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When it comes to android, you know that you have an outstanding range of hardware. From the low-end Optimus T/S to the titans of the OS such as the Galaxy S2, and everything imaginable in between. These days, you can even find generic china phones running an, often dated, android. Every carrier has it, they come in all price ranges, and they're available on demand. The question I pose to you, "Is android's key selling point the hardware?"
I understand that numerous XDA members and even some outsiders enjoy the limitless customization options made readily available in android and that's awesome. However, the general consumer is happy to end customization at setting their own ringtone. It's not a breaking factor for the majority that you can swap out kernels. Overall, android is a decent enough platform, but for the masses, I see little that it offers, hardware aside, that it's competitors don't.
Here recently, a thread was posted regarding the ASUS Transformer 2, a pentacore processor in a tablet. Now, most people have yet to exhaust the resources on their dual core phones. A penta-core device seems to be pushing the limits. Considering that it is running a mobile OS, by the time those cores could be utilized, wouldn't the tablet be long outdated? However, I know it will sell well because the word "Penta-core" sounds too awesome for the masses to pass up.
Another occurrence I've seen, having worked in retail shops for some time. A lot of customers, when asked about what OS their phone is running, will reply, "HTC" or, "Samsung." A lot of them have no idea what our little green friend is. Another point towards my personal opinion that the hardware is a huge selling factor.
Overall, android is a very complete platform. It is not my daily driver, but I do enjoy it whenever I have time to tinker. I am inquiring about this matter to get your opinions, what sells? Hardware or software?
I think for me its a little bit of both. I like the fact that the hardware is there in my 3d when I need to push the system really hard. Its not often I do, but its good that when I do, it executes the tasks with ease.
On the same hand there are huge software benefits for me. I love the UI and that I can set swype gestures to open particular apps or settings. It makes multi tasking tthat much easier and fluid for me.
Also, at least from what I have seen with iOS5 (my girl has the 4s) is that android seems to be ahead in certain areas of functionality. For example it is not an innovative thing (to me anyways, being an android user) to be able to back up your device without the use of a computer... I have been doing wireless backups and internal backups since I bought my first android phone.
I think one thing you mentioned before... I think it was you, anyways... was pretty much right on when you said that android is capable of meeting so many different needs in the sense that you have a wide range in variety of devices to choose from and at different costs. There are high end phones available such that perform to today's standards in the mobile world, and there are lower end ones available that are more cost effective.
I feel if you yourself are innovative and creative, you are way more capable of taking an android phone and building the UI to what you want/need. I don't sacrifice functionality for speed, ever. In the end it is still just a phone, but I prefer this platform because it caters to that need I have to customize my phone the way I want it to be, not what somebody else feels it should be.
---------- Post added at 02:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 AM ----------
And to address your comment about the bajjillion core tab....
Seems the hardware is way ahead of the software in this case... therefore, I am not impressed by it.
I have a Motorola xoom and it has plenty of power to do what I need it to do. I will not be taking it back to simply have two more cores under the hood. And somebody else mentioned the new kal el device only has 1gb of ram? In my opinion that is really disappointing for a device with that kind of processing power.
i buy phones based on hardware specs
the OS is optional
I prefer to load my OS of choice
just like my PCs / Laptops
z33dev33l said:
When it comes to android, you know that you have an outstanding range of hardware. From the low-end Optimus T/S to the titans of the OS such as the Galaxy S2, and everything imaginable in between. These days, you can even find generic china phones running an, often dated, android. Every carrier has it, they come in all price ranges, and they're available on demand. The question I pose to you, "Is android's key selling point the hardware?"
I understand that numerous XDA members and even some outsiders enjoy the limitless customization options made readily available in android and that's awesome. However, the general consumer is happy to end customization at setting their own ringtone. It's not a breaking factor for the majority that you can swap out kernels. Overall, android is a decent enough platform, but for the masses, I see little that it offers, hardware aside, that it's competitors don't.
Here recently, a thread was posted regarding the ASUS Transformer 2, a pentacore processor in a tablet. Now, most people have yet to exhaust the resources on their dual core phones. A penta-core device seems to be pushing the limits. Considering that it is running a mobile OS, by the time those cores could be utilized, wouldn't the tablet be long outdated? However, I know it will sell well because the word "Penta-core" sounds too awesome for the masses to pass up.
Another occurrence I've seen, having worked in retail shops for some time. A lot of customers, when asked about what OS their phone is running, will reply, "HTC" or, "Samsung." A lot of them have no idea what our little green friend is. Another point towards my personal opinion that the hardware is a huge selling factor.
Overall, android is a very complete platform. It is not my daily driver, but I do enjoy it whenever I have time to tinker. I am inquiring about this matter to get your opinions, what sells? Hardware or software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First time I have to agree with you pal.BUT:
i)Those guys/gals whose customisation needs end with setting the ringtone are the ones who won't care or even won't realize if the OS is different between an iPhone and an Android device.
ii)Android offers most(if not all) of the things other OSes offer,plus the infinite customisation capabilities no other OS has.Now this is what matters for those of us who can do more than changing the ringtone.
Other than these two things,I generally agree.In the end,though,it's user preference that matters.And people's idiocy in fact.Hell,many people buy their phones depending on how many megapixels their camera can do!
AllGamer said:
I prefer to load my OS of choice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd prefer that too, but mobile hardware is pretty much completely closed, so this is not really possible in practice, except maybe on very very few models.
To answer the title question: I don't know about others, but for me it's definitely the OS. Android is the closest to Linux as I'll probably get on a phone, people are free to cook up their own ROMs (not completely free in many cases, there's closed components in every ROM, but oh well), vast customization capabilities, for getting software you're not limited to one store with draconian rules and sometimes arbitrary decisions.
Certainly a combination of software + hardware with a little bit of company preference.
But considering the range of manufacturers for android based phones, I find it hard to lag behind hardware wise.
1) I look for a device that I think will last me the three years of my contract or at least the majority of it
2) I look here on XDA and see what the dev community is like
3) I buy the phone
I would guess that for 80%+ of phone buyers the main factor is price. Sure they know about the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy devices, but for most those phohnes are out of their price bracket. So they find the device which has the same sort of idea but in a cheap package, which has helped Android no end since there are low end Android devices, and Apple have little interest in that.
For myself as a more techie person, I use Android becuase of the freedom to do what i want with my hardware. At least that's why i got into Android. Now I will continue to buy Android devices, but the major reason is I've invested in the app market, I have tens of pounds worth of apps for Android. To jump to anotehr platform now would mean having to start over with that. That's the power of these stores and markets, once you are invested changing platform is a lot more of a jump that just deciding which you like the most at the time.
countstex said:
I would guess that for 80%+ of phone buyers the main factor is price. Sure they know about the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy devices, but for most those phohnes are out of their price bracket. So they find the device which has the same sort of idea but in a cheap package, which has helped Android no end since there are low end Android devices, and Apple have little interest in that.
For myself as a more techie person, I use Android becuase of the freedom to do what i want with my hardware. At least that's why i got into Android. Now I will continue to buy Android devices, but the major reason is I've invested in the app market, I have tens of pounds worth of apps for Android. To jump to anotehr platform now would mean having to start over with that. That's the power of these stores and markets, once you are invested changing platform is a lot more of a jump that just deciding which you like the most at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen the price comment being made multiple times but aren't these devices pretty close to each other in terms of price after a 2 yr contract? In fact if you shop around, you can find some of these highend units for nearly nothing from online stores such as amazon
As for me, overall package is what sold me to galaxy s2. Form factor, hardware specs, overall implementation of the OS (gpu acceleration various places), etc. Version number really doesn't really bother me (2.3.3 vs 2.3.4/5/6/7) as long as there aren't any key features missing in the current revision that exists in the newer revisions.
Gusar321 said:
I'd prefer that too, but mobile hardware is pretty much completely closed, so this is not really possible in practice, except maybe on very very few models.
To answer the title question: I don't know about others, but for me it's definitely the OS. Android is the closest to Linux as I'll probably get on a phone, people are free to cook up their own ROMs (not completely free in many cases, there's closed components in every ROM, but oh well), vast customization capabilities, for getting software you're not limited to one store with draconian rules and sometimes arbitrary decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HD2 was a great example
then there are many other HTC devices that did the same
and a few Samsung devices as well
and there's the HP Touchpad
and...
For most people it's both.
They're attracted for the first time by the look and find the OS easy to use.
Despite people stating that the iphone is for people who just want to use a smartphone for the first time etc and Android is for techies and geeks to customise, if that were actually true then that would mean that there are a hell of a lot of geeks out there, which obviously isn't the case.
I would guess the majority of Android users' extent of customisation is changing the picture of their wallpaper, and that's the thing, with Android you can do that, it's easy to use, with the extra buttons it can seem more logical to new users compared with the single button on the iphone for instance.
It has the "apps and the wifis" that average users want, it looks good and you can make it look pretty much how you like.
Being able to just plug it into another computer and transfer files is a huge boon too, something a colleague was very disappointed with the iphone4 because of it's lack of ability.
There is 500+ android devices on the market globally, its the brand name and hardware specs that sell. Not the os.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I'd rather say that that none of those sell the other: it's actually the price selling both, plus the "status symbol" factor thatbhas to do with Apple things. Androids are generally cheaper then both the iPhone and WP7 phones. This, plus the fact that most people don't seem to like WP7 tiled ui, basically because it doesn't "look like an iPhone" enough. That might sound harsh, like saying that most people are dumb, but it's not (only) that actually: people got used to icons since the day they got their first pc, no wonder they go for something that looks more familiar to them when they wanna buy a smartphone. Maybe Win8 will totally change the name of the game, but that's it for the moment (sadly enough I dare say).
I think we have to remember that 'most' people don't include the tiny fraction of the consumer market that are active on XDA. We make choices on a range of factors as we are better informed about both hardware and software. When we walk into a phone shop we want to assess the phone on build quality, size, Android version, display type, etc.
When the average punter walks into the same shop their buying choice usually boils down to no more than, 'Oh look, a shiny thing. I want that one'.
.
Thread moved to Android. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
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Do you review the content of my threads before moving them or do you see my name and play pin the tail on the donkey with the final location of the thread?
Hello, newb, I searched and skimmed the first couple of dozen results but didn't find what I need.
I'll try and keep the background to my request brief, you're not bothered about my life story, but a few bits of info are relevant to the question; I have a form of High Function Autism, one of the symptoms of which is that I have real trouble with "day to day" stuff - I can spend two days straight reading physics papers or writing short fiction, but keeping track of appointments, even remembering to do simple stuff like take a shower or put my clothes in the washing machine is a struggle. Until recently, my mum was around to remind me to do stuff and nag me when I didn't, alas she recently passed away.
So, in trying to find new coping strategies, it occurred to me that I might use an android smartphone as a personal organiser, set up in such a way as to give me daily reminders for basic things and also to manage appointments. The issue is I'm a bit lost as to what to actually buy. Are the sort of apps which would meet my needs hardware intensive? Do I have to shell out for an SGS2, or would something like an HTC Wildfire be enough?
Essentially, I'm looking for a handset which has a decent battery life, a decent screen size(I have ludicrously large hands), which can serve as a personal organiser, main phone(no point in having a landline as well), and occasional portable music player, and I don't want to overspend. I'm in the UK, and the handset would have to be available sim-free and unlocked, as I'll be going pay as you go and will likely use giffgaff.
Any recommendations or advice you can offer would be appreciated.
EDIT: Rats, I forgot to mention, being DLNA-compliant would be handy but not essential - I've no idea if that's a common feature on smartphones, as I've never actually owned one before.
Hi and welcome.
I'd recommend a large screen "making user input easier" but that doesn't mean needs to be SGSII, some great device's even though ageing are the Desire HD / Atrix / LGO2X and they can be found at a decent price.
Regarding keeping track and having formality then nearly every android device will do this with the many pieces of software available on the market, not intensive @ all either.
Device data base has allot of info regarding specification - link @ top page. "if anything is baffling feel free to PM"
Not sure DLNA has certified android phones.
Hi, i've been thinking about the past and the present, and i've realized that android, no matter how good it is, is killing the beautiful differences that taken place when phones like Touch hd, HD2 were on top.
Why do I think that? Let's go back in time to 2009- the HD2 comes out, and becomes a flagship product of the HTC, people are happy, developers are making lots and lots and lots of fixes and upgrades. As we can see now, the HD2 is still one of the most active boards on xda, with new roms and builds coming every month.
Now look at the present time- HTC released tons of new smartphones, the 7 series and the other ones, which names i didn't even remember... The point is that now, every device equipped with android (i'm not sure about wp7 but i think its likely to be the same) differs from others only by screen size or the processor, now every app is the same, every phone looks like it's been cloned from another.
HD2 looks like it's personalized specially for one owner- it has it's own programs made specially for this one machine (like tcpmp and the other ones). The new ones look like cheap machines sold for 5$- each looks the same. At the moment, the HTC doesn't have a phone, that could become a flagship product like hd2 was and that's sad, cause it doesn't seem to change.
Well, it had to be a small IMHO and it grew up to a large lecture, anyway, what do you think? Does the android make a homogeneous mass from every phone? Or maybe do you think I'm crazy?
The market is certainly diluted. There are a ton of generic devices clogging things up, and honestly there are even too many quality phones, which to your argument, limits how often updates come out and spreads out the field for aftermarket development. It's also cost in terms of hardware in certain areas, as manufacturers aren't going to maximize sound output or still/video capture quality when they know it's only going to be one of ten devices bringing in revenue. If manufacturers would focus on one or two flagship devices and two or three mid-to-low range devices this would be much better all around.
Handsets are also dropping with far too much frequency. I'd rather see quality development than to have pretty good devices come out every few months and then get ignored once the newer phone hits the market. If it weren't for developers bringing out MIUI/Cyanogen, etc to give us the latest features I can't say that I'd stay fully satisfied with the devices.
I understand that people love different features, but there's no reason I should be presented with 34 Android-based phones when I go to look for something new, and that's just from Verizon alone. Over all of the major carriers we're talking about somewhere in the neighborhood of what, probably 75-85 current market android phones? That makes zero sense what-so-ever. The number of models needs to be scaled back so that one, casual users don't feel overwhelmed with the choices, two, updates can remain current and there can be a focus on developing quality product, and three so that aftermarket developers can streamline their work and know that what they code will work smoothly across the platforms available.
It's raining androids right now, and someone needs to stem the tide.
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Like I'm sure many of you did, I read a TON of reviews before buying the Infinity. I mean I read and re-read almost every english site out there that had gotten their hands on a pre-release version a month or so before the device came out (and videos too!). All of these glowing reviews seemed to reassure me that I was making the right decision and amped up my excitement and expectations. But when I got the tablet I was really disappointed about the speed, stuttering, and lagging both while browsing and the device itself. I've upgraded to .26 and have been VERY happy with it since. I'm not complaining about the device or asking how to make it better. I love my tablet and can't wait to rock some custom roms!
My point is that everyone here noticed the problems almost immediately after opening the box. Lately I've been thinking about the inconsistency between the reviews and the initial release of the product and was wondering if anyone else noticed this and is now either more skeptical of review sites, or (especially after some of the debacles with Asus Device Tracker, the Unlock Tool Serial Issue, etc) if there is more going on behind the scenes with Asus.
I remember reading reviews for Motherboards a few years ago and while ASUS has always been one of the top players it seems that other entrants are doing just as good if not better. Other users were noticing the same trend in innovation and frankly quality. I applaud Asus for venturing out into new product lines, but I get this nagging feeling that they're really not doing the best they can and I'm surprised no reviewer called them out on it. I used to be a huge brand champion for them, but I might be slowly losing it....
Just something I've been thinking about and decided to share.
I know exactly how you feel. I have noticed absolutely raving reviews for hardware that was less than overwhelming out of the box before, but the past few year, the number of times I've noticed significant discrepancies between the reviews and the actual buyer's user experience far more often, it seems.
I'd imagine that either the manufacturer is buying off the reviewer (I know several hardware companies only make their products available for review on the explicit notice that only positive aspects are to be referenced, or that the review overall must at least be positive), or that they send off devices that have been pulled inside out by the engineers and have been tweaked to hell (and back), even as far as swapping out components. This isn't so hard to do when you haven't even settled on an actual end-product design.
I know that there's alsways a negative bias on the user forums (like XDA, for example), but the positive review bias is putting me off even more.
Excellent thread.
I wonder about this too, take the Prime...that device was virtually broken out of the box. How could any reviewer not mention the constant ANRs with the web browsing, slowness when installing anything and broken bluetooth?
My Infinity has been great right out of the box. So, no, it doesn't have any impact on my perspective since most of the reviews are in-line with my experience.
The Prime is altogether different, though. It had some clear problems that were broken at the hardware level, so it seemed like someone should have called it out much more quickly.
I would expect the manufacturer to more closely QA a unit they knew was going to be a hardware review unit, so minor flaws that are due to poor QA (a dead pixel/light bleed/etc) I would NOT expect to be called out by most reviewers. But a design defect as glaring and fundamental as WiFi and GPS iisues the Prime had? Not so much.
I expressed the same thoughts back in February with respect to the original prime:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22396949&postcount=7
Good thread!
The reviews for me add a lot of confusion as I'm sure happens to most.
As a long time home PC builder I got mad at Asus years back because of
some serious issues with their motherboards. So I've always just stepped
over the brand until recently. Asus seems to have changed or maybe it's
just hardware advancements that have become common.
We have a couple of other tablets and I've always thought they we're a hassle
to use in most cases. I've wanted a 10.1 tablet for a couple of years, yet wanted
to wait for some vast hardware improvement. That's where the TF700 comes into play.
I bought this thing for the inside first, quality second, reviews third Asus name last.
I dunno what will happen maybe Android 4.1 will give all the tablets wings...
Thats OK said:
The reviews for me add a lot of confusion as I'm sure happens to most.
As a long time home PC builder I got mad at Asus years back because of
some serious issues with their motherboards. So I've always just stepped
over the brand until recently. Asus seems to have changed or maybe it's
just hardware advancements that have become common.
We have a couple of other tablets and I've always thought they we're a hassle
to use in most cases. I've wanted a 10.1 tablet for a couple of years, yet wanted
to wait for some vast hardware improvement. That's where the TF700 comes into play.
I bought this thing for the inside first, quality second, reviews third Asus name last.
I dunno what will happen maybe Android 4.1 will give all the tablets wings...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That won't happen until CM18 - Redbull
But you hit on exactly what I was getting at with the motherboards. Innovation and quality are not always the same thing. I ended up with a Gigabyte board and was very happy btw.
To be honest I think that consumers in general are ok with sub-par build quality though. As long as something works and isn't absolutely terrible most people are cool with it. Basically as consumers we allow companies to get away with it because we still buy the products. It's a vicious cycle.
To be honest I think that consumers in general are ok with sub-par build quality though. As long as something works and isn't absolutely terrible most people are cool with it. Basically as consumers we allow companies to get away with it because we still buy the products. It's a vicious cycle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also think that consumers (Americans in particular, myself included) tend to be incredibly price conscious and this has been further exacerbated by both the world economy and the pace of technology. So, the past decade or so, this has really accelerated.
As you note, nowadays, poor build quality is not preferred but it is highly tolerated... probably because the item was viewed as a "good deal" and we know we're just going to buy a new one and literally scrap the old one in just a year or two. We are not buying things with the intent to keep them for years or call a "repairman" if they break, like people did with TV sets in the 50s and 60s.
I have a Moto Droid 1 that was just released from it's 2 year contract in Jan and I've known people who have upgraded phones four or five times since I've owned mine. It's nuts. I'm finally going to replace it because the volume button broke but I found myself half wishing it wasn't so sturdy when I see everyone with their shiny new phones. It's hard not to fall into the rampant consumerism that helps fuel this negative quality trend.
wolfman87 said:
That won't happen until CM18 - Redbull
But you hit on exactly what I was getting at with the motherboards. Innovation and quality are not always the same thing. I ended up with a Gigabyte board and was very happy btw.
To be honest I think that consumers in general are ok with sub-par build quality though. As long as something works and isn't absolutely terrible most people are cool with it. Basically as consumers we allow companies to get away with it because we still buy the products. It's a vicious cycle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chuckle OL
"CM18 Redbull"
You may have actually tagged a future version!
Gadget reviews on the Internet are on the whole quite poor. There are a lot of factors that most users here could add to.
- they're all tied into an endless consumer release cycle that has to gear up every few months or year depending on the vendor. In that sense they're part of a big ball of constant marketing, hype and desire that people and places like here feed into (I'm guilty!)
- the explosion of 24hr tech coverage on the Internet has all these gadget sites competing for page views, advertising and even access from the very companies they're assessing.
- the gadget "journalists" are constantly switching to new devices, never living with it before they are pressured to judge it for an article that will likely never be updated but always searchable on the net. How many tablet reviews have you seen where someone is paging through home pages as they state how fast or slow a device is? Useless.
-it's true you see more negatives on XDA as far as quality control, but you also see more unfounded hype for new or unreleased devices because people want the next new thing or to feel like their emotional or financial purchase is worthwhile. I trust net reviewers when they uniformly say a device is mediocre (ie Note 10.1) because you know it had to be bad if it sucked in the brief amount of time they gave it. I don't trust their praise until I know for myself it's decent (Nexus 7, Infinity) because there are all sorts of issues they won't be around to see (Prime).
I'm trying to decide on a better phone for my father. He is technically savy but starting to have some vision issues.
He is currently using an LG G3 which I've long ago rooted and stripped out most every useless app and program to simplify the app drawer and minimize issues he may have trying to find something. It is on TMobile and the new device will need to be compatible with TMO also. The G3 works fine but would like a bigger screen and the earpiece speaker is crackling again. Have replaced it twice and don't feel like doing it again.
For the most part he only uses email, phone, maps, calculator and web browser. Doesn't need the latest device or the fanciest features. Just a reliable, affordable and sturdy device since he tends to break them also.
Basically....
Would like to find something with a large, bright screen. 6" or more.
Something that is sturdy, reliable and big battery.
Easy to root so I can strip out useless apps.
Loud earpiece.
Cheap or easy to fix when he breaks it.
Anyone have a parent in a similar position and what did you find worked best for them?
cahiatt said:
I'm trying to decide on a better phone for my father. He is technically savy but starting to have some vision issues.
He is currently using an LG G3 which I've long ago rooted and stripped out most every useless app and program to simplify the app drawer and minimize issues he may have trying to find something. It is on TMobile and the new device will need to be compatible with TMO also. The G3 works fine but would like a bigger screen and the earpiece speaker is crackling again. Have replaced it twice and don't feel like doing it again.
For the most part he only uses email, phone, maps, calculator and web browser. Doesn't need the latest device or the fanciest features. Just a reliable, affordable and sturdy device since he tends to break them also.
Basically....
Would like to find something with a large, bright screen. 6" or more.
Something that is sturdy, reliable and big battery.
Easy to root so I can strip out useless apps.
Loud earpiece.
Cheap or easy to fix when he breaks it.
Anyone have a parent in a similar position and what did you find worked best for them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would try doing some Google searches for:
"Smartphones for seniors"
Or
"Smartphones for the visually impaired"
Find the most recent links to lists and reviews of devices then find one that meets all of your requirements, have them participate in reading the lists and choosing the device.
DO NOT CONTACT ME VIA PM TO RECEIVE HELP, YOU WILL BE IGNORED. KEEP IT IN THE THREADS WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE
Also could ask in
What's your next smartphone / What should I buy by poseidon5213
and
**DEVICE SUGGESTION THREAD** -- Not sure what device to buy? Ask here! by KidCarter93
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs
I'm sorry that the responses weren't really helpful at all to the OP.
I'm also looking for a phone replacement for my 95 year old mother.
Any better info or recommendations ???
tt c6 said:
I'm sorry that the responses weren't really helpful at all to the OP.
I'm also looking for a phone replacement for my 95 year old mother.
Any better info or recommendations ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When it comes to recommending devices, it comes down to what purposes the user will use it for and what other things may evolve into doing with their device. It is virtually impossible for a 3rd party to project/expect what the user needs or what they would be comfortable with.
It's kinda like choosing a spouse, it isn't the kind of thing that someone else's opinion can help you with. What works for us might not work for you/them, its all about the individual.
Factors like: screen size, operating system, the interface and how easy it is to see, understand and use, amount if RAM and storage that is best for their needs, if they take photos and videos frequently then they'll need plenty of storage and expendable storage that is easy for them to use and remove/replace.
Factors like these are why suggestions can't really be made, especially suggestions from users here because users here are more familiar with devices that wouldn't be considered usable by non tech savvy seniors, virtually all of us here have no experience with devices that aren't the more mainstream devices used by millions. This website is completely centered around the modification and use if android software, our interests and knowledge are not in what is the latest greatest device or what features this device has compared to that device and what this or that device is best for. You need to go to some tech review websites for ideas and suggestions, that is what they focus on, coming to a website where the focus is software coding to ask for suggestions doesn't really serve your purposes very well when there are much better sources of infirnation that what anyone here could provide you with.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
I disagree.
Most 95 year olds want the same thing, if not all of them.
The simplest phone to operate that will allow them to make phone calls.
I got my grandmother the only basic phone that is currently offered by T-mobile corporate: the Alcatel Go Flip.
She does NOT like it.
The "ring" around the "Go" button that is the only way to move up and down the selections is not physically large, or easy to see, let alone use.
In order to get to the contacts, you must press "Go" once, wait for the contacts to become "highlighted", then press "Go" again.
There should be ONE TOUCH entry into the contacts, and the up and down buttons should be clearly marked and easy to operate.
VERY disappointed in T-mobile for only offering one basic phone, and in Alcatel for making what should be a simple phone to operate, more difficult then it should be.
Can ANYONE offer a solution for a 95 year old that I can activate on T-mobile?
Thanks.
Positives for the Alcatel Go Flip:
- It utilizes all the current T-mobile bands
- It runs basically a scaled down Android OS.
You can log on to your gmail account from the Go Flip, and all of your Google contacts will be automatically imported into the Go Flip.
tt c6 said:
I disagree.
Most 95 year olds want the same thing, if not all of them.
The simplest phone to operate that will allow them to make phone calls.
I got my grandmother the only basic phone that is currently offered by T-mobile corporate: the Alcatel Go Flip.
She does NOT like it.
The "ring" around the "Go" button that is the only way to move up and down the selections is not physically large, or easy to see, let alone use.
In order to get to the contacts, you must press "Go" once, wait for the contacts to become "highlighted", then press "Go" again.
There should be ONE TOUCH entry into the contacts, and the up and down buttons should be clearly marked and easy to operate.
VERY disappointed in T-mobile for only offering one basic phone, and in Alcatel for making what should be a simple phone to operate, more difficult then it should be.
Can ANYONE offer a solution for a 95 year old that I can activate on T-mobile?
Thanks.
Positives for the Alcatel Go Flip:
- It utilizes all the current T-mobile bands
- It runs basically a scaled down Android OS.
You can log on to your gmail account from the Go Flip, and all of your Google contacts will be automatically imported into the Go Flip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I mean, I doubt you'll find anyone here familiar with devices that aren't specifically touchscreen only, and with that comes all of the factors I listed, how the OS is designed, screen size, visibility of the items on the screen, too many variables to give reasonable suggestions.
All I can say is find reviews for devices and see which of them have reviews from users mentioning how good the device is for seniors.
There is a thread here specifically for device suggestions and it is where all questions about suggestions are intended to be posted.
It will ultimately come down to them having the device in their hands before they buy it, that is the only way to see if it fits their needs/wants. Find reviews, make a list of 5-10 devices that you think are viable then go physically check demo models of each of them out to see what they think.
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