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Need help choosing a phone!!!

Hey guys,
I'm really stuck in deciding what to buy! I want to buy two android phones & here's the problem:
First one, I'm stuck between HTC Hero & HTC Magic, their hardware look same only difference is camera which I think is not that impressive in any of them! I've heard that Magic rooting procedure is way too dangerous! It may brick the phone easily! So isn't there a safe approach? Which one do you think is a better choice?
Second phone is somehow harder to choose! Don't know what to choose: X10 or Nexus One or Galaxy S! I really like to have a big screen since I want to watch movies on it while on the move. Also updating the OS & having new apps is important for me! I really like the specs of Galaxy S but no LED flash usually means no camera! I have heard Samsung does not care about support & software updates... If only HTC Evo was GSM compatible! It really looks perfect & just like what I need! What do you think? Which one's better in your experience? Do you think I have to wait for a better phone since I haven't seen any good GSM android under development!
Thanks in advance everyone!

BUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nobody cares to say what would they choose?

Go for the Nexus One. I have one and it´s the best buy ever. (And I have always been a Nokia supporter) Forget about the X10, my colleague has bought one and must admit that it was a wrong decision. I have no knowledge of the Samsung phone, it could be ok, but who knows...? I have even purchased a used Iphone just to compare, (and to install Android on it of course), and the Apple device is nice, but not as nice as Nexus One.
You will never regret that you bought the Nexus One.

I'd agree with the above poster and go for the Nexus One... played with a mates one and its fantastic, and being Google made its gonna be kept well updated!

If Android were the only one OS in the world I would choose EVO or tmob 3g slide
Thanks its not

It's a shame there's no Evo on GSM network! Thanks guys, any experience from Galaxy S owners is appreciated!

Do NOT forget the X10, especially since it has been rooted. Look into it more.

How about HTC Desire? Which one is better, Nexus One or Desire?

Which Sprint phone is easiest to root for a very Novice User

Can I get some advise please? First let me state I am not a very tech or software savvy person. My wife and I are finally getting a sprint smartphone ( we have the rumor and rant now ) My goal is to root the phone for 2 reasons – 1. Wifi hotspot and 2. Make the battery last longer – if that is even possible - We got an ipad and will use most of our internet experience on that device. With that being said I need some advise on which phone I should get that would at least allow me to get wifi from my phone.
The options are
My wife wants a phone with a keyboard so her options are between:
Samsung Epic™ 4G
HTC EVO Shift™ 4G
My preference is either: unless one of the phones above are better-
HTC EVO™ 4G (BLACK)
Nexus S™ 4G from Google
Wanted an evo 3d but heard that the bootloader (?) is locked and very hard to root.
Really comes down to which phones are better and more importantly which are the easiest to root to get the wifi?
Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

is not a question
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App

You can use ODIN to flash a pre-rooted deodexed ROM with just one click. Doesn't get any easier than that. Its also super easy to flash your old phones MEID/ESN to the EPIC, if you don't want to upgrade you plan. Google my sig.
Sent from my SERO Samsung Epic™ 4G

duansindo- What do you mean this is not a question? DId I phrase it wrong? Cause I meant - What phone is the best to root? 4 options - Maybe I am missing something but that is the question?

I will google your sig if that will help..... Maybe the 4 phone's I listed are all easy to root? If so that is what I need to know... How to root would be the second part but I am sooooo oout of the know on what you said about flashing ect is greek to me... very very new to this. This is my first time posting so if I am posting this in the wrong area I am sorry....

Look up how to use ODIN for the Samsung Epic 4G. Then check the Epic 4G XDA forum for the rom/tar of your choice and further instructions. Its the easiest phone to manipulate IMHO. Cellphone flashing is not discussed here so u will need to look deeper into the void for answers on that. ESN/MEID numbers are your phones identity on the network. So changing them makes your new phone show up as your old phone. Technically its cloning, but essentially its the same thing as switching SIM cards on a GSM network.
Sent from my SERO Samsung Epic™ 4G

I would just wait for the new Galaxy S2 phones to come out first. The Sprint variant will be called the "Samsung Within 4G". The name makes it hard to find information about it online, so just research "Samsung Galaxy S2 for Sprint" for news about it. Its got Apple so scared they are suing their biggest parts supplier, Samsung.
Sent from my SERO Samsung Epic™ 4G

prophour - Thank you that is VERY HELPFUL!!!!

It really comes down to what you want. All 4 phones can be rooted. Out of the 2 phones for you wife. Does she want a 3.6in screen or 4in screen? The Evo Shift screen is smaller then the Epic. The Epic does have a better display. Does she want HTC or Samsung. Personally I would pick HTC. I'm not a big fan of Samsung. They just don't have the product support that HTC has. Now for your phone. It's kinda the same decision. The Evo has a monster 4.3in screen. The Nexus S is no slouch though. It has a very nice 4in SAMOLED screen. The Nexus S is made by Samsung but supported by Google. Your phone pick is hard to choose from. I like both phones. I think I would choose the Nexus S. Any of the 4 would be a great phone choice.

I've rooted all those phones, the Evo is by far the easiest and noob friendly to root using Unrevoked.
See http://www.unrevoked.com/#evo
Hope that helps. I can tell you even if you do decide to wait for the EVO 3D you will most likely be much happier with that device even if it is harder to root and takes a while to learn how. It really is only a matter of time after it is released that some smart dev releases a comprehensive noob friendly guide on how to root it. I've had all those devices except the Galaxy S, my work buys me any sprint phone that I want when I want, its pretty nice. But so far I've been the happiest with the Evo and Evo shift. Evo is super easy to root and a great device! I would go with that one.

What phone to get?

Hello xda community!!! im due for an upgrade on Sprint and i don't know what phone I should get. I had an EVO before and loved how easy it was to root. Then I got an EVO 3D and I hate it. I'm a little scared to brick the phone to root it and I miss all the root apps I paid for. So what should i get to replace the 3D? I love HTC phones but then again that's all I've owned since the days of my Blackberry Curve. I want something easy to root. I'm confident in using commands thru cmd so it doesn't have to be a one click method so long as the bootloader is unlocked. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance for your help.

Unfortunately HTC is one of those companies which make their phones harder to root and do stuff, with that dang hboot and s-on/s-off.
Motorola has locked bootloaders but it appears they want to undo their reputation with their new bootloader unlock portal, but that currently only has the Photon Q (which is on sprint if you want a physical keyboard).
Galaxy Nexus is easy to root thanks to it being a Nexus and there's also the SGS3. They're both samsung and you said you like HTC which does happen to have good build quality. Samsung is the opposite. They love plastic
Sent from my LG-C800 using xda premium

S3
I would highly reccomend the S III. The S II has been great to me and there are a ton of developers out there for these phones. Aside from that the S III has great specs!!

i suggest if you want something easy too root you should get a lg optimus. the optimus is not the most powerful phone but it literally takes less than 5 minutes to root. It is also very cheap in price.

I'd suggest the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, for me is fantastic!

Samsung Galaxy (S2/S3/Nexus) Phones or HTC phones One(X,S,XL,Sensation,Evo,Other...) the best.. Root is verry just ...

Buy sony errecson arc S. one of the best phones of 2011

Napa Apps said:
Buy sony errecson arc S. one of the best phones of 2011
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah this is indeed a good phone

[Q] Which device to choose on Verizon?

I looked at some of the similar threads but they are old and devices change so rapidly so I am starting a new one.
I am looking for some thoughts, opinions, etc on a new device. I have to buy my device on Craigslist, eBay or somewhere because I have an old Verizon plan with unlimited data and can't upgrade without losing my plan and paying their upgrade fee.
I have been using a Toro Nexus on Verizon for about a year. I have been running CM10 and making updates as they are released. Recently my phone took a header out of my truck and now the screen is cracked. So, it is probably time to get something more up to date.
A couple things I am looking at evaluating are:
ROMS and development love available for devices. Which ones get the most love?
If I get something unlocked as in straight from Google like the Maguro would I be able to get a radio which works on Verizon?
Cost is a consideraton as well. For example I like the price of the S3 right now compared to the S4 on CL.
Any thoughts, opinions, facts, guidance, etc would be awesome!

Oldtymehockey said:
I looked at some of the similar threads but they are old and devices change so rapidly so I am starting a new one.
I am looking for some thoughts, opinions, etc on a new device. I have to buy my device on Craigslist, eBay or somewhere because I have an old Verizon plan with unlimited data and can't upgrade without losing my plan and paying their upgrade fee.
I have been using a Toro Nexus on Verizon for about a year. I have been running CM10 and making updates as they are released. Recently my phone took a header out of my truck and now the screen is cracked. So, it is probably time to get something more up to date.
A couple things I am looking at evaluating are:
ROMS and development love available for devices. Which ones get the most love?
If I get something unlocked as in straight from Google like the Maguro would I be able to get a radio which works on Verizon?
Cost is a consideraton as well. For example I like the price of the S3 right now compared to the S4 on CL.
Any thoughts, opinions, facts, guidance, etc would be awesome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Galaxy nexus is a great phone it saddens me to see that you would like another phone. but im not you so lets get start with phone shopping shall we?
Google
I can see that you like all the rom and development for devices i happy for that!, most of the time you would want one of googles flagship phones that is plain ol stock android (nexus s, galaxy nexus, nexus 4 etc..) googles is so great to us since its stock android its much easyer to flash roms and put other goodies on our phones! i have heard the nexus 4 is one of the best phones around right now (not to mention the new white nexus 4 thats coming out soon with Android 4.3!) so if its on your provider i would recomend that from google!
Samsung
So from what you said you want a phone around the price of a S3, from that right there i would recomend a S3! Samsung does a great job with their phones its not the same stock android like the galaxy nexus they have spiced android up to what they call touchwiz which is a very smooth version for their launchers. a S2 might sound old but even that would be a great phone (i dont know about the specs galaxy neuxs might be a little newer so S3 might be better to get). rooting should be very simple all i had to do for my S2 was to flash a pda file from odin so its again easy to be able to join in on all the development. i think i have heard that the S3 (and maby S2) is getting alot of Goodies from the S4.
LG
i have only had some LG phones and in the past they werent so good but their newest flagship the Optimus G Pro is sposed to be aso good as the HTC one and S4 i dont think LG has their own type of launcher such as samsungs touchwiz, htcs Sense, or motorolas motor blur. so that probably means stock android and pretty easy to root and flash stuff.
HTC
the HTC dream was the first android phone, all of their phones are amazing i have had many of their devices, sense is a very smooth, sense 4.0 and up is sposed to be great. the One and its new blinkfeed feature i have heard can get old within a month or two so im not sure. about rooting with htc phones can be a pain. its different between each phone my droid incredible i had to unlock the bootloader turn s-on off downgrade just to be able to get root and cwm and its all a big pain, htc just dosent want us to screw with it maby. for my htc inspire 4g i had to just only unlock the bootloader and could flash a root from there but still was a pain, so if you can deal with some of the fears of easily bricking your phone you can try these phones!
there are alot of (im just going to call them third party but they arent really) third party phones such as huawei, ZTE, kyocera that some are deff better phones from these people that are better than the galaxy nexus just ask if you would like me to explain them!

Trozzul said:
the Galaxy nexus is a great phone it saddens me to see that you would like another phone. but im not you so lets get start with phone shopping shall we?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for all the info. Much appreciated. The Galaxy Nexus (Toro) is a wonderful phone. I believe it is the longest running in my pocket. It broke my heart when it took a swan dive out of my truck Sunday. I would absolutely go with another of these. The question on that topic is could a guy get the Maguro to work on Verizon's CDMA network? I don't know that much about the hardware but I'd LOVE to try Ubuntu Touch.
There is a local guy who has an S3 advertised on CL for $175. I'd have to evaluate that guy first though. Would I be as happy with the development on the S3 as I have been on the Toro?

Oldtymehockey said:
Thank you for all the info. Much appreciated. The Galaxy Nexus (Toro) is a wonderful phone. I believe it is the longest running in my pocket. It broke my heart when it took a swan dive out of my truck Sunday. I would absolutely go with another of these. The question on that topic is could a guy get the Maguro to work on Verizon's CDMA network? I don't know that much about the hardware but I'd LOVE to try Ubuntu Touch.
There is a local guy who has an S3 advertised on CL for $175. I'd have to evaluate that guy first though. Would I be as happy with the development on the S3 as I have been on the Toro?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i googled a way for it to work on verizon, dosent look like there is any way unless its unlocked. as for the s3 im sure you will be happy with all the development as much as the toro i have seen the s4 at some networks for $149 with a 2yr.

Help me buy a new phone

Well it's time for a new phone since my old Galaxy S2 went in pieces on my job.
I have a really dirty and tough job, so phones comes and goes, and always goes in pieces.
There's only one demand i have with the new phone. The bootloader should be unlocked so it's rootable, and preferably able to switch rom and kernel.
There's two phones atm i'm looking at, and it's Galaxy S4 Active or Xperia z.
I noticed that there's lack of Roms for the S4A atm, but that could change in the future? Xperia Z lacks the battery time, but not the end of the world.
Any advice?

Go with Samsung Grand quarto
.
Sent from my S-5302 using XDA

Hmm never heard about that one. Seems like it's not even available here in Sweden

Hi,
since you have a rough job i'd say go for the more durable - dust/water proof phone, the xperia

I'd get the S4, it's a Samsung and just about every phone of theirs can be rooted and loaded up with something custom eventually.

SGT John Doe said:
Well it's time for a new phone since my old Galaxy S2 went in pieces on my job.
I have a really dirty and tough job, so phones comes and goes, and always goes in pieces.
There's only one demand i have with the new phone. The bootloader should be unlocked so it's rootable, and preferably able to switch rom and kernel.
There's two phones atm i'm looking at, and it's Galaxy S4 Active or Xperia z.
I noticed that there's lack of Roms for the S4A atm, but that could change in the future? Xperia Z lacks the battery time, but not the end of the world.
Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go for the xpeira z , s4 active don't have any developer support.

There are 2 threads devoted to questions about devices, please repost your question in one of these two threads: The what should I buy thread or The Device Suggestion Thread.
Thanks!