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Hi, I need a replacement for my girlfriends ZTE Blade's, she needs two phones. I have been looking for something similar in size, and the ONE S looks to fit the bill. It's not hugely bigger. Although a handset with a 3.7 screen would be ideal.
I have no desire to root the phone etc. I just need to give her something reliable and dependable. The specs of the ONE S would suit her fine. But I'm thinking there may be a caveat. Such as, HTC are as bad as LG when it comes to OS software updates. Or the battery life sucks big time. Or sense really slows everything down.
The iPhone would be perfect in terms of size, specs and performance. But we are an ANDROID family, so I would like to keep our investment in Tablets and software.
My sincere apologies for the hugely general question. My current handset a Galaxy NEXUS which was such an easy choice, I'm running official Jelly Bean. But, choosing for a petite lady, something that works and won't become outdated in 12 months is super hard.
She has a 10" Galaxy Tab which recently got ICS, and I want to keep the devices running comparable versions of the OS.
I would be very grateful for any insights, or other handset recommendation's. Many thanks. Anil
Addition: I thought I would point out after user Ollaz's response below, I plan on only buying an unlocked retail version of any handset.
Why not the HTC One S. The updates are also affected by the carrier as they need to be approved, but as HTC said a few months ago, that they will be focusing on the One series and will not release new phones all the time, which means that these devices will get updates. But of course, buying any new product has the problem of eventually getting old and it will be just cut off. The way it has to be.
Also, in the same range there appears to be the ASUS Padfone (which is one hell of a device, but I didn't buy it because god knows if or when ASUS will update their devices). The LG Optimus 4X kinda seems like a beast and is in the same price range.
Ollaz said:
Why not the HTC One S. The updates are also affected by the carrier as they need to be approved, but as HTC said a few months ago, that they will be focusing on the One series and will not release new phones all the time, which means that these devices will get updates. But of course, buying any new product has the problem of eventually getting old and it will be just cut off. The way it has to be.
Also, in the same range there appears to be the ASUS Padfone (which is one hell of a device, but I didn't buy it because god knows if or when ASUS will update their devices). The LG Optimus 4X kinda seems like a beast and is in the same price range.
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Hi Ollaz, thanks for the info on HTC devices. I plan on buying a retail version of any handset, not locked to any one carrier etc. I appreciate technology moves on and some devices get left behind. My recently retired Optimus 2X still only has an official Ginger Bread release, even though the hardware is more than capable of running ICS.
I have an ASUS Transformer and it received an ICS update early this year. So in my book ASUS are pretty good whereas software updates are concerned. If Google made a sub four inch handset I would buy that without hesitation. Beast hardware is only as good as the software. And LG have a terrible software update record.
Thanks. Have fun. Anil
First off, the Asus Transformer is a different case. Since it's a tablet, it doesn't have to go through the extra step of carrier testing that a phone does for an update.
My came from a 3.7" HTC Incredible and really wanted to stick with a smaller form factor she could use with one hand (typing being the biggest issue). She is very happy with the One S, she just had to get used to using two hands for typing, but its thinness made it an easier transition from the old phone.
FWIW, HTC has already promised Jelly Bean will be coming within a few months, and I wouldn't necessarily expect the Transformer to get it.
radar5 said:
First off, the Asus Transformer is a different case. Since it's a tablet, it doesn't have to go through the extra step of carrier testing that a phone does for an update.
My came from a 3.7" HTC Incredible and really wanted to stick with a smaller form factor she could use with one hand (typing being the biggest issue). She is very happy with the One S, she just had to get used to using two hands for typing, but its thinness made it an easier transition from the old phone.
FWIW, HTC has already promised Jelly Bean will be coming within a few months, and I wouldn't necessarily expect the Transformer to get it.
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Hi radar5, thanks for sharing your experiences. I have to disagree with the point regarding "carrier testing". I always buy stock retail devices, with no ball & chain 12-24-36 month contracts. My LG O2X came completely stock, there are no carrier hurdles for LG to jump. Yet their handset is two years behind the OS release curve. The worlds first dual-core phone, and it's still on Gingerbread. Nothing to do with carriers.
I would buy another ASUS product, they have provided 5 updates since I bought the Transformer Tablet. Two of those have been major OS updates. I wouldn't go near LG with a very long stick. HTC looks as if it is learning this lesson of keeping your hardware reasonably up to date with the latest OS.
Apple do an excellent job in this area, they're not perfect, but better than most ANDROID OEM's. Hopefully HTC is getting their **** together, and their simpler hardware line up is a sign of the future. Resulting in timely OS updates. And easier consumer hardware choices.
At the moment HTC's One S is my current choice for my girlfriends next handset. I did see something today which made me pause for thought. ACER's Liquid Glow, a truly terrible name, but it's a 3.7" handset running ICS. And the slated European price is €179.99. The One S in Italy cost's €485 from AMAZON. A big difference.
Thanks. Have fun. Anil
I see where you're headed with this, but keep in mind you can't comprare that ACER and the One S. The specs are way too off for that.
Ollaz said:
I see where you're headed with this, but keep in mind you can't comprare that ACER and the One S. The specs are way too off for that.
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Hi Ollaz, my girlfriends current handset's the ZTE Blade's are great, except they only run Gingerbread. Switching between Gingerbread and ICS does become a little annoying. Gmail is a great case in point. The ICS version is way better than the Gingerbread version.
So horsepower specs are not that important. And anyway, my retired Optimus 2X has great specs, but still only has old software. Some of the newer HTC phones have better specs than my Galaxy NEXUS. But my GNEX is running a stock version of Jelly Bean 4.1.1, now, today. Not some marketing quarter in the future which invariably gets moved.
I love having a fast phone, but my girlfriend needs stability and OS device parity. Thanks for your thoughts, they have been helpful in making me decide what I need to buy.
I must admit I was a little shocked when I discovered the price of the One S in Italy. HTC want iPhone 4s money, they are crazy! No wonder their sales revenue has dropped 60%. Selling purely on hardware specs has a really limited shelf life. Sooner or later you have to innovate in software. All HTC and most ANDROID OEM's do, is a few custom apps and skins. Google writes the OS for free!
Many thanks. Anil
Before I start, I'd just like to say that this is just my personal rant and even though some of you may not agree, that's why I'm having this as a discussion thread.
Let's get this started then.
All I see going around XDA are people comparing their own devices to the latest Nexus device and saying 'Should I switch to the Nexus?' or a load of people rimming off the Nexus' as if they're the best thing since sliced bread.
Some of you may wonder why this bothers me. I'll tell you.
Just because a device has the Nexus brand name, it doesn't make it any better than any other phone of equal quality. A hell of a lot of people will see a device is a Nexus and immediately want to get it.
Why would you want to?
If you ask one of those people why a Nexus is so great, they'll say one of three things or a mix of the three.
The reasons are;
1) All Nexus devices look great and have great build quality.
2) It's guaranteed to have great developer support.
3) It's officially supported by Google so it will get the latest Android updates before any other device.
Now, let me tell you my response to each of those points...
1) Most Nexus devices don't look great. The only one which looks good, in my opinion, is the Nexus 7. Apart from that, none of them look any better than other devices around.
2) Yes it will have great developer support, but so do a lot of phones which are already around and have been for ages now. An example of that is the Galaxy S2. It's been around for over a year and a half and it still has more development than most phones do
3) Again, this is true. But they're not the only devices to get the Android updates quickly. This site has a smattering of great developers so it will never take long for other devices to get the latest versions, and you haven't even needed to buy a new phone just to get the latest and greatest.
So with that being said, why buy the latest Nexus device when I'm reality it isn't any better than devices which are already available?
I know some of you may be Nexus fanboys and not agree with anything I've said, but I'm hoping that some of you agree just so I know that I'm not the only person who isn't being hypnotized by the word 'Nexus'.
As I said at the top of this post, I'm leaving this as a discussion so if anyone would like to add anything extra or disagree with what I've said, then you can feel free to do so.
But whatever you do, DON'T TROLL OR FLAME OTHER PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THEM!
Agree with all of the above! I'm getting it to replace my GNex.. it's a better device and I don't need two Nexuses
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
True most other phones have similar specs (lol dnt want a nexus 4 anymore)
any suggestions??
My first real Android experience has been with the Nexus S 4G about one year ago today actually... i replaced my iPhone 3GS...
Being my first android experience, i didn't know what android offered until i physically had the phone in my hands... i had it for two weeks before deciding to root it and try out the latest Android at the time, 4.0 ICS... fell in LOVE with my phone after that... i only realized other Carriers/manufacturers added their own version of android after i got used to ICS and started looking for other devices to upgrade to... once i became educated with android, i realized that i got extremely lucky with my first android experience/purchase... because not only were other devices not officially updated to ICS, but the rollout of ICS took a very long time to even start getting stable ports/builds from developers... the skin thing also turned me off from wanting another device...
Simply put, even tho my phone is rooted, i can only vouch for devices that come with pure Google experience as that was my first real android experience... someone will say that you can always root your device and update as developers push out there latest ROMs for other devices... but i can't promote that to my friends/family that don't even know what rooting means (like myself before)...
i strongly promote the Galaxy S3... in fact just yesterday someone posted on Facebook asking if they should get the gs3 or iPhone 5... i was surprised to see out of around 20 replies, only 2 said to get the iPhone 5... i said gs3 but i also mentioned the Nexus 4 and its amazing price point... she looked it up but liked the gs3 look more... today she bought the gs3 because of that and because the N4 isn't available yet...
Before, if anyone asked me what phone to get, I immediately said the gs3 hands down... now my response is Nexus 4... i prefer the sleek/clean look and curved glass of the Nexus devices... the gs3 would be great IMO if it didn't have hard keys like back/home/menu at the bottom... so with that, the N4 looks better to me than any other device out there... i also loved the look of the Gnex... sadly, that one lacked in specs for me to upgrade my ns4g... and sadly the N4 lacks CDMA/LTE support for me to upgrade... now I'm kinda stuck as to what now?
Hope that was a civil response you want in this thread
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
FangV said:
True most other phones have similar specs (lol dnt want a nexus 4 anymore)
any suggestions??
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Ask in this thread mate
the1dynasty said:
My first real Android experience has been with the Nexus S 4G about one year ago today actually... i replaced my iPhone 3GS...
<SNIP>
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I can understand why some would want the pure Google experience, but there are ROMs which provide an extremely close experience anyway. Plus with the added features they have, it seems like the logical choice to go for custom ROMs, at least in my opinion.
If you use the thread linked above, you'll be able to ask there about what device to get next if you're not too sure.
And yeah, that response was all good
Galaxy S3 was a lot slower and laggy compared to my gnex. Went back to my gnex after a week. I buy the nexus for the pure android. Its smoother, cleaner, quicker and just better.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
bendirkss said:
Galaxy S3 was a lot slower and laggy compared to my gnex. Went back to my gnex after a week. I buy the nexus for the pure android. Its smoother, cleaner, quicker and just better.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Yeah.. noticed the same when comparing JB on my S3 to JB on my Nexus..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
KidCarter93 said:
Ask in this thread mate
I can understand why some would want the pure Google experience, but there are ROMs which provide an extremely close experience anyway. Plus with the added features they have, it seems like the logical choice to go for custom ROMs, at least in my opinion.
If you use the thread linked above, you'll be able to ask there about what device to get next if you're not too sure.
And yeah, that response was all good
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I know custom ROMs are available for other devices... but the only other phone on my radar was the gs3 but I hated those buttons... i enabled the on screen buttons on my ns4g and my kernel let's me dim the light on the capacitive buttons so its like they're not even there anymore lol... i lost some screen real estate but no biggie really...
I was really looking forward to the next nexus and was really disappointed to hear no CDMA/LTE support being that i have unlimited with Sprint now and I'm gonna be switching to a special unlimited plan with Verizon in a month or so... i really wanted to continue using nexus devices but looks like I'll have to go elsewhere for now... luckily, I'm content with this ns4g being that i got it tuned nearly perfect for good performance... the SD read is still a bit slow tho... i can survive until something wets my appetite again like the N4... or I'll just get the SGS4 if nothing comes out before then...
Btw, I'm on 4.1.2 right now running most apps from 4.2 system dump... so this 2year old phone can even take photosphere, and quite well i might add... no rush to upgrade devices... if rather put that money to getting the Nexus 10
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
Another reason is that all of the hardwares of Nexus devices are guaranteed to be open, unlike most Samsung touchwiz devices.
Another one is that new nexus devices are all have insanely low prices as they are subsidized by Google.
Also, now nexus devices have the greatest fastest socs in the market. Just look at nexus 4's S4 pro and nexus 10's Exynos 5.
In response to your opinion,
1. Not all nexus devices have great build quality, especially those ones made by Samsung. But in my opinion, all nexus devices have great design and look. Just look at the nexus 4. It's one of the most gorgeous phones in the planet.
2. For your information, the development of the Galaxy s2 is now dead. Also, the galaxy s3 is almost dead. Those are caused by their closed source drivers.
3. Nexus devices are the first to get the STABLE, latest android version.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
The reason is that the Nexus line keeps choices simple. Also, they don't have bloat (TouchWiz, Sense, etc) - and don't say get an AOSP ROM. I have heard that they are nothing but trouble. I quite like the idea of my tablet looking like it's running the same OS as my phone. And personally, the Nexus 4 is the best looking phone out there IMO, even compared to the iPhone 5 and the Samsung S3 (the style/position of the home button killed that design). I really like the UI design of stock Android too, it's not childish or cutesy looking like the bloat or iOS. I'm into the whole 'sci-fi' theme of it.
Also, looking at most other phones, they generally fall short in certain areas, whereas the Nexus devices as of late are looking relatively well considered. After using a Galaxy Nexus, I despise the current state of AMOLED tech. That rules out almost every Samsung phone under the sun. HTC One Xes supposedly have sucky battery life (plus, Tegra 3 vs a quadcore Snapdragon simply isn't a competition at all), and I've decided that lasting less than 5 hours with the screen on (for any mobile device, tablet, phone, whatever) just isn't good enough anymore.
Tablet-wise, for an Android tablet, there is no comparison to the upcoming Nexus 10. The Note sucks and the Infinity really sucks. The iPad wants you to get into the whole Apple ecosystem with Macs and iPhones to really get the best out of things like iCloud and whatnot, and Mac sucks for software & games.
The only real competitor to a Nexus is Windows 8 and WP8, which both look great (better than Android except for the whole 'Bing' thing) but their ecosystems aren't ready for real use yet. I have to say, the Lumia 920 is packing some awesome technology, and with the winter season coming I would really appreciate the touch screen you can use with gloves on. Not to mention the typical Nokia build quality, plus it seems to have everything covered.
The Nexus phones are the quickest to get updates and don't have any OEM skins or bloatware that is forced on the users. While an AOSP ROM can be ported to any phone in theory, it takes time and there are usually hardware issues due to closed source or unavailable drivers, and also locked bootloaders.
The problem with the Nexus line is its sort of like Apple's devices in the sense that there is limited hardware choice and device's memory can't be expanded. My personal hardware tastes are for a smaller device with no more than a 4.3" screen and it must have a microSD slot. I'll put up with OEM skins, bloatware can be frozen with root, as hardware is more important to me than software. But everyone it entitled to their own opinions and preferences.
Nexus phones do have bloat. Google+, google currents, Google earth, google movies, Google books, etc. All /system apps that can't be removed. Most of them are useless.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Personally running Slim on my S3 is fast enough for me and my aged brain, any faster and I can't keep up!
Add to that my phone is my main music player hooked up to amp and speakers, I love that I can dual boot to get Samsung best bits(few!)
Not worried about lte
Glass back may be stylish.....but is utterly stupid on a phone.
......I am stupid!.....the reasoning?..... .this is all my opinion, nobody is really interested, and I'm not really interested in theirs......ergot......I MUST be stupid for posting in first place.....
jordanishere said:
Nexus phones do have bloat. Google+, google currents, Google earth, google movies, Google books, etc. All /system apps that can't be removed. Most of them are useless.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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Was that your final answer? I use most of those... and last I checked, u can go to the play store and uninstall all of them... don't even need root if I'm not mistaken...
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
KidCarter93 said:
If you ask one of those people why a Nexus is so great, they'll say one of three things or a mix of the three.
The reasons are;
1) All Nexus devices look great and have great build quality.
2) It's guaranteed to have great developer support.
3) It's officially supported by Google so it will get the latest Android updates before any other device.
Now, let me tell you my response to each of those points...
1) Most Nexus devices don't look great. The only one which looks good, in my opinion, is the Nexus 7. Apart from that, none of them look any better than other devices around.
2) Yes it will have great developer support, but so do a lot of phones which are already around and have been for ages now. An example of that is the Galaxy S2. It's been around for over a year and a half and it still has more development than most phones do
3) Again, this is true. But they're not the only devices to get the Android updates quickly. This site has a smattering of great developers so it will never take long for other devices to get the latest versions, and you haven't even needed to buy a new phone just to get the latest and greatest.
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Click to collapse
1) I'll agree not all Nexus look great, though that's a real personal preference thing. I for one, would prefer the Nexus one look over the Nexus s. I currently own a Gnex and I'd be honest in saying it looks alright, but I would like some changes made (Nexus 4, comes close)
2) To be fair, of course the S2 (and noteably other handsets) will have a large dev support, in terms of quantity they sell a lot more than the Nexus family (exception of the Nexus 7, that's the first Nexus priced aggressively)
3) Quick =/= first to get updates. Some people just want the newest FIRST.
I personally choose the nexus because I don't want to be caught with a device that will have a short support life (mentioned above). History shows the Nexus WILL have the most official updates:
Nexus one: Shipped with Eclair, last official version was GB
Nexus S: Shipped with GB, officially supported till Jelly bean
Gnex: Don't know yet, but its gone from ICS to JB.
If you go to dev section, there are even newer (unofficial builds) I don't buy phones every year so I want a phone that will last me 2 years at least.
Hi,
So I'm new to Android, and I've only had a Nexus 7 for a week (I sold it) which I rooted and had some custom roms for.
I wanted the Xperia Z, but it's shape is too square and thus bulky. I like that this Razr HD is a bit water resistant, has excellent battery, the keflav back, and is a less cumbersome size.
But- i'm concerned as this device isn't one of the more popular. Does this mean i will have to wait much longer for upgrades even if rooted? And less support in future? could some apps not run/be designed for this device?
Basically- Im someone who keeps their phone for ages. Im still using a jailbroken 3GS happily. As much as i dont like apple- its good that i can always run the latest OS...
Just wanted thoughts on all this. Cheers
ycon said:
Hi,
So I'm new to Android, and I've only had a Nexus 7 for a week (I sold it) which I rooted and had some custom roms for.
I wanted the Xperia Z, but it's shape is too square and thus bulky. I like that this Razr HD is a bit water resistant, has excellent battery, the keflav back, and is a less cumbersome size.
But- i'm concerned as this device isn't one of the more popular. Does this mean i will have to wait much longer for upgrades even if rooted? And less support in future? could some apps not run/be designed for this device?
Basically- Im someone who keeps their phone for ages. Im still using a jailbroken 3GS happily. As much as i dont like apple- its good that i can always run the latest OS...
Just wanted thoughts on all this. Cheers
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Click to collapse
Official upgrades for android devices are at the whim of the manufacturer and the carrier unless we're talking about a nexus device which gets updates directly from Google. On Verizon updates typically take longer to come out due to what they say is extensive testing, but recently they've been better about it imo. Unofficial updates are governed by the amount and quality of developers on that particular device. For moto phones we have a nice core of developers that keep us up to date. Now that the newest moto phones have had their bootloaders unlocked, development has really picked up. The development scene on Android is a lot different and more complicated then the Apple side. Due to the amount of high end android devices that are released every year the development scene moves pretty quickly. That isn't to say older devices aren't dev'd for but it is a possibility to consider. In the moto world devices as far back as the droid 3 are still actively supported. Many of us started out with moto and have never left.
Don't worry about the apps. Unless the device falls really behind in the os version all apps will be supported. It's not like apple where if your phone doesn't have the latest update a third of the apps don't work. There are apps coded specifically for features only available on the latest Android version but those are very few due to people wanting to make money lol.
sent from my xt926 RAZR maxx hd
Cheers for that really helpful response.
It all seems pretty good to me with app compatibility.
So- if I understand correctly, if I unlock the bootloader & root my phone, I wont have to rely on Moto/my carrier for the OS updates?
Are there any other general things I should know before saying no to more mainstream (GS4) device?
Cheers
ycon said:
Cheers for that really helpful response.
It all seems pretty good to me with app compatibility.
So- if I understand correctly, if I unlock the bootloader & root my phone, I wont have to rely on Moto/my carrier for the OS updates?
Are there any other general things I should know before saying no to more mainstream (GS4) device?
Cheers
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Click to collapse
Yes to your first question. Technically you would only need root to stop carrier updates but none of the new roms are being developed for locked devices.
Firstly know that the HD has basically the same innards as the gs3 except with 1gb less ram and a less impressive camera. The two monster phones out/coming out right now are the gs4 and the HTC one with a new nexus hopefully out soon. The gs4 represents some of the best hardware available (with newer still coming out later this year) and will have a lot of Dev focus. Out of those 3 phones Verizon will only be getting the gs4 most likely. In terms of what phone to get I would say you need to physically handle each before making a decision. If you must be on Verizon then the gs4 would be a great choice but some people don't like the build materials and feel of the phone (similar to gs3). People sticking with moto appreciate the solid feel, excellent materials, amazing radio strength, and battery life.
sent from my xt926 RAZR maxx hd
koftheworld;4080229The gs4 represents some of the best hardware available (with newer still coming out later this year) and will have a lot of Dev focus. Out of those 3 phones Verizon will only be getting the gs4 most likely. In terms of what phone to get I would say you need to physically handle each before making a decision. If you must be on Verizon then the gs4 would be a great choice but some people don't like the build materials and feel of the phone (similar to gs3). People sticking with moto appreciate the solid feel said:
Cheers for that. I am not on Verizon (I'm in Australia), I'll buy the phone unlocked.
I have had a look at the GS4, HTC One and Razr all together.
The GS4 is my favourite in terms of size, but I'd rather sacrifice the power (Quad core) for the longer battery, better call reception, stronger build, and lower price of the Razr HD.
I might jsut have to wait for the new Nexus phone to come out. I've heard Google will be subsidizing it, so the price might be right.
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In todays fast moving technology world, everyone is intrigued to buy new devices. And this norm is fumed by innumerous manufacturers by releasing products at an insane rate. You have got too many choices and only think to wonder is how much you can afford to pay. Sometimes taking loans is common or simply you take a contract with a provider and regret there is nothing you can do to change your phone afterwards.
Every other day, new features are coming to devices and you wish you had just waited a month to buy the other phone.
Buying the every latest devices is not very wise as you spend alot of your money for just one or two extra features.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS
You must know that in todays phone era, the hardware has gone a long way in comparison with software. My point isnot that software is developing at a slower pace but simply that most of phones available today might never use their full potential in terms of hardware ever. Android Software is going more smooth and promises further improvements even on low end devices. With KITKAT 4.4, Android has gone into a surge to speed up system by 50% and that's just the beginning.
Most of manufacturers are working hard on ONLY hardware. Even phones released two years ago are doing very well till date. If you look into software department and games, you can still play all of latest games on these devices very smoothly. I will give you examples of HTC sensation/Incredible S, Samsung Nexus, SII or any other phone of that time with almost similar hardware. I have checked MC4/Fifa 14/Asphlat 8 personally on all of these devices.
I think to update my Nexus 7 2013 in 2015 and my Nexus 4 Next year (October 2014) while Xperia L around when it is required. Following this scheme I always have the latest device with me and I also do not spend a lot of money. (700-800 British Pounds every three year, considering that I am a Medicine Student and under a lot of loan already). Also what is more to look is that my old devices are still doing a great job. I recently installed CM 10.2(JB 4.3) on my HTC Sensation and it runs just as smooth as Nexus 4/Xperia L for the matter. The software is stable and I can play HD games on 786MB RAM only.
Another point to note is that KitKat 4.4 has only been released for about a week now and I am using 4.3 on my two year old HTC sensation using Custom ROM is simply too cool.
So I WARN you that you need to be smart to buy a new phone rather than spending alot of money on every new phone and never utilising its full potential.
ASK YOURSELF
The most important point you need to consider is WHY EXACTLY YOU WANT TO BUY A NEW PHONE? WHERE your old phone canot be utilised that you must upgrade it.
What would you utilise it for in the LONG RUN? HOW LONG YOU INTEND TO USE IT. WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC FEATURES THAT YOU ARE LOOKING INTO BEFORE BUYING.
I know for many looks of a device counts. You want your device to be COOL and feel great in your hand. I agree to the matter but certainly you should never compromise LOOKS with actual performance and hardware. Benchmarks are just a bunch of lies and in real use, they do differ alot and cannot be fully trusted.
I personally give a lot of stress to your HARDWARE and your SCREEN SIZE.
At the moment we are into Octa Core era but have you ever actually thought that if your phone ever used all of these cores at once? I think even Quad Core processors are not fully utilised. Many HD games still just utilise dual core and the rest are off. So in real, many games are not fully using your full phone potential as lack of support from developers or lack of customization to utilise all cores/hardware ! Don't you feel trolled?
Windows phone is fast growing platform but it still lacks a lot what Android offers on the table. I prefer Android over Windows phone any day!
(That's another debate! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=45932842&postcount=14)
If you just want a simple phone for calls and texts and emails and limited apps, I WILL SIMPLY TELL YOU TO USE WP8 or if you just want to call and text NOKIA 3310 (or any in the sequence) shall suit you.
So going for Quardcores (now i think its justified but if all cores are optimized in every application)/Octacores/64bits is just rubbage and you are just tricked out of money when you have something very latest but developers havenot made anything that it can utilise. So if you are considering a phone to use for next two years, I believe a recognised company's quardcore would be more than enough. A change to this trend in future is inevitable but not enough uptill now to run for the latest device. (Remember Mediatek Octacore can not win from Qualcomm Quadcore, so consider which company to choose)
RAM is very important and I believe this should not be compromised. Many phones will do just great on 1gb ram but I will prefer a 2gb ram if my phone is to be used for two or more years.
GPU This is something really tricky which might FORCE anyone to buy a phone with higher GPU. GPU takes a part of ram and its function is to compute 3D functions and thus is mostly utilised in GAMES. So if you are a gamer, I will suggest you to buy a phone with latest GPU rather than an old one. Xperia L/Xperia P/ Xperia M all share almost the same price. However, Xperia P is an old device while Xperia L is recent. Thus, Xperia L will give alot better performance and more smoothness to your ROM comparatively to Xperia P because it can handle graphics better due to its latest GPU.
SCREENSIZE I personally prefer any device bigger than 4 inch display. 3.5 is just too small for your fingers and 5 is just to big for me. For me, 4.3 to 4.7 is just perfect as not only it is big enough to read/games/emails but also gives you enough for big hands.
Remember to always BUY A DEVICE WHICH IS DEVELOPERS FRIENDLY. You won't find much ROMS for HTC Amaze although it has almost the same specification as HTC sensation.
CORTEX CONSIDERATION When you are buying any phone, we usually just consider the clock speed of processor and usually ignore the technology on which the processor is build on. The processors which are currently being available in the market are Cortex A5, A7, A9, A12 and A15. What does this mean? Consider it this way, it shows the technology they are build upon and using. The Cortex A5 is oldest which cortex A15 is latest.
Lately 64 bits have also being introduced A53 & A57. These out perform the previous ones!
If you are wondering how does this make a difference, well take this as an example : A device running a dual core Cortex A9 1 Ghz would run faster than a dual core Cortex A5 clocked at 1.5 Ghz. This is because as the technology is growing, the architecture of the chips are also changing to improve their performance. As the Cortex A9 uses new architecture, thus many improvements have been made to enhance the device performance. ( Xperia U used 1ghz A9 with 512 Ram whilst Samsung Galaxy Star uses 1Ghz A5 with 512 Ram as well but if you talk about their performance, there is a lot of difference between the two. I have personally used both of them) So always consider a device with higher cortex if you can afford to!
REMOVABLE BATTERY is important for those who want to easily swap batteries or want to use their phones for long period of time. This is just a big draw back for me as I keep three devices and I update each one annually so this means that I need to change my nexus after using it for around 2 years to 3 years. In this time, I need to change my battery as battery does get worn out and damaged. But I just can not easily do that.
You might be wondering, the new ROMS are not available. Well actually they are but custom made. If you check out Android development of these phones, you will be surprised that many developers are giving their best to just work hard on new ROMS and they are all great.
At times you just need to do little tweaks.(Some games aren't available on specific models but those devices are capable of running them very smoothly. Tweaks help in these matters)
Another thing one of my friend asked me to add was about support from different manufacturers to their devices! Well, every company has a different policy of releasing updates for their phones according to their price tag (Flashship, mid end, low end phones). So make sure you consider what is their possibility of being updated to newer version of android if you are looking for STOCK roms coming directly from manufacturers. Samsung for the fact is releasing phones every single day and I think, you can not expect support for its low end phones at all whilst one update for mid ranges and few more high ends/flash ship phones.
Sony on the other hand is always slow with updates but provides open source code at times if it doesnot plan to update the android version.
Motorola starts to amaze me with its policy to update even the lower end phones to Android Lollipop and in my opinion Moto updates the android version more frequently and much quicker than any other manufacturer.
Usually the support is around ONE year to ONE and half year max for Flagship phones; SIX months - ONE year for mid-range phones whilst ZERO to FEW BUG fixing updates for lower end phones!
However, If you got a carrier phone like VODA, AT&T etc, you are pretty much struck with your PROVIDER rather than manufacturer for that fact! Usually these phones come with locked bootloaders which are a tough nut to crack, and thus you can only flash ROMs which are made for LOCKED BOOTLOADERS. Thus, if you can afford it, you should buy a contract free phone straight from manufacturer. This will allow you more freedom to customise your phone to your advantage by flashing ROMS, kernels, mods etc! However, it will simply be useless to a person who is not ready to take the risks!
Android Platform
Android Platform is growing very rapidly and new improvements have been introduced with every new build. I think the only issue now Android is still struggling with is battery life in standby mode which although has been improved quite considerably with Android Lollipop but I think it still needs some work in the future which I am sure Google is looking into very closely.
I think this is enough for you to decide if you really need to buy a phone or not.
GOOD LUCK!
Updates :
Added the following in the guide
*Oems
*Generally how long a phone is updated according to it's class (Flagship, low end or mid range phone)
*Considering the advantage of using newer architecture of processor (Cortex)
*Disadvantages of carrier phones
Any suggestions be welcomed!
PLANNED UPDATES :
What to look for in a phone if you are a Gamer, Text & Call person, Mobile Cinema addict, Internet Browsing Freak etc
Edit it more to be organised and easy to access headings for skimming through
What devices do you use?
@Hnk1, well said.
I am still using my good old HTC Touch HD (Blackstone), now upgraded to WM 6.5, and it is still running great. Gives me more than a couple of days on a single battery charge.
You should mention that some OEMs, like LG, like to pump out flagships phones every 3 month that means that your phone, from LG will not get alot of SW support.
That said, other OEMs have the same philosophy for mid range to low end devices. I am talking about official support, Some devices are lucky and get Custom rom support but then, custom roms are more often than not a compromise and not a solution as they have and always will have bugs.
You cannot have up to date phones, with removable batteries and the best experience. Its a world of compromise, as it is nearly for everything else.
Thanks! Hnk1..
This guide is very is helpful ..
thnx
Thanks. Its very useful
xyz121 said:
Great guide man, Thanks!
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Revontheus said:
What devices do you use?
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chan.sk said:
@Hnk1, well said.
I am still using my good old HTC Touch HD (Blackstone), now upgraded to WM 6.5, and it is still running great. Gives me more than a couple of days on a single battery charge.
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shadowcore said:
You should mention that some OEMs, like LG, like to pump out flagships phones every 3 month that means that your phone, from LG will not get alot of SW support.
That said, other OEMs have the same philosophy for mid range to low end devices. I am talking about official support, Some devices are lucky and get Custom rom support but then, custom roms are more often than not a compromise and not a solution as they have and always will have bugs.
You cannot have up to date phones, with removable batteries and the best experience. Its a world of compromise, as it is nearly for everything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TwinEdge said:
Thanks! Hnk1..
This guide is very is helpful ..
Click to expand...
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thereefour777 said:
thnx
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Lukadevilu said:
Thanks. Its very useful
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The guide is updated! Added OEMS and carriers briefly. Also, I added little debate about WP vs Android. People's opinion could be different so I respect that! The whole debate is here :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2450502&page=1
Secondly, I am glad the guide was a help to all of you! Keep sharing so more people can benefit from it!
I use alot of devices and I borrow many devices from my friends and family to experiment with them! At the moment I am using Xperia L, Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 2013. Other phones are either exchanged, sold to buy a new one, lent so they keep changing time to time as they are for development/experimenting purposes only!
Nice guide.
Lord of the Droids said:
Nice guide.
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I'm glad you liked it
Hi all,
I've had a Galaxy S3 which I've been happy with for the past year and a half, however want to move onto something newer. I'm an off-contract user, so buy my phones outright and then utilize prepaid on various carriers for my service.
Anyway my primary concerns are getting fast android updates, stock experience, and a not-too-large phone (no bigger than S3 ideally).
So I picked up a Moto X Developer Edition - seems like a great phone, very mod friendly etc., very fast, nice size, however I'm concerned about future software upgrades.
I know Moto has been very good about updating the OS to the newest version quickly, however I wonder about the S4 Pro dual-core processor inside - specifically if Qualcomm will continue to make drivers for it as new android versions come out. It's a similar processor to that in the Nexus 4, which is now 18 months old, and therefore technically falls outside of Google's prescribed "update window."
I wonder if the Moto X will get stuck behind on software updates not because of Motorola, but because of its older chipset.
Is this a valid concern? Would the N5 be more future proof in that respect? It seems from a usability standpoint, both phones are top notch and more or less exactly what I'm looking for. I want to own the one I end up choosing for another 1.5 years or so, and want it to remain pretty fast / updated to latest OS over that time.
Thoughts between the two?
Thanks much,
-Dirk