Related
OK, so as we all know, unlocking a phone is illegal now. So that brings us to this. What options really are available if we want an unlocked phone? Are they practical? I personally enjoy having an unlocked GSM Handset, it allows me to search for optimal phone service without any commitments. But let's be honest, there's not much of an unlocked smartphone market right now. And that frustrates me.
So I would like to compile a list of GSM handsets that I can buy factory unlocked in the US. I hope others find this to be a good idea. I'm going to be sorting it by release date, whether it's still in production, and what country the brand originates from. I'm only going to include handsets with a dual core at least for this moment. I feel like most people prefer at least a dual core, and it would be hard tracking down handsets from before then.
Only factory unlocked handsets! Nothing with carrier branding in the stock ROM! This allows the pricing models to be very accurate, and to ensure the buyer gets the handset the way it is manufactured to perform.
Here's what I have so far -
American Brands:
Google:
Google Galaxy Nexus (Samsung i9250) - November 2011 - Out of Production - Dual Core
Google Nexus 4 (LGE E970) - November 2012 - In Production - Quad Core - $299.99/8GB, $349.99/16GB
BLU Products:
Blu Vivo 4.3 - July 2012 - In Production - Dual Core - $219.99
BLU Vivo 4.65 HD - December 2012 - In Production - Dual Core
BLU Tank 4.5 - February 2013 - In Production - Dual Core
BLU Studio 5.3 II - February 2013 - In Production - Dual Core
BLU Quattro 4.5 - February 2013 - In Production - Quad Core (Tegra 3 SoC)
BLU Quattro 4.5 HD - February 2013 - In Production - Quad Core (Tegra 3 SoC)
BLU Quattro 5.7 HD - February 2013 - In Production - Quad Core (Tegra 3 SoC)
Apple:
Apple iPhone 4S - October 2011 - In Limited Production - Dual Core - $549.99
Apple iPhone 5 - September 2012 - In Production - Dual Core - $649.99/16GB, $749.99/32GB. $849.99/32GB
Asian Brands (Non Import):
Sony:
Sony Xperia Z - January 2013 - Coming Soon! - Quad Core
Sony Xperia ZL - January 2013 - Coming Soon! - Quad Core
Help me expand this list! I'm already planning on expanding the section above this line to include Sony and Samsung handsets. Then I plan on adding an import section for Meizu, Xiaomi, and Oppo, among other brands.
Good initiative
Just checking this isn't a lost cause... in anyone else interested in this list?
To update and hopefully give some life to this, today HTC announced a developer version of the One. Qualcomm 600, 1.7GHz Quad Core Krait CPU, Supercharged Adreno 320 GPU, 2GB RAM, 64GB in house storage, Android Jelly Bean, Sense 5.0, Beats Audio, and 1080p packed into the screen. That's gotta be around 450ppi which is liquid sharp. Totally unlocked bootloader and SIM slot.
- $650
Also the BLU Quattro HD is up on Amazon Prime for $350. Same price as the Nexus 4 16GB but ummm, I guess if you want a Tegra 3 device from Amazon or a smaller screen there's some advantages.
I'll keep posting when I discover more.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
I don't have any such list though but a good post though.
Thanks!
I've never posted on xda before, but I'm sure this information will be helpful. I own a Blu Quattro 4.5 and I was little sceptical of buying from such an unknown brand, but fortunately I was able to root it with the bin4ry root tool. There's still hardly any support for it, but it's a damn good start. I also have been kind of following Blu on facebook and I read that they will be starting a dedicated customer service for American customers in early April. I have high hopes they'll release an update to Jelly Bean around then as well as alleged by retailers (one of the reasons I bought it). Hopefully with this info, developers will start to look at it and help this phone reach its full potential. I would get started myself, but I have only the slightest clue on where to start.
Hi,
Everyone is shouting, we will not support Galaxy S4 (I9500) since it is having Exynos which lacks the documentation and sources. Yes, I know that sucks. I would say, we are not really getting super awesome ROMs like CM, MIUI anytime soon. But how if we think differently?
There are many Exynos based devices which have got pretty stable builds of CM and MIUI (e.g. Note 2).. Even Nexus 10 is based on Exynos.
Well, I am not that good but learning to port stuff from here and there.. How if we pick up some of the sources from Exynos devices like Nexus 10, Note 2 etc. and make them work on SGS4?
World will be beautiful again, isn't it?
I might be totally wrong so I expect you to explain stuff rather than ranting over this thread Let's help each other.. What say?
Regards,
Rahul Patil. :good:
It would be incredibly difficult and in my opinion, not worth the effort.
The Nexus 10 utilises Exynos 5250 while the Note 2 uses Exynos 4***(I forgot, 4410,I think), the S4 i9500 uses Exynos 5410 which is different as you can see.
However, some developers will doubtlessly pick up development for the Exynos variant (Faryaab already has an unofficial cm build for the i9500).
For all that effort, cm on the i9500 shall never be as stable and functional as that on the Snapdragon variants.
Well, yes.. Unless and until Samsung releases Exynos documentation and sources. Well, I don't know if there is any chance of getting documents. At least Samsung Exynos replied to one of my tweets regarding releasing sources. They said, they are working on licensing stuff and it should be resolved soon. But you know, their "soon" can be like 2-3 years more too.
warfareonly said:
It would be incredibly difficult and in my opinion, not worth the effort.
The Nexus 10 utilises Exynos 5250 while the Note 2 uses Exynos 4***(I forgot, 4410,I think), the S4 i9500 uses Exynos 5410 which is different as you can see.
However, some developers will doubtlessly pick up development for the Exynos variant (Faryaab already has an unofficial cm build for the i9500).
For all that effort, cm on the i9500 shall never be as stable and functional as that on the Snapdragon variants.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Intl GS2 and Note1 are Exynos 4210
Intl GS3 and Note2 are Exynos 4412
Nexus 10 is Exynos 5250 - Mali T604 GPU
I9500 is Exynos 5410 - PowerVR GPU and MANY other differences from the 5250
In short, almost none of the Exynos4 stuff is useful, and most likely neither is most of the Nexus10 stuff
Entropy512 said:
Intl GS2 and Note1 are Exynos 4210
Intl GS3 and Note2 are Exynos 4412
Nexus 10 is Exynos 5250 - Mali T604 GPU
I9500 is Exynos 5410 - PowerVR GPU and MANY other differences from the 5250
In short, almost none of the Exynos4 stuff is useful, and most likely neither is most of the Nexus10 stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A vast majority of IP blocks are the same as on the 5250 so there is a lot one can pick from there.
Stupid question; weren't most of the CM problems related with the 2D accelerator and not the GPU itself?
@Rahulrulez any status update on the porting?
vinandy said:
@Rahulrulez any status update on the porting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cm team has officially announced that they have started working on cm10.1 for 9500 and they have a device in hand, who is handling the work and when will we see a flashable version in unknown
Hey Guys,
As @[I][COLOR="Purple"][B]Towle[/B][/COLOR][/I] buddy already mentioned that this thread is meant for Discussion over Comparisons & Rumors for Samsung Galaxy S4 variants & upcoming News.
Please note that we can only discussed about the devices which are going to release/released or not in XDA device list.
For making it quite readable, I will paste the link for the threads, Direct link of News, comparisons & rumors. You can also take part for this thread while pasting links or news in your post.
Upcoming Rumored Devices / News: -
Samsung Posts GT-i9505G Kernel Source Files – Is This The Google Edition Galaxy S4?
Announcements:
Samsung officially announces Samsung Galaxy S4 with Snapdragon 800 and LTE-A connectivity
Specifications:
Samsung Galaxy S4 i9500 Specification - Gsm Arena
Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 Specification - Gsm Arena
Samsung Galaxy S4 i9502 Specification - Gsm Arena
Samsung Galaxy S4 i9295 aka Active Specification - Gsm Arena
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Specification - Gsm Arena
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini Specification - Gsm Arena
Comparisons:Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 vs Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 - Gsm Arena
Side by Side specifications comparison i9505 vs i9500 - Gsm Arena
SGS4 i9500 vs. i9505 different camera sensors - XDA
Korea vs. US - Samsung Galaxy S4 - Evertic
Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition vs HTC One - Android Geek
Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One: Which One Is Better? - Android Geek
Samsung Galaxy S4 Vs Nokia 3310 ( The true and funny one ) - Phone Arena
Samsung galaxy S4 Vs Sony Xperia Z Ultra - Phone arena
Showdown: Nvidia Tegra 4 vs Samsung Exynos 5 Octa - Android Authority
Device Comparisons / Discussions / Rumors
All new, released, rumored or announced devices should be discussed and compared here. Please keep it relevant to the Galaxy S4 with spec comparisons. All other threads that are created for this discussion will be closed. Thank you for your cooperation.
a big challenge is to compare i9500 with the i9505
i had both and tried both but sold my i9500 for an z10 to get BBM
however i think i9505 has its good aspects like
AUDIO(althought not noticeable)(plz dont trash talk abt wolfson chip i bet u all dnt know what is it just saying that )
4g LTE
and huge battery time
dev support
and last its gpu supports glse 3.0
HOwever the i9500 has ups also
like the preformance (not noticeable)
higher gpu(but stuck to glse 2.0)
better camera
well for now the exynos seems a bit unstable causing heat probs but am sure with updates it will be solved
also this is the first sammy-exynos device next devices will keep upgrading and the exynos will become more and more widespread (with other devices not this one)
i think it was a rushed move of samsung to go on with the exynos it needed more testing and development and plz cudnt samsung publish the development codes
for the i9500 its shameful as it aint getting any support by devs
for sure the double quad core is a great device but if u love 4g and developments and want ur device to last longer like for two years and still keep up the race take the i9505
qazmed said:
i had both and tried both but sold my i9500 for an z10 to get BBM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't BBM coming to Android and iOS late this month?
MajorAly said:
Isn't BBM coming to Android and iOS late this month?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rlly idk
---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:07 PM ----------
Ya it is late this summer.
OP updated. Soon major rumors / news / announcements will be updated.
Check the News & Rumor section. :good:
A new comparison added to OP. S4 vs Nokia 3310 & S4 Vs Sony X Z Ultra
Correct. BBM is expected to be released end of this month.
Android 4.3 update expected next month for "Google Edition" Samsung Galaxy S4
Android 4.3 update expected next month for "Google Edition" Samsung Galaxy S4
The "Google Edition" of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to soon receive an update to Android 4.3; quick updates are one of the features of the phone, which is powered by stock Android. Leaked images of the software running on the phone show that the update is build number JWR66N; the phone is now available for pre-orders from the Google Play Store and will be shipped by July 9th with Android 4.2.2 on board...
Source & full story: read here
Disturbed™ said:
Android 4.3 update expected next month for "Google Edition" Samsung Galaxy S4
The "Google Edition" of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to soon receive an update to Android 4.3; quick updates are one of the features of the phone, which is powered by stock Android. Leaked images of the software running on the phone show that the update is build number JWR66N; the phone is now available for pre-orders from the Google Play Store and will be shipped by July 9th with Android 4.2.2 on board...
Source & full story: read here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn exynos version
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
awesome thread!! definitely bookmarked for reference!
Thanks for bringing ur discussions here. Hope all will understand the motto of this thread and stop making related threads.
Sent from my Disturbed™ Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4 (VIP)
_________________________________________________
Wait for my Time, U gonna pay for what have U done. - Disturbed™
25899 antutu
Anygood
helped a lot
Awesome thread.
Linux kernel 3.10 gets big.LITTLE support, should help Ubuntu come to the Galaxy S4
Linux kernel 3.10 gets big.LITTLE support, should help Ubuntu come to the Galaxy S4
Linux godfather Linus Torvalds has certified that the official Linux kernel 3.10 is now in its final state; and, as far as our audience is concerned, the big addition to the Linux kernel is with enhanced ARM processor support. Specifically, the Linux kernel 3.10 has added support for big.LITTLE processors, which should help developers port Ubuntu Touch to the Samsung Galaxy S4 and other devices.
Ubuntu 13.10 has been planned to run on the Linux kernel 3.10, and Ubuntu 13.10 is going to be the version number of the first set of Ubuntu Touch phones. This means that as soon as the final build of the 3.10 Linux kernel is folded into the Ubuntu dailies, work will be able to begin on finally bringing support for Ubuntu Touch to the international Samsung Galaxy S4, which runs on the Samsung Exynos Octa 5. As yet there hadn't been any work to bring Ubuntu Touch to Samsung's new flagship, because right now the daily builds of Ubuntu Touch are based on Ubuntu 13.04.
The addition of big.LITTLE support could also make it easier for future Android devices and even Chrome OS devices to run on big.LITTLE processors, because Android manufacturers won't have to build in support for the processors.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linux kernel 3.10 arrives with ARM big.LITTLE support
Thanks to Linus Torvalds' figurative stroke of the pen, the Linux kernel 3.10 is now final -- paving the way for its inclusion in a bevy of Linux distributions, and even offshoots such as Android and Chrome OS. The fresh kernel brings a good number of changes, such as timerless multitasking, a new caching implementation and support for the ARM big.LITTLE architecture. In simplistic terms, the new multitasking method should help improve performance and latency by firing the system timer only once per second -- rather than 1,000 times -- when tasks are running. Meanwhile, users with both traditional hard drives and SSDs will find performance benefits from bcache, which brings writeback caching and a filesystem agnostic approach to leveraging the SSD for caching operations. Also of significance, Linux kernel 3.10 enhances ARM support by including the big.LITTLE architecture, which combines multiple cores of different types -- commonly the Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A15 -- that focus on either power savings or performance. The full list of improvements is rather lengthy, but if you feel like nerding out with the changelog, just grab a caffeinated beverage and get to it.
Source: Engadget
i dont know if i will be happy or feel nothing about this 3.10 Linux update ... i9500 is so far to be updated
gdonanthony said:
i dont know if i will be happy or feel nothing about this 3.10 Linux update ... i9500 is so far to be updated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3.10 Linux kernel is specially designed for supporting Big.Little CPU. For sure, it will be beneficial to i9500.
Disturbed™ said:
3.10 Linux kernel is specially designed for supporting Big.Little CPU. For sure, it will be beneficial to i9500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A newer linux kernel means somethings beneficial to kernels. But the stuff that you talked about is related to I9500's 5410's hardware. The 5410 silicon itself is lacking the interconnect hardware. In that case many is in doubt software cant do much. Lets see what the dev comes up about this.
thekoRngear said:
A newer linux kernel means somethings beneficial to kernels. But the stuff that you talked about is related to I9500's 5410's hardware. The 5410 silicon itself is lacking the interconnect hardware. In that case many is in doubt software cant do much. Lets see what the dev comes up about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doubt will always be there until it get launched. Lets Hope for the best. Ubuntu Touch is like magic.
so....
Soo... it appears that as I'm assumed imbecile I must post 8-10 general posts before being allowed to post in the dev section (unless I misunderstood something in which case I am indeed imbecile). So here goes no#1.
But.. since I'm here anyway... any news on BBM for Android as mentioned above? As a year old BB user I would like to have BBM on my android.
Disturbed™ said:
Doubt will always be there until it get launched. Lets Hope for the best. Ubuntu Touch is like magic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
There guys
I would like to know more about development on SoC,
1. why Samsung's exynos 5420 are poor in development (less roms, no official cyanogenmod and no miui rom... etc and Qualcomm's snapdragon chipset have loads of mods, cm12, miui, is it because the 8 cores of the exynos or because of biglittle tehnology?
2. Did the snapdragon 810 will be the same?
8 cores
Development of non official cm12 has stop for the exynos note 3
Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE+, SM-G901F, codename kccat6
this is Mokee rom android 9 Rooted debloated gapps included
MoKee is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It has additional localised and personalised functionality while preserving the stock Android look by adhering to Material Design guidelines.
Unlike OEMs' slow and untimely updates, we closely follow Google to bring the latest updates to our users, and even prolonging support to devices that have been declared obsolete by OEMs.
Our ROMs' source code is open source, secure, stable and outstanding. Your experience using MoKee will be butter smooth with added convenience.
Hardware Info
CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 805
RAM: 3GB
ROM: 32GB and 16GB
Battery: 2800 mAh
Display:: 5.0 inch, 1920x1080 pixel(441ppi)
CPU Arch: arm
all thanks goes to Mokee dev team i just moded it a bit and rooted
Download from:
click thanks if it helps
Mod edit:
Thread closed as placeholder.
Link is missing