[Q] Newbie asking for device choice advise - General Questions and Answers

Hi guys,
I am newbie to Android smartphones and tablets modding/hacking/ROMdeveloping and I am looking for the correct starting in this experience to optimize my learning curve.
What device should I pick? I am looking for the best compromise between these different factors:
-Large community support availability
-Hacking easiness (meaning a device most open as possible)
-Detailed guides availability
...
Every single advice is appreciated.
Regards

Okay, let's reformulate the problem differently.
Which devices has best community support on xda developers?
A thread in our forum stated that Samsung fascinate has good community support. Could that device be an appropriate starting point?
I appreciate your help xda developers!

It depends on what carrier you're gonna go with. The sprint evo probably has the largest community, looks like the evo 3d will be pretty big too. Not really sure about at&t and T-Mobile. Verizon hasn't had much lately that's been big, the original incredible has a pretty sizeable community, looks like the thunderbolt isn't bad either. Currently the phone to beat is the Samsung galaxy s2, it can only be used on at&t currently but should be coming to all carriers on the next couple months.

No money, i would recommend the sgs and if you have money to spend the sgs2.
Both are awesome devices with a huge and active community behind them.

I appreciate your help K_nivesout and Dark3n.
I gonna process this choices and come back to comment on them and choose one.
Probably this experience would help some people in the future

Related

XDA/Samsung

Hello Guys,
My name is John, I recently became the social media analyst at Samsung mobile. I wanted to start opening the lines of communication between XDA and Samsung. First I wanted to say I have noticed your work on our devices on the XDA forums. I think you guys do an outstanding job, I myself am a developer for mobile devices. So let’s get down to business, we’re going to be in Austin from March 10-15 for the SXSW(south by southwest http://sxsw.com/convention). I was wondering if any of you guys are going so that we could meet up and share a couple of ideas I have. I am looking forward to meeting some of you GREAT developers!
Thanks in advance,
John
Developer/Social Media Analyst
Samsung Mobile USA
Twitter: @SamsungJohn
welcome aboard
Welcome Aboard.
So did you bring the Gingerbread ?
Gingerbread
Thanks, we will get to that later. For now, I'm here to let you guys know that Samsung is here! We have seen your work and we love it!
Thanks, I wil answer all your questions shortly. My main goal is to let you guys know that we have been watching the forums and I am here to help. And for the last time I am the REAL DEAL lol.
Nice to meet you. It's great to know that Samsung is following the development community. Always thought manufacturers would be disgusted with all the atrocities we commit against our helpless devices.
Though my Mesmerize is my first smartphone (and an awesome one at that) I have always been a big fan of Samsung phones (I used my SCH-A870 for three years because it was the best dumb phone I had ever touched). It makes me very happy to see a company looking at it's product's users (and hackers) to help improve their products and relations with their customers.
Welcome to the Forums!
We could use gingerbread it optimizes the galaxy s processer
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

[Q] Which Android phone with front-facing (secondary) camera to buy?

Greeting to fellow developers,
First thing's first: I'm a programmer, experienced in Java, C,C++ (mainly MSVS, unix/linux), and a few other (i.e. no longer fashionable) programming languages ... And I'm planning to start developing Android based Apps. Currently I'm in the phase of selecting the most suitable phone for my future endeavours.
The Question: What is the best, most suitable, Android phone which fulfils following criteria:
[1] is based on Android OS
[2] has a front-facing, i.e. secondary, camera. This is a must (!!!)
[3] is suitable for development & testing front-facing camera Apps. A must (!!!)
[4] would also be suitable for development of other Apps
[5] phone has to have a company promise of at least 12 months of security updates and updates on newer Android OS vers. (Due to ongoing developing, App debugging, etc.)
Where I come from (Slovenia-land) following are the phones which are available and achieve upper five features: Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S 2, Samsung Nexus S, HTC Sensation, HTC Desire S, LG Optimus 2X, Samsung I8000 Omnia II, .... (These are all phones available through telecommunications companies - i.e.: by investing into a 24 month usage plan. There's also a few other, promised, scheduled to be pushed on the market, phones. But without any certain launch dates, there's no point in me mentioning them!)
What I'm looking for is an advice from seasoned developers, who are / were already developing front-facing-camera Apps, which Android phone is best for me to buy (to be used for a whole App life-cycle: learning, developing, testing, updating)? Due to Android phone fragmentation this choice is really mind-boggling me, and is very difficult for me to make, and I would really not like to buy two or more phones right from the head-start. - For the past few months I've been reading a lot about Android development, and the thing that frightens me most is Android fragmentation. The way I understand negative effects of this fragmentation is: Let's say I develope an App, which exploits some front-facing-camera functionality (like a new skype, fring, or sth. like that), and start marketing it on various Android App Markets. Which phone is best for me to buy, to be able to avoid, those "doesn't work on my htc", "doesn't work on my gingerbread SGS", etc. negative Customer Experience and Evaluations? ... In short: I'd like to buy an Android phone w/ an Android OS, that would ensure me a developed App on that phone, is giving me confidence and peace of mind, that my App will work on all, or at least most, front-cam Android phones. I'm looking for an advice on which phone to invest in, so that my developed App will work on all, or at least most, Android 2.3.* (or later ver.) phones?
Currently I'm rooting for a Nexus S, but have read a few negative evaluations about them on Cnet and Google Customer Support forums . And I'd really not like to buy a $600 phone, which front camera or Wi-Fi doesn't even work the way it's supposed to! ...
I hope I'm not asking sth. that's not even remotely possible? And most certainly I hope I'm not shooting goats? ... Like I said, I am experienced in desktop Java, linux, etc. development, ... but the World of Android development is totally new for me! But I don't the have money to buy all of the latest front camera Android Phones out there.
I've searched this forums extensively, but found no answer to my thoughts and questions! I've also asked on fellow developer forums, got a few weak answers, but no strong ones. As You can see, I have a few blind spots in my knowledge ... And hopefully w/ Your help, I can fill these spots!
Thank You very much for any advice!
-- Lucky Star
Anyone? ... .. I'm just looking for an advice on which front-cam Android phone is best for me to buy for development purpose (to ensure that my App will work on all Android 2.3.* phones, i.e. best phone to fight Android fragmentation) ... Any kind of advice will do.
Thank you for your help.
Have a nice day,
-- Lucky Star
I think your best choice is the Nexus S as it is the official Google puppy and very easy to develop for.
Why is the Nexus S, as you say, "very easy to develop for"? - Is the development process on e.g.: SGS2 more difficult than Nexus S? They are using same OS, same SDK. SGS2 only has different UI.
2nd Question: How do I ensure my developed Apps on, let's say, Nexus S will indeed work on all, or at least most, front-cam Android 2.3.* phones?
Thanks for any and all advice!
Keep em' coming!
-- Lucky Star
+1 i am i also seekin a good suggestion
Bump ...
Come on people ... There must be some enthusiast on XDA developing Apps and exploring Android's FFC functionalities?
Still in search for a good advice ...
Many thanks!
Sgs 2.
Sent from SGS Captivate CM7 or MIUI with Escapist orTKGlitch using XDA premium app.

[Q] What would you do?

Hi everyone! I just wanted to throw this question out there to all of you on XDA. On August 1st, I will be eligible to be reimbursed up to $80 a month for my cell phone bill through work. I am currently on a TMobile Family Plan using a Samsung Vibrant. To make things easy, I am going to go onto my own plan. I can pick any carrier, any plan, and any phone. If you guys were in this situation, what phone would you pick? I am not up to date on phones that are going to be released soon, so if some are coming out in the next month, I'd wait and consider those as well. Just wanted some input from people I'd trust! (aka XDA users!)
SGS II for me is the best phone out there at the moment and the forseeable future.
If you are into modding the SGS II devs are the best, Pulsar, Hacre, Noonski to mention a couple.
Of course only my humble opinion.
2452sgtb said:
SGS II for me is the best phone out there at the moment and the forseeable future.
If you are into modding the SGS II devs are the best, Pulsar, Hacre, Noonski to mention a couple.
Of course only my humble opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually she(hope i am right , referred the picture) did make clear that she is not into phones, so there is no way that she is into modding (my opinion). and very few working people spend time modding/flashing roms.
and yea i would suggest u go for sgs2, iphone ( if u r somehow still into modding these are still the best choices )
Thanks to both of you for responding! Yes, I am a she (that is me in my picture) and actually, I am into modding my phones... I just wish I knew more about it, and really understood what went into creating ROMs. I am always amazed at how smart everyone here is! I usually am up to date about all the new phones coming out and such, but haven't been around here much the past few months to know what's great and up-and-coming! So thanks for helping me out!!

[Q] Motorola Admiral

Just wanting to see when/if xda-developers plans on creating a sub-forum for the Motorola Admiral. I know the phone isn't immensely popular (it should be though; this is a sweet device!), but I know several people who would love some custom ROMs for it as well as a place besides the Motorola support forums to get bug fixes and whatnot.
If the mediocre Droid Pro gets its own sub-forum, why no love for us Admiral folks?
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
I'll second this. I'm glad that it's been rooted, but I'd love to see a custom ROM or two.
The Admiral is a nice device, but it is going to suffer in the marketplace as it is targeting a much smaller and (presumably) less mod-happy crowd. If you are buying this, you are most likely looking for a Blackberry-ish device or you want Direct Connect. Those two demographic groups aren't necessarily going to have as much desire as most.
Present company EXCLUDED. I rooted mine withing two hours of activation and am considering an attempt at building CWMR and replacing the built-in recovery.
Maybe move this to Android General?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1424
Best regards,
-boggsie
boggsie said:
The Admiral is a nice device, but it is going to suffer in the marketplace as it is targeting a much smaller and (presumably) less mod-happy crowd. If you are buying this, you are most likely looking for a Blackberry-ish device or you want Direct Connect. Those two demographic groups aren't necessarily going to have as much desire as most.
Present company EXCLUDED. I rooted mine withing two hours of activation and am considering an attempt at building CWMR and replacing the built-in recovery.
Maybe move this to Android General?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1424
Best regards,
-boggsie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Admiral rooted and I got "trigger" happy when deleting some of the stock apps from my phone and now I cannot add, edit, or view my contacts. Could someone help me get all the necessary stock apps in order to have it fully functional again?

Need a new phone (poor college student)

Hi. I'm currently using a Nexus One on an ATT prepaid plan. I am not a very heavy cell user, but I appreciate having a smartphone, and fortunately for me, the 2yr old (almost 3yr old) Nexus One has been powerful enough for my uses. I am glad that community roms like evervolv make it possible for me to have the latest software on such an old phone.
However, one big issue has forced me to upgrade: The call-volume is too low, and despite spending 10+ hours last week trying different roms, it is just impossible for me to make calls on the phone.
Long story short: I need a new phone. I don't want to spend too much money ($100-150 at most), and my needs aren't very much. I don't mind buying a used phone, so long as it is an upgrade from the Nexus One, and actually has decent call volume. Can be ATT or unlocked.
Does anyone know what would be a good upgrade with this budget? I suppose anything made in 2011 would be decent (Maybe a Galaxy SII)? Ideally, I would have something that the community still makes mods for, so that I can continue to have new software. I havne't been keeping up with phones, so I don't know what would be good.
Thanks. :laugh:
Sir, there is a thread in place that can assist you: **DEVICE SUGGESTION THREAD** -- Not sure what device to buy? Ask here!
Thank you & Thread Closed

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