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[Q] Best Hackable Android Phone

Hi all,
I am just looking for some advise!!!
I have been playing with xdandroid on my Verizon TP2 for a long time, and have decided its time to switch from win mo to android. Although on the TP2 alot doesnt work, I love android!
Some I'm wondering what is the Best Hackable android phone for Verizon???
Thanks for any thoughts.
Chris Seeley

Many would argue that the droid one is best

For Verizon? Your best bet is probably the Fascinate... maybe the Incredible. From what I've read, the Incredible is more usefully-hacked today, but I believe the Fascinate is likely to have the brightest long-term hacking future.
The big difference between the two: HTC violates the GPL and builds a monolithic kernel with proprietary drivers compiled directly into it, then unceremoniously hacks them out and $hits the hollowed-out carcass on the curb. HTC's kernel source is a half step short of completely useless, and building custom kernels for HTC phones that fully support its hardware (camera, bluetooth, etc) is a never-ending challenge that begins anew with every upgrade. Put another way, HTC's kernel source isn't buildable at all (it has dependencies on files they didn't include and broken references), let alone buildable into a kernel that can be used in the phone. Samsung, in contrast, releases nice kernel source that actually builds, and neatly bundles its proprietary drivers into proper loadable kernel modules.
Put another way, more progress has been made on the Incredible since it's been out for almost 6 months now (vs ~6 weeks for the Fascinate), but the Fascinate today is roughly where the Incredible was 3-4 months after its release. The Epic4G had custom kernels built from the ground up less than a month after its release. Most month-old HTC phones are lucky to have slightly-hacked and tweaked kernels that don't break one or more major peripherals. In fact, the biggest delay for the Epic (and presumably Fascinate) wasn't building a kernel... it was building the replacement bootloader and ripping backup copies of the ROM before blowing it away (the bundled apps from Samsung, Sprint, and Google can't legally be redistributed, so the only way to get them in a new ROM is to rip them from your stock ROM and save a backup copy to restore after reflashing)
Forget Motorola phones even exist. The likelihood of ever being able to truly reflash a Droid2 or Droid X is slim. They've both been rooted, and are hackable to some extent, but with both, you're always going to have to worry about Motorola or Verizon changing the metaphorical locks on the door while you're not paying attention and seriously compromising your satisfaction with your phone.

Thanks.... It just so happened that the fascinate is FREE at bestbuy today. Had to order it online, but I can deal with that.
Free phone Friday I guess....
So it is on order.
Thanks,
Chris
bitbang3r said:
For Verizon? Your best bet is probably the Fascinate... maybe the Incredible. From what I've read, the Incredible is more usefully-hacked today, but I believe the Fascinate is likely to have the brightest long-term hacking future.
--snip--
Samsung, in contrast, releases nice kernel source that actually builds, and neatly bundles its proprietary drivers into proper loadable kernel modules.
--snip--
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I would think n1 being a developer phone
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

OP said they're on vzw...hence no N1 option
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

Too bad u'r on verizon...otherwise it's the Nexsus One

The incredible is just as hackable as the first droid but twice the speed and way sleeker I've had both and I much prefer the Incredible.

Congrats on the Fascinate!
One other benefit of the Fascinate over the Incredible. The Incredible shares much of its design with the Desire, but the only other Desire that's CDMA is US Cellular's. Verizon has never really promoted the Incredible heavily (first they ran out of them for months, then the Droid2/DroidX came along to take Verizon's top spots), and US Cellular is kind of like Alltel was... not exactly a small company, but not exactly T-Mobile, AT&T, or Sprint, either.
In contrast, the Fascinate shares much of its architecture (including the GPU) with the entire Galaxy S family, and shares the most proprietary parts of its architecture with the Epic4G, which IS Sprint's flagship (or at least reigning co-champion) phone right now. So, in the long run, there won't be any shortage of AOSP-based ROMs that combine the CDMA-specific stuff from the Epic with the family-wide stuff from the rest of the Galaxy S line. Even if the Fascinate never really gets heavily promoted by Verizon or attracts a huge number of developers, the fact that it can more or less benefit directly from so many other family members is IMHO a huge plus. Oh, also... US Cellular has the Mesmerize, which IS pretty much identical to the Fascinate.
The Incredible is a very nice phone. If Verizon released it with the same form factor as US Cellular's Desire (specifically, the real hardkeys) and managed to keep them in stock long enough to tempt me, it might have been the phone that got me to leave Sprint. But knowing what I know now (6 months later) about the kernel architectures and cross-family compatibility of both HTC's phones and Samsung's, I do think the Samsungs are going to have a long, fertile life as phones for hacking.

bitbang3r said:
Forget Motorola phones even exist. The likelihood of ever being able to truly reflash a Droid2 or Droid X is slim. They've both been rooted, and are hackable to some extent, but with both, you're always going to have to worry about Motorola or Verizon changing the metaphorical locks on the door while you're not paying attention and seriously compromising your satisfaction with your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a droid2, fully flashed to cricket and hacked all to he**.. idk if verizon has something in there system that makes changes to the phone whenever they want, but I have not had any problems with the phone doing whatever I want it to do. custom roms/rooting/etc.. all work great

Droid is the best for hacking other vize try out the Nexsus one....

HTC HD2
Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk

Thanks to all that contributed. Is the consesus here that the best developer support for future android builds, irrespective of carrier, is The Nexus S ?

[Q] Help me upgrade! (Used Droid, now on Sprint)

Hi I'm looking to replace my current crappy HTC Snap. Its a horrible device. I want to upgrade to another Android device, preferably without 4G. None of the devices seem like an upgrade though, even though its 2009 vs 2011!
I like an active developer community, and a good keyboard. The Droid I enjoyed using since I didn't need to get a case for it and it was just a 'perfect smartphone' even today, if it had a better processor + ram, and if the battery life was better it could easily compete with today's phones.
Droid didn't have a very good keyboard, so far the closest thing is the Evo Shift, I'm fond of the Blackberry style phones too, so the XPRT is worth considering... if it had custom roms I would have gotten it already.
A good battery life would be awesome too. I would love to have a phone that just doesn't need to be charged every day, every other day would be cool or even every 2 days. I am a heavy texter so a good keyboard is almost a must, I didn't mind swype and I like it now, but still love a tactile keyboard.
Thanks!

You mentioned the shift, nice phone, but you need to know that is a 4g phone. I would recommend to stay away from Samsung based on my own and my roommates bad experiences with the moment and epic 4g. I would not get an EVO 4G at this time as the new bootloader is locked preventing root. Most of the newer android devices from Sprint are either 4g or just not worth it. The new EVO 3d has been rooted and would be my choice if you don't care about the extra 10 a month for 4g service. If not, try out the new windows phone 7, It's not 4g and has a keyboard. The new UI is actually sweet. However, the development community is not as big as on android.
I'd recommend going into a Sprint store and trying them all out first before making a decision.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[Q] LG Thrill 4G / HTC Sensation / Motorola Photon 4G / Motorola Atrix 4G

I have a dilemma between this 4 cellular, I can get them all at almost the same price so its dosn't matter.
What do you recommand?
I want a strong one that would run the latest games, but also a one that do its job as a phone!
Also the XDA community support is important (ROMS, etc)
Thanks!

I love my Photon. Rooted but with locked boot loader not many rom options.
Sent from my MB855 using xda premium

htc hands down
hello ok here it is most of the time it just a prefrence amongst the user you will find more support for google brand phones and htc phones more so than the rest quite simply google devices always get latest software anyway and htc has so many android phones that there are alot of developers for there phones i will tell you as i own a lg g2x that if it was not for very good developers that work very hard my phone would suck as lg does not have good support on there end.
so some things to consider
1. number of roms for device
2. number of developers working with device
3. if htc phone does alpharev 1.8 or alpharev x support it (if you want s-off)
4. along with the roms are there good kernals for it (faux123) ( morific trinity)
(please note kernal only needed if you wanna oc/uv
5.what you will be happy with and is user friendly to you
but out of those phones listed no to the lg (poor lg support) motorola no (very slow to get updated if any) i would honestly say the htc sensation if you dont like that buy a google branded phone
hey if it helps please hit thanks or buy me a pepsi

Out of the four, the LG Thrill is most likely to get a stable CM9 earliest, simply because it's a TI OMAP chipset (same as the Galaxy Nexus), and TI is awesome with releasing source/drivers/etc. apparently. The only thing is that 3D probably won't be implemented too soon after CM9 comes to the device. The Photon and Atrix on the other hand will be one of the last to get it simply because of the nVidia chipset, and nVidia apparently doesn't release much for developers.

Atrix
I had the Motorla Atrix when I was going through AT&T. I absolutely loved that phone. I changed jobs, and had to switch carriers. I have the Motorola Photon, and I'm slightly annoyed with it.
I started doing some research today to determine if I should root the Photon or wait for ICS. Hmmmm, Q3 for the ICS. So, I decided to root, and go with a ROM that doesn't have all of the bloated Sprint software, only to be reminded that the boot loader on the Motorola phones are locked, and ROM development is slim to none, or so I'm finding.
Motorola makes a pretty damn good phone, IMHO, but to lock things down so tightly is baaaaaad. I went with Android phones, because I love Linux and open source. Motorola is like the Microsoft or Apple of Cell phones.
If you're planning to root, stay away from Motorola phones.

No Lg Thril
Do not get the LG Thrill. It was the worst phone I have ever had. It was awful. I had it for 3 months and had to switch because it was that bad.

[Q] Need a replacement for my girlfriends Blade.

Hi, I need a replacement for my girlfriends ZTE Blade's, she needs two phones. I have been looking for something similar in size, and the ONE S looks to fit the bill. It's not hugely bigger. Although a handset with a 3.7 screen would be ideal.
I have no desire to root the phone etc. I just need to give her something reliable and dependable. The specs of the ONE S would suit her fine. But I'm thinking there may be a caveat. Such as, HTC are as bad as LG when it comes to OS software updates. Or the battery life sucks big time. Or sense really slows everything down.
The iPhone would be perfect in terms of size, specs and performance. But we are an ANDROID family, so I would like to keep our investment in Tablets and software.
My sincere apologies for the hugely general question. My current handset a Galaxy NEXUS which was such an easy choice, I'm running official Jelly Bean. But, choosing for a petite lady, something that works and won't become outdated in 12 months is super hard.
She has a 10" Galaxy Tab which recently got ICS, and I want to keep the devices running comparable versions of the OS.
I would be very grateful for any insights, or other handset recommendation's. Many thanks. Anil
Addition: I thought I would point out after user Ollaz's response below, I plan on only buying an unlocked retail version of any handset.

Why not the HTC One S. The updates are also affected by the carrier as they need to be approved, but as HTC said a few months ago, that they will be focusing on the One series and will not release new phones all the time, which means that these devices will get updates. But of course, buying any new product has the problem of eventually getting old and it will be just cut off. The way it has to be.
Also, in the same range there appears to be the ASUS Padfone (which is one hell of a device, but I didn't buy it because god knows if or when ASUS will update their devices). The LG Optimus 4X kinda seems like a beast and is in the same price range.

Ollaz said:
Why not the HTC One S. The updates are also affected by the carrier as they need to be approved, but as HTC said a few months ago, that they will be focusing on the One series and will not release new phones all the time, which means that these devices will get updates. But of course, buying any new product has the problem of eventually getting old and it will be just cut off. The way it has to be.
Also, in the same range there appears to be the ASUS Padfone (which is one hell of a device, but I didn't buy it because god knows if or when ASUS will update their devices). The LG Optimus 4X kinda seems like a beast and is in the same price range.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Ollaz, thanks for the info on HTC devices. I plan on buying a retail version of any handset, not locked to any one carrier etc. I appreciate technology moves on and some devices get left behind. My recently retired Optimus 2X still only has an official Ginger Bread release, even though the hardware is more than capable of running ICS.
I have an ASUS Transformer and it received an ICS update early this year. So in my book ASUS are pretty good whereas software updates are concerned. If Google made a sub four inch handset I would buy that without hesitation. Beast hardware is only as good as the software. And LG have a terrible software update record.
Thanks. Have fun. Anil

First off, the Asus Transformer is a different case. Since it's a tablet, it doesn't have to go through the extra step of carrier testing that a phone does for an update.
My came from a 3.7" HTC Incredible and really wanted to stick with a smaller form factor she could use with one hand (typing being the biggest issue). She is very happy with the One S, she just had to get used to using two hands for typing, but its thinness made it an easier transition from the old phone.
FWIW, HTC has already promised Jelly Bean will be coming within a few months, and I wouldn't necessarily expect the Transformer to get it.

radar5 said:
First off, the Asus Transformer is a different case. Since it's a tablet, it doesn't have to go through the extra step of carrier testing that a phone does for an update.
My came from a 3.7" HTC Incredible and really wanted to stick with a smaller form factor she could use with one hand (typing being the biggest issue). She is very happy with the One S, she just had to get used to using two hands for typing, but its thinness made it an easier transition from the old phone.
FWIW, HTC has already promised Jelly Bean will be coming within a few months, and I wouldn't necessarily expect the Transformer to get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi radar5, thanks for sharing your experiences. I have to disagree with the point regarding "carrier testing". I always buy stock retail devices, with no ball & chain 12-24-36 month contracts. My LG O2X came completely stock, there are no carrier hurdles for LG to jump. Yet their handset is two years behind the OS release curve. The worlds first dual-core phone, and it's still on Gingerbread. Nothing to do with carriers.
I would buy another ASUS product, they have provided 5 updates since I bought the Transformer Tablet. Two of those have been major OS updates. I wouldn't go near LG with a very long stick. HTC looks as if it is learning this lesson of keeping your hardware reasonably up to date with the latest OS.
Apple do an excellent job in this area, they're not perfect, but better than most ANDROID OEM's. Hopefully HTC is getting their **** together, and their simpler hardware line up is a sign of the future. Resulting in timely OS updates. And easier consumer hardware choices.
At the moment HTC's One S is my current choice for my girlfriends next handset. I did see something today which made me pause for thought. ACER's Liquid Glow, a truly terrible name, but it's a 3.7" handset running ICS. And the slated European price is €179.99. The One S in Italy cost's €485 from AMAZON. A big difference.
Thanks. Have fun. Anil

I see where you're headed with this, but keep in mind you can't comprare that ACER and the One S. The specs are way too off for that.

Ollaz said:
I see where you're headed with this, but keep in mind you can't comprare that ACER and the One S. The specs are way too off for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Ollaz, my girlfriends current handset's the ZTE Blade's are great, except they only run Gingerbread. Switching between Gingerbread and ICS does become a little annoying. Gmail is a great case in point. The ICS version is way better than the Gingerbread version.
So horsepower specs are not that important. And anyway, my retired Optimus 2X has great specs, but still only has old software. Some of the newer HTC phones have better specs than my Galaxy NEXUS. But my GNEX is running a stock version of Jelly Bean 4.1.1, now, today. Not some marketing quarter in the future which invariably gets moved.
I love having a fast phone, but my girlfriend needs stability and OS device parity. Thanks for your thoughts, they have been helpful in making me decide what I need to buy.
I must admit I was a little shocked when I discovered the price of the One S in Italy. HTC want iPhone 4s money, they are crazy! No wonder their sales revenue has dropped 60%. Selling purely on hardware specs has a really limited shelf life. Sooner or later you have to innovate in software. All HTC and most ANDROID OEM's do, is a few custom apps and skins. Google writes the OS for free!
Many thanks. Anil

[Q] Some basics I need covered :)

Hi,
So I'm new to Android, and I've only had a Nexus 7 for a week (I sold it) which I rooted and had some custom roms for.
I wanted the Xperia Z, but it's shape is too square and thus bulky. I like that this Razr HD is a bit water resistant, has excellent battery, the keflav back, and is a less cumbersome size.
But- i'm concerned as this device isn't one of the more popular. Does this mean i will have to wait much longer for upgrades even if rooted? And less support in future? could some apps not run/be designed for this device?
Basically- Im someone who keeps their phone for ages. Im still using a jailbroken 3GS happily. As much as i dont like apple- its good that i can always run the latest OS...
Just wanted thoughts on all this. Cheers

ycon said:
Hi,
So I'm new to Android, and I've only had a Nexus 7 for a week (I sold it) which I rooted and had some custom roms for.
I wanted the Xperia Z, but it's shape is too square and thus bulky. I like that this Razr HD is a bit water resistant, has excellent battery, the keflav back, and is a less cumbersome size.
But- i'm concerned as this device isn't one of the more popular. Does this mean i will have to wait much longer for upgrades even if rooted? And less support in future? could some apps not run/be designed for this device?
Basically- Im someone who keeps their phone for ages. Im still using a jailbroken 3GS happily. As much as i dont like apple- its good that i can always run the latest OS...
Just wanted thoughts on all this. Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Official upgrades for android devices are at the whim of the manufacturer and the carrier unless we're talking about a nexus device which gets updates directly from Google. On Verizon updates typically take longer to come out due to what they say is extensive testing, but recently they've been better about it imo. Unofficial updates are governed by the amount and quality of developers on that particular device. For moto phones we have a nice core of developers that keep us up to date. Now that the newest moto phones have had their bootloaders unlocked, development has really picked up. The development scene on Android is a lot different and more complicated then the Apple side. Due to the amount of high end android devices that are released every year the development scene moves pretty quickly. That isn't to say older devices aren't dev'd for but it is a possibility to consider. In the moto world devices as far back as the droid 3 are still actively supported. Many of us started out with moto and have never left.
Don't worry about the apps. Unless the device falls really behind in the os version all apps will be supported. It's not like apple where if your phone doesn't have the latest update a third of the apps don't work. There are apps coded specifically for features only available on the latest Android version but those are very few due to people wanting to make money lol.
sent from my xt926 RAZR maxx hd

Cheers for that really helpful response.
It all seems pretty good to me with app compatibility.
So- if I understand correctly, if I unlock the bootloader & root my phone, I wont have to rely on Moto/my carrier for the OS updates?
Are there any other general things I should know before saying no to more mainstream (GS4) device?
Cheers

ycon said:
Cheers for that really helpful response.
It all seems pretty good to me with app compatibility.
So- if I understand correctly, if I unlock the bootloader & root my phone, I wont have to rely on Moto/my carrier for the OS updates?
Are there any other general things I should know before saying no to more mainstream (GS4) device?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes to your first question. Technically you would only need root to stop carrier updates but none of the new roms are being developed for locked devices.
Firstly know that the HD has basically the same innards as the gs3 except with 1gb less ram and a less impressive camera. The two monster phones out/coming out right now are the gs4 and the HTC one with a new nexus hopefully out soon. The gs4 represents some of the best hardware available (with newer still coming out later this year) and will have a lot of Dev focus. Out of those 3 phones Verizon will only be getting the gs4 most likely. In terms of what phone to get I would say you need to physically handle each before making a decision. If you must be on Verizon then the gs4 would be a great choice but some people don't like the build materials and feel of the phone (similar to gs3). People sticking with moto appreciate the solid feel, excellent materials, amazing radio strength, and battery life.
sent from my xt926 RAZR maxx hd

koftheworld;4080229The gs4 represents some of the best hardware available (with newer still coming out later this year) and will have a lot of Dev focus. Out of those 3 phones Verizon will only be getting the gs4 most likely. In terms of what phone to get I would say you need to physically handle each before making a decision. If you must be on Verizon then the gs4 would be a great choice but some people don't like the build materials and feel of the phone (similar to gs3). People sticking with moto appreciate the solid feel said:
Cheers for that. I am not on Verizon (I'm in Australia), I'll buy the phone unlocked.
I have had a look at the GS4, HTC One and Razr all together.
The GS4 is my favourite in terms of size, but I'd rather sacrifice the power (Quad core) for the longer battery, better call reception, stronger build, and lower price of the Razr HD.
I might jsut have to wait for the new Nexus phone to come out. I've heard Google will be subsidizing it, so the price might be right.
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