standard texture-compression format across those devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Transformer Infinity TF701T using Tapatalk HD

xRevilatioNx said:
I don't have root..
You guys are also jumping ship before they 4.3 rollout (that started today) that we all know vastly improves 3D gaming.. I have Zero problems. My TF700T was a lag machine on my games. Absolutely no problems whatsoever, on my new device..
Sent from my Transformer Infinity TF701T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont have root either and games aren't as smooth as it is on my HP slatebook (just got it today). But I hope the 4.3 does change performance on this. Looking forward to it.

xRevilatioNx said:
I don't have root..
You guys are also jumping ship before they 4.3 rollout (that started today) that we all know vastly improves 3D gaming.. I have Zero problems. My TF700T was a lag machine on my games. Absolutely no problems whatsoever, on my new device..
Sent from my Transformer Infinity TF701T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to see 4.3 on the TF701, but you're being overly optimistic about the improvements. A few new OpenGL features that might not even be supported by the Tegra4 aren't going to make all the 3d games suddenly double in framerate. So ya, Google added support for Open GL ES 3.0 in Android 4.3, but the Tegra4 doesn't support OpenGL ES 3.0 fully. Quoting anandtech: The big disappointment for many was that NVIDIA maintained the non-unified architecture of Tegra 3, and won't fully support OpenGL ES 3.0 with the T4's GPU. NVIDIA claims the architecture is better suited for the type of content that will be available on devices during the Tegra 4's reign.
I bet that games will have the exact same framerates on Android 4.3 as they do on 4.2.2, but I hope I'm wrong.
Can someone that isn't blindly optimistic about the reality of the TF701 do a comparison of FPS before & after the Android 4.3 update? Not like I care that much anymore since I'm shipping mine back today. Poor TF701. Or even just an FPS reading from any game on any version of Android? But maybe post it here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47390158&postcount=9

snake2332 said:
I would like to see 4.3 on the TF701, but you're being overly optimistic about the improvements. A few new OpenGL features that might not even be supported by the Tegra4 aren't going to make all the 3d games suddenly double in Framerate. So ya, Google added support for Open GL ES 3.0 in Android 4.3, but the Tegra4 doesn't support OpenGL ES 3.0 fully. Quoting anandtech: The big disappointment for many was that NVIDIA maintained the non-unified architecture of Tegra 3, and won't fully support OpenGL ES 3.0 with the T4's GPU. NVIDIA claims the architecture is better suited for the type of content that will be available on devices during the Tegra 4's reign.
I bet that games will have the exact same framerates on Android 4.3 as they do on 4.2.2, but I hope I'm wrong.
Can someone that isn't blindly optimistic about the reality of the TF701 do a comparison of FPS before & after the Android 4.3 update? Not like I care that much anymore since I'm shipping mine back today. Poor TF701. Or even just an FPS reading from any game on any version of Android? But maybe post it here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47390158&postcount=9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One can't be blindly optimistic,when there's no need to be. My device is impeccable, especially when being compared to the albatross I owned last year, in the TF700T ,
Lastly, You extracted that quote from an article written in January, before they did an "architecture deep dive" a month later. What they've found is quite compelling and pretty much disproves their previous thought process. .
We finally have a competitive GPU architecture from NVIDIA. It’s hardly industry leading in terms of specs, but there’s a good amount of the 80mm^2 die dedicated towards pixel and vertex shading hardware. There's also a new L2 texture cache that helps improve overall bandwidth efficiency.
With Tegra 4, complaints about memory bandwidth can finally be thrown out the window. The Tegra 4 SoC features two 32-bit LPDDR3 memory interfaces, bringing it up to par with the competition.
For users today, the lack of OpenGL ES 3.0 support likely doesn’t matter - but it’ll matter more in a year or two when game developers start using OpenGL ES 3.0. NVIDIA is fully capable of building an OpenGL ES 3.0 enabled GPU, and I suspect the resistance here boils down to wanting to win performance comparisons today without making die size any larger than it needs to be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks for this thread! Gaming is he main thing I'll be using my TF701 for, if I get one. My N7 FHD and Note 3 are great for most things I do, but I do all of my Android gaming on my TF700 since it has a HDMI port. I'm still debating in selling my TF700 and getting the TF701, or waiting to see if the N10 will not made by Asus. Even if the N10 is made my Asus, I very seriously doubt it will have a HDMI port. So if gaming of good on the TF701, then I'll be buying it! I'll be following this that closely to see Rudy everyone's thoughts are. Thanks!
SwiftKey'ed from my White Sprint Note 3 via XDA Premium

Gaming is definitely better on this than the tf700. I hated gaming on the tf700 and the only way I got it better was to change resolution to 720p. There is however some frame rate drop but nothing close to the tf700. I'll post a video soon. I tried recording earlier but the Damn thing rebooted on me. I'm playing around with 3 tablets right now (701, note 3, HP slatebook) and so far the Hp slatebook x2 is my favorite device for gaming. It's the smoothest out of the 3. I posted a video of it here if you're interested.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47509341&postcount=411
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Hi Guy,
I have a toshiba excite pro, some games is laggy because they use the screen native resolution to solve problem, I have created a script to change résolution to 1920x1080. All is better smooth.
For example, I have the resolution probleme with nfs most wanted. It was not laggy, but a little like slow motion
You can change resolution with the console
4.2.2 and lower
am display-size 1080x1920
4.3+
wm size 1080x1920

didlight said:
Hi Guy,
I have a toshiba excite pro, some games is laggy because they use the screen native resolution to solve problem, I have created a script to change résolution to 1920x1080. All is better smooth.
For example, I have the resolution probleme with nfs most wanted. It was not laggy, but a little like slow motion
You can change resolution with the console
4.2.2 and lower
am display-size 1080x1920
4.3+
wm size 1080x1920
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great to hear. I did the same with my tf700 and it made a huge difference. Unfortunately I've already returned my tf701 so I can't try it and didn't want to void warranty, but this would be a great alternative for others.
What I did though in some games that are tegra enhanced like dead trigger 2 is I just changed to high instead of ultra high and it too made a difference and it became smoother than the note 2014
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Double post..
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

snake2332 said:
Your opinion of very smooth seems different than mine (ours). Why don't you post some screenshots with FPS Meter running in MC4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got mine yesterday and tried playing dead trigger 2 and it was a horrible experience. I wish Asus would have gone with the snapdragon 800 instead of the tetra 4.
Another thing I've noticed is lag while typing.
Sent from my K00C using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Note 5 vs Note 4 Exynos

Been on the fence trying to decide which one I want for the past two weeks.
Know the 5 blows away the Note 4 Snapdragon version performance wise but just how much faster and smoother is it compared to the Exynos version?
Can those of you who upgraded share your experience?
Was it really an upgrade?
Did you notice a big jump in performance?
How does the screen compare?
Thanks in advance!!!!

Sorry if this is not the comment you are looking for since I came from a Note 2, but I think it may help. When it comes down to deciding between these two phones (the same choice I had to make recently) it all comes down to the few features that are different and whether or not you NEED root. Removable battery was the biggest one for me but I think that issue will be taken care of by the battery cases once they are out, that said the battery lasts pretty long for 3000mah (I had a 6400mah in my note 2 and this lasts almost as long). If you NEED to root the phone for any reason you may as well go with a Note 4, since you lose Samsung pay capabilities which is one of the stand out features of this phone. If you NEED an IR sensor, again Note 4. If you want a really fast starting camera, want Samsung pay, don't mind using a USB SD card reader for expansion storage, a fingerprint reader that works great, and don't mind the non replaceable battery the Note 5 is a killer phone. It has surpassed all of my expectations coming up from a Note 2 that had Root, a 6400mah battery etc... This will be my first phone without root access, but I feel like I will not be missing too much. Hope this might help in your decision process, but if not just ignore.

Here's a detailed analysis of the two SoC's in the Note 4.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8718/the-samsung-galaxy-note-4-exynos-review/11
The same architectural reasons Exynos was superior are the answer as to why the Note 5's Exynos chip is superior to the Note 4's. Each generation of new (not revised) chips are a leap above their predessors. S-810 being the exception because while it hit its performance expectations you could fry an egg with it.

It's just my opinion, but I can't imagine basing a decision like this on how smoothly the device scrolls pages on the homescreen or flips between apps. It's amazing how much influence Apple's propaganda has had on even non-Apple users.
Both the Note 4 and Note 5 are powerful tools that are functionally very similar, but have very different price tags.
Samsung Galaxy Note5 Pros
Exquisite design
More compact, with better screen-to-body size ratio
Better performance thanks to the superior hardware
Better battery life
Improved S Pen features
Revamped TouchWiz UI
Wireless fast charging out of the box
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Pros
microSD card slot
Removable battery
Superior rear camera performance in certain scenes
Slightly better call quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Samsung-Galaxy-Note5-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4_id4064

Thanks for the opinion/feedback.
Some people are power users and when you have two of the most powerful sports cars side by side àll of a sudden performance becomes one of the most important deciding factors and not just cargo space or gas mileage if that makes sense.
Knowing the Note 5 is the latest and greatest, I'm not expecting the performance to be night and day vs the already proven note 4.
However I would like to know if the hype really is worth the extra 3-400 more dollars considering everything Samsung left off the table (no SD, no ir, removable battery etc)
My question is, is the performance of the 7420 processor a big noticeable difference vs the 5433 on the Note 4 or is it a small noticeable difference?
Keep in mind this is touchwiz Not Apple
P.S most articles & reviews are comparing the Note 4 Snapdragon vs the Note 5 Exynos which really isn't that fair a comparison. (Including the one you linked above)
I'm looking for real world feedback on Exynos vs Exynos.
Clash of the Titans!!!
CafeKampuchia said:
It's just my opinion, but I can't imagine basing a decision like this on how smoothly the device scrolls pages on the homescreen or flips between apps. It's amazing how much influence Apple's propaganda has had on even non-Apple users.
Both the Note 4 and Note 5 are powerful tools that are functionally very similar, but have very different price tags.
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Samsung-Galaxy-Note5-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4_id4064
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Noticeable when, in the UI, running a benchmark, playing a game?

CafeKampuchia said:
Noticeable when, in the UI, running a benchmark, playing a game?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just overall how fluid is the OS and overall user experience?
I had a chance to test the Note 5 at Best Buy recently and really liked the experience.
Everything was instant iphone like.
Have to admit love or hate them, Apple builds a rock solid user experience on lesser hardware and Android as great as it is can take a page from Apple based on this aspect alone.
While using the Note 5, I didn't experience any lag which for Samsung has been a problem with the user experience for years.
Of course the 805 Snapdragon Note 4 sitting next to it had some lag going through the menus, web browsing, email usage videos on Touchwiz etc
Wasn't bad but noticeable from time to time.
Even after rebooting the phone.
Granted both units were stock and the Note 4 was over a year old BUT I've never had a chance to use the Exynos Note 4 which everyone seems to praise for its snappy performance.
So I say this to ask for those of you who have use both the N910C and now the Note 5, how close would you say the Exynos Note 4 user experience is compared to the Note 5 based on what I said above?

tiguy99 said:
My question is, is the performance of the 7420 processor a big noticeable difference vs the 5433 on the Note 4 or is it a small noticeable difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The SoC alone doesn't determine performance. The Note 5 has uber-fast UFS storage and LPDDR4 RAM including an extra GB of the latter. That and the streamlining and minimization Samsung's done with the UI and their apps contribute to a huge and noticeable difference in performance. It's especially noticeable when working with big I/O sensitive apps like S Note and Gallery. Whether that's worth X$ more is up to you.
I'm looking for real world feedback on Exynos vs Exynos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feedback on performance is subjective. This article compares the two Exynos chips. If you're looking at the SoC alone it's pretty clear the 7420 is a huge generational leap over 5430/3.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9330/exynos-7420-deep-dive

tiguy99 said:
Just overall how fluid is the OS and overall user experience?
I had a chance to test the Note 5 at Best Buy recently and really liked the experience.
Everything was instant iphone like.
Have to admit love or hate them, Apple builds a rock solid user experience on lesser hardware and Android as great as it is can take a page from Apple based on this aspect alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is more to user experience than fluid animations in the UI, and trends in the market have proven that out. Apple has done more apeing of Android in recent years than the other way around. For example, they told us that the 3G/4/4s were the perfect size for user experience. Android OEMs proved that optimizing a display for the eyes by making it larger was more important than optimizing it for the thumb. Apple made fun of Android, but since the iPhone 5 their displays have gotten larger. They also had the perfect screen resolution before increasing theirs to match Android starting with the iPhone 6.
In the UI, Apple used to mock widgets as confusing and unnecessary UI clutter before they added something sorta like widgets to iOS. They also had to catch up to Android's better implementation of notifications. And iOS is still famously non-customizable, which keeps lots of people away from it.
So obviously Android is doing a few things right when it comes to user experience, which is why I wrote:
CafeKampuchia said:
It's just my opinion, but I can't imagine basing a decision like this on how smoothly the device scrolls pages on the homescreen or flips between apps. It's amazing how much influence Apple's propaganda has had on even non-Apple users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't need Apple propagandists telling me what perfect user experience is so I'll think their designers and engineers have miraculously produced that for me.
If fluid animations in the UI is what defines good user experience for you, then you should consider the iPhone S6 Plus. I hear it's a great device.

This video is exactly what I'm talking about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoZkqT_CItc
In 2015, you don't hear those stories coming from the Apple camp and lets face it you still hear that coming from Android users with newer devices.
To me the Note 5 is the first Android phone I've used that's "lag free" in fluidity.
That may not mean much to you guys but I'd say that's damn good considering the amount of lag complaints re: touchwiz all over the internet.
Which leads me back to my original point...I don't need to "just buy an iphone if I want to avoid lag!"
In my opinion, I think that's an absurd comment considering the power these devices have and the fact I'm on an Android tech forum praising the Note 5 for its speedy performance!!!!
Being very familiar with both OSs & phones and a fan of good tech overall, I say its good to see both camps producing great products.
I'm just asking for those of you who've owned and used both Note 4 & 5 Exynos versions, how would you say the performance and user experience has been for you?

tiguy99 said:
I'm just asking for those of you who've owned and used both Note 4 & 5 Exynos versions, how would you say the performance and user experience has been for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well...I have owned both the Note 4 Exynos and Snapdragon versions, and atm I have the Note 5.
The N4 SD we can disregard completely as the Exynos version is much smoother and faster, and without the overheating issues of the SD.
The N4 Exynos with stock rom I found basically pretty smooth, but even so still some improvements were necessary.
With a custom rom and custom kernel (and a couple other build.prop tweaks) everything was rather very smooth and fast and I could use my N4 almost to full satisfaction.
I am specifically referring to scrolling behaviour and speed of opening apps. Also worth mentioning is RAM management (far too quickly closing of recent apps).
This has never been great on TW phones, and indeed this goes for both Note 4's and also the Note 5.
Now...the Note 5. Speed and smoothness are exceptional imo, even on stock rom and without a custom kernel. But...RAM management is still crap to be honest!
Just 3 or 4 apps recent apps and you will find one closed when you open a 5th app...ridiculous really (especially with so much RAM).
So, I rooted my Note 5 and applied some build.prop tweaks and now RAM management is great.
I can easily open more than 15 (!) apps and not have them closed automatically by TW. Scrolling is also a bit more smooth with the build.prop tweaks implemented.
Thirdly you can activate the 'Enforce GPU rendering' option within Developer Menu. It does help somewhat with smoother scrolling.
So...that's it. Hoping my info is helpful to you.

Thanks Daffie!
That's exactly what I was looking for
daffie said:
Well...I have owned both the Note 4 Exynos and Snapdragon versions, and atm I have the Note 5.
The N4 SD we can disregard completely as the Exynos version is much smoother and faster, and without the overheating issues of the SD.
The N4 Exynos with stock rom I found basically pretty smooth, but even so still some improvements were necessary.
With a custom rom and custom kernel (and a couple other build.prop tweaks) everything was rather very smooth and fast and I could use my N4 almost to full satisfaction.
I am specifically referring to scrolling behaviour and speed of opening apps. Also worth mentioning is RAM management (far too quickly closing of recent apps).
This has never been great on TW phones, and indeed this goes for both Note 4's and also the Note 5.
Now...the Note 5. Speed and smoothness are exceptional imo, even on stock rom and without a custom kernel. But...RAM management is still crap to be honest!
Just 3 or 4 apps recent apps and you will find one closed when you open a 5th app...ridiculous really (especially with so much RAM).
So, I rooted my Note 5 and applied some build.prop tweaks and now RAM management is great.
I can easily open more than 15 (!) apps and not have them closed automatically by TW. Scrolling is also a bit more smooth with the build.prop tweaks implemented.
Thirdly you can activate the 'Enforce GPU rendering' option within Developer Menu. It does help somewhat with smoother scrolling.
So...that's it. Hoping my info is helpful to you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

daffie said:
...RAM management is still crap to be honest!
Just 3 or 4 apps recent apps and you will find one closed when you open a 5th app...ridiculous really (especially with so much RAM).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but on my unrooted and updated Note 5 I currently have 21 recent apps listed, and you would never know as there is no slowdown and no RAM issues.

ECdOc said:
Sorry but on my unrooted and updated Note 5 I currently have 21 recent apps listed, and you would never know as there is no slowdown and no RAM issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm...that sure is weird indeed...but good news for you I based my point on my own experience, and also on user experience on Dutch Note 5 forum and XDA, as well as several news stories / reviews which also had the RAM management issue. Strange case apparently then of some Note 5's performing well and other don't
Oh and btw...I was referring very specifically to recent apps being CLOSED unnecessarily by TW. From your remark it isn't clear whether you have this issue or you don't. You only say 'there is no slowdown and no RAM issues'. I have no slowdown on my Note 5. Just making sure everybody's on the same page here
---------- Post added at 16:04 ---------- Previous post was at 16:04 ----------
tiguy99 said:
Thanks Daffie!
That's exactly what I was looking for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're very welcome :good:

ECdOc said:
Sorry but on my unrooted and updated Note 5 I currently have 21 recent apps listed, and you would never know as there is no slowdown and no RAM issues.
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They are "present" in recent apps visually but when you re-open them you'll find they reload. Samsung's explanation is that apps beyond a certain (unexplained) threshold are killed to maximize battery life. It doesn't really affect me the way I use my phone but it bothers the crap out of some people.
Here's a video

daffie said:
Oh and btw...I was referring very specifically to recent apps being CLOSED unnecessarily by TW. From your remark it isn't clear whether you have this issue or you don't. You only say 'there is no slowdown and no RAM issues'. I have no slowdown on my Note 5. Just making sure everybody's on the same page here
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BarryH_GEG said:
They are "present" in recent apps visually but when you re-open them you'll find they reload. Samsung's explanation is that apps beyond a certain (unexplained) threshold are killed to maximize battery life. It doesn't really affect me the way I use my phone but it bothers the crap out of some people.
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Thanks for the clarification, I have never noticed an issue with apps reloading but probably because it really doesn't make a difference as quick as everything opens. I'll keep an eye on it though.

I also agree with both of you, with the speed of the Note 5 opening apps is no problem really...even when they are closed automatically too quickly. With my former Note 4 this really was an issue. Not so much with the Note 5 :good:

CafeKampuchia said:
It's just my opinion, but I can't imagine basing a decision like this on how smoothly the device scrolls pages on the homescreen or flips between apps. It's amazing how much influence Apple's propaganda has had on even non-Apple users.
Both the Note 4 and Note 5 are powerful tools that are functionally very similar, but have very different price tags.
http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Samsung-Galaxy-Note5-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4_id4064
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This link is a good example of what we've been discussing for the past 2 days

I messed around with a Note 4 (SM-N910C/Exynos 5433) right after a Note5 at a Samsung store in Bangkok today. I noticed no lag, frame drops or hesitation in either device. Both were running 5.1.1.

Awesome!! BIG Thanks to everyone in this thread.
Your feedback and thoughts are exactly what I need to make my decision
CafeKampuchia said:
I messed around with a Note 4 (SM-N910C/Exynos 5433) right after a Note5 at a Samsung store in Bangkok today. I noticed no lag, frame drops or hesitation in either device. Both were running 5.1.1.
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