First off, my apologies if this isn't the right place. I didn't see a "general hardware" forum and by my reckoning, this was the best place for such a thread.
Anyways, I'm looking to upgrade into a smart phone. I'm not a texter, and I don't want or need a data plan so I'm not looking for a particularly high end phone. So I'm looking at sub $200 Android phones. So far I've come up with either the Xperia X8 or Huawei U1850. Both older, and therefore much cheaper. The U1850 can be had for $140, the X8 for $40 more.
I've been searching on the forums and looking around but to be honest, there are simply too many threads and too much info for me to all compile together.
Hardware wise the X8 comes off much better, with a superior screen in size and res and a beefier processor, so I'm liking that. But my main questions are about third software support. I know the X8 is EOL and Sony Ericsson doesn't update it anymore, but community support seems to be strong and thriving. The U1850 seems to have a large community behind it as well. Basically, which phone can have more stuff unlocked and which one would still have people working on it in another year or so.
From what I've gathered, both phones can be overclocked, the U1850 can be made to work with multitouch while X8 development is stalled on that matter. 802.11n can be enabled on the X8 while the U1850 has it enabled stock.
Thanks guys.
Related
I am on the fence as to wait for the X10, wait for CDMA version of nexus one (if one comes out), or just get the Droid.
I know HTC phones have a great hacking community here, and the Droid, due to its popularity will most likely have one for awhile as well.
I really like the X10 phone alot, but I really want to be able to root it and install more modern Andoid OS versions on it because the one thing I fear is being 6months to 1yr behind due to SE's slow updating process with such a customized UI.
Thanks in advance for any information regarding this.
Cero
Welcome to forums
We dedicate only to HTC devices.
I don´t think this will happen and has been asked many times before
Not here on Xda, but maybe some other far away galaxy
www.se-nse.net has had a reliable sony modding community for many years maybe you will find more info there
so there has been alot of hype about the new xperia line-up, but for some reason not much on the xperia pro. Clearly its the best one. A qwerty! so I want to create forum for it. These phones are coming with unlocked bootloaders of some sort! also supporting timescape and so many other awesome features. lets get the hype going and get a petition to get this phone coming to AT&T usa. It looks like it has the same specs. I wish it would come to Tmobile, but that is asking to much. Anyways can someone help me get this thread to the right area of the forums.
I dont know how to go about opening the forums for it but I do agree its the best xperia for me out of the new ones (unless the arc had a keyboard).
Hopefully it wont be too expensive once its out. I'll be selling my Droid 2 Global to get the xperia pro.
I'll also be getting one, hopefully in silver. It's beautiful.
Hi,
I am at point where I would be buying a new mobile phone. I don't have budget problem, but I am looking from the point where I'll be able to use my phone as development device.
I have shortlisted some options:
Nexus S: This seems to me an idle device for development. It also has NFC. You have early access to the android flavors. But with dual core processor phone in the market, I not sure if this a good choice.
Samsung Galaxy s 2: The phone is expensive, but has many feature(except for NFC ). Do you think this can be a good device considering future versions of android might be out by November-December(speculating)
Wait for another device: Wait for a device. But then everything can't be obtained in a single device. How long will I wait?
HTC Sensation: Not much info about it.
Any other device
I seem to prefer device with NFC and dual core(may be because it a future ready).
Really confused. Just looking for a device that can be used for development on current and future flavors of Android.
Also I have read about rooting a device. Not sure if this is a proper question, but if someone roots a device can the person explore the full capabilities of the device(provided the rooting is proper).
I prefer not to wait for another device and I am confused between Nexus S and Galaxy S 2.
Please give you opinion about my choice or some other device that I should consider.
Thanks
Prerak Desai
if you need a phone for development, first choose your target audience.
i dont think a vast majority of the people will be upgrading too soon to dual core...
now if u wanna push boundaries with your programming, go ahead with the latest...
but its good to have a phone that a greater percentage of the people have...
also, do consider the major portion of people are on android 2.2 and 2.1 (more than 85% as on google site)...
think from a developer pov, not a user...
Thanks HyprGeek for the reply. Seems to give me a point or two to think about.
But don't you think if I buy what majority are buying today, then in about a month time something new will come up and the crowd will start moving towards it. Then i'll be stuck with old device.
I personally feel you need have something(especially electronics device) that arefuture ready so that you don't regret your decision in a short time.
What do you think from a general point of view, which device I should consider?
Thanks,
Prerak Desai
well, u need to detemine how big the "crowd" is...
http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html
and i dont think computers/mobiles can ever be future ready...
Note:
Deftone said:
Dear Papa Smurf151,
I am writing just to offer a polite reminder about the message I sent to you a day ago.
If you do not have it it is requesting permission to duplicate a thread into the General discussion > General forum.
It is a review on a phone. I think it would be more appreciated by the general public that the people already with an x8.
Please reply as I am at an inconvenience without permission.
Thank-you once again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah go ahead sorry I've been extremely busy with work
XDA Moderator
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BEFORE A MOD CLOSES OR MOVES THIS THREAD - The thread was originally posted here but moved to the x8 forums. I have obtained permission to duplicate it back here as shown by the above message quote.
This thread has been created to review the Xperia x8 device. As I say in all my reviews, although there may be other threads reviewing the device, I think it is valid that I give tips based on my experience. This is a Mini guide which means that I will only highlight key information about the phone.
Suggestions are like gold to me and I just want to make my service better. All reasonable comments are welcome. Please PM me if you have any urgent problems. I am sorry if my service is uninvited.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Xperia x8 burst into stores around September 2010 worldwide. After using the phone for nearly a year, I can confirm that it is a great phone for both advanced android users and basic ones. I hope to elaborate on the ultimate phone formula used in the device. I will cover a few specific areas.
The device is renowned for its 3G capabilities was developed by the late Sony Ericsson shipped with the Android 1.6 architecture and officially upgradable to the newer 2.1 version. XDA has enabled many ways of surpassing this firmware limit and expanding your experience.
Physical Hardware
You can probably guess that the phone will not have the latest hardware if it was created two years ago and this is why I thought I would highlight the now weakest point first.
The phone has a 76 mm powerfully capacitive touch screen LCD. It has a small yet firm resolution of 320 by 480 pixels. On the back of the device is a 3.2 megapixel camera with fixed focus and no flash and there is no front facing camera. Photos can be geotagged although this feature is not necessarily useful. Fortunately camera can be accessed using the touchscreen menu, or via the dedicated camera button on the side of the phone. The Xperia X8 uses a 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, as well as 3-axis accelerometers and built-in Global Positioning System. It also has a an ambient light sensor and a digital compass. The Xperia also sports a 1200mAh which was quite an improvement to its predecessor the x10 mini.
Although not initially available, Multi-touch support was also added to several aftermarket firmware versions (ROMS) cough* nAa* cough MiniCM9 cough* .
Like nearly every device, in its day, the x8 attracted many people simply because of its specs. The S3 of its day
Physical Appearance
The Xperia line of mobile phones has always amazed critics with its design being second to none. This fact is what led many to believe the next Nexus phone/s will be designed by the same art team. The phone has a curved back with quite a boxed like front. Combining the generic phone look with a rather futuristic design gives the cellular device an original overall look. On purchasing the phone you are provided with two different coloured backs (varies depending on carrier and country).
User Friendliness
As mentioned previously, the mobile comes shipped with android 1.6 upgradable to 2.1. I can only comment on the 2.1 software seeing as this is the only one I have used.
Sony Ericson paid large amounts of attention to detail and although many users are against developers overhauling android, I believe this was a necessary step as the stock firmware runs flawlessly on the device and SE adds many feature that will make tasks which many believe common easier. I did feel that this generation of phones marked the death of Pay as you Go as many features are internet reliant and internet is impossible on P&G. In addition to this, the raw support for the phone gives advanced users satisfaction too. Not only does XDA support customization but SE does too! More phone developers should take a leaf out of Sony Ericson's book and offer support like they do.
Cost Efficiency
Nowadays, the price of android products seems to depreciate considerably faster than other rivals. This is to be expected seeing as the mobile phone market itself is considerably saturated and with more android variants entering each day cost/unit depreciation will be far greater than the iPhone branding. The phone has become a mid range low cost phone. I would say for a price as low as £80 in the UK, nearly all users will be appeased. The phone teaches users who were not particularly advanced, many things about android. Something the spoon feeding of iOS will never do.
Conclusion
The Xperia x8 is a great low cost phone for beginners to android as well as advanced users. The hardware is acceptable however people will become thirsty for more in this current day and age. Stunning visuals means that you will not be embarrassed in front of your friends and firmware is never an issue. Pay as you go may have been abandoned for the time being but seems to be getting adopted by Google with their latest jelly bean. With the Sony Ericson department no closed, phones like this just won't be produced anymore. Sony are still finding their feet but I think they are going in the HTC direction producing too many phones at once. If phone manufacturers worked upon the fundamentals like SE did, we would have the new breed of ultimate phones.
RATING: I give this phone a 7 jelly beans out of 10. I would nominate this phone as LCTOTY. (Low cost thing of the year) Actually it is a tie between this and toilet paper.
Thankyou for reading my review.
NOTE: Sometimes I find myself on XDA in the early hours of the morning providing the best possible. I sometimes do not pay attention and will get angry quickly. I never mean any disrespect to anyone. If I do cross the line I am sorry in advance. Please PM me and bring my comment to my attention. I will issue an apology ASAP. Even though many advanced XDA users have disappointed me I will always offer XDA the best. I am always trying to be as nice as possible regardless of what people do to anger me so feel free to ask for help with anything.
Sources
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Ericsson_Xperia_X8
Special Thanks to my good friend KidCarter93. Structural duplication rights are shared with him.
Special Thanks also to mf2112 for all his support.
Special Mention to IAmNice, lucastan96, SpyderX and RohinZaraki. Without them the x8 community would be a darker place.
Hey All:
Is there a general forum or place where people provide recommendations across brands and models?
I'm trying to get a recommendation for a 10" Tablet. It has to be Android, and I need good USB-OTG support. My preference is something with Cyanogenmod (or other custom rom) support so that it will last more than a couple of Android revisions. I'm not hugely price sensitive but want to get good bang for my buck as well.
I'm somewhat bitter about my Sony Tablet S, which was dropped like a hot potato by Sony in the VAIO selloff and has since received absolutely no support (and very limited development, not for lack of trying by very capable developers). So longevity is going to be a key for me in this purchase.
Thanks for any help!
--Databoy2k
databoy2k said:
Hey All:
Is there a general forum or place where people provide recommendations across brands and models?
I'm trying to get a recommendation for a 10" Tablet. It has to be Android, and I need good USB-OTG support. My preference is something with Cyanogenmod (or other custom rom) support so that it will last more than a couple of Android revisions. I'm not hugely price sensitive but want to get good bang for my buck as well.
I'm somewhat bitter about my Sony Tablet S, which was dropped like a hot potato by Sony in the VAIO selloff and has since received absolutely no support (and very limited development, not for lack of trying by very capable developers). So longevity is going to be a key for me in this purchase.
Thanks for any help!
--Databoy2k
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there.
You would like to post your query here in this thread in order to have the best response.
Also take a look here and here too.
cheers.
Thanks. I posted in the first thread. I was trying to stay out of the Model vs. Model threads to stay in general topics as well as to not hijack (just in case someone recommends the Transformer, for example)