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GPS/PCI Express Break-off from Hardware Breakdown Thread

I wanted to break this off since the other topic was looking to be mostly about the LCD's
floatpoo said:
I wanted to see if the blank sockets on the system board were active. So I grabbed my multimeter and tested each pin to see if any delivered power. I don't know if these sockets are controlled by software, but it looks like these sockets are inactive.
(cant post link ref other thread....)
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I'm an electronics tech (avionics really) just so you know my background, and I am by no way a programmer i just hack my way throught when i need... poorly at that. I'm a long time reader but don't post much.
I havent taken mine apart yet, I bought it for the wife to use as an ereader she was using her evo before and already has bad eyesight I just dont think reading on that small screen is good for her. However we planned on returning it today because she couldn't get anything to work... But i loaded VAGAn-Tab rom on it and she likes it ALOT more now, but we still might be returning it (she thinks it to big and heavy to hold). So all I have to work with is the internal pics posted by other members and I thank you for them!
I was thinking about using a mini pci card with 3g/4g and GPS to solve my problem like this one for Sprint Customers looks very nice and they claim android support. Could someone please verify the length available for the card from the socket to the mounting holes? It should be around 50mm but i cant tell from the pic.
I cant post a link so google
franklinwireless
M600_datasheet_v1.pdf
Then after more research I figured out that think I can get the GPS to work on the board. I found that the RXM-GPS-SG-T looks to be the exact chip they are using, the pin look to match exactly VCC, GND, RX, TX, RF, VOUT. So they are using an active GPS antenna (but could be modded for passive). They use NMEA-0183 or SiRF Binary output selected by a serial command. So we need to figure out if the TX is going to U39 making U39 the interface to the unit, or directly to somewhere else (idk need to see board) I hope i can attach my pic i made or maybe an admin can post it for me.
However the PCI slot might be just as hard to use, the pin 20 that has 3.3v isnt what we want, but it could be a software control to disable/enable the card. However we still need A+ on pins 2,52 (3.3V), 6,28,48(1.5V) and maybe 24(3.3V Aux) dependeding on the card. We could be dealing with a "Non Standard" connector, they are out there but most OEM's dont bother with them. More likely to find them on a Asus product ect. It's common for the SIM card to be powered by the PCI card itself and the board looks wired that way. I have 2 Digi International Mini PCI express Wifi/Cell Development boards and thats how they both power the SIM card. Pin 16 should goto Pin 1 on the sim card, 14->2, 12->3, 10->6 but maybe 7 or 8.
Getting the Power to it could be software or hardware. Looks like around U8 on the frontside could a Vreg setup, Or it could be as simple as putting in some 0 ohm resistors around R15 and R14. We also see that U7 is unpopulated on backside. So that leave us with U7,U8, R15, and R16 which could mean they are all part of the same circuit if they laid it out with any logic. TP1,2,and 3 also make me believe this is true, however they match up to LED_WPAN#, LED, WLAN#,and LED_WWAN#. I sure wish they match the power input pins, but that means all those missing resistors could just be for unpopulated status LED's. Like I've said over and over i cant tell ya unless i can probe around the board.
As far as the memory, yes its possible, I do BGA replacement at work. What I am afraid of is that the other memory chips look to be exactly on the other side and I'd be afraid of messing them up. I'd have to look at my jig at work and see if I could set it up without any problems.

I'm no electronics expert but I dabble. I'd be interested in internal GPS and a memory boost. I'm pretty confident in my soldering skills and would try something if directed by someone smarter than me.

This is something I am very interested in. Any new info on this?

ihaveathumb said:
This is something I am very interested in. Any new info on this?
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I sadly no longer own a G tablet, wife thought it was to heavy to read books, and hated the screen. I cant argue with her on either of those points, so we returned it. However I got the ok to buy a referb on if i can find one, but when I did at my local store i showed them the paper and they told me they dont sell that stuff there and send me away. I talked to 3 different people too basically all told me to go f off. I even tried another time with the 7" they sell same results. I dont know why it gets listed on the website if they wont sell it.
Not to get sidetracked, but i even did by the proper bga fittings to solder the ram chips too lol..
So no its probably not going to go any farther from my stand point, if anyone wants my help I still read the forums everyday.
I'm just gonna wait and see what comes out in the future that XDA gets behind, because I'de never buy anything that didnt have an active community here.

IF you were looking for a reader fo rher mainly, you should've really gone with the Nook Color... eInk devices are good too IF you don't really need good PDF support and/or need it to read more complexly formatted documents, e.g. technical manual, mathematics texts, etc. i.e. eInk is best suited for ficiton and other simply formatted documents, but it VERY readable except in poorly lit conditions where you'd need external lighting of some sort.

Very true I should have bought her a nook, but now she doesnt want it because its not powerful enough for her needs imo. She also wants to login to her school (blackboard) and be able to use overdrive. Plus she likes dungeon defenders and I dont think that can handle it. We are just gonna wait it out and see what comes along, mostly cause we have our first due next month, so trying to be frugal.

mystkrh said:
Very true I should have bought her a nook, but now she doesnt want it because its not powerful enough for her needs imo. She also wants to login to her school (blackboard) and be able to use overdrive. Plus she likes dungeon defenders and I dont think that can handle it. We are just gonna wait it out and see what comes along, mostly cause we have our first due next month, so trying to be frugal.
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Yep, you'll want a full blown tablet then and I suspect that the NC would be too much of a bother to get setup for her for what she wants it for...
All the 10" tablets are fairly heavy too, so you'll probably have to stick to looking for 7/8" tablets and I suspect Tegra 2 or multi-core cortex-a9 SoCs from other mfgs... not much in the way of 7" ATM other than the elocity a7 (was c. $300 around xmas), but it's not very hacker friendly and I don't know if they ever got the USB port to run in non-host mode... probably best to not even look at it...

The g Tablet would, as many have already said, be a great tablet if it had gps mainly and increased memory. Adding pci-e would be even better. I would be extremely happy with the addition of gps. I would be very tempted to allow somebody with expertise and high level of confidence of success to experiment on my tablet.

GPS+
Just bought my Gtab yesterday. As you know the stock Roman/UI sucks big time. I installed Clockwork followed by CyanogenMod 7 and what a difference. Anyway I looked on the web for a dock and it seems there is a Chinese version of the Gtab that has higher spec's including GPS. It would seem logical to assume the U.S. motherboard has the same circuits built in. Who knows what's possible....

It's too bad that more people don't feel like tearing up their electronics to start soldering things to them.

HTC touch pro

Hey everyone. my girlfriend is looking to get a different phone but doesn't want all the data plan and stuff the smartphones have. i read somewhere that the touch pro doesnt need a data plan is that true.. Also Is this thing laggy or anything i have heard the diamond is a bit laggy. if so do the cooked roms seem to make it smoother and more reliable.. thanks for any info!!! its greatly appreciated. just wanna know whats shes getting into before she gets one

If I'm not mistaken. any phone that you purchase off contract/third party can be used without data (I could be wrong here). Probably best to get the newer phones as the TP is not the best of the best but it'll get you by, IF you want to compromise price. Other than that, it's not a bad phone, I honestly have no desire for a new phone at the moment. I've had mine for more than two years and I am liking my current configuration. Let's put it this way, if she like using a phone with an outdated OS, then by all means! If she wants something more, I'd go with an Android device... IMHO

well she has messed with the new smart phones and she was just like its just to much for me. i don't need to use any of that stuff. she has an lg env touch which of course isnt a smart phone. She doesnt want to spend a whole lot of money on a phone that has a bunch of things that it can do but she wont use it for. Well she wants one but And i have seen some android roms made for the touch pro? im not sure. she likes the keyboard and all that. how is the touch screen on it? and you can get it in GSM right? i was probably going to flash the energy rom on it for her and all that. how much better is it then the env touch.

Englewood12 said:
well she has messed with the new smart phones and she was just like its just to much for me. i don't need to use any of that stuff. she has an lg env touch which of course isnt a smart phone. She doesnt want to spend a whole lot of money on a phone that has a bunch of things that it can do but she wont use it for. Well she wants one but And i have seen some android roms made for the touch pro? im not sure. she likes the keyboard and all that. how is the touch screen on it? and you can get it in GSM right? i was probably going to flash the energy rom on it for her and all that. how much better is it then the env touch.
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Just as R^7Z above, I've had my TP for over two and a half years now, and am still immensely happy with it (not meaning to say though that I don't occasionally yearn for something faster and flashier). I've dropped my TP countless times onto concrete and tiles, and even have it fly off the back of my motorbike onto the road and get driven over by a car - and only had to replace the battery cover! So it's definitely a sturdy 'phone.
If your girlfriend's used to capacitive touch screens, she probably won't particularly like the TP's resistive screen. Though if she's got long nails, she might actually prefer it (I remember a colleague with long nails complaining when she got an iPhone 3).
EnergyROM might initially be a little daunting for her with all of the extra functionality (multiple screens, etc), but the layout's very easy to modify with the built-in tools, so you can make it easier to access.
The best thing about the TP now as opposed to when I got it, is the price. You can get a brand new one from China for under $300 including postage - I originally paid almost $1.2k for mine in '08.

Any new QWERTY Android on the horizon?

Hi everyone, my Relay 4g, thanks to all devs, rocks. I'm even thinking about buying a new one and keeping it in its box - in my experience, phones with hinges and moving parts such as this one do not last long.
We are part, I'm afraid, of a very small niche in the market - no one wants QWERTY phones, or atthe very least no one seems to want to supply them. Has anyone seen any rumor on new/upcoming Android qweerty phones?
Thanks!!

It's sad but no. I've researched a huge amount of materials but I wasn't able to find newer phone on the market than Relay since 2012.
Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_f3q-5998.php
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I saw it: nothing interesting except LTE, which is useless in my country, and display even weaker. But it's my IMHO nevertheless
Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk

demkantor said:
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_f3q-5998.php
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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haha specs of that are less than relay in terms of processor, chipset, and camera...thats such a suckerpunch

http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/16/the-app-store-is-proof-were-in-idiocracy/
This is why there aren't QWERTY devices. People don't do anything with their pocket computers..

orange808 said:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/16/the-app-store-is-proof-were-in-idiocracy/
This is why there aren't QWERTY devices. People don't do anything with their pocket computers..
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I think part of the problem is that QWERTY for many people is one of those things that you think you can live without... until you try it for some time.
Then you go back to a normal smartphone and you notice how much you don't say because it's a nuisance to type with an on-screen keyboard. You actively avoid having a meaningful conversation or replying to complex e-mails until you get to a pc (yes or meet in person, but lots of far away friends).
*sigh*

rad30n said:
I think part of the problem is that QWERTY for many people is one of those things that you think you can live without... until you try it for some time.
Then you go back to a normal smartphone and you notice how much you don't say because it's a nuisance to type with an on-screen keyboard. You actively avoid having a meaningful conversation or replying to complex e-mails until you get to a pc (yes or meet in person, but lots of far away friends).
*sigh*
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Absolutely! I can hardly explain the significance of hard keyboard to something but I cannot already live with usual phone myself
On-screen keyboard is a total s**t!
Therefore I've bought second Relay already)

rad30n said:
I think part of the problem is that QWERTY for many people is one of those things that you think you can live without... until you try it for some time.
Then you go back to a normal smartphone and you notice how much you don't say because it's a nuisance to type with an on-screen keyboard. You actively avoid having a meaningful conversation or replying to complex e-mails until you get to a pc (yes or meet in person, but lots of far away friends).
*sigh*
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Click to collapse
you've hit the nail on the head. my first smartphone was the original samsung blackjack (windoze mobile 5, later flashed to a custom 6.1 rom i think), and it was a blackberry style phone. when i tired of that, i got a samsung continuum, which was touch-only. not only was the device massively defective (had to return it so many times, vzw let me get a different model phone), not having a keyboard sucked for actually doing anything. so i got a droid 2 - slider qwerty. that one had its flight license revoked after a high speed impact with a wall, and was replaced with my current droid4. the d4 is slowly dying and its battery can't be (easily) replaced, and i want away from big red, so after much research, i decided that the relay is the best-specced qwerty slider on the market right now - especially sad since the just-released f3q or whatever actually has WORSE specs than the relay. so i bought a relay yesterday - found a local tmo store that had some open item stock and bought one for only $125. now i have to learn how to root, flash, and all that all over again - sammy stuff is WAY different from moto.
because i can actually use my phone for damn near everything (including RDP into the dell poweredge in my garage), i haven't even turned on my desktop pc in all of 2014. granted, i have a work laptop, but i don't have admin rights on it so i can't use it to work on my new relay. might have to commandeer the wife's laptop for that.
when i'm forced to use someone else's touch-only device (including my wife's sgs3 and tab2 7"), i quickly get frustrated by the on-screen keyboard. haptic feedback is no replacement for tactile buttons. that's why touchscreen sucks in a car, and why i hope the Tesla Model E (or whatever they're going to call it now) doesn't have 100% touch controls like the model S and model X. some touch is fine and appropriate in a car, but for some things, having a real knob or button is more efficient and safer. but i digress. calling these phones a "pocket computer" is 100% accurate. maybe someone will come up with a way to make those tack-on bluetooth keyboards not suck so much (like maybe they can clone the droid4's keyboard - it's nicer than the relay's, IMHO) or make it even bigger and make use of the space provided by these phablets out there now. i wouldn't mind carrying around a galaxy note if it had a good slider qwerty on board, and let me shrink the fonts to make better use of that big screen. alas, i just don't see that happening.

Gibson99 said:
you've hit the nail on the head. my first smartphone was the original samsung blackjack (windoze mobile 5, later flashed to a custom 6.1 rom i think), and it was a blackberry style phone. when i tired of that, i got a samsung continuum, which was touch-only. not only was the device massively defective (had to return it so many times, vzw let me get a different model phone), not having a keyboard sucked for actually doing anything. so i got a droid 2 - slider qwerty. that one had its flight license revoked after a high speed impact with a wall, and was replaced with my current droid4. the d4 is slowly dying and its battery can't be (easily) replaced, and i want away from big red, so after much research, i decided that the relay is the best-specced qwerty slider on the market right now - especially sad since the just-released f3q or whatever actually has WORSE specs than the relay. so i bought a relay yesterday - found a local tmo store that had some open item stock and bought one for only $125. now i have to learn how to root, flash, and all that all over again - sammy stuff is WAY different from moto.
because i can actually use my phone for damn near everything (including RDP into the dell poweredge in my garage), i haven't even turned on my desktop pc in all of 2014. granted, i have a work laptop, but i don't have admin rights on it so i can't use it to work on my new relay. might have to commandeer the wife's laptop for that.
when i'm forced to use someone else's touch-only device (including my wife's sgs3 and tab2 7"), i quickly get frustrated by the on-screen keyboard. haptic feedback is no replacement for tactile buttons. that's why touchscreen sucks in a car, and why i hope the Tesla Model E (or whatever they're going to call it now) doesn't have 100% touch controls like the model S and model X. some touch is fine and appropriate in a car, but for some things, having a real knob or button is more efficient and safer. but i digress. calling these phones a "pocket computer" is 100% accurate. maybe someone will come up with a way to make those tack-on bluetooth keyboards not suck so much (like maybe they can clone the droid4's keyboard - it's nicer than the relay's, IMHO) or make it even bigger and make use of the space provided by these phablets out there now. i wouldn't mind carrying around a galaxy note if it had a good slider qwerty on board, and let me shrink the fonts to make better use of that big screen. alas, i just don't see that happening.
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if you ever need help setting it up or unlocking it and all that ill be glad to help and guide you to the right threads

What's really sad is that every manufacturer has such a huge lineup (including stupid curved versions of phones that are more expensive and worse than the original uncurved version --- looking at you Samsung) and yet nobody can squeeze out a qwerty with a modern chipset.
The Relay is indeed a keeper! Hope this great community can go on collaborating and updating it for the next few years

I think i will buy another relay to keep in storage! The f3q does not look great:
http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-optimus-f3q.html
And not a lot of dev in the horizon:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2650840&page=4

Easiest way to get aosp is piggyback off a popular device, like we did for s3. I spoke to the LG guys at CM. Nobody is interested in the f3 (non qwerty) or the f3q. I'm personally waiting for project ara

Nardholio said:
Easiest way to get aosp is piggyback off a popular device, like we did for s3. I spoke to the LG guys at CM. Nobody is interested in the f3 (non qwerty) or the f3q. I'm personally waiting for project ara
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The LG Feck really doesn't seem like a new device, so I'm not surprised.

F3Q? No... absolutly not an option to "upgrade".
http://geekaphone.com/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-S-Relay-4G-vs-LG-Optimus-F3Q
The parameters are worse than relay. But F3Q is the ONLY qwerty android released 2014. Sad. Very sad.

NO!
sorgo said:
F3Q? No... absolutly not an option to "upgrade".
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Strongly agree. It's a piece of s**t

endangered species listed here
qwerty android phones:
http://www.meetgadget.com/gadget/#/gadget/category/Cell Phones/?f[3373][]=4764&f[7178][]=9439
gsm qwerty android phones:
http://www.meetgadget.com/gadget/#/...?f[3373][]=4764&f[7178][]=9439&f[3327][]=4772
side-sliders qwerty android phones:
http://www.meetgadget.com/gadget/#/...s/?f[3373][]=4764&f[3341]=4486&f[7178][]=9439
I am really considering buying another relay to have another one backup phone just for the day when the qwerty phones will be absolutely extinct in the future.

Guiyoforward said:
I think i will buy another relay to keep in storage! The f3q does not look great:
http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-optimus-f3q.html
And not a lot of dev in the horizon:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2650840&page=4
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Click to collapse
Agreed. And Relays seem to remain available through ebay. The prices vary: I've seen some as cheap as $170 and as expensive as $250, but at least they are consistently available from various vendors. And I'm talking brand new still in the package with the plastic. But this may not last forever, though, so yeah, getting two might be in order.

RodimusConvoy said:
Agreed. And Relays seem to remain available through ebay. The prices vary: I've seen some as cheap as $170 and as expensive as $250, but at least they are consistently available from various vendors. And I'm talking brand new still in the package with the plastic. But this may not last forever, though, so yeah, getting two might be in order.
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yes, I bought mine (used device) in november for $125 (plus shipping and import charges, it was ~ €150). Now the lowest price for a device listed as NEW is $163. The only problems I had to replace the screen protector and now my display flex cable is starting to die. Maybe a good idea is to by one for spare parts too But I would recommend to buy a new one just to make sure that the keyboard mechanism isn't used too much.

I have the non-qwerty F3, and it would be seriously better with 8-16x the internal storage. It does have LTE (awesome if you're in an area where T-Mobile is serving it up), better RF performance (better dBm levels in 2G and 3G areas, at least), and amazing battery life, but the lack of internal storage is its Achilles heel. Naturally, they couldn't be bothered to upgrade that when they tacked on a keyboard, and there seems to be nothing on the horizon with regard to custom ROMs.
I dragged my Relay out of storage, popped my SIM into it (had to use an adapter since the F3 uses a Micro SIM), and fired it up again. Then, less than 24 hours after I take the CM plunge, CM development for the Relay grinds to a halt.
What a shame, since, other than a couple of rough edges (the AOSP calendar isn't as good as LG's calendar, and LG's calendar isn't as good as Samsung's, and also I can't sort contacts by last name) I like what I see with the M8 release.
What I am really starting to hate about the smartphone market is that every damn phone seems to have some sort of stupid $#!+ somewhere. Nexus 5? No removable battery, no external SD - the latest fashion! Recent Samsungs? Region locked, even if it's a "soft" lock and I'm unlikely to travel overseas anytime soon. Aren't they also locking the bootloaders on the S5 and Note 3? Don't even get me started on Apple's walled garden. Google seems to be steadily inching in that direction as well, as everything gets shoved into Google Play Services. The LG G3 looks promising (they brought back the external SD and the removable battery, yay!) but it's a flagship phone with a flagship price, and it's anybody's guess whether there will be any custom ROMs for it. Also, the buttons on the back make it useless with my windshield bracket.

[Completed] Purchasing Advice

As a former BES Admin, I was in no rush to get to the Android side. Eventually, I had to make the switch some years back to an Atrix 4G. Physically the phone felt like the cheaply constructed piece of garbage that it is and I had to replace it at least once along the way via Asurion.
Aside from the advertised FM Radio that the unit didn't actually contain, it was a pleasure to own. I spent time with a dozen different ROMs. There was even an Ubuntu for it!
I replaced that with an LG phone. It was physically sturdy, but much harder to mod and sans the replaceable battery. I don't consider battery replacement a feature, as much as I consider built-in batteries to be a crime against the environment and children. It was recently stolen.
I replaced it with a Samsung Note SGH-i717. It reeks of cheap plastic like Samsung's do. Rooting was easy, and a nice buffet of ROMs to choose from, just like when I rooted my friend's Galaxy... It's my first phone that can accommodate a 64Gb microSD!
With 10Gb free on internal storage and a freshly-formatted 64 Gb microSD I was surprised to see this thing whining and demanding uncompensated attention around an issue of space.
Figuring out how to repartition took forever. Immediately after I did (using sdparted) the phone will not turn on or charge. A brick headed back to where I bought it from.
I was surprised that no matter how awesome the ROM, most of the internal storage was set aside to do nothing. Luckily I snagged a VSA v.45 for $50 along with the new Samsung and microSD. My job mandates I carry a phone, and I don't want to stress. This one actually has an FM radio too!
It is doing the same thing where it seems like someone with a severe disability established the (not-at-all-easy-to-modify) partition scheme. I'm aware of options which generously "allow" me to move app data to the microSD card. But I'm not suffering from a brain injury, and so I don't want any app to ever stop working just because I need to swap in some more removable storage. At least I don't want to think about it until I filled the internal memory legitimately - an impossibility which will likely never occur.
I like to use my microSD for data, and phone space for OS and apps. I could author a book on why, likely I'm preaching to the choir.
As a long-time IT guy and American, I will not carry around a device I cannot root. I wish I could add 3 days to every week so I could donate them to hacking Android's stupidity (not).
Under $400 unlocked, no contract, is there a phone that is not tied to a horrifically unusable partitioning scheme? If it wasn't made out of plastic and falling apart by week 2, that'd be a nice bonus. I realize in asking the the hardware and software both not be trash I'm being "picky."
I love the Cisco 7960 on my home desk. If it wasn't for my being on-call for work, I'd just as soon leave it at that.
I need something modern and peppy as I work in IT.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for this forum and all the hard work you do! I would have never made it this far without you!

StupidPhonesNowMoreDumb said:
As a former BES Admin, I was in no rush to get to the Android side. Eventually, I had to make the switch some years back to an Atrix 4G. Physically the phone felt like the cheaply constructed piece of garbage that it is and I had to replace it at least once along the way via Asurion.
Aside from the advertised FM Radio that the unit didn't actually contain, it was a pleasure to own. I spent time with a dozen different ROMs. There was even an Ubuntu for it!
I replaced that with an LG phone. It was physically sturdy, but much harder to mod and sans the replaceable battery. I don't consider battery replacement a feature, as much as I consider built-in batteries to be a crime against the environment and children. It was recently stolen.
I replaced it with a Samsung Note SGH-i717. It reeks of cheap plastic like Samsung's do. Rooting was easy, and a nice buffet of ROMs to choose from, just like when I rooted my friend's Galaxy... It's my first phone that can accommodate a 64Gb microSD!
With 10Gb free on internal storage and a freshly-formatted 64 Gb microSD I was surprised to see this thing whining and demanding uncompensated attention around an issue of space.
Figuring out how to repartition took forever. Immediately after I did (using sdparted) the phone will not turn on or charge. A brick headed back to where I bought it from.
I was surprised that no matter how awesome the ROM, most of the internal storage was set aside to do nothing. Luckily I snagged a VSA v.45 for $50 along with the new Samsung and microSD. My job mandates I carry a phone, and I don't want to stress. This one actually has an FM radio too!
It is doing the same thing where it seems like someone with a severe disability established the (not-at-all-easy-to-modify) partition scheme. I'm aware of options which generously "allow" me to move app data to the microSD card. But I'm not suffering from a brain injury, and so I don't want any app to ever stop working just because I need to swap in some more removable storage. At least I don't want to think about it until I filled the internal memory legitimately - an impossibility which will likely never occur.
I like to use my microSD for data, and phone space for OS and apps. I could author a book on why, likely I'm preaching to the choir.
As a long-time IT guy and American, I will not carry around a device I cannot root. I wish I could add 3 days to every week so I could donate them to hacking Android's stupidity (not).
Under $400 unlocked, no contract, is there a phone that is not tied to a horrifically unusable partitioning scheme? If it wasn't made out of plastic and falling apart by week 2, that'd be a nice bonus. I realize in asking the the hardware and software both not be trash I'm being "picky."
I love the Cisco 7960 on my home desk. If it wasn't for my being on-call for work, I'd just as soon leave it at that.
I need something modern and peppy as I work in IT.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for this forum and all the hard work you do! I would have never made it this far without you!
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Thanks for using XDA Assist.You can ask the question in **DEVICE SUGGESTION THREAD** -- Not sure what device to buy? Ask here!.You'll get better suggestions from the guys over there.
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What do you think of the Solana Saga?

I was surprised I couldn't find a thread discussing this phone. Is it taboo or something, or is everyone underwhelmed? What do you all think?
Being on Verizon and wanting a decent replacement for my Essential PH-1, I just found it. I can't seem to find anything else decent with an unlockable bootloader and microsd slot. Moto G Stylus 5G thoughts make me groan a bit.

LOLs, I just tried to find a Solana Saga phone forum too, only your post (& an old one of mine re old press release showed up). I'm also surprised there is no forum yet. They are on Discord, but not the same as XDA & phone geeks. Given their prelaunch press etc I'm surprised the actual launch seemed to fly under the radar.
If I was into crypto I'd have bought one already, but I'm not, though I'm sure the built-in chip for secure transactions is the future.
Like you I want a top notch phone without lots of bloatware, an unlockable bootloader, large storage, while having a dual SIM & SD slot is a great bonus. Storage is probably more than i need though with good camera I will likely use it more. I've only just started looking into actually buying a new phone & was expecting to have several choices, but seems not.
A few people have reported not being able to register phone on network (with what appear to be SIMs from 2nd level reseller companies, not actual network provides or in which countries isn't clear) but rebooting after setup AND allowing enough time for network to register new phone appears to fixe and they can join network. But no doubt if there really is an issue, it'll be fixed shortly by software update. You should be fine on major US network.
I also have an Essential phone that has performed flawlessly & is a quality build, so given it's largely the same team behind OSOM who designed & built the hardware for Solana I'm sure the phone will be a top quality design & build, and they still have good links to Google, I assume. So I'm probably going to buy one, even though I feel that as I won't be using crypto I'm paying a couple of hundred extra, but there really doesn't seem to be another phone at that price point (especially for 512gigs) that meets my main criteria ie vanilla Android, flagship, good storage, SD, good camera.