Greetings from a new Ativ S owner

[SteakPieHarry]

Good day my friends.

Well as I have just picked up an Ativ S I thought I would come here and join the discussions. I have used a Windows phone before, a Samsung Omnia 7 which despite some dramas I actually loved. Anyway, I've only had the Ativ a few days but have a few questions perhaps others may be able to help with?

Ok, my other phone is a Samsung Galaxy S3. Now I'm led to believe the Ativ and S3 share the same display panel. The weird thing is though images on the Ativ don't look anywhere near as crisp as on the S3. I copied a few wallpapers and photos across and compared to the S3 they look way softer. If I didn't have the S3 right beside it the Ativ would doubtless look fine but side by side it's very obvious. Has anyone else experienced this? Perhaps it's the way Windows renders but considering the screen specs I was surprised and disappointed with the images.

The only other annoyance for me so far is browsing the web, icons and logos all look out of focus, they look awful. This is almost certainly a Windows/IE10 problem but browsing on Android everything is sharp as a tack. On the Ativ though whilst text is ok (still softer than Android) it's frustrating to see the Amazon or BBC logos look the way they do. Again, I'm assuming this to be a Windows issue. I searched around but couldn't find anyone discussing it anywhere.

Other than that all good so far. Even with the minor niggles I'm happy to give my dear lady the S3 and stick with the Ativ. Be nice to know if anyone else owns both phones and can confirm the image sharpness though. Can't imagine for the life of me why it's so soft.

Cheers folks, any replies appreciated. :smile:

 

[WP8Expert]

Colors will be softer for wallpapers. For example, a wallpaper that is just solid white; if you use it for lockscreen, you would see the white isnt as bright but you can see the date and time and status bar. Its because Windows Phone makes it softer so you cannot miss certain elements of the lockscreen. Its not the screen. Its the OS. For example on my 920:


While this is the photo I used:


Photo isn't really that noticeable but I used pure white. See the difference

 

[SteakPieHarry]

Hey Expert.

Thanks for that mate. It seemed images in general, not just the lock wallpapers were softer. For example browsing the web, the same image on the same page will look noticeably clearer on the S3. I captured a couple of screenshots to show but in image viewers/pc monitors the disparities aren't as obvious. Like I say, nothing I'd ever really notice unless the S3 was there to compare.

It's not a huge deal for me, more a curiosity. Still loving the phone.

Here's a query - I noticed watching a few vids of the Ativ that the app screen had a lettering arrangement like the phonebook. Mine wasn't like that but in the last half hour, out of the blue, I now have lettering in the application menu. :grin:

 

[LMZR]

Welcome to WPCentral!

 

[neo158]

I believe the sharper pictures on the S3 are due to a higher PPI than the ATIV S, nothing to worry about though I still like my ATIV S and would change it for anything else. As for the Jump Lists in the app list. That only appears when you install a certain amount of apps, about 15 - 20 I believe.

 

[SteakPieHarry]

Ahh, is that what it is? Haha, I had no idea! I recently installed Amazon so that must have taken me over the magic number. The PPI is higher on the S3? That's why I was confused, I thought they were identical. Like you say, not a deal breaker as I love the phone. After using it going back the S3 feels all wrong! :grin:

 

[neo158]

Ahh, is that that is? Haha, I had no idea! I recently installed Amazon so that must have taken me over the magic number. The PPI is higher on the S3? That's why I was confused, I thought they were identical. Like you say, not a deal breaker as I love the phone. After using it going back the S3 feels all wrong! :grin:

The PPI is higher on the S3 but not by much at 319ppi compared to the 306ppi on the ATIV S

 

[WP8Expert]

That happens when you install a certain number of applications. If you delete some, and go below the limit, it reverts back to normal

 

[WP8Expert]

S3 and ATIV use the EXACT same AMOLED panel, therefore they have the same ppi
Screenshot from Galaxy S3 wiki:



And screenshot from the ATIV S's wiki

 

[WP8Expert]

Hey Expert.

Thanks for that mate. It seemed images in general, not just the lock wallpapers were softer. For example browsing the web, the same image on the same page will look noticeably clearer on the S3. I captured a couple of screenshots to show but in image viewers/pc monitors the disparities aren't as obvious. Like I say, nothing I'd ever really notice unless the S3 was there to compare.

It's not a huge deal for me, more a curiosity. Still loving the phone.

Here's a query - I noticed watching a few vids of the Ativ that the app screen had a lettering arrangement like the phonebook. Mine wasn't like that but in the last half hour, out of the blue, I now have lettering in the application menu. :grin:

I think most likely this issue can be fixed with an update. Have you updated your ATIV S? Samsung has released new firmware which may fix the problem. And auto-brightness in WP8 is horrible. I suggest you turn it off if it's on

 

[neo158]

If they have the same PPI then the only other thing hardware wise is the graphics chipset which might explain it.

 

[Villain]

Could be due to the Ativ S having a bigger screen?


I know my 8X has a much crisper browser than the GS3. Picking up an Ativ S tomorrow so I'll compare the both.

 

[SteakPieHarry]

Hey thanks for all the replies folks.

Villian - I'd be curious to know how it compares with your 8X if it's sharper than the S3. Does anyone know what I mean about web logos? For example go to the mobile website for YouTube and the logo at the top is all out of focus. Surely that's just a Windows issue rather than the phone? Not a big deal but looks a little anachronistic.

Bizarrely enough my data stopped working this morning. Tried everything and can't get it back on. I'll perhaps factory reset the phone. Just getting DNS errors, can't connect to a thing. Either that or Three network is down but I doubt that, never happened to me once in 4 years. Seems something has gone awry with my Ativ. :unhappysweat:

Edit - quite incredibly it seems Three network IS down! Phew. What are the chances the day after me getting a new phone? Could have sworn I'd done something to the Ativ. Close one. :grin:

 

[neo158]

Could be due to the Ativ S having a bigger screen?


I know my 8X has a much crisper browser than the GS3. Picking up an Ativ S tomorrow so I'll compare the both.

View attachment 35177

The display size is the same on both devices at 4.8" the only difference is the graphics chipsets, a Mali chipset on the S3 and an Adreno chipset on the ATIV S.

 

[Villain]

Hey thanks for all the replies folks.

Villian - I'd be curious to know how it compares with your 8X if it's sharper than the S3. Does anyone know what I mean about web logos? For example go to the mobile website for YouTube and the logo at the top is all out of focus. Surely that's just a Windows issue rather than the phone? Not a big deal but looks a little anachronistic.

Bizarrely enough my data stopped working this morning. Tried everything and can't get it back on. I'll perhaps factory reset the phone. Just getting DNS errors, can't connect to a thing. Either that or Three network is down but I doubt that, never happened to me once in 4 years. Seems something has gone awry with my Ativ. :unhappysweat:

Edit - quite incredibly it seems Three network IS down! Phew. What are the chances the day after me getting a new phone? Could have sworn I'd done something to the Ativ. Close one. :grin:

was suppose to pick it up today before work BUT I slept to long lol picking er up tomorrow.

 

[ShocWave]

Try download the HD Photo Viewer app (unlimited free trial with no ads), everything will look much sharper.
The built in picture viewer does funny things to the resolution cutting it down as much as 50% in larger images.

Microsoft probably did this to ensure no problems with 512MB devices. Some features in HD Photo Viewer only work on 1GB of RAM.

Take a look at the comparison below. Make sure you click on the image to view it in actual size.
Left the built in photo viewer, right is HD Photo Viewer. Pay attention to the golden rails on the left and right edges, and the lines on Leo's suit.

Villian - I'd be curious to know how it compares with your 8X if it's sharper than the S3. Does anyone know what I mean about web logos? For example go to the mobile website for YouTube and the logo at the top is all out of focus. Surely that's just a Windows issue rather than the phone? Not a big deal but looks a little anachronistic.

The image is not out of focus. Google's crappy mobile website is designed for 800x480 resolution.
The YouTube logo was originally a small picture, but resized up to look bigger.
This is more of an issue with websites not detecting the browser properly, and giving your a crippled version of the website with low resolution images.
If you view the regular desktop version of the website, everything will look fine.

Google seems to hate Windows Phone, so I don't think they will update it anytime soon. We are still stuck with the old Gmail interface.