ICS on Neo v - Detailed review (updated with 4.0.4)

[#1]

guyz all those of who have already updated to ICS on ur Neo v .. plz post ur reviews

UI performance -

Camera -

Music player -

Calling , Contacts and new dailer -

Face Unlock -

Ram management -

Games-

Problems you were facing on GB solved in ICS -

Problems you are facing on ICS -

Further improvement you want to see in ICS

Improvements you saw in 4.0.4 update

PS - add ur own fields if you want to its just a small format

Don't post unnecessarily please

[pulkitgupta23]

okkk.

btw i close the background process that i have used regularly....

becoz fb in GB itself takes about 50MB

[#3]

well see the browser can reach upto 80mb in ICS ... fb should be 50mb i guess

u can disbale other apps gre8 option in ICS .. so i guess u can manage .. go for it

[pulkitgupta23]

thanks a lottt :smileyhappy::smileyhappy:

[#5]

hey i m vikas i just updated my neo v with ics and havin probs

1 contacts lagginging about 10 seconds every time i unlock the cell

once its unlocked and after first use of contacts its perform ok on second attempt to open contacts

2nd having probs with bookmark widget its also not working after every unlock

to get it work u'll have to click and hold it untill it activate to resize and then click it to open bookmark

[#6]

1) this is normal ... try to keep ur call log clean

2) not much idea..seems like a bug .. you should report this in Your thoughts on ICS thread

[hunkyycbz]

things i like in ICS:

1.loudspeaker volume is boosted very much..

2.screen clarity is increased..looks more crispy

3.touch is very smooth now...

4.best is to disable apps

5.internal storage is increased..

6.internet is faster

nothing more noticed..

things i dont:

1.dialer takes more time..

2.free ram available is less

3.cant install custom themes..

4.messaging interface was better in gb..

[Ritesh1]

Hey guys ,

Yesterday I flashed my device using update service, and this is my review........

(Very less) Good things:smileyhappy::-

1. 1. Quite quick boot up and shutdown time compared to GB. Sony logo and shimmer effect is nice.
2. 1. Can directly go to camera, settings from lockscreen.and also Able to read SMS or email, swipe to remove notifications.
3. 2. Camera user interface changes and take pictures quite quickly as compared to GB.
4. 3. Settings menu has lots of usable option like data monitor, Developer option.
5. 4. Eye candy Gmail and email application.
6. 5. Only ICS "Gallery."

(Many More) Bad things:smileysad::-

Lock Screen:-

1. Notifications are there on the lock screen but only on status bar.
2. Status bar thickness increase it looks ugly and not like completely ICS one.

User Interface:

1. No home screen number customization. User interface is slightly change with the very less icons (Important icons has been change).navigation from one home screen to another is not silky smooth :smileycry:as compare to GB.(Bug detected):smileydevil:
2. More unusable applications like appxtra, office suite are not removable (they are able to remove in GB i guess.)
3. Some widgets are removed:smileyconfused:.........Why? And most of the looks same as the GB and not resizable also!!!!!!

Storage: -

1. Internal storage same as GB 420 MB........ok that can understand, but why there is no new images and HD video sample when there is a upgrade version of OS:smileyplain:

Image Gallery:-

1. New image gallery really nice. Every function/menu is there as I saw on the Google’s original version of ICS.

Video Gallery:-

1. Not much more option, only can able to play the video. Detail properties like image gallery is missing.

Music and Video Player:-

1. It’s time for music player, user interface same as 2.3, no customizable equalizer, no mega bass at all. my :smileylove:W810i:smileylove: is rocking in this case. Not able to check bass base because lack of in ear. But i think speaker volume in increases. And the widgets also very small as compared to nexus.
2. Video player only look has been change.no .MKV support, no forward, rewind button, no video details also.

Smart Dialing:-

1. Now moving towards the dialer, smart dialing is pretty fine but takes more seconds to open. And there is no to option to change call setting from dialer screen.it will be appreciate if Developers add neon dialer :smileycool:.

Camera:-

1. Camera accessible from lock screen but it takes 5 seconds to start if u access it from  lock screen. (Bug detected).:smileydevil:
2. Image size has been increases but Picture quality lost when u zoom in, means it loses the picture sharpness. But colors are bright vivid thanks to bravia engine.
3. I recall just one more thing abt camera, After taking the picture in any condition (with natural or artificial light )it take around 5-10 Seconds to save the picture, and for 1 minutes video approximately 20 seconds.......very sad, i am using class 6 SanDisk Micro HDSC 16 Gb card which having 20 MB/s write speed and i think it is enough for this Device. And sadly no more touch capture.

HD Recording:-

1. Camera captures Video between 23 to 25 FPS, and that is in mono……this is very bad:smileyshocked:

Battery and Heating:-

1. Battery charging takes more time. Normally I am using this phone for Gmail, Hotmail sync, downloading application playing games (not more than 15 minutes and not on every day, because of heating). I got 2 days backup. I happy with that but cannot compromise with Heating issue.My friend having x10 he plays games a lot around 1 hour his backup is good and no heating at all!!Then why this phone getting so HOT????????????????? Is SE forget to put heat sink or I need to put 12 volt fan behind that?:smileymischief:

USB mode:-

1. USB mode cannot be change as changing in GB. Hence safely remove option from phone and from PC is missing. THIS MAY RESULT IN HARM YOUR MEMORY CARD.

Security:-

1. Now moving to security..........it ask the same option which u had set in Security......not like GB:smileycool:...........Face unlock works average, Pin prompt should come after 3 attempt of face unlock not on 1st Attempt. And one more thing, after unlocking with ur face the pin enter screen come for 2 seconds and disappear again (Bug detected).:smileydevil:

Ram management:-

1. user available RAM is 334 MB Same as GB:smileyplain:.currently using mail sync, battery solo widget,3g watch dog and open signal app and I get 150MB free…..is this :smileyhappy::smileysad:?

Update Center:-

1. Update center having 3 options application update ,new Application and system update. I have tested the Application update option.it is not showing the updates it’s available in the market. .or it may show only for antivirus???.........Please reply me if u have answer.

Games:-

1. Gameeesss……..:smileyconfused:Not going to play till heating issue going to resolve……..or never going to play.

Wi-Fi:-

1. Wi-Fi signal quality I have not tested because my Data connection is quite Stable, but after first boot when using Wi-Fi am not able to download any application(Bug Detected:smileydevil:) after pushing it from my desktop :smileyconfused:,Quite confusing but it resolve automatically:smileyconfused:.may be there signal dropping:smileyconfused:.god Knows.!

Hmm…well I think have covered all the points in this review and I feel that many features are missing in OS, I have created a list that contained my (Consumer) requirement.

My (Consumer) requirement must be there in upcoming update:-

1. Status bar and all icons on it must be look like ICS and no more fatty watty.
2. Many applications are not compatible with Google android OR Sony’s Android. need to update
3. There are 2 galley “Xperia gallery” and “Gallery”, why like that? Is the new one need to improve or that is only for confusion.
4. 2-3 times I had faced Wi-Fi drops issue, need to disconnect and reconnect it. need to fix that
5. Camera image quality MUST be improve, and able to take picture while shooting.
6. System video player must be improve like its properties menu. Currently showing properties for images must show for videos as well.
7. All widgets need to improve visually and must be resizable.

This is Completely depends upon Sony’s Mind, they may update :smileyhappy:or may not be:smileycry::-

1. As very first I have read Some were in Sony Ericsson website they are introducing ROBOTO font in their upcoming (at that time) android 4.0 is they really implemented here???What do u think?
2. Latest kernel is missing may be because of that lagging and performance issue we are facing.
3. If Android 4 comes with data monitor then why there is no widgets. Or widget is there and Sony Forget to implement because of delay. One more thing data monitor cannot customizable with the dates :smileyconfused:.it start only with 1 and end with 31….then what we do in Feb. month:smileylaugh: for 28 days.:smileyconfused:

Upgrade…Do or Don’t:-

As you people know many devices with same Hardware Configuration are running Android 4 means there is no “Compatibility” issue with the Hardware. So developer need to do some changes in to their software Structure (may be Kernel) to run more smoothly.

                This is the new OS with lot more feature and except some bugs (in our case).About stability and performance let Developer scratch their heads……..!! we are consumers and this is their duty to keep us Happy and satisfied……......!! And android 4.0.4 is coming :smileyinfo:to stable (Maybe) our devices…

So don’t worry, but make sure that before updating:-

1. Remove each and every application from phone memory as well as memory card.
2. Do a factory reset with check mark on “format SD card” option. before that copy songs and default images to your PC.(if u like)(it is not copying the songs and videos while upgrading)
3. And use Update service to update and choose second option i.e “factory reset the device and update”.

And after that don’t forget to give us a review……..

Please accept typing, user and spelling mistake. I know am not perfect to give the review…………..but I am the best…:smileycool:……!!!!

[sushantnkiri]

UI performance - Home screen looks good but the smooth touch is not there. But its an android prob which is solved in 4.0.4 see this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history#Ice_Cream_Sandwich_4.0.x

So all touch problem will probably get solved in 4.0.4 firmware update from Sony. Right now Sony has released 4.0.3

Camera - Camera is improved greatly. In GB if u take a pic in 5MP with no zoom then u see tat pic in PC & zoom, pixel used to crack but not in ICS. Thx u Sony for tat. Problem is with video player slight slow & take time to save tat video, haven't seen tat for image but once it took more than 30 sec to save video. Got to improve it.

Music player - No new interface for music player..... And volume has increased. EX GB 1-10 then in ICS 2/3-11/12

Calling , Contacts and new dailer - Oh....it takes time.....not good. Its d main feature of any phone how can tat be ignored. huge improvemnets required HERE.

Face Unlock - its good , takes sometime & even it immediately go pattern if face is unrecognised.

Ram management - It k.....bcoz still can see more than 50MB ram available for processes.

Games- Temple Run dont work properly. And if any1 runs games on Neo V, phone is going to hang bcoz of memory so no games.

Problems you were facing on GB solved in ICS - Activty in Notifications also effect backapp.....good atleast now it doesnt show misscalls in screen even clearing notifications.

Internal Memory is now more than 100MB available.....tats good

Well there are new features in rotaion of screen.....tat slow rotation.....its gud

Problems you are facing on ICS - Dialler, Call Log, Contacts.....pls solve this

Smooth Touch Problem.....

Stability & hangup, restart Even twice my phone hanged , it even cudnt be restarted using power button, i had to remove battery then restart the phone but i have also installed NQ Security.

Further improvement you want to see in ICS - All the above is solved in 4.0.4. so have to wait when sony releases his firmware update

New music player interface

Video Player Improvements

Slight slowness in phone shud get solved.

So overall for me ICS is been 70-30 Ratio. And probably problem in ICS 4.0.3 will get solved in 4.0.4.

So Neo V can handle ICS.

[#10]

UI performance -  very good  no lags

Camera - jpeg compression is absent  each photo is around 1.5 mb

Music player -  same old gb music player only search music is added

Calling , Contacts and new dailer -  dialer takes 4-5 seconds to launch but it is really             improved

Face Unlock - works fine it recognizes me 8 out of 10 times but lighting conditions must be proper

Ram management -    really improved 340 mb is user available and generally atleast 160 mb is free

Games-  not tried yet

Music player can be improved and new widgets should be added   

OVERALL i liked ics and u should go for it as neo v can handle it

[#11]

Just flashed mine wid ics.

Some small things u may have missed....i just found:

1. The notifictaion bar is improved especially for watsapp.

2. The volume control can even be controlled by touch while using d the volume keys....which is kool i thnk.

3. And yes...the home screen is same as before...:(

Exploring more.....will keep updating...