[Q] Can this phone be used in Canada? - Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE

Hi, I love qwerty phones! I have the Sony ericsson xperia pro and I adore it, its nearly perfect in my eyes and does everything i want it except, it has about 320 of RAM and the phone memory is not much bigger about 400mb....also it is single core 1ghz
As such I've been looking for a worthy successor to this phone but haven't really seen one that's much better until i stumbled on this one...
However I was wondering if anyone knew about the chances of me using this on the Rogers network in Canada?
I hear it has a physical locked sim? does this mean it is impoosible to use with other sim cards countries with soldering iron tactics... if so then my desire in this phone will end here...
And what do owners of this phone think, is this the best qwerty android phone (spec wise) on the market?
And if not the photon q are there any non blackberry qwerty android phones that could be recommended?
i would appreciate any comments on this
a physical qwerty keyboard lover!

Yes, the SIM is soldered. You will need a heat station and a lot of patience/diligence to properly pull off the mod.
See this thread for more information on the SIM card mod.
As for your other questions, they really have no business in this section as they pertain to general inquiries about devices. There's not a whole lot of physical qwerty devices, this will probably be the last great one... I hope it's not tho.

Related

Touch Diamond, Xperia X1 or IPhone

First off, just want to say hi to everyone. I've been browsing the forums recently and finally registered. Hope to stay for a while!
Anyways, I'm trying to decide between which smartphone to get. The HTC Diamond, Xperia X1 or the iPhone. The only reason why the iPhone is not a winner in my books is due mainly to its appearance. I love small sleek phones and the iPhone is far from it (in my opinion) but its functionality is hard to ignore.
I'm in Canada with Rogers so the HTC Hero was out of reach for me (I've had some bad experiences with Telus) so its basically down to these 3. I've talked to a Rogers salesmen who really bashed the Windows Mobile; claiming that its quite slow, especially the Diamond. Claims that its quite sluggish and just not worth it. I'm not at all familiar with the ROM scene and all that but willing to learn. Are there ways to enhance the devices running WM? Any sort of opinion on any of these phones would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome to HTC XDA! None of the above...Of course we recommend HTC HD2 top of the line PPC!! See the LEO section for the specs & info...
SE Xperia 10
I´ll choose Xperia because it´s keyboard so my vote goes for it
But there are much better HTC devices like Touch Pro 2 (the best hardware keyboard device) or Leo (the best no hardware kb device)
Thank you for the welcome.
As much as I'd like to try out the Leo, X10 or Touch Pro 2, availability is an issue. I'd like a phone pretty much now and as I only want to buy under local retail, my options are significantly hindered.
So, lets pretend all your lives depends on picking one of the 3 phones listed?
Ok, so I've tried all three of them and I own a X1 (and a touch HD).
I would say get X1 over Diamond, reasons:
X1 has hardware keyboard
X1 has higher resolution screen
Both are very customizable thanks to custom ROMs etc from XDA.
With the iPhone, everything just works out of the box.
Nice big capacitive touch screen, finger friendly.
Loads of apps in the app store (for almost every need, like find the nearest ATM, play the flute, etc etc.)
The downside is that it isn't so customizable unless you jailbreak it.
IF you jailbreak it, a whole new world appears, (no warez talk here, but) you can get your hands on everything the "illegal" way (games, apps, etc), but also making your phone less secure (thanks to the jailbreak).
Obviously pirated stuff are also avaliable for PPCs.
So I would say it's between the X1 and the iPhone.
Where as the iPhone seems to be for the younger audience and the X1 feels more "business".
Also see:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/29/iphone-vs-htc-touch-diamond-vs-xperia-x1-fight/
dogans said:
Where as the iPhone seems to be for the younger audience and the X1 feels more "business".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with your statements re iphone except for the last bit, I'm 45 and have just bought my 1st iphone and so far i'm lovin it
Mav

Xperia X10 vs. Milestone ( in Canada)

Hi,
I am from Montreal, Canada. I am with rogers and I have Xperia X1i. Right now I have a contract with rogers of 6Gb for $30 till november. I really want an Android phone. Since Google decided to go with a weird frequency for 3g, I cant really get a nexus phone. So I decided to wait till july and probably get Xperia X10 with Android. I heard that telus is bringing motorola droid in Canada and telus have better plans than rogers (BTW for those who don't know, roger has terrible plans, my data plan is awesome but voice plan is terrible). So I am trying to decide between this two phones.
X10
Pros:
4inch screen, better looks, 1GHz processor!!!!
And I get to keep the same number with rogers
Cons:
It runs on Android 1.6?!! And even though it has 65k screen but it might be running at 35k?! No keyboard.
Milestone
Pros:
Android 2.0.1, Keyboard, hard metallic body, this phone is out and tested so it wont have any bugs.
Cons:
3.7inch screen, 133Mb rom and 550MHz processor.
I heard some where that the processor speed in not important. I am not sure whether it is true or not. One thing is for sure it runs on Android 2.0.1 whereas X10 is stuck at 1.6. I was wondering if anybody else is in the same kind of dilemma or even any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks in advance
Bikram
Xperia X10 the specs are much better, but i'd personally hold out for HTC bravo.
I can't believe for a minute that there won't be an update to eclair for the X10, even if it's just be the folks on XDA! I wouldn't base my decision on what android version is on the device...
Bikram said:
...
Android 2.0.1, Keyboard, hard metallic body, this phone is out and tested so it wont have any bugs.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you REALLY just write that?
You should try googling it Go to the Android forums and look at the milestone and droid sections.
I chose a HTC HD2 over the Milestone for a couple of reasons.
1 - Bugs. They both have bugs, one big diference though is that HD2 has this massive community
2 - Exchange Support (not sure if relevant to you). 2.0 is still not full Exchange support.
3 - Office Support (again, not sure if relevant to you)
4 - Various reviews that said the keyboard on the Milestone was pants. Very few liked it (but some did!)
Its actually rogers that has the weird frequency.
You're in montreal, so wind isn't available (and won't be since videotron bought up all the quebec spectrum), but if you can hold out until summer, videotron http://corpo.videotron.com/site/press-room/press-release/375 is launching AWS service compatible with GN1.
SornyX10 may have a little bit of android, but it is really crippled by all the sorny proprietary junk that they've added onto it. There is also no indication that they will actually be updating from android 1.6 to anything newer *ever*.
Regarding CPU speed, its usefulness depends on your use. It is a phone after all... and with the internal storage limitations of the milestone, its not like you'll be installing any huge 3d games to take advantage of a fast CPU.
Bikram said:
Hi,
I am from Montreal, Canada. I am with rogers and I have Xperia X1i. Right now I have a contract with rogers of 6Gb for $30 till november. I really want an Android phone. Since Google decided to go with a weird frequency for 3g, I cant really get a nexus phone. So I decided to wait till july and probably get Xperia X10 with Android. I heard that telus is bringing motorola droid in Canada and telus have better plans than rogers (BTW for those who don't know, roger has terrible plans, my data plan is awesome but voice plan is terrible). So I am trying to decide between this two phones.
X10
Pros:
4inch screen, better looks, 1GHz processor!!!!
And I get to keep the same number with rogers
Cons:
It runs on Android 1.6?!! And even though it has 65k screen but it might be running at 35k?! No keyboard.
Milestone
Pros:
Android 2.0.1, Keyboard, hard metallic body, this phone is out and tested so it wont have any bugs.
Cons:
3.7inch screen, 133Mb rom and 550MHz processor.
I heard some where that the processor speed in not important. I am not sure whether it is true or not. One thing is for sure it runs on Android 2.0.1 whereas X10 is stuck at 1.6. I was wondering if anybody else is in the same kind of dilemma or even any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks in advance
Bikram
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the X10a, Rogers is launching it later in the year if you want 3G.
Bikram said:
Hi,
I am from Montreal, Canada. I am with rogers and I have Xperia X1i. Right now I have a contract with rogers of 6Gb for $30 till november. I really want an Android phone. Since Google decided to go with a weird frequency for 3g, I cant really get a nexus phone. So I decided to wait till july and probably get Xperia X10 with Android. I heard that telus is bringing motorola droid in Canada and telus have better plans than rogers (BTW for those who don't know, roger has terrible plans, my data plan is awesome but voice plan is terrible). So I am trying to decide between this two phones.
X10
Pros:
4inch screen, better looks, 1GHz processor!!!!
And I get to keep the same number with rogers
Cons:
It runs on Android 1.6?!! And even though it has 65k screen but it might be running at 35k?! No keyboard.
Milestone
Pros:
Android 2.0.1, Keyboard, hard metallic body, this phone is out and tested so it wont have any bugs.
Cons:
3.7inch screen, 133Mb rom and 550MHz processor.
I heard some where that the processor speed in not important. I am not sure whether it is true or not. One thing is for sure it runs on Android 2.0.1 whereas X10 is stuck at 1.6. I was wondering if anybody else is in the same kind of dilemma or even any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks in advance
Bikram
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Processor speed is important. If you are going with Windows Mobile 6.1 to 6.5 the 528 MHZ is like a minimum requirement, or else your phone will be slow as ****. Don't listen to the people who have 528 MHz phone. Listen to the people who have the 1GHz one.
lbcoder said:
Its actually rogers that has the weird frequency.
You're in montreal, so wind isn't available (and won't be since videotron bought up all the quebec spectrum), but if you can hold out until summer, videotron http://corpo.videotron.com/site/press-room/press-release/375 is launching AWS service compatible with GN1.
SornyX10 may have a little bit of android, but it is really crippled by all the sorny proprietary junk that they've added onto it. There is also no indication that they will actually be updating from android 1.6 to anything newer *ever*.
Regarding CPU speed, its usefulness depends on your use. It is a phone after all... and with the internal storage limitations of the milestone, its not like you'll be installing any huge 3d games to take advantage of a fast CPU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow videotron is getting AWS, great.
When it comes to processor everybody has different opinion. I am not going to play 3D games but I hate slow animations in my HTC sense ROM ( even though xperia x1 is suppose to have a seperate memory just for video processing). And specially when they freezes!!! Its really annoying, I haven't seen that on a Iphone though (I dont have an Iphone, saw it from friends). And android would have been the next thing to try.
Android 2.1 is better than 1.6 that I know for sure. Now its seems like everything comes to one question:
DOES PROCESSOR SPEED MATTERS? I never seen a phone with 1GHz so no clue. Anybody ever seen phone with 1Ghz?
Monty Burns said:
Did you REALLY just write that?
You should try googling it Go to the Android forums and look at the milestone and droid sections.
I chose a HTC HD2 over the Milestone for a couple of reasons.
1 - Bugs. They both have bugs, one big diference though is that HD2 has this massive community
2 - Exchange Support (not sure if relevant to you). 2.0 is still not full Exchange support.
3 - Office Support (again, not sure if relevant to you)
4 - Various reviews that said the keyboard on the Milestone was pants. Very few liked it (but some did!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude up here in Canada we call a bug "bug" like when you can't call 911 from your cell
Now google that lol
Just kidding, you were right.

[Q] Looking for a new phone

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

QWERTY Android phones in the UK?

Hi all, first of all sorry if this is the wrong section, it seemed to fit best here but I could've missed something. So I've been looking for a new phone with certain requirements and finding it insanely difficult to collate information and generally to find a phone at all.
I'm on an iPhone 4 right now and hate it. I've discovered that I hate typing on a touchscreen, so I've been looking for Android phones with QWERTY keyboards, but it seems like they're all US only. I was wondering if anyone knew whether a few of my preferences can be made to work fully in the UK, or even better, suggest a QWERTY phone that's Android 4.0 compatible (I'll want to keep it for a few years and not be left behind).
I like the look of the Motorola Droid 4, and found a thread here explaining how to make it work here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1766479) but it's insanely complicated so I'd probably just pay someone to do it. If I were to do that would it work 100% without issues on a UK carrier though?
Second one I've been considering is the Samsung Captivate Glide. That one seems like it might be easier to make work over here, but I'm not sure how - would I just take it to a shop, get it unlocked, and be done with no more problems? And for both this phone and the Droid 4 would I encounter any issues with it being a US phone used in the UK?
Last one, and definitely my least preferred choice is the HTC Desire Z. It's available in the UK but every review I've read said it feels like cheap crap and the hinges won't last. I also can't find anywhere saying for certain if it will or won't get Android 4.0. Anyone know about that?
If anyone can offer any advice on my questions I'd appreciate it, or if you know of a QWERTY, Android 4.0 capable phone that's available in the UK without messing around with technical stuff (or can be made to work here very simply/by paying someone), I'd appreciate suggestions too. Again sorry if this is the wrong section.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro.(not mini pro)
Should be available
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
Hey, thanks for the suggestion, I'll consider that one too.
I've seen a few places mentioning something about importing a Canadian Droid 4 to work in the UK, does anyone know if this would work and how?
Forunikarasu said:
Hey, thanks for the suggestion, I'll consider that one too.
I've seen a few places mentioning something about importing a Canadian Droid 4 to work in the UK, does anyone know if this would work and how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno about that,but I do believe there's an unlocked version of either the milestone or the Droid. If it says international unlocked on US sites,you can buy it comfortably
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
So the Xperia Pro looks like a decent handset physically, I think I could probably live with it. One thing about it though is the software; the UI looks a bit meh compared to reviews I've seen of phones with HTC Sense and the likes. I know absolutely nothing about these things so excuse such a noobish question, but is it at all possible to change that kind of thing on an Android phone? Could I get HTC Sense (or something similar) on it if I went with a non-HTC model?
EDIT: Also I'm seeing a worrying problem with the Xperia Pro; when upgraded to ICS it starts registering the physical keyboard as AZERTY rather than QWERTY. Does anyone know if there's an unofficial fix for this and how difficult it would be to apply? The only official "fix" I've seen is to take the phone into a Sony store to be reverted back to Gingerbread, and aside from not wanting to be trapped on an older OS I don't even think we get Sony stores in my country.
Sorry for such basic questions. The only smartphones I've had were a Blackberry Curve then my current Iphone 4: I've no idea how far the customisation/tweak-ability of Android goes.
Forunikarasu said:
So the Xperia Pro looks like a decent handset physically, I think I could probably live with it. One thing about it though is the software; the UI looks a bit meh compared to reviews I've seen of phones with HTC Sense and the likes. I know absolutely nothing about these things so excuse such a noobish question, but is it at all possible to change that kind of thing on an Android phone? Could I get HTC Sense (or something similar) on it if I went with a non-HTC model?
EDIT: Also I'm seeing a worrying problem with the Xperia Pro; when upgraded to ICS it starts registering the physical keyboard as AZERTY rather than QWERTY. Does anyone know if there's an unofficial fix for this and how difficult it would be to apply? The only official "fix" I've seen is to take the phone into a Sony store to be reverted back to Gingerbread, and aside from not wanting to be trapped on an older OS I don't even think we get Sony stores in my country.
Sorry for such basic questions. The only smartphones I've had were a Blackberry Curve then my current Iphone 4: I've no idea how far the customisation/tweak-ability of Android goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android is open source
If you want HTC sense you can as well put it,but then you'll void your warranty. (This can also be sidestepped ofcourse)
About the Q into A issue,I guess you'd have to update your device and hope for the best,though it must've been fixed by now. Sony aren't ones to entertain mass complaints.
There's Sony stores in the UK, that I'm certain. Check their site for the nearest one.Perhaps shop from one physically,have them update it themselves there as you wait,and make sure it works fine before you leave. It would also guarantee you an unlocked phone, which update faster than carrier models.
Also,seeing as your coming from blackberry and iPhone, I'm sure you'll love the customization room on android. On ICS the Sony skin is just a launcher,which you can change with a different Launcher app.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
The Droid 4 process to work in the UK is not complicated at all, once you understand rooting, tweaking, and nodding you will read it and realize how easy it is. It may only seem complicated since you are new to Android.
It's either that or the Captivate Glide for high end phones, the Glide should work unlocked as long as the bands it supports matches your carrier bands (which I'm too lazy to research right now).
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro is nice, but it has a smaller screen and a single core processor.
Desire Z/G2 is definitely now a budget phone, 800mhz processor, 512 mb RAM, and same screen size as Xperia Pro. Once its rooted, however, it is the most overclockable phone, able to run at 1.9 ghz, although it is extremely unsafe to do that.
Sent from my MB508 using xda premium
are you sure you just don't a phone with a bigger screen? Iphone screens are tiny and have terrible keyboards...
skells said:
are you sure you just don't a phone with a bigger screen? Iphone screens are tiny and have terrible keyboards...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ALthough its a tiny screen, the iPhone keyboard has gotten amazing reviews. Despite being a big Android fanboy, I have to agree. Using an ipod touch, I feel like I can "trust" the keyboard (sounds weird I know).
I still prefer qwerty Androids though
Sent from my MB508 using xda premium
gagdude said:
ALthough its a tiny screen, the iPhone keyboard has gotten amazing reviews. Despite being a big Android fanboy, I have to agree. Using an ipod touch, I feel like I can "trust" the keyboard (sounds weird I know).
I still prefer qwerty Androids though
Sent from my MB508 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
I love swype. It's a beta but damn.
Also Motorola Droid 2 A956 is the international QWERTY moto phone.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
I don't have a problem with the size of the Iphone keyboard, I think it's literally just me. I can't seem to click with the touchscreen keyboard and develop muscle memory, so typing is a matter of looking and tapping, as opposed to on my old Blackberry, where I could touchtype messages out at a decent speed without having to look.
@ Gagdude thanks for the breakdown of the various phones. For buying here I think Xperia Pro is my Hobson's choice, but I really like the Captivate Glide and if it really would work just by unlocking it instead of going through all that Droid 4 stuff then it's perfect. Wikipedia claims it's just a matter of unlocking it to use elsewhere and I can easily pay someone to do that for me. (it's the Samsung Captivate GLide page on wikipedia, it wouldn't let me post an outside link)
Do you know if I'd encounter any problems using a US phone on a non-US carrier, like updates to Android etc?
Forunikarasu said:
I don't have a problem with the size of the Iphone keyboard, I think it's literally just me. I can't seem to click with the touchscreen keyboard and develop muscle memory, so typing is a matter of looking and tapping, as opposed to on my old Blackberry, where I could touchtype messages out at a decent speed without having to look.
@ Gagdude thanks for the breakdown of the various phones. For buying here I think Xperia Pro is my Hobson's choice, but I really like the Captivate Glide and if it really would work just by unlocking it instead of going through all that Droid 4 stuff then it's perfect. Wikipedia claims it's just a matter of unlocking it to use elsewhere and I can easily pay someone to do that for me. (it's the Samsung Captivate GLide page on wikipedia, it wouldn't let me post an outside link)
Do you know if I'd encounter any problems using a US phone on a non-US carrier, like updates to Android etc?
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Click to collapse
No. If it's unlocked and has the correct sim card and apn settings for your home network it will work fine.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
Brilliant, thanks! Any idea how I'd go about finding if it has the right "APN" and stuff? I'd like to triplecheck before I pay for anything.
Download from here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=950980
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
I really, really hate to be so noobish, and I promise I googled everything I could think of before posting again, but I really have no idea how to use that list. Can you tell me how I'd figure it out? I googled "samsung captivate glide APNs", "samsung captivate glide compatible frequency" and stuff but didn't see anything that looked like anything on the list.
Forunikarasu said:
I really, really hate to be so noobish, and I promise I googled everything I could think of before posting again, but I really have no idea how to use that list. Can you tell me how I'd figure it out? I googled "samsung captivate glide APNs", "samsung captivate glide compatible frequency" and stuff but didn't see anything that looked like anything on the list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. APN is the settings your network uses for internet connectivity. From your android phone
1. go to settings
2. Wireless and Networks
3. Mobile Networks
4. Access Point Names
5. Press Menu and then "new APN"
6.Fill in the blanks as described in the PDF as per your network.*if on prepay it's better to leave proxy details blank,saves on data charges*
7.press menu and "save APN"
8.click the round dot so it's green on your new settings.
9. Reboot
As for frequency, captivate glide supports all GSM frequencies. So the only problem would be a locked sim,or you being in a CDMA network.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
Allanitomwesh said:
Lol. APN is the settings your network uses for internet connectivity. From your android phone
1. go to settings
2. Wireless and Networks
3. Mobile Networks
4. Access Point Names
5. Press Menu and then "new APN"
6.Fill in the blanks as described in the PDF as per your network.*if on prepay it's better to leave proxy details blank,saves on data charges*
7.press menu and "save APN"
8.click the round dot so it's green on your new settings.
9. Reboot
As for frequency, captivate glide supports all GSM frequencies. So the only problem would be a locked sim,or you being in a CDMA network.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
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Click to collapse
Thanks, but I don't have an Android phone to do that. But if the phone will work I don't need to anyway. Thanks for your help!
Forunikarasu said:
Thanks, but I don't have an Android phone to do that. But if the phone will work I don't need to anyway. Thanks for your help!
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Click to collapse
Good to know so your phone will browse on your local data plan when it arrives and not roaming. You're welcome.
Sent from my U8150 using XDA
I went from a UK Desire Z to an unlocked Samsung Captivate Glide from the US and can confirm that it works over here. I bought an unlocked version and put my Vodafone SIM in with almost no problems. My SIM was a few years old and when I went to make a call it would cut off after about 3 seconds but all I needed was a new SIM from Voda which came in a couple of days. The only real problem that I found was that the phone will try to find US satellites for GPS instead of the European ones and it won't be able to establish a lock, the only way I found to resolve this was to root the phone and edit the satellite config file so that it looked for the correct ones (still takes ages to get a lock but will now work). Other than that, I haven't really had any other problems getting it to work. Message me if you have any specific questions and I will be happy to advise if I can.
I had never rooted a phone before and just used Google as my friend and it was all pretty quick and easy.
Gaz
Oh, I kind of need GPS, I'm hopeless at getting around. I wouldn't want to risk messing around with the insides of the thing either. Also if GPS takes ages wouldn't apps that require your location all take ages too? Guess it's back to the picking a phone stage after all. Anyone have any suggestions other than Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro?
EDIT: also can anyone confirm for certain whether the Xperia Pro has/will get ICS/Jelly Bean? All I'm finding in google is the exact same speculation in a million different blogs from months ago.

opinions on this device

hello guys, im asking for opinion in several subforums for the devices with qwerty kb and touchscreen
Are you happy with this phone?
I'm hesitating particularly with this one due to the lack of development and support, which its doing me reluctant to consider it, as for the stratosphere ii
These are my options.
Anything important i should know about this device?
In your opinion, should it work in spain?
xdaforo said:
hello guys, im asking for opinion in several subforums for the devices with qwerty kb and touchscreen
Are you happy with this phone?
I'm hesitating particularly with this one due to the lack of development and support, which its doing me reluctant to consider it, as for the stratosphere ii
These are my options.
Anything important i should know about this device?
In your opinion, should it work in spain?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it will work in spain.
it's a nice device, the worst thing about it is the pentile matrix display imho. out of all the ones you listed, it's the best.
the only qwerty slider that is better than relay is the photon Q but it requires hardware modifications to work with SIMs
last but not least, the relay has an *amazing* dev team. if you however expect to have the same amount of roms as more popular phones like sgs3/4, well, you're out of luck with any qwerty slider then
Braccoz said:
it will work in spain.
it's a nice device, the worst thing about it is the pentile matrix display imho. out of all the ones you listed, it's the best.
the only qwerty slider that is better than relay is the photon Q but it requires hardware modifications to work with SIMs
last but not least, the relay has an *amazing* dev team. if you however expect to have the same amount of roms as more popular phones like sgs3/4, well, you're out of luck with any qwerty slider then
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello
thanx for your answer. I didnt know about the pentile matrix display. I've been reading about its pros and cons.
and yeah i read about the modifications that you have to do to the phothon Q as well. It comes with attached sim, or something like that.
well, im kinda new over here and also new with android stuff. I was a nokia n95 user till recently. But if i compare the movement in this subforum with something like the one for the captivate glide or this thread for the se xperia pro thread, it seems to be a bit slow. Still more options here than the offered ones for the stratosphere 2. And yeah it seems to be one of the best mobiles of its kind.
I take note of what u said. Thank you!

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