Okay, so the question is what is currently or has been in the past, the most important/significant Android phone? And why?
-Did it bring Androids to more people than ever?
-Did it debut a huge step forward in the operating system?
-Was its design revolutionary?
-Anything else?
Always keep in mind that phones should be compared with others out in a similar timeframe. So a Note 2 isn't necessarily more important to Android than a Desire even though it's by all accounts a BETTER phone.
If you want anymore added to the poll let me know!
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No question: it was the Desire (slightly biased as I had one): that was the first 'hit' Android phone. Nothing before it really sold well - no even the original Nexus that it was based on.
The Desire looked good, was reasonably high quality, had a decent spec (for the time, though it was beaten very, very soon afterward) and the O/S was mature enough to start to really compete with iOS. It was also the first 'droid to win phone of the year in lots of publications.
Compared to what came (very soon) after it, the Desire was a bit pants (500MB of RAM was never going to be enough), but it was the Desire that kick started the market and after it, Android went from strength to strength.
The Desire was the Stalingrad of the war with Apple
I imagine you're not a US citizen? Don't believe it was ever available here though I know it was a HUGE hit in Europe and elsewhere.
I'm torn between 3 of them:
Dream
Moto Droid
Nexus 1
Voted Droid since it was my first Android. First one on Verizon (again a big deal for US folks), brought Moto back from the dead, had a huge developer community, first with 2.0. All and all, I think it put Android on the map where it wasn't so much beforehand.
The N1 was the first Nexus device, and while for all intents and purposes was a failure for sales, was an important step forward for the Nexus line.
I'd have to say the a855. While there were others that came before, it was the first by a major manufacturer on a major carrier with a huge marketing campaign behind it. It did a lot to legitimize the platform.
I'd have to say the a855. While there were others that came before, it was the first by a major manufacturer on a major carrier with a huge marketing campaign behind it. It did a lot to legitimize the platform.
Agreed. Verizon marketed the hell out of it and brought Android to mainstream consumers.
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Was trying to find that video Google made that was an "infograph" of sorts done over Google Earth with a time lapse of sales. Don't know if anyone recalls what I'm talking about, but it's really cool. Hope someone can find it.
Also, if anyone wants the SGS3 on there, I'm happy to add it. Not sure if the S2 warrants it though...
As of today I would probably say the Motorola Droid. It was the first Android I saw really marketed heavily and was so popular people would ask, "Is that a Droid?" instead of "Is that an Android?".
However I think in retrospect, a few years from now, we might be saying the Nexus 4. It is the first phone that I have seen even serious Apple fans make the switch for and then commence heaping praise onto it.
Between the two, the Nexus 4/5 & the SGS3/4 could very well be the phones that usher in the second Android revolution.
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1st.. G1 for starting the revolution..
2nd.. moto droid .. for marketing to the masses
3rd.. nexus one... for google to start their own line.. to set the standard for other OEMs.
No question: it was the Desire (slightly biased as I had one): that was the first 'hit' Android phone. Nothing before it really sold well - no even the original Nexus that it was based on.
The Desire looked good, was reasonably high quality, had a decent spec (for the time, though it was beaten very, very soon afterward) and the O/S was mature enough to start to really compete with iOS. It was also the first 'droid to win phone of the year in lots of publications.
Compared to what came (very soon) after it, the Desire was a bit pants (500MB of RAM was never going to be enough), but it was the Desire that kick started the market and after it, Android went from strength to strength.
The Desire was the Stalingrad of the war with Apple
How come you didn't vote in the poll? The poor Desire was on zero votes until I gave it my official support!
For me this was the first awesome smartphone that wasn't an iPhone. It was the first phone I knew of with a 1GHz CPU (actually that was the Nexus 1, which I was looking to buy until I discovered the Desire - which for all intents and purposes was the same phone) and youtube was swamped with awesome reviews. Everyone thought it was totally amazing - fast and feature rich, and I agree, it was the phone that really started Android on its meteoric rise. I was so pleased when I took possession of my Desire <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuntman
I voted the SGS3. I think this was the phone that really made an impact on the general public.
I think more importantly, it was undoubtedly the first android phone that could be said to be hands down better than the iPhone in terms of specs and technology, with an OS mature enough to compete with and beat iOS, and consequently tempting enough for droves of iPhone users to jump ship! It was a shame that the One X didn't fulfill this role as successfully, because it paved the way for the S3 with its quad core CPU, but I think Apple screwed that for HTC by blocking imports to the US at a very crucial moment in the device's life cycle, i.e. before the S3 was released.
How come you didn't vote in the poll? The poor Desire was on zero votes until I gave it my official support!
I didn't see the poll! It must have been added after I'd replied (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). I have now voted. Didn't realise our colonial cousins never got the Desire - they really missed out.
For everything done right with Moto/VZW with the OG Droid was done horribly wrong with the GNex. If anything, VZW turned what could have been another great step forward into a complete and utter fiasco.
I didn't see the poll! It must have been added after I'd replied (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). I have now voted. Didn't realise our colonial cousins never got the Desire - they really missed out.
The Evo 4G was based on the Desire or the HD2 platforms, but it was the first 4G phone (yes, not faux G, WiMax was anticipated in 4G spec, like LTE, and the ITU granted dispensation to validly classify it as that as 4G), it was the first large screen Android, it was the first Android with a front facing camera supporting video chatting (before the iPhone, and it didn't require wifi with proprietary software). It formed the basis for the Verizon Thunderbolt and the Desire HD. It wasn't the first phone with HDMI (Samsung Instinct HD), but it was among the first.
The GNex may have had the largest thread in Android history (it did, here, for its pre-release), but the Evo 4G forum here still holds the record for most threads, posts and views. By the time the GNex came out, the Evo 4G alone had sold more than twice the combined worldwide sales of the Nexus One and Nexus S.
It was also the first non-Nexus phone in the world to get Froyo through an official release and get full Flash support.
And while many continue to scoff at WiMax, video chatting and Flash, another of its innovative firsts was the kickstand. Although derided by many, it was and remains a significant feature.
The G1 may have started Android, but the HTC Evo 4G changed the face of what Android and the Android community was about by every objective measure.
That's why when someone says Evo, all you have to say is, qft, quoted for truth.
As for iPhone comparisons, one of greatest viral videos was the iPhone 4 vs the Evo.
We have more geebees.
Evo wins.
PS - the only One X with a removable sd card is the Evo 4G LTE, it arrived in the United States and our hands before the SGS3 did. Takes more than Apple to stop an Evo. And we still have a kickstand.
PPS - haven't seen a good rousing fan thread in quite a while, nicely done. Truth is, as long as it's Team Android, it's right. (Evo still wins though, just saying. )
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I'm probably also biased but I do believe in the UK (and probably the rest of Europe) it was the Desire. We didn't get the Evo 4G or the Droid so it's hard to compare.
The GS3 has had the biggest global impact by far but I'd say momentum had already turned in favour of Android by the time it was released and it was just a matter of which manufacture could best capitalise on it.
I'm probably also biased but I do believe in the UK (and probably the rest of Europe) it was the Desire. We didn't get the Evo 4G or the Droid so it's hard to compare.
The GS3 has had the biggest global impact by far but I'd say momentum had already turned in favour of Android by the time it was released and it was just a matter of which manufacture could best capitalise on it.
I thought the rest of the world got the Milestone which was essentially the Droid but introduced the world to encrypted bootloaders.
I thought the rest of the world got the Milestone which was essentially the Droid but introduced the world to encrypted bootloaders.
I'd never heard of the Milestone until you mentioned it just now. Mind you, after I took possession of my Desire, I didn't keep up with the new releases for quite a while because I was totally happy with my phone and I didn't like the look of the new HTC phones, even thought they were dual core, etc. I did become vaguely aware of a device released called the Galaxy S2 which was apparently pretty good though.
Last edited by davoid; February 1st, 2013 at 09:43 AM.
Yeah, we got the Milestone but many months after the Droid, with no real marketing, and it didn't make much impression on the market. I saw more Desire Zs than Milestones in the wild. Unfortunately Moto haven't been much interested in European markets lately - we got the RAZR I, but not the higher end ones. Hope they think global for the X.
I still see a few Desires on the street (or train) each week, in addition to my own.
Although the SGS3 is the highest profile phone, I'd agree with the previous poster who said that the momentum was already there.
No question: it was the Desire (slightly biased as I had one): that was the first 'hit' Android phone. Nothing before it really sold well - no even the original Nexus that it was based on.
The Desire looked good, was reasonably high quality, had a decent spec (for the time, though it was beaten very, very soon afterward) and the O/S was mature enough to start to really compete with iOS. It was also the first 'droid to win phone of the year in lots of publications.
Compared to what came (very soon) after it, the Desire was a bit pants (500MB of RAM was never going to be enough), but it was the Desire that kick started the market and after it, Android went from strength to strength.
The Desire was the Stalingrad of the war with Apple
Totally agree.
It was also available in the USA. I know there was a US cellular / CDMA version.
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What has been the most important Android?
