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Android Hardware Thread - 2010 Edition

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playing around with the tmobile samsung vibrant, dunno if I like the plastic feel of the phone...
:(

super amoled screen is super awesome.:D
 
Think I'm going to pick up that Huawei U8100 today. I've been without a cell-phone for 3 months now, after cancelling Rogers due to absolutely shit customer service (got out of a 350$ cancellation fee too - hooray!). A Wifi phone for 160, with no contract, and with a 15$ plan (with unlimited international text message for new subs) sounds fine to me.

I understand that it isn't the best phone, but for the price, and the freedom (which is so rare in Canada) I'm ready to bite.
 
NPD: Android is now top-selling OS in American smartphones


10x0804ib13513andro.jpg

By Vlad Savov posted Aug 4th 2010 10:46AM


Step aside, BlackBerrys and iPhones, the American consumer has voted with his wallet and picked Android as his favorite flavor in the quarter just gone. NPD's number crunchers have just announced their findings for Q2 2010, concluding that 33 percent of phones sold during the period had Android on board. This marks the first time in eons (Q4 2007, to be more precise) that RIM has not held the crown of most purchased smartphone OS on US soil, with its BlackBerrys accounting for 28% of the market and Apple's iPhone occupying third spot with 22%. Motorola and HTC are the key suspects fingered for Android's continuing ascent, with the "large screen allure" of their handsets playing well with the buying public. Skip after the break for a more detailed breakdown.

The NPD Group: Motorola, HTC drive Android to Smartphone OS lead in the U.S.

Android now installed in one of every three smartphones sold at retail. BlackBerry OS share drops 9 points to 28 percent.

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, August 4, 2010 - Riding the wave of new handset introductions and wide carrier distribution in the second quarter (Q2), the Android smartphone operating system (OS) continued its upward climb in the U.S. consumer mobile phone market, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company. For the first time since the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2007, RIM fell to second position, as Android took the lead among operating systems in handsets sold to U.S. consumers. NPD's latest wireless market research reveals that Android accounted for 33 percent of all smartphones purchased in Q2, ahead of RIM (28 percent) and Apple (22 percent).

"For the second consecutive quarter, Android handsets have shown strong but slowing sell-through market share gains among U.S. consumers," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. "While the Google-developed OS took market share from RIM, Apple's iOS saw a small gain this quarter on the strength of the iPhone 4 launch."

Based on U.S. consumer purchases of mobile phones in Q2, the top 5 Android smartphones were as follows:

Motorola Droid
HTC Droid Incredible
HTC EVO 4G
HTC Hero
HTC Droid Eris

"Blackberry 6 will soon offer features that have been popular in recently launched Android handsets, such as support for capacitive touchscreens and a WebKit-based browser. However, the Blackberry Torch lacks the large screen allure that has characterized the best selling Android devices at its price point, including the Droid Incredible and EVO 4G," Rubin said.

Model selection and promotions continue to play a role in the race for carrier dominance. According to NPD's Mobile Phone Track, Verizon Wireless has maintained its lead among top carriers for the last three quarters comprising a third (33 percent) of the units sold in the U.S. mobile phone market in Q2, followed by AT&T (25 percent), Sprint (12 percent), and T-Mobile (11 percent). In Q2 Verizon Wireless continued their buy-one-get-one (BOGO) offers on all smartphones, including both RIM and Android models.

In spite of an overall decline in the number of mobile phones purchased year over year, the ongoing popularity of both messaging phones and smartphones, which are generally more costly than standard feature phones, resulted in slightly higher prices for all mobile phones in Q2. The average selling price for all mobile phones reached $90, which is a 3 percent increase since Q2 last year. Smartphone unit prices, by comparison, averaged $143 in Q2 2010, which is a 9 percent decrease over the previous year.

Data Note: The information in this press release is from Mobile Phone Track – NPD's consumer tracking of U.S. consumers, aged 18 and older, who reported purchasing a mobile phone. NPD does not track corporate/enterprise mobile phone purchases.
​


#############

Looks like the new king of the crop Android phones are helping Google big here. Makes me wonder how well the Droid X and new Samsung Galaxy line will help when compared to the iphone 4.
 
VanMardigan said:
So my wife decided to drop iPhone and jump to Android, against my wishes. She picked up a Samsung Captivate. Gorgeous phone, best screen I've ever seen, fast, responsive, it's really top notch.

But.....it's an Android phone, and this shit is still rough around the edges. So everything is going swimmingly until I decide to hook it up to my PC to transfer over pics, music, and video for her. No go. All my 3 machines are Win 7 64 bit, and I don't know if the phone has issues with that or what, but it just won't work. Fuck this shit. I google, download some drivers, drivers don't install. Now I'm downloading some 136 mb "kies" program that is nowhere in the documentation that came with this shit in the hopes that it will finally allow me to hook up her phone to our computer so I can transfer files. What a clusterfuck Android is. Dammit, I love my Nexus One, but this shit just isn't for our wives, moms, and sisters. I've had to restart this shit three times already because every time I try and fail to connect, it says "not enough memory" on the camera app. Three restarts.....on the first day. Fuck, I hope I can convince her to turn this in within 30 days so I can play with a Windows Phone 7 device later this year. I can deal with the headaches on my N1, but I'm not going to be babysitting her phone too. I had no issues when she owned an iphone except when I had to plug in her phone to install a new firmware.
Click to expand...

wife recently got a captivate, she has had zero issues. Didn't have to download any program to get it to work on the computer, it works exactly the same way my n1 does.

There is such a thing as a defective phone, you may want to get it replaced instead of blaming android
 
Took my phone up a mountain, it did not survive. Finally able to grab a new phone. Live in London. Follow engadget and all the nice android handsets available in the US but don't know much about the ones available to me in the UK.

Can someone point me towards the best UK available android phone and let me know if it's worth waiting 1 or 2 months for a new release. Don't think I can make it to Christmas and a possible W7 phone.
 
Has anyone seen any info/hands on impressions/reviews for the Samsung Epic 4G? I'm going nuts looking for info on it.

Rumor is its supposed to come out Aug 11th!! I need this phone!! I've already broke up with my Palm Pre and it kills me to keep touching her when I'm falling for another phone! :lol
 
Soroc said:
Has anyone seen any info/hands on impressions/reviews for the Samsung Epic 4G? I'm going nuts looking for info on it.

Rumor is its supposed to come out Aug 11th!! I need this phone!! I've already broke up with my Palm Pre and it kills me to keep touching her when I'm falling for another phone! :lol
Click to expand...

Where've you heard August 11th? Last I heard was August 20th from Engadget.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/25/samsung-website-calendar-suggests-sprint-epic-4g-in-late-august/
On August 20th, at 4:30PM Eastern Standard Time, Samsung will show off the Epic 4G smartphone on their television support website. Why is this of interest to you? Simply because the last two times the company did such a thing -- for the Vibrant and Captivate, respectively -- these infomercials all but coincided with the phones' planned release date. We wouldn't go around making any wagers if we were you, but if someone asks you when we might see a Galaxy S with a physical keyboard, you'll be able to make a ballpark estimate instead of pulling numbers out of your hat. Don't know what we're on about? Read our full preview of the Hummingbird-laden device.
Click to expand...

Best I've seen in terms of hands-on is a preview from the same site

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/29/samsung-epic-4g-preview/

I too am anxiously awaiting this phone. It seems to have everything I want (hardware KB, good screen, fast processor, high-end Android features), and I'd like a release date as my current iphone 3G is ready to be taken back behind the barn and have the honorable thing done to it. My current plan is to actually do the switch and pick up an EVO and see how I like it, then to maybe trade in with when the Epic hits stores shelves in my 30 day window. We'll see how it goes.

edit: ah, you must be referring to the brand-new info on BGR
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010...=Feed:+TheBoyGeniusReport+(Boy+Genius+Report)
Click to expand...
Interesting. Lots of comments are denying it, but who knows?
 
Bunti said:
Took my phone up a mountain, it did not survive. Finally able to grab a new phone. Live in London. Follow engadget and all the nice android handsets available in the US but don't know much about the ones available to me in the UK.

Can someone point me towards the best UK available android phone and let me know if it's worth waiting 1 or 2 months for a new release. Don't think I can make it to Christmas and a possible W7 phone.
Click to expand...

HTC Desire: http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?product=32C8AD9B-E300-4267-BEC1-DE55F02D0184

Motorola Milestone: http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct....E4C2FC5-458D-4452-A482-4C9C9766710C&Category=

Samsung Galaxy S: http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct....5A56848-7934-4DCF-8520-26B5BB58291B&Category=

Motorola Milestone XT720: http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?product=1D79DC27-D55C-4476-BF49-45D0CDD91EED

....just to start. Although, it may be better to wait, since we're approaching Fall. New phones almost certainly release in the 2nd half of the year, especially from HTC.
 
Nerevar said:
Where've you heard August 11th? Last I heard was August 20th from Engadget.
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't know how reliable this site is but thats where I read the rumor.

Thanks guys for the couple links, can't get enough info on this phone! :D
 
AndyD said:
Thanks for the feedback. I figured since this is my first jump into Android, and I have the chance to get one of these for $50 with a 1 year contract from my work, it would be a good way to prime myself into the market. Then I would know what I want in a year's time and get something bigger if I want it.

As to battery, with minimal or no internet, would it last me a couple of days without charging? I am not looking necessarily for browsing the internet large scale on my phone, but being able to pull it out and look at google maps if im lost. Basic stuff like that. At first :).

Tell me more about the captivate. I have never seen it before.
Click to expand...

Getting an Aria as an android starter phone may not be a bad idea. I'm hoping that AT&T will have a better selection of Android phones next year, so you will have a good shot a finding a phone that fits your needs.

As for the battery, with no internet usage, you may get a day and a half on a charge. A lot depends on how many background apps (like email, facebook, weather, etc) you have running and how frequently they update. That said, I think once you start using the phone, you'll find yourself using the internet and other data features more than you expected.

As for the Captivate, you check out Engadget's preview.

The Captivate's screen is probably its biggest selling point, but it's a solid phone with some thoughtful design touches. The only issue I have is the GPS is slow too lock on, but it's a known issue and apparently a fix is in the works. You can always check it out at an AT&T store. Remember that even though Samsung's default interface is not as pretty as the Aria's, you can pretty much customize it to your liking by using a variety of apps/skins.
 
gcubed said:
wife recently got a captivate, she has had zero issues. Didn't have to download any program to get it to work on the computer, it works exactly the same way my n1 does.

There is such a thing as a defective phone, you may want to get it replaced instead of blaming android
Click to expand...
But... But.... oh nevermind. ;) :lol
 
Anybody know the difference between the Droid X and the Droid2? I'm a Verizon customer and will have the opportunity to get a new phone soon. I'm thinking Droid X, as there don't seem to be many drawbacks to it (big screen, lots of storage, good features, etc.). I know the Droid 2 will be coming out soon, but I can't see much difference between it and the X. Are there any amazing upcoming Droid (or other) phones I don't know about that are worth waiting for, or does it make sense to get the X now?
 
The Droid 2 has a physical keyboard. The X doesn't. I think that's the only difference, unless there is a difference in hardware as well?
 
Zilch said:
The Droid 2 has a physical keyboard. The X doesn't. I think that's the only difference, unless there is a difference in hardware as well?
Click to expand...
Pretty sure the size is different too. Droid 2 has pretty much the body of a Droid (but the keyboard is improved.)

I think the Droid 2 lacks HDMI out?
 
JeTmAn81 said:
Anybody know the difference between the Droid X and the Droid2? I'm a Verizon customer and will have the opportunity to get a new phone soon. I'm thinking Droid X, as there don't seem to be many drawbacks to it (big screen, lots of storage, good features, etc.). I know the Droid 2 will be coming out soon, but I can't see much difference between it and the X. Are there any amazing upcoming Droid (or other) phones I don't know about that are worth waiting for, or does it make sense to get the X now?
Click to expand...
http://www.droid-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/internal-droid-family-comparison.png

This shows the difference between the 2, although they have the Droid X having 256MB RAM instead of 512MB and that's incorrect, it's 512MB.
 
gcubed said:
wife recently got a captivate, she has had zero issues. Didn't have to download any program to get it to work on the computer, it works exactly the same way my n1 does.
Click to expand...

So somehow, your wife's phone was set to "mass storage" as the default usb profile, and my wife's wasn't.
 
Thanks Dr Funk, appreciate the links. I have no problem waiting but there doesn't seem to be much on the immediate horizon. No one has definitive dates for a super Android handset arriving in the UK. Desire seems ok but I'd prefer something a little bit prettier with a better screen.

Does anyone have a release date for such a phone over in the UK?
 
Bunti said:
Thanks Dr Funk, appreciate the links. I have no problem waiting but there doesn't seem to be much on the immediate horizon. No one has definitive dates for a super Android handset arriving in the UK. Desire seems ok but I'd prefer something a little bit prettier with a better screen.

Does anyone have a release date for such a phone over in the UK?
Click to expand...

There is the Galaxy S, 4" 800x480 Super AMOLED

The only other thing is the Dell Streak, although with a 5" screen I think it is truly pushing the limits of the term 'mobile phone'.
 
XMonkey said:
Looks like they're using SLCDs on these Desires... probably why the phone is cheaper.
Click to expand...

They are, you can tell by the black levels.

Bunti said:
Does anyone have a release date for such a phone over in the UK?
Click to expand...

I'm waiting for the HTC Desire HD myself, and having recently appeared on an inventory, I'd suggest it's not too far away.

You would be making a mistake to not wait at least two months, we will know much more by then.
 
zedge said:
Just got mine. Godamn thing is gorgeous. My N1 looks like shit now haha.

Love it so far. The touch sensitivity is awesome, not janky like my N1 too!
Click to expand...

At least you got what you wanted. Yesterday I called up Telephone Booth (Yorkdale) and asked if they had any Legends, the guy said they had a shipment coming in later that day (this was around 3:30pm). So today I walk into that damn place and they tell me that it's sold out! When are they getting more? They have no idea.

I've never had this much trouble tracking down a product in my life.
 
has there been any leaks about the fall phone lineup? I know they were supposed to start using the 1.5ghz snapdragons in phones this fall. My contract is up this winter so i can jump to whoever, or just stick with ... ugh... att
 
Zombie James said:
At least you got what you wanted. Yesterday I called up Telephone Booth (Yorkdale) and asked if they had any Legends, the guy said they had a shipment coming in later that day (this was around 3:30pm). So today I walk into that damn place and they tell me that it's sold out! When are they getting more? They have no idea.

I've never had this much trouble tracking down a product in my life.
Click to expand...

That sucks man. Do you have to get it from Telephone Booth? I have seen Legends everywhere here. (Calgary)
 
gcubed said:
i wish they would have put a flash on the galaxy S line, would be a perfect phone then
Click to expand...
Verizon's version will have one, making it basically the perfect phone as you said (assuming you can root Verizon's version as easily as the others).
 
zedge said:
That sucks man. Do you have to get it from Telephone Booth? I have seen Legends everywhere here. (Calgary)
Click to expand...

Well they're one of the few places I know that'll sell it without signing up with Virgin, along with Wireless Wave. Best Buy, The Source, and Futureshop won't.
 
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/06/best-buy-cto-tweets-rocketfish-branded-tablet-pics/

rocketlead.jpg

rocketfishtablet.jpg


Engadget said:
We can't say we're all that surprised that Best Buy's planning to start stocking tablets, but we are slightly shocked that its CTO Robert Stephens uploaded some pics of a RocketFish-labeled slate and blasted them out over Twitter earlier today. Beyond the shot above and the one after the break, we don't know much about the HP Slate-looking tablet -- although, Stephens tweeted later that it's a "form factor proto" with no guts inside. He had also said about a month ago on Twitter that "the tablet has a front facing camera....runs Froyo 2.2." We're assuming that he's talking about the same tablet you're peering at above, but we never know what those blue shirts are up to. Obviously, we started following Mr. Stephens already and will be keeping a close eye on him and his new, apparently non-functioning gadget. If you just can't wait to see what double B is working on, we'd probably suggest you do the same.
Click to expand...

I usually get pretty good Staff discounts on Rocketfish branded stuff :3, please don't suck.
 
I just read about that ... looks pretty nice. By nice, I mean aesthetically a complete iPhone 4 ripoff. That said, I LOVE the design of iPhone 4 so it's okay. It'll be interesting to see how this progresses. I'm actually pretty impressed by a some of BestBuy's products. A few are actually pretty good values. It'll be interesting to see them move into the computer segment.




On a completely unrelated note ... does Nook and the eventual Nook 2 count for this thread?
 
Raistlin said:
I just read about that ... looks pretty nice. By nice, I mean aesthetically a complete iPhone 4 ripoff. That said, I LOVE the design of iPhone 4 so it's okay. It'll be interesting to see how this progresses. I'm actually pretty impressed by a some of BestBuy's products. A few are actually pretty good values. It'll be interesting to see them move into the computer segment.




On a completely unrelated note ... does Nook and the eventual Nook 2 count for this thread?
Click to expand...

Yeah, although the dedicated thread has a much more active community of Nookers. This thread would really only be good for the softroot/dev stuff.
 
XMonkey said:
Verizon's version will have one, making it basically the perfect phone as you said (assuming you can root Verizon's version as easily as the others).
Click to expand...

well, i guess that settles me going to verizon
 
Zombie James said:
Best Buy dropped the price of Bell's Galaxy S by $50 (now $99 on a 3-year) and threw in a $75 gift card.

http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/08/06/b...t-on-sale-for-99-99-throws-in-a-75-gift-card/

Not a bad deal at all, but damn these 3-year contracts.
Click to expand...

Picked up mine this morning.
It's beautiful.
It's so nice being able to walk into the store, pick up an awesome new phone, and enjoy it the rest of the day. ;)

I added on video calling for fun. Might as well make use of the FFC.
 
TheQueen'sOwn said:
Picked up mine this morning.
It's beautiful.
It's so nice being able to walk into the store, pick up an awesome new phone, and enjoy it the rest of the day. ;)

I added on video calling for fun. Might as well make use of the FFC.
Click to expand...

I got mine today too, they came in on the morning truck (I work at BB) and the mobile guy basically coerced me into jumping in. Glad I did.

It's GORGEOUS, and I inadvertently have advertised a substantial amount on Samsung's behalf.

I'll actually end up picking up a second (when we get more in stock, freaking half the stores in the city sold out, everything nearby) for my girlfriend, and we'll just dump our home phone. Great thing is, the one for my girlfriend will only cost me 25 bucks upfront (75 dollar giftcards, wattup), and it will cost me 10 dollars a month +100 extra shared minuted between the both of us.
 
NooooOooOooOoo!!!

My cats chewed through my brand new stock Samsung headset! I had never head an in-ear headset that was THAT good. Treeees sad. It was my fault for leaving them on the coffee table overnight I guess, cats get crazy overnight :(.

Now I need to figure out what to do for a replacement, special order (which will probably be expensive as all hell) or utilize a combination of my staff discount and pity to get a good deal on some other branded headsets.

Can anyone recommend anything good? I really liked these in-ears, astounded by it's sound isolation/cancellation (pretty much on par for me with expensive over the ears I've purchased in the past).
 
Ok, fuck this shit. I finally find a Tbooth in this city that has a Legend for sale and they refuse to sell it to me without signing up with Virgin. I'm running out of options.
 
If that is the HTC Desire HD, I'm disappointed.

I love the current Desire aesthetic, this design is very generic looking and reminds me of the HD2 (which isn't very nice in the flesh).
 
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