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Samsung Captivate or Samsung Focus?

Short story: I'm up for an upgrade on AT&T and I can't decide between the Captivate and the Focus. I like Android and its massive amount of customization but WP7 looks amazing and I have a gut feeling it will be a pretty big success going forward.
Long story: So I signed up with AT&T on a family plan back in September of this year and, since I had just moved back to the US, I decided to save my money and use my own phone from abroad. I made this choice mostly because smartphones on AT&T were still kind of expensive and the only two options at the time were the Captivate and the HTC Aria. And they pretty much offered zero desirable free phones (before smartphones you could get some great phones for free).
About a month later, my phone started freaking out on me and still continues to do so. The phone restarts itself randomly throughout the day; this is an issue because it's a Sony Ericsson phone so it goes to the Phone Mode/Flight Mode screen before actually starting so I've missed quite a few calls. Over time the phone has also started to have issues picking up any signal at all, so I've been forced to restart the phone every time (and it temporarily fixes the problem).
This whole thing became a big headache and I got worried I would have to shell out $300+ for a decent off-contract or unlocked phone. Luckily, since I didn't get a phone on my line, AT&T is saying that I am eligible for an upgrade and I've been looking online and I've found some great deals.
Two deals in particular: the gorgeous Samsung Captivate for free and the drool-worthy Samsung Focus for $50 (both on Amazon). Both of these prices apply for an upgrade, so now I'm trying to decide which one I want. I love Android and its insane customizations (and the TouchWiz UI is not that bad tbh) and its awesome features (Navigation being a huge plus). But I am very tempted to get a WP7 device; gaming looks to be MUCH better and the whole UI is quite handsome in addition to being just blazing fast. And I know I'll be kicking myself if WP7 grows into a killer OS while I'm still stuck on 2.2 (and at that point 3.0 will probably be out and Sammy will have a new flagship Android).
Now I ask you XDA-ers: which one should I get?

I hate doing this but...bump.

I'm in the same boat. What decision did you end up making, and do you have any regrets?
For me the trade offs between the two are the Focus with the LED Flash, 8gb mem, and WP7. And tehn the Captivate with no LED Flash, 16gb mem, and Android
BUMP

Im an Android guy but go with the Focus, Ive used one many times and its wonderful, ive been using WP7 since february and its come a long way, also I know there are some cool features coming in an update next feb.

Which phone will become the HD2 successor? (dev love)

Hello everyone, this is yet another "which phone should I get" thread, so if you are sick of them please move on but I would be grateful for every input.
So up to now I have been using N900 which to me is a very good device, with a lot of room to improve of course, but lack off Nokia's support has just pissed me off. I'm a heavy google user (gmail, calendar & stuff) so android seems like a natural progression. Now, since I have N900 I'm obviously into modding and stuff I'm looking for a very similar android device. Atm that would be HTC HD2, the thing is I consider this phone just too old, I'm looking for a fairly new device, possibly not even out yet, which is sure to get a lot of love from xda and other devs. So yeah, I'm not even sure if it's possible to foretold which device will become the new HD2 in the android world, perhaps it has something to do with open hardware drivers, hope you guys have a better clue. I plan to stick with this phone for another 1,5 year and I just can't afford 2 smart phones at the same time, so I'm basically looking for the best long term investment.
Please, note that I'm from Europe, where not all devices are available or will be delayed. I can probably wait with the purchase until May. I don't have any preferences towards particular brand.
Thank you for your help,
YUMad

my guess is ull have to wait for the fist 4+" dual core htc device for all the htc folks to jump ship

We should wait a cycle of 2-3 yr until that super device replacement arrives, that´s the usual but anything can happen!

With the speed of phones developing these days, won't be 2-3 years. More like half a year to one year.

I don't think you could really answer this question. No one will know until the phone has been released.

As of right now, there's no worthy HD2 successor yet. HTC ups their high-end phone every year (diamond 2008, blackstone 2009, HD2 2010, etc) so cross your fingers for that mythical 1.5ghz dual-core snapdragon hopefully by the end of this year...

In my opinion, The HD2 is still one of the biggest power houses on the market. A 1 ghz processor. Yea there making awesome phones, but very few of them are being made with the components that are within the HD2. Correct me if I'm wrong. Its a stacked phone and you pair it with an Android ROM, and its right up there with anything else.

Oh well, guess it wasn't that hard to convince me. I'm getting HD2 and will slowly watch how the things unfold. Thanks everyone!

How about a poll?
I agree that the HD2 is getting too old to buy as a new phone. I think the step change we've all been looking forward to is coming in the forms of the dual core processor phones due this year. I think it will be a choice along the lines of:
1. Motorola Atrix
2. LG Optimus 2x
3. Other Android device
4. Other WP7 device
I have been a die hard HTC fan since 2002 so I wish I could vote for Option 3 but I just can't wait so I pick Option 1.
See http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/37892/lg-optimus-2x-vs-motorola-atrix-4g

The point is you can't just look at any mobile you'd like, compare it specs to HD2 and say, all right we have a rightful successor, there are many other factors to consider. Again, I'm not a developer myself so I don't know much about the whole process but for example N900 still doesn't have a full android experience ported and that is due to closed nature of it's hardware drivers rather than hardware limitations. Also, as far as I know this forum was/is mostly about HTC handsets so I believe a HTC product will be heavly favoured.

I just got a hd2, no box in brand new condition for 140 so I hope the development love is sustained. I will try and help with graphics.

You really will like the HD2. I got mine for 49 bucks when my contract was up for my blackberry a couple months back. Ive loved it. So many different options to choose from and the custom ROM's just add to the mix. I just put the new NAND Android ROM on mine and it runs flawlessly. Not 1 issue soo far and it is freaking fast. No offense to Windows, but Android software is second to none. Like I said earlier, match these two things together, and you will have a powerhouse thats just as good, possibly even way better than the Droid 2 and Evo 4G. I'd recommend getting this phone...But I do recommend that you upgrade to Android. Any questions, just leave me a message.

hd2
there is no phone who can beat hd2 maybe the samsun galaxy s how ever we will wait for the 1.5 ghz phone but the hd2 is thé phone!!!!

There's no way of knowing, because manufacturers rightfully don't release information on the hardware that would be important in identifying an "HD2 successor". What made the HD2 so amazing was the completely unlocked bootloader/NAND. Plus the hardware on it was ahead of its time. People talk about the phone as if it was a 2010 phone, not even realizing it came out in November 2009!
HTC Vision may be the 2011 version but no one knows for sure.

i personally think HD2 has a couple of years left ...
every manufacturer accidently makes a phone that amazez every one
For instance Motorola had mm L7 few years back it was modded till i finally bricked it same is the case with HD2. i mean with so many developers working on this phone i think there is more to come. As far as succesor is concerned well im no programmer but each os is processor dependant. As long as they keep recipe the same we can be looking into a new Super moddable phone
P.S i dont think dual core or that crap would change much, as long as we have so many choices on HD2 im still drooling over it

phone changes a lot,i can catch this fashion.

For decent replace I would go to Motorola Atrix or how I heard Milestone in Europe...

I <3 my HD2
best phone I ever bought
for development/much tweaks you need an older phone the older the more been developped plus the HD2 has a series of great dev's
plus MIUI on HTC HD2 is so much more than iphone
I wanted an iphone 4 lately, some guy wanted to talk me into trading it,
then I tried and I hate that the iphone only has one button, it's not as responsive. next to that all icons are in homescreen, you can only make maps, in android you can switch between launcher or homescreen, and so on..
No newer phone at the market really makes me say 'wow' atm, but I can't deny I look every day, for u successor.
When will I make the step?
- Water and dustproof
- glass better then gorillaglas
- 4G / 5G
- 10 MP cam
- android
- SUPERB batterylife
- good antenna
- DLNA
- HDMI
- WIFI N
- VOICE COMMANDS IN MY LANGUAGE
I don't care who makes it but I'll get it

HD2 is power monster , it can do anything . no other phone can handle that much load

shattered screen
Someone accidentally made my HD2 drop and shattered the screen with a sofa smashing her against the wall. I was quoted $150 US by ubreakifix to replace the screen. I can't wait to get if fixed even though the HTC One S is $200 plus $20/month for 20 months. Yes the One S sports modern specs but it is not as gorgeous as the HD2.
I borrowed my daughter's HD2 and gave her the iPhone 3GS. She was not happy. Even though she is not using a data plan.
I want a Windows Phone which hackers can tweak to run Android. But nothing less than the HTC HD2.
Windows Phone 8 is a long way.

Now I really don't understand Mobile Phone Makers don't they just make a best phone

Now I'm not a mobile phone maker, but i do consider my self an active proponent of the Android Community. But there is one question that bothers me why don't phone manufacturers make a beast above all phone.
Now there are quite a few big players when it comes to Android phone manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and LG those are the companies that i consider to be the TOP dogs (whether you choose to agree or not). Ok each company is known for certain things
HTC: Originally the most innovative of the bunch now in my opinion LG is becoming the most innovative, HTC builds excellent phone case-wise i personally prefer to have a heavier/thicker metal/plastic hybrid versus a plastic cheap a*s case that Samsung loves to use, HTC adopted the android OS first with the G1, you may not have noticed it but, HTC has rolled out the first LTE phone for all of the USA's major cell companies so far Sprint-EvO 4G, T-Mobile-G2 and MyTouch 4G, Verizon-Thunderbolt, and At&T-Inspire 4G, last time i checked there isn't any other manufacturer that can claim that they did that, HTC released the first pure 100% google experience with the Nexus One, and even if you didn't release it that phone was and still is a beast of a phone it is based off of the HTC Desire but it sported a great AMOLED screen, 1 GHz Qualcomm QSD 8250 Snapdragon ARM(which was the bomb). The great majority of HTC's phones have came pre-installed with the newest Firmware rather it be 2.1 or 2.2(they havent released a phone with 2.3 yet but non of the manufactures have yet right?(excluding the Nexus S). HTC although they utilize their own skin on top of Android OS called Sense UI and although i have never purchased a HTC phone i've always wanted one for this single reason it is by far the best manufactures skin when compared with MOTOBLUR, TouchWIz, and idk what LG's is called i do believe its LG Star ui but im not sure. And the biggest problem with Android is phones getting supported and HTC in my opinion upgrades the greater majority of its phones @ least once and usually in a timely manner thats something that Samsung cant say and Mototola definitely cant say now for LG they just recently stepped into the ball game so only time will tell.
Samsung- Just stepped into the real ball game with their Galaxy S devices now their devices are great hardware wise with their super ultra sexy Super Amoled screens and soon to have Super Amoled plus screens they sport those lovely Hummingbird Proccesors, but they had a huge dowfall they were released with the already old 2.1 Eclair update when the 2.1 froyo had already been out for sometime which imo is stupid and lazy they also put on top of their phones the most disgusting and horrendous skin their Touch Wiz which is horrible but meh i guess the product sells. There biggest downfall is not supporting phones such as their failed Behold 2 which didn't see a upgrade over 1.6. Their Galaxy S devices just recently began to receive updates to the Vibrant and the Evo 4G began to get its 2.2 but i guess it was recalled, Fascinate no update still on 2.1, Captivate i believe it has received its update but non the less thats ridiculous to wait so long for an update that should have been there already. Their phones are great but software not so great very simple.
LG-Very little is known about LG besides they have quite a few of great high ed phones coming very soon and their midrange Optimus One line is very impressive as a mid range phone at least.
Motorola(lol i accidently forgot them)- Moto well what to say they stepped into the Android game with the release of the Moto Cliq which was by far one of the worst phones ever imo how do u release a phone for $200 and then a month later release a phone with way superior specs the original Moto Droid for the same price if not cheaper some places and then call the 2 phones equals thats insanity the Moto CLiq was released with 1.5 which was donut i believe then was upgraded to 1.6 cupcake were it stayed at forever it was completely tied down with Motoblur if you hate motoblur now hows it is on the DRoid X it ws completely worst on the cliq and the worst part was the locked bootloader so very few roms existed for the Cliq and even the roms couldnt remove the Blur their was one exception the Eclair2CLiq rom which was great but stopped getting support so it was never finished anyways. Motorola has always been about the money im positive that it has a contract with Verizon because verizon has always gotten their high end sh*t Droid Droid2 Droid X and now the Xoom while the other companies have gotten the worst phones possible T-mobile: Defy, Cliq, Cliq XT, Cliq 2, and that one phone thats just a rectangle looking blackberry thing, and 1 more cant think of name either. At&T: had the crappy blackflip then they got the cool a*s Atrix. So Moto is always a hit or miss in my eyes i will never buy from moto because they tie their phones down wayyy 2 much if its not on Verizon and now At&T. Sprint doesnt even have a Moto phone thats android. Moto also has the dreaded bootloader locks which makes the already crappy phone even crappier and if its a good phone it makes it so you cant root or even if you can root it wont be a full root experience like Overclocking and CM7 etc.
So for now IMO HTC owns all by a football field to be honest
Now to my main question why doesn't a company say hey we can make a great phone that has all the features people wont and it will be great and sell well and everything we can put it on all carriers like the Galaxy S devices and the Optimus V/M/S/T/C/and anymore i forgot.
I personally would like to find in my found @ minimum 16 GB of internal memory(like the Samsung Vibrant/Nexus S), A kickstand (just like the HTC Thunderbolt and Evo 4G), A HDMI out connector, 720p recording capabilites, a 8mp camera @ bare minimum, 4G radios depending on the Carrier, a decent stock battery ie 1800 MaH or even 2000 MaH something decent, a lovely screen size better yet make 2 different choices for screens 4" and 4.3" thats the best 2 sizes imo, you can make a slider version for those slider people, come with a dual core proccesor of some sort rather it be Tegra, Hummingbird, Qualcomm, TI, or whatever else is out their, Come pre-installed with @ least 16gb SD CARD, come preloaded with the newest most recent Android update even if you use your skin ie Sense @ least make a separate partion on the phone that the User can flash or make an App similar to Rom Manager yet make it wayyyyy easier to utilize but make it so you can run a completely stock version of Android, come with a decent loud speaker not these tiny lite baby ones like the Galazy S and Nexus S devices im talking about ones like the Thunderbolt or LG's optimus devices(they have great speakers), come with NFC just for the hell of it, strong vibrate, stop using these crappy screens WVGA etc only use SAMOLED/PLUS or since samsung doesn't have enough for their own product even you can use the next best thing avaialbe which is qHD or that Super Clear LCD/PLUS, these are really not that big of demands to find in a phone they're actual very simple please take a look into it and tell me if this is to hard to find in a phone?

Price and affordability and compactness. For a device to feature all that, it'd be ridiculously expensive, probably >€1000 sim free. Also, to fit all that in a phone, you'd have to carry an absolute brick in your pocket. Unfeasable as of yet.

There's no point in making a single, killer handset because you that would mean you'd stop innovating and that leads to stagnation.
Nokia effectively had the killer phone for years - 90% of people I knew would have a variant of the basic Nokia handset (they varied in size but the features were the same) - and look what happened there...
You have to remember that people have a wide variety of needs too -not everyone wants a $400 'does everything' handset - there's still people who don't even text!!

I could've sworn sprint had a low end motorola i1 android phone?

Timing and market drive some development but alot of development is a function of when to release to maximize profit. Then, you start providing horizontal integration that is: to provide X then add X+1 then X+2 etc. That way they can sell you the phone at a discount once you are hooked then they sell you all the update @ retail....... ergo more profit. Sucks, but that the American way !

It's not a feasible business model to put out one killer phone and forget about it.

At the moment the scale goes from Dumbphone, few features but great battery life -> Smartphone, feature filled, crappy battery life.
Build a phone with every possible feature and you'd need to carry a generator around with you.

@ OP
lol, dude you are very naive.

Eh, I may dislike android but some of your info is a bit off. For instance the Cliq actually did see a 2.1 update which goes to show they may not be the absolute worst when it comes to updating devices. Samsung takes that cake in my opinion. The Cliq also wasn't too much lesser than the droid, the droid was just in a much fancier casing. Manufacturers would not make a perfect phone because then they would have a pinnacle issue. People would only be going for that phone and all other phones would be ignored including the OEM's other endeavors. Not to mention there is no device that would fit everyone. Your device may sound perfect to you but to me it holds all the issues that leave android lacking in my opinion so they release multiple devices to appease the masses.

rawr4dj said:
So for now IMO HTC owns all by a football field to be honest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have felt this way too, especially validated by fact that I have bought 5 in a row HTC smartphones ---
(1) way way back: WindowsMobile > T-Mobile MDA
(2) way back: WindowsMobile > T-Mobile Wing
(3) 2 years back: Android: HTC Hero (actually bought 2 of them, liked it so much)
(4) 1 year ago: Android: HTC Desire (worked flawlessly til about 3 months ago where a problematic USB port surfaced - later found out thru web searches that its sister model, the Sprint Evo, had this problem like CRAZY, and tons of returns and warranty replacements -- however, HTC in my case is NOT HONORING THE WARRANTY)
(5) 3 months ago: Android: myTouch 4G (HTC Glacier) --- this is a kickass phone that I still believe is very underrated because of its branding with T-Mobile) but has more internal memory to hold more apps than even nexus s
However ....
HTC America is really screwing up the BRAND REPUTATION of HTC overall. They are not only completely disorganized, but if anyone has ever called their tech suppoort, they are generally clueless, reading off of LCD screens worse that AT&T phone support -- and that's saying a lot, you can't get any worse than AT&T level 1 Support, they define "HORRIBLE CLUELESS SCRIPT-READING CUSTOMER SERVICE". But that is nothing compared to trying to get WARRANTY REPAIR WORK done by HTC AMERICA. My phone is under 1 year old, with a 2 year warranty for defective parts & labor, and yet HTC AMERICA says I am out of warranty and to fix this defective USB port --- again -- just google MICRO USB PORT HTC DESIRE ... or EVO and you can't miss it... and HTC America says they are happy to repair it for $ 317.43 .
So, I tell you what, this is having a serious impact on my next purchase. I don't have time for this bull****. And they could give a rat's ass about my customer loyalty. I've been buying HTC phones longer than the majority of their goons have even been employed there. You ask someone "Oh, how long have you been with HTC?" And you're lucky if you get "2 years".... Me -- more like 7 years. I don;t expect first line phone support to have such tenure. But when they are complete idiots...
(SEE MY THREAD FOR ACTUAL DIALOGUE AND you'll understand my statement)
... I'm sorry but this goes to overall management of a global corporation. And in this hyper-competitive space, if they don't clean up their act, they may not survive. That's not an overstatement. I thought that, with this site having formed around the HTC "XDA" all these years ago, and HTC having been ahead of the curve all these years, and they kept Windows Mobile alive by innovations like TouchFlo etc which compensated for WinMo's 6pt type size and stylus UI after the iPhone debuted, that they were probably the #1 smartphone device maker. I just assumed that.
Someone can pull the stats, but no, I was shocked to find out at the end of 2010, the pivotal year where Android just exploded -- starting with Oct 2009's Moto DROID launch, then Jan's NEXUS 1 launch -- then phone after phone in 2010, and so many HTC models, that HTC's marketshare as device maker was TINY -- fractional ... It shocked me.
So, I'm just saying... They launched their multi-million dollar "YOU" BRANDING CAMPAIGN last year I'm sure to help propel the name HTC into the brains of people who had used HTC products for many years, but many times they were co-branded by carrier names for those phones, and most average consumers weren't even aware the name HTC .... and yet their share is so small. Well, if they treat EXISTING LONG-TIME CUSTOMERS this way, they will erode their existing base. And why would I have any further brand loyalty?
Samsung is making great stuff, so is Motorola. The next device i get will be a tablet. After that, I will NOT be upgrading and buying new phones every year or 2... They will have reached a point of diminishing returns.
So, HTC better clean up their act in America or it's 再见 new phone.

you are right but that phone was for boost mobile

You seem to be quite rich
why dont you buy me a high end phone i really really need one . but i cant afford damnit!

Technology evolves
I think one you call beast today will not be a beast tomorrow.
Again phone manufacturer has to keep price in mind.

HTC is not even close to owning the whole football field.
Besides an unlocked bootloader which is changing now they are nothing special.
Every phone looks the same with minimal difference in specs.
All these companies cater to a wide range of people so thus why no one super mega phone.

Best is relative to time. What may be the best today may not be the the best tomorrow.

The best phone is already the G2

Kailkti said:
Best is relative to time. What may be the best today may not be the the best tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best today is definitely NOT the best tomorrow. Nothing will ever be the best.
Not to mention that the OP's 'best phone' doesn't equal to another person's 'best'.

Agreed, a 1ghz processor will be laughed at in the next 2 years or so.
Whaddup dual core?
and it's only gonna get better

they already made a phone with quad core and 5 inch screen lol o hate to big screens though.
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA

Post is a year old mate.

Am I being too overly fearful?

My cellphone history:
Cell phone - Bought for - Sold for - Used for
Nokia X6 - 250 $ - 180$ - 2 months
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10i - 250$ - 220$ - 2 months
Apple iPhone 3gs - 300$ - 100$ - 1 year
HTC Incredible S - 250$ - 180$ - 1 month
I have had other cell phones in the gaps but I don't remember them, the prices or the time used for.
So here is my story, I have had the need to buy a cellphone in the recent days and I have been following the market too. I first wanted an HTC Sensation which was for 320$, 3 months earlier, but now, I can find the same one for 210$ or something. I then wanted a Samsung Galaxy S 2 which was available for 380$ 2 months before but now I can find one for 260$ or less. The same goes with other cell phones I have been following (much of stalking).
Living in a country where I get 15$ a month for my pocket money, you can understand the importance of even 1$ for me. 10$ here means a lot for some people. I can get a Nokia 1280 or a Nokia 1202 for 10$, so, that explains the story. Being the guy who loves new technology, I want to get the best technology around me and get one which can get me through a period of 1 - 2 years without being called outdated or old. From the above history, you can know that I have used the iPhone 3gs for 1 year or even more time than that due to the fact that Apple gives update to most of it's devices (starting from 3gs), I was happy with it but that's the time when the iPhone 4s came to the market and I had to bear a loss of 200$. That loss meant a lot to me. It brought down to the earth from the sky. There aren't any companies which offer contracts which are good. I then think that I should wait for the next model to release because I want to buy an older model because it would fall cheaper.
This is being too big, long story short. Any cellphone that comes to the market losses it's value within a new cellphone from that company. Since I want to buy a phone and not bear a big loss the next time and have the best technology at the same that, I can't decide to buy a cellphone because I am being fearful because if I buy a cellphone, it might loss it's value tomorrow when a better one comes to the market and I will have to bear a great loss again. I was just wondering if I am being too fearful regarding this matter.
Can anyone advise me what to do because I am confused a LOT?
Note: All the phones talked about above are second hands because I can't offered new ones.

Thats the way it is with technology, especially in the fast paced mobile market. New models are always coming out and devices depreciate very quickly. You want a phone that can work for your needs, it doesn't have to be the lastest and greatest if your needs don't require high end hardware.
iPhones do get supported quite a while in new OS versions, but for older devices the OS can be stripped of new features like Siri. iPhones are also more expensive because you are paying for the brand name. If you want an Android device that stays up to date for a while, get a Nexus device. But you don't need to be on the latest and greatest phone with the newest version of Android. Find something you like and can afford and buy it. Don't assume it will get any OS updates if its an older or uncommon device. And don't pay attention to its resale value, technology loses its value fast.

I kinda wonder why it is more important to you what your phone costs than what it can do for you. Personally, I don't care at all about value loss. I list the features I want and then go for the cheapest model that has them. The phone then gets used till it either breaks down or is lost.

spunker88 said:
Thats the way it is with technology, especially in the fast paced mobile market. New models are always coming out and devices depreciate very quickly. You want a phone that can work for your needs, it doesn't have to be the lastest and greatest if your needs don't require high end hardware.
iPhones do get supported quite a while in new OS versions, but for older devices the OS can be stripped of new features like Siri. iPhones are also more expensive because you are paying for the brand name. If you want an Android device that stays up to date for a while, get a Nexus device. But you don't need to be on the latest and greatest phone with the newest version of Android. Find something you like and can afford and buy it. Don't assume it will get any OS updates if its an older or uncommon device. And don't pay attention to its resale value, technology loses its value fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but the talk isn't about getting an iPhone or an Android. Not that you are provoking a war or something. I just liked the way it was, simple and stable. I can't recall any crash on the OS or anything. Anyway, the topic is being turned away. The basic meaning of getting an update is that most of the new applications are supported by the latest OS. Having OS 4.3.3 won't get you the Facebook application because it isn't supported, likewise, you can't get Google Chrome application on anything below 4.0.4 on Android, that's where it starts to suck.
I have to agree that technology loses a lot of value in a very short time. I was just wondering if I was being too fearful. I can't even decide on something.
onyxbits said:
I kinda wonder why it is more important to you what your phone costs than what it can do for you. Personally, I don't care at all about value loss. I list the features I want and then go for the cheapest model that has them. The phone then gets used till it either breaks down or is lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case it does, specially with the case that I want an upgraded chipset model when it becomes cheaper.

I recommend purchasing a device second hand if you haven't decided that already, but with fairly good dev support and a large community.
EDIT: that way ROMs running latest firmware which would be delayed or discontinued on your handset, will come your way in just a matter of time
Galaxy nexus, or S2 would be smart options imo
Sent from my GT-I9300

Yea, would agree with 23Six. Galaxy Nexus or SGS2 (if SGS2, try to get the I9100 as there are a couple of variants and the I9100 has a wider dev base). With the Nexus, OS updates are pretty much as soon as Google releases them AFAIK. The SGS2 should be at a relatively good price point and shouldn't depreciate too much further since the SGS3 is out and SGS4 sounds to be in the pipeline.

It's a lot of money - but it's up to you if it's worth it.
One thing I think that's keeping you back is that you are looking at price to determine value. Price doesn't tell you if something is still a good phone, if the phone can still do what you need.
"Keeping up with technology" is an expensive hobby - but it's just a hobby, it's not necessary. You can buy a phone and keep it for two years, no problem - and it will probably be just fine unless you lose it or break it. Your iPhone 3 was still just fine and wasn't a $200 loss when the iPhone 4 came out. You had the phone for a period of time before the price dropped - it will ALWAYS be cheaper to wait, and you can wait literally forever.
I agree with onyxbits - figure out what you really want from a phone and then figure out which model best meets your needs for a price you're okay with. Setting a budget can help you narrow it down instead of feeling pressured and unsure.

Any other non Dev buy multiple phones a month? If so how did it start and why... A br

I'm 37, and have made my living in Mobile for the last 8/9years. I was part of a team that grew a Verizon Franchise from 2 to 37 stores in 3 states over the course of 7 years. At that time I would swap phones every time a flagship would release, but besides my first Droid(a Droid X) I didn't root(Howard Forums was all I knew then) and before my droid I had a few Treo's but hated them and would always go back to an LG 8100 or 8300(right before the droid I had the LG Dare, does anyone remember Verizon touting it as an iPhone Killer?, lol.) And while it killed many things, ie my patience, my respect for Verizon, and ultimately a little bit of my soul... An iPhone killer it was not.
Rooted the droid X, only to over clock(before my phone addiction, I would build a gaming rig every January and constantly upgrade it during the year)
Droid X, then droid 2 global(had to have the first 1.2Ghz phone), incredible 2, thunderbolt, Continuum(lasted 5 days M-F) X2, Bionic, xperia play, droid pro, droid charge,
At this point the iPhone came out, and I was in Love withe that until Last Summer(save for a brief but intense affair with the Galaxy Nexus)
Rezound... Then we sold the company and I signed a noncompete, and took a year off... That's when it started. I kept buying devices I had 5 lines and it was just my wife and I. And I used every single upgrade my parents/sister/brother had, that's why I swapped out. They kept flip phones for years, and when they were broke or wanted something new, they were cheap compared to data phones.
After 8 months I knew I wanted to open some stores, I love sales, I love the business, and its all I know, but I had time left till "I could" so I got a easy job as a "BigBox" manager in the town i bought a place in during my 8 month retirement. and this is where my phone addiction took root.
I have Transferred over the contractual liability for 2 lines to 2 family members so they could have unlimited data. So my wife had a phone and I had two.
Well fast forward 7 months, and I own every flagship device released on att and Verizon(besides the razrs)I thought moto made crap up until last week(but we know who had the major hand in that)
And of course as a BigBox electronics manager I took the discounted att manager plan, and now have fun buying world wide phones. Like my Padfone's, the xperia Z Ultra(should arrive Friday) 808 pureview, and now the 1020. And I root anything and everything. any free time is spent flashing and modding, on a perpetual search for the perfect ROM.
I am by no means anymore tech savvy than the normal poster on XDA, and far less than any Dev, but I live in a town thats the final pitstop to heaven for the elderly.
So this is the how and why, I think owning 13 unique types of phones(more overall, size, GE) in the last year is excessive.
Besides devs building Roms for multiple devices, anyone else like this. Right now there is no product that excites me and that sucks, I hope the ZU is that type of product with the s800, and 6.44 FHD display. And if not I hope something game changing gets announced soon and shocks us, because April is a Long way away, so while the edge is awesome by "right now" standards. Who knows then.
As I re-read this I can't help but see a pattern of insanity, all the phones(save for a few) are 95% more similar than different, and I'm trying to think when any of them felt different.
I'll tell u what though. I must like the HTC one, as I use that more than the nexus 4, S4, opti G pro, Nok1020 or find 5.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

This, my good sir, sounds like an expensive hobby you have here.
But I certainly do not blame you. I'm a flashaholic as well. And if I could afford to own and tinker with every phone released, I would in a heartbeat.
I hope the S800 blows your mind. It sure seems like a solid improvement over the S600, which is already exceptional. I'm with you though—hoping for some groundbreaking products. I'll cross my fingers for the both of us.

It's cool to love phones, no problem there. But you're right, each of them, especially each new one released every few months, is going to be pretty similar.
Maybe the trick is to get involved with your phones in a different way? Like beta testing new apps, perhaps. That would have you getting bleeding edge stuff that other people don't get, but you would be more INVOLVED, writing notes back to the developers and stuff. This would let you keep getting new stuff, but on the same physical device, and the fact that you were contributing to something would probably be very satisfying.... which might keep you too busy to buy another phone.
Anders