suggestions for new droid

[wolfdogg]

im looking for a hackable droid, smart phone, touch screen, etc... for my wife.

things i DONT need is super-expensive, large format screen, ultra resolution, mega-mega pixel cam, brand new

things DO need, rootable, touch screen, hand held (not a tablet), rom flashable, want to change back and forth between verizon, at&t and ?? service providers

any suggestions for a new phone?

 

[ExtremeNerd]

im looking for a hackable droid, smart phone, touch screen, etc... for my wife.

things i DONT need is super-expensive, large format screen, ultra resolution, mega-mega pixel cam, brand new

things DO need, rootable, touch screen, hand held (not a tablet), rom flashable, want to change back and forth between verizon, at&t and ?? service providers

any suggestions for a new phone?

You can't switch between Verizon and anything, let alone AT&T. AT&T uses GSM technology and Verizon uses CDMA.

You can switch between AT&T and T-Mobile using an unlocked GSM phone, but Verizon is out of the question.

 

[wolfdogg]

ok, so we can leave that part out, my main concern is to replace two tiresome phones, one is an lg with a text pad, and the other is an eris with a touchscreen thats doing very unpredicatblae things.

Can you all shout out some cool phones to have, regarding the rest of the criteria above (leaving out the obvious, CDMA, GSM differences). that would be very helpful, and Christmas is coming up soon, i need to get some orders in. I will be buying it used on EBAY to save some money, or if theres another place someone recommends.

 

[Wilkas]

Galaxy S2 should be reasonably priced now and is still a great phone, it has loads of support for rooting. In my country if you get it unlocked you can use with any carrier but I'm guessing it's not the same in the US, still worth checking out though.

 

[ExtremeNerd]

Which carrier do you want?

Like Wilkas said, the GS2 are still a solid phone, and should be cheap because of the GS3. The Nexus 4 is only $350 brand new, and should be sufficient for most (certainly not all) users. Without knowing what carrier you want, I can't give a ton of other specifics.

At minimum, it should have:
1 GHz dual core processor
1 GB RAM (most important)
Name brand manufacturer (Samsung, Moto, HTC. NO LG)
Commercials. If you haven't seen a commercial for it, odds are good devs won't support it.

 

[alostpacket]

Why not have a look at the Nexus 4? Here's my quick take:

Pros:

- Reports say battery is good, easily handles a full day.

- It's CHEAP inexpensive -- $250-300, no contract

- It's MADE to be rootable/flashable....etc.

- Should work pretty well on TMO and ATT (except LTE)

- the HSPA+ type 4G is plenty fast (42Mbps theoretical max)

- High res screen without a performance hit

- Fastest updates from Google for the OS.

Cons:

- It's a large phone (4.7" I think) (but not Galaxy Note/tablet large)
Most phones currently released are this size roughly though.

- No LTE: LTE 4G is every so slightly more future proof. However, I dont even really see this as a big thing as most LTE networks will take a few years to become truly widespread/useful (IMO)

- battery not removable

 

[Digital Controller]

Might i also just chime in that switching between CDMA and GSM networks like Verizon and AT&T respectively involves ESN cloning which is entirely illegal according to the FCC...Cell Phone Fraud | FCC.gov

Otherwise the Nexus 4 is always a good looker, other than the lack of 4G, however, the Nexus 4 cannot be put on the Verizon network either so on AT&T you can get some HSPA+ or 3.5G signal.

 

[wolfdogg]

the GSII looks affordable, i mean this ERIS way predates that phone, and im happy with it. So looks liek stepping up to a GSII my wife would love that, since it will be her first touchscreen. I liek the idea that it would work on ATT and Verizon, which are the two mainstream carriers out here.

At a glance I only see one GS2 available on Ebay for 200, thats odd.

That nexus 4 looks rockin with the specs, but i have a feeling were staying with Verizon for a while so im sad to see that it only supports GSM.

Were in Portland, OR, and Verizon is not as good coverage wise here in the area, it was rock solid in Southern California where we used to live. So being in Portland i can see a switch possibly coming soon. I remember this small company that alot of gurus mention here and there, but i cant recall, its an affordable provider that also has data plans. was it rainbow? nah probably not. So im open to carriers at this point, but to play it safe lets stick with Verizon for now. CDMA i guess.

 

[wolfdogg]

Might i also just chime in the switching between CDMA and GSM networks like Verizon and AT&T respectively involves ESN cloning which is entirely illegal according to the FCC...

well i bought it like that

 

[alostpacket]

If sticking with Verizon you could have a look at the Droid Razr M - I think it has an unlockable bootloader, and is a smaller size than most HD phones out there. It also seems to have killer battery life.

Problem is price: $550 for the dev edition / unlocked BL

DROID RAZR M BY MOTOROLA DEVELOPER EDITION

 

[ExtremeNerd]

the GSII looks affordable, i mean this ERIS way predates that phone, and im happy with it. So looks liek stepping up to a GSII my wife would love that, since it will be her first touchscreen. I liek the idea that it would work on ATT and Verizon, which are the two mainstream carriers out here.

It won't. It is available with both carriers, but there is not a GS2 where you can switch between the two.

 

[ExtremeNerd]

If sticking with Verizon you could have a look at the Droid Razr M - I think it has an unlockable bootloader, and is a smaller size than most HD phones out there. It also seems to have killer battery life.

Problem is price: $550 for the dev edition / unlocked BL

DROID RAZR M BY MOTOROLA DEVELOPER EDITION

ACTUALLY, just spurred my memory. The new Droid DNA WILL work on both Verizon and AT&T. It comes SIM unlocked from Verizon. I won't go into specifics, but it is $200 on contract with Verizon ($500 or so off contract) and you can easily throw an AT&T SIM card and get their 3G.

 

[Digital Controller]

Wilkas said above about unlocking on any carrier...there is still an issue, to resolve this so no one else questions it and wolfdogg can understand correctly...

The major networks:

Verizon & Sprint run on CDMA/LTE

AT&T & T-Mobile run on GSM

Even if the phone were to be unlocked it would either be unlocked CDMA or unlocked GSM so it would only be able to run on one of those 2 radio frequencies.

Especially since Verizon phones usually do not have SIM cards...i think nowadays thay have like Micro-SIM's for the 4G cards.

 

[Wilkas]

Sorry for any confusion after my post, I live in Britain... In the UK it is perfectly legal to unlock your phone and use with any carrier however as I'm not American I can't say what the rules are there, I believe all our carriers are GSM except maybe EE which currently run the only 4G service.

 

[alostpacket]

ACTUALLY, just spurred my memory. The new Droid DNA WILL work on both Verizon and AT&T. It comes SIM unlocked from Verizon. I won't go into specifics, but it is $200 on contract with Verizon ($500 or so off contract) and you can easily throw an AT&T SIM card and get their 3G.

I thought the DNA got kinda meh reviews?


And actually, the Razr M is a global phone (quad band GSM)

Droid RAZR M - 4G LTE Android Smartphone | Verizon Wireless

Network

• CDMA 800 1900, EVDO Rev. A
• LTE B13
• GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
• UMTS/HSPA+ 850 900 1900 2100, HSDPA 21.1 Mbps (Cat 14), HSUPA 5.76 Mbps

 

[ExtremeNerd]

I thought the DNA got kinda meh reviews?


And actually, the Razr M is a global phone (quad band GSM)

Droid RAZR M - 4G LTE Android Smartphone | Verizon Wireless

The only reviews I read are Android Central, and the review was generally positive. It's a beast of a high end phone. The difference between the DNA and the Razr line is that the DNA comes SIM unlocked. You can buy it off contract and throw an AT&T SIM card and go. I haven't heard the same for the Razr yet.

 

[AmneonX]

If you can live with a large screen, and you want to be able to go from AT&T to VZW there is ONLY 1 phone capable.

The Droid DNA
5" Screen
$199

HTC Droid DNA to Ship SIM-Unlocked for GSM Carriers

 

[wolfdogg]

well, it looks like i need to stay with verizon, so i was interested in the nexus 4, and the samsung GSII, and possibly the droid dna, because of the price. something new and affordable with atleast 1gz processor, and 1gb memory as ExtremeNerd mentioned. So i guess it will have to be able to be programmed, or reprogrammable to a verizon network, something i dont mind doing at all.

 

[wolfdogg]

If you can live with a large screen, and you want to be able to go from AT&T to VZW there is ONLY 1 phone capable.

The Droid DNA
5" Screen
$199

thanks, but im not on AT&T, oh you mean if i buy a phone that's programmed for AT&T? So i decided i need to stay with VZ, so i guess this is a good option for me?

 

[wolfdogg]

we waiting as long as humanly possible to upgrade, dont ask me why, but my wife took the free upgrade (for my phone), and said the only one they offered was the LG intuition. so im stuck with that one for two years it looks like.

Oh yeah, i started this thread with my wifes phone in mind, we ended up geting her a Nexus 7. I just recently threw on aokp_toro_jb-mr1_milestone-2 which is the first modded rom i have tried on that phone. Its pretty nice!

After wearing out the stock rom on my new Intuition i will have to tweak it out to something more appropriate and de-verizonize it.