Am I seeing too much in this?

[nicracine]

I was looking at the Android offering on the Rogers Web site, and it's not much, really. I was thinking, for the Nth time that maybe I should get an iPhone and get it over with, since Music is a big part of my phone use.

Suddenly, it hit me. Isn't what Rogers wants in the end? They have had an Apple exclusivity for a while. Maybe it was part of the contract to tone down the Android offering? If I read correctly, in the States, AT&T also lacks a good Android offering, and has an exclusive contract with Apple.

Sadly, I can't afford a no-contract phone for the moment, and my contract is due in 2012, so switching is out of the question for the moment. However, I may have to upgrade soon because my girlfriend's phone is acting up, and I will give her my Magic and upgrade to a nicer phone. However, I don't see anything that really stands out here.

- The Xperia X10 looks nice, but has shortcomings, especially regarding upgradability. It has been rooted, but there are no ROM yet available, and SE has promised, maybe, an upgrade to Android 2.0 sometimes this year.

- The Acer Liquid E looks like an acceptable phone, has a few ROMs available, but is not the best made phone out there, from what I read. It has an underclocked processor, and the casing appears on the cheap side. Moreover, and this is usually not a good thing, there are almost no accessories available on eBay. This does not look like a phone with a very bright future.

I won't even comment on the other phones because I consider them inferior to my HTC Magic.

Rogers promised us a good Android year, and I don't see anything all that exciting, and the year is almost 2/3 gone.

I just wish I could switch to Bell and the new Samsung Vibrant. Hell, I would even settle for the HTC Desire with Telus...

Nicolas Racine

 

[Saeros]

Well, Rogers keeps saying that the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate will be offered 'in the coming weeks'.

I'm holding out for it. Accessories, check. Rooted, check. ROMs, check.

 

[nicracine]

Well, the weeks keep on comin', and Rogers' not announcin'.

I keep hoping for some king of back to school deal, but time is getting short.

It's quite easy for them to say "We have a few surprises for Android fans this year", and not deliver, hoping that people will forget they ever said anything.

I have to remind myself that the vast majority of Rogers' customers do not care about the next big great phone coming up. They are quite unaware of the possibilities, and content themselves with the actual (read poor) offering. I am not being judgmental here, they just don't care about it, which is their right.

 

[CooL_SpoT]

I have to remind myself that the vast majority of Rogers' customers do not care about the next big great phone coming up. They are quite unaware of the possibilities, and content themselves with the actual (read poor) offering. I am not being judgmental here, they just don't care about it, which is their right.

And the biggest problem that we face, as people that do care, is the fact that the people that don't care out-number us at a ridiculous ratio. Thus, Rogers recognizes that even if they don't pay too much attention to us, they still aren't going to lose much market-share.

 

[nicracine]

Exactly. We are the biggest enthusiasts of the phones, upgrade at a higher rate than the casual user, and yet, we don't count for much in the grand scheme of things.

This is very frustrating.

 

[mjschmidt]

Well, as per the recent articles about our awesome XDA brethren, the unloc codes for the Bell Samsung Vibrant are contained on the phone!

So, screw Rogers and their crappy phone selection. Save up some moolah, and buy the Bell Vibrant outright (I know, easier said than done, but xmas is coming so...). Then unlock and continue with your Rogers contract until it's done!

That's what I'd do, but I have a baby on the way, so... no gadgets for me for a while. :-(

 

[nicracine]

I am very temped to do so. I really don't want to get involved with Rogers for another 3 years.

On the other hand, this one of the best phone at a very attractive price. There may even be a good rebate at Future Shop, as they often do.

Oh well... we'll see. I won't make a decision until I see Roger's offer.

 

[LeftToast]

I couldn't wait for the Captivate because I dropped my blackberry in the swimming pool.

The Xperia was out of the question - no multi-touch, Android 1.6 and with "timescape", no clear upgrade commitment from Sony-Erikson.

The Quench is a POS.

That left the Acer. The packaging IS a little cheap, but I am wondering if it is just cheap feeling or really a cheap build. Most phones have plastic cases as metal interferes with the antennas (apple). The only things I would worry about are the screen bezel (which is plastic rather than glass), the battery cover (which is hokey) and the little rubber plug that covers the mircroUSB slot.

I've had my Acer for about a week and i am pretty happy with it.

 

[thewhitewizard]

So, screw Rogers and their crappy phone selection. Save up some moolah, and buy the Bell Vibrant outright (I know, easier said than done, but xmas is coming so...). Then unlock and continue with your Rogers contract until it's done!

That's what I'd do, but I have a baby on the way, so... no gadgets for me for a while. :-(

congrats on the baby!

yeah, i think i need to go to a Bell store and play with a Vibrant for a bit and see how the thing feels and runs. i promised myself id get a really good phone for my birthday which just happened 2 days ago, as a treat to myself for everything i went through with Rogers. this way i could even safely attempt to mod my Magic. But after all the problems of delayed updates due to the 'layer' problem, im just not sure i want to touch any phones unless they are google xp phones with google handling the OTA's.

Ill wait till Android 3 comes out and see what kind of phones come out with it. If the rumors of google reigning in fragmentation are true, then ill definatly pick one up then. just have to bide my time.

 

[vikingisson]

congrats on the baby!

yeah, i think i need to go to a Bell store and play with a Vibrant for a bit and see how the thing feels and runs. i promised myself id get a really good phone for my birthday which just happened 2 days ago, as a treat to myself for everything i went through with Rogers. this way i could even safely attempt to mod my Magic. But after all the problems of delayed updates due to the 'layer' problem, im just not sure i want to touch any phones unless they are google xp phones with google handling the OTA's.

Ill wait till Android 3 comes out and see what kind of phones come out with it. If the rumors of google reigning in fragmentation are true, then ill definatly pick one up then. just have to bide my time.

Right now the best option that I see is to get the Samsung S and unlock it (free and very easy to unlock). Updates come from Samsung and a 2.2 is supposed to be coming in a few weeks and they recently did a 2.1 update so already they've done more updates than R gave us in over a year. Or wait for 3.0 and hardware that is actually 'international'. The SGS is the closest we have right now.
If you wait till 3.0 and hardware then a 2.2'd Magic is a free way to upgrade for the time being.

 

[TriC]

One thing too is Samsung likes to leak the updates for the Samsung S.. there are already 4 different beta roms of 2.2 floating around... its nice not having to wait for the carrier to release the updates.