Beginner's Guide Of Buying First Phone - General Topics

dudes that wanna buy their first smartphone may not know which to choose & they are looking for. they may be afraid that they buy the wrong phone & regret, its a waste of money. i have an awful experience & would like to let the beginners know what they should know:
Processor/Chipset/CPU:
higher clockspeed & more number of cores means better performance. types of cores matters too. higher efficiency means better multitasking & better battery saving.
RAM:
low end smartphones run on 512mb RAM, better ones run on 768mb or 1gb.. there's some amount of RAM being use for the system to function, the rest is left for users to use.
Software:
(multitasking, android vs iOS coming soon)
Sony's features are OVERRATED
(coming soon)
*when u have no choice but to buy a low budget phone, its advisable to get it root & flash custom ROM & kernel, which u can find on XDA.

useful, but most of this is already common knowledge

blackdarkeye said:
useful, but most of this is already common knowledge
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i agree but not many beginners who r new to the android world r aware of this, i used to be one of them

thanks

Thanks. But don't forget dev support.

Advice
Thanks excellent advice. I would also add, avoid phones with slider keyboards or moving parts in generally.

Thanks for the info
I never knew that Sony Bravia Engine could get your battery more drained...

this made me choose the sgs3

Interesting post. I'd agree that some of this is common knowledge (especially here on XDA) but there are some things in this post which simply aren't really true.
1. Higher cores/clock speeds lead to better performance - this is just wrong. The speed of a device depends on a variety of things, mainly software optimisation. A Snapdragon S4 Pro on GB still wouldn't give as nice a performance as a Tegra 3 on JB. In addition, the number of cores is definitely not completely representative of the power of a chipset. The two highest performing chipsets in devices currently being sold are (AFAIK) the Apple A6X in the iPad 4 and the Exynos in the Nexus 10. Both are dual core. I don't understand much about CPUs, but from what I've read the performance really depends on the architecture it's built on.
2. Low RAM = low performance - this isn't true, look at the iPhone 4S. It only had 512MB of RAM but performed well.
3. The iPhone is crap because of its hardware - far too many people on XDA hate the iPhone for the wrong reasons. The hardware of the iPhone is amongst the best available, and the A6 is probably the second best performing chip in phones after the S4 pro (well, from the phones which are currently available). The iPhone itself isn't crap, but iOS is. The price is also ridiculous, I hate the Apple mark-up.
4. Sony Bravia engine is crap - I don't know about this, but it's almost certainly entirely down to opinion. Many people including myself feel that AMOLED screens are oversaturated, and prefer SLCD.
5. 'thats almost all u need to know before u buy a smartphone' - WHOA, not even remotely close. What OS do you want? What are you going to use your phone for? Is your phone available on your carrier (more a question for Americans)? Are you currently already in any ecosystems (e.g. do you already have an Android phone)? How much storage do you need? Do you need a MicroSD slot? What screen size do you want? I could easily go on, but I'm sure you get the idea.
I know you made the post with good intentions, but there are too many things wrong with it to not point them out.

Yeah, higher clock speed =/= better and faster. You need to think about processor family/architecture and more - my advice would be to Google the phone/processor you're looking at and look at benchmarks for your intended use.
Quad is not necessarily and better than dual-core, either. Most programs do not take advantage of quad-core - if a person would benefit from it, they probably already know a decent amount about hardware and what they are looking for.
Some phones and users can get away with only 512Mb RAM. This part is going to really depend on budget. 1Gb is a good "standard", but it's not going to work for everyone.
If a person has a low budget, they should look at older, used, devices that used to be very popular - such as the Samsung Galaxy S2, the Galaxy Nexus, even the Nexus One depending on budget. That way, there is lots of custom development available, and they don't have to deal with a current budget device that not many people are going to care to develop anything for. The Nexus phones are always a good bet because Google should contintue developing for them until it's no longer possible for the harware.
Rooting doesn't give any performance gains unless you know what to do with root access. A ROM might be able to help, and might give updated features. However, this solution will mean the user is interested in learning about Android and how to do things like under or over-clock the CPU - very nit-picky little things. A person has to like that and should consider that when buying a phone.
Likewise, if a person is looking at knockoff phones, they might not even be able to get root access, will likely never get software updates, no support, and will get what they get - and maybe not even that.
If anyone really cares that much about looks, hopefully they're not on a budget. But are you really going to not have a case ? Getting a case or a skin can change how a phone looks, so I don't think it's a big deal.
I think battery being removable or not a huge concern especially if a person is on a limited budget - since if they are, it probably means they don't want to be upgrading all the time, and they are probably buying used. Buying used means you can buy other peoples' problems - like their lack of caring for a battery. Removable means you can just switch it out and you don't have to baby it.
MIcroSD cards can be important for people who want to have a lot of music or other media with them and not have to stream it. It's nice if your phone can put apps on it, too.
And MOAR.

Nigeldg said:
Interesting post. I'd agree that some of this is common knowledge (especially here on XDA) but there are some things in this post which simply aren't really true.
1. Higher cores/clock speeds lead to better performance - this is just wrong. The speed of a device depends on a variety of things, mainly software optimisation. A Snapdragon S4 Pro on GB still wouldn't give as nice a performance as a Tegra 3 on JB. In addition, the number of cores is definitely not completely representative of the power of a chipset. The two highest performing chipsets in devices currently being sold are (AFAIK) the Apple A6X in the iPad 4 and the Exynos in the Nexus 10. Both are dual core. I don't understand much about CPUs, but from what I've read the performance really depends on the architecture it's built on.
2. Low RAM = low performance - this isn't true, look at the iPhone 4S. It only had 512MB of RAM but performed well.
3. The iPhone is crap because of its hardware - far too many people on XDA hate the iPhone for the wrong reasons. The hardware of the iPhone is amongst the best available, and the A6 is probably the second best performing chip in phones after the S4 pro (well, from the phones which are currently available). The iPhone itself isn't crap, but iOS is. The price is also ridiculous, I hate the Apple mark-up.
4. Sony Bravia engine is crap - I don't know about this, but it's almost certainly entirely down to opinion. Many people including myself feel that AMOLED screens are oversaturated, and prefer SLCD.
5. 'thats almost all u need to know before u buy a smartphone' - WHOA, not even remotely close. What OS do you want? What are you going to use your phone for? Is your phone available on your carrier (more a question for Americans)? Are you currently already in any ecosystems (e.g. do you already have an Android phone)? How much storage do you need? Do you need a MicroSD slot? What screen size do you want? I could easily go on, but I'm sure you get the idea.
I know you made the post with good intentions, but there are too many things wrong with it to not point them out.
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oh i see, looks like there r much more to learn. thanks anyway for correcting my mistakes, i do believe most smartphones comes with miro sd card slot up to 32gb, so it wont be a problem. but really i experience this myself-------bravia engine works only in album viewing & video, but i dont see the differences though. erm i though 4S has 1gb ram? if its really 512mb, can it handle a game like gangstar rio? its hard for me to believe so......i get it on the last part, but im trying to make an advice as short as possible, what users want to use their phone for is totally up to them, im just here to pinpoint the important points that some beginners r unaware about.

experto927 said:
I never knew that Sony Bravia Engine could get your battery more drained...
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yes it will, just like glove mode, when activated will use more battery.

Thank !
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app

Please add: Avoid LG at all costs, they will just ruin your Android experience!
__________________
Sweet Devil >_<
GT-P3100
Android 4.0.4 ICS
Sun Cellular
"LG should go bankrupt"

OptimusLove said:
Please add: Avoid LG at all costs, they will just ruin your Android experience!
__________________
Sweet Devil >_<
GT-P3100
Android 4.0.4 ICS
Sun Cellular
"LG should go bankrupt"
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erm do u have any evidences to back up your statements?

Xperia J stinks,adreno 200 is 2010 hardware.This is not accurate.Before getting a phone,do some research on it's hardware,which can be found @ gsmarena.com.Then do some research on the hardware ,whether it is new and powerful,so on.Dont forget to find its flaws so that you won't get a phone and regret it.Lastly check whether it has good rom support on XDA itself.Not all phones have custom roms,and support,don't think you can buy a lousy phone and just flash a custom rom,thats not the idea of getting a custom rom
Sent from my MT11i using xda app-developers app

Hate Android Lag said:
erm do u have any evidences to back up your statements?
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Click to collapse
Evidence? I have previously owned an LG Optimus ME that was god awful, 600mhz processor, FRO-effin'-YO, 190mb internal, 175mb ram, and they were sending passer-bys flyers about it like a frakin' flagship!
It was super laggy.
__________________
Sweet Devil >_<
GT-P3100
Android 4.0.4 ICS
Sun Cellular
"LG should go bankrupt"

OptimusLove said:
Evidence? I have previously owned an LG Optimus ME that was god awful, 600mhz processor, FRO-effin'-YO, 190mb internal, 175mb ram, and they were sending passer-bys flyers about it like a frakin' flagship!
It was super laggy.
__________________
Sweet Devil >_<
GT-P3100
Android 4.0.4 ICS
Sun Cellular
"LG should go bankrupt"
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Click to collapse
but not all models from same manufactures are the same, samsungs have good phones but at the same time the ace series sucks

Rcoil73 said:
Xperia J stinks,adreno 200 is 2010 hardware.Its only armv6 processor,not even the basic armv7.Dont listen to this person's nonsense.Before getting a phone,do some research on it's hardware,which can be found @ gsmarena.com.Then do some research on the hardware ,whether it is new and powerful,so on.Dont forget to find its flaws so that you won't get a phone and regret it.Lastly check whether it has good rom support on XDA itself.Not all phones have custom roms,and support,don't think you can buy a lousy phone and just flash a custom rom,thats not the idea of getting a custom rom
Sent from my MT11i using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nonsense? thats why i stated that do some digging & research on it. i wonder did u read properly? we on earth r humans, not everybody knows everything & i learn from mistakes. u expect me to be a cyborg? u dont like to read things completely eh? being so sarcastic, did u read & understand the XDA rules? u can get banned. & a custom rom on a lousy phone MAY(i didn't say SURE WILL) be better than lousy phone on stock rom. i said J is good based on some things, it can support jelly bean, which sola & u definetely can't, yet under the same cpu frequency & ram. what u expect from a low budget phone anyway? a phone like J that can support jelly bean is considered awesome. j is even classified together with some better device instead of being together with sola, u & go in xda. at least j is worth rooting than sola & u like i stated previously. but i do agree of the hardware u mentioned. now, u can be kind enough to add some correct knowledge to help the beginners, or u can get lost somewhere if u dont like it here. its pretty easy.

Thank you !
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda app-developers app

Related

[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....
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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
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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] Thinking of buying HTC desire S

guys i'm to get my new phone probably htc desire s.
But i have a few question from you guys that:
1.Is 768 MB of RAM is enough for you?
2. is there any lag when playing games or by apps?
3. is it future proof?
alpha47 said:
guys i'm to get my new phone probably htc desire s.
But i have a few question from you guys that:
1.Is 768 MB of RAM is enough for you?
2. is there any lag when playing games or by apps?
3. is it future proof?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@1. yes think so. the new sensation xe got the same amount of ram
@2. did not notice any bad lag yet but havent try anything out there and ive just used the branded stock rom
@3. compared to the sensation xe: it just got a singlecore cpu with 1ghz compared to a dualcore with 1,5ghz and a adreno 205 as gpu vs a adreno 220 at the sensation xe. since im no geek i cant tell whether its future proof or not, but the desire s is not that old, prolly up to one year now. imo youre quite good with it atleast i am
hope this helps
Its an adreno 205 and this phone is not futureproof. I wouldn't consider any phone to be futureproof. But I think 768mb ram is enough and games are pretty smooth
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium
alpha47 said:
guys i'm to get my new phone probably htc desire s.
But i have a few question from you guys that:
1.Is 768 MB of RAM is enough for you?
2. is there any lag when playing games or by apps?
3. is it future proof?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, I always have about 100MB free with about 150 installed apps and a lot of widgets.
2. Only the really heavy 3D ones (like some games from gameloft); 2D games should be fine. (Look for reviews of the Adreno 205 GPU). Apps generally never lag on this phone.
3. A little. 1GHz is fast, but most new phones have dual core and higher clock rates. Also, I'm not sure if there will be an official Android 4.0 release from HTC, but if you are willing to install custom ROM's that shouldn't be a problem.
BeSeanB said:
@3. compared to the sensation xe: it just got a singlecore cpu with 1ghz compared to a dualcore with 1,5ghz and a adreno 200 as gpu vs a adreno 220 at the sensation xe. since im no geek i cant tell whether its future proof or not, but the desire s is not that old, prolly up to one year now. imo youre quite good with it atleast i am
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Our Desire S has an Adreno 205 and not the slower 200. However, the 205 still isn't all that fast.
xIntenso said:
1. Yes, I always have about 100MB free with about 150 installed apps and a lot of widgets.
2. Only the really heavy 3D ones (like some games from gameloft); 2D games should be fine. (Look for reviews of the Adreno 205 GPU). Apps generally never lag on this phone.
3. A little. 1GHz is fast, but most new phones have dual core and higher clock rates. Also, I'm not sure if there will be an official Android 4.0 release from HTC, but if you are willing to install custom ROM's that shouldn't be a problem.
Our Desire S has an Adreno 205 and not the slower 200. However, the 205 still isn't all that fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh yeh my fault. the side where i checked it got it wrong
-1: its enough! depending on the rom the launcher works fast and smooth.
-2: i noticed a few lags when playing hd games! but only at the first minutes or when you are downloading other apps in the background.
-3: if we speak of smartphones or electronical devices in general, one can never speak of future proofness. i installed ics from virtous. as a future android version it runs smooth, too.
pls excuse my bad english : )
i hope you get what i wanted to say.
1. It has proved to be plenty of RAM for me. A sign it was not enough would be the Sense launcher re-loading occasionally after exiting a memory-intensive app. Even on a stock ROM this didn’t happen.
2. Have not experienced any lag on the games I play. OK they are not generally the 3D type, and I have not tried GTA3, but Speedx3D runs smooth and that is quite a fast 3D game. Google Navigation, youtube, Netflix, 720p video recording and playback, all run smoothly.
3. No phone is future proof. You’d need to be able to upgrade hardware like a PC for that. Hell these days even PC’s are out-of-date before the cooling fan has had chance to get dusty. What is important is that even after nearly a year of this phone’s availability, development for the DS on XDA is actually speeding up! Not slowing down at all! Seems to be a new ROM each week to try out. There should already be enough for you to play with for your time with this phone. It’s getting some serious love from the ICS devs too, something I’m sure HTC had no intention of officially giving us.
I know several people with dual-core phones, and aside from showing off in benchmark tests, I have yet to meet someone who actually really benefits from having that extra core or can show me something useful that it provides. The only benefit I can think of is improved battery life (the SGS II battery life is excellent), but that is more down to improved chip architecture (plus a bigger battery) not extra processing power.
Personally I also don’t like the 4.7 inch screens as I only have small girl-like hands which includes a 2.5 inch thumb! The DS screen size is perfect for me. The SGS II is painful and frequently see people in my office needing two hands to operate it! Also the build quality on the DS (in my opinion) makes the SGS II look like it came out of a Kinder Surprise.
I have been contemplating what to upgrade to in the summer, and even though MWC has yet to announce all the contenders, even the available ones don’t appeal. They all tout a screen too large to be comfortable, and processing power I simply don’t need. I think I’ll be sticking with my DS until someone puts a phone out there that focuses on battery life improvements and decent camera optics instead of getting blinkered by cramming more and more processing power in. It’s the best phone I’ve ever had and this is the best section on XDA that I have experienced.
Hope I’ve helped.
wnp_79 said:
Personally I also don’t like the 4.7 inch screens as I only have small girl-like hands which includes a 2.5 inch thumb! The DS screen size is perfect for me. The SGS II is painful and frequently see people in my office needing two hands to operate it! Also the build quality on the DS (in my opinion) makes the SGS II look like it came out of a Kinder Surprise.
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Click to collapse
i thing the screen size is the only thing to conciser. in fact is a matter of taste.
otherwise there is no speed or smoothness problem at all. i personally have been using this phone for almost a year now with no complains at all.
plus with the virtuous quattro running so smooth at that stage i cant imagine how good it will be.
You've come to the bakery to ask if buns are nice my friend.
Nickamina said:
You've come to the bakery to ask if buns are nice my friend.
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Click to collapse
LOL! that was a good one! i felt just like that when i read through this thread!
wnp_79 made good points, too! i think that was the most useful post here.
wnp_79 said:
1. It has proved to be plenty of RAM for me. A sign it was not enough would be the Sense launcher re-loading occasionally after exiting a memory-intensive app. Even on a stock ROM this didn’t happen.
2. Have not experienced any lag on the games I play. OK they are not generally the 3D type, and I have not tried GTA3, but Speedx3D runs smooth and that is quite a fast 3D game. Google Navigation, youtube, Netflix, 720p video recording and playback, all run smoothly.
3. No phone is future proof. You’d need to be able to upgrade hardware like a PC for that. Hell these days even PC’s are out-of-date before the cooling fan has had chance to get dusty. What is important is that even after nearly a year of this phone’s availability, development for the DS on XDA is actually speeding up! Not slowing down at all! Seems to be a new ROM each week to try out. There should already be enough for you to play with for your time with this phone. It’s getting some serious love from the ICS devs too, something I’m sure HTC had no intention of officially giving us.
I know several people with dual-core phones, and aside from showing off in benchmark tests, I have yet to meet someone who actually really benefits from having that extra core or can show me something useful that it provides. The only benefit I can think of is improved battery life (the SGS II battery life is excellent), but that is more down to improved chip architecture (plus a bigger battery) not extra processing power.
Personally I also don’t like the 4.7 inch screens as I only have small girl-like hands which includes a 2.5 inch thumb! The DS screen size is perfect for me. The SGS II is painful and frequently see people in my office needing two hands to operate it! Also the build quality on the DS (in my opinion) makes the SGS II look like it came out of a Kinder Surprise.
I have been contemplating what to upgrade to in the summer, and even though MWC has yet to announce all the contenders, even the available ones don’t appeal. They all tout a screen too large to be comfortable, and processing power I simply don’t need. I think I’ll be sticking with my DS until someone puts a phone out there that focuses on battery life improvements and decent camera optics instead of getting blinkered by cramming more and more processing power in. It’s the best phone I’ve ever had and this is the best section on XDA that I have experienced.
Hope I’ve helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love you for this post man!! (all platonic, of course )
This was an amazing insight into our device, and phones in general...what did me in was your closing sentence...
" It’s the best phone I’ve ever had and this is the best section on XDA that I have experienced. " - I have to say you echo my thoughts verbatim! Was looking for an upgrade too, and had almost decided to jump in for the Galaxy Note (I know it's not exactly a phone - that was kinda the point, but i digress...) but i just can't come to terms with having to give up this phone.
And do you know what the primary cause for that is? It's this community and all of you guys. I wouldn't be able to give it all up and move away...I know some of you so well, it's almost like family...or old school friends (they know who they are). Hell, i miss zeekiz since he's moved off to the Galaxy Nexus !
I love this phone and i love this community, and no Quad core is going to make me sell this phone. I will always keep this device...if only to stay on these pages.....
Thank you enigmaamit! Yes I'll also feel sad when the day comes to move to another device. I may even break with my tradition of selling my old phone on eBay, and keep the DS so I can still test for people, and pop back to say hi every now and then. That'll be months away though.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium
Group hug guys...
But seriously, I really hope that HTC haven't forgot about Desire line. Same form factor, dual core (make it quad) anyone?
Oh yeah... I am keeping mine as well. Everyone needs a trusty backup phone.
bronx said:
Group hug guys...
But seriously, I really hope that HTC haven't forgot about Desire line. Same form factor, dual core (make it quad) anyone?
Oh yeah... I am keeping mine as well. Everyone needs a trusty backup phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same form factor and with half an inch bigger display squeezed in, what about that?
Naaah... My thumb is too short for additional 1/2 inch.
I read something earlier about a forthcoming phone that's called (at the moment) the HTC primo, dual core, 3.7" screen but only 512mb ram,ics sense 4.0. It was on the stufftv website I think. Is this the replacement for the desire s?
Sent from my HTC Desire S
I have a hunch that it is rather wildfire s successor... I bloody hope so...
Hello Happy Helpful People
I'm currently still using the original HTC Desire and I think it's time for me to retire it. It still works great but have been running low on memory for last 6 months and it's got the to point where I use all my apps and don't want to delete anymore.
Been researching around and considered the Sensation and Galaxy s2 but having had a play on both today they're too big for my tiny hands. So the research continues and I think I may have found my next phone in the form of the DS! I do have a question though - is there actually 1.1gb of space for apps or is less than that after taking into account the memory needed for UI/processor? Sorry I don't know that much about the techy side of things so excuse my lack of knowledge in my quest of finding my next phone I've also been making notes of new apps I can download!
I know this phone is now almost a year old and not that much of a leap from the Desire but that's also part of its charm. Plus the pricing is about right.
Thanks for your help
who_me said:
Hello Happy Helpful People
I'm currently still using the original HTC Desire and I think it's time for me to retire it. It still works great but have been running low on memory for last 6 months and it's got the to point where I use all my apps and don't want to delete anymore.
Been researching around and considered the Sensation and Galaxy s2 but having had a play on both today they're too big for my tiny hands. So the research continues and I think I may have found my next phone in the form of the DS! I do have a question though - is there actually 1.1gb of space for apps or is less than that after taking into account the memory needed for UI/processor? Sorry I don't know that much about the techy side of things so excuse my lack of knowledge in my quest of finding my next phone I've also been making notes of new apps I can download!
I know this phone is now almost a year old and not that much of a leap from the Desire but that's also part of its charm. Plus the pricing is about right.
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i think we get the full 1.1 gb ,not sure though
the extra 256mb helps
the adreno 205 is a huge improvement from the adreno 200(especially after the new drivers in ICS)
but having said that there will be better dualcore phones at a similar price point soon
Well if you can wait until the end of month, you might wanna see what HTC has in store this year.
There's the rumoured HTC Primo (3.7" WVGA) which i think is somewhat the Desire S successor with less RAM.
And then there's the HTC Ville (4.3" qHD) & Edge (4.7" HD).
But if you're getting it now, you can get it at a much cheaper price than we got when it came out last year.

[Q] Atrix 2 users, please advise

I am based in india and want to have motorola atrix 2 as my first android smartphone due to it's features and appropriate pricing. I know the question might sound a bit subjective or useless to some people but i need honest comments about this device from it's users. Since in India, we don't get such high end phones on contract from carriers, we pay full price for the phone at the time of purchase. In the past, motorola has received loads of criticisms about bad quality smartphones, that's why m a bit confused. So please let me know how is the phone for long term usage, any major issues faced, your recommendation for this device or anything useful that you might like to add for a guy who is new to the android dual core devices. Users from India might also be able to show true picture of service quality and after sales.
chriz7388 said:
I am based in india and want to have motorola atrix 2 as my first android smartphone due to it's features and appropriate pricing. I know the question might sound a bit subjective or useless to some people but i need honest comments about this device from it's users. Since in India, we don't get such high end phones on contract from carriers, we pay full price for the phone at the time of purchase. In the past, motorola has received loads of criticisms about bad quality smartphones, that's why m a bit confused. So please let me know how is the phone for long term usage, any major issues faced, your recommendation for this device or anything useful that you might like to add for a guy who is new to the android dual core devices. Users from India might also be able to show true picture of service quality and after sales.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, considering the phone was released only 7 months ago, it might be difficult to get an idea of long-term quality... but, of the 4 months I have had mine (dang, only 4 mos?? - seems a lot longer than that), I have had no problems (that I didn't cause myself ) - and I have put it through a lot of use and abuse... Others reportedly have had hardware issues, etc., but that's they way it goes with any device - there are always a few bad eggs with their own peculiarities and/or defects.
It's got great performance out of the box (for the price) and is built like a tank, if you ask me - a good choice for your first android. But, of course my opinion is biased and subjective...
Plus, with the fantastic (but few) developers we have for the A2, things are about to get even more interesting around here (i.e. plenty of ROMs and mods already available, a soon to be bypassed/unlocked bootloader, new kernels on the horizon (no rush, jim), ICS update relatively soon, etc...)
Its a good phone but i kinda regret for buyin it as i cud have got s2 for 5k bucks more. D camera sucks in takin photos. Very bad camera. However 1080p video is good. And motoblur ui is damn bad. It sucks. The lock screen is an asshole. I m usin go locker and go launcher to cover it up. And display too isnt that great. Colours aren't vibrant. No other major issues!
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
From B'lore
Atrix 2 user since 6 months best phone for the price in India hope its around 23k. Best feature phone and cheap compared to sgs2
Blur ui isn't good probably an ics update would bring more possibilities.
Default Camera is just capable of taking decent pics. Worse in low light condition.
Battery life is Ok. If you are a hard user better get an extended battery + door from Amazon so battery remains whole day.
Overall good phone and will be better once its updated to ics. It also comes with 10 ea games in India.
Go 4 it.
Its worth Ur money.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
chriz7388 said:
I am based in india and want to have motorola atrix 2 as my first android smartphone due to it's features and appropriate pricing. I know the question might sound a bit subjective or useless to some people but i need honest comments about this device from it's users. Since in India, we don't get such high end phones on contract from carriers, we pay full price for the phone at the time of purchase. In the past, motorola has received loads of criticisms about bad quality smartphones, that's why m a bit confused. So please let me know how is the phone for long term usage, any major issues faced, your recommendation for this device or anything useful that you might like to add for a guy who is new to the android dual core devices. Users from India might also be able to show true picture of service quality and after sales.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you think lack of support is not important, good rms are not important, go for it.
Sent from my ME865 using xda premium
Atrix 2
In my opinion the Atrix 2 has the potential to be a great phone. I also have the Atrix 4g, which is an awesome phone and still competes with phones just now being released.
Motorola makes good phones that are durable... their software is a little lacking, but that is what this forum was created to fix right? The system ui and the camera quality are fair, to put it nicely. Once we start getting into the mods and tweaks with this phone I'm sure all of that will not be an issue.
The dual core phones are great for people that use their phone like a computer, meaning running numerous applications at once. If you just want a phone that takes pictures, makes phone calls, sends text messages, and let's you check your e-mail, then any smart phone will do whether it's dual core or not. Now if you plan to check your e-mail while you're playing a game and decide to take a picture and send it to your social networking site with an update on what you're doing, then dual core is for you.
For the money you can't beat the A2.
Thank you all for your replies... i got the Atrix 2 2day nd feeling the groove nd power of this beast... bt there was just 1 thing coming 2 my mind, maybe just out of curiosity... how can i see whether my Cpu is dual core or not... i checked out "about phone" in settings bt could nt find the words i wanted like "no. of cpu cores: 2"... smthing like that... Thank u all again...
Okay got it... the issue lies in gingerbread OS which i think does not recognize multiple cores seamlessly. Other then that, even the quadrant standard failed to identify the no. of cores when i went to the system info section in application. But i downloaded from market place and ran the CF-Bench which is specifically meant for benchmarking multi-core devices and it showed the true device information.... Atrix 2 scored well above htc sensation but was below sgs2...

[Q] iOS vs Android: the nitty gritty

So a partial spec list for the iPhone 5 was released, and it mentioned the processor being 1 GHz. Now lets assume that this is a dual core CPU, and lets also assume that there is active GPU rendering as in Android 4.0 +.
The IP4s has a dual core, 800 MHz Cortex A9, (A9 just like most modern phones). now however, if you take that 800 MHz CPU and put android onto it, we aren't going to see anything special happen.
I'm way too tired to finish this post now, but basically, I'm curious if anyone knows why iOS seems to be so much more efficient than android does.
I refuse to have this turn into the typical VS thread and will just lock it if it does. I would like this to be a discussion about the firmware (as much as we know at least) and anything technical.
please, feel free to correct me of anything i have said.
Umm, because iOS is tailored for that exact hardware?
Have you ever used a Nexus phone? Runs really damn well for the specs, because Android is tailored to those specs first and foremost.
Apple puts in lots of tricks to make the user experience of iOS a smooth one. (Example: when waiting for a web page to load and you start dragging, iOS actually stops the process of loading the page and focuses everything on your finger. Android continues to load the page).
No true multitasking to bog down RAM as well. Simple OS, simpler hardware.
Also the post above. Tailored hardware. Just look at WP7 and their single core snapdragons!
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
speedyink said:
Umm, because iOS is tailored for that exact hardware?
Have you ever used a Nexus phone? Runs really damn well for the specs, because Android is tailored to those specs first and foremost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, as I was having issues with AOKP rebooting at the time my friend got his GNex, I haven't been allowed to touch a nexus LOL
gagdude said:
Apple puts in lots of tricks to make the user experience of iOS a smooth one. (Example: when waiting for a web page to load and you start dragging, iOS actually stops the process of loading the page and focuses everything on your finger. Android continues to load the page).
No true multitasking to bog down RAM as well. Simple OS, simpler hardware.
Also the post above. Tailored hardware. Just look at WP7 and their single core snapdragons!
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See i thought it had to do with the dedicated hardware, with the non nexus users getting shafted.
I'm curious of things like... lags in the messaging app. I don't have that many messages (all threads are capped at 450 and 20 pics) yet I still have some bad lag on my phone.
I guess I'm curious if we can get into the reasons why some apps and processes (messaging app etc) will lag, and if there is a known way to improve the issues.
glad to see this hasn't gotten to an outright flame war yet lol
I figure it's very similar to power-to-weight ratio. Some lightweight cars with lower horsepower are much faster than 2-ton cars with massive horsepower.
The lack of multitasking alone would have a huge impact. I think that could be tested in a Rom like AOKP, by telling it to destroy the activity as soon as the user leaves it. I don't have access to an iPhone to compare to, though.
Either way, I'd rather have a heavier, more full-featured OS today requires better hardware than iOS.
jRi0T68 said:
I figure it's very similar to power-to-weight ratio. Some lightweight cars with lower horsepower are much faster than 2-ton cars with massive horsepower.
The lack of multitasking alone would have a huge impact. I think that could be tested in a Rom like AOKP, by telling it to destroy the activity as soon as the user leaves it. I don't have access to an iPhone to compare to, though.
Either way, I'd rather have a heavier, more full-featured OS today requires better hardware than iOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that iOS has a better featured multitasking than this though... it doesn't completely destroy the task (or it seems not to)
Read here.
http://androidandme.com/2011/12/news/android-may-never-be-as-smooth-as-ios-says-ex-googler/
And
https://plus.google.com/app/plus/mp/66/#~loop:view=activity&aid=z124gl3b2o3jzx0ll220gfnhmuusu54rk04
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
new ion? said:
It seems that iOS has a better featured multitasking than this though... it doesn't completely destroy the task (or it seems not to)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read, that depends on the task/API. iOS doesn't multitask as well as Android, certainly. Destroying all tasks on Android wouldn't be a perfect comparison, but you can see if it makes a big difference or not.
The UI rendering thing above games sense, but on my T-Mobile GSII, I don't experience any noticeable or bothersome lag. It was stable and smooth until I switched from AOKP ICS to AOKP JB. Smooth, sure, but JB is a work in progress.
new ion? said:
It seems that iOS has a better featured multitasking than this though... it doesn't completely destroy the task (or it seems not to)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it just forces suspension within 5 seconds of all but a few special types of programs. (Which, in case you weren't sure, is neither as flexible nor good.)
See this link for information on both: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/112013-how-multitasking-works-on-android-and-ios
---------- Post added at 11:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 PM ----------
new ion? said:
The IP4s has a dual core, 800 MHz Cortex A9, (A9 just like most modern phones). now however, if you take that 800 MHz CPU and put android onto it, we aren't going to see anything special happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes me actually wonder what would happen if you put Jellybean on comparable specs. Not enough to try looking for it, though. It's not like better hardware has not been cheaply available for some years.
new ion? said:
Unfortunately, as I was having issues with AOKP rebooting at the time my friend got his GNex, I haven't been allowed to touch a nexus LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, you be missing out. Especially with a few of the new tricks Jellybean added to bump it up to a iOS similar experience. Although with Android being so much more advanced than iOS I still think iOS will appear a little faster. However, I'd much rather have true multitasking, open file system, and massive customization than a slightly faster phone (and honestly, we're splitting hairs at this point)
jRi0T68 said:
From what I've read, that depends on the task/API. iOS doesn't multitask as well as Android, certainly. Destroying all tasks on Android wouldn't be a perfect comparison, but you can see if it makes a big difference or not.
The UI rendering thing above games sense, but on my T-Mobile GSII, I don't experience any noticeable or bothersome lag. It was stable and smooth until I switched from AOKP ICS to AOKP JB. Smooth, sure, but JB is a work in progress.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See i run cm9 on my herc, and the lag in the keyboard and messaging app kills me. I hate tw, but im tempted to go go try evo8 just cuz tdj is god.
thebobp said:
No, it just forces suspension within 5 seconds of all but a few special types of programs. (Which, in case you weren't sure, is neither as flexible nor good.)
See this link for information on both: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/112013-how-multitasking-works-on-android-and-ios
---------- Post added at 11:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 PM ----------
Makes me actually wonder what would happen if you put Jellybean on comparable specs. Not enough to try looking for it, though. It's not like better hardware has not been cheaply available for some years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is jelly bean really that much better than ics? The issues with the dev for my phone has caused me to have to avoid it as I wake up at 4 and if my phone decides to random reboot and get stuck then I'm fubard.
Thanks for the link btw, cleared many things up!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
speedyink said:
Ahh, you be missing out. Especially with a few of the new tricks Jellybean added to bump it up to a iOS similar experience. Although with Android being so much more advanced than iOS I still think iOS will appear a little faster. However, I'd much rather have true multitasking, open file system, and massive customization than a slightly faster phone (and honestly, we're splitting hairs at this point)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I figured in was missing out. My next phone probably will be a nexus. But I just can't help but love the powerhouses of non nexus phones.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
new ion? said:
Is jelly bean really that much better than ics? The issues with the dev for my phone has caused me to have to avoid it as I wake up at 4 and if my phone decides to random reboot and get stuck then I'm fubard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, I haven't been able to notice any lag even with ics.
JB supposedly fixes most/all of the lag issues, and is quite smooth on N7. However, you are correct in that it is only as good as the deving is. For example, CM10 on the S3 suffers from a memory leak (largely due to the "official" kernel not being available yet) and automatically closes apps as a result. So I can't make any promises.
thebobp said:
To be honest, I haven't been able to notice any lag even with ics. (Maybe it's the hardware difference; I'm using GN.)
JB supposedly fixes most/all of the lag issues, and is quite smooth on N7. However, you are correct in that it is only as good as the deving is. For example, CM10 on the S3 suffers from a memory leak (largely due to the "official" kernel not being available yet) and automatically closes apps as a result. So I can't make any promises.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have some great devs for the herc, but unfortunately since we don't have source either (and won't till probably 2013 if Sammy keeps their word... and never will if they don't lol) these guys are moving forward... but just. Not trash talking in any way.
I thought I saw an optimization someone had posted here for the XML layout of the messaging app... but of course I didn't save the link and haven't found it again
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
new ion? said:
We have some great devs for the herc, but unfortunately since we don't have source either (and won't till probably 2013 if Sammy keeps their word... and never will if they don't lol) these guys are moving forward... but just. Not trash talking in any way.
I thought I saw an optimization someone had posted here for the XML layout of the messaging app... but of course I didn't save the link and haven't found it again
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I get it.
I think the best way to scope out buggy ROMs is just to read their threads, watch for complaints. And, of course, get another alarm clock redundancy is always a good thing.
thebobp said:
Yeah I get it.
I think the best way to scope out buggy ROMs is just to read their threads, watch for complaints. And, of course, get another alarm clock redundancy is always a good thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bought one, dropped it once and the time reset. I'm not spending another 5 mins adjusting it to the right time. Lol.
So basically, iOS is a lighter OS all together,(with a bit of smoke and mirrors) whereas android is more of a powerhouse. Take a bit more to keep er running, but its well worth it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
new ion? said:
So basically, iOS is a lighter OS all together,(with a bit of smoke and mirrors) whereas android is more of a powerhouse. Take a bit more to keep er running, but its well worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thing about android is that it improves, both in terms of hardware (due to competition between oems that iOS never really faces) and software (due to google benefiting only if consumers actually want to use it, not just buy it). The cost of this is that everything moves so quickly for the corporations (the bureaucracy in pushing an update is so intense, for example) that old devices may be much worse than the devices two years later. But the benefit is also that new devices are so much better than the devices two years earlier.
Why do I mention this? Because every release also gets closer and closer to the point that "you no longer have to change from stock to get a good experience". Indeed, this may already be true depending on individual requirements, and for most I daresay it is already true for, example, the S3 or GN. So, while I would agree with your "powerhouse" characterization in broad strokes, the "maintenance" associated with such a thing gets less and less accurate. An analogy might be: in the past, it would've taken an expert to fine-tune a powerful device like a computer, whereas now, it's a non-issue.
thebobp said:
Thing about android is that it improves, both in terms of hardware (due to competition between oems that iOS never really faces) and software (due to google benefiting only if consumers actually want to use it, not just buy it). The cost of this is that everything moves so quickly for the corporations (the bureaucracy in pushing an update is so intense, for example) that old devices may be much worse than the devices two years later. But the benefit is also that new devices are so much better than the devices two years earlier.
Why do I mention this? Because every release also gets closer and closer to the point that "you no longer have to change from stock to get a good experience". Indeed, this may already be true depending on individual requirements, and for most I daresay it is already true for, example, the S3 or GN. So, while I would agree with your "powerhouse" characterization in broad strokes, the "maintenance" associated with such a thing gets less and less accurate. An analogy might be: in the past, it would've taken an expert to fine-tune a powerful device like a computer, whereas now, it's a non-issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thing is though, that I kinda really like the external SD card. and the GN doesn't have it. neither does the N7 (or any other nexus IIRC) which scares me for the next one...
Totally understand. the flip side of this is that Apple has the chance to develop for their 3 year old phone still (3gS) whereas my phone, purchased last year, is BARELY going to get JB officially... and it took almost a year to get ICS. I kind of wish these phone makers had to slow it down a bit.
I'm curious though, hoping for a broader opinion, what do people think that iOS does better than Android? When i get the time I'm going to start coding again and I'd like a project to look into.
new ion? said:
thing is though, that I kinda really like the external SD card. and the GN doesn't have it. neither does the N7 (or any other nexus IIRC) which scares me for the next one...
Totally understand. the flip side of this is that Apple has the chance to develop for their 3 year old phone still (3gS) whereas my phone, purchased last year, is BARELY going to get JB officially... and it took almost a year to get ICS. I kind of wish these phone makers had to slow it down a bit.
I'm curious though, hoping for a broader opinion, what do people think that iOS does better than Android? When i get the time I'm going to start coding again and I'd like a project to look into.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What they think is better? To name a few
Stable, no viruses, faster, retina display, made by apple, great UI, better updates, blah blah blah (this is what I have heard from many isheep)
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
gagdude said:
What they think is better? To name a few
Stable, no viruses, faster, retina display, made by apple, great UI, better updates, blah blah blah (this is what I have heard from many isheep)
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are viruses for everything. and their precious retina display is no better than a 720 one.
I was more referring to people that use both, and aren't total fanboys, what does iOS do better than android?

[GUIDE] Buying an Android Device, Do I need a New One?

In todays fast moving technology world, everyone is intrigued to buy new devices. And this norm is fumed by innumerous manufacturers by releasing products at an insane rate. You have got too many choices and only think to wonder is how much you can afford to pay. Sometimes taking loans is common or simply you take a contract with a provider and regret there is nothing you can do to change your phone afterwards.
Every other day, new features are coming to devices and you wish you had just waited a month to buy the other phone.
Buying the every latest devices is not very wise as you spend alot of your money for just one or two extra features.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS
You must know that in todays phone era, the hardware has gone a long way in comparison with software. My point isnot that software is developing at a slower pace but simply that most of phones available today might never use their full potential in terms of hardware ever. Android Software is going more smooth and promises further improvements even on low end devices. With KITKAT 4.4, Android has gone into a surge to speed up system by 50% and that's just the beginning.
Most of manufacturers are working hard on ONLY hardware. Even phones released two years ago are doing very well till date. If you look into software department and games, you can still play all of latest games on these devices very smoothly. I will give you examples of HTC sensation/Incredible S, Samsung Nexus, SII or any other phone of that time with almost similar hardware. I have checked MC4/Fifa 14/Asphlat 8 personally on all of these devices.
I think to update my Nexus 7 2013 in 2015 and my Nexus 4 Next year (October 2014) while Xperia L around when it is required. Following this scheme I always have the latest device with me and I also do not spend a lot of money. (700-800 British Pounds every three year, considering that I am a Medicine Student and under a lot of loan already). Also what is more to look is that my old devices are still doing a great job. I recently installed CM 10.2(JB 4.3) on my HTC Sensation and it runs just as smooth as Nexus 4/Xperia L for the matter. The software is stable and I can play HD games on 786MB RAM only.
Another point to note is that KitKat 4.4 has only been released for about a week now and I am using 4.3 on my two year old HTC sensation using Custom ROM is simply too cool.
So I WARN you that you need to be smart to buy a new phone rather than spending alot of money on every new phone and never utilising its full potential.
ASK YOURSELF
The most important point you need to consider is WHY EXACTLY YOU WANT TO BUY A NEW PHONE? WHERE your old phone canot be utilised that you must upgrade it.
What would you utilise it for in the LONG RUN? HOW LONG YOU INTEND TO USE IT. WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC FEATURES THAT YOU ARE LOOKING INTO BEFORE BUYING.
I know for many looks of a device counts. You want your device to be COOL and feel great in your hand. I agree to the matter but certainly you should never compromise LOOKS with actual performance and hardware. Benchmarks are just a bunch of lies and in real use, they do differ alot and cannot be fully trusted.
I personally give a lot of stress to your HARDWARE and your SCREEN SIZE.
At the moment we are into Octa Core era but have you ever actually thought that if your phone ever used all of these cores at once? I think even Quad Core processors are not fully utilised. Many HD games still just utilise dual core and the rest are off. So in real, many games are not fully using your full phone potential as lack of support from developers or lack of customization to utilise all cores/hardware ! Don't you feel trolled?
Windows phone is fast growing platform but it still lacks a lot what Android offers on the table. I prefer Android over Windows phone any day!
(That's another debate! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45932842&postcount=14)
If you just want a simple phone for calls and texts and emails and limited apps, I WILL SIMPLY TELL YOU TO USE WP8 or if you just want to call and text NOKIA 3310 (or any in the sequence) shall suit you.
So going for Quardcores (now i think its justified but if all cores are optimized in every application)/Octacores/64bits is just rubbage and you are just tricked out of money when you have something very latest but developers havenot made anything that it can utilise. So if you are considering a phone to use for next two years, I believe a recognised company's quardcore would be more than enough. A change to this trend in future is inevitable but not enough uptill now to run for the latest device. (Remember Mediatek Octacore can not win from Qualcomm Quadcore, so consider which company to choose)
RAM is very important and I believe this should not be compromised. Many phones will do just great on 1gb ram but I will prefer a 2gb ram if my phone is to be used for two or more years.
GPU This is something really tricky which might FORCE anyone to buy a phone with higher GPU. GPU takes a part of ram and its function is to compute 3D functions and thus is mostly utilised in GAMES. So if you are a gamer, I will suggest you to buy a phone with latest GPU rather than an old one. Xperia L/Xperia P/ Xperia M all share almost the same price. However, Xperia P is an old device while Xperia L is recent. Thus, Xperia L will give alot better performance and more smoothness to your ROM comparatively to Xperia P because it can handle graphics better due to its latest GPU.
SCREENSIZE I personally prefer any device bigger than 4 inch display. 3.5 is just too small for your fingers and 5 is just to big for me. For me, 4.3 to 4.7 is just perfect as not only it is big enough to read/games/emails but also gives you enough for big hands.
Remember to always BUY A DEVICE WHICH IS DEVELOPERS FRIENDLY. You won't find much ROMS for HTC Amaze although it has almost the same specification as HTC sensation.
CORTEX CONSIDERATION When you are buying any phone, we usually just consider the clock speed of processor and usually ignore the technology on which the processor is build on. The processors which are currently being available in the market are Cortex A5, A7, A9, A12 and A15. What does this mean? Consider it this way, it shows the technology they are build upon and using. The Cortex A5 is oldest which cortex A15 is latest.
Lately 64 bits have also being introduced A53 & A57. These out perform the previous ones!
If you are wondering how does this make a difference, well take this as an example : A device running a dual core Cortex A9 1 Ghz would run faster than a dual core Cortex A5 clocked at 1.5 Ghz. This is because as the technology is growing, the architecture of the chips are also changing to improve their performance. As the Cortex A9 uses new architecture, thus many improvements have been made to enhance the device performance. ( Xperia U used 1ghz A9 with 512 Ram whilst Samsung Galaxy Star uses 1Ghz A5 with 512 Ram as well but if you talk about their performance, there is a lot of difference between the two. I have personally used both of them) So always consider a device with higher cortex if you can afford to!
REMOVABLE BATTERY is important for those who want to easily swap batteries or want to use their phones for long period of time. This is just a big draw back for me as I keep three devices and I update each one annually so this means that I need to change my nexus after using it for around 2 years to 3 years. In this time, I need to change my battery as battery does get worn out and damaged. But I just can not easily do that.
You might be wondering, the new ROMS are not available. Well actually they are but custom made. If you check out Android development of these phones, you will be surprised that many developers are giving their best to just work hard on new ROMS and they are all great.
At times you just need to do little tweaks.(Some games aren't available on specific models but those devices are capable of running them very smoothly. Tweaks help in these matters)
Another thing one of my friend asked me to add was about support from different manufacturers to their devices! Well, every company has a different policy of releasing updates for their phones according to their price tag (Flashship, mid end, low end phones). So make sure you consider what is their possibility of being updated to newer version of android if you are looking for STOCK roms coming directly from manufacturers. Samsung for the fact is releasing phones every single day and I think, you can not expect support for its low end phones at all whilst one update for mid ranges and few more high ends/flash ship phones.
Sony on the other hand is always slow with updates but provides open source code at times if it doesnot plan to update the android version.
Motorola starts to amaze me with its policy to update even the lower end phones to Android Lollipop and in my opinion Moto updates the android version more frequently and much quicker than any other manufacturer.
Usually the support is around ONE year to ONE and half year max for Flagship phones; SIX months - ONE year for mid-range phones whilst ZERO to FEW BUG fixing updates for lower end phones!
However, If you got a carrier phone like VODA, AT&T etc, you are pretty much struck with your PROVIDER rather than manufacturer for that fact! Usually these phones come with locked bootloaders which are a tough nut to crack, and thus you can only flash ROMs which are made for LOCKED BOOTLOADERS. Thus, if you can afford it, you should buy a contract free phone straight from manufacturer. This will allow you more freedom to customise your phone to your advantage by flashing ROMS, kernels, mods etc! However, it will simply be useless to a person who is not ready to take the risks!
Android Platform
Android Platform is growing very rapidly and new improvements have been introduced with every new build. I think the only issue now Android is still struggling with is battery life in standby mode which although has been improved quite considerably with Android Lollipop but I think it still needs some work in the future which I am sure Google is looking into very closely.
I think this is enough for you to decide if you really need to buy a phone or not.
GOOD LUCK!
Updates :
Added the following in the guide
*Oems
*Generally how long a phone is updated according to it's class (Flagship, low end or mid range phone)
*Considering the advantage of using newer architecture of processor (Cortex)
*Disadvantages of carrier phones
Any suggestions be welcomed!
PLANNED UPDATES :
What to look for in a phone if you are a Gamer, Text & Call person, Mobile Cinema addict, Internet Browsing Freak etc
Edit it more to be organised and easy to access headings for skimming through
What devices do you use?
@Hnk1, well said.
I am still using my good old HTC Touch HD (Blackstone), now upgraded to WM 6.5, and it is still running great. Gives me more than a couple of days on a single battery charge.
You should mention that some OEMs, like LG, like to pump out flagships phones every 3 month that means that your phone, from LG will not get alot of SW support.
That said, other OEMs have the same philosophy for mid range to low end devices. I am talking about official support, Some devices are lucky and get Custom rom support but then, custom roms are more often than not a compromise and not a solution as they have and always will have bugs.
You cannot have up to date phones, with removable batteries and the best experience. Its a world of compromise, as it is nearly for everything else.
Thanks! Hnk1..
This guide is very is helpful ..
thnx
Thanks. Its very useful
xyz121 said:
Great guide man, Thanks!
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Revontheus said:
What devices do you use?
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chan.sk said:
@Hnk1, well said.
I am still using my good old HTC Touch HD (Blackstone), now upgraded to WM 6.5, and it is still running great. Gives me more than a couple of days on a single battery charge.
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shadowcore said:
You should mention that some OEMs, like LG, like to pump out flagships phones every 3 month that means that your phone, from LG will not get alot of SW support.
That said, other OEMs have the same philosophy for mid range to low end devices. I am talking about official support, Some devices are lucky and get Custom rom support but then, custom roms are more often than not a compromise and not a solution as they have and always will have bugs.
You cannot have up to date phones, with removable batteries and the best experience. Its a world of compromise, as it is nearly for everything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TwinEdge said:
Thanks! Hnk1..
This guide is very is helpful ..
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thereefour777 said:
thnx
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Lukadevilu said:
Thanks. Its very useful
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The guide is updated! Added OEMS and carriers briefly. Also, I added little debate about WP vs Android. People's opinion could be different so I respect that! The whole debate is here :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2450502&page=1
Secondly, I am glad the guide was a help to all of you! Keep sharing so more people can benefit from it!
I use alot of devices and I borrow many devices from my friends and family to experiment with them! At the moment I am using Xperia L, Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 2013. Other phones are either exchanged, sold to buy a new one, lent so they keep changing time to time as they are for development/experimenting purposes only!
Nice guide.
Lord of the Droids said:
Nice guide.
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I'm glad you liked it

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