I as many (most) other in our modern world spend too much time on my smartphone, at the moment a Galaxy Note 8. I for a week used a feature phone like two years ago but it's just too many essential features that's missing, like navigation, a great camera, a digital ID app used by banks, social security etc, an (in Sweden) very common app for transferring money between people, synchronized contacts etc. Not really great time eaters, but important non the less.
What I'm looking for is in a nutshell a smartphone without most of the smart features such as messaging, browsing, IG, gaming etc. Since it's impossible for a ROM developer to know my exact preferences/needs all apps most be allowed, but using those not approved by the user should be a major PITA to prevent those apps most responsible for killing time. doing so.
Would anyone have any interest in developing such a solution? My initial idea was to target a very common model, such as Galaxy S4, S5, S6 or S7. Those can be found for $30-$100 used today, and would allow anyone to try out a "feature phone lifestyle" without having to try it on their normal phone.
I know this is a major undertaking, but it's still an interesting idea non the less.
Related
People, please spare a moment.. It's going to help..
Over the years I have used, tried, tested and reviewed just about every browser in the play store.. Sadly, android browsers are mostly overhyped, very few even worthy of being there..
HERE'S THE DEAL
1. Most users (including myself) needs to have 3 or 4 browsers in their devices..
WHY? Because, browser X has something what browser Y doesn't AND, Y has something what X doesn't.. So people hopelessly end up junking up all of them wanting the best of everything.. This creates wastage of resources and bloating up devices but can't help it.. After all, no one wants to miss out on something important.. As if it's not possible to share or unify the major features..
2. Does developers expect everyone to have free hi-speed wifi access everytime?
Why does the already loaded pages and multiple tabs needs to reload/refresh without the user's consent everytime the browser is minimised for a few minutes without even even killing or exiting (no task killers here), wasting needless time and data making the browsing experience very undesirable.. This happens on most of the browsers barring opera mini..
What devs must take regard is that a vast majority of mobile users are on tight expensive 3G/4G data plans.. And this takes a big toll, doubling or even tripping up your monthly bill..
Is it an Android OOM or a caching problem?
Some even offers data compression and engines for economical surfing, which will make a negligible difference as compared to this problem.. Whatever this strange behaviour is, it's a big issue that needs to be looked into very soon, and this doesn't happen on a PC..
3. While, some browsers downloads a Web page instead of saving the already loaded page whereas some really popular BIG names doesn't even support saving a page for offline viewing which is such a crucial aspect of being a browser.. I hate to say this but it's such a shame!
Do you still need to concede precious data just to download the already loaded Web page for offline reading when Uc browser, opera mini, opera mobile can all easily save the already loaded page in an instant without eating any more data?
I believe, it's not all about staying ahead of the competition and thriving to be reputated as the ultimate best browser BUT it's more about focussing on the persisting flaws and offering the users the best experience along with the feature improvements..
See, what I mean is that it's pretty obvious that they already know more than anyone else about the above described problems but unless one of them steps up and do something about this NO BODY AMONG THE REST IS GOING TO CARE!
It's like a cat and mouse game, decades back, some television manufacturer implements remote control for the first time and solved a problem making life much better for us and suddenly the rest started doing the same to catch up BUT they all knew the technology was already there and anyone could have done it first with just a little more effort BUT they didn't care because nobody was complaining BUT, WE ONLY REALIZED HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE IT MADE AFTERWARDS..
I SAY, ANDROID HAS EVOLVED BIG TIME SO DOES THE BROWSERS NEEDS TO.
Sent from my GT-P3100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Hi again,
Bit of another weird question but i'm looking up applications that have issues such as memory leaks, Power drain Issues and a like. TBH, any application there is out there from sat nav to gaming, From simple notepads to full office suites. Everything and anything basically. Wanting to make a comprehensive list so that when we get our 'reports' sent to us it will flag up the particular application the customer is using that may be a issue. Even ones that have issues with certain versions of android.
Again, Thanks for any help
Ok then, Let me rephrase the question,
What applicatiuons do people know about that cause issues. From malware like GluMobi to Memory leaks of mGlow or Resource Hogs like hotmail to network hogs like netflix. Security issues like the one in apache cordova 3.5 and below to simple storage eaters like The SIms Freeplay.
ANY issue, not matter how big or small basically that can cause ANY potential problem. Technically, Its going be a HUGE list
Bugs, Battery Drain, Issues with certain versions of Android, battery drain, LITERALLY anything, No matter how big or small.
Thanks again
It's flat-out impossible to maintain an accurate list of what you're asking for. Most issues reported in most cases would be fixed within a few days as the apps get updated. Simply asking people to report these things is also a dangerous precedence and an ineffective way of doing it as there will be prejudice left and right, users reporting subjective information that isn't technically true and/or applicable to their specific phones and/or ROMs only. And how would you make comparison? How slow, leaky, disruptive etc does an app need to be to make it on the list? What if an app gets added that had real issues, gets fixed the day after, and then remains on your list for several more months because no new reports are coming in? It would be rather unfair to the developer(s).
Any truly disruptive apps are eventually removed and banned from ALL app repositories as the app host gets complaints about it (like Google bans apps from Play Store), so there's no reason to make a list of them here.
If i misunderstand your intentions with this list, i'm sorry. But you have more explaining to do before this idea makes any sense.
RobbyRobbb said:
It's flat-out impossible to maintain an accurate list of what you're asking for. Most issues reported in most cases would be fixed within a few days as the apps get updated. Simply asking people to report these things is also a dangerous precedence and an ineffective way of doing it as there will be prejudice left and right, users reporting subjective information that isn't technically true and/or applicable to their specific phones and/or ROMs only. And how would you make comparison? How slow, leaky, disruptive etc does an app need to be to make it on the list? What if an app gets added that had real issues, gets fixed the day after, and then remains on your list for several more months because no new reports are coming in? It would be rather unfair to the developer(s).
Any truly disruptive apps are eventually removed and banned from ALL app repositories as the app host gets complaints about it (like Google bans apps from Play Store), so there's no reason to make a list of them here.
If i misunderstand your intentions with this list, i'm sorry. But you have more explaining to do before this idea makes any sense.
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Click to collapse
Im in total agreement with what you say and this is just an extra feature that we are adding to what we already have. I work for a company in the UK and our intentions with this is we already have a system that checks clients hardware/software for what it has as we do a lot of work for many other big companies in the uk (all of them basically) as we have some very good engineers here. THe idea behind this database is just to flag certain things that may be causing issues and its more for internally than anything external although that as come up in meetings about adding this feature to the program we plan to release in the near future where 'certain' clients will be able to access our databases with our app we provide them. This is all preliminary at the moment and as i say, For our internal use only. This is why im looking for such a vast catalogue of problems, whether rumour or not
is not an issue at present. I'm just building the bare bone of this to test out how it works against our other databases and how easy/effective it will be working with what we already have.
Thanks for your answer and that's the conclusion we were at also. The fact that pre bundled software as total access to all information is kind of worring which we have dug up. This allows other programs that can get access to any of that information if it can pull a request from said bundled software. Example would be a program that requests use from the bundled program to read a PDF file (with the bundled software been a PDF reader). This is given access and then allows all the privileges of the bundled software. This is very very dangerous and a concern as most phone companies chuck plenty of bundled software (often not wanted by the consumer) on to there phones.
I was working on the 2G,3G,4G radios on all major phones the other week so im accustomed to A LOT of data entry
Thanks for your help my friend, Its good to know what we thought would be true but we have dug up a few other issues by doing this, So its not all a loss
EDIT: A piece of software still available and apparently malware/spyware is droiddream (bicchali.harish.droiddream) from what i can find on it. Also, Livelocker (net.livelocker) looks as if its got malware/spyware. As you say, What defines spyware is different in different peoples opinions but me personally am dubious about everything, As i think everyone should be but they are not. People just don't care as long as they have their facebook and crap lol. Point of interest about facebook, Funded to the tune of 12.8 Million by In-Q-Tel to get going, WHich was formed by the CIA. Just a little nugget there
I'm surprised no one as ANYTHING to say on the matter, Even if it's just on a whim that they hate app for x, y,& z. I have plenty personally lol
All, please forgive me if this has been discussed in other threads in the forum. I have searched and did not find any threads that really related to it.
As we all know our android devices have become quite powerful little computers, often incorporating features our computers don't even have without additional internal or external hardware, and are far more portable.
My own personal phone is an old VZ Galaxy S5. I have chosen and will continue to use VZ simply because I find they have the best service area for me. I love to go on road trips, via auto and motorcycle, I go out camping and dirt bike riding in some pretty remote areas and tbh I have been amazed at some of the places I still have service, long after family and friends have lost service on other carriers. For several years I kept and maintained an old Nokia TDMA AT&T Wireless phone simply because they still had "analog/digital" service in some pretty remote areas, and in the case of an emergency I find it beneficial to be able to make a call or send a text message in the event someone needs to be airlifted out. But I digress ..
I am not an experienced developer, and I have no experience rooting however I am interested in and believe I can learn a lot in this area. I am fed up and disgusted with bloatware, apps that after being disabled or force shutdown restart upon power cycling the phone, etc and I am watching closely to determine my next daily user phone based on Stock Android OS, hardware specs, and the users ability to determine which apps they actually want.
However, this thread is actually in regards to something completely different from that altogether.
I am in the market for an action camera, almost all of them have WiFi connectivity to control them. I have also started using GPS Apps for chart plotting and track recording using Enhanced Geo Referenced PDF Maps to track my rides the trails I am on (many of which are not mapped by DNR or US Forrest Service). I love to listen to music etc and often use Blue Tooth to stream audio from my SD Card, and as we know the internal cameras on these devices continue to improve and take some incredible pictures, almost to the point that there is not a lot of need to carry a higher end camera anywhere. None of these functions require a carrier. I can use any IOS or Andriod Device to load these apps on and use it to control my GoPro, as a GPS Enable Map/Chart Plotter, a Media Player, a Point and Shoot Camera, but in using it as such there is no need for all of the other "stuff" loaded on it by the manufacturer and carrier for voice service, for bs marketing, for ... I can install a handlebar mount on my dirt bike to hold the device and even install a power cable to maintain a constant charge so power/battery life isn't exactly a problem.
I currently have my VZ S5 which will probably be retired in the coming months, a Galaxy Tab S 10.5 Wifi Only (SM-T800), a Galaxy Note 2 VZ (retired a few years back but still functional), and my wife has a Tab 4 8.0 Wifi Only. The Tab S 10.5 is probably overkill and I think would prove to be challenging to manage mounted on the handlebars of a dirt bike. The Note 2 I think is probably just a little outdated. I am considering picking up a new tablet for my wife and re-purposing her tab 4 for this but I wanted to reach out to a community of experienced users to see if any of you have recommendations on an Android Device that would fit this purpose, something I can have control over exactly what is loaded on it, trim all the fat, and load up exactly what I want. Something that will be reasonable fast/responsive, and has an SD Card slot so I can store maps, pics, media, etc externally. If this requires rooting and loading a custom ROM to achieve, then I get to learn some new skills.
Open to listening to and considering all suggestions. Please provide supporting info for your recommendations ie specs, efficiency, simplicity, etc
Thanks,
Joey
This might seem like a really weird topic to some but its becoming one that I feel will benefit many in discussing:
Since 2010, I've remained on the fence about Google and to a lesser degree Samsung and Apple. Some days I'd wake up and they would be the company I LOATH and HATE because of some thing they did that had bad optics (Hello Google's purchase of Boston Dynamics). Other days, I'd wake up and think they were the best company in the world because they did something that really pushed the envelope of technology or did something that had fantastic humanitarian potential or something that was just genuinely felt altruistic in nature.
As time went, those days of "evil" creped closer in to being the daily status quo and those altruistic events have been diminishing. 2016 marked the year where we saw a huge uptick in the unethical usage of data Google and companies who could claim close affiliation (either by direct partnerships or making use of their technology) began to absolutely abuse the information they've gathered on us over the last 10-20 years depending how early of an adopter you were.
Events such as PRISM, Harvard Analytical and Fusion GPS all illustrated the unethical use of data gathering techniques and has inspired the application of the Jellinik Curve and other addiction methodologies into applications.
It's been my goal in 2019 to get myself as much out of this "game" as possible. The big realization I had a number of years ago (which, I'm sure many others have had) is that if you aren't paying for something with money, you are paying for something through some other means; usually through information. This doesn't necessarily preclude that paying for something means they aren't ALSO doing stuff with your data too to some nefarious end (Hello False Dichotomy).
After all this background, my usecases are pretty simple:
- Any application I use on my phone has to be front someone or someplace (company) that, with some research, seems like they have ethical standing.
- My information going through their network needs to be encrypted in some way. Obviously the higher the better within operational tolerances (IE I doesn't bog down the equipment into unusable).
- It has to be cloud based with the same information being accessible across multiple devices.
- A mobile webapp is highly welcomed (it's harder to mess with your on phone data if you can use a webapp as opposed to an APK, but, of course that comes with usability and potentially security problems).
Insofar, I've tested/played with the following apps that are starting to become my daily drivers.
- Protomail to replace Gmail. (paying for yearly subs)
- Timetree to replace Google Calendar (Still not sold on this one)
- Cryphon to replace Hangouts/Messaging (kind of, sort of)
- Waze to replace Google Maps (Sure, Waze is owned by Google now, but its lacking some the issues --- I'm very open to another long term solution)
The one that's personally killing me is Google Voice. It's been my daily driver since 2008. I have 8 different Google Voice numbers I use for various things.
- 1 is for personal
- 1 is a "business personal"
- 5 are for business
- 1 is a spam line
I can't find any solution to Google Voice that allows for the number of phone lines without it costing an arm and a leg.
All this said, I'd like to see what the XDA community thinks about this topic in general and what app suggestions people may have.
At the end of this year, I'd like to be at a place where I can use an Android and have absolutely zero Google apps installed (including Play Services).
99.9%+ of people don't care about going non-Google. Even after many privacy abuses over the years. Even after a Play Store filled with 99.99%+ adware, trackers and malware & where clean apps are the very rare exception rather than the norm. Most people simply don't care about this stuff. Congratulations on caring enough to make changes.
Google is a filthy company, much like Microsoft and Apple. CIA /NSA partners. No different in other countries. You get exactly what you expect from such State Mafia pairings. Android only gets worse and more restrictive as time goes on.
F-droid.org for all open-source apps that aren't reliant on any Play Store spyware. F-droid.org forums for any help. Probably the best way to start on your journey. I use Osmand on the odd occasion I need GPS. It is OK. I am looking into hosting my own ejabberd server for chat. I have some way to go...it's all new to me.
Removing as much Google spyware on a new device (after rooting) is essential, IMO (If not flashing with new Google-free firmware). That means all the stock Google apps and more - gone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0G6mUyIgyg
https://qz.com/1145669/googles-true...nd-nsa-research-grants-for-mass-surveillance/
https://exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/
I feel like over the next few months we're going to start to realize this as a society, especially as we close into the 2020 election in the US and Directive 13 and 15 close closer in at the EU.
To me, its important to get ahead of the game a bit.
Ideally, from my perspective, I don't see the need to have the newest phone on the market. This ecosystem has taught us that we'll see a new product every year no matter what but that newest product will always interface the buyers as abused beta testers. The technology never seems to be good until the a generation or three later.
That being said, a phone a few years back usually has a good development group around, especially thanks to XDA.
Besides dealing with the information that's on the company's servers, however, I have a learning concern that even inside Android, without GAPPS installed, there is still some potential for abuse of person's information stepping from the various repositories designed for call logs, calendar, GPS data etc that, in theory, every Android going back to 1.0 has.
Part of my hunt for good apps are ones that don't rely on that underpinning technology.
I know it sounds like a base question since we're talking about security but I wonder in what instances are security patches really helping.
For example, suppose I only use the device with my data plan and my wifi at home (no public networks). Also suppose that I don't download 3rd party apps except those created by established companies like Microsoft (SwiftKey or Outlook). And suppose I don't visit many websites on my device (and especially no pr0n). In this instance, are security patches really necessary? Unlike most people, I don't do everything on my phone (no browsing the net, banking). I only use it for navigation, WhatsApp, and for calls.
I'm asking this question because I'm thinking about getting an Android phone. I'm currently an iPhone user and I want to break out of the Apple ecosystem. The problem is that some companies like HTC and LG seem to be slow to provide security patches or simply ignore them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDxUjSfp17E&t=6m35s
I'm interested in buying the LG V35 but the internet is full of comments about LG's horrendous support. I am mainly interested in keeping my emails and personal information safe. The only thing I value in the iPhone is the long-term support Apple provides but I'm willing to switch to Android if this isn't a concern if I use my phone exactly as I described above.
Thanks
Mity85 said:
I know it sounds like a base question since we're talking about security but I wonder in what instances are security patches really helping.
...
I'm interested in buying the LG V35 but the internet is full of comments about LG's horrendous support. I am mainly interested in keeping my emails and personal information safe. The only thing I value in the iPhone is the long-term support Apple provides but I'm willing to switch to Android if this isn't a concern if I use my phone exactly as I described above.
Thanks
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Click to collapse
First of all, welcome to Android ?
To answer your questions, security patches are indeed necessary, because if one day you lose your phone, potential flaws that would be patched with security update would be grand opened to hacker that want your personal data (like photos, videos, emails, contacts,...).
Even though it's very rare, that's more secure to have an updated phone.
Now, if you want long term services (updates from Google with the latest features and security patches) you should definitely go for a Google Pixel. Plus those are powerful and have the best camera on the phone market right now (machine learning helps a lot).
If your price range is around 400 $, then go for the Pixel 3a, if you're around 800 $ then go for a Pixel 3.
If you can wait a bit, wait until the Pixel 4 release, I don't know if it'll be a good phone (probably) but what I know is the more recent your phone is, the longer it'll be updated.
But if you are below that, check out the Android One series, that's not Pixel devices, but they get as well the long term support.
Hope it helps
I'd like to expand on this question a bit.
I have a friend who is experiencing "severe security concerns" at the moment. I'm actually kind of worried about this particular friend. This friend seems to primarily have concerns over "being tracked", so I'm trying to find the best approach to at least putting these concerns in the proper frame so that knowledge and education of the device and what it does, and how to control it would be more attainable to said friend.
I know that the security updates are important, but how do you advise someone who isn't rich, and is looking for a new phone, but is willing to dabble with rooting, even to the extent of removing / not installing Gapps? This friend seems willing to learn, so I'd like to think that taking the big picture of "best security practices" into account is an option (ie. don't open suspicious email attachments, learn how to identify phishing scams, only install apps you trust, etc...).
In my experience, apart from kernel and driver level flaws that leave gaping wide-open back doors, security mostly comes down to "being wise with how the device is used". Is that a fair statement?
Yes, security is a combination and balance of user knowledge & usage, oem hardware security, software security, country laws, etc.
Thanks @galaxys
Is there anything about rooting that makes a typical Android device less secure?
Or more to the point, does the ability to omit Gapps provide any natural security enhancement?
I'm asking from the point of view of a "moderately experienced" individual who knows how to spot suspicious attachments/files and phishing scams, and knows how to do some bare-minimum vetting of where apps are installed from. For the sake of argument, let's say this user has no Gapps, and gets their apps from FDroid or ApkPure, or ApkMirror.