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I've been watching the Android scene for a while now and have not bought a phone yet because the hardware hasn't met my needs. So I'm coming back to where I started tinkering with WM5 and 6.5 phones on this forum.
Can anyone recommend an Android phone that isn't the size of a brick, fits snugly in my hand.
Has
NFC
dual/quad core
Micro Sd slot
1080p video recording @ 30 fps
HDMI out
Accepts Keyboard and Mouse input either through BT or USB
Wifi N
And will run on UK 4G.
Can be or has been rooted
Does such a phone exist yet?
I'm not intrested in big screens as it makes the phone almost as big as a tablet and from a portability aspect this is not good.
I am thinking about going for an Iphone unless android can match what siri does.
djfuego said:
I am thinking about going for an Iphone unless android can match what siri does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, but you want an iPhone...for siri?? The lame voice assistant that answers questions at about a 60% accuracy rate? The one that makes you look like a douchebag that's too cool to talk to actual people, so instead you talk to your phone as if it were a person? The one that most users see on TV and go "AWWW COOL" but then they play with it for 5 minutes then get bored?
Not to mention the phone itself matches less than half the criteria you specified.
Just buy a damn iPhone and leave this forum to the adults. There are Android phones out there like the Xperia NXT line that better match what you said you wanted, but I can already tell that you'll ***** about one or two of your criteria not being there, totally ignoring that the alternative phone you're looking at matches even less..but has a gimicky voice assistant which somehow makes it all ok.
Helpful please
speedyink said:
Just buy a damn iPhone and leave this forum to the adults.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*sigh* Wow a one liner that I could expect from nothing more than a child.
I didn't say I was going to get an I phone I like the idea of a hands free digital assistant. I suppose you could argue that the amount of money you spend on an Iphone/contract would be best put towards a real PA But I'm not going to do that.
I can develop android apps so it would make sense to get an Android phone. But I don't just want a run of the mill phone wifi and gps handset with a terrible camera. There are very few Phones on the market at the moment that fit my hardware needs. I'm fussy because I buy a contract and am then stuck with the hardware for the duration. I could stick with my N8 as it's done me proud, I don't need another phone but if I do upgrade then I want the phone to fit my needs not something that I'm going to be disapointed with just because someone said "Oh get it, it's got this cool feature" ;and only to find that cool feature is not on my want list for a replacement phone.
I should thank you for the other info I'll look into that handset.
If there are any other Android Handsets anyone could think of that are pretty stacked then I'll take a look. Shame Nokia didn't go with Android as they would have killed the competition.
Eva!
Ok so android has got Eva. That's good. Right so Pa sorted. Just need to find thr right hardware device.
Looks to me like you want a Galaxy S3. It meets most, if not all of your wants in a phone. The only one I'm not sure about is the 1080p video recording.
Nope
S3 is way too big and flimsy, failed drop tests. It wouldn't last 2 minutes in my back pocket. At the moment I've got my eye on the HTC One X range although I have been looking at concept phones too which look very sexy and although aren't real, they could be next year or the end of this year. Might have to wait a bit longer for android hardware to meet my needs.
It's a shame that no one want's to start porting an Android build to Nokia Symbian hardware. I know it's an epic task but the bootloader is available so It's not impossible.
Nokia got bailed out by Microsoft and part of the deal obviously was going to be that Nokia use Windows as it's OS. Android dev license is still cheaper than MS.
Still looking
Went to a few phone shops to try out some of the devices. A lot of phones are getting too big to hold. If I want a tablet I'll buy a tablet I don't want a bigger screen.
The Experia P is the size of handset I'm looking for and the build quality looks ok.
I see sony are releasing the Xperia GX soon so will see if this meets the Camera/Audio expectations. At the moment Audio quality in videos are what I'm looking at. The quality of audio in Nokias N8 is still trumping Android phones. If you are being recorded instead of the one doing the recording then the mic quality isn't so good on android unless you are on top of the phone. If anyone can beg to differ then I'm open to suggestions and What's the point of a 1080p recording device without the ability to store over 16GB of video?
Still looking...
OK Found the phone.
Just one problem I doubt it's going to make it to the UK
NTT DoCoMo Sharp Aquos Phone Zeta SH-09D
Has got some pretty nice hardware
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=3609&view=1&c=ntt_docomo_sharp_aquos_phone_zeta_sh-09d
http://youtu.be/KTwsqgm3Kxg
What a pisser...
go for galaxy s3
Android doesn't really have any good voice assistant yet, i've tried all of them and they are terrible at even the simplest of commands. But, Google has said they are working on one to compete with Siri. That being said, i would go with Google's own Galaxy Nexus ($350) as they will get all the Android updates first (since its Google's phone) And the Nexus is one of the few that can actually use Google Wallet (NFC) The screen isn't too big, its comfortable in your hand, the battery life is good, and you should have no problem finding a keyboard dock for this phone. In my opinion, the best bang for your buck would be the Galaxy Nexus, and you can buy it from the Google Play Store. Best of luck!
Google has released google now which is way better than siri! And it's true that google wants to release something better that will compete beat siri
Send from the planet Mars
Hi, i am currently looking for a tablet, i am hoping in the long run it may replace my laptop but i am not going to sell that yet incase, but for day to day use i would like to use a tablet more.
i understand that on here we maybe a little more biased to apple, i usually am myself lol
i have always used android on my phones, i currently have a Samsung galaxy s2 using a custom rom, resurrection remix. So i do like android a lot and very comfortable using it.
on the other hand my girlfriend had an ipad 3 already and i do kind of like it a lot and use it a lot when im at hers, i never find any fault with it, it runs extremely smooth giving its lower specs to current new android tablets out. on my phone i must admit i will get the odd app saying it has to close or it couldn’t start and vie had to restart my phone etc.. i have not once seen my girlfriends ipad crash.
This now leaves me unsure about what to get and would like some opinions, my hearts telling me you have to stick with android because its what you know and love.. and your supposed to hate apple!
But my brain is telling me deep down, you know the ipad is going to be better long term with less problems and a much bigger market.
giving that android are having so many issues now with patents, they have lost the right to carry on using flash etc which used to be a big bonus for android users. how many other issues are going to crop up where every time you update your android tablet you will lose some of its function because android have been ordered to take it out because of a patent ruling.
this all kind of worries me a little in terms of the future, will devs start favouring apple before anyone else when it comes to making apps, will at some point they say we aren’t making them at all for android because of all these issues (of course they already make more for apple than they do android now) im just wondering if it will get worse? i know android was certainly catching up but i think that may start to reverse a little soon.
Most of the above comes from what i have either heard people say or what i have read, i dont know 100% of everything above is correct or not. so some advise would be good.
How good / bad is the android market and is the apple store that much better.
will all my current bought apps, and the majority of free ones probably work fine on an android tablet, or would some look stupid stretched, or do they have to be designed especially for tablet use?
I was wanting to be able to transfer files from usenet on my tablet to a media player, I’m guessing from what i have read that will be impossible with an ipad and do-able on an android tablet but still probably nowhere near as easy as from a laptop, this is one main reason i am not going to get rid of my laptop to soon incase it proves a nuisance. If i got an ipad i assume i would have to keep my laptop for this purpose?
is there any reason why the specs of say the ipad are fairly standard compared to some of the newer android tabs and i still hear a lot about the android tabs being sluggish sometimes and the menus not being smooth, if apple can do a dual core 1ghz pad with 1gb of ram and it be soo smooth, how come android tabs which are also 1 and sometimes 2gb have multi core cpu's at 1.2 - 1.6 ghz yet they perform much more sluggish to the ipad?
is it because android is being added into a whole host of different makers to fit their specs, where as the ipad is being made only for apples own operating systems therefore its always going to be smoother as its all been made for the one system rather than for multiple systems?
i am assuming if android also made their own hardware the two would go together much more smoothly, or am i wrong?
From reading the above back it feels like in am heading more towards the ipad, but i would like reasons why i should maybe not choose the ipad.
the tablets i have been looking at are:
Huawei MediaPad 10 (which i have literally only just come across but looks good specs)
Asus transformer pad infinity 32gb (i don’t know how much this is going to cost without the dock, i think i would only need the dock if i was to get rid of my laptop)
Samsung galaxy note 10.1
Ipad 3
Up to now that’s my shortlist, i would be looking at the 32gb versions unless the 64 wasn't a bad price, i am looking to spend about £400 - £500 max, i have seen new ipad 3's 64gb on ebay for £480, not sure how much the others will be, i would need to hold out for the 32gb or 64gb versions of the galaxy note 10.1 if i was to get that, not sure why they have only released a 16gb version and no others.
Thanks for any feedback you give
James
james_lpool said:
Hi, i am currently looking for a tablet, i am hoping in the long run it may replace my laptop but i am not going to sell that yet incase, but for day to day use i would like to use a tablet more.
i understand that on here we maybe a little more biased to apple, i usually am myself lol
i have always used android on my phones, i currently have a Samsung galaxy s2 using a custom rom, resurrection remix. So i do like android a lot and very comfortable using it.
on the other hand my girlfriend had an ipad 3 already and i do kind of like it a lot and use it a lot when im at hers, i never find any fault with it, it runs extremely smooth giving its lower specs to current new android tablets out. on my phone i must admit i will get the odd app saying it has to close or it couldn’t start and vie had to restart my phone etc.. i have not once seen my girlfriends ipad crash.
This now leaves me unsure about what to get and would like some opinions, my hearts telling me you have to stick with android because its what you know and love.. and your supposed to hate apple!
But my brain is telling me deep down, you know the ipad is going to be better long term with less problems and a much bigger market.
giving that android are having so many issues now with patents, they have lost the right to carry on using flash etc which used to be a big bonus for android users. how many other issues are going to crop up where every time you update your android tablet you will lose some of its function because android have been ordered to take it out because of a patent ruling.
this all kind of worries me a little in terms of the future, will devs start favouring apple before anyone else when it comes to making apps, will at some point they say we aren’t making them at all for android because of all these issues (of course they already make more for apple than they do android now) im just wondering if it will get worse? i know android was certainly catching up but i think that may start to reverse a little soon.
Most of the above comes from what i have either heard people say or what i have read, i dont know 100% of everything above is correct or not. so some advise would be good.
How good / bad is the android market and is the apple store that much better.
will all my current bought apps, and the majority of free ones probably work fine on an android tablet, or would some look stupid stretched, or do they have to be designed especially for tablet use?
I was wanting to be able to transfer files from usenet on my tablet to a media player, I’m guessing from what i have read that will be impossible with an ipad and do-able on an android tablet but still probably nowhere near as easy as from a laptop, this is one main reason i am not going to get rid of my laptop to soon incase it proves a nuisance. If i got an ipad i assume i would have to keep my laptop for this purpose?
is there any reason why the specs of say the ipad are fairly standard compared to some of the newer android tabs and i still hear a lot about the android tabs being sluggish sometimes and the menus not being smooth, if apple can do a dual core 1ghz pad with 1gb of ram and it be soo smooth, how come android tabs which are also 1 and sometimes 2gb have multi core cpu's at 1.2 - 1.6 ghz yet they perform much more sluggish to the ipad?
is it because android is being added into a whole host of different makers to fit their specs, where as the ipad is being made only for apples own operating systems therefore its always going to be smoother as its all been made for the one system rather than for multiple systems?
i am assuming if android also made their own hardware the two would go together much more smoothly, or am i wrong?
From reading the above back it feels like in am heading more towards the ipad, but i would like reasons why i should maybe not choose the ipad.
the tablets i have been looking at are:
Huawei MediaPad 10 (which i have literally only just come across but looks good specs)
Asus transformer pad infinity 32gb (i don’t know how much this is going to cost without the dock, i think i would only need the dock if i was to get rid of my laptop)
Samsung galaxy note 10.1
Ipad 3
Up to now that’s my shortlist, i would be looking at the 32gb versions unless the 64 wasn't a bad price, i am looking to spend about £400 - £500 max, i have seen new ipad 3's 64gb on ebay for £480, not sure how much the others will be, i would need to hold out for the 32gb or 64gb versions of the galaxy note 10.1 if i was to get that, not sure why they have only released a 16gb version and no others.
Thanks for any feedback you give
James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you prefer the ipad then go for that, it's fine asking what people think but they don't have to live with the tablet you get, you do and it sounds like you've made a choice and are hoping people can change your mind.
Regarding not seeing ipad crash, well no one does because when it does crash it won't actually tell you and on startup of an app it shows a picture not the app itself.
This makes it seem to start quicker as user thinks they are seeing the app starts and if app crashes and restarts the user won't usually realise.
Android didn't lose the right to have flash, adobe chose to pull it....but it is still available for uk android users from play store.
You can stream media from an android tablet to other devices using free apps like mediahouse upnp dlna. You can try some apps on your phone to see if they do what you need.
Android appears more sluggish than ios because ios prioritises user input whereas android multitasks fully and so doesn't single out one aspect for more attention although jellybean does try to improve ui interaction to be much smoother.
The ipad will be easy to use and do what you want, you will lose the customisation and lack of restrictions offered by android so you might get bored a bit but it will do the job just fine.
Apps wise both markets are fine but apples is safer if you're worried about malware, both have a large amount of apps to choose from but a lot of devs do release to ios first because it is easier to code for (ie not hundreds of different spec devices to get an app working on, just a few) and has a high number of users who pay well for apps.
As for apps on android tablets, some do have special tablet only versions but most adapt to your tablets resolution so most should look fine especially as more and more phones are released with higher tablet like resolutions and as these resolutions are becoming much more common developers make their apps display better on them.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk 2
Whichever you decide... You have to keep in mind what you are going to use the tablet for to begin with... There are alot of things that tablets cannot do well which in turn we use our personal computers for... These tablets are new technology, and will be growing at an exponential rate... As of now the tablets are performing more and more than once originally released... I myself will not be giving up or replacing my computer for a tablet because I do lots of photo editing, video editing and most importantly my music software... So as for a tablet, I would only be using it to browse the web and social networking alongside the other various basic needs for internet use... As of now I currently own a Galaxy Nexus from Sprint, and it suffices for the daily rounds of networking and web search... But in the future with the new implementation of Microsoft Windows 8 and tablets, it seems that I might be replacing my PC... But in my opinion... Wait for the better tablets... Apple builds it's hardware to do what it does... There is little room to upgrade anything efficiently... Android is working on making their devices more breathable like a personal computer...
And in my opinion, Microsoft is the leading factor here as far as developing the better tablet... I am not a big Microsoft guy as opposed to Linux... But the money, resources, and experience tend to lean at Microsoft... In my opinion... Get the low cost Nexus 7 tablet for now... Keep the laptop... And save up for the swagger that Microsoft might develop here in the near future... or wait for Android to steal the spotlight and WOW us with the new tablet that might one day surpass the PC...
As far as Apple and their products... I am against them simply because of the crybaby courtroom antics... I will probably never buy another Apple product again because of their David Caruso like opportunistic grievances over their patents... They simply lost money because they're not on the ball as quick as Samsung... They lost out on sales due to the minimal changes in the iPhone hardware and design... It was a great run for the awesome product when it FIRST came out on the market... I think that their devices are well put together... but on the same note... the patents are ridiculous... and pretty soon someone will see the lawsuit rulings and get the bright idea of making car companies start having to pay royalties to whomever developed the first vehicle, and we'll all be driving on 3 tires instead of four...
Okay, first off, the myth about ipads never crashing is not true. iOS has a weird way of force closing crashed apps in the background, so you would never know that it happened. The reason why iOS seems very fast is that the OS itself is optimized to run on less resources and iOS has zero fragmentation. The main problem with android is the lack of unity in hardware and software. Apple has full control of iOS and hardware, so it is very efficient in that sense.
Moving on to the issue of replacing a computer with a tablet. My own view is that the easy things that you do on a laptop is a bit harder on a tablet as its OS tends to be much simpler and that means it can include a limited number of features. My suggestion is to wait for the new Microsoft Surface RT and Pro. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2601...s_surface_pro_which_tablet_will_you_want.html
The Pro version has a fully-powered intel ivy bridge cpu with a fully featured windows 8 in a tablet form. If the form factor has you staying away from laptops, then this is the thing for you. Keep in mind that the surface pro is essentially a laptop in tablet form and I think that's pretty cool.
If you really insist on just a android tablet, then it's either the asus transformer infinity or the galaxy note 10.1. I personally have used asus transformer pads and they are AMAZING. They are designed beautifully and definitely high-end. I haven't used the galaxy note 10.1, but the exynos quad does give it a significant boost over the asus tablet.
Reasons for not choosing ipad:
1. The ipad 3 is nothing that new. It still packs the outdated A5 cpu, but the gpu is something noteworthy. Retinal display is alright, b/c to tell you the truth, I can't tell the difference.
2. You cannot customize the ipad to your liking, that means no custom ROMs, kernels or skins, just plain-old iOS
3. The truth is between ipad and android tablets, it comes down to control and whether you like rooting and flashing ROMs. If you're tech-savvy and like to tinker with stuff, then go with android. If not, then it's down to personal preference, ipad or android, choose what you like.
4. Don't support Apple and it's anti-competition ways (more of a joke reason)
Good luck on choosing a tablet
If you want apps go for the iPad simple as. It has a greater catalogue of apps designed for the tablet which is lacking on Android. I've had an android tablet before but now own the new iPad. The apps are far better, and better optimised to make use of the hardware. The OS is smooth and optimised.
I use an android phone and an ipad to give me best of both worlds. I got bored with my Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet as it just felt like a bigger version of of phone.
Also Apple hardware tends to hold value better than most other products. So that's another thing to consider if reselling in the future.
Both are good don't get me wrong but choose one based on what you need and want it to do.
I use my iPad for streaming my music via home sharing, browsing the net, social networking, I watch my tv on it whilst in my bed by streaming off my satellite box, reading books, editing images now and then for quick fixes, and more.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
The people above have already summarized the main points, but allow me to emphasize a few things:
james_lpool said:
Hi, i am currently looking for a tablet, i am hoping in the long run it may replace my laptop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tablets currently out will not replace your laptop. Both android and especially iOS are pretty much toy OS's that, for example, only let you work with one app at a time (though there are some limited efforts on the android side to overcome it). The closest you might come to replacing your laptop is the Surface Pro, coming Jan 2013ish, or the mysterious Ubuntu tablets that haven't materialized so far. Even those probably won't be powerful enough; it'll take a few years for the technology to catch up.
That is why I bought my tablet (the nexus 7) in a completely different niche than my laptop. It's meant to be an easy-to-carry, convenient device for mostly consumption.
Of the ipad alternatives you listed, I reckon that the galaxy note 10.1 is the most interesting. Who knows, maybe the stylus actually would be as useful as they portray in those business commercials.
Personally, i would stick with android. you have so much flexibility with it. and if you do want to get the framework of the ipad on your tablet, you could always flash miui also, you can download apps without using installous. you can view your storage files and folders with the android, but you can't do so so easily with the ipad.
As someone forced by work to use an ipad3 I have to say it is crap.
My sensation browses the web faster, android apps are cheaper or totally free, the iPad is buggy as hell.
Apps crash on it a lot, despite being on the same network as my phone, even with a stronger signal the 3G speed is much slower.
XDA takes longer to load fully, even in chrome on the iPad, and if you try to type a reply before it has fully loaded expect to find yourself unable to type at all do you have to reload the page.
Scrolling any pages with images is laggy as hell, really jerky if you flick the page up or down.
Predictive text is a joke, you type a word and one letter from completion it makes a suggestion, and god help you if you don't want the word it suggests!
I'm fricken fed up having to change keyboard mode for punctuation or numbers too!
Oh nearly forgot, a couple of weekends ago it started needing hard reboots if I wanted to spend more than 10 minutes online with 3G.
My razors all I need I just "dock" it and I've got a working linix computer. But I too am waiting but I want to see the windows 8 also first. I own apple stock but I'd never buy an Apple phone. I have thousands of songs hundreds of cartoons dozens of movies and all for free . and I'm also 99 percent add free
XT912 - .215 radio - SimplexROM 1.2 - AIDE - Tether - Wigdetsoid - Linux Installer w/ Ubuntu 10.10 - Otter Box - Safestrap - Chrome - Tweaked Camera
Android tablets are closer to replacing laptops than Apple tablets. iOS is just too restrictive to be productive on. You can't even download files off the internet on the iPad.
That being said, the Surface Pro will actually be a laptop replacement, as you can run all your favorite laptop software on it, and it runs a full fledged OS.
xaccers said:
As someone forced by work to use an ipad3 I have to say it is crap.
My sensation browses the web faster, android apps are cheaper or totally free, the iPad is buggy as hell.
Apps crash on it a lot, despite being on the same network as my phone, even with a stronger signal the 3G speed is much slower.
XDA takes longer to load fully, even in chrome on the iPad, and if you try to type a reply before it has fully loaded expect to find yourself unable to type at all do you have to reload the page.
Scrolling any pages with images is laggy as hell, really jerky if you flick the page up or down.
Predictive text is a joke, you type a word and one letter from completion it makes a suggestion, and god help you if you don't want the word it suggests!
I'm fricken fed up having to change keyboard mode for punctuation or numbers too!
Oh nearly forgot, a couple of weekends ago it started needing hard reboots if I wanted to spend more than 10 minutes online with 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Serius,crash???my gilfriend have the nexus and the galaxy 2,and my ipad 3 is 300% better,than nexus,100% more stable,more beautiful,and responsive etc!!!!ipad =the best ecosystem in the world(in tablet)
Pd:just walk to bestbuy and touch the nexus and touch the ipad the diference is too long!!!
Well, after developing for a few different OSes (WinMo, Windows Phone, Meego, Maemo, Android, BBOS) and owning pretty much every high end phone under the sun, I thought I'd pour out my thoughts pertaining to each individual OS and why I feel this way about them. This is by no means a comprehensive guide or anything to live by. Just one person's experience in each OS that I've used.
Windows Mobile:
Have to start with the classic, I never owned a Palm and WinMo had a place in my heart from the first time I ordered that HTC Wallaby, of course back then it was something like, "Microsoft Pocket PC 200X" or some outlandish name like that. Oh man, 32 MB of ram on a phone? This thing was monstrous! Mockeries aside, it started a love affair, the likes of which many girls came to be jealous of. I was an avid Winmo fanboy, transitioning from the Wallaby, to the Samsung Behold, HTC Dash, Samsung Behold 2, HTC Touch, HTC PPC 6800, then the Samsung Omnia which was everything a phone should be at the time. I remember geeking out so hard over the accelerometer. So few phones had them back then. I even briefly went back to WinMo after starting Android when I saw how amazing the HTC HD2 was.
I always felt that, despite not being truly open source, Windows Phone was just so much more capable than Android. I know that's not the case but it definitely felt like it. That and the launchers for it offered so much more depth than the same generic rows of icons with one added, mostly menial, feature. I played my first PS1 emulator on Winmo which made me love it by itself and I also co-developed my first app on it. It was an awful little RPG with 32 bit graphics but I was so proud you wouldn't believe it. It was my high school project and my little game blew people away. The OS was definitely not without flaws. HTC delved in as far as they were allowed to make the menus usable by something that wasn't a stylus but could only go so far which required a pretty nice and very well-aimed push right on the check box. If you missed it, too bad. This was also mostly on resistive screen technology making the odds of being dead on much worse. I'd also get random reboots even when I was just texting at times. Still, I remember having so much trouble transitioning into Android only because how could I use an OS without Swype? Sounds like some kind of sadistic torture if you ask me... WinMo held it's own and just destroyed the iPhone in every way except being pretty. For that and for it's time frame, it will always hold a special place in my heart.
My next big transition was into Android. I saw HTC making a big move and I was an HTC fan. That Z Hinge on the HTC Dream/G1 was too cool and futuristic to pass up, plus who doesn't like track balls? So, I went to Android. Android has and will always be to me, a very basic OS that the consumer is expected to make usable. This isn't based off just the one HTC Dream (Which, funny enough, is currently flashed with Kit Kat) I've actually owned over 80 Android phones throughout the years. I've felt this way even on my Galaxy S4. I became a fan only because I got to say, "Oh, your iPhone can... Well, mine actually has 3G and can picture message." It was all a battle with the iPhone for us early adopters. A battle that back then, we won. Then, Apple kept progressing, they fixed all of the little things that effected everyone and only left flaws for us nerds to gripe about. That war quickly became pandering. Something along the lines of, "Well, my phone has this trivial gimmick so it's better than yours!" I was literally trading around and upgrading phones every 1-2 weeks. I lived in Austin and there is always someone dumb enough on Craigslist to trade you what you want there if you make yours sound sweeter, especially when it's not. I had pretty much every GSM Android phone released in the US from the G1 to the Galaxy S2 Of course there were some that I missed but I even had that awful Garminfone Asus that we all try to forget existed. I always wanted something that could keep up but as I was playing RoboDefense on my Android device, the iPhone was getting Infinity Blade. It got to the point where I harbored a distaste for Android but I was too stubborn to go iPhone. Roughly when I reached that point is when Windows Phone 7 dropped. Android was dead in the water to me though I still own Android devices. They're there for development. My opinion on Android is this, it is a foundation. It's something that you take and you build on to make good. It is awful as a standalone. That said, individuals aren't going to be able to make the same quality software that a multi-billion dollar company can. To this day there are no good keyboards on Android. The OS is still buggy, there are still no devices that feel premium and there is still far too much lag even on the revered Nexus devices. I think that perhaps the Oneplus One might aid in resolving some of these issues based solely on videos but anything can be spoofed in a video.
So, on to Windows Phone 7. Spoiler alert: I hated it. At least I thought I did. I got the HD7 three days prior to release due to an error and was so excited. After using the Galaxy S Vibrant with it's AMOLED display, the HD7 looked awfully washed out but I'll deal, whatever. I thought I wanted those roms though, I thought I wanted Swype, I thought I wanted app folders. So, I traded that HD7 for a Dell Streak. Many of us remember this as the first "Phablet" with it's absolutely massive 5 inch screen *snicker* and prior to the HD7, I thought it my dream phone. I was absolutely giddy to get that trade... Then, I started really noticing Android's flaws. The incessant lagging, the bad keyboard, everything. I missed that HD7. I missed Windows Phone. I missed a coherent and speedy experience. I hunted and hunted and finally found another HD7. This was late in the year, maybe October, and for Christmas, I knew what I wanted. The Dell Venue Pro. Hands down, the best hardware keyboard I've ever used and I've used most. It was the first of two phones to ever last me more than two months and actually retained use for a full 8 or 9 months. I loved the thing. It was everything I wanted in a phone. Then, in a stroke of luck, I got offered to be a part of Nokia's developer program and got a pair of Nokia Lumia 800s shipped to me. I believe one was supposed to be for my old development partner who'd left to pursue other interests two months earlier so I had two Nokia Lumia 800s. One of which I traded for a Nokia N9 and both of which inspired a love for Nokia in general Nokia sells Windows Phone as well, if not better than the OS and the early marketing was often effective and always hilarious. This phone was bulletproof... I got pushed into a pool holding it, I fell off a motorcycle with it in my pocket and landed on it and this thing just kept going. In my opinion, it's the highest quality Nokia device with a touchscreen. However, it wasn't long til I realized that it would soon be tragically obsolete with the release of Windows Phone 8. I made the sad decision to trade it for the iPhone 4S which was new and worth a lot more at the time in hopes that I might soon trade the iPhone for a Lumia whatever comes out. Windows Phone 8 is an entirely different monster so I'll come back to that one. Ultimately, Windows Phone laid a strong foundation but due to poor support on the part of developers, it really was as their advertisement said, A phone to keep you away from your phone.
So, as I stated, my next endeavor was Meego. I also branched in to Maemo at this point but it was pretty uneventful and I don't have any strong feelings one way or the other about it. I got myself a cyan 64 gig monster with a front facing camera, imaging software that destroyed any other non-Nokia phone at the time and features that Samsung is just now incorporating into their phones while claiming they're revolutionary. Meego is also a heavily gesture driven OS which, let's face it, is the future. Meego, to me, was what Android should have been. It was smoother, it felt alive, it was on a premium device, it seldom lagged, it was pretty and it was bursting with features. Honestly, I still wish I hadn't gotten rid of that thing. I might still use it as a backup if I hadn't but as a broke College kid obsessed with the latest and greatest I had to get rid of both for the Nokia Lumia 920 which I don't regret but I would still love to have that huge piece of cell phone history. To date, I'd say it's the only non-Windows phone to breach my top 5 favorite phones of all time. Everything was seamless, the experience was great... I'll be honest, I had 0 complaints with this phone. I mean, sure there weren't a lot of apps but the basics were there and at the time it trumped Windows Phone in that regard. Aside from that, I wish Meego were still alive.
Then, there's iOS. I had this phone all the way up to iOS 7 so I can give at least some opinion on each version from then on. iOS when I got it on the 4S was ugly, plain and simple. It looked so painfully outdated that I had to jailbreak it just so looking at it didn't give me an aneurysm. The keyboard was almost as bad as Android's and the auto-correct was worse. It just felt like a jumbled mess at all times regardless of how things were arranged. If I had to explain iOS as an OS at that point, I'd call it a glorified app launcher because it was little else in my eyes. That said, as it progressed they added new features to make it a unique experience and enhance Siri (The one part of the OS I enjoyed) to offer deeper integration though it doesn't touch Google Now or Cortana. My biggest issue is that if you went Apple, it seemed you had to go all Apple or bust. To get out of their stupid iMessage system is hell, want to transfer contacts away from iPhone? Too bad, go through this lengthy and unorthodox process to do so. It was pretty bad. 7 added a few gestures I really liked but having been spoilt by Meego at this point, it was pretty underwhelming in comparison. iOS, to this date, feels like a glorified app launcher that they occasionally attach a new gimmick to for people to confuse for revolutionary. At least they finally made it easy on the eyes though.
Now, back in to Windows Phone 8. Given that my brand new Lumia 800s were made obsolete, I wanted something profound. What it felt like I got were slight improvements and a lot of apps that I'd paid money for that didn't transfer over. Some of my favorite Windows Phone 7 games don't exist on Windows Phone 8. This includes several Xbox live titles that I poured a bit of funds into including Tentacles, Splinter Cell, and the bullet hell game that Cave released for us. The name escapes me at present. I was taken aback, I had given up my perfect little Lumia 800 for this? The Lumia 920 which felt okay in comparison. On top of that, the wireless charging coil wasn't even in my first one so I needed a replacement and had to settle for black instead of yellow for my replacement. Overall, the experience started rough. Then, there was wordflow. Since the beginning of phones, I'd always wanted a keyboard that was smart. Sure, there are learning keyboards out there but none compared to Windows Phone's. I don't know who Belfiore sacrificed to The Dark Lord but this is perfect. The live tiles also certainly kept me enveloped. The slightly better customization in different tile sizes also made everything a bit less stagnant. Overall, it warranted at least a continued interest. Since then, I feel that Windows Phone has made great strides plus, thanks to Nokia, they're releasing the highest quality devices of any OS. At this point, I feel like Nokia took Windows Phone and single-handedly built it. The 8X was a beautiful device with a lot of issues and no real added software and Samsung just tossed another OS on their galaxy series. However, despite being carried by a single OEM, Nokia paired with Microsoft has created an OS to be revered and even with little things like Glance background has really flexed their muscles. Overall, the OS wasn't enough of an upgrade to just sell me but thanks to Nokia's additions and the overall quality of the OS that it exuded from it's Windows Phone 7 roots, it is the premium OS. That said, there is still an app gap that was made even worse by the poor transition to Windows Phone 7 to 8 and they've shown that they're not shy about alienating users.
Then, there was the Blackberry. this is something I bought from someone locally for $40 very recently and overall, it's a new experience. What do I think so far? Well, it's budget Meego on higher end hardware. The gestures are not as good, the OS itself looks like a very confused version of Android (which has enough conflict of it's own) and it's heavily dependent on the work of other OSes to try to stay afloat. I never had the earlier Blackberry devices so perhaps there was a point at which they were ahead of the game and the hardware is honestly pretty amazing, easily matching the iPhone in terms of sheer quality. However, they sacrificed security which was a massive selling point for them in favor of trying to swim in the big kid's pool and to say that they failed miserably would be an understatement.
So, what am I rocking now? I'm sadly rocking a Lumia 1520. Not that it's bad, it's great really, just a bit big. I'd bite on the 930 but no Glance screen is a deal breaker. I also have a Moto G and a Blackberry z10 as backup/development devices. None of them have ever been taken out into the wild though because they're not functional daily drivers to me. A key point in my eyes is texting and the keyboards are pretty dismal. I know I've touted the Windows Phone keyboard a lot in this thread but honestly, it's that good and with the shapewriting technology in 8.1, they put themselves light years ahead of everyone else in a very necessary though sadly underappreciated area.
Wow, you've had quite the journey, it seems like you experience nearly every version of Android and the last couple versions of iOS, as well as every version of windows phone.
Personally, I've only had a 3GS, NL 521, and NL 1520 (current).
I got the iphone about two months before iOS 6 came out and so I really didn't experience any of the annoyances that made iOS less than pleasant. Still when I switched to WP somehow things still felt streets ahead.
SoI can say you have long experience using different smartphone OS
I have 3 questions
1- What is the best OS you have ever used ?
2- What is the OS which you think now is the best for your needs ?
3- What is the formula for the best Smartphone I mean which OS with which company hardware will make the best smartphone ?
Some people says Nokia smartphones hardware with Android OS.
one-option said:
SoI can say you have long experience using different smartphone OS
I have 3 questions
1- What is the best OS you have ever used ?
2- What is the OS which you think now is the best for your needs ?
3- What is the formula for the best Smartphone I mean which OS with which company hardware will make the best smartphone ?
Some people says Nokia smartphones hardware with Android OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. That's a real toss up between Windows Phone 8.1 and MeeGo
2. Windows Phone, you won't get something more intuitive. Sure, you can't customize or overclock or all that crap but you don't need to. It works perfet out of the box.
3. Nokia Windows Phone has me nailed down pretty hard. I wouldn't want Android on a Nokia because Nokia is about infallible quality and that's pretty much the opposite of Android.
I`he used Windows Phone, the system is intuitive, looks nice but there aren`t many features available on android.
iOS on tablets and iPhones is usefull but I always feel limited by prices or lack of some solutions that is why I choose android.
I know android from Capcake 1.5 and I was always pleased and surprised by subsequent changes of capabilities of the system.
Hi Poecifer
I agree with you, I have used Lumia 520, 720 & 920 and to be honest Windows Phone is such a stable system, but I left it back to Android because VPN & file manager wasn't supported at the time in the OS.
Now I'm waiting for the WP8.1 Nokia devices.
for me Lumia 630 is missing flash light & Lumia 930 come with small battery, hope Nokia will provide prime high end flagship soon.
Holy crap 80 androids, I've had like 3 or 4 phones in the last 10 years xD
Some experiences about the newly released Firefox OS?
You say you don't like android keyboards. What about SwiftKey? I've tried many keyboards, from all different os's, and I think SwiftKey is great. And as for androids lagging, I am currently using a n5, and have used a m8 and I experience zero lag from both of those phones. I was wondering where you experience lag in these higher end devices. Currently I'm all about Android, the only thing I dislike is the build quality. Even with the m8, it could have been designed better. All these companies designing android phones have no taste or style.
So I have just spent the last 24 hours taking my HTC One M8 from Windows 8 Mobile all the way to the current release of Windows 10 Mobile (10.0.15254.582), and I learned a lot of cool things.
https://ibb.co/cF3P0pd
https://ibb.co/x1v4ygc
First: Windows mobile was doomed from the start, lack of developer support is clearly evident across the different releases and I can see why it never took off, this could have been great but even facebook tells me to use the mobile website how am i supposed to get my alerts from my random groups?
Second: This was a pain to do, Regedits out the wazoo, having to take all the knowledge everyone has posted and then applying it, literally just copy and pasted numbers of legitimate Nokia Lumia 950 to make it think it was a legit phone then taking the updates slowly so i dont break the damn thing since windows has an issue everything someone deletes the sys32 folder.
Third: HTC, Yall make a damn good phone if it can go all they way to the latest release and not break a sweat, then someone clearly did something right to allow this phone to last this long. (against its will)
Fourth: Profit? (probably not this took way too long and i am not writing a guide on how to do this)
I mean this device is still a pile of crap but I have discord (limited functions but eh) crunchyroll all sorts of other 3rd party out of necessity apps that cover from Facebook to YouTube, this platform could have been sooooo much more but since nobody developed for it and it died.
So my question is who else has shoved their m8 to the limit of what this OS has before Microsoft kills it?
I cant be the only one to have thought wouldn't it be great if maybe it was more use than a door stop?
Also can someone give me a functioning .apx for Opera Mini, (and possibly a walk-through) Fricking Edge is a POS.
Short story long, this weekend was supposed to be me taking the Android M8 and making it my backup phone by replacing the rom with one from linage i already had looked at and read how to, but the amazon seller I purchased it from sent me a windows version, but i already bought one to play with or turn into a overgrown hotspot since my lte ipad mini (gen 1) is a pile of crap (i have a 2018 ipad that is wifi only and i like my manga on a screen bigger than 5 inches), I am a semi driver and im gone 5 weeks then come home for 1 week, he screwed the pooch and now i have 2 windows phones so i needed a backup phone if my nice Pixel 3 was to get damaged and be NFG, so i went through all this to just get a phone that will work and have some entertainment value and well i think it could be a contender for my backup phone. So now i bought a M8 thats android but it hasnt arrived yet to my only choice was to work with the turd i have and make it shine a bit brighter. Anyway i have my m8 reg modded to allow tethering i have my ipad data only plan working flawlessly on the m8 even the website says its an m8 but isnt making me change plans, a spare sim so i can call in to get my number put on it since the store is a no go in 18 wheels of steel, it works and it works good for something it was never meant to do.
If anyone has questions i probably am the worst person to ask but hey maybe i can help (probably not but eh).
I got my s9 plus around December 2019. Bought it off eBay for 260 dollars - it was so cheap because the rear camera doesn't work properly, which was actually a selling point for me 'cause I hardly ever take pictures and I am not a "selfies" type of guy. Actually I wish they sold android phones without cameras, since the idea of everyone in our society walking around with devices that are incredibly convenient for governments and Google scumbags to spy on us is all very Orwellian, when you think about it. Anyway - aside from the fact that the operating system came from the same cultural marxists behind rhe Project Veritas crap, and it has probably got all sorts of backdoors for any sort of warrants-optional feds, the s9 plus is admittedly a damn fine phone; it's not mt work phone so I don't use it for work related stuff, just day to day stuff, like a calendar/alarm, fitness tracker, weather apps, casual email and wrbsurfing, *****ute/minds.com and gacha JRPGs. Basically it's a PDA that I play games on and use to watch youtube's replacement sites. It's a sweet casual gaming phone for non-AAA games, and I would like to keep using it for that.
It just got Android 10, and then Samsung just updated the ui, and it feels like it would be kind if a waste to try and install lineageOS on it right now, but it isn't exactly the newest and greatest phone, either. Basically what I'm wondering is this: when would be the perfect time window when the s9+ stops being too modern to risk bricking while it's still a perfectly acceptable phone for the version of Android that it already has, and becomes an outdated phone that can only be improved by putting lineageOS on it?