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Android Hardware Thread - 2010 Edition

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Andrex said:
Well, those first two were dev phones really meant for kernel (and to a lesser extent, app) devs. The Nexus One is also covered by the community as it's Cyanogen's phone of choice.
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yeah, after waiting for months to get the official 2.1 Hero upgrade I've decided my next phone is going to be a Google phone. Android since 2.0 has progressed to the point where Sense isn't needed imo to enjoy it, and having to wait for months and months to get updates is annoying for someone who likes to be on the bleeding edge.

They really need to add smart dial to vanilla android tho, probably the last Sense feature I'd really really miss if I went vanilla.
 
zoku88 said:
Seems fake. Samsung already has enough trouble producing AMOLED screens, producing one with that pixel density with their current problems seems odd.

Also, the 2GHz processor. Too much power now. A phone like this would have to be released more than a year from now, I gather.

I think you should see 1.2GHz, 1.5GHz, and 1.7-8GHz processors before seeing a 2GHz part.
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2GHz for next year is definitely on the cards. Motorola announced as much for their phones coming out late 2010. As for the rest, definitely believable, there's nothing extraordinary about the specs; the only hindrance being availability of parts.
 
pgtl_10 said:
Is Evo 4G any good? I'm not phone savvy but I'm looking onto new service after my contract with T-mobile expires.
Click to expand...
Yes

It's very, very good. There's a whole thread dedicated to it, I'm on my Streak so I can't show you atm, but its one of the best android devices to date
 
Andrex said:
Well, those first two were dev phones really meant for kernel (and to a lesser extent, app) devs. The Nexus One is also covered by the community as it's Cyanogen's phone of choice.
Click to expand...

Cyanogen actually just bought an EVO :D

But the Nexus has no shortage of kernel developers.
 
Thanks for the replies guys/gals. I think Google will probably support the phone for at least another year. I think two years is the new norm, and that seems reasonable to me.

Maybe I'll just go with the Nexus One then. I'll check whether AT&T will let me upgrade now as well.
 
constableroark said:
Thanks for the replies guys/gals. I think Google will probably support the phone for at least another year. I think two years is the new norm, and that seems reasonable to me.

Maybe I'll just go with the Nexus One then. I'll check whether AT&T will let me upgrade now as well.
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The N1 isn't subsidized through ATT so you don't really need to worry about if you're eligible for an upgrade... you just need to worry about paying full price for the phone ($529)...
 
Arggg ...

Due to the issues with the iPhone 4, I'm likely going to pass on it unless something changes over the next few months (I was planning on waiting for the white anyway).


With that in mind, I'm trying to figure out which Android phone to go with? My initial reaction was to go with the Nexus One with T-Mobile. I like the idea of a dev phone, and T-Mobile has the fastest network - HSPA+ actually beats out WiMAX, and while the Nexus One may not fully support it, I'll get faster d/l speeds than anything but the EVO. However all the N1 3G issues have scared me off. It sounds like I'd have as many or more problems with that than the iPhone.


So the question is, where should I look? I'm considering waiting to see what Project Emerald is. With currently owning an HTC Tilt, I actually don't want a keyboard. Mine has varying sensitivity depending on the key. It's practically unusable at this point. That said, if the rumors are true regarding the other specs, I think I can look past the keyboard. Dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, full HSPA+ support, some sort of new display tech (3D?), and Gingerbread.

If it really does have Gingerbread, is this possibly the next dev phone ala the G1 and N1? T-Mobile has been claiming it's a 'Nexus One like phone'. What else would that mean?
 
Raistlin said:
Arggg ...

Due to the issues with the iPhone 4, I'm likely going to pass on it unless something changes over the next few months (I was planning on waiting for the white anyway).


With that in mind, I'm trying to figure out which Android phone to go with? My initial reaction was to go with the Nexus One with T-Mobile. I like the idea of a dev phone, and T-Mobile has the fastest network - HSPA+ actually beats out WiMAX, and while the Nexus One may not fully support it, I'll get faster d/l speeds than anything but the EVO. However all the N1 3G issues have scared me off. It sounds like I'd have as many or more problems with that than the iPhone.


So the question is, where should I look? I'm considering waiting to see what Project Emerald is. With currently owning an HTC Tilt, I actually don't want a keyboard. Mine has varying sensitivity depending on the key. It's practically unusable at this point. That said, if the rumors are true regarding the other specs, I think I can look past the keyboard. Dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, full HSPA+ support, some sort of new display tech (3D?), and Gingerbread.

If it really does have Gingerbread, is this possibly the next dev phone ala the G1 and N1? T-Mobile has been claiming it's a 'Nexus One like phone'. What else would that mean?
Click to expand...
I was in the same boat in that I was waiting for iPhone 4 but the antenna issues finally tipped me to Android. I ended up ordering a Tmobile Nexus One last week and I love the device. Plus my 3G has been great here in NYC. I initially thought it was spotty but my settings were just off. I'd go ahead and grab an N1.
 
Mercury Fred said:
I was in the same boat in that I was waiting for iPhone 4 but the antenna issues finally tipped me to Android. I ended up ordering a Tmobile Nexus One last week and I love the device. Plus my 3G has been great here in NYC. I initially thought it was spotty but my settings were just off. I'd go ahead and grab an N1.
Click to expand...

So no dropped calls and losing 3G? Sounds good.


I think I'll wait a bit to see what happens with the white iPhone ... as well as what Android devices are announced by then. If things aren't looking the way I want, I think I'll give the N1 a shot. I assume there is a 30 day return policy, so that should give me enough time to see how my neck of the woods handles things.
 
alright fellas. i've stuck with wimno for the past 5-6 years due to it being so "open" to customization, emulators, videos, ringtones and what have you as far back as when verizon wouldnt let you use custom ringtones on dumbphones and this droid x has me ready to jump ship. atleast for a few months anyway. a few questions.

I'm currently not on a contract. I let my $100 upgrade credit pass by and its now a new every 2 credit. since I didnt use the last credit, would I still be able to use that and get a droid x for 199 then jump over to winmo 7 with my new every 2 if need be? My reason for not wanting to wait for winmo is dumb ass MS is doing the exact opposite of what the people who keep winmo going love and locking down the system. No customization=no buy. iffy multitasking=no buy :lol

2nd question is about androids customization. I currently have a samsung omnia but i'm running the sense ui on it. thats pretty much whats kept me from upgrading for so long :lol is there a sense skin available for non htc google phones? since android seems to be the new king of the open OS i'd hope someone has ported sense for non sense droids.

last ? is there anything else worth waiting for between now and christmas? touchscreen only? i've heard rumblings of 1.5ghz snapdragons but X's extra graphics muscle may just satisfy my needs. Thanks!
 
well there's a widget that mimics the Sense. Beautiful Widgets (which I'll DL when I get my DX)
Doesn't Verizon have the annual upgrade plan? I'll jump on the DX now. It has good power and battery life.
 
Hi guys, I was thinking about upgrading from Symbian to Android, seeing how Nokia sucks so bad at making "modern" OS's (which is sad, as their hardware usually is very good) and I'm getting fed up with their policy of leaving old handsets not updated.

My budget is not so high so I was thinking to get the Samsung Galaxy Spica I5700 (around 240€ operator-free) and I was wondering if any of you have it, and if it's a good choice. I've read some reviews and the only downside I can think of is the lack of flash in the camera but it's something I can live with, so I'd like to hear some real opinions.

I also would like to get some feedback about data usage on Android with normal stuff (mail, IM, sync, some light web browsing...) as I'm limited to 300MB/month with my current plan.

Edit: I forgot to add that I already know there are better choices so avoid telling me to get a 500€+ handset instead. I really don't like my phones cutting edge, just want them to have the job done.
 
are all android phone basically identical in terms of interfaces, or at least is there a core set of features?

I'm trying out a friend's HTC hero for a while, and its just confusing me with its odd combination of touch and buttons, and not knowing when to press home, back, menu, or that weird trackball thing.

Is it just a learning thing and I'll get used to it?
 
mrklaw said:
are all android phone basically identical in terms of interfaces, or at least is there a core set of features?

I'm trying out a friend's HTC hero for a while, and its just confusing me with its odd combination of touch and buttons, and not knowing when to press home, back, menu, or that weird trackball thing.

Is it just a learning thing and I'll get used to it?
Click to expand...
The interfaces are customizable, either by the manufacturer (HTC Sense, Motoblur) or by the user (LauncherPro etc). Google also change the interface slightly with each update (and it gets better each time too).

simply:

Back - programmed by the app creator, but "should" take you back to the previous screen you were on
Home - takes you back to your home screen (and leave your app running)
Menu - brings up a context sensitive list of menu items
Search - context sensitive search

the trackballs and pads are largely useless in my opinion, I only touch mine when editing text.

the whole system is quite forgiving, if a button does what you don't expect it to, it's very easy to get back to where you were, for instance if you accidentally exit an app with back then you can just bring up a list of recent programs (hold home) and jump straight back in.
 
The Friendly Monster said:
The interfaces are customizable, either by the manufacturer (HTC Sense, Motoblur) or by the user (LauncherPro etc). Google also change the interface slightly with each update (and it gets better each time too).

simply:

Back - programmed by the app creator, but "should" take you back to the previous screen you were on
Home - takes you back to your home screen (and leave your app running)
Menu - brings up a context sensitive list of menu items
Search - context sensitive search

the trackballs and pads are largely useless in my opinion, I only touch mine when editing text.

the whole system is quite forgiving, if a button does what you don't expect it to, it's very easy to get back to where you were, for instance if you accidentally exit an app with back then you can just bring up a list of recent programs (hold home) and jump straight back in.
Click to expand...

shit, I never knew it left the apps running. Tried pressing home twice and it bring up a little snapshot of your homescreens, but no running apps. How do I shut an app down, or should I just not worry about that?
 
mrklaw said:
shit, I never knew it left the apps running. Tried pressing home twice and it bring up a little snapshot of your homescreens, but no running apps. How do I shut an app down, or should I just not worry about that?
Click to expand...
Don't worry about it ;)
 
mrklaw said:
shit, I never knew it left the apps running. Tried pressing home twice and it bring up a little snapshot of your homescreens, but no running apps. How do I shut an app down, or should I just not worry about that?
Click to expand...
Keep pressing back until it takes you back Home.
 
mrklaw said:
shit, I never knew it left the apps running. Tried pressing home twice and it bring up a little snapshot of your homescreens, but no running apps. How do I shut an app down, or should I just not worry about that?
Click to expand...
Yeah just don't worry about it, a well designed app isn't going to leave itself using up resources.

Again it's up to the app creators so a lot of them will fully close down if they lose focus (and decide they don't need it).

If your phone needs to free up resources then it will selectively close down background apps. I wasn't totally comfortable with the system at first but now I have grown to like it.
 
Tempted by the Galaxy S for the raw power and the screen vs the desire. Does anyone know if its been rooted/ able to install Sense UI?
 
Hey guys, I have to move a family member onto my plan (I'm with Sprint, got the new Evo), and was thinking of setting her up with an Android phone, since she expressed the desire to get on the smartphone train (finally!). I don't think she wants to spend a couple of hundred of dollars for a top of the line model, like the Evo. Do you think the older HTC Hero is a decent phone to go with?

Also, if anyone knows off-hand, you can upgrade your phone every two years on Sprint? I've had Verizon and AT&T in the past, never Sprint, and I didn't see anything mentioning it anywhere.
 
jiien said:
Hey guys, I have to move a family member onto my plan (I'm with Sprint, got the new Evo), and was thinking of setting her up with an Android phone, since she expressed the desire to get on the smartphone train (finally!). I don't think she wants to spend a couple of hundred of dollars for a top of the line model, like the Evo. Do you think the older HTC Hero is a decent phone to go with?

Also, if anyone knows off-hand, you can upgrade your phone every two years on Sprint? I've had Verizon and AT&T in the past, never Sprint, and I didn't see anything mentioning it anywhere.
Click to expand...
Yearly for the plan you're on, primary line only when you go shared plan. 2 years (well 22 months) for other lines.

The Hero isn't terrible, I know this person probably isn't as picky about phones as I am but I still have a hard time recommending phones that are using 2 year+ old hardware. That said, I used it for 8 months and was pretty happy with it, even with my new tech cravings. Though if she doesn't want to spend much on a phone then you don't have many options. I'd almost feel comfortable recommending the Pre/Pixi for a first time smartphone user...the Pre is pretty snappy and very user friendly. If you want to recommend a smartphone with more app support though, then obviously the Hero would be a better choice.
 
Husker86 said:
Yearly for the plan you're on, primary line only when you go shared plan. 2 years (well 22 months) for other lines.

The Hero isn't terrible, I know this person probably isn't as picky about phones as I am but I still have a hard time recommending phones that are using 2 year+ old hardware. That said, I used it for 8 months and was pretty happy with it, even with my new tech cravings. Though if she doesn't want to spend much on a phone then you don't have many options. I'd almost feel comfortable recommending the Pre/Pixi for a first time smartphone user...the Pre is pretty snappy and very user friendly. If you want to recommend a smartphone with more app support though, then obviously the Hero would be a better choice.
Click to expand...

this.....id almost lean to the Pre more though. If you can hold out though the EPIC should be a pretty sick phone in the Sprint lineup.
 
Husker86 said:
Yearly for the plan you're on, primary line only when you go shared plan. 2 years (well 22 months) for other lines.

The Hero isn't terrible, I know this person probably isn't as picky about phones as I am but I still have a hard time recommending phones that are using 2 year+ old hardware. That said, I used it for 8 months and was pretty happy with it, even with my new tech cravings. Though if she doesn't want to spend much on a phone then you don't have many options. I'd almost feel comfortable recommending the Pre/Pixi for a first time smartphone user...the Pre is pretty snappy and very user friendly. If you want to recommend a smartphone with more app support though, then obviously the Hero would be a better choice.
Click to expand...

Okay cool, thanks for the input. I'll have to think about it more. The Pre, on the Sprint website, is 150. The Hero is something like 80 or 90. I'm afraid she won't know much about the worth of the phones, and therefore little to no input beyond just what they cost. I would like to keep her on Android though, just because I can help her more (never had a webOS phone before).

But you're right, I'm also leery of picking up old hardware. At the rate this stuff moves, getting old hardware now will set her even farther behind, and I expect that she'll go tech crazy sooner rather than later. Maybe I should just suck it up and help her foot the cost for an Evo to make her happy.

Mikasangelos said:
this.....id almost lean to the Pre more though. If you can hold out though the EPIC should be a pretty sick phone in the Sprint lineup.
Click to expand...

Do you know off hand when the EPIC is supposed to hit? I think her plan with AT&T is ending later this month, so that probably isn't an option.

Edit: Google says we don't know yet. Darn.
 
Mercury Fred said:
Nope. I've only had the phone since last Thursday though, so take that with a grain of salt. But yeah, so far so good.
Click to expand...

T-mobile 3G coverage and speeds in NYC (and near by) are great!

This is from my office building (half hour north from the Bronx)

6605550.png


You can't go wrong with T-mobile and the Nexus.
I would not recommend the Nexus One to someone that does a lot of gaming on their phone. I don't game (the most I do on my phone is solitaire and chess). The Nexus only has a "Dual" touch screen. So for gaming is not ideal.

Also, if you are a Cablevision customer you can use their ever expanding Wifi network around the Bronx and Whiteplains.
 
My concern is that supposedly the 3G issues are far worse in low signal areas. Unfortunately I know no one that has T-Mobile (or at least a smart phone with T-Mobile) to get local anecdotes.

Supposedly the Buffalo area has HSPA+, but I have no idea what holes exist, etc.
 
Raistlin said:
Has anyone tried this?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/03/nexus-one-sees-red-nearly-doubles-battery-life-video/

Nearly doubles Nexus One's battery life? neat.
Click to expand...

The only way that would double your battery life is if the screen is using 90% of your phone's energy. That is certainly not the case for normal use of the phone. I suspect that the guy making those claims set his screen brightness to max, set the screen to never turn off, and did nothing else with the phone.
 
Been reading quite a few Samsung Galaxy S reviews lately and I recall talk about a HDMI port on the phone before its release, but I'm yet to see it mentioned in any review! Why? Did they drop it?
 
tokkun said:
The only way that would double your battery life is if the screen is using 90% of your phone's energy. That is certainly not the case for normal use of the phone. I suspect that the guy making those claims set his screen brightness to max, set the screen to never turn off, and did nothing else with the phone.
Click to expand...

The screen uses up most of the power on my N1 by far. 90% is not that far of a stretch given normal usage without any gaming.
 
b.e.r.g said:
Been reading quite a few Samsung Galaxy S reviews lately and I recall talk about a HDMI port on the phone before its release, but I'm yet to see it mentioned in any review! Why? Did they drop it?
Click to expand...
Yup. At leat the European one, not sure about the branded ones coming to the US. Still an awesome phone though
 
b.e.r.g said:
Been reading quite a few Samsung Galaxy S reviews lately and I recall talk about a HDMI port on the phone before its release, but I'm yet to see it mentioned in any review! Why? Did they drop it?
Click to expand...
I thought somewhere somebody confirmed that it did HDMI out through its audio jack?
 
My ODROID-S has a mini-HDMI out port. ^,^ Haven't tried it yet though. It's hard to find a mini-HDMI-to-HDMI cable where I am. :P
 
Aww :( With HD and gaming and all being such big selling points I can't see why TV-out ain't more common!

EDIT: Btw, any good sites for Android related news? Something simular to Gizmodo or Engadget but for Android only?
 
antispin said:
2GHz for next year is definitely on the cards. Motorola announced as much for their phones coming out late 2010. As for the rest, definitely believable, there's nothing extraordinary about the specs; the only hindrance being availability of parts.
Click to expand...
I believe it when I see it. I don't think Motorola actually makes the microprocessors it uses (I may be wrong though,) so I'll wait until something is formally announced. If nothing else, I'm sure this would be fairly late for 2011.

Everything else, have you seen an OLED screen with those specs? Of course not, it's still new. Which hampers its rate of improvements.
 
b.e.r.g said:
Aww :( With HD and gaming and all being such big selling points I can't see why TV-out ain't more common!

EDIT: Btw, any good sites for Android related news? Something simular to Gizmodo or Engadget but for Android only?
Click to expand...

Phandroid is probably your best bet.
 
Anyone have a good idea where to look to find current discounts mobile phone providers are offering? I'm nearing the end of my iphone 3G contract on AT&T (THANK GOD) and I'm looking to pick up probably either a Droid 2 on Verizon or the Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy S (Epic 4G?) in the next few months. My wife and I would like to be on the same family plan which makes Sprint look very tempting ($130 for unlimited data & 1500 shared minutes between the two of us is very tempting). Any ideas?
 
T-Mobile US's roadmap leaked for the rest of the year, and there are two HTC Android phones in the works.

September 9th will bring the HTC Vanguard. November 5th will bring the HTC Emerald (Project Emerald, anyone?).

Screenshot_41.jpg
 
So I'm given the choice between a BB Tour and a Motorola Milestone for the same price. Wat do? I know nothing about cellphones, this will be my first "intelligent" phone. Any advices are welcome :)
 
Guy said:
So I'm given the choice between a BB Tour and a Motorola Milestone for the same price. Wat do? I know nothing about cellphones, this will be my first "intelligent" phone. Any advices are welcome :)
Click to expand...

Android is fun :-D
 
Vyse The Legend said:
T-Mobile US's roadmap leaked for the rest of the year, and there are three HTC Android phones in the works.

September 9th will bring the HTC Vanguard. November 5th will bring the HTC Emerald (Project Emerald, anyone?). Lastly, November 17 will bring the HTC Something-or-other (can't make out the name on the slide).

Screenshot_41.jpg
Click to expand...

The last one looks like Shadow
 
SimleuqiR said:
Have you check their maps?

http://coverage.t-mobile.com/default.aspx?MapType=Data

See if there are any big gaps in your area.
Click to expand...

From past experience, I don't place a huge amount of faith in official maps :p


That said, I did check it yesterday. My area looks okay. In the areas I frequent (home, work, parents, several friends), I should actually be receiving HSPA+. The question though, what sort of signal strength is there?
 
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