# HTC 1 in sunlite = FAIL **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055 "2013-05-11T05:31:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/1 "2013-05-11T05:31:21Z")
What can I do to be able to see my phone stuff on a day other than heavy overcast?? Any apps that I have not found.?? Zero actually. Which phone has the most easily seen screen in daylight? Do I just need to get a black camera change bag to stick my head & phone in when I want to use my phone outdoors? In most ways, smart phones are way smarter than I am but they all seem like boat anchors if I want to use them out of doors. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/2 "2013-05-11T06:50:28Z")
If it’s any consolation, my Samsung Galaxy 2 is the same. I think the nerds who design these phones don’t go out much during the day, and never realized there was a problem.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/3 "2013-05-11T08:53:07Z")
Sunlight readable displays take a metric ass-load of power to run. High Nit displays are simply not conducive to the design or typical use of consumer mobile phones where battery life is critical. It’s never going to happen. It’s like complaining that you can’t take your car out onto the lake to fish. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/4 "2013-05-11T10:34:17Z")
Have you turned up the brightness? I don’t use Auto-brightness, and keep the backlight turned down to extend battery life. But if I need to use my phone in bright sunlight, I just whack up the brightness. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/5 "2013-05-11T13:12:46Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Sunlight readable displays take a metric ass-load of power to run. High Nit displays are simply not conducive to the design or typical use of consumer mobile phones where battery life is critical. > > It’s never going to happen. It’s like complaining that you can’t take your car out onto the lake to fish. This is not true if the screen has no backlighting. The original game boy advance worked this way. You needed to have light shining on the screen to see it. In fact, the colors looked better in bright light. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/6 "2013-05-11T13:28:16Z")
Check your brightness settings. If you have it on Auto, it may be turned down and you won’t even realize it. I had this problem with my Galaxy untill I turned off the Auto brightness. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/7 "2013-05-11T13:47:11Z")
Whatever you do, don’t try to fix things by wearing good sunglasses. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/8 "2013-05-11T14:07:35Z")
There is a sunlight-readable LCD display technology called [transflective LCD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transflective_liquid_crystal_display). Basically, it is lit by both reflected ambient light and a backlight. [As this article explains](http://www.ecnmag.com/articles/2012/06/what-happened-transflective-displays), transflective displays lost out to conventional LCD because they are more expensive, and conventional (backlit) LCD looks a little better when used indoors. It’s still used in some high-end outdoor equipment (my Garmin Edge 800 cycling GPS has it), but it’s rare. The best you can do is choose a phone that has a bright screen with good anti-reflection technology, and turn up the brightness all the way. And _not_ use any screen protector with a textured (anti-glare) surface. Some tablets have an extra-bright display mode (I recall my old ASUS tablet called it “Super-IPS”), but I haven’t seen that on phones. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/9 "2013-05-11T14:27:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Whatever you do, don’t try to fix things by wearing good sunglasses. ☹ I assume by ‘good’ you mean ‘polarized’. I love my polarized glasses, but it does make some screens just about impossible to read unless you either turn your head or the screen sideways. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/10 "2013-05-11T14:45:33Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I assume by ‘good’ you mean ‘polarized’. I love my polarized glasses, but it does make some screens just about impossible to read unless you either turn your head or the screen sideways. Yep. I was out and about and looked at my phone. I thought it was dead. Took off my wayfarers and viola`!! ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/11 "2013-05-11T16:24:42Z")
Thanks for the info people. I have taken it out of the otter case & that helps but I don’t think the phone will survive very long this way. My history with slippery small things is not good. :: sigh ::: ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/12 "2013-05-11T16:26:52Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Thanks for the info people. I have taken it out of the otter case & that helps but I don’t think the phone will survive very long this way. **My history with slippery small things is not good.** :: sigh ::: You left yourself wide open on that one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/13 "2013-05-11T17:01:45Z")
All these problems pale into insignificance compared to the LCD watch I was given as an 18th birthday present, which used to reset itself to midnight Sunday 1st December if bright sunlight fell on the display. I am still unclear as to why but have to hypothesize that under those conditions that particular LCD functioned as a photovoltaic cell. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/14 "2013-05-11T20:40:27Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > There is a sunlight-readable LCD display technology called [transflective LCD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transflective_liquid_crystal_display). Basically, it is lit by both reflected ambient light and a backlight. > > [As this article explains](http://www.ecnmag.com/articles/2012/06/what-happened-transflective-displays), transflective displays lost out to conventional LCD because they are more expensive, and conventional (backlit) LCD looks a little better when used indoors. It’s still used in some high-end outdoor equipment (my Garmin Edge 800 cycling GPS has it), but it’s rare. > > The best you can do is choose a phone that has a bright screen with good anti-reflection technology, and turn up the brightness all the way. And _not_ use any screen protector with a textured (anti-glare) surface. > > Some tablets have an extra-bright display mode (I recall my old ASUS tablet called it “Super-IPS”), but I haven’t seen that on phones. The other (and currently popular) option to transflective is transmissive. I worked on a phone at my old company where we switch mid-stream, so I got to experience the differences first hand. You get better contrast and better blacks with fully transmissive screens. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/15 "2013-05-11T21:18:55Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Check your brightness settings. If you have it on Auto, it may be turned down and you won’t even realize it. I had this problem with my Galaxy untill I turned off the Auto brightness. This. Also, part of the problem is the weak light competing with bright reflections off the glass. But even if you shade the screen, you’ll have trouble seeing because of how bright the ambient light is constricting your pupils. You need to shade the screen and shade out peripheral light. And it wouldn’t hurt to close your eyes for 10 seconds to dilate the pupils. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/16 "2013-05-11T22:59:52Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > What can I do to be able to see my phone stuff on a day other than heavy overcast?? > > Any apps that I have not found.?? Zero actually. > > Which phone has the most easily seen screen in daylight? > > Do I just need to get a black camera change bag to stick my head & phone in when I want to use my phone outdoors? > > In most ways, smart phones are way smarter than I am but they all seem like boat anchors if I want to use them out of doors. Rotsa ruck. all of the smartphones I’ve had (OLED Droid Incredible, HTC Trophy, iPhone 4S, and now HTC 8X) sucked in bright outdoor light. nature of the beast. the only transflective screens I’ve encountered these days are on dumbphones. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/17 "2013-05-12T04:37:04Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > You left yourself wide open on that one. 😃 Thank you for your restraint. :smack: I found today that if I was willing to pull my T shirt up over my face and bring the phone in under the bottom & up to my face, it worked pretty good. Prolly get arrested if I did that in public though. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/18 "2013-05-12T05:50:57Z")
I’ve never had this problem. Perhaps I’m lucky? Motorola Electrify with brightness set to auto, if anyone is curious. I usually have to wait a second, but then the brightness ramps up. Everything is perfectly legible from then on. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/19 "2013-05-12T14:39:05Z")
I’ve followed the “transflective display” story with interest for some time. A couple years ago I compared the transflective display on my handheld GPS to the AMOLED on my smartphone: [http://infracanis.com/yggdrasil/framepage.jsp?YggContentFrame=Articles%2Fgear%2Fgarmin550%2Fvsphone.html&ContentName=bob.articles&NotMainContent](http://infracanis.com/yggdrasil/framepage.jsp?YggContentFrame=Articles%2Fgear%2Fgarmin550%2Fvsphone.html&ContentName=bob.articles&NotMainContent) Note that was done a few years ago when the Epic 4G was closer to the “cutting edge”. It’s still a pretty good display. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055/20 "2013-05-12T14:55:45Z")
I always carry spectacle cleaning cloths and regularly use them on my phone, tablet and sunglasses. They go in my pockets and get washed along with my trousers/jeans. Less grease on the surfaces seems to help some. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/htc-1-in-sunlite-fail/658055.md?page=2)