Android Newbie Needs Opinion

[crazyme]

Hey all.

I have to confess, I dont know much about Android OS or phones. I'm looking for a new phone and I dont wanna opt for iPhone or Blackberry. I've never had an Android phone so I'm really interested in getting one.

I did some research and most of the reviews articles I've read say that Motorola Droid X, HTC EVO 4G, HTC Droid Incredible and Samsung Galaxy S Pro are among the good ones available. Fortunately, I have a few friends using Nexus One already, so I'm not completely oblivious about Android phones. I like the fact that Nexus One has an AMOLED display screen.

Now I would need some help on these phones as I do not want to end up buying the wrong one and most review articles only compare the basic specs and being the Android virgin that I am, they all pretty much look the same to me with. Which is why if it is possible, I would prefer live opinions from experienced Android users.

What are the major differences between the phones above and what would you recommend? I know there are a lot of other android phones out there so do let me know if there's a better one. Some of the criteria I'm looking for are good camera and video recording capability (with possibly good flash, but most of the phones only have LED flash, so I guess that would have to suffice). Good display screen (large enough, with AMOLED or super AMOLED).

Thank you in advance.

 

[MJM128]

My advice? Wait. We have a butt load of new phones that should be coming out soon, probably around Q1 of 2011. Along with gingerbread almost here too! Also what carrier do you want to be on. Not sure if it's worth it to follow a phone and compromise your carrier. If I had to pick right now of what phone to buy it'd probably be a g2 or a vibrant since i'm not switching from tmobile for a phone. But the problem is there's just too many awesome phones on the horizon to buy right now.

 

[crazyme]

Hi MJM128,

Thanks for the reply. I had also given a thought on waiting, but the thing is I'm not a US resident. Most if not all of the phones mentioned are not out yet in my country, I'm planning to purchase it online and have it shipped to me. I guess that answers your question about the carrier as well. Few of my friends who're using Nexus One got theirs through online-purchase as well, so I'm guessing there wont be much of a problem.

I've stumbled upon that gingerbread news while researching, it's a new version of android OS right? That sounds like a pretty good reason to wait. If I were to wait for gingerbread, any insight on what phone that I would need to get when it comes out? Any idea on what phones will support it

 

[dan330]

being that you are in another country...and your friends have nexus 1... their carrier must be GSM and i am guessing you will be going them that carrier too.

that removes all CDMA only phones.. like EVO and EPIC .. they only work on sprint cdma..

because you said you want amoled screens.. and that nexus1 is no longer available...your only choice as of right now.. is Samsung Galaxy S phones with GSM bands. Note: they will be upgraded to Gingebread.. but not sure when. They also have GPS signal issues and weaker radios.

you have a choose between amoled or better/stronger GPS/radios.

if you can drop the amoled screen from your must have...then you should look at G2 or other versions of the G2.

 

[crazyme]

Hi dan330,

I have absolutely no clue on what CDMA was but I did some quick research. So most of these phones are on CDMA only? Correct me if I'm wrong but CDMA refers to phones that are bound to a particular network provider while GSM refers to phones having SIM cards bound to network provider instead, right? So that would mean these CDMA only phones will only work on certain specified network providers, which obviously do not include countries that do not offer these phones in their local market.

Thanks, that clears up the air a lot! So now that I'm limited to only GSM phones, I guess I would also have to revamp my whole wish-list. Any other decent GSM android phones apart from Samsung Galaxy & G2?

 

[dan330]

most top of the line phones will have a version on each GSM and CDMA.

example..
EVO is cdma = Desire HD is GSM
G2 = Desire Z = Knight = EVO Shift
EPIC = captivate =fascinate = galaxy s
motorola has some good phones too.

just to confuse you more.................
if you are interested in ... ROOTING and custom ROMs... (similar as jailbreaking iphones. if you dont know what Rooting is.. do some searches.) Then you might lean more towards HTC phones.

 

[snapper.fishes]

most top of the line phones will have a version on each GSM and CDMA.

example..
EVO is cdma = Desire HD is GSM
G2 = Desire Z = Knight = EVO Shift
EPIC = captivate =fascinate = galaxy s
motorola has some good phones too.

just to confuse you more.................
if you are interested in ... ROOTING and custom ROMs... (similar as jailbreaking iphones. if you dont know what Rooting is.. do some searches.) Then you might lean more towards HTC phones.

The Galaxy S I9000 is just as easy to root and flash.

If you are not in a hurry, you might want to wait for the Galaxy S2 to come out.

 

[crazyme]

most top of the line phones will have a version on each GSM and CDMA.

example..
EVO is cdma = Desire HD is GSM
G2 = Desire Z = Knight = EVO Shift
EPIC = captivate =fascinate = galaxy s
motorola has some good phones too.

just to confuse you more.................
if you are interested in ... ROOTING and custom ROMs... (similar as jailbreaking iphones. if you dont know what Rooting is.. do some searches.) Then you might lean more towards HTC phones.

The Galaxy S I9000 is just as easy to root and flash.

If you are not in a hurry, you might want to wait for the Galaxy S2 to come out.

Oh, so are they the same exact phone by different manufacturers or phones with similar attributes?

Yeah, I am quite familiar with jailbreaking. I heard that not all android phones can be rooted, most only support flashing, is it true? Are HTC phones the only ones rootable?

I guess I'll just wait for gingerbread then, but I'll need to know exactly what will work, cz of the whole GSM CMDA Rooting Flashing thing. Still not having a very good idea on what they are and how they work.

 

[Stuntman]

I don't entirely agree on the waiting part. You can wait forever to buy a new device because there will always be better devices just around the corner. The way technology is advancing these days, any new device will probably start to feel old after several months or a year.

 

[CptGemini]

When I got my G1 last year in june a new one came out a few months later and I should of waited. It probably is a better idea to wait if you want to be able to find the best Android OS powered phone out there. I myself am getting a Vibrant (A.K.A. the galaxy S) next week as an early xmas present and I am excited. Been using the G1 for about a year and a half so its a huge upgrade for me as I am so used to only having about 20mb of space for apps vs the 14GB or so on the vibrant lol.

 

[crazyme]

I know that it's impossible to keep on waiting for a better version or model, and I also know that it's impossible to get the 'best' phone out there cz the new ones keep on being released and as far as the best phone is concerned, it's all based on preference.

It's just that this is my first time ever getting an Android, so I wanted to get a decent one so that I would not regret buying it too early without proper surveying. But now this whole GSM CMDA, rootable and flashable crap is giving me a headache lol.

 

[dan330]

Oh, so are they the same exact phone by different manufacturers or phones with similar attributes?

Yeah, I am quite familiar with jailbreaking. I heard that not all android phones can be rooted, most only support flashing, is it true? Are HTC phones the only ones rootable?

I guess I'll just wait for gingerbread then, but I'll need to know exactly what will work, cz of the whole GSM CMDA Rooting Flashing thing. Still not having a very good idea on what they are and how they work.

they are pretty much the same phone, made by the same maker, for different carriers. Look it up.. and you will see.

to Flash a ROM.. you have to be ROOTed!

HTC phones are not the only one that are rootable. There are other great rootable phones. Motorola make some great phone, but some are not rootable. On average the HTC phones ave a bigger community of developers and more active.

from what you have been saying and from my personal research into my next phone... and from what I have seen from developers.... I will recommend to you... look at the HTC G2 / HTC Desire Z. (first confirm that it is compatible with your carrier)

also.. HTC has a new Sense UI that is adding a lot to the package. Go to HTC website and check it out.

 

[crazyme]

they are pretty much the same phone, made by the same maker, for different carriers. Look it up.. and you will see.

to Flash a ROM.. you have to be ROOTed!

HTC phones are not the only one that are rootable. There are other great rootable phones. Motorola make some great phone, but some are not rootable. On average the HTC phones ave a bigger community of developers and more active.

from what you have been saying and from my personal research into my next phone... and from what I have seen from developers.... I will recommend to you... look at the HTC G2 / HTC Desire Z. (first confirm that it is compatible with your carrier)

also.. HTC has a new Sense UI that is adding a lot to the package. Go to HTC website and check it out.

oh ok thanks. ic, what I've heard was a rumor saying that android rooting isnt reversible like apple's jailbreaking and that once rooted, the warranty is void.

I will look into these phones but I think I wanna wait for gingerbread first. I hope that once it's released, there will be GSM phones that support it as well. I wouldnt wanna wait for it only to find that only CMDA phones are compatible with it.

 

[Tino]

I think it would be very useful for us to know your country and your mobile phone carrier, that way we will know what GSM bands are compatible for you before recommending a phone. I would feel uncomfortable recommending anything as it might not work with your provider

 

[crazyme]

I think it would be very useful for us to know your country and your mobile phone carrier, that way we will know what GSM bands are compatible for you before recommending a phone. I would feel uncomfortable recommending anything as it might not work with your provider

Oh, sorry, it's my bad. Here it is, I'm okay with the first three on the list. I'm from Malaysia.

Malaysia Carriers

 

[crazyme]

Hey all again,

Nexus S has been announced and it's unlocked by default and supports GSM carriers. Sounds like a good phone, its camera is only 5MP. I guess that'll suffice.

It's the first to come with gingerbread, so what do u think?

 

[dan330]

it may only be 5mp camera.. but it is made by samsung..
that is one thing the know how to do/make.
they make great digi cameras!!! great quality pics will come form this.

there is one big BAD thing with this phone...

NO SDcard slot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it comes with 16gb built-in and that is it. you can not replace it!

 

[crazyme]

yeah that's one of the downsides of it, no memory expansion capability. but i guess 16gb would be quite sufficient for me. nothing was said about noise suppression feature on Nexus S, i presume that it doesnt have that as well like Nexus One does.

 

[dan330]

i dont know about the noise suppression.. it will need 2 mics for that. you will have to wait for full release info for that.

but.. I do know it does not have LED notification.... i consider this deal breaker number 2!

 

[crazyme]

oh i wasnt aware of that one. dang! that's a pretty essential one they're ignoring. now im doubting. hmm. how soon do u think it'll be before the next gingerbread phone is released?

 

[dan330]

crazyme...
you are playing a very slippery game on a tall slide.
you will always be chasing that tail... if you always reading new upcoming features... because they will always be coming.

time to jump...
just jump!
pick a phone and run...

 

[crazyme]

lol. dont get me wrong, im not looking for a perfect phone, i know it'll never exist. im just hoping for one that is decent enough without any major drawbacks. im willing to tolerate the no-memory-expansion of Nexus S, but add the no-LED-notification to that, it's a little worrying.

it's still a good phone though. im waiting for it to be officially released and check-up on some user reviews first before i decide. i might just jump after that.

 

[coos lick]

There will always be newer or better phones just around the corner. However I'm reading about the new dual core phones likely to come out after Christmas. From what they say, dual core is more energy efficient so better battery life. This is one of the key issues for a lot of people. These phones will have more power and so will be the new base standard for developers for new applications and games as well. I'm no way an expert though so I'd recommend doing a bit of research on this before you take the plunge!