Database Develop

Samsung Galaxy S?????

What are your thoughts on Samsung Galaxy S or the Vibrant as it is called any body going to jump from the N1 to the Galaxy S?
I have seen some of the specs although quite impressive I still have a hard time a camera with no flash and Samsungs lack of care for their customers!
What are your thoughts??

Nah, I'm still very happy with my N1, I do have another line which has made me consider getting it for that...but I think my next android phone will have a physical keyboard, front facing camera and dual processor, plus I'm a hardcore HTC fan haha.

I am with TMobile, and I've been Rockin the G1 since it was 1st availible in 08...
I am SUPER excited about purchasing the vibrant the second its availible. (July 21)
I don't mind not having a flash bc I don't have one now. I am however excited to have a zoom on the camera.
If I'm not mistaken, sprints version will have a front facing camera, as well as a sliding keyboard. Now that's Cool. But not having those won't deter me from getting it. This whole time I was waiting till sept so I can get a full discount on the nexus, but F it...I'm glad to Jump on this Vibrant!
But I wonder... I've become so used to flashing ROMs and customizing my rooted G1, are all androids Rootable? Like, eventually will I be flashing ROMS on the vibrant?
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperBad G1 using XDA App

i am loving my N1 and I have to say that this is the BEST android phone that I have dealt with! I have an upgrade available as well and I am thinking of getting it but I know that my N1 will be my "daily".
What makes me angry with Tmo is that they always seem to be the last to jump on the BEST phones available as if Tmo is not campaigning for the cool phones like the EVO, or the Droid X. It is alomost like an after thought that we get the "hand-me-downs".
That is why I think the N1 is for now the best android device available for T-mo.

I agree 100% with you. I wish Tmo was wayyy more aggressive in their pursuit of phones. However they did have the 1st android phone. But still...TMo has always been good to me and their customer srervice is outstanding...but Jeeeezus MAAN! Let's get a decent line up of phones!.
After posting my 1st comment about the vibrant, I started looking around...seems like ppl are having uisssues with gps and lag? Great! .... for real?
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperBad G1 using XDA App

Having seen what happened with the Samsung Galaxy and Behold 2, i wouldnt ever touch a samsung android phone again!
I know alot of android phones get deserted by the manufacturer and there's tons of complaints about people stuck on 1.5 or 1.6, but what samsung did with those two phones is horrible.
For the behold 2 they didnt publish complete source code, and abandoned major updates very quickly. They said the behold 2 cant handle 2.1, when the Hero - the same hardware (MSM720x) and with less ram has just had a 2.1 update.
The Galaxy was advertised with many features it never actually had (android/software based), and it got so bad that O2 germany allowed anyone who purchased a galaxy on contract to send it back for a full refund, and this was 6 to 9 months after it was released on their network lol.
This isnt the usual 'why didnt HTC update my G1 to froyo' type of rant. Samsung abandoned these two phones within about 6 months of launch and purposly released just enough source code to cover their asses. Not impressed at all

Galaxy s is good. But I'm waiting for something that will leap frog it.
In particular, I want a screen with higher resolution. I'm not used to apple having something better than me =)

DarkDvr said:
Galaxy s is good. But I'm waiting for something that will leap frog it.
In particular, I want a screen with higher resolution. I'm not used to apple having something better than me =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new screen on the Galaxy S is actually the same resolution as the new iPhone...

The only reason I have considered getting the vibrant is that I am hoping it will get rid of my edge/3g issues. Sometimes I get so pissed at my nexus, it randomly switches to edge, then pandora stops, then I have to lock it on WCDMA only, but sometimes that doesnt work lol.

I'll be getting one for the Wife who is using a MT3G
Me I'm happy with my N1, but will play around with it once she gets it

gthmcty1 said:
The new screen on the Galaxy S is actually the same resolution as the new iPhone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
Galaxy S is the good old 480 x 800 pixels
iPhone 4 is 640 by 960.
Get your facts straight

DarkDvr said:
No.
Galaxy S is the good old 480 x 800 pixels
iPhone 4 is 640 by 960.
Get your facts straight
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for correcting me, last thing I want to do is give the wrong information "intentionally"

dashed said:
The only reason I have considered getting the vibrant is that I am hoping it will get rid of my edge/3g issues. Sometimes I get so pissed at my nexus, it randomly switches to edge, then pandora stops, then I have to lock it on WCDMA only, but sometimes that doesnt work lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ excellent real world experience there...
i won't buy another n1 because of the antennae issues, same with the iphone 4. it's a stupid, stupid design problem, just like the n1 has a really stupid problem with connectivity.
OFF CONTRACT- get whatever you want. i really don't understand people waiting for an 'upgrade' on contract, you can vote with your money or just play along with the rest of the sheeple.
the next android device i'll buy will be:
1 another g1, it's hard to beat for the craigslist prices now
2 whatever full querty, physical keyboard, dual processor, 1gb of ram, dual flash, OFF CONTRACT GSM phone comes out from htc.
i'll lean towards #1 since #2 might take another year or so.

gthmcty1 said:
What are your thoughts on Samsung Galaxy S or the Vibrant as it is called any body going to jump from the N1 to the Galaxy S?
I have seen some of the specs although quite impressive I still have a hard time a camera with no flash and Samsungs lack of care for their customers!
What are your thoughts??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another thread for you to look at..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=717161

I don't know enough about developing roms to know for certain, but if this thing gets released on all the major carriers in the US....couldn't we just flash roms onto any of the devices and flash our service providers radios? If thats the case (which it may or may not be, not sure how the Sprint version may differ because of the hardware keyboard and I think Verizon's version may have an LED flash) then I am going to buy one for sure. There may be a lot of support for these if they really take off and sell well. Either way I am upset with my N1's touchscreen issues and 3G issues as well, and will be replacing it as soon as a supported worthy device comes along. Its a shame too cus I love my N1 and what it stands for, its gonna suck to go back to an old school carrier locked down device.

big99gt said:
I don't know enough about developing roms to know for certain, but if this thing gets released on all the major carriers in the US....couldn't we just flash roms onto any of the devices and flash our service providers radios? If thats the case (which it may or may not be, not sure how the Sprint version may differ because of the hardware keyboard and I think Verizon's version may have an LED flash) then I am going to buy one for sure. There may be a lot of support for these if they really take off and sell well. Either way I am upset with my N1's touchscreen issues and 3G issues as well, and will be replacing it as soon as a supported worthy device comes along. Its a shame too cus I love my N1 and what it stands for, its gonna suck to go back to an old school carrier locked down device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CDMA and GSM are different technologies, and all carriers use different bands. Short answer is no.

He is saying take the ATT galaxy and flash that radio to the ATT nexus.
Still the answer is no cause a radio has to be made specifically for the nexus to work.

No what I actually meant was if it was possible to just make a sort of generic rom that could be flashed to any of the 3 similar devices...Captivate, Fascinate,and Vibrant...and then flash a specific radio image for your own carrier. Like if I flashed the rom then flashed an AT&T radio to go with it. But after having my Captivate and reading about other users flashing Vibrant roms.....my idea is a bust, there are too many physical and software differences between devices. But we have a ClockworkMod recovery now and the Cyanogen team has a Captivate and they have started work already so its looking like we'll have some new eye candy and functionality soon.

What would be a good phone to replace the i9000 ?

Thinking of selling this one before the price drops more.
But what would be a good replacement ?

I was thinking just the same, I'm planning on getting a SGS 2 when it comes out.
Other nice options are the Nexus S, LG Optimus 2x, Motorola Atrix 4G..

also thinking of the SGS 2 but might be too costly for me and is there a release date yet ?

Drooling:
Samsung Infuse 4G http://www.anandtech.com/show/4096/samsung-infuse-4g-announced
LG Optimus 2X http://www.anandtech.com/show/4089/lgs-optimus-2x-worlds-first-tegra-2-smartphone
HTC Inspire 4G http://www.anandtech.com/show/4095/htc-inspire-4g-and-new-htc-sense-announced
Motorola ATRIX 4G, with notebook chassis addon http://www.anandtech.com/show/4092/motorolas-atrix-4g-tegra-2-smartphone-netbook-in-one

I thought that the Atrix is the highest end phone on the market now...
***EDIT*** Just saw the post above. Infuse, 2xx whoa....
You could always wait and get an iphone 5

utsmaster18 said:
I thought that the Atrix is the highest end phone on the market now...
***EDIT*** Just saw the post above. Infuse, 2xx whoa....
You could always wait and get an iphone 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Infuse is still using a single core.... (1.2ghz hummingbird iirc)
Swyped from my captivating awesomeness with darky's rom

I switch from milestone to i9000, if you wanna out of trouble, stay away from moto
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

DummyPLUG said:
I switch from milestone to i9000, if you wanna out of trouble, stay away from moto
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, unless they give us unlocked bootloaders
Swyped from my captivating awesomeness with darky's rom

quite true, but the fact is the offical firmware full of bugs and moto never fix it, this is true for MS1,MS2,DEFY at least. I don't mind the bootload is locked if the firmware is stable anyway.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

yeah definitely not gonna get a moto

Sell it if you really want the latest device. If you're just selling it because its going to lose value I wouldn't bother because that next latest device is going to lose value just as quick.
I'm happy with my Galaxy S. I will sell it when it apps start requiring more advanced hardware.. but I think that's a while off.

I wouldn't, considering the cost, trade it for anything on the market right now.
The Atrix has its own bugs, multi-touch wonky and HSUPA AWOL, and little hope of fixes with locked bootloader (and if any it will be on 'carrier time' of months). Also it's pentile and I'm not going down that road again.
Inspire? Yawwn..single-core snapdragon hardly an upgrade.
Other dual-core out is LG Optimus 2x. Don't know, maybe LG can deliver here (ie. unlocked bootloader and quality subsysems) but 800x480 LCD is likely going to seem plain after SAMOLED...
To me its SGS2 or bust, it will be interesting to see when it comes out if Samsung has learned some lessons from SGS1.
The key will be minimizing flaws. Accurate GPS. Snappy performance (apparently movinand more to blame for this than RFS so RFS isn't the death knell). No other big screw-ups. (I won't say battery life because although they can make some headway here, there will somehow always be people who can kill it in 12 hours with 'moderate' usage. I could only kill my SGS in a day when I played for hours on end.)
If it is really amazing, I'd grab it and keep the SGS as a backup. Otherwise I have no issue holding on until next spring/summer.

The Galaxy S phones (or all top tier phones right now) won't be obsolete or get to the point where we are complaining about speed until the end of this year, if thhat.
It also mainly depends on what you're going to be doing on the phone. If you do a lot of browsing, twitter, fb, YouTube and video watching, you should t hhave to upgrade till the end of this year at the earliest.
However as dual core phones become more popular (latter end of the year) more and more applications will be developed for a faster, more powerful phone.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App

msolus said:
Sell it if you really want the latest device. If you're just selling it because its going to lose value I wouldn't bother because that next latest device is going to lose value just as quick.
I'm happy with my Galaxy S. I will sell it when it apps start requiring more advanced hardware.. but I think that's a while off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Technology will never stop. When you'll buy SGS2 there will be SGS3, 4.... on the way. Never look at what others have or what's coming in the market. If you're satisfied with your device and its not giving you any troubles then it is just a waste of time & money to look for another thing. Why bother when you even don't need something better? SGS i9000 is almost a perfect smart phone. Be happy with it

Ah i would only Sell My Galaxy S if i need to buy S2 and only if i really have to use NFC..But being in INDIA i think it will be ages b4 NFC comes here . So No point selling .
My other suggestion would be HTC Desire S(just love the sense ui+this one has FF camera)..

msolus said:
Sell it if you really want the latest device. If you're just selling it because its going to lose value I wouldn't bother because that next latest device is going to lose value just as quick.
I'm happy with my Galaxy S. I will sell it when it apps start requiring more advanced hardware.. but I think that's a while off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
i'm thinking of keeping the i9000 because the SGS 2 it's not that advanced yes the 1 gig of ram looks good and that huge super screen but the gpu is not that big deal it's just slightly better than the i9000 an the same with the Optimus 2x even with that Tegra gpu THX to our awesome developers the galaxy s is twice as good then the stock ones i'll only replace it if i break the screen or something like that
LONG LIVE THE --- I9000 ---

i think end of 2011 middle 2012 phones will have this "Kal-El" AKA SUPERMAN GPU ( hahahahah)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPN3hHI9y-E&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkFWv3cFWEA

Currently i am nearly happy with my SGS after replacing original kernel with speedmod k13c, using ext4 lagfix, replacing homescreen with GO Launcher EX, adding GPS Aids to get better GPS fix. Only miss HID Bluetooth support.
Removed nearly all pre-installed software, Samsung is not good at software development i think. The screen is awesome (use Samsung monitors for years as well).
I hope for a perfect combination of features in a phone 2012 - the super phone will never be super for long
Cheers
Alex

[Q] What's the best Andoid phone to use with the NC (CM7)?

I have a four year old Blackberry Storm. I like the phone but it will not tether to my NC so I can use the phones internet.
Now I am looking for a new phone.
4G is not a required but it would be nice.
Suggestions?

Please tell us who your carrier is.
Sent from my NookColor using XDA App

Sorry, That would be a big help....
Verizon

The Samsung Galaxy S II
is rather sexy.
But there are alot of great choices out there.
4G would be a good choice in general. Tether it to your Nook and you can easily stream all the media you want to your Nook and enjoy media on the 7" screen.
The Galaxy S II is coming to Version in July
http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/08/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-said-to-be-verizon-bound-in-july/
Edit:
Oops, read the article closer, I guess Galaxy S II in July is not confirmed. read the update at the bottom of the article. Sorry.

Definitely...
The 3 best verizon phones out there are the:
Thunderbolt (HTC) Good speeds, android 2.3.4 with gingeritis (a rom) root, sense 3.0 on that rom, but bad battery life. 4G though.
Droid Incredible 2 (HTC) I believe its Froyo, but sense 2.1 on stock rom with good battery. 3g though.
Droid CHarge (Samsung) Bad UI, bad manufacture. Android is OK with the customizations. But 4G + Extremely good battery + tethering = awesome time with the Nook

Good battery life is a lot higher than streaming video. I almost never use my phone for this.
My phone is primarily for work. Email, phone, data.
I am a Submarine Combat Systems Electronic/Computer Engineer and I upload ton of Word/Excel files, PDF ect along with technical manuals and cheat sheets that I have developed myself to aid with any repairs that I have to do, in any part of the world. Having world phone coverage is NOT an issue. But the issue with that, is up until now 99% of all phone screens were too damn small.
The NC has fixed that issue.
I use Documents to Go on the Storm and now have it on the NC along with a bunch of other apps. I want to start to use my NC for email and such in conjunction with my new phone. Sometimes I get new schematics, PDF's etc emailed to me when I am out on some boat.
My long term goal is to make the phone and NC one integrated system. Transmitter/receiver on my belt, and NC in my hands.
Does this help?
Oh, rooting my new phone will have to be a must....
Thanks to all who have already responded.

ikingblack said:
The 3 best verizon phones out there are the:
Thunderbolt (HTC) Good speeds, android 2.3.4 with gingeritis (a rom) root, sense 3.0 on that rom, but bad battery life. 4G though.
Droid Incredible 2 (HTC) I believe its Froyo, but sense 2.1 on stock rom with good battery. 3g though.
Droid CHarge (Samsung) Bad UI, bad manufacture. Android is OK with the customizations. But 4G + Extremely good battery + tethering = awesome time with the Nook
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bad manufacturer? how so?
From the verizon porfolio, i would wait for more LTE phones to roll out. There is really nothing attractive coming out from them.

ph00ny said:
bad manufacturer? how so?
From the verizon porfolio, i would wait for more LTE phones to roll out. There is really nothing attractive coming out from them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never owned one, but the general consensus on this and most every other forum seems to be that Samsung is the worst manufacturer by a very large margin. I have heard various reasons why such as a horrible UI, bad build quality and extremely slow updates to current models. Having never owned one I can't confirm any of this but the XDA community as a whole seems to feel that Samsung phones are not a wise choice and I've learned never argue with them so I went HTC
Edit: Also do keep in mind that many newer phones are expected to have locked bootloaders. This means no custom ROMS or possibly no rooting... and that means that if you want tethering you will have to buy Verizons tethering plan. So, if you are wanting to do the free tethering provided by rooting your phone then you will want to make sure that whichever phone you buy can in fact be rooted! And in the case of many newer phones coming out this summer, that is very much in doubt I'm sad to say. But then again all these rumors may be just sky-is-falling panicky behavior by us newbs, the Chefs may be able to root and flash boot-locked phones in a month flat for all we know!

robertroland said:
I have never owned one, but the general consensus on this and most every other forum seems to be that Samsung is the worst manufacturer by a very large margin. I have heard various reasons why such as a horrible UI, bad build quality and extremely slow updates to current models. Having never owned one I can't confirm any of this but the XDA community as a whole seems to feel that Samsung phones are not a wise choice and I've learned never argue with them so I went HTC
Edit: Also do keep in mind that many newer phones are expected to have locked bootloaders. This means no custom ROMS or possibly no rooting... and that means that if you want tethering you will have to buy Verizons tethering plan. So, if you are wanting to do the free tethering provided by rooting your phone then you will want to make sure that whichever phone you buy can in fact be rooted! And in the case of many newer phones coming out this summer, that is very much in doubt I'm sad to say. But then again all these rumors may be just sky-is-falling panicky behavior by us newbs, the Chefs may be able to root and flash boot-locked phones in a month flat for all we know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Outside of the whole brand bias, general consensus including professional reviews are usually favorable for samsung's high end phones.
They did have some issues just like every other manufacturer and it may have seemed worse partially based on the fact that they had the single largest successful line up out of all the android handsets last year
Btw, galaxy s2 came with unlocked bootloader and received at least two updates since early may and 2.3.4 is supposedly under way. As for the carrier delayed roms, there is a real issue there when two identical devices on two different carriers ended up getting the froyo updates months apart.
Btw samsung released the gingerbread update before anyone else.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

ph00ny said:
Outside of the whole brand bias, general consensus including professional reviews are usually favorable for samsung's high end phones.
They did have some issues just like every other manufacturer and it may have seemed worse partially based on the fact that they had the single largest successful line up out of all the android handsets last year
Btw, galaxy s2 came with unlocked bootloader and received at least two updates since early may and 2.3.4 is supposedly under way. As for the carrier delayed roms, there is a real issue there when two identical devices on two different carriers ended up getting the froyo updates months apart.
Btw samsung released the gingerbread update before anyone else.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They also just sent free Samsung Galaxy S II's to many of the Cyanogenmod developers. Also, it seems that the trend NOW is that the manufacturers will be unlocking their bootloaders. (samsung has never locked theirs if I remember correctly)

Well that is good news. Maybe they are trying to buy their way back onto the XDA peoples good graces Hey as long as they have learned from their mistakes and are building quality phones now, nothing wrong with that! And I have no doubt that no matter what they buy the Devs, it won't get them any good press here that they don't deserve. Like I mentioned I never bought one. I've just heard hundreds of people posting about how "bad" they were for one reason or another. But I'm always glad to see another Android manufacturer step up their game, it's good for the community as a whole!

I have the Droid X and it play well with my NC using Wireless Tether.

I picked up a LG Revolution. Seems ok, but battery life is not great. Better than the Thunderbolt but still not great.
Using wireless tether on the phone, I was able to get my NC to the internet using Wi-Fi. Attempted Bluetooth tethering but that was a no go.
Thank to all for the recommendations.

my samsung galaxy s gt-i9000m is a fantastic bit of hardware that had lots of software issues that made out seem as though it was bad hardware. I found software fixes for everything that was wrong, e.g., microphone distortion, gps failure to lock, etc. & now it is a perfect device. Maybe HTC is better out of the box, but if you are a tweaker the galaxy is rewarding.

iolinux333 said:
my samsung galaxy s gt-i9000m is a fantastic bit of hardware that had lots of software issues that made out seem as though it was bad hardware. I found software fixes for everything that was wrong, e.g., microphone distortion, gps failure to lock, etc. & now it is a perfect device. Maybe HTC is better out of the box, but if you are a tweaker the galaxy is rewarding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10chars

Thunderbolt, Droid Charge are the best options. If 4G is not a must, the Droid X2 has a dual core.
They all will do what you want. Just different styles which is up to your personal tastes.
I have now had htc samsung and moto phones (all Android) and there are pros and cons. Just go to a store and see what feels best when you hold it.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt with Das Bamf 2.0

There really is no "best android" phone IMO. There are different needs for different reasons and people. You mention that you want to make them work seamlessly, blue tooth or tethering both will work. As long as the phone is rootable and a selection is there for apps to work together from phone to NC, then the simple answer is with phone do you prefer? I always make sure my phones have a battery that can be removed..screen is easy on eyes and I have a good feel for it. Currently using my EVO which is sprint for both my nook, transformer and when also my netbook. I might upgrade to the 3d and even thought about samsung galaxy 2..from what a friend of mine told me who has a samsung...flash CM in it becuase of the update issues..he is TMobile..

4g
Well
i use evo 4g with cm7 latest nightly to tether to my nc... it compliment each other....
Donny

I owned a galaxy s on tmo before. I liked it a lot. Very light, great screen, decent power. No build issues other than flaky GPS (vibrant version only?) Hard to brick for those who flash a lot. Problem with file system early on(due to proprietary fs), solved by roms. I actually unlocked it and still switch to it from my inspire4g. No locked bootloader.
But really, any android (that is unlocked bootloader) will work... its all about preferences.
Sent from my Apple IIe

hololight said:
Sent from my Apple IIe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you really still have a IIe? (yea, right) That would be awesome. I had two of them at one time...

Do you think the there are too many android phones

I really like my d3 but I feel like its old already with rumors of the d4 so quick and the samsung nexus coming out. It seems that the market is flooded with android phones. Even my friends that have the iphone ask " why are there so many android phones that come so quickly" and I agree with them. I love android and will always have one. When I read things that say android has the market share I can't but wonder if its do the the huge number of android phones. I wish google would grow a pair and stop this. I would love to see just a few android phones " all stock " come out and show people that don't reallly know what a stock android phone is. I think its moto and htc, and samsung messing it all up with there ui's. And because of this is why the d3 will get lost. And its a great phone. Their are a lot of great phones but you buy one and a month later 3 more that are faster bigger come out. The only good thing about all the phones is that they all try to out do the other. So the technology gets better faster. But I would love to see less and more stock phones. Im tiered of explaining moto blur to people. My friends that have the iphone are right when they say what's wrong with stock android that the manfactures have to hide it. They have a good point. But anyway I just thought this needed to be said and now I wait 8 months till my upgrade and then I will get my samsung nexus and im back on stock forever. Also I know that we have roms and your phone can be stock with these but its still not the same.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App

Google has little control over whether an OEM skins Android or not - Android is open source, and whuile I believe that they have specific requirements to get the Google market and apps, the OEMs are free to alter the framework. Of course, it is not the OEMs who simply make the phones - they are trying to sell to carriers, who also have specific demands for specific features (i.e., locked down bootloaders, so users will not be able to install apps that do things like offer hotspot service for free, plus carriers get money from software companies to pre-load specific software on the phones.) It is surely not Google who is controlling when specific makers are offering specific models (with the exception of the Nexus models.)
Google does contract with OEMs roughly once per year to make the Nexus devices, which are pure Android phones (Nexus One January 2010; Nexus S in December 2010; Nexus Prime November 2011.)
Are there too many phones? I would rather have too many great phones coming out frequently than too few phones coming out less frequently. Seriously, even with a Droid 4 coming out 6 months after a Droid 3 (if the release is indeed that tight), the Droid 3 hasn't suddenly become a terrible phone. It's a dual-core OMAP 1 GHz phone with 512 MB of RAM and a very high dpi high resolution display with reasonable battery life. This phone will remain usable for all of a typical 20 month Verizon contract commitment, just as the Droid Incredible remains entirely usable now 18 months or so after its first release.
That's my opinion, anyway. I think it's healthier to be happy that there are so many great phones pushing the envelope so frequently than the alternative - having to wait and try to guess the perfect time to upgrade to a new device. Choice can be hard, but I'd rather be able to choose between many, many models of cars than have Chevy, Ford, Toyota, etc. come out with a single model each every year.
Apple's way is very smart for them, but they do not have to compete with other OEMs making iOS phones. Android OEMs do need to be mindful of each other, and I think both ways are fine. If you are worried that too many phones are being released too fast, then by all means, switch to an iPhone and you'll be able to relax more, or simply buy whichever Nexus device is available at the time you are able or want to upgrade, as they are also now on an approximate yearly cycle. If you have to switch to another carrier to do so, that will surely send a message to the carrier that you are using that if they wanted to keep your business, they should have offered a Nexus device of their own.

Very good points. Just makes me a little mad that I get a phone and and one that I would rather have comes out a few months later. But then again I did not know that at the time. I just nee to maybe wait before jumping in. I do think that the samsung nexus will be the best selling phone of all time. I think that will send a measage to the carriers that stock it always better. I would like to think that stock it better now that 4.0 is out.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App

This is the point that technology is at man. Every company is going to make devices that cater to each type of person. These smartphones really haven't been out long if you think about it in relative terms. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years we start seeing the smartphones get narrowed down into a few types of droids and of course 1 or 2 ugly step cousins made by that Apple company.
So to answer your question, yea, there may be a big selection of phones out there and by the time you get used to using one it is already outdated, but that's part of the fun of being at the edge of how far technology has gotten us.

I don't think the problem lies with too many phones but personally I think the carriers and OEMs are taking way too much advantage over the position that they are in.
When I bought my OG Droid, I went with a one year contract because I knew that soon enough a new phone would be out to replace it. This turned out to be incorrect as that was when Android phones were still in their adolescence.
In July, when I finally decided it was time to upgrade to the Droid 3, Verizon no longer offered a one-year contract and there was no sign of a QWERTY slider coming out for awhile. So I felt confident in choosing the Droid 3...
Here I sit, 4 months into a 2-year contract, the Droid 4 is on the horizon and my only option when it comes out is to buy it at full non-subsidized price. Which brings me to my next point...
Why are the non-contract prices SO high for these devices?! The cost of production and materials cannot be THAT high to warrant such a price. Add in the fact that the Operating System (Minus Blur/Sense/Etc) is "free" (to an extent).
To me it just seems like if we want to go with a prepaid, non-contract carrier we have to pay a really high price for a good phone. But when we go to a contract carrier, we are stuck for two years (unless you pay $300+ to cancel the contract) and when a new device comes out we must simply ignore it or cough up $600-700.
Am I wrong or is this the truth? Pardon my rant.

I think Android phones are being released insanely fast. There was a time when I'd read about all of them but now it seems like 3-4 new phones are announced every damn day. And they're ALL the same. Dual-Core, 4G, Gingerbread.

Ya they are all the same for the most part. That's what I don't like. Just wish the carriers would slow down, and focuse on one or two phones. Just can't wait till my upgrade comes. Just afraid that the different ui's will be not be good for android. People need to know what android looks like. Its not blur or sense and those ui's slow phones down a bit aswell.
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spacecasespiff said:
Ya they are all the same for the most part. That's what I don't like. Just wish the carriers would slow down, and focuse on one or two phones. Just can't wait till my upgrade comes. Just afraid that the different ui's will be not be good for android. People need to know what android looks like. Its not blur or sense and those ui's slow phones down a bit aswell.
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Google needs to put it's foot down and say no more skins. Skins should come as flashable roms from Moto or HTC, etc.
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Androidsims said:
Google needs to put it's foot down and say no more skins. Skins should come as flashable roms from Moto or HTC, etc.
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No it doesn't. It completely goes against what makes Android so good. Developers like being able to brand their phones, something they can't do under Windows Phone and obviously IOS. Flashable roms would just be confusing and potentially unstable for the average consumer.

Ya but people don't know what android looks like because of these skins. People think that blur is android and its not. Goggle should at least tell then to have more phones that are stock. Why hide android? Most people put roms on there phones to get rid of the skins. I know that's what I do.
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spacecasespiff said:
Most people put roms on there phones to get rid of the skins.
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This is probably true of people who mod their phone, but definitely not true of Android users as a whole. I would guess that less then 10% of Android users actually mod their phones. While it's a small sample, out of the 9 people I know personally that own Android phones, only 2 of them have modded it, and they only did it because I did it for them because they complained of the phone being too slow (Droid 1's). Although both recently upgraded to iphones.
The bottom line is the majority of Android users don't care about what their phone looks like or what Android truly looks like. The same way I don't care about whats under the hood of my car. A car gets me from point A to point B, what makes that happen is irrelevant to me. All I care is if the car is visually appealing to me. And maybe more recently MPG, because of the cost of gas is so god damn high.

Well the nice thing is, as long as XDA exists then we will always have a more current phone. If my Droid 3 would have not crapped out on me because of the screen I would still be using it at 1 GHz with the latest Gingerbread. Once we figure out how to mod the D3 better and better and if we do ever get the unlocked bootloader then our phones will still be just as current as the Nexus Prime or whatever is newer and better.
The specs of this phone despite not being 4G are good because the CPU and RAM are up there with the currently released high end phones (except the RAZR). We already have some good custom ROMs out there and I'm sure we will get ICS soon enough thanks to Hash.
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MrObvious said:
Well the nice thing is, as long as XDA exists then we will always have a more current phone. If my Droid 3 would have not crapped out on me because of the screen I would still be using it at 1 GHz with the latest Gingerbread. Once we figure out how to mod the D3 better and better and if we do ever get the unlocked bootloader then our phones will still be just as current as the Nexus Prime or whatever is newer and better.
The specs of this phone despite not being 4G are good because the CPU and RAM are up there with the currently released high end phones (except the RAZR). We already have some good custom ROMs out there and I'm sure we will get ICS soon enough thanks to Hash.
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The processor is good but the RAM is definitely lacking. 512MB is just not enough, the phone with stock stuff installed has a pretty terrible multi-tasking experience. Honestly I think the 512 is the reason why Motorola hasn't flagged it for an ICS update yet, because other than that it's basically the same phone as the Bionic/Razr and probably wouldn't be too hard to port.

i4mt3hwin said:
The processor is good but the RAM is definitely lacking. 512MB is just not enough, the phone with stock stuff installed has a pretty terrible multi-tasking experience. Honestly I think the 512 is the reason why Motorola hasn't flagged it for an ICS update yet, because other than that it's basically the same phone as the Bionic/Razr and probably wouldn't be too hard to port.
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No the software is just that bad.

i4mt3hwin said:
The processor is good but the RAM is definitely lacking. 512MB is just not enough, the phone with stock stuff installed has a pretty terrible multi-tasking experience. Honestly I think the 512 is the reason why Motorola hasn't flagged it for an ICS update yet, because other than that it's basically the same phone as the Bionic/Razr and probably wouldn't be too hard to port.
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512 MB will be fine for ICS, I am sure, as the Nexus S will be getting ICS with worse specs than the D3 (i.e., single-core CPU).
It's very possible that Moto and/or VZW will not want to take the time to develop ICS for the D3, or push it out, but it won't be because it has "only" 512 MB of RAM.

doogald said:
512 MB will be fine for ICS, I am sure, as the Nexus S will be getting ICS with worse specs than the D3 (i.e., single-core CPU).
It's very possible that Moto and/or VZW will not want to take the time to develop ICS for the D3, or push it out, but it won't be because it has "only" 512 MB of RAM.
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The Nexus S doesn't have a ton of bloatware on it. Verizon will have to port all the applications that are stock loaded with the Droid 3 2.3.4 build over to ICS. I'm going to go ahead and assume that ICS probably uses more RAM than gingerbread. Couple that with the crap software Verizon loads on the phone and there is definitely a case for ram being an issue. I mean the stock phone blows as is, run maps and music and it slows to a crawl.

I think the over abundance of Android phones can be disheartening at first glance, but when you think about it, remember back a few years to when the original razr was the hot phone. After owning it for two years, you go in to get an upgrade to find that the best phone on the market is still a razr, but now it can play mp3s. If you use your head, you realize that all of these people who are worried about having the latest and greatest phone and go out to buy it as it is released still have a perfectly good "last month" phone. Hello Ebay. I saved my upgrade and bought a one month old D3 off ebay for $300. Use your upgrades when the RIGHT phone comes out, until then pick up the scraps from ebay at half price. Remember, even a used phone from ebay still carries a mfg warranty.
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I agree with OP that there are too many Android phones and not enough variety. i think the main difference is that while the iPhone was originally locked to one market, Android phones were everywhere. Each carrier had their own version of each phone made by each manufacturer, not to mention their individual contracts for certain phones that ended up getting out to other carriers eventually (i.e. Evo). My issue is there isn't much variety, yeah they have small upgrades here and there and small differences but the main thing is once a 1ghz 4.3" screen came out, every company made one. Once dual core came out, every company made one. Not much innovation imo, just keeping up with the competition. And I still don't understand why there are barely any QWERTY keyboards, another reason why it seems like most of the phones coming out are the same.
For me it all has began to come down to the looks department. I know I want a QWERTY so i had limited options, but even if it was an all touch screen you look for one that you can live with looking at every day and bite the bullet. Chances are everyone else will have one with similar specs just different body design.

[Q] What's next? Life after the Captivate...

I figure many of us are facing the same dilemma here...
Like many of you, the Captivate was my first Android phone. Being an AT&T customer, it was my (our) only choice back in the summer of 2010 and I (we) jumped on it and, besides some ocassional frustrations, haven't looked back since (other than "GPS-Gate", I've (we've) been extremely happy with the "Cappy").
In March I'll (we'll) be eligible for an upgrade with AT&T and I'm (we're) starting to wrestle with the question of what to do next...
Should I (we) stay loyal to AT&T and see what phones they have available/will soon be availble? The SGSII (Skyrocket) looks good, but there's bound to be something new available in a couple of months.
Or, should I (we) jump ship to another carrier (Verizon, T-Mo, Sprint) and have an even better selection of phones to choose from?
So, do any of you have any suggestions or advice? What are you going to do when your contract is up with AT&T? Is Verizon, T-Mobile, or "insert-carrier-name-here" a better carrier to be with (pricing, selection, service, coverage, etc.) than AT&T? Anyone have any experience with the other carriers you could share? Or, is it best to sit tight until after February and see what new phones are on the horizon (SGSIII, something else)???
Ultimately, the plan is to do something within the next 3 to 6 months...just not sure what the right move would be.
I (we) thank you for your comments/thoughts/advice/other!

I keep hoping for the Galaxy Nexus, but its not looking too promising. Of whats coming out as of now what I like the best, and what I find the most intriguing is the Sony Xperia Ion. 1.6 dual-core, 12MP camera, 4.7 inch "Bravia HD" LED backlit LCD. Build quality is supposedly worlds ahead of current Xperias. Its the new phone to usher in a new era of "Sony" phones, no more "sony ericsson". Oh and its playstation certified too, and this will blow your mind, a DEDICATED CAMERA BUTTON! I really don't get how manufacturers are so forgetful to include this one useful button.
Hope that helps. there is one downside to this phone however. Its running gingerbread. I was really hoping to see some newer ICS phones with no buttons at CES, but sadly they were all gingerbread. I don't get this really. Its like if HP released a whole line of laptops with Vista on them! Honestly we all know now after 2 years don't buy an android phone with an outdated version of the OS that promises an "upgrade" because you'll be waiting a while, in fact by the time you get your update, it'll be outdated itsself. Me personally I know next I'd like to get a phone I can leave stock and be happy with it, so I'd prefer to have something with ICS pre-installed on it. But as for the Xperia Ion, its still a bit before its released from my understanding, and the one they had at CES was pre-production and actually had ericsson branding on it, so maybe they'll update it before it launches.

I'm looking at that galaxy note personally. Its rumored to be released on Feb 18 here in the states, I'm probably going to wait for mobile congress convention that happens late in Feb because quite a few new phones should be released.
As for carriers I think they are all pretty much the same. Sprint won't have unlimited once they go lte so it will be just like att and Verizon and such
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LOL no offense but I gotta ask it, why does anyone want such a gigantic phone that won't fit comfortably in your pocket?

SGS III FTW.... Wait for that!

MWC 2012 is near, wait for it. I won't go 2year contract this time.

As for me, if a phone has Mms, Phone and GPS, it's enough.But the GPS of Captivate in china is not promising. It can only be accurate to 10m in China. So i also wanna change a phone in several months. My first Android phone is Milestone.Its GPS is excellent. So i may choose Motorola. But as we all know, the screen is worse. It's not cool. I also feel puzzled.

Well being 6'4 makes the note not that big and it will fit just fine in any pants that I wear.
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I have the exact same problem but even worse, I am eligible right now! I have to stay on AT&T because it is what my company uses. My cappy is actually running really nice right now on Saurom KK4 so I can hold on if I must. A couple people at work have the Skyrocket and it is nice but I am very hesitant to get a Touchwiz phone on AT&T again as the update delays are ridiculous. I also have a Xoom which is a GED and nice to have vanilla ICS already. I would love a Nexus but don't see that out will ever come to this carrier. At this point I am waiting to see what the Skyrocket HD looks like. I can't wait for the GS3 because even if it will be announced soon we all know how long it will take to come here. I work with someone with an imported Note and it is really nice but a little too big considering I also have a tablet. I just don't get exited about any other phones but I really want a new gadget. Quite the dilemma...
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

I've been converted
Waiting for Lumia 900. I've been converted and promised my kids the Captivate so I don't have to buy them an ipod.

After getting somewhat burned by the Captivate, is anyone hesitant to get another Samsung phone? Also, if you're waiting for the SGS3, are you concerned at all about getting it right after launch without letting it get "tested" in the marketplace first? I mean, we know what it felt like to be early-adopters with the Captivate and having the accompanying headaches that came as a result... Not sure I'm in a hurry to be in that position again (actually, I just got the Asus Transformer Prime and I'm now having a new set of GPS issues)...
Also, I suppose we'll have to just wait and see, but has anyone heard rumors of any Samsung-killers being announced next month?
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I am waiting for a 4" 300 ppi non-pentile phone.
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My contract is up in March as well. SGS2 is nice, but when I get it, it'll already be several months old so I'm going to try looking forward and perhaps waiting. We'll see when March comes around. I've been happy with my Captivate but I'd really like a phone where GPS worked and something I'd be happy with just root and not have to resort to other ROMs to be satisfied with.

flash SGS ICS RC. Gps works amazing now.

TRusselo said:
flash SGS ICS RC. Gps works amazing now.
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Click to collapse
Are you talking any ics build or a specific rom
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fiveoneooo said:
Are you talking any ics build or a specific rom
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I don't know which ROM he's referring to specifically, but I'm on TeamHacksung's ICS (Build 15). The GPS locks on sooo quickly and is fairly accurate to boot. It's definitely breathed new life into my Cap and it'll make it easier to wait until March for a new phone.
As for the OP's question, I will say that I'm not sure, but these seem to be my options so far:
Galaxy Note: It's nice spec-wise, but I'm going to have to play with it in person to see if I can handle a 5.3" phone. No phallic jokes please
Galaxy Nexus: I know we don't have a release date, but there is always the (expensive) option of buying the international version. After getting burned by Samsung/AT&T's incredibly delayed updates, I'm finding I really want a stock Google experience, especially with ICS out now. There are always the amazing devs to turn to, but it can be a frustrating experience sometimes.
ASUS PadFone: A phone that also plugs into a tablet form factor? YES, please! Unfortunately, no release date or carrier announcement, but I would jump on this in a second.
SGS 2 or Skyrocket: While these are "old" tech, they're still really nice dual core phones. I think the jump from single to dual will be a lot more noticeable than dual to quad in terms of experience. Plus they should be even cheaper by the time I upgrade and the dev support (for the SGS2, at least) is awesome.
Jump to another carrier: unfortunately, AT&T gives the best company discount for me, so jumping carriers isn't really an option, but you never know.
Other phone: I'll probably end up researching other phones, but I've been partial to Samsung just because they do make great phones. But I won't rule out something amazing coming from Sony/HTC/Asus in the next few months.
So in short, I have no idea!

After a year and a half with the original cappy, I've moved on to the Captivate Glide because I like physical keyboards. I am considering the Note depending on what I hear when its released, but I also plan to wait for the SGS III before making a decision on my next phone.

I have one of the first build Cappy's and I've LOVED every min of owning it. I know the time is coming soon for me too. I'll be staying with AT&T, I've been really happy with the service here in Seattle. There are 3 devices that have my eye. The Sony Ion, The SGSIII, and the Nexus Prime. All of which have some amazing specs.
In my opinion, Samsung had some issues with the GPS, and, (IMHO) had some bad timing on the software releases. Honestly that didn't really affect me much, I ran custom ROM's from the moment they were released, and regardless of which device I choose, I'll do the same with it. I've run Froyo/GB and now ICS as soon as the dev's did their magic. And will ALWAYS do the same whichever device I choose. Actually, I just might choose a device the stands to get amazing dev response just for the longevity
---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 PM ----------
gattman said:
After a year and a half with the original cappy, I've moved on to the Captivate Glide because I like physical keyboards. I am considering the Note depending on what I hear when its released, but I also plan to wait for the SGS III before making a decision on my next phone.
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I hear the Note is scheduled for release Feb 18 to AT&T

I personally think the Galaxy Note would be heavenly . I don't use my cappy as a phone but more as a pmp (personal media player) and think a 5" pmp would be heaven.
Sent from Monster Droid

isn't the skyrocket hd a rebadged nexus.
the specs look the same.