[Q] Phone with a HW keyboard - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi guys,
I'm kinda thinking about ditching Nexus S for an Android phone with hw keyboard. I narrowed it to two - Motorola Pro Plus (MB632) and SE Xperia Pro. I had a chance to get a hold to Xperia and it's a pretty good phone, fast, with acceptable keyboard and a nice screen. I had no chance to try the Pro+ but I generally prefer the front-facing qwerty phones (loved my old Nokia E71). So there I can't decide here (regarding the build quality and shape anyway). Speed seems to be ok for both of them according to youtube reviews.
I also looked around XDA and realized that there is not much about the Xperia Pro and almost nothing about Motorola Pro+. Thats odd. But as there is much more info for Xperia Pro and it also received ICS update already I guess it won this round.
So, are there any major drawbacks on either of these phones I didn't mention? I'd really love to buy the Pro+ but I'm a bit afraid of Motoblur / being stuck with motoblur without a chance to flash some other ROM (what I like on my Nexus S).
Thanks in advance ...

The Xperia Pro is the same hardware wise (except for the HW keyboard) as the Xperia Arc if I remember rightly there's a topic in there specificity for the Xperia Pro.
I'm not sure about the Motorola tho.
I personally use a HTC Desire Z (G2 in the US), but that's getting a little old tho but I love it

michalurban said:
So, are there any major drawbacks on either of these phones I didn't mention? I'd really love to buy the Pro+ but I'm a bit afraid of Motoblur / being stuck with motoblur without a chance to flash some other ROM (what I like on my Nexus S).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you have an interest in flashing ROMs you shouldn't switch to either of those devices from the NS since their development community is totally inferior to ours (nothing personal against them, just stating facts) and if you do switch you'll feel pretty stupid in a few weeks when GB source code is released and those phones are still on ICS.

WarningHPB: Thanks for the info about Xperia Arc being the same HW-wise.
063_XOBX: About flashing ROMs, Im sure you are right, but I could live without flashing many ROMs ... Im just trying to find a way to flash a pure vanilla android instead of the manufacturer-modified ones.
BTW didnt you mean JB in "you'll feel pretty stupid in a few weeks when GB source code is released and those phones are still on ICS"? Funny is that Motorola Pro+ is still on GB LOL.
Either way, Id just love to have a HW keyboard again, Ive used my old E71 with another SIM card for a while and writing is so much more confortable there ...

Tbh if Samsung, HTC or even Sony came out with a phone with a hardware keyboard I'd be all over it like a rash especially if its release in the UK.
I'm only using the nexus s since my desire z isn't gonna get ics any time soon cause of HTC/Qualacom (or however you spell the company name) cause there not releasing certain drivers to the devs

Related

[Q] Help Me Choose a Smartphone plz

Hi Guys,
This is my first thread in the android section cuz I have been a windows mobile user for a long time with my SE xperia x1.
Now i'd like to buy another phone and unfortunately Windows Phone 7 lacks a lot of things so I'll go with an android phone. I think that froyo is really good.
I thought about the SE X10 but it only has android 2.1 and no official update for or no update at all for 2.2 which reflects how hard it'd be to update to any further version.
I also did some reading and found that Android 2.3 is soon to come and its minimum requirements are 1ghz processor and 512mb RAM. and I want to be able to update to it when the update comes out, so i want a phone with these minimum requirements and to currently have android 2.2 froyo on it.
so if u plz guide me to a phone with these specifications and not very expensive i'll be very thankful
T-Mobile's HTC G2 is a good phone, it has stock Android 2.2 and since it's one of Googles phones it should get the 2.3 update fairly quickly. Also Motorola's Droid 2 is stock 2.2 so it will get the update faster than other phones and has a 1ghz processor, and the Nexus One is probably the best Android phone out there.
Thanx for ur reply but sry i forgot to mention that i'm from Egypt and i'm going to get this phone from UAE so unfortunately there's no carrier phones so T-mobile g2 is not an option
An unlocked Nexus One should work over there. Do you're carriers use GSM?
I guess so, but I won't find a nexus one I'm not buying online
Well The Nexus One is the safest card at the moment. It will most likely be upgraded to gingerbread.
So if you can get hold of a nexus one, I think your problem is solved.
Here's something to read...
http://www.brighthand.com/default.a...ingerbread+3.0+Nexus+One+Upgrade+Release+Date
Thanx for your help, Bu I don't Think that the nexus one will be available where I'm buying plus honestly I don't think it looks beautiful either
so is there any other phone to consider??
The update to 2.3 doesn't have to be official but if the phone have the minimum requirements I believe that someone here at XDA will get the update running on it in no time
so any other recommendations ??
EDIT: There's a Probability that the Nexus One might be available so I'd like to know what does it lack among the phones available now cuz it has ben out since Jan 2010 it must be late on something I guess
I dont own one myself , so I cant really tell you anything about its cons or pros or whatever. However its physichal aspects does seems to feel a bit old, compared to HTC desire that is...
Alright, Let's say that I go for the desire
do u think that it'll be getting the 2.3 update either officially or non-officially
one more thing, is there any drawbacks with the desire?
I have no idea when it come to the desire actually.
And no, I personally think desire is the best android handset out yet =)
ahmedsalem89 said:
Alright, Let's say that I go for the desire
do u think that it'll be getting the 2.3 update either officially or non-officially
one more thing, is there any drawbacks with the desire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the desire will not get an official 2.3. update.
But the Desire is almost the same as the Nexus One, which will get the 2.3. update, so there probably will be lots of 2.3.-ports for Desire from Nexus One.
I would'nt got for a SE-device, because imho their support is bad (updating on 2.1. when 2.2. already has been released 6 months ago WTF).
Regards
Yes I agree and as they both have practically the same specs, It would be bad marketing if they didnt offer a upgrade to the Desire aswell in my opinion...
Personally I would recommend the Galaxy S because the support is decent, it has a lot of supporters (custom roms, custom kernels, AOSP-ification etc).
Also hardware wise it is superior to anything on the market right now (strongest graphics chip) and the Super AMOLED is something out of this world! you have to see it to believe it.
Optionally you could wait till January for Nexus 2 which is a (?) modified version of galaxy S with gingerbread.
Secondary I could recommend the N900, it's an AWESOME hacking phone, just got USB hosting support (USB drives etc) and it looks like nokia might bring MeeGo to it after all.
But it's early adoption, yada yada, you'll have to take chances and learn some terminal commands and linux (no biggie) and in reward you get to run android, ubuntu palm pre apps (awesome games) at an almost perfect state(meaning phone, uit etc, games run perfect )!
Now what I would not recommend you to get is an iPhone.
The software support is awful, jaibreaking literally breaks the device (gsm etc...), buld quality, you must have read about it and buh-bye widgets flash and customizations.
's a blog about all that stuff, I keep reading and remain astonished...
http://theiphonefever.blogspot.com/2010/05/iphone-4g-screen-multimedia-flop.html
Yes you could buy a n900 and port it with upcoming nitdroid 0.0.9 (android 2.2.1)
But if you were looking to buy a android device in the first place I would not recommend to buy a n900 and port it to android and so on. I mean... gingerbread is soon to come and the NITDroid project is currently on the froyo stageline , in that case you would always be at least 1 year behind.
I wouldn't go for a galaxy S because of the lack of flash for the camera and the looks, I guess it looks kinda cheap and the desire is way better looking but I agree with you the super AMOLED is great.
and the n900 is very low on specs even if it'd boot android it'll be slow and laggy IMO, plus it's a NOKIA and for me this reason is more than enough not to buy it
and off course I wont even consider an iphone these phones r way stupid
I agree with nickownzya about SE phones I was astonished when I knew that the x10 got 2.1 while 2.2 was already out. why would they do that?!!!
so I guess I'll be either buying a desire or a nexus one, good looking, great support, and better hardware.
Thanx for the help guys
Desire and Nexus are cool but otherwise I hate HTC designs. Why do they always have to make that "spotted" back? what's wrong with a smooth finish?
Hard choice anyway, nexus seems to be close to the end of it's "lifetime" and kinda lags on specs HD video etc, but desire has more potential but doesn't have the same support...
Either way I don't agree about the galaxy looking cheap. SO far it's the only device with gorilla glass display (scratch proof so far for me) and it has the sleekest/thinnest shape of them all.
Also it has the strongest video hardware which will keep it from becoming obsolete a while longer than the competition. So far nothing takes full advantage of it though, unfortunately.
When it comes to design, it differs from a person to another. for me this plastic is too much plus it's a fingerprint magnet and I hate that. I would prefer a metal finish, metal buttons or even harder looking plastic with matte black or gray.
U seem to be a big galaxy S fan yourself and I don't hate it but If only they have added flash for the camera and took the whole thing and put it into a better looking body something like the milestone 2 which BTW also has Gorilla Glass display or a SE x10 I'd definitely go for it .
Anyway, Honestly I'd prefer the desire because of the same reason u mentioned .
Then go for desire, you wont be disapointed =)
Samsung galaxy s. You can't get better hardware.
Its not perfect out of the box.
Infact it need little care, but then its great.
I had an iphone4 before i did buy my sgs. Well now i don't have a iphone 4.
Sent from GT-I9000 jpo. My own kernel for z4mod and with 342MB Ram
ahmedsalem89 said:
Alright, Let's say that I go for the desire
do u think that it'll be getting the 2.3 update either officially or non-officially
one more thing, is there any drawbacks with the desire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are not Jesus Christ or prophet mahomet....
There is plenty of threads to look for if you want an android phone. As I know... no one here works at google or at HTC ... we don't know nothing about gingerbread and wich one is gonna be updated and when. Google, youtube... make your homework. There's plenty of videos and reviews on the net...
I thought egyptians still use papyrus to communicate... no?

[Resolved] [Q] Which of these Android phones should I buy?

Hello everyone,
after spending a few years as an iPhone user, I've now decided to switch to android.
Actually I've been pretty interested in this os since the release of the first nexus and I must now decide which phone I should take.
Because I'm italian, I've found a pretty good offer from my career, TIM, and I can choose to take one of this phones for a very low price:
Original Samsung Galaxy S
HTC Desire S
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
LG Optimus 3d
Google Nexus S
As far as my personal taste is concerned, I'd choose one among the Nexus S, the Optimus 3d or the Desire s.
I know the newest one in terms of hardware is, indeed, the Optimus 3d, which is actually the one I'd go for because of all that dual stuff (I'm not that much interested in the 3d, though it's something more to have). My fear is that it's support will soon be discontinued (maybe because of the 3d) and I'll find my self with a super phone stuck with an old software.
Actually I've also seen Cyanogen is soon going to officially support it, and that'll be a good way to be constantly up to date.
My second choice would be the Desire S, because I've seen there are plenty of roms keeping it up to date, including an unofficial cyanogenmod and one upgrading it to sense 3.0 (actually, what do you think of sense? Is it worth it?)
And my third and last choice would be the Nexus S, which is, indeed, the most customizable one.
So, which one would you go for?
Hope to hear from you soon,
Lorenzo
Edit: today (sept 16th) I bought the Nexus s. Thanks to everyone.
nexus s, I gave up my evo for it. Let me tell you best switch ever 10x smoother, faster browser, no bloatware. Get updates 10x quicker. More development. Just amazing phone all around.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play if gaming is your first priority
Google Nexus S if development is your first priority
Google Nexus S should be the best choice here.
tarunsoni said:
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play if gaming is your first priority
Google Nexus S if development is your first priority
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, I'm nothing like a phone gamer. Actually, I'm neither a developer, but I like spending some time playing with roms and that kind of stuff.
So, for the moment I think you all agree saying the Nexus S is the best option.
Anyone else?
Sorry for the double post, but I actually bought the Nexus S. Thanks to everyone who helped me.
Lore33 said:
Hello everyone,
after spending a few years as an iPhone user, I've now decided to switch to android.
Actually I've been pretty interested in this os since the release of the first nexus and I must now decide which phone I should take.
Because I'm italian, I've found a pretty good offer from my career, TIM, and I can choose to take one of this phones for a very low price:
Original Samsung Galaxy S
HTC Desire S
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
LG Optimus 3d
Google Nexus S
As far as my personal taste is concerned, I'd choose one among the Nexus S, the Optimus 3d or the Desire s.
I know the newest one in terms of hardware is, indeed, the Optimus 3d, which is actually the one I'd go for because of all that dual stuff (I'm not that much interested in the 3d, though it's something more to have). My fear is that it's support will soon be discontinued (maybe because of the 3d) and I'll find my self with a super phone stuck with an old software.
Actually I've also seen Cyanogen is soon going to officially support it, and that'll be a good way to be constantly up to date.
My second choice would be the Desire S, because I've seen there are plenty of roms keeping it up to date, including an unofficial cyanogenmod and one upgrading it to sense 3.0 (actually, what do you think of sense? Is it worth it?)
And my third and last choice would be the Nexus S, which is, indeed, the most customizable one.
So, which one would you go for?
Hope to hear from you soon,
Lorenzo
Edit: today (sept 16th) I bought the Nexus s. Thanks to everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG Optimus 3d

Need help selecting QWERTY phone?

Hello everyone!
So I've been a Nokia fan since forever and right now my main phone is a Nokia E71 which has served me well! However I got the upgrade bug and have wanted to upgrade it with a newer one. Thing is, I like QWERTY phones. In fact, I hoped that Nokia would offer an awesome Nokia Mango QWERTY phone... too bad none were presented (at least not yet.)
Anyway, while reading/searching I have a partial list that I would like your input on. They are:
1) htc desire z
2) Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro
3) LG Optimus Quantum C900
4) Dell Venue Pro
5) Samsung Sidekick 4G
As you can see, I don't mind if it's Android or Windows. I have a few nitpicks though. For example, 1) is the most expensive, 2) seems to have an "electrostatic" problem that ruins sound reproduction and videos! , 3) 4) not sure which of the 2 might be better but the Dell looks better ... and for the Sidekick, not sure if performance is on par with 1) and 2)...
So any help you can provide to his newb is welcomed!!
Thanks.!
If you want something powerful, there's Motorola Milestone 3 or Xperia Pro (without Mini).I personally preffer Xperia Pro, not so powerful, but sexy phone.
Thanks for the recommendation.
I guess budget is also an issue... (which is why I didn't list more expensive phones..).
I just don't want to spend too much since I pretty much know that I'll go crawling back to Nokia in a few months! ;-)
I'll take a look at the Xperia Pro though... Sony phones are sexy!! lol
Moved
Ooopsss.. Thanks!
So... yeah... the Xperia Pro (not mini) is kind of expensive as well
Probably will buy unlocked btw (not with any contract!) I guess I should have stated that earlier?
I would love the easiest to write too... I'm thinking of getting the Sidekick even though the camera
is not the best... But again, I'll listen to what you guys have to say!
Thanks!
So... decided on getting both the Sidekick 4G and the LG Optimus Quantum... let's see which one I enjoy the most...
Thanks.

[Q] Looking for a new phone

I'm looking to buy a new phone, and I'm going to try the Android road once again. My main problem with Android phones has been usability, mostly small glitches, lag, unresponsiveness and other various bugs that annoy me when all I want to do is a complete a simple task. The problem with my current HTC wildfire is that I'm simply sick to death about mostly lag and interface issues, and I'm running a pretty average stock ROM, I forget which one since I kinda stuck with one that I was somewhat happy with and gave up with reflashing.
I've tried plenty of other ROMS and they all tend to be the same in one way or another when it comes to issues like this. I've even got it overclocked to 710mhz, and still facing crappy issues, and pretty big drain in the battery. I just really feel I shouldn't have to go through all of that to get decent usability.
Hell I think the Branded stock HTC ROM out preformed most of the cooked ones, my only problem with it was that was branded everywhere with useless shortcuts and icons.
So I'm looking for something fairly high end, with a physical qwerty keyboard, a 3.5mm jack, and overall simply put, good performance for general use and the odd emulator here and there. I was thinking the HTC desire Z, but since it's going at about $300-$350 I think it might be another mistake, my Wildfire was about that much and after a few months it was a regretful buy.
I really don't want to buy another phone that will let me down, my last three phones were a HTC Touch Diamond which cost a fortune, a Nokia E63 (Because I was that stick of the touch diamond), and my current HTC Wildfire, the E63 was probably the best buy out of all of them, and it was the cheapest.
So please guys, help me find a decent phone, I really don't want to have to fork out the ridiculous amount of money for an iPhone 4 or go back to the E series Nokia phones.
I know it seems a little lazy for me to be asking a forum such a question, this is something I usually research and review, but that has failed me which is why I really want some advice from users themselves, ones that have possibly suffered from the same sort of issues. Reviews are one thing, but daily long term users are another. I remember thinking the Wildfire was good from the reviews, little did I know.
bump
10char
Kind of late for the sgs 2 but I still recommend it. I have not experienced any lag, and I will proudly say it is the most fluid and smooth phone android has to offer. It has software which is unmatched in terms of efficiency and maintainability and security. Moreover it is more or less equal to sense in terms of functionality.
That's sort of in the right track, but as mentioned, I'm looking for something with a physical QWERY keyboard.
I'm thinking maybe the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, anyone got any kind of negative feedback on that?
If you want a qwerty keyboard, you can have a look at the HTC Desire Z. They are available in The Netherlands here for 319,- euros. I don't know if they are sold in your area though...
How do you like HTC Chacha?
qwerty, android and low price are included
I have the Desire Z and i love my phone its really great, and for me the keyboard was the main reason to buy the phone and after one year with the phone i can certainly say that the phone has much more then the keyboard and u can find many roms for it here in xda...
BUT i want also mention that the phone is nowaday i little bit outdated, with its 800mhz single core prossesor(ok u can takt it up to 2ghz,so its for me never a problem of speed with 1-1,3ghz and the right rom u have more then enough speed,dats my personal few),
The BIG MINUS for me are the 512Mb ram,which u will get to know sometimes when u are useing bigger roms (like sense 3.0,for sure there are ways to "extend RAM" and super roms like the Virtous Unity where almost everything works smooth), but these 512mb ram and the Android together making it sometimes difficult for me, it causes lags and all,(today i have cm7 on it and still now no probs, only the market app is bit slow but that has nothing to do with the phone i think)
....to be honest i never really saw an android headset without any small lag...
and as Kailkti above said, (even if i am not a big samsung and his plastic phone fan) i would also say buy the the SGS2 its really very fast and almost lag and problem free ...as i know....
Manuel91 said:
I have the Desire Z and i love my phone its really great, and for me the keyboard was the main reason to buy the phone and after one year with the phone i can certainly say that the phone has much more then the keyboard and u can find many roms for it here iin xda...
BUT i want also mention that the phone is nowaday i little bit outdated, with its 800mhz single core prossesor(ok u can takt it up to 2ghz,so its for me never a problem of speed with 1-1,3ghz and the right rom u have more then enough speed,dats my personal few),
The BIG MINUS for me are the 512Mb ram,which u will get to know sometimes when u are useing bigger roms (like sense 3.0,for sure there are ways to "extend RAM" and super roms like the Virtous Unity where almost everything works smooth), but these 512mb ram and the Android together making it sometimes difficult for me, it causes lags and all,(today i have cm7 on it and still now no probs, only the market app is bit slow but that has nothing to do with the phone i think)
....to be honest i never really saw an android headset without any small leg...
and as Kailkti above said, (even if i am not a big samsung and his plastic phone fan) i would also say buy the the SGS2 its really very fast and almost lag and problem free ...as i know....but I am unexperienced compared to many devs here....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow Manuel, I'd just like to say thanks, I really appreciate the time you took into giving me details and your personal experience with the phone!
xelasha said:
Wow Manuel, I'd just like to say thanks, I really appreciate the time you took into giving me details and your personal experience with the phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are Welcome ...as said i love my desire Z and i saw dat u are thinking about buying... so i wanted to tell u that the phone is great but has also his minus... and u should know and think about what u want and need...every phone has his + and - ...as i bought my phone i had the choice between the desire z and the galaxy S and i took the desire z and I am happy about it...i wanted a phone with qwertz keyboard, because i am writing much and i dont like TS writing and now there are many other better much more powerfull devices, but only less alternatives to the desire z...( for me personally there i no alternative because i like sense very much an there is no other device with qwertz keyboard from htc, ok the Salsa but thats an other league)...
.)so u have to decide if u want power and lag/bugless phone then galaxyS2 is ...
.)physical keyboard and a middle class phonewith good manufacturing, wich is not lagfree desire z
.)or u should look at motorola(but dont know how the phones really are, only read about one,..two days or so ago... with dulcore and keyboard and all)
so wish u all a nice day ;D
Galaxy Nexus ALL THE WAY!!!!!!! Reasons:
1) Will be smoothest and most stable
2) Will have dev support from google for a LONG TIME
3) Due to dev support, wont be obsolete for a LONG TIME
4) Runs pure android
Personal Experience:
I own a nexus one. I am running gingerbread with little to no lag most of the time. This phone is two years old and I still get OTA updates. I am planning on getting a galaxy nexus. Even though its 2 years old, I still love it, wouldnt trade it for an iphone ever.
Extra Information:
Galaxy nexus runs PURE STOCK, making it much more stable and much less laggy. Almost no reason to spend time rooting and flashing ROMS if you into that. Also, with a 1.2 ghz dual core processor, there's not much room for lag. Last point, ICS was designed to be more stable and smooth than any other android build EVER, so if you want the smoothest android phone possible, the galaxy nexus is the way to go.
Extra Goodies:
First phone to run ICS. Once again, ICS was designed for this phone!!!!!! Get all the goodies from ICS. The highest resolution android screen EVER and its 4.65" Super AMOLED. And LTE and HSPA+ support. So if you are on verizon, sprint, tmobile, or att you can get it.
google.com/nexus
matthewkhoury75 said:
Galaxy Nexus ALL THE WAY!!!!!!! Reasons:
1) Will be smoothest and most stable
2) Will have dev support from google for a LONG TIME
3) Due to dev support, wont be obsolete for a LONG TIME
4) Runs pure android
Personal Experience:
I own a nexus one. I am running gingerbread with little to no lag most of the time. This phone is two years old and I still get OTA updates. I am planning on getting a galaxy nexus. Even though its 2 years old, I still love it, wouldnt trade it for an iphone ever.
Extra Information:
Galaxy nexus runs PURE STOCK, making it much more stable and much less laggy. Almost no reason to spend time rooting and flashing ROMS if you into that. Also, with a 1.2 ghz dual core processor, there's not much room for lag. Last point, ICS was designed to be more stable and smooth than any other android build EVER, so if you want the smoothest android phone possible, the galaxy nexus is the way to go.
Extra Goodies:
First phone to run ICS. Once again, ICS was designed for this phone!!!!!! Get all the goodies from ICS. The highest resolution android screen EVER and its 4.65" Super AMOLED. And LTE and HSPA+ support. So if you are on verizon, sprint, tmobile, or att you can get it.
google.com/nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the detailed response Matt, but unfortunately like I mentioned I want a physical QWERTY keyboard, it's a must.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro has a qwerty. The new xperia models are really great once the bloatware is gone and you get a new launcher. I have the Play, and it's gone way above my expectations for a single core model.
Having a perfected single core is better than a still-developing dual.
Edit: didn't see the part where you mention that model. Derp.
Sent from the best phone ever
captain67 said:
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro has a qwerty. The new xperia models are really great once the bloatware is gone and you get a new launcher. I have the Play, and it's gone way above my expectations for a single core model.
Having a perfected single core is better than a still-developing dual.
Edit: didn't see the part where you mention that model. Derp.
Sent from the best phone ever
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate, also a helpful answer. I think I might choose the Xperia Pro after all, it's got a slightly faster processor than the Desire Z, and I've been extremely happy with Sony Ericsson phones in the past (w850i, **** yeah). I was likely going to remove Timescape anyway, I'll give it a whirl for a few days, but I think I'll prefer another launcher in the end.
I'm using go launcher ex. The customizations and ability to backup settings is great. Whenever I flash a ROM, I just restore the backup and the custom stuff is already done.
I tried the Desire Z when picking out phones. The landscape mode only worked when the qwerty was open, and the screen didn't seem very sharp.. I'm glad I waited an extra few months to get my phone because I would have been stuck with a Samsung, and missed out on the xperia play gamepad. The xplay literally popped out of nowhere in my country. I had no idea it was coming out beforehand.
My advice: look around mobile blog/review sites for previews/announces of upcoming models. You never know, a couple months from now something better suited to you might be released.
Sent from the best phone ever

[Q] phone choice

I have been locked into contracts forever and am finally in a couple of months out of contract and plan on purchasing a phone out of contract. I have had mixed experiences with rooting my phones and the ROMs for different models. With my next purchase I would like to pick a phone from a manufacturer that is easy to create stable ROMs and wanted your guys input.
One of the phones I had success with in the past was the original motorola droid and then moved to the xperia play which I couldnt do anything too without paying someone to unlock it, which I never did. I currently have the galaxy s and it seems ok for ROMs, though I read a G+ post from one of the XDA developers that stated samsung was difficult to work with and what they release for code and was a big pain to create ROMs from. He mentioned that Sony mobile was getting much better, but in the past I've leared to loathe Sony. At any rate what manufacturers are currently good to look at for root/romable phones? Also any thoughts on specific phones would be nice to look through.
Currently on my list is the nexus using walmarts sim cards, but am not opposed to looking at almost anything with any vendor. Unfortunately Tmobiles not in my area, because that seems like a good place for plans.
Thank you
I'm basically researching what phones will be easily rootable and will/have ROMs and is also a fully featured phone so I can use all the new tech that has come out lately. Thank you
Xceptiona1noob said:
I have been locked into contracts forever and am finally in a couple of months out of contract and plan on purchasing a phone out of contract. I have had mixed experiences with rooting my phones and the ROMs for different models. With my next purchase I would like to pick a phone from a manufacturer that is easy to create stable ROMs and wanted your guys input.
One of the phones I had success with in the past was the original motorola droid and then moved to the xperia play which I couldnt do anything too without paying someone to unlock it, which I never did. I currently have the galaxy s and it seems ok for ROMs, though I read a G+ post from one of the XDA developers that stated samsung was difficult to work with and what they release for code and was a big pain to create ROMs from. He mentioned that Sony mobile was getting much better, but in the past I've leared to loathe Sony. At any rate what manufacturers are currently good to look at for root/romable phones? Also any thoughts on specific phones would be nice to look through.
Currently on my list is the nexus using walmarts sim cards, but am not opposed to looking at almost anything with any vendor. Unfortunately Tmobiles not in my area, because that seems like a good place for plans.
Thank you
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Try something like Xperia Sola or GO but if you have a little more money buy Xperia Z ...Theese phones are good to customize as I have been trying and almost everything works...include custom kernels etc.
I have now Xperia Sola and I have set up new custom rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2227059 currently waiting for V4 update but V3 works like a charm on it...no lags .. free to customize really good one. Maybe some HTC One will be good but I am fan of Sony
I disagree
Oriann said:
Try something like Xperia Sola or GO but if you have a little more money buy Xperia Z ...Theese phones are good to customize as I have been trying and almost everything works...include custom kernels etc.
I have now Xperia Sola and I have set up new custom rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2227059 currently waiting for V4 update but V3 works like a charm on it...no lags .. free to customize really good one. Maybe some HTC One will be good but I am fan of Sony
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I think the Sony Xperia Sola would be a poor choice, he is thinking about the nexus which is high end compared to the Sola, besides, the Sola is a pain to root (personal experience) while the nexus would by far be the most moddable and developer friendly device....
Xceptiona1noob said:
I read a G+ post from one of the XDA developers that stated samsung was difficult to work with and what they release for code and was a big pain to create ROMs from.
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The Samsung Galaxy S4 has been out for a very short period of time, and it already has root methods and custom ROMs, if you go for Samsung you won't be dissappointed...just choose your ROM carefully...starting out with the basic cyanogenMod is great....
BTW the Nexus is an awesome device!
P.S: Youtube would be your friend on how various devices can be customised
This is the sort of thing I'm nervous about http://www.geek.com/android/att-will-sell-the-galaxy-s4-with-a-locked-bootloader-1553657/
My old Xperia play had a locked bootloader.
Is there a place to look for best phones for putting mods on? it seems like such a crap shoot, I might decide on the S4 and then just by going through ATT I screw myself even though initially I think its just like the other vendors models.
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in reality I know my only safe choice is nexus, I just wish there was more out there.
Xceptiona1noob said:
This is the sort of thing I'm nervous about http://www.geek.com/android/att-will-sell-the-galaxy-s4-with-a-locked-bootloader-1553657/
My old Xperia play had a locked bootloader.
Is there a place to look for best phones for putting mods on? it seems like such a crap shoot, I might decide on the S4 and then just by going through ATT I screw myself even though initially I think its just like the other vendors models.
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in reality I know my only safe choice is nexus, I just wish there was more out there.
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Have you considered something not so mainstream like the Oppo find 5 ??
This is one great phone...see reviews and specs...
Also it has lots of development and capabilities...
BTW if the bootloader of the Samsung S4 is locked...developers will find various ways to unlock it....i don't think you should consider this also because of how the S4 is so popular...
Do your searches and studies...and i hope you make a good decision that you will be comfortable with....
I would be very interested in somthing like the oppo 5. Thanks for the heads up.
You really can't go wrong with the nexus.
The one is also available unlocked from htc.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

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