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[Q] Which phone should I buy guys?

Guys I am planning to buy a new phone. I want your suggestions about choosing the right one. I am relying on good battery life and phone which has a good amount of development going on (custom roms, kernels, miui, cyanogenmod, ics etc.) coz I love to fiddle with devices a lot. My current choices are :
Samsung galaxy R
Samsung galaxy S plus
HTC Desire S
HTC Incredible S
These are my options but senior members can suggest me phone in range of 23000 INR ($475).
Thanks in advance guys
Sent from my MIUI powered I9003 via Tapatalk

Gs2 !!!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Isn't Galaxy Nexus coming to India soon? It definitely has those things (though battery life preferred with custom kernel) and is probably of choice (until the new quadcores come out in a few months anyway) for tinkering. But I'm not sure you can get it for $475, unless they offer it more cheaply there. I got mine for $550ish, and that's considered cheap here.

DeshTwo said:
Gs2 !!!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
GS2 @ $475???
Sent from my MIUI powered I9003 via Tapatalk

thebobp said:
Isn't Galaxy Nexus coming to India soon? It definitely has those things (though battery life preferred with custom kernel) and is probably of choice (until the new quadcores come out in a few months anyway) for tinkering. But I'm not sure you can get it for $475, unless they offer it more cheaply there. I got mine for $550ish, and that's considered cheap here.
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Click to collapse
Yup. But $550 is costly for me. Already pushing my limits for my said price range
Sent from my MIUI powered I9003 via Tapatalk

Umm.. If you look for design and Sense UI, go for HTC. But if you want a performance device then I would suggest Samsung R or S Plus.
Thought for 23k you can even get Optimus 2x or Optimus 3D.
But if your just gonna stick with Samsung and HTC. I would suggest Samsung for the performance. No wonder HTC's Sense UI is far better than any other device out there but its just your decision whether wanna go with Design and Looks or Performance and Built Quality!

have a look at the new Htc series One,
HTC One X, HTC One S and HTC One V

DEFINITELY GALAXY S III!!
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hikarugo said:
DEFINITELY GALAXY S III!!
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very good phone but i'm not fun with the 4,8 inchscreen!!

Niklaus82 said:
very good phone but i'm not fun with the 4,8 inchscreen!!
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Click to collapse
2 years ago, I prefer 3.7" phones to 4.3" phones. But now, 3.7" and 4.3" seem too small for me. Just try it first and you'll like it and even want a bigger one. Anyway, the 4.8" screen was rumoured to have a 16:9 aspect ratio.
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ashzoomerintrack said:
Yup. But $550 is costly for me. Already pushing my limits for my said price range
Sent from my MIUI powered I9003 via Tapatalk
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I see. For that price, you might consider the HTC Sensation. I think the HTC Rezound occasionally gets that low (say with special promotions), but I can't find any at this moment.
I'm not familiar with any of the "cheaper" manufacturers (Huawei or the like) but it might be something to look into.

If your not in a hurry to get a phone. I would suggest you too wait for like till April or May. There are like 20+ phones getting launched by then.
HTC's One series are gonna be available globally by April. Even LG, Samsung, Sony has launched some new phones and they all comes with ICS 4.
So you may wait for sometime and I bet its worth waiting for.

Akzey said:
If your not in a hurry to get a phone. I would suggest you too wait for like till April or May. There are like 20+ phones getting launched by then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually a good point. Old phones usually take a price dip when their successor comes out. The HTC Rezound is sure to take one when the One X comes out, for instance, similarly for the Samsung Galaxy S2 when the S3 comes out.
So if you can wait, I'm going to speculate that those phones might dip down into your (OP's) price range. (But you should allow for a margin of error ).

If I were you, I would check the forum on what phone has the most development ... That way, you can have a lot of Rom choices hehehe
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G with Beats Audio

Stay away from HTC
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium

Lol. Why so negative towards HTC? Ever have an Htc sensation on ics? After that you should come back and judge
Android311 said:
Stay away from HTC
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Swyped From Space Using My ICS Flavored Sensation
Virtuous Inquisition 3.0

i use a HTC Desire S. the performance is good. i like the 3,7inch screen. not too short, not too big. it costs about 270bugs.
The support from the devs are very good. at the moment i use android 4 and wait for android 4 and sense 4
greets

Android311 said:
Stay away from HTC
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium
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I'd like to know why too.
I've got my HTC desire for ~two years and never had any problems. + there are a lot of roms for the device.
Among your choices I'd go for the HTC Desire S.

Should I? Should I not? Should I?

Hi,
HTC have released some awesome phones like the One X and my god it is fantastic, but the question is, shall I sell my Galaxy Nexus for the HTC?
The good points from the nexus are that I would be that I would be supporting to the next Android with no worry.
But the HTC would be more than capable for running the next Android version as its hardware is far better. Also I like the 1.5GHz Quad Core processor with nvidia tegra. But the updates that I would get will be later than the Nexus and also HTC are a pain to root with the boot loader and EXT partitions
What should I do?
Thanks Guys
Weeo
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

And also, is it too early to get a QC phone and wait till they get better?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

You should get the HTC. The specs whoop the Nexus's ass!

weeo said:
But the HTC would be more than capable for running the next Android version as its hardware is far better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The question isn't whether it's capable, but when the manufacturer releases the update. Currently, none of them have yet released a Gingerbread -> ICS update, and it's already been 5 months.

thebobp said:
The question isn't whether it's capable, but when the manufacturer releases the update. Currently, none of them have yet released a Gingerbread -> ICS update, and it's already been 5 months.
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Yeah True, except I would do a custom rom of an aosp build. I'm gonna get the HTC then. Wow then ill have a QuadCore phone + a QuadCore tablet ill be quad cored
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

for me its all about the hardware... since software can always be modified... the one x holds more potential hardware wise...

Do ittt!!!

I would wait for people to test it first...I am a bit worried with the battery stamina from One X
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA

With the Nexus, you do not have to wait to constructor update, you will always get the last Android's version.
But HTC phones are more powerfull and XDA community will let you have the new Android OS

Cheers people. Ill get the HTC
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Phones with the most XDA devs

Hey all,
I was just wondering which phones are most popular here at XDA in terms of developer contribution and such. I'm looking to buy a phone, but a little low on money, and that running a nice custom ROM will compensate for the potentially ageing hardware.
I know that the HD2 is definitely one of the most popular phones here, but what other phone have huge dev support?
Thanks,
Dillon

Nexus, S2 & S3
Sent from my GT-I9100

Definitely those phones, also the galaxy s family like the captivate has good dev support.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda app-developers app

Anything from Motorola? I can get a moto atrix for cheap but apparently there's no forseeable way to unlock the boot loader?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

DillonBladez said:
Anything from Motorola? I can get a moto atrix for cheap but apparently there's no forseeable way to unlock the boot loader?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Motorola unlocked the bootloader themselves on the Atrix's Gingerbread update
Sent from my Droid using xda app-developers app

gagdude said:
Motorola unlocked the bootloader themselves on the Atrix's Gingerbread update
Sent from my Droid using xda app-developers app
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Oh. Guess I've been reading old news then aha. I see that there's some recent development going on, but would you say that its a popular phone amongst xda devs?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Samsung Galaxy S3, big smartphone with big development. If you want other more cheaper, S2 is very good too

DillonBladez said:
Anything from Motorola? I can get a moto atrix for cheap but apparently there's no forseeable way to unlock the boot loader?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
The original Atrix 4G is rather smallish, but not sure about the bootloader options. I do know that the Atrix 2 DOES have a locked bootloader, is slightly larger than the OG, and has some good development regardless of its locked down BL. I personally would NOT recommend ANY Motorola devices, they lock them down and updates are not coming quickly. The A2 devs are working on cracking the BL with a possible brute force script to hit the CDT table in order to flash a custom CDT to bypass key signature checks. But, it is uncertain what RSA encryption is being used- either 512 or 1024 bit cyphered. I got the SGS3 for the performance and dev support...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

DillonBladez said:
Hey all,
I was just wondering which phones are most popular here at XDA in terms of developer contribution and such. I'm looking to buy a phone, but a little low on money, and that running a nice custom ROM will compensate for the potentially ageing hardware.
I know that the HD2 is definitely one of the most popular phones here, but what other phone have huge dev support?
Thanks,
Dillon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gt-i9000 has 84 pages of full android development. I own a Gt- i9001 which is stronger than i9000 and it has only 18 pages!!! I9001 is one of the most popular android devices. Dont forget that it used to be the best phone from 2010 until the first dualcore devices.
However both of these devices if the brick its not very dificult to unbring such as other devices as galaxy note....

Galaxy Tab 10.1 with ICS 4.0.4 Stock
Someone can give me a link for CM10???

Search the forums?

Galaxy s3 and s2

Where to next?

I don't have an upgrade yet, but as the date draws nearer (December) I really start looking at what is coming out between now and then, and I must say I'm not feeling particularly confident about any given upgrade path.
If it's true the next Nexus will be Nexus Optimus based off the Optimus G I'd probably consider the Optimus G since having identical hardware to the galaxy S worked many wonders for the captivate.
Outside of that, the Xperia Tl looks like a pretty great device if it gets enough support to see decent long-lived dev support.
So, what upcoming phone do you think will have the best dev support? I would really like to keep getting updates long after the manufacturer officially drops support.. and Even if it's only 400$, I probably will skip the nexus since 16 gigs isn't enough without expandable memory storage..

Same. I also have an upgrade due this December and the new phones on at&t aren't interesting. I would've gone to the one x but their at&t version has ran into a wall because of a recent update that locked the boot loaders down, hard. (At&t officially does not support unlocked boot loaders for it). So, the Cappy is still moving forward
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

panda_mode said:
Same. I also have an upgrade due this December and the new phones on at&t aren't interesting. I would've gone to the one x but their at&t version has ran into a wall because of a recent update that locked the boot loaders down, hard. (At&t officially does not support unlocked boot loaders for it). So, the Cappy is still moving forward
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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I was looking at galaxy note 2. 2gigs of ram and quad core onix
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panda_mode said:
Same. I also have an upgrade due this December and the new phones on at&t aren't interesting. I would've gone to the one x but their at&t version has ran into a wall because of a recent update that locked the boot loaders down, hard. (At&t officially does not support unlocked boot loaders for it). So, the Cappy is still moving forward
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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I'm cautiously optimistic about both the Xperia TL and the Optimus G.
I know that back mfr support can ruin otherwise great phones.. both in terms of upgrades and devs ability to make custom roms.. So I'll be looking anxiously at the LG Optimus. If the One x+ keeps the 64 gb of storage or even just 32gb of storage I would seriously consider it too assuming the dev support was adequate.
leezrd said:
I was looking at galaxy note 2. 2gigs of ram and quad core onix
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I am really worried the Note 2 will be far to big for my taste. The 4.7" phones already seem *huge* to have to stick in my pocket. Aside from that I'd be worried about the quad core exynos processsors which I hear make it hard to cook up custom Roms.

leezrd said:
I was looking at galaxy note 2. 2gigs of ram and quad core onix
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
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Sweet, I might consider that too. I'm not feeling the galaxy s3 for at&t at all and HTC one x is stuck on a rut with that 2.20 update.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 08:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 PM ----------
Snow_fox said:
I'm cautiously optimistic about both the Xperia TL and the Optimus G.
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Click to collapse
LG Optimus G looks very promising. I love its hardware design (on the same level with HTC one x or better, IMO), that quadcore Qualcomm s4 processor, and the screen is fantastic. I wish At&t included the 13 mp camera. But then again all cellphone cameras will never be perfect.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

panda_mode said:
Sweet, I might consider that too. I'm not feeling the galaxy s3 for at&t at all and HTC one x is stuck on a rut with that 2.20 update.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 08:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 PM ----------
LG Optimus G looks very promising. I love its hardware design (on the same level with HTC one x or better, IMO), that quadcore Qualcomm s4 processor, and the screen is fantastic. I wish At&t included the 13 mp camera. But then again all cellphone cameras will never be perfect.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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I want a decent camera but, honestly my absolute biggest concern is long term dev support. I wish there was an environment more "open" to dev with carriers. I understand they don't want to have to deal with people bricking their phones.. At the same time "voided warranty" scares off most people I talk to about custom roms in the first place.. So I don't think they are really gaining anything by locking down phones.. People either care about the warranty or they don't.

Snow_fox said:
I want a decent camera but, honestly my absolute biggest concern is long term dev support. I wish there was an environment more "open" to dev with carriers. I understand they don't want to have to deal with people bricking their phones.. At the same time "voided warranty" scares off most people I talk to about custom roms in the first place.. So I don't think they are really gaining anything by locking down phones.. People either care about the warranty or they don't.
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Well I'm guessing it's because carriers want you to buy a new phone for every upgrade date to make $$$ so they lock boot loaders (of course, that assumption could be false). For long term development support I will buy an international Samsung galaxy s_ device or a nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

panda_mode said:
Well I'm guessing it's because carriers want you to buy a new phone for every upgrade date to make $$$ so they lock boot loaders (of course, that assumption could be false). For long term development support I will buy an international Samsung galaxy s_ device or a nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I'm kinda tired of the SAMOLED displays.
As far as why they do it, forcing customers to buy new phones is a pretty horrible reason TBH.
There are far too many people who are angry at manufacturers for failing to update fast enough. When you remove their ability to install their own update, you're just giving them a reason to find another product.

Snow_fox said:
Unfortunately, I'm kinda tired of the SAMOLED displays.
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Me too, which is why I'm going to the One X or Nexus 4. I have a Nexus 7 and support is good. But I don't think any phone out there will be better than my captivate, development wise.
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panda_mode said:
Me too, which is why I'm going to the One X or Nexus 4. I have a Nexus 7 and support is good. But I don't think any phone out there will be better than my captivate, development wise.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
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Captivate came in a golden age were on at&t when had no real android competitor. Great specs nothing locked really and almost exactly same as nexus device
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leezrd said:
Captivate came in a golden age were on at&t when had no real android competitor. Great specs nothing locked really and almost exactly same as nexus device
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Haha, yup that's a good point. I'm glad that the cappy was my first android device and is/was filled with plenty of developers to support it. I'm kind of sad to leave it this December, TBH.
What do you think of the SGS3?
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

Best Phone Ever!
panda_mode said:
Haha, yup that's a good point. I'm glad that the cappy was my first android device and is/was filled with plenty of developers to support it. I'm kind of sad to leave it this December, TBH.
What do you think of the SGS3?
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
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I left my Cappy last October after the USB port died and I got tired of switching out batteries to use it for the SGS II. My SGS II just had an unfortunate accident involving water, so I pulled out my trusty Cappy which I could not part with since it was my 1st Android device. Thank god for all of the awesome development that has and continues to unfold for this device. I am on Jelly Bean 4.1.2 and its like I never left. I do not know how much longer I am going to use it (Nexus 4 looks tempting), but it continues to be an amazing phone that I will continue to go back to whenever other phones fail on me.
Kind of off topic but I really wanted to say how much of an awesome phone this is. Props to all of you who kept it for a full two years! :good:

panda_mode said:
Haha, yup that's a good point. I'm glad that the cappy was my first android device and is/was filled with plenty of developers to support it. I'm kind of sad to leave it this December, TBH.
What do you think of the SGS3?
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
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I like my galaxy s3 alot
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

Nexus 4 price is hard to resist, lack of storage and lte is unfortunate but can't beat 350 for a top of the line device. And it's a nexus.

I'd consider the nexus 4 if I didn't have the nexus 7 already
Might as well go with the school of fish since the galaxy s 3 is $99 now at select stores. Cant beat that price with all the features it has. But you gotta admit the HTC one x is a nice looking phone, and dare I say, and to which nobody has mentioned yet, the Lumia 920 (in red) *gasp*
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

Most major retailers will have GS3 for around $50 on black friday..if you are stateside...also Sam's club will have it for .96 cents
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda app-developers app

One thing im wondering as I look at the nexus 4 is that there are 3 buttons back, home and multi task (which is long press home for us) one of the things i love is the dedicated options or settings key, anyone have any experience moving to no options button? One (of many) things that bother me when im using an iPhone is the stupid steps you have to take to change app settings.
I'm reconsidering this phone for that reason,(although im sure XDA can give me options to remedy this issue) am i the only one who thinks a dedicated multitasking button is a waste and long press home is a fine alternative to open up another shortcut option?

master2828 said:
am i the only one who thinks a dedicated multitasking button is a waste and long press home is a fine alternative to open up another shortcut option?
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+1 here. Maybe a custom ROM for the Nexus will give you the ability to do that.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

Snow_fox said:
I don't have an upgrade yet, but as the date draws nearer (December) I really start looking at what is coming out between now and then, and I must say I'm not feeling particularly confident about any given upgrade path.
If it's true the next Nexus will be Nexus Optimus based off the Optimus G I'd probably consider the Optimus G since having identical hardware to the galaxy S worked many wonders for the captivate.
Outside of that, the Xperia Tl looks like a pretty great device if it gets enough support to see decent long-lived dev support.
So, what upcoming phone do you think will have the best dev support? I would really like to keep getting updates long after the manufacturer officially drops support.. and Even if it's only 400$, I probably will skip the nexus since 16 gigs isn't enough without expandable memory storage..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Getting a Nexus is your only safe bet for long term dev support and you don't have to deal with locked bootloader and losing your warranty by unlocking it (you have no choice with Sony and HTC, because you enter your IMEI to unlock it which void your warranty, unless you do some third party unlocking method). Also for the price of the Nexus 4 and being a Nexus device, I don't see why one would get the Optimus G with locked bootloader and probably poor support, if only for the 32gb storage which is not worth it compared to all the things the Nexus offer (ie, Google updates, easy to flash, best dev support and highesst quality rom, pentaband, elitist Nexus fanboys community).
master2828 said:
am i the only one who thinks a dedicated multitasking button is a waste and long press home is a fine alternative to open up another shortcut option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Various CyanogenMod and AOKP-based rom is capable of customizing the on screen NavBar, including for the Captivate. Try AOKP rom and look for the Navigation bar settings.

panda_mode said:
+1 here. Maybe a custom ROM for the Nexus will give you the ability to do that.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
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Custom ROMs allow you to change all sorts of things about the navigation bar. You can have more buttons, different buttons, even shortcuts/widgets.
Also, I can say from experience that the three button setup is better than the four button setup.
Sent from my iPhone

[Q] My first smartphone is getting old.

Hi boys, and girls
As my 2 year contract on my carrier, is getting to the finish line, i want to get something new. (I will keep my small litle muscle phone O1 as a second phone )
At the first i wanted the galaxy nexus, because of the great software support, and the developement, in our xda forum.
Then suddenly i saw the new Optimus 4x, but, there is one but. There is no developement in here, because of locked bootloader
I really don`t know what to take. Thought about the Xperia S, but nope.
The phones what i need to choose from , are - 1. Galaxy nexus
2. Optimus 4x
Maybe Acro S ?
Maybe some other suggestions?

Maybe the new LG Nexus? It'll be $399 on Google Store unsubsidized according to rumors.

Koraboros said:
Maybe the new LG Nexus? It'll be $399 on Google Store unsubsidized according to rumors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but it will not be available in my country for a while.

seeing how often google release OS.
I will stick to nexus device for fastest OS update
I love my Google experience device motorola xoom running AOSP jelly bean

Yeah. I think I'd go for the new nexus phone. Just wait for a lil while

I think getting a new LG phone is a waste, Anything other than a galaxy nexus is.
The new android OS? Availably from day 1.
Every app is tested on that first, which means closer to no bugs.

I think that i will take Galaxy Nexus. Just because of software support, developement. The performance is also o.k No need for 4 cores.
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium

Galaxy nexus has a very very disappointing battery life
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TheAndroidGeek said:
Galaxy nexus has a very very disappointing battery life
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Yes, i know, but it is the only device, with the best price/performance on my carrier. I will take it on a contract.
As i said, maybe something from xperia line - The acro s?

Galaxy s3??? Htc one x???
Coz i like quad core!
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium

Ahh. Bought Galaxy nexus today. No need for a quad core phone,becouse there is not where to put in all potential. Its enough with a dualcore.
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium

Me also getting a galaxy nexus by the end of this month
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium

Esterra said:
Ahh. Bought Galaxy nexus today. No need for a quad core phone,becouse there is not where to put in all potential. Its enough with a dualcore.
Sent from my LG-P500 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Smart choice, and yes Android doesn't make use of multi core efficiently as yet.
Sent from my Ainovo Flame (Nexus 7) using Tapatalk 2

i was thinking of buying htc one s or the nexus
which one do u guys think is a better choise?

Nexus of you want it right now. I say wait till the holiday is over. I bet you a slick new device will come out by then. A new nexus and HTC has already announced the HTC one x+ and also a 5 inch device. You sir must wait.
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