edit: for the most up-to-date indecisive rambling, just jump to the most recent post, though feel free to peruse the whole thread.
I understand this is a very difficult question to answer, especially given that no two people's needs are ever quite the same but I'm just looking for some ideas/a sounding board.
I currently have a Touch HD which I have been quite happy with, I really quite like TouchFlo, but it's starting to show it's age and I'm due an upgrade in about a fortnight anyway.
At the moment, given what's available on the market, Android is the only choice IMO.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against WinMo/WinPho but I'm not buying a phone that won't be properly upgradeable and therefore, arguably, rendered obsolete in a couple of months and I'm definitely not waiting two months plus for a new phone on the off-chance I like what I see.
As for the rest, Symbian's a joke; Blackberrys aren't my thing; Palm is not an option; and the iPhone, well unless they announce something pretty damned special on Monday, my dislike of iTunes alone is enough to put me off - before we even get onto the flaws with the handset(s)...
In terms of what I want, that's where it all gets a bit difficult.
I can't work out if I want to go for an all-out powerful handset à la the Desire or the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S or if I want something a bit less fancy, the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini being a prime example - trading off absolute power for benefits in terms of size and cost.
My worry about a high-end handset is that I get one, then a month or two, or even a week or two, later, something else comes along that makes me regret my decision - not least the impending WinPho 7 release and all the potentially 'awesome' new handsets that will accompany that.
With the X10 Mini, I'm not too worried about something better arriving in the near-future, I think it's too niche a device to end up with much competition but, having read the review of it on GSMArena, it seems that my biggest concern is the handset's Achilles Heel - the low screen res. If it was even HVGA, I would probably just go for it but QVGA is pushing usability.
Anyway, yeah, I'm just looking to bounce ideas/suggestions around, so if anyone wants to chip in, please feel free.
Nexus one is my phone of choice at the moment. I've just made the jump to Android and this device is nothing short of awesome! The 2.2 upgrade will be rolled out soon which brings several improvements too. (It is available already but this early release isn't very polished yet. I'm waiting for the OTA release).
Unusually for me i'm keeping this device stock, so no custom ROM flashing etc. It's just such an improvement over the WM phones that i'm used to that i don't feel the need to change anything. I could harp on for hours about all the features that makes this such a good device but you should have a look around instead and make your own informed decision. There are lots of good forums devoted to this device but i'd start with the dedicated xda, nexus one section.
Thanks.
If I were going for a high-end Android device, then it would be the Desire and not the Nexus One - partly because I like the Sense UI and partly because I wouldn't entertain the idea of switching to Vodafone, their tariffs aren't competitive and their coverage is poor where I stay.
I have played extensively with the Desire and it is a lovely phone but, as I said previously, I'm concerned that if I upgraded to it, I'd only want to change again when say the Galaxy S comes out or in a couple of months when WinPho 7 arrives.
Obviously, there's a chance that would be the same if I went for the X10 Mini but I would be able to get it on such a cheap deal instead, that the idea of then choosing to shell out for a new device a few months down the line isn't so bad.
I'm also starting to question whether I need all the features that the Desire/Nexus One offers as opposed to merely wanting them.
I bought myself a laptop back in January and, since then, I'm using the web a lot less on my phone, so do I really need something with a huge, high-res screen?
Thanks for the input, it's greatly appreciated (as is anyone else's opinions/ideas), I fear I've a bit of thinking ahead of me yet though...
At the moment, there are a few phones that I'm considering and I'm trying to weigh them all up, so I'd appreciate any input, suggestions or ideas anyone can offer up.
First up, the HTC Desire
Pros:
HTC Sense
Decent CPU and RAM
AMOLED screen
HTC handset - excellent build quality and 2 year warranty
Cons:
No HD video
Screen is only AMOLED, not sAMOLED
It's already sold a lot and, as sad as it is, I don't really like the idea of having the same phone as everyone else
Samsung Galaxy S
Pros:
superAMOLED screen
HD video
CPU that's potentially even more powerful than the Snapdragon in the Desire
Samsung handset - 2 year warranty
Cons:
No HTC Sense
Even worse, it uses Samsung's childish UI
No camera flash - seriously, wtf?
Not yet released
Motorola XT720
Pros:
8MP, HD video, Xenon flash - the best camera on an Android handset just now
480x854 screen resolution - more pixels are never a bad thing
[edit] HDMI out - a real boon for an HD-recording handset [/edit]
Cons:
LCD screen - not even AMOLED, let alone sAMOLED
480x854 screen resolution - non-standard resolution may cause some app compatibility issues
No LED flash for video use - a minor point but the ideal camera phone would have LED and Xenon
Question marks over CPU compared to the Desire or Galaxy S (720MHz OMAP A8 Cortex as opposed to 1GHz Snapdragon/Hummingbird on other handsets)
No HTC Sense
Motorola handset - 1 year warranty, not sure of build quality
Not available until the start of next month
Sony Ericsson X10 Mini
Pros:
Tiny size
Well thought-out UI
Cheap
Sony Ericsson handset - 2 year warranty
TINY!
Cons:
Small screen size and resolution - will have a negative effect on web browsing experience and app compatibility
Only running 1.6 'Donut' with very vague upgrade roadmap
Sony Ericsson handset - questionable build quality, possible (probable?) software issues
LCD screen - not AMOLED or sAMOLED
No HD video
I know it may not seem like it, given the large number of points in the 'Cons' category for it but I'm actually drawn the most to the Motorola handset.
The problem is, having only just been released there's a number of questions I have which I can't as of yet get answers for - for example, the build quality may not be an issue but I won't know that until I can have a play with one, the CPU may not be a downside, etc etc.
Anyway, yeah, any/all input is always welcome.
ideas
i guess your best choice can be galaxy s
but if you give up on browsing(use your laptop instead) then x10mini will be the best...feature wise and price
wish you luck
I do currently use my laptop a lot for web browsing but I'm not prepared to carry it around with me every day on the off-chance I want to go online.
If the X10 Mini had even an HVGA screen instead of QVGA, then it would probably be high enough to just to alleviate my concerns - at least in terms of app compatibility, though obviously for the likes of web browsing it would never match a WVGA (or higher) handset like the others I'm considering.
As for the Galaxy S, the power, screen and HD video do appeal but leaving out a camera flash just seems so unnecessary, almost like they're doing it deliberately.
But, between that and the Samsung UI, it's just enough to sour my feelings towards it.
As I say, against my better judgement, I can't help but like the Motorola handset.
At least, unlike the Desire, by sticking with an LCD screen it should mean it's ok to use in sunlight - obviously AMOLED has it's advantages but unless you make the jump all the way up to sAMOLED then there's still a cloud attached to that silver lining.
And regarding the CPU, while there are question marks over it, I've also heard it suggested that the TI OMAP 3430 CPUs are actually more powerful than the faster-clocked Snapdragon CPUs like the Desire uses, so it could actually be a better handset than the Desire in that respect.
Also, I should probably point out that my plan when I upgrade is to negotiate as low a tariff as I can out of T-Mobile, then if I see a phone I really like partway through the contract term, I'll just buy it.
So, the shorter warranty on the Motorola may not be an issue.
Thanks for your input, even if it doesn't seem like it, it's definitely appreciated.
Ok, so here we are a full 5 months since the last post and I'm still stuck in the same situation - want, almost need, a new phone but don't know what to go for.
Since last time, obviously things have come on a long way.
Symbian has reached the next level, meaning it's only a bit behind everyone else as opposed to significantly behind; Apple announced the iPhone4 which is a nice piece of hardware but the OS and price are too big of a stmubling block; Blackberry have moved on to OS6 but really there's nothing new about it; WinPho7 was released and looks OK but the hardware is just slightly underwhelming.
As for Maemo/Meego, Bada and WebOS, they're not even worth considering IMO.
So that leaves us with the only thing I am sure about, that my next phone will be an Android handset but beyond that I've still not been able to reach a decision.
Looking back at what I was considering before, none of them are still in the running - the Motorola XT720 turned out to be a dud, the X10 Mini was plagued with problems and the Galaxy S and Desire have both been out-done by the Desire HD.
Obviously the daddy just now is the Desire HD.
The best hardware around, the best UI around, there should be no reason to even consider anything else. And yet, I'm just not taken with it, I know I should love it, I know there should be no competition but it's not exciting me.
On the other hand, against all the odds and especially since the XT720 was so poor, I find myself quite taken with the Motorola Defy.
I know that the specs aren't so great but the idea of a ruggedised handset is pretty neat and the size is just a bit more pocketable than the Desire HD's, though that's not my biggest concern.
Going in the other direction, I'm also quite taken by the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Given how I use my phone making/receiving very few calls, mostly texting and using the internet) a larger device like the Tab is in many ways better-suited to my needs. However, it's biggest advantage is also it's biggest downfall - the larger screen makes the Tab a far less practical device than the likes of the Desire HD or the Defy (I know I said with regards to the Defy that the size difference wasn't my biggest concern but the Tab is a whole order of magnitude larger), to the point that if I decided to use the Tab as a phone, I'd need to get myself a second handset to use on occasions when the Tab's size made it impossible to take with me.
Once again, any/all help will be greatly appreciated.
This is a topic that guys from Pocketnow had in one of their Hangouts, and I'm actually thinking on that topic ever since I watched it.
Because, well, you know that several years ago we had usual phones with buttons, and then we've come to a moment when 5" smartphones are the usual thing in the mobile industry, even though no one ever imagined that we would have such big phones, and the screen size growth went on ever since Android has entered the market
We even have phablets today, that ate basically tablets with phone capabilities (like Samsung Galaxy Tab series) or smartpads thatvare basically phones of a size of a tablet (like Galaxy Mega and supposedly Galaxy Note 3)
Do you guys think that this line will disappear in a few years, since that border between a smartphone and a tablet becomes smaller and smaller with each passing day?
Will we ever come to a moment when everybody is gonna use a single type device that combines everything in itself?
Oh, you mean like the Padfone that lets you click your phone into your tablet?
Anyway, until we are able to expand the screen size on a phone, not likely. Watching a 1080i film on a 720p 5" phone just isn't the same as on a 1920x1200 10.1".
ShadowLea said:
Oh, you mean like the Padfone that lets you click your phone into your tablet?
Anyway, until we are able to expand the screen size on a phone, not likely. Watching a 1080i film on a 720p 5" phone just isn't the same as on a 1920x1200 10.1".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That one applies too.
I mean, we have so many device options today - the classic 3-4" smartphone, the slowly becoming a standard 5" giants like Galaxy S IV, the 6" smartpads like Galaxy Mega, the 7-8" phablets like PadFone, and this FonePad hybrid
Will we ever rid of all this diversity and come to a conslusion of a SINGLE device?
With current tendencies, I fear that in a few years the giganto devices like Galaxy Mega can become a standard
I doubt we'll ever have one single device. People can't settle for 'what someone else already has', they want better or to be different. The same reason why Apple's sales are dropping: Kids don't want the device their parents have.
A for the large devices, I find 5" to be too small to do my daily stuff on. I prefer to see a full website, as opposed to seeing it in 4 pieces
Next thing will be making calls from 10 inch 'phablets'. 17 inch tablets
Sent from my LT25i using xda app-developers app
Personally, I don't like the idea of phablet. That notion may change when someone shows me a good utility for such a device. But some people are very happy to use such devices. In India, they are catching up the market like anything... Ultimately it is a matter of personal choice. Whether all or some functions can be combined into a single device does not matter as long as people are able to consume the content without any trouble. Some accessories may be able to reduce gap and the line that differentiates these devices will become very thin, in the near future.
I think in due course when plastic flexible screens are done, that we'll have the ability to unroll out screens to different sizes, all from one device.
Hi all,
Recently my trusty Galaxy S2 started to bug the crap out of me and I decided it is time to start looking out for a new device.
Some of the devices which have caught my eye: HTC one M8, Z1 xperia compact, Oppo first7, One Plus One (although this one seems to be to be more elusive than an albino unicorn) and Mi 3 (although I am not a big fan of Miui).
-note: even though this post is not to ask any recommendations regarding phones, if you would have any to share, please feel free to do so
As someone who spends time on this forum ever since my HTC Excalibur, breaking my phone and hoping to fix it (the kid who takes apart his alarm clock and doesn't know how to put it back together... that's basically me), the first thing I mostly do when getting a new phone is rooting it and installing a custom rom...
Earlier today, I read an article on The Verge, which made me wonder: do different phones still matter?
If you consider the choice of a phone depending on following elements:
screen size
battery life
Android version (and probably OEM added bulk)
price
specs (ie ram, processor speed etc)
design
"various features" (such as the double lens on the HTC one)
Screensize is mostly similar in phones nowadays (except for the z1 compact), the android version is mostly the latest version thanks to everyone on this forum (in phone list above the Mi3 is a a bit different) and design is subjective... so these three won't really make any difference.
From the article on The Verge, it seems that specs to be of less importance nowadays in modern phones (it's attractive to have a quadcore whatever processor with an unlimited amount of ram, but does anyone really use all this horsepower -if you don't game?).
And the thing which I called "various features"; I haven't seen a single feature that wow-ed me enough to consider this a musthave (again if someone knows about something I don't please let me know
Which leaves us to battery life and price.
These seem to be the only dealbreakers for me at the moment...
Anyone who can find him/herself in this opinion (or absolutely disagrees)?
Hi,
I'm planning on updating from my Verizon Galaxy S.3 soon. The S3 isn't really a bad phone (except all the damage from my constantly dropping it). So although I would like something faster for sure, it doesn't necessarily have to be the current speed champ. And if I can save a buck or two on a mid-level (or last years high end phone), so much the better.
Of course I have been Googling for android benchmarking sites, but I wanted to ask what your favorite sites are to compare phones. I'm not looking for reviews (yet), I can always look them up after I have narrowed the list of candidates some.
It would be useful if the benchmarking site went back far enough to cover the Galaxy S3, so I can see how far in between any candidate phones are what I have now and the current top of the line. One site I found has a really great list going back ages, but the phones are listed by model number, not the more recognizable name. Even after doing a seperate search to figure out what phone it is, I keep forgetting when scanning the list later. So if you know sites that reference the name also in the description that would help.
Thanks,
Jon
jdnandroid said:
Hi,
I'm planning on updating from my Verizon Galaxy S.3 soon. The S3 isn't really a bad phone (except all the damage from my constantly dropping it). So although I would like something faster for sure, it doesn't necessarily have to be the current speed champ. And if I can save a buck or two on a mid-level (or last years high end phone), so much the better.
Of course I have been Googling for android benchmarking sites, but I wanted to ask what your favorite sites are to compare phones. I'm not looking for reviews (yet), I can always look them up after I have narrowed the list of candidates some.
It would be useful if the benchmarking site went back far enough to cover the Galaxy S3, so I can see how far in between any candidate phones are what I have now and the current top of the line. One site I found has a really great list going back ages, but the phones are listed by model number, not the more recognizable name. Even after doing a seperate search to figure out what phone it is, I keep forgetting when scanning the list later. So if you know sites that reference the name also in the description that would help.
Thanks,
Jon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe gsmarena.com ?
Dont believe benchmarks. They have been proven to be faked and easily boosted to show false readings.
Hi everyone,
Like most people I've been aware of the news articles about Goggle and Apple tracking peoples activity on their smartphones for a long time (not to mention the other app companies), that combined with a lack of a real need for the capabilities of a smartphone means I've stuck with old fashioned "dumb" phones and until recently I've been content with them.
That changed during the long lockdowns, I became aware for the first time of some of the alternative privacy focused OS's that were out there. I also found some of the Chinese rugged phones and even after the the initial "ooh shiny" reaction faded I still liked the idea of them and as my current phone seems to be dieing I thought I'd look if any of these privacy OS's were compatible with any of the rugged smartphones. That turned into a real rabbit hole that I'm still trying to find my way out of.
Could any of the kind souls here take pity on a bewildered, bamboozled and quite frankly utterly and completely lost idiot and maybe suggest either a device compatible with any of these OS's or something that could be tinkered to work?
I don't feel I know enough on this subject to narrow down what I want in the OS other than I would like to run one or two google apps on it. I know this might defeat the point of degoogleing the phone but they are just apps for public transport in my area.
As for the hardware, as I haven't used a smartphone before I can't really say much about what I'm looking for. The only things I really want would be a a minimum of a 6 inch, decent enough CPU, ram ect that using it dosen't make me feel like I'm pulling out my hair and a camera that can take at least an OKish picture and a large battery.
I apologize if this post reads like I'm a choosy beggar, I really want to find a combination that works but I just seem to be getting myself more and more confused.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this post
The phone's Android version should be Android 8+ thus it's Project Treble enabled, means you are able to flash GSI ROMs.
That was one option I was looking into but some sources seemed to say it couldn't be done on Mediatek powered devices as the company doesn't release their drivers. If thats wrong it would certanly be an easy option.
You may look inside here:
Complete List of Lineage OS Supported Devices | KrispiTech 2023
Here you will find a list of every single Android smartphone and tablet that currently has official support for the popular custom ROM Lineage OS.
krispitech.com
Thanks for the suggestion and link jwoegerbauer, I'll have a look and see if theirs anything that fits.