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Android: Does the OS sell the hardware? or is the hardware selling the OS?

When it comes to android, you know that you have an outstanding range of hardware. From the low-end Optimus T/S to the titans of the OS such as the Galaxy S2, and everything imaginable in between. These days, you can even find generic china phones running an, often dated, android. Every carrier has it, they come in all price ranges, and they're available on demand. The question I pose to you, "Is android's key selling point the hardware?"
I understand that numerous XDA members and even some outsiders enjoy the limitless customization options made readily available in android and that's awesome. However, the general consumer is happy to end customization at setting their own ringtone. It's not a breaking factor for the majority that you can swap out kernels. Overall, android is a decent enough platform, but for the masses, I see little that it offers, hardware aside, that it's competitors don't.
Here recently, a thread was posted regarding the ASUS Transformer 2, a pentacore processor in a tablet. Now, most people have yet to exhaust the resources on their dual core phones. A penta-core device seems to be pushing the limits. Considering that it is running a mobile OS, by the time those cores could be utilized, wouldn't the tablet be long outdated? However, I know it will sell well because the word "Penta-core" sounds too awesome for the masses to pass up.
Another occurrence I've seen, having worked in retail shops for some time. A lot of customers, when asked about what OS their phone is running, will reply, "HTC" or, "Samsung." A lot of them have no idea what our little green friend is. Another point towards my personal opinion that the hardware is a huge selling factor.
Overall, android is a very complete platform. It is not my daily driver, but I do enjoy it whenever I have time to tinker. I am inquiring about this matter to get your opinions, what sells? Hardware or software?

I think for me its a little bit of both. I like the fact that the hardware is there in my 3d when I need to push the system really hard. Its not often I do, but its good that when I do, it executes the tasks with ease.
On the same hand there are huge software benefits for me. I love the UI and that I can set swype gestures to open particular apps or settings. It makes multi tasking tthat much easier and fluid for me.
Also, at least from what I have seen with iOS5 (my girl has the 4s) is that android seems to be ahead in certain areas of functionality. For example it is not an innovative thing (to me anyways, being an android user) to be able to back up your device without the use of a computer... I have been doing wireless backups and internal backups since I bought my first android phone.
I think one thing you mentioned before... I think it was you, anyways... was pretty much right on when you said that android is capable of meeting so many different needs in the sense that you have a wide range in variety of devices to choose from and at different costs. There are high end phones available such that perform to today's standards in the mobile world, and there are lower end ones available that are more cost effective.
I feel if you yourself are innovative and creative, you are way more capable of taking an android phone and building the UI to what you want/need. I don't sacrifice functionality for speed, ever. In the end it is still just a phone, but I prefer this platform because it caters to that need I have to customize my phone the way I want it to be, not what somebody else feels it should be.
---------- Post added at 02:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 AM ----------
And to address your comment about the bajjillion core tab....
Seems the hardware is way ahead of the software in this case... therefore, I am not impressed by it.
I have a Motorola xoom and it has plenty of power to do what I need it to do. I will not be taking it back to simply have two more cores under the hood. And somebody else mentioned the new kal el device only has 1gb of ram? In my opinion that is really disappointing for a device with that kind of processing power.

i buy phones based on hardware specs
the OS is optional
I prefer to load my OS of choice
just like my PCs / Laptops

z33dev33l said:
When it comes to android, you know that you have an outstanding range of hardware. From the low-end Optimus T/S to the titans of the OS such as the Galaxy S2, and everything imaginable in between. These days, you can even find generic china phones running an, often dated, android. Every carrier has it, they come in all price ranges, and they're available on demand. The question I pose to you, "Is android's key selling point the hardware?"
I understand that numerous XDA members and even some outsiders enjoy the limitless customization options made readily available in android and that's awesome. However, the general consumer is happy to end customization at setting their own ringtone. It's not a breaking factor for the majority that you can swap out kernels. Overall, android is a decent enough platform, but for the masses, I see little that it offers, hardware aside, that it's competitors don't.
Here recently, a thread was posted regarding the ASUS Transformer 2, a pentacore processor in a tablet. Now, most people have yet to exhaust the resources on their dual core phones. A penta-core device seems to be pushing the limits. Considering that it is running a mobile OS, by the time those cores could be utilized, wouldn't the tablet be long outdated? However, I know it will sell well because the word "Penta-core" sounds too awesome for the masses to pass up.
Another occurrence I've seen, having worked in retail shops for some time. A lot of customers, when asked about what OS their phone is running, will reply, "HTC" or, "Samsung." A lot of them have no idea what our little green friend is. Another point towards my personal opinion that the hardware is a huge selling factor.
Overall, android is a very complete platform. It is not my daily driver, but I do enjoy it whenever I have time to tinker. I am inquiring about this matter to get your opinions, what sells? Hardware or software?
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Click to collapse
First time I have to agree with you pal.BUT:
i)Those guys/gals whose customisation needs end with setting the ringtone are the ones who won't care or even won't realize if the OS is different between an iPhone and an Android device.
ii)Android offers most(if not all) of the things other OSes offer,plus the infinite customisation capabilities no other OS has.Now this is what matters for those of us who can do more than changing the ringtone.
Other than these two things,I generally agree.In the end,though,it's user preference that matters.And people's idiocy in fact.Hell,many people buy their phones depending on how many megapixels their camera can do!

AllGamer said:
I prefer to load my OS of choice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd prefer that too, but mobile hardware is pretty much completely closed, so this is not really possible in practice, except maybe on very very few models.
To answer the title question: I don't know about others, but for me it's definitely the OS. Android is the closest to Linux as I'll probably get on a phone, people are free to cook up their own ROMs (not completely free in many cases, there's closed components in every ROM, but oh well), vast customization capabilities, for getting software you're not limited to one store with draconian rules and sometimes arbitrary decisions.

Certainly a combination of software + hardware with a little bit of company preference.
But considering the range of manufacturers for android based phones, I find it hard to lag behind hardware wise.

1) I look for a device that I think will last me the three years of my contract or at least the majority of it
2) I look here on XDA and see what the dev community is like
3) I buy the phone

I would guess that for 80%+ of phone buyers the main factor is price. Sure they know about the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy devices, but for most those phohnes are out of their price bracket. So they find the device which has the same sort of idea but in a cheap package, which has helped Android no end since there are low end Android devices, and Apple have little interest in that.
For myself as a more techie person, I use Android becuase of the freedom to do what i want with my hardware. At least that's why i got into Android. Now I will continue to buy Android devices, but the major reason is I've invested in the app market, I have tens of pounds worth of apps for Android. To jump to anotehr platform now would mean having to start over with that. That's the power of these stores and markets, once you are invested changing platform is a lot more of a jump that just deciding which you like the most at the time.

countstex said:
I would guess that for 80%+ of phone buyers the main factor is price. Sure they know about the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy devices, but for most those phohnes are out of their price bracket. So they find the device which has the same sort of idea but in a cheap package, which has helped Android no end since there are low end Android devices, and Apple have little interest in that.
For myself as a more techie person, I use Android becuase of the freedom to do what i want with my hardware. At least that's why i got into Android. Now I will continue to buy Android devices, but the major reason is I've invested in the app market, I have tens of pounds worth of apps for Android. To jump to anotehr platform now would mean having to start over with that. That's the power of these stores and markets, once you are invested changing platform is a lot more of a jump that just deciding which you like the most at the time.
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Click to collapse
I've seen the price comment being made multiple times but aren't these devices pretty close to each other in terms of price after a 2 yr contract? In fact if you shop around, you can find some of these highend units for nearly nothing from online stores such as amazon
As for me, overall package is what sold me to galaxy s2. Form factor, hardware specs, overall implementation of the OS (gpu acceleration various places), etc. Version number really doesn't really bother me (2.3.3 vs 2.3.4/5/6/7) as long as there aren't any key features missing in the current revision that exists in the newer revisions.

Gusar321 said:
I'd prefer that too, but mobile hardware is pretty much completely closed, so this is not really possible in practice, except maybe on very very few models.
To answer the title question: I don't know about others, but for me it's definitely the OS. Android is the closest to Linux as I'll probably get on a phone, people are free to cook up their own ROMs (not completely free in many cases, there's closed components in every ROM, but oh well), vast customization capabilities, for getting software you're not limited to one store with draconian rules and sometimes arbitrary decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HD2 was a great example
then there are many other HTC devices that did the same
and a few Samsung devices as well
and there's the HP Touchpad
and...

For most people it's both.
They're attracted for the first time by the look and find the OS easy to use.
Despite people stating that the iphone is for people who just want to use a smartphone for the first time etc and Android is for techies and geeks to customise, if that were actually true then that would mean that there are a hell of a lot of geeks out there, which obviously isn't the case.
I would guess the majority of Android users' extent of customisation is changing the picture of their wallpaper, and that's the thing, with Android you can do that, it's easy to use, with the extra buttons it can seem more logical to new users compared with the single button on the iphone for instance.
It has the "apps and the wifis" that average users want, it looks good and you can make it look pretty much how you like.
Being able to just plug it into another computer and transfer files is a huge boon too, something a colleague was very disappointed with the iphone4 because of it's lack of ability.

There is 500+ android devices on the market globally, its the brand name and hardware specs that sell. Not the os.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

I'd rather say that that none of those sell the other: it's actually the price selling both, plus the "status symbol" factor thatbhas to do with Apple things. Androids are generally cheaper then both the iPhone and WP7 phones. This, plus the fact that most people don't seem to like WP7 tiled ui, basically because it doesn't "look like an iPhone" enough. That might sound harsh, like saying that most people are dumb, but it's not (only) that actually: people got used to icons since the day they got their first pc, no wonder they go for something that looks more familiar to them when they wanna buy a smartphone. Maybe Win8 will totally change the name of the game, but that's it for the moment (sadly enough I dare say).

I think we have to remember that 'most' people don't include the tiny fraction of the consumer market that are active on XDA. We make choices on a range of factors as we are better informed about both hardware and software. When we walk into a phone shop we want to assess the phone on build quality, size, Android version, display type, etc.
When the average punter walks into the same shop their buying choice usually boils down to no more than, 'Oh look, a shiny thing. I want that one'.

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Thread moved to Android. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
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Some cool android Devices and gaming possibilities [Discussion]

VOTING SORRY IT WAS MISLEADING ( VOTE YES! FOR HELPFUL) ( VOTE NO! FOR USELESS )
First of all Not sure if this is where it should be i thought putting this in off topic was too far from the point and reading through other threads it didn't seem to fit anywhere, Anyway i'll post it here anyway i would like to think most people on this website would appreciate this and see if i have to valid points and some cool things to show you maybe.
I would firstly like to start with some cool Android game consoles being developed by a company called JXD http://www.jxd.hk/ they're other companies doing this (not as good and more expensive) in my opinion but i'll supply information for you do to your own researched at the bottom of this thread.
Anyway This is the newest console released the S7300 just released a day ago it's quite amazing system and extremely cheap ( older models if you have a budget to test these out starting as low as $20 - $40 USD) This latest one is about $150 it's android the specs are listed here
As you can see the device has possibility for some good gaming and a start to some innovative ideas and maybe bigger companies creating devices similar to this.
What is the point?
Well i was a huge user of my Xperia play and Galaxy s3 which i recently sold for a Android iphone 5 rip off mainly because it looked good worked great and was light enough to go jogging without it annoying me, but this gave me a lack of gaming which i love about my android mobile so i decided to look for an android gaming device it took an hour or so but i found hundreds some on ebay some on random websites, after separating the over priced devices and the ones with poor design and bad hardware i found a website or 2 with the device i was going to purchase, and after looking all day i found there is a good start to this android gaming, but how come it hasn't set off bigger or faster yet, i find it a shame.
What to do?
Well many may disagree but this is the only website i use for anything remotely android related, but i was thinking if XDA could add apart of the forum for unpopular devices such as these underground branded ( Non rip off android devices and the emerging gaming android console and devices ) to increase the speed it picks up i believe if we have people talking about it more and helping sharing in customized apps themes etc... it might help set off the community to use it more which may encourage developers to add more support.
I mean Why Not! we have tablets but everything seems to be big brands Sony, Samsung, Apple, Nokia, i thought this was a website for unlocking your device for better use and doing things with it the majority of us think is "Cool".
I might add more later But for now i'll leave some links to a few devices i looked through and website to purchase or compare prices for your curiosity.
Developer jxe website all their devices are listed there but no purchasing options but good to get the names to Google
Another product i thought would be good to mention just for the hell of it if you go jogging like me or like high quality sound with less wires and cheap at the same time would be to purchase a MW600 it's a Bluetooth headset and you just plug your headphone into it and it connects wirelessly to you phone.
http://www.willgoo.com/ - This website seems to sell any modded gaming android devices from all the companys making them at the moment at the cheapest price and a vast collection to choose from.
The latest device out is http://www.willgoo.com/jxd-s7300-du...ons-8gb-p-306.html?referrer=CNWR_771331638507
Reason i liked this among the rest?
for one the touch screen isn't the out dated touch resistant most others use.
First to have an actual dual analog joysticks! and not like the xperia play with the stupid touch slide which i found tedious after a day of use.
2 back buttons and simple nice thin design.
highest resolution offered.
and does say it has 3G i don't know if it's via a sim card or it means through wifi tethering with another device who knows but i'm happy either way
another product i thought would be good to mention just for the hell of it if you go jogging like me or like high quality sound with less wires and cheap at the same time would be to purchase a MW600 it's a Bluetooth headset and you just plug your headphone into it and it connects wirelessly to you phone.

Unmarked android phones.
I'll list a few android phones i think are semi decent and can be cheap and stilll good looking on a budget here is the top 2 websites i trust and can be cheap if you search well
eForChina and Dhgate
These 2 websites have plenty mobile phones people could check out at a cheap price, the one i purchased because i wanted a decent phone that runs android but looks like an iphone 5 is zophone 5
It's a little more steep in price than the others but i managed to get it for £120 off ebay but its light and does what i need it to do.
Done more research the website most china branded (unbranded) mobiles are released to http://android-sale.com/
this website's most famous brand seems to be the goophone for the iphone 5 android clones but they also make some really good unique none clone designs packing quad core 2gb ram models, would be good if you're looking for some unique designed phone you won't see any friends using.

That thing looks slick. Will do more research.

Yeah it would be nice to see games compatible

liamguest said:
Yeah it would be nice to see games compatible
Click to expand...
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It has a dual core mali 400, and a dual core a9 clocked at 1.5, it should run most games other mali 400 devices run. I pre ordered one and now waiting for it. I hope it gets popular enough to have a community and a few custom rom builds. It has quite decent specs for emulation(main purpose its being promoted for) and should run almost every game on the android market. The main issue with JDX devices is battery life (is why I hope for custom roms), but the device claims to come pre rooted, you can see pictures of it supposedly having play store support, so if a community does surge for it it could be as popular as the kindle in terms of a dedicated community interested in custom android builds that support better battery use and remove some of its bloatware. im replacing the free 8g card ill get for pre ordering with a 32(64 if it takes it) card and have a decent 40gig snes/ps1 emulation device with touch controls that will let me do the basic things i do on my phone. Since i plan to tether it from my phone, I'm aiming to keep my phone pocketed the whole time, Headset calls, redirect texts to the JXD, and play/browse on the 7 inch screen so if a call comes in my gaming wont be interrupted something that ruins some games that reboot when a call comes in.

Maybe Padone 2 ? over 7k mAh, four core etc... Nothing but fine gaming devices with possibilities

They should make a special section in the forum for JXD Devices. Especially for developers that wants to help with making the device easier to use.
Sent from my HTC Rezound 4G LTE Smartphone

Is chinese phone safe?(not discriminatory!)

I think to buy chinese phone of xiaomi and huaway and etc..
chinese phone is low cost and high spec. but, I have often heard NO so good talk.
So that, It is ceased to buy phone.
so , I think that as solution, it install custom rom. It will be ok software level. but, I don't know at hardware level.
for example: xiaomi's phone was stolen personal infomation.(this talk is favorite.)
In summary
be safe by installing custom rom
This forum is not critical discus. I want to know a TRUTH. thanks.

Think of a saying "No pain no gain"
Whether it is from china or any other country ,cheap phones always lack something important and/or fancy.
For me most cheap phones do not have user friendly thouch screen input speed, common lag problems due to cheap processor brands such as Mediatek.
But do not get me wrong ,Some chinese companies such as xiaomi and huawei started releasing highend devices and it is expected they will join US market in the near future .
Sent from my SM-A700FD using xda app-developers app

All Chinese phone are not same.
Well, it depends on the company if the phone is safe or not. Like Motorola is owned by Lenovo which is a Chinese company but Motorola phones are way better and safer than Lenovo phones. So I would suggest you do not buy new Chinese company phones. Read the reviews and benchmarks first. Also ensure that the SAR value is lower than 1.5 .

Poco on Android One, Revisiting an Old Idea

I've used the Galaxy S2 as my first phone when it was released (the day I decided to become an Android Fan Boy), I've used two <100$ phones that run Android including Redmi 5A. I made sure to get my hands on the OP2 when it was released in India and I've bought the Poco F1 twice (first got flushed drown a drain) all over a span of 8+ years.
I've installed over 50 custom ROMs on mine and my parents' phones (Redmi Note 4, Yu Yureka) and my on laptop too. I've loved CyanogenMod and consequently LineageOS too and they have always shown how powerful a phone can become if you've got the right software.
I've stayed up to date on the latest tech news on a daily basis and I've always looked for phones that have truly stood out (Most of the phones I've purchased have caught eyeballs and wallets of many during their times and in their categories). I've run my hands down a lot of other devices too.
Despite so many great devices being launched, 3 year old iPhones are still among popular best-sellers in the entry level premium segment.
If there's anything that can really challenge the mid-tier dominance of 3 year old iPhones, it is a mind blowing H/W (from someone like Poco) and the OS in it's purest form - Stock Android with UPDATES (this is not emphasized enough).
Though Nokia and Motorola offer these, they often cut costs on H/W.
Xiaomi always makes a "just good enough" implementation of Android One, so as to not cannibalize its own series.
After using the Poco F1, I've realized this phone is exactly everything I need and nothing I don't (which is their motto), but with Android One. I'm pretty sure a lot of Poco Users would resonate, the 90k Pixel Experience ROM downloads, beryllium(code-name) being one of the most popular phones for all major after-market ROMs is a big indicator of an underlying need. Given that Poco has become an independent unit (which basically means they have greater control over marketing and software) and they're planning to launch maybe 1-3 devices (too many rumors) this could be a great pivot point for them.
It's been a dream waiting to happen for years, a true Android One phone + High End H/W + A cost that puts everything else to shame. And I don't think anyone else is poised to do that better than Poco. It's a great strategy to pivot away into a quasi-premium line and compete with High End Chinese + Starting Range OnePlus/Nokia Premium Phones. This is the category that most first time buyers of premium-ish phones flock to.
If all the feedback all over the years has said anything it is this - People want the best H/W with the purest experience of Android and a bang for your buck. In the end it's Xiaomi (Mi, Redmi, Poco) vs BBK (Oppo, Vivo, OP, Realme) anyway (I don't assume Samsung and Huawei would really focus on this given their sheer size and investments in core technologies such as silicon, imaging and network technology).
Poco could be an outlet for all of Xiaomi's best performing H/W tweaked to their philosophy of keeping everything you need and nothing you don't to re-birth as Android One Phones.
I mean why isn't anyone doing this, and why isn't Poco doing it!

Because no one cares about Stock/Pure Android
If you're on XDA anyway might as well flash Pixel Experience and keep on keeping on. I dont know about the ins and outs of making an Android One device, but it would probably involve licensing with Google, and actually not that many people dislike MIUI as you might think. 100K downloads on PE means nothing compares to the total amount of users that didnt even bother to change away from MIUI, or changing ROMs at all

Overwhelmed by info overload - looking for a waterproof phone!

OK - I'm sure this might not be a popular thread, but a little help is why this forum exists - I hope?
I currently have a Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, and I'm looking to upgrade to a phone that has AT LEAST the same level of waterproofing, and a significant improvement in memory & processing power.
I'm also looking for something smaller than a 6" screen (preferably smaller than 5.5")
I'd like to have an SDcard slot, but don't need a 2nd Sim.
I'd like a phone that's going to have at least one OS upgrade (preferably to 12 when it arrives), does that still happen*?
I'd prefer not to have a Samsung, the cleanest Android OS possible would be preferable.
I am leaning towards a 'rugged' phone because I am a klutz and don't like using a case if possible.
* I haven't paid attention to the smartphone markets for a few years - the choice now is massive and overwhelming, and none of the specification comparison sites seem to have 'all' the available phones, often they're limited to Samsung/Apple/Xiomi and not much more (unless of course I simply can't find the one comparison site that truly has them all)

Riceburner said:
OK - I'm sure this might not be a popular thread, but a little help is why this forum exists - I hope?
I currently have a Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, and I'm looking to upgrade to a phone that has AT LEAST the same level of waterproofing, and a significant improvement in memory & processing power.
I'm also looking for something smaller than a 6" screen (preferably smaller than 5.5")
I'd like to have an SDcard slot, but don't need a 2nd Sim.
I'd like a phone that's going to have at least one OS upgrade (preferably to 12 when it arrives), does that still happen*?
I'd prefer not to have a Samsung, the cleanest Android OS possible would be preferable.
I am leaning towards a 'rugged' phone because I am a klutz and don't like using a case if possible.
* I haven't paid attention to the smartphone markets for a few years - the choice now is massive and overwhelming, and none of the specification comparison sites seem to have 'all' the available phones, often they're limited to Samsung/Apple/Xiomi and not much more (unless of course I simply can't find the one comparison site that truly has them all)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I live in europe, my personal fav is this website. Even if you don't live in EU, that site has an astonishingly good filter for products (they list the products even if no seller is available with all possible variants/last known price).
If you go to the mobile section and use the filter, you would need to apply a special features filter (namely the waterproof [submerged] IP65/IP68) filter. Adding the fact that you want a phone under 5.7" display size, I have found 370 phones ranging from 2011-2021 regardless of their OS or SoC (they have windows phones listed as well ).
You have a selection of 370 phones with your only limit being the price and the android 12 condition, both of which depend on you.
A reminder: Newer phones released in 2020 and up (shipped with android 10 or higher to be eligible for 12) are almost always 6" or bigger, phones such as pixel or OnePlus do come in smaller sizes, but they shy away from 3.5mmjack/sdcard and aren't as rugged. Maybe look into a phone with good android 11 custom ROM support in XDA forums. My personal fav device in your requirements would be a pixel 4a/5a if you're willing to forgo the sdcard/rugged part.

Slim K said:
Since I live in europe, my personal fav is this website. Even if you don't live in EU, that site has an astonishingly good filter for products (they list the products even if no seller is available with all possible variants/last known price).
If you go to the mobile section and use the filter, you would need to apply a special features filter (namely the waterproof [submerged] IP65/IP68) filter. Adding the fact that you want a phone under 5.7" display size, I have found 370 phones ranging from 2011-2021 regardless of their OS or SoC (they have windows phones listed as well ).
You have a selection of 370 phones with your only limit being the price and the android 12 condition, both of which depend on you.
A reminder: Newer phones released in 2020 and up (shipped with android 10 or higher to be eligible for 12) are almost always 6" or bigger, phones such as pixel or OnePlus do come in smaller sizes, but they shy away from 3.5mmjack/sdcard and aren't as rugged. Maybe look into a phone with good android 11 custom ROM support in XDA forums. My personal fav device in your requirements would be a pixel 4a/5a if you're willing to forgo the sdcard/rugged part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THAT is a useful link, many thanks!