Best android phone to mess around with?

[GC001]

Hi I have just come over from ios and have recently acquired my New Samsung galaxy S3 and before I root or put roms on it I would like to try out messing around with android on a Much cheaper phone (To avoid bricking my SIII) just so I can get a feel for things like Roms,kernels,rooting on a cheaper phone. And would like some advice on what phone you guys would recommend for messing around with? my price range is about

 

[chrlswltrs]

Nexus devices are usually the easiest and safest to mess around with. Another option might be a Motorola Droid/Milestone

 

[Unforgiven]

Hi I have just come over from ios and have recently acquired my New Samsung galaxy S3 and before I root or put roms on it I would like to try out messing around with android on a Much cheaper phone (To avoid bricking my SIII) just so I can get a feel for things like Roms,kernels,rooting on a cheaper phone. And would like some advice on what phone you guys would recommend for messing around with? my price range is about

 

[chrlswltrs]

PS. Would rather a phone that isn't too "easily" brickable I heard Samsung phones aren't prone to be easily bricked. is this correct?

Thanks

Depends on what you are doing really. Samsungs are definitely less prone to bricking than some of the other manufacturers that lock their bootloaders. It is still possible to brick them if you start messing with ROMs, kernels, and recoveries that don't mix well.

 

[GC001]

Depends on what you are doing really. Samsungs are definitely less prone to bricking than some of the other manufacturers that lock their bootloaders. It is still possible to brick them if you start messing with ROMs, kernels, and recoveries that don't mix well.

Ill be doing my research to make sure what I'm installing on the phone is compatible with the device.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Ill be doing my research to make sure what I'm installing on the phone is compatible with the device.

As long as you do your research and ask questions first if you have any doubts then you should be fine! I know you are going to enjoy your phone

 

[GC001]

I would see if you can get your hands on an OG Droid. They should be pretty cheap and damn near impossible to brick.

Check here:Classifieds - Android Forums

Nexus devices are usually the easiest and safest to mess around with. Another option might be a Motorola Droid/Milestone

Which nexus device would you recommend? I'm looking at the HTC Nexus Google one (Because its cheap) what do you think? Or does it come with a locked boot-loader?. Ill have a look at the OG droid on YouTube in a minute to see if I like it

cheers

 

[Unforgiven]

Nexus if you can get one. Neither has a locked boot loader.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Which nexus device would you recommend? I'm looking at the HTC Nexus Google one (Because its cheap) what do you think? Or does it come with a locked boot-loader?

cheers

A Nexus will never have a locked bootloader. Personally I would lean more toward the Nexus S though, just because the same software you are going to use on your SIII you will use on the Nexus S. Samsung phones use Odin on a PC to flash radios, kernels, Firmware, etc.

It should be similar for the N1 or the Droid/Milestone, the software will just have a different name and function a little differently.

 

[Unforgiven]

A Nexus will never have a locked bootloader. Personally I would lean more toward the Nexus S though, just because the same software you are going to use on your SIII you will use on the Nexus S. Samsung phones use Odin on a PC to flash radios, kernels, Firmware, etc.

It should be similar for the N1 or the Droid/Milestone, the software will just have a different name and function a little differently.

If you get a Moto, make sure it is an OG Droid, not the milestone. The milestone has a locked / encrypted bootloader.

 

[chrlswltrs]

If you get a Moto, make sure it is an OG Droid, not the milestone. The milestone has a locked / encrypted bootloader.

Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't realize that. I thought they were the same with the exception of GSM vs CDMA.

 

[Unforgiven]

Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't realize that. I thought they were the same with the exception of GSM vs CDMA.

Nope, the infamous Milestone introduced the world to locked / encrypted bootloaders. Moto hasn't looked back since.

 

[GC001]

Ok so ill avoid the milestone. Nexus S is pretty cheap and so is the OG Droid. Just got to make my mind up now ahaha might take a while for me to decide. thanks for the help guys.

 

[Unforgiven]

Ok so ill avoid the milestone. Nexus S is pretty cheap and so is the OG Droid. Just got to make my mind up now

Missed that you were looking at a Nexus S, was thinking the Nexus One. Go with the Nexus S as it is newer hardware.

 

[chrlswltrs]

Ok so ill avoid the milestone. Nexus S is pretty cheap and so is the OG Droid. Just got to make my mind up now

Between those 2 the Nexus S is definitely better, and I have owned both of those phones. Nexus has a faster processor, bigger and better screen, and no keyboard. Plus the benefit of using Odin on both it and your SIII.

 

[GC001]

Between those 2 the Nexus S is definitely better, and I have owned both of those phones. Nexus has a faster processor, bigger and better screen, and no keyboard. Plus the benefit of using Odin on both it and your SIII.

Ill probably get the nexus s then as I'm already sort of familiar with odin (Flashing my brothers bricked galaxy tab!) What programme would the OG droid use then? I thought odin was used on all android devices

 

[Unforgiven]

Ill probably get the nexus s then as I'm already sort of familiar with odin (Flashing my brothers bricked galaxy tab!) What programme would the OG droid use then? I thought odin was used on all android devices

RSD Lite for Moto devices, but you only needed that if you bricked it.

 

[GC001]

RSD Lite for Moto devices, but you only needed that if you bricked it.

What about if you wanted to root it or install roms?

 

[chrlswltrs]

What about if you wanted to root it or install roms?

I used ADB (used on all android phones and is park of the Android SDK) and ROM manager.

You will also use ADB to root the Nexus S, but you will need Odin to root the GSIII

 

[Unforgiven]

What about if you wanted to root it or install roms?

I originally rooted mine using RSD Lite (early days of the Droid), but my wife's was done with SuperOneClick. Once rooted I used rom manager to flash clockworkmod and flashed all my roms through that. I bricked my D2 and was able to restore to factory using RSD Lite, then SuperOneClick to root it again.

As far as a Nexus device goes, its usually as simple as pushing the superuser app and the binaries to the device and setting some permissions as they are made to be rooted (well, not made to prevent it).

 

[GC001]

Ok I have a bit more of an idea now. the nexus s sounds easier to root and seems more open source than the OG Droid. ill probably get the nexus s based on the specs.

 

[Unforgiven]

^^^Good choice, have fun

 

[GC001]

cheers. Thanks for the advice guys.