Database Info

[Q] Best Android Phone for my Needs?

So for the past few weeks I have been lurking the forum and such, and only just got around to registering.. and this is my first post.. so bear with me
It's my birthday in about 3 weeks, and I'm somewhat tempted to spend the money I get on an Android phone, to replace my dying iPod Touch 2G and also my crummy £10 phone.
So, what I could say I need in a Android phone is -
Value for money.
Decent music playback (Minimal hissing etc. I understand that the default music player at the moment is crap, but with Gingerbread should come a much improved one).
Nice touchscreen.
And if at all possible, an official or unofficial upgrade to 2.3 or well, updates in the future. I would hate to buy a phone which suddenly was dead in the water after 2 months!I understand it can depend on the phone and such as well. I do understand that unofficial updates depend on the model and such etc.
Unlockable.
I originally looked around and saw the ZTE Blade, I was really surprised at the value for money and huge amount of unofficial development in terms of updates.. and it looked perfect! But I heard it's music playback leaves much to be desired sadly.
If anyone could reccomend an Android phone which you think would fit my needs, I would really appriciate it to be honest haha
I would say my budget is £150 or so.
Thanks in advance, and a (somewhat) belated happy new year ,
KILLTHATWHA.
Other details -
From what I have looked at.. the HTC Wildfires resolution was really low, which put me off that model..
The camera can be terrible for all I care, I have a decent Pentax one which I use..
Gaming ability isn't really a huge thing for me either, but a decent CPU would be a bonus, since it would means the can potentially get more updates.

I would say get an HD2. They have an 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and a hefty 576MB of RAM. Even though it's not actually an Android phone, you can easily turn it into one.

little13193 said:
I would say get an HD2. They have an 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and a hefty 576MB of RAM. Even though it's not actually an Android phone, you can easily turn it into one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As awesome as that phone is.. it costs a hefty £300-£350! That over double my budget :/

You can grab an used HD2 for a decent price, not much more than a ZTE blade (unless you are in the UK and can buy directly from Orange).
But if you are looking for a new phone the ZTE really looks great for its price.

Faenad said:
You can grab an used HD2 for a decent price, not much more than a ZTE blade (unless you are in the UK and can buy directly from Orange).
But if you are looking for a new phone the ZTE really looks great for its price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the UK haha, so I would be buying it directly from Orange probably So would you say the \ZTE is my best option?

Your really low price seriously limits your options (for buying new, anyway).
I was looking at budget Android devices (sub £200) recently for the ladyfriend, and the only real options I could find were hTC Wildfire, LG Optimus GT540 & SE Experia Mini.
Having played with a friends WF I can tell you that the screen is - as feared - shockingly bad, but quite responsive (it's pushing less pixels after all).
About Android's music player, someone has rebuilt it with a slightly improved UI and a couple of new features (appropriately dubbed 'music mod'), it's quite nice, can't comment on sound quality unfortunately.
As for the blade, if you can get one it doesn't seem like a bad way to go. You do get a nice screen (as opposed to WF), but only 256mb of RAM which is a *serious* issue (WF has 384mb). They have the same CPU but the blade has a marginally higher frequency.

for your budget id reccomend rhe oeange san francisco. scout around and you can pick it up for about £100, and unlock it for free at modaco. then have. look at movin to giffgaff for the cheap internet

killthatwha said:
I am in the UK haha, so I would be buying it directly from Orange probably So would you say the \ZTE is my best option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, for the price it's an awesome deal. And the community support and interest seems decent.

ZTE Blade does seem like the best option but as Android upgrades begin to utilise more system resources older phones will be left behind. Just consider that you are buying a *first generation* device, those specs were impressive on the Droid a year ago, but not so today.

Need help, great opportunity for me.

Well I contacted the retentions department at AT&T and the lady I spoke to was extremely nice. Basically, the deal is:
- I get $20 for the next three months
- I get to keep my Captivate
- I get to choose any AT&T phone except the iPhone come May 9
- The Atrix will be available to me for $150 in May
Questions:
1. What should I do with my Captivate? I have to use it till May, but should I sell it then? How much would I be able to get? I don't really want to give it to my mom because it has so many problems.
2. How does the Atrix compare to the Captivate? I really want an exact, extensive breakdown.
3. When May comes, will there be a better phone to get than the Atrix?
__________________
Samsung Captivate, Rooted, Flashed with godonlyknows custom ROM.

I guess another option is the SGS2.

Tennis11 said:
I guess another option is the SGS2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
never again.

Yeah, I'll probably run away from samsung, fast.
Good idea?

1. Don't know how much you can get for it. A quick way to check would to be to simply go on ebay and do a search. You can also hang on to it and use it as a backup or a developer phone, if you're into that sort of thing.
2. Are you asking for a breakdown of hardware differences or overall user experience? Hardware differences are that the Atrix has a dual code tegra2 cpu (each core at 1ghz) though I'm pretty sure it isn't being utilized properly with the current firmware, qHD 540x960 LCD panel as the display, 1930mAh battery, 1024mb ddr2 ram, hdmi port, ships with android 2.2.. probably some other stuff I'm leaving out.
Reports regarding user experience vary. Some people like it and say it is very responsive, others say the screen, while very sharp, is dull and doesn't have nearly the color depth of amoled screens, and hate the fact that it ships filled with unremoveable bloatware, sideloading disabled, and general ATT douchebaggery. Just browse around and read some reviews. Engadget had a pretty decent one.
The thing that kills the Atrix for me is that Motorola insists on busting everyone's balls by shipping it with a signed/encrypted bootloader, and signed system files. Quite honestly, I'd prefer my Captivate to the Atrix for this reason alone.
3. The HTC Inspire 4g, Samsung Infuse 4g and Atrix 4g will all be out around May (or at least that's what I've read), if you insist on staying with ATT. Not sure about what will be released on other carriers, but I also hear that the Sony XPeria ARC is a good one to look out for.

If you are always waiting for the next best phone you will always be waiting. Jump ship when you are bored
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

At the top of your screen you will see a link for the device DB. Use it to compare the the Atrix to well what ever you want. They are right though if you are always waiting for the next big thing then you will always be waiting. It seems with the speed at which things are progressing there will always be something newer in or around the 3 to 6 month point.

Tennis11 said:
Well I contacted the retentions department at AT&T and the lady I spoke to was extremely nice. Basically, the deal is:
- I get $20 for the next three months
- I get to keep my Captivate
- I get to choose any AT&T phone except the iPhone come May 9
- The Atrix will be available to me for $150 in May
Questions:
1. What should I do with my Captivate? I have to use it till May, but should I sell it then? How much would I be able to get? I don't really want to give it to my mom because it has so many problems.
2. How does the Atrix compare to the Captivate? I really want an exact, extensive breakdown.
3. When May comes, will there be a better phone to get than the Atrix?
__________________
Samsung Captivate, Rooted, Flashed with godonlyknows custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I picked up a Atrix today. I also have a Captivate. The first thing you will notice is the difference in screens. Some people will say one is better than the other, but it is all user perception. Some people like saturated colors(AMOLED) some people don't. It's best to take a look at one in the store. I do not mind the Atrix screen, after a week of use probably won't notice the colors not being saturated anymore.
I think I am impressed the most with the battery. The battery on my Captivate killed me, I was always trickle charging. Even after the first charge on the Atrix the battery runs circles around my Captivate.
For people complaining about the Atrix being sluggish, I haven't noticed it. Stock it pulled a little over 2500 in Quadrant, my Captivate with yesterdays leaked Froyo pulled barley over 1000 at stock. Hopefully this will only improve once 2.4 is released with dual core support. Text is alot clearer for me. The high resolution makes everything smaller so that takes a little getting used to, but its a good thing. Fingerprint scanner is actually nice and works great. HDMI out is pretty sweet to have finally. I thought it was supposed to have a FM radio, but doesn't. GPS works great, it is nice to have a working GPS again. Overall the phone is a beast. The only disappointment I have and it is a big.... the signed bootloader is bogus.
The Samsung Infuse might be out by then, but like alot of others here...."never again"

I'm curious as to how you got ATT to agree to this? Did you have a history of problems? How long are you into your captivate contract?

[Q] Still worth buying?

Hello all,
phone market is full of phones but only few out there ticks all the boxes I need and XT720 is one of them - aside of standard Android goodies I want a good and reasonable quick camera for daily use, nice big screen, FM, TV (HDMI) out. Also, it should be affordable
It has been almost a year since it came out. One FW update bumped CPU to 720 MHz, but folks are quite happy with OC results and that combined with powerful graphics chip should be very good. Officially it's still sitting on Eclair (just as my current Hero), but unofficially there are few custom Froyo ROM's that are worth using. There are rumors about official updates... but, ehm. Yeah. Moto is known to f*** with their customers, just like HTC. It's all good when you have upper class mainstream model. If not, tough luck
So, is it still worth buying? Are you still a satisfied user? What do you think - how will XT720 withstand another year?

Buy another model...
Like SGS or Nexus S...
XT720 currently r.i.p. by motorola... so...

yes in my opinion you shouldn't support Motorola anymore..they totally ****ed up

I would dump a platonic sugar daddy that gave me a Motorola phone.
...and I wouldn't even try to take the phone with me on the way out.

Never buy year old technology, and never buy motorola!

I love mine!
If I were you, I would buy two!

Whoa, didn't expect such lack of enthusiasm . Seems there are no Android phones that have all those features found in XT720, with price that doesn't require to sell a kidney or something. And in this case - it's not worth the $$$?
Only Samsung Galaxy S comes close, but has no camera flash.

Don't pick a phone based on whether it has a flash or not
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Dac0908 said:
Hello all,
phone market is full of phones but only few out there ticks all the boxes I need and XT720 is one of them - aside of standard Android goodies I want a good and reasonable quick camera for daily use, nice big screen, FM, TV (HDMI) out. Also, it should be affordable
It has been almost a year since it came out. One FW update bumped CPU to 720 MHz, but folks are quite happy with OC results and that combined with powerful graphics chip should be very good. Officially it's still sitting on Eclair (just as my current Hero), but unofficially there are few custom Froyo ROM's that are worth using. There are rumors about official updates... but, ehm. Yeah. Moto is known to f*** with their customers, just like HTC. It's all good when you have upper class mainstream model. If not, tough luck
So, is it still worth buying? Are you still a satisfied user? What do you think - how will XT720 withstand another year?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
buy one join us and **** motorola

@ gabrialxue: In other words - buy that Samsung? it's not only about flash - and yes, it's essential for my next phone because Hero doesn't have it and is annoying to use as a camera - which is more often then I thought it will be.
As I said before, all Android phones offer similar things. Like wifi, bluetooth and so on. But it's hard to find one that has:
- 854x480 or like display, cca 3,7"
- good processing power
- FM radio and HQ sound output for earphones
- TV out (analog, HDMI or both)
- decent camera with flash
Those are features that I miss... and also I must say, XT720 doesn't look so boring like any other phone. It's all the same, almost everything else is based on iPhone, HD/HD2 or Desire/Nexus design. This one is different and I like it .
Of course that can't be a reason to buy it, it's just that I thought custom ROM's and OC really make a difference in this case.

The main drawback of the XT720 is just the 256mb ram, other than that XT720 is still one of the most feature packed android phone.
HDMI, FM RADIO, XENON FLASH 8MP with HD video recording, Exceptional build quality. You can't find these specs on other models at the same time for the same price.
Anyway, don't even consider who suggests SGS because it has the ****tiest display eventho people tell it's the best. Go to a shop, experience the XT720 then decide if you'd get it.
Semseddin.

Semseddin said:
The main drawback of the XT720 is just the 256mb ram, other than that XT720 is still one of the most feature packed android phone.
HDMI, FM RADIO, XENON FLASH 8MP with HD video recording, Exceptional build quality. You can't find these specs on other models at the same time for the same price.
Anyway, don't even consider who suggests SGS because it has the ****tiest display eventho people tell it's the best. Go to a shop, experience the XT720 then decide if you'd get it.
Semseddin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree ,same thought..we need better rom..

I love this phone. With Khal's ROM everything runs very fast and I have very little complaints about the phone. My only issues are:
1) HD recording is slightly laggy
2) Often (not always) shutter lag for the camera
3) Not a lot of RAM (though Khal's ROM has little issues for me in that regard - and I use the built in task killer often so it doesn't really impact me that much).
4) Phone freezes sometimes (most often when I'm using the camera - but I'm not sure that's happened since I've been on Khal's ROM as of 2 weeks ago or so).
Other than that I love the form factor of the phone - the only phones I could say has the same appealing look to me would probably the xperia arc, or droid incredible (but even then I'm not sure they have the same metal build I love here or if they have plastic). The phone runs very fast once you get the right ROMs on and set your OC and is more than sufficient for my needs. The Xenon Flash on the camera performs amazingly and makes completely dark rooms look completely lit (I tested a bunch and was impressed). I don't know if the camera is the best - but pictures for the most part look nice to me. The video recording is sufficient for me. The screen is nice and everything looks clear on it. And the price was very good for me - meaning I'm very satisfied with what I got. (And I bought this just in Febuary knowing full well that Moto had dropped support for it - though it looks like it might get an official update from CB now or something perhaps).

G2x, Sensation, or Galaxy S II?

Before I ask, I know there have been many threads about this topic, but my question is a little more specific than the rest. I get to upgrade my phone sometime in the next few weeks and one of these will be my first android phone. As a young artist, I am mostly looking for a phone which will take quality photos for good reference and preferably one which has video auto focus. I'm also a heavy internet user (about 5 hours a day on iPod Touch) but coming from iOS, I long for flash player. I also like to game a lot so the dual core cpu performance has to be somewhat decent with good speeds (better than my 4th gen touch at least lol). Lastly I'm a big media person with music a videos so I'm looking for a quality screen, support for multiple media formats (specifically mkv), decent speakers, and if possible, support for in-line headphones with volume, FF and RR (optional to come in the box, but if there are alternative working ones, please post below as I haven't found a solution with android devices and working in-line headphones). I've played around with my cousins EVO a lot so I've grown a liking to HTC Sense but I would also like to try out stock android sometime. And after a lot of time reading reviews and comments, I've taken a liking to the Galaxy S II's screen but I'm not a fan of TouchWiz. As previously stated, coming from an iOS user, I'm hoping one of these phones can either match or have greater quality with the screen in terms of brightness and contrast (not so much with resolution but mostly with colors, hue, and saturation). I'm hoping this narrows down the margin between these 3 phones.
P.S. I'm also hoping for one of these to have great dev support since I love to customize and test new tweaks.
EDITED - Also as an additional post, can you explain the batter life of the 3 as best as you can (even considering not having much info about the sensation)

I would say the G2X after LG fixes the Bleeding screen, restarts, and battery life issue. Both the GS2 and Sensatoin both have skins over android to which I've never been a fan of. 1st GS2 Engaget did a review and called it the best smart phone on the planet (the week before g2x was lol) but its made of plastic and its really thin so if the unthinkable happens and you drop the phone changes are its going to get jacked up and touchwiz. 2. Sensation Ive never been a fan of sense its a power hungry beast that needs to be removed. Just look at the battery life of the thunderbolt its really bad.
I had the G2X for a week and I loved it, its solid like my Nexus One it feels like a phone. I dropped it twice once on my tile floor and there were no marks and once on my naked foot to which brought me great pain. (lol) The G2X will have CM7 the galaxy s phones don't have CM support so why do you think that GS2 will? I plan on getting anothe G2x I'm just waiting until the 2nd line of them.

It honestly sounds like the Galaxy S II is just right for you. I know you say you dont like touchwiz (believe me I hate it) but the TW 4.0 or whatever its called looks really nice. From what I have seen it looks better than sense ui. Anyways, there have been battles between the G2X and the Galaxy S II and hardware wise the GSII always has the upper hand with camera, performance, screen, colors, etc.. However there are many things to consider. Do we even know what US carrier (if any) will receive the GSII? Also coming from the vibrant I swore up and down I wouild never buy a samsung phone again. Their lack of software support was just unacceptable. Im not even talking upgrades, just basic bug fixes. Development for this phone NEVER gave us a fully functioning stock android or AOSP ROM. Sure CM7 made a lot of headway and may still come to the galaxy s with all the fixes but right now it still has bugs and some things just dont work.
To make a long story short, I got the G2X because I wanted a stock android experience with a lot of developer backing (specifically cyanogenmod) and the specs of the phone are pretty amazing. Now it sounds to me like media and camera are more important to you so you may feel more welcome by the Galaxy S II if you dont care about aftermarket roms and such.

get 2x
coming from a vibrant, i can say that screen on the g2x is actually better and it being a stock android updates come faster and custom roms will also. I can't wait for the cyanogen mod either. I had battery issues but after resetting my phone the battery works just fine. they all have similar processors but the g2x being stock will get you better performance. I am a photographer also and am creating a photo journal with the g2x and it does the job well. good luck

i say go for SGS2, it works quite good out of the box and it has a great screen and you will absolutely appreciate the larger screen. Though im not really a fan of touchwiz.
I have g2x and going to return it today for SGS2.

There is no doubt in my mind that the dev support will be there for the sgs2 but it will be greater on the g2x just b/c of all the vanillaness.
The weight of the galaxy line is extremely light but believe me when I say that it is extremely durable. My old cliq felt like a brick but the second time I dropped that it stopped working completely so weight and feel have nothing to do with durability.
My vibrant has pretty much been through the equivalent of back to back fights with Manny Pacquiao and Anderson Silva only to come out as the new peoples champ. If you can wait, I would say try to see what all 3 of them are like and whether or not they come to your carrier. Its what I'm gonna do b/c I would hate to be stuck in another 2 year contract and not have the phone that I'm gonna own for atleast half of that time.

I have the same question, but new phones will probably come out because my next upgrade is in September. I really hate big phones and it seems phones are getting bigger and bigger. I really like the nexus s design (A lot!) And I like stock android, so I think I might wait until the nexus s2 comes out. Hopefully it stays a bit close to the design of the nexus s.

Sense isn't that power hungry the reason why the thunderbolt sucks on battery life is because of the lte network. A custom sense rom usually has no data drops. Like the aosp roms do.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App

Killbynature said:
Sense isn't that power hungry the reason why the thunderbolt sucks on battery life is because of the lte network. A custom sense rom usually has no data drops. Like the aosp roms do.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each one of my friends who had a sense phone who switched to a custom rom w/o sense batter life increased alot.

jrharvey said:
It honestly sounds like the Galaxy S II is just right for you. I know you say you dont like touchwiz (believe me I hate it) but the TW 4.0 or whatever its called looks really nice. From what I have seen it looks better than sense ui. Anyways, there have been battles between the G2X and the Galaxy S II and hardware wise the GSII always has the upper hand with camera, performance, screen, colors, etc.. However there are many things to consider. Do we even know what US carrier (if any) will receive the GSII? Also coming from the vibrant I swore up and down I wouild never buy a samsung phone again. Their lack of software support was just unacceptable. Im not even talking upgrades, just basic bug fixes. Development for this phone NEVER gave us a fully functioning stock android or AOSP ROM. Sure CM7 made a lot of headway and may still come to the galaxy s with all the fixes but right now it still has bugs and some things just dont work.
To make a long story short, I got the G2X because I wanted a stock android experience with a lot of developer backing (specifically cyanogenmod) and the specs of the phone are pretty amazing. Now it sounds to me like media and camera are more important to you so you may feel more welcome by the Galaxy S II if you dont care about aftermarket roms and such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input. Also as a CFW PSP user and a Jailbroken iOS user, I like to have a combination of both dev support and media features, so I wouldn't want to leave that out. I'm surprised that only one person gave consideration to the sensation when I stated how it was the only UI I've ever used so far on android, and I read how it had an HRD camera with auto focus video so I thought most would assume that as the better choice, but my only problem with it is how its rumored to not have an unlocked bootloader. I think atm I will go with the g2x but I hope to hear about some alternatives to getting inline music controls to work.

g2xnerd said:
coming from a vibrant, i can say that screen on the g2x is actually better and it being a stock android updates come faster and custom roms will also. I can't wait for the cyanogen mod either. I had battery issues but after resetting my phone the battery works just fine. they all have similar processors but the g2x being stock will get you better performance. I am a photographer also and am creating a photo journal with the g2x and it does the job well. good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much! when I saw still photos on the G2X compared to the S II, I thought it looked inferior, but being able to make a photo journal out of it seems to counter that argument. BTW is it possible for the camera to get an update for auto focus video recording like the Galaxy S Vibrant did? For camera usage, that is the only thing pushing me back from the G2X as well as the support for multiple video formats (which I hear the Galaxy S II will have based on the Exynos processor). Hope to receive some additional feedback.

If you go bluetooth you can get inline music control. I personally have and like the plantronics backbeats and the sweatproof motorola S-10 HDs. The backbeats are more flexible and easier to wear, while the S-10s are must haves for working out and sports.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Infos3c said:
If you go bluetooth you can get inline music control. I personally have and like the plantronics backbeats and the sweatproof motorola S-10 HDs. The backbeats are more flexible and easier to wear, while the S-10s are must haves for working out and sports.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hear a lot of mixed things about bluetooth headphones. even though the sound quality is great and the music controls work, I cannot always depend on headphones which need charging. Having to charge one device already is enough so i am more suited for wired inline in ear headphones.

jree said:
There is no doubt in my mind that the dev support will be there for the sgs2 but it will be greater on the g2x just b/c of all the vanillaness.
The weight of the galaxy line is extremely light but believe me when I say that it is extremely durable. My old cliq felt like a brick but the second time I dropped that it stopped working completely so weight and feel have nothing to do with durability.
My vibrant has pretty much been through the equivalent of back to back fights with Manny Pacquiao and Anderson Silva only to come out as the new peoples champ. If you can wait, I would say try to see what all 3 of them are like and whether or not they come to your carrier. Its what I'm gonna do b/c I would hate to be stuck in another 2 year contract and not have the phone that I'm gonna own for atleast half of that time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well not voting for the SGS2 here but I don't think Vanilla has any bearings on Dev Support, directly. Granted, I prefer vanilla and thus may contribute to its popularity, which, indirectly, popularity = dev support.
The only thing that matters is that the bootloader is unlocked and it is easily rootable and flashable. I mean once you get a CM rom on there, they all work the same.
I think Vanilla roms are more open to other variants like MIUI and the likes because they typically share the same partition structure. I know the G2x has a different structure and I think it is safe to say the SGS2 does too. Good thing that we are able to format and change the partitions to work across multiple roms.
The SGS2 was recently rooted and I think they found the bootloader to be unlocked. So it should be able to be flashed pretty easily.
One big factor that more people don't think about is the screen size. I have small hands (vs huge sausages) and the 4" screen of the G2x pushes my comfort zone. I think 4.3" would be too much and I would be fumbling it while trying to do one handed operations.
Having bought a G2x from a N1... I can say I'm extremely happy. I've been reading the SGS2 forums trying to stir up some internal buyers remorse... but I can honestly say that I would still pick my G2x over the SGS2 again. To me Tegra>Orion justifies AMOLED>LCD. I think NVidia will really push some developers to create some great games and I don't want to be stuck on the sidelines wishing I could get in on the action. Unable to play some of the newer "HD" (Only for Tegra) games are really making some of the SGS2 owners unhappy.
Nothing like buying a new toy and finding that it doesn't work with the latest HD games.
DMan1993 said:
that is the only thing pushing me back from the G2X as well as the support for multiple video formats (which I hear the Galaxy S II will have based on the Exynos processor). Hope to receive some additional feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as multiple video formats, I don't think this has much to do with physical hardware as it does software. While I am most certainly not an expert, I have played a range of videos on my phones. Wouldn't all you need is a Video app that has the correct codecs and support for such file types?
I mean, really, not picking one device over another based on media format is just insane to me and defies all logic. I mean how easy is it to convert between formats, come on. I'd say that if you using a less common format or one that isn't widely available, you are only asking for trouble anyway. Most of the video I find online are either MP4 or avi and have no problem playing them on my device. If you are ripping it yourself, just save it in a format you can use.

This is a very good player, plays many formats
http://market.android.com/details?id=net.thefluxstudio.implayer

Player911:
Having bought a G2x from a N1... I can say I'm extremely happy. I've been reading the SGS2 forums trying to stir up some internal buyers remorse... but I can honestly say that I would still pick my G2x over the SGS2 again. To me Tegra>Orion justifies AMOLED>LCD. I think NVidia will really push some developers to create some great games and I don't want to be stuck on the sidelines wishing I could get in on the action. Unable to play some of the newer "HD" (Only for Tegra) games are really making some of the SGS2 owners unhappy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm quite surprised that the SGS2 folks have a buyers remorse, especially after reading your post. I was having remorse with the G2x since it just has 512MB ram and the GS2 kicks the G2x to the curb on every bullet point except Value for money/cost (I'm buying off contract). I'm also very surprised when you implicitly state that Orion cannot run Tegra games even though it's way faster than tegra.

ski_power said:
I'm quite surprised that the SGS2 folks have a buyers remorse, especially after reading your post. I was having remorse with the G2x since it just has 512MB ram and the GS2 kicks the G2x to the curb on every bullet point except Value for money/cost (I'm buying off contract). I'm also very surprised when you implicitly state that Orion cannot run Tegra games even though it's way faster than tegra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont just look at numbers (1ghz dual core vs 1.2 dual core) RAM numbers, etc.
It has been said the 1ghz Tegra 2 is a better processor overall, and you really dont need more than 512mb of RAM since Android closes apps on its own when memory gets low. You wont see much if any performance increase from merely more RAM.
Lets not forget Samsung's recent past with its Galaxy S line having broken GPS, wonky file systems that slowed down phones, and bootloaders locked.
I wouldnt just yet say the SGS2 is a better device because how it looks on paper.

>It has been said the 1ghz Tegra 2 is a better processor overall, and you really dont need more than 512mb of RAM since Android closes apps on its own when memory gets low. You wont see much if any performance increase from merely more RAM.
I'm not sure about that. Both use dual Cortex A9s. The difference in hardware between the two is the GPU. We all know Tegra 2 uses GeForce ULP but I'm not sure what the Exynos uses(SGX or Adreno).
I concede my point to your statement about the RAM, since I only recently learnt about memory management in Android (this is my first Android). I'm pretty sure Sammy must have fixed the GPS issues, since if they don't I'd lose all respect for them.
Oh OP, one thing you might want to consider is that the Galaxy S2 does not have an HDMI out port. They say it's got some USB-HDMI cable though.
Also, it depends on your hands. The G2x itself is a pretty big device in my opinion, and seeing that the SGS2 has a 4.3" screen it's going to be much bigger.

Definitely sgs2
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

player911 said:
Well not voting for the SGS2 here but I don't think Vanilla has any bearings on Dev Support, directly. Granted, I prefer vanilla and thus may contribute to its popularity, which, indirectly, popularity = dev support.
The only thing that matters is that the bootloader is unlocked and it is easily rootable and flashable. I mean once you get a CM rom on there, they all work the same.
I think Vanilla roms are more open to other variants like MIUI and the likes because they typically share the same partition structure. I know the G2x has a different structure and I think it is safe to say the SGS2 does too. Good thing that we are able to format and change the partitions to work across multiple roms.
The SGS2 was recently rooted and I think they found the bootloader to be unlocked. So it should be able to be flashed pretty easily.
One big factor that more people don't think about is the screen size. I have small hands (vs huge sausages) and the 4" screen of the G2x pushes my comfort zone. I think 4.3" would be too much and I would be fumbling it while trying to do one handed operations.
Having bought a G2x from a N1... I can say I'm extremely happy. I've been reading the SGS2 forums trying to stir up some internal buyers remorse... but I can honestly say that I would still pick my G2x over the SGS2 again. To me Tegra>Orion justifies AMOLED>LCD. I think NVidia will really push some developers to create some great games and I don't want to be stuck on the sidelines wishing I could get in on the action. Unable to play some of the newer "HD" (Only for Tegra) games are really making some of the SGS2 owners unhappy.
Nothing like buying a new toy and finding that it doesn't work with the latest HD games.
As far as multiple video formats, I don't think this has much to do with physical hardware as it does software. While I am most certainly not an expert, I have played a range of videos on my phones. Wouldn't all you need is a Video app that has the correct codecs and support for such file types?
I mean, really, not picking one device over another based on media format is just insane to me and defies all logic. I mean how easy is it to convert between formats, come on. I'd say that if you using a less common format or one that isn't widely available, you are only asking for trouble anyway. Most of the video I find online are either MP4 or avi and have no problem playing them on my device. If you are ripping it yourself, just save it in a format you can use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from iOS, I am tired of having to convert all of my videos to mp4 format and having little knowledge of android from not having owned one just increases my curiosity on the matter since the SGSII specs list stated that the Exynos processor has more support for video formats than tegra 2. Being able to directly download and play any format is one thing I am looking for in one of these phones so that is why I asked the question. Some of the videos I download are dual audio and subbed mkv's and having to download multiple programs to get the subtitles and audio working on a mobile device is very time consuming so having support for multiple codecs would make things a whole lot easier.

Japan users - Samsung Galaxy S II LTE (Skyrocket) SC-03D

I finally made the move to upgrade from my Samsung Omnia HD (2009 - $866 USD) running the ill fated Symbian to my first Android phone, the Skyrocket, and I am loving it.
First some pictures:
Some feedback:
SR
+ The SR is slightly lighter and less hefty compared to the Omnia HD
+ Bigger and brigher screen, particularly from an angle the SR's brightness is very strong
+ Real touchscreen behaviour, Android is the best thing that has ever happened to us mobile/electronic geeks, smooth operating and low lag, highly intuitive
+ Music and video management and playback is years ahead, fast and well organised, anything on Symbian sucks big time.
- Camera is not as good as I hoped it would be, after 3 years you hope that it has improved since then but I find it to be slightly hazy and very grainy during low light shooting. I feel that the virtual shutter button on the screen may have something to do with the hazy look, though the grainy effects is unavoidable without a flash.
- Speakers are not very loud, I've searched through all the reviews and little was mentioned about the speakers. They would be considered "loud enough" in a small room and on a table, but I've tried using it as a portable music player on my car dashboard and it is not as powerful as the Omnia HD. The position of the speakers is at the back of the phone, which doesn't help especially with the phone lying down.
The battery life of the SR is reasonable, I can get through 2 to 2/5 days with normal use (checking SMS, no wifi, no 3G internet, no LTE), since Softbank does not support LTE I think this helps the SR greatly in preserving battery power.
Omnia HD
+ It feels more solid because it's designed like a brick.
+ The camera says f=4.78mm 1:2.6, and it is still one of the best camera phone I have ever used, plus it has a shutter button whereas the SR doesn't.
+ Has a much better speaker setup than the SR with 2 speakers on both end of the phone, I've been using the Omnia HD as my temporary music player in my car, the problem is that the multimedia software on Symbian sucks so much.
+ Battery life seems to be better. It's 1500mah is actually much bigger than the SR's 1850mah battery, and seems to last longer. But that's what you should expect for a lower powered phone with less software features.
- Smaller touchscreen is not as responsive and more difficult to type even though it was considered quite big when it was released (3.7").
- SYMBIAN, terrible OS, a throwback to the late 90s and early 2000s.
- I really hate using SYMBIAN.
My expectations were high for my Omnia HD replacement and I think I have done well to not buy an iPhone all this time. Was seriously looking at the LG Optimus HD (Nitro HD) but the very poor battery life and a less brighter/punchier screen made the SR an easy decision. There is already an SR-HD with the HD resolution in Korea, but I could not wait for it and thought that if the SR is the last of the 800x480 screen resolution type then it will probably be the best, and it is with the Super Amoled plus (which is different from the regular Galaxy S II). I'll wait for 2 generations of the HD versions before replacing the SR. By that time the camera should have also improved to 12 megapixels.
Also, since only Docomo offered the SR, I had to buy the phone outright ($842 and still cheaper than my Omnia HD!) and unlock it so I can use it on Softbank. Best decision I've ever made. Haven't got the APN setup yet for mobile internet but that's another $80 which is not a priority right now as wifi is good enough. Anyone got any questions feel free to ask!

How did you unlocked yours? did you do it at a Docomo shop?

I like that Nissan GT-R magazine in the background. xD
But yes, the Skyrocket is a VERY nice phone.

any news concerning the release of Ice Cream Sandwich for this phone?

I unlocked the phone at Docomo (around 3000 yen) and had it configured at Softbank. Not all Docomo/Softbank stores are the same and it depends who your dealer is, some are willing to unlock the phone for your while others may not (it's a technical issue beyond what most Japanese chicks at the counters are familiar with). I received the unlock code for my phone, some people had not.
As for ICS, Samsung did state that they will release an upgrade early this year. Not sure how this will affect my Docomo/Softbank hybrid but will be good to see what others have done. Since it's my first time using Android I'm not in a rush to root.

SGSII LTE tip - Screen capture
To capture the screen, press the home button and the power button (in that order) quickly. You should see the screen white out for a moment. It will take a picture of the screen and save it to a folder called "Screen Capture".

Longcat14 said:
I like that Nissan GT-R magazine in the background. xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's the Japanese brochure from the recent Tokyo motor show, so slightly thicker than the usual one from the stores.

mrsamo said:
I unlocked the phone at Docomo (around 3000 yen) and had it configured at Softbank. Not all Docomo/Softbank stores are the same and it depends who your dealer is, some are willing to unlock the phone for your while others may not (it's a technical issue beyond what most Japanese chicks at the counters are familiar with). I received the unlock code for my phone, some people had not.
As for ICS, Samsung did state that they will release an upgrade early this year. Not sure how this will affect my Docomo/Softbank hybrid but will be good to see what others have done. Since it's my first time using Android I'm not in a rush to root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rooted mine but haven't unlocked it. Might try it today though.
As for ICS, I suppose that since the SC-03D is not a Google Vanilla phone and comes with all the bloatware from Docomo, we have to rely on Docomo. I am worried they might not make the efforts to do so though. Only time will tell and I hope that sooner or later someone will release a ROM to our phone.

Hey 'Oren the Red'
Pls do let us know how you unlocked it?
Seems there are a whole lot of people who want to know the method if you do it yourself.
All my research just turns up that the only solution is buying the code from some website.
Cheers.

does this have a button?

Yes there's a hard button between 2 touch buttons, which seems to be the design for current Galaxies.

I've galaxy s2 unlocked and i'm going to Tokyo for long time, will i have problem with softbank first registration? finally- will it work, i mean, my operator free galaxy in softbank white plan? thanks.

setting up the apn might be easier than u think. If u aready have data on ur plan try searching apn on the market. There are several tools available that will provide the right settings

nice quality pics, what kind of camera do you have?

is there a way to root a docomo sc-03d?
coz i tried zegrush and does nothing??

whitefang09 said:
is there a way to root a docomo sc-03d?
coz i tried zegrush and does nothing??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seriously? dude this thread is months old. so three things
1) Welcome to XDA! We are a helpful community, but please make every attempt to use the search feature, no one likes to help those who won't help themselves
2) In the future, please check the last respond date, and don't raise a thread from the dead if its not within a reasonable time frame
3) Use one click super root, and attempt it a bunch of times, I mean a bunch. I once rooted an lg optimus lte and it took no exaggeration 10 tried before it worked

Smh the noobs strike again
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

candiesdoodle said:
Hey 'Oren the Red'
Pls do let us know how you unlocked it?
Seems there are a whole lot of people who want to know the method if you do it yourself.
All my research just turns up that the only solution is buying the code from some website.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up unlocking it at the DoCoMo shop in Shouts near the cerulean tower.
Went very smooth.
Oren
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

thanks for responding to this question, and sorry im just new hear
Sent from my SC-03D using XDA

Been a while since I've visited this forum but Docomo has finally updated gingerbread on this thing to ice cream sandwich...sweet!