david

Vudu is another app that doesn't like rooted phones.

EskeRahn - Great job on the review! :-) Did you try any of the Google Camera app ports?

The other variable here is that the Pro 1 has 2 rear facing camera chips, the Sony IMX363 12 MP and another unknown 5 MP camera. It isn't clear what the other one is used for and how non-f(x) tec camera apps would utilize one vs the other vs both together. Pixel 3 phones only have the 12 MP rear facing camera chip. They don't have a secondary one on the rear of the phone. The Pro 1 has a single 8 MP, unknown chip maker, front camera chip. The Pixels have an 8 MP IMX179 (Pixel 1 and 2), two 8 MP IMX355 chips (Pixel 3), or an unknown 8 MP chip (Pixel 3a). It is possible that the fron

This (https://source.android.com/devices/camera/versioning) seems to indicate that the chip makers do provide the drivers (Hardware Abstraction Layer = HAL, or in newer versions, it is called Treble) and have to pass google's testing in order to be allowed to use a given version of the Camera API. This also explains it more, especially how the newer architecture insulates the chip makers from having to make changes when Android changes: https://source.android.com/devices/architecture Interestingly enough, while looking for information on the Sony drivers, I couldn't even find the IMX3

I know, but with something like this where quality of the image was more important, I didn't want to use JPG. I did try it at one point, but the compression artifacts were pretty bad on the small keys of the keyboard, etc. I always use jpg for photos.

More screenshots...

I figured out that the hidden max file size is 512 KB, not 12 KB, so I can upload the screenshots now after resizing them to 75% height and width (56.25% original size) and increasing PNG to maximum compression.

I am guessing the non-live video will be available sometime in the next week at: https://www.twit.tv/shows/all-about-android

Takeaways... - Overall, very well received by the show hosts. I believe it was mentioned how solid it felt and how nice the buttons felt. - It looked very responsive. I didn't notice any lag with any apps that were run. Scrolling was very smooth. The only delay I saw was switching from landscape to portrait mode or vice versa, which is normal, in my experience. It isn't clear if that was just the standard delay or if it was extra processing of the app rebuilding in the new view. I haven't used newer versions of Android enough to know if there is a delay setting now. I know my old

It switched at 10 after the hour. Looks like we're on the right feed now.

I am seeing "This Week in Tech" on https://twit.tv/live right now. It is 8:04 PM EST right now and the link above ( ) states that it should be on right now? Am I at the wrong place?

The driver is a good point. My hope would be that Sony would supply f(x) tec with the same driver that they give to google for the same hardware. It is good that Open Camera works and good that you like the results from it versus Samsung's app, with the hardware used in the S8, but I'm preferential to using the google camera app, as the combination of the Sony camera chip and the google camera app have received top scores from many analysts. Google has put a lot of money into it, and this is one of the possible added benefits of the Pro 1 -- the chance to get the same output from the Pro

Agreed! LOL I wish we could get some sort of confirmation on this. Having a camera app is one thing. Having a camera app tuned for the particular camera hardware is another thing. My Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G phone, with Android provided from Samsung, took reasonably good pictures. When I upgraded to CyanogenMod Android, and had to use the camera app they provided, the quality wasn't even close to what the Samsung camera app provided. It routinely takes washed out pictures of people's faces. The Samsung camera app was closed source, and couldn't be used. I did try OpenCamera (as Es

Thanks EskeRahn. I wasn't sure if "The Pro1 will ship with QWERTY..." meant only US QWERTY or other QWERTY layouts too, with other alternate symbols on the keys.

I haven't been following all the other threads. Is US QWERTY the only one that will be offered at launch?

As a United States citizen who is only fluent in English (which is most of the US), I don't really know the difference between US QWERTY and US International QWERTY. I picked US QWERTY in the first poll and I only picked US International QWERTY in the second poll with the assumption that it allows other people who do need special characters (presumably through some sort of shift/alt/function key) to access them. I just now did a quick google search and found some apple keyboards that claim to be US International and others that claim to be regular US. It doesn't seem like either one match

If I am just judging the keyboard and not the software, my ordered list (of phones I've owned) is: 1: Sidekick 3: http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060619/060619_tmsidekick_hmed_1p_.grid-6x2.jpg Sidekick 2008: https://images.theinformr.com/phones/73/865/sidekick-2008-full-1.jpg They have the same keyboard. The trackball and other navigation buttons on the sides of the screen, when closed, are probably more refined on the 2008 version. 2: Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G/SGH-T699/Galaxy S Blaze Q: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/362514266636-0-1/s-l1000.jpg I own 5 of

Help me understand some things. What are the GCam ports? How do they differ from the google camera app on the Pixel phones? Will the resulting photo on the Pro 1 look identical to one taken on a Pixel 3 phone, since the same camera hardware and same app/processing is being done (with the google camera app)?

Some old commercials: Sidekick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkqylWLoRCM Sidekick LX launch party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhgIp2VJlEo Just for fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQQuOICUylQ&t=26s G1 (first Android phone): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MlMW5ei6Rs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im4qKiTWSqc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut8ACYCYgSo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5f9hw62Fbg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGxb91rTllE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucoh-8GQb70

Has there been any talk of F(x)tec selling this phone through other channels (cellular company stores, electronics stores that sell phones)? Not only would that provide a better chance of selling more phones but it may improve the chances of cell phone maintenance businesses supporting fixing the phone, 3rd party accessories being available (screen protectors, cases), etc.. In the USA, T-mobile has a history of selling keyboard phones, starting with the Sidekick line. They didn't just sell these phones. They had a huge marketing campaign and leveraged the fact (created the idea?) that

I doubt we'll see it with the first version, but I'll vote for a removable battery. This would be a very functionally driven feature, like a physical keyboard, like a headphone jack, etc. In general, that is what F(x)tec is doing -- bringing back features that other manufacturers have removed. Customers like added functionality. They don't like it when you remove functionality they prefer using. As others have mentioned, if it is too difficult to make a phone with a removable back, being able to remove the keyboard and access the battery that way would be fine too. In other words, bein

EskeRahn - I agree about default keys that launch apps. I have the same frustration with some of the keys on my Galaxy S Relay 4G. Allowing people to program single or multiple key presses to do whatever they want is a good idea. I'm of the opinion that a default, single key app launch on the physical keyboard isn't a good idea, unless it is a long press, so that it isn't accidentally triggered when typing. As for the original question, it would help to have some pictures of the keyboard with before and after versions to get an idea of what is being proposed.

doktor.oswaldo - Yes. That's the only point. The keyboard. People aren't going to buy this phone because it has a curved screen. They are going to buy it because it has a keyboard. Make a phone that has the features that keyboard users want. Function over form. People who will buy a phone because it has a curved screen are the type of people who won't (on average) buy this phone, because it is too thick, doesn't have a big *enough* screen, etc. I'll say it again. The main disappointment in this phone is the screen. A bit further down in disappointment level for many people is the

Netman - Yes, that design you linked to is the proper way to protect a screen on a slider. I sure hope someone can figure out a way to create something like that for a bezel-less, curved screen. If the software would allow for shrinking the display by a user defined amount, that would allow case makers to attempt, essentially, creating a physical bezel for a bezel-less phone. It is going to be interesting when pictures of broken screens start showing up on these forums after this phone is released, due to the design of the screen on this phone.

AnnieC - Well said. It really is mind-blowing. It is clear from reading posts on here and elsewhere on the web that a sizable percentage of prospective customers were very enthused to hear of this phone and then disappointed when the screen turned out to be curved. It is the one thing that stands out as as a design flaw on an otherwise very well thought out phone. Curved screens are problematic on regular phones. Those problems are magnified in a slider form factor.