Database Develop

[Q] What phone is next for you?

I see 3 contenders, each has strengths and weaknesses [in no particular order]:
HTC One (M8)
Samsung Galaxy S5
Sony Xperia Z2
I'm not thrilled with the camera on the HTC One (M8), but overall I'm ok with HTC
and have been very happy and thankful for the support I've received on this forum,
I love my Vivid and it's still a great phone.
The S5 has a great camera, and all the other features that matter for me [SD card slot,
active community support, replaceable battery, strong environment resistance] ... BUT
I don't like KNOX and based on what I'm reading [and experiencing with my Samsung
Galaxy Note 10.1 - 2014 Edition tablet], that lockdown & strategy isn't going to go away
any time soon ... and may, for all intents and purposes, be 'insurmountable' without
giving up warranty support - which isn't OK with me, cuz I'm not made of money ...
On to the Sony ... seems like the specs are pretty good, perhaps lacking in onboard
memory [16Gb at the moment, I'd prefer 32Gb or 64Gb], good processors, decent design
and build quality ... but the community support seems thin [perhaps because Sony isn't
a huge player in the US? Perhaps because they're release cycle & adoption by big US
carriers is a lilttle thin & doesn't get as much press as HTC and Sammy? I don't know]
and I don't know how good the accessory market is for them ...
So the question is ... what phone is next for you, and how/why did you come to that
decision?
If it's one of these three, great ... if it's not, great ... because that may help me to see
options I have missed.
Thanks in advance for taking time to slog through my drivel.
-dmm

Trying to keep the expenses down, so to actually upgrade I am considering the Galaxy S4. The S5 is too expensive, HTC One does not have a replaceable battery, don't particularly like Sony these days.
Mind, I am still 3 months from upgrade time, and my mind is not set.

I replaced the Vivid with a Nexus 4. Comparing the early effort for custom roms Vivid vs Nexus, it was literally night and day. Waiting weeks/months to find a way to unlock the bootloader vs 2 minutes with the nexus.
I will never buy another carrier branded phone, nor a phone that is locked down. If I were to upgrade again, I would have to go with the Nexus 5. I might not get the bells, whistles and prestige of the lofty flagships, but for an Android buff like me, the open nature of the nexus line is priceless.

cmerlyn said:
Trying to keep the expenses down, so to actually upgrade I am considering the Galaxy S4. The S5 is too expensive, HTC One does not have a replaceable battery, don't particularly like Sony these days.
Mind, I am still 3 months from upgrade time, and my mind is not set.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was using Vivid in 2011, 2012.
In 2013, I was thinking between google edition i9505 and AT&T SHG-I337 for the upgrade Google edition came unlock but it was cost around $600 at that time. AT&T phone was network locked but it cost around $65 for upgrade with 2 years plan.
I went with AT&T SGH-I-337. I rooted the phone before I activated. After activation I installed the custom rom. The phone came with Android 4.2.2.
This month I installed the 4.4.2 custom rom (Golden eye 29, 30 then 31). I am very happy with S4 this way.
I am thinking of going for S5 after the developer find a way to tame the knox thingy.

[Q] Buying today... (?)

Hi guys and gals,
Looking for some advice from more experienced and wiser users such as yourselves.
My Z1 has just crapped out on me, meaning it took a huge fall and crapped itself all over the pavement.. Sigh...
As such, I'm in need of a new phone. As we all know the S6 and the M9 are up for grabs and in my country, the unlocked price between these and the Nexus 6 is pretty much the same.
So the question is, do I buy one of these or is the Nexus still a valid option?
I mean, the S6 has a beautiful display but Exynos stands for a very complicated third-party development theatre and Samsung has a ******ng horrible policy regarding upgrade cycles, screwing everyone and their pooch in the process.
As for the M9, while a fine device, it isn't Quad HD and I'm really hankering for one of those, Plus... It does have that shiny new 64bit SoC inside...
Do you guys still think that the 805 can hold it's own against this new breed of SoC's?
TIA.

baseline01 said:
Hi guys and gals,
Looking for some advice from more experienced and wiser users such as yourselves.
My Z1 has just crapped out on me, meaning it took a huge fall and crapped itself all over the pavement.. Sigh...
As such, I'm in need of a new phone. As we all know the S6 and the M9 are up for grabs and in my country, the unlocked price between these and the Nexus 6 is pretty much the same.
So the question is, do I buy one of these or is the Nexus still a valid option?
I mean, the S6 has a beautiful display but Exynos stands for a very complicated third-party development theatre and Samsung has a ******ng horrible policy regarding upgrade cycles, screwing everyone and their pooch in the process.
As for the M9, while a fine device, it isn't Quad HD and I'm really hankering for one of those, Plus... It does have that shiny new 64bit SoC inside...
Do you guys still think that the 805 can hold it's own against this new breed of Qualcomm SoC's?
TIA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, a bit of advice if I may. If you're waiting for something better, then you'll always be waiting. In my opinion, the Nexus is an amazing device but not in the same category as the other two you mentioned. This is a "phablet", meaning it is large. Much larger than either of the other phones you're considering. So take that as a factor in your decision. Also, the Nexus will get updates faster and probably for longer than those two. Just look at the likes of the Nexus 4 and 5. As for performance this device will continue to hold its own as it is pure, unskinned Android. Good luck with your choice but I recommend trying to get some " hands on" time with any device you're considering.

I just got the Nexus last Friday and I'm thrilled! N6 all day long :good:

Also just ordered this 64gb blue bad boy!

galaxys said:
Also just ordered this 64gb blue bad boy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been a Samsung Note user, the 2, 3, and recently the 4. Great phones, but i was on ATT and the 4 is totally locked. I just couldn't stand touchwiz anymore. Not that it was bad, but i was tired of not having the ability to install or delete whatever i wanted on my phone.
I gave up the Note 4 for the N6. The N6 doesn't have quite as nice of a screen, and it doesn't get as bright for direct sun, or as low in complete darkness. Other then that i couldn't be happier. I find that having the flexibility to do what i want is far better then being locked into a device and it's software.
I think for each person it's very personal choice about what they want to do with the device they are buying.

Got my N6 9 days ago, unlocked bootloader, updated to Android 5.1, and rooted the phone right away.
N6 is great.
My previous phone was HTC Vivid (4.7 inches) -- now the 4.7 inch phone looks too small.
Edit: I always wanted to have a Nexus device, since it is very easy to unlock its bootloader, and root the device.
I bought my Nexus 6 from amazon.com, so no AT&T traces anywhere on the phone No, AT&T bloatware either.
You can install android updates (it you need to) without any delay.
Also, by the end of my day, N6 battery shows 67% residual charge.

Thanks for all the input guys.
Pulled the trigger today and it's quite an imposing device.
Fiddled around with the S6 on the store and I must say that I walked away thoroughly unimpressed. The screen and feel of the device are difficult to fault but man... That touchwiz is really urghh!
In conclusion, the N6 was certainly a great choice.
Cheers.

Note 3 at the end of 2015, worth buying?

Hi guys,
Yesterday I hard bricked my GS4 trying to update it to marshmellow. The repair will cost $40 and this is after I spent $110 replacing the digitizer. I decided to give up on that device (It was getting a bit beat up anyway).
Walmart is currently selling the ATT version for $250. I bought it but now I am wondering if it is still worth the value now (late 2015). The S4 was starting to show its age especially with the bloatware which is why I was attempting to upgrade the OS. What better place to ask this than a forum full of tech geeks like me who have actually used the device!
So, what do you guys say? Is it worth it now to buy as a daily driver? What do you guys think of the cost? How is the custom rom community? I saw that Samsung EOLed it at 5.0 but what are the chances custom roms will keep going for a few more versions? I have just started to browse this section of xda. The S4 was a hassle especially if people accidentally upgraded it to Lollipop. I know I followed the directions to a T but I still go the hard brick so I am hesitant to attempt to mess around with a Samsung device again.
If anyone has experience with the S4, how is the experience compared to it?
Sorry if this stuff was recently asked, I just quickly browsed the front page of this section

It is an excellent device. The only thing that bothers me is the size. My personal opinion: Debatably, even the latest gen devices haven't added much value to the daily use factors(speed, screen quality etc). A little bit, yes. But not a lot. You can compare the devices and see it yourself. I don't need to upgrade the device. My hands are relatively smaller, so the size matters especially considering the case etc. Otherwise Note 3 is a solid device. Ofcourse root and get rid of the crapware if you running stock rom. You will be happy you did.
FYI to give you an idea about the price: In 2014, i bought a "certified like new" from att for 270 + taxes + activation without contract. It was really new except for the brown box it came in.
Again, My Personal opinion: Just got a OnePlus X for my wife. Only $267 including shipping. Good specs, 1080P screen , snapD 801 processor, thinner, lighter and handy compared to iphone or GS 6. In short Love it.

For me size doesn't matter since I am 6'2" with giant hands. I bought my mom the original OPO and she liked it. The only thing I feel like I would be missing out on are the fingerprint readers but those are currently only on the high end devices right now which I can't afford yet.

Note 3 is indeed a great phone/device you can have but in the mean time you can have too many other comparatively new devices in the same range of bucks, then why go back to 2013 while in my opinion you can buy some MOTO, LG, Asus, and a lot of Chinese flagship devices in that range or just a little more up on. I would suggest you Note 3. And i would never bought it if i was in your place. (worthy mention that i have one AT&T's N900A) but my situation is quite different, i have bought it (used one) almost 9 months ago and that too here in Pakistan where most of the new devices are either out of my range or not at all available here.

Hell yes. I wont upgrade cause I know I wont like my nextphone as much as my note 3. Its a tough phone. Ive bootlooped and softbricked this thing so many times and it just keeps getting better. I broke the screen once and mailed out for it to savea couple hundred and do it myself and now have half n900a and half n900t. I know. Just the carriers. I might just get another note 3 when this one dies.

IMPORTANT :No hope for Galaxy A8+ owners who don't get OEM UNLOCK in DEV OPTIONS..!!!

I had been a month and around 10 days user/owner of the GALAXY A8+ phone, and though I loved the phone and everything in it, I would like to share my SORRY and APOLOGETIC feelings for all the Samsung Galaxy Series owners, that if you open up your phones, enable the DEV OPTIONS, and didn't get the OEM UNLOCK option, trust me, after 40 days of waiting and trying as a former but recent GALAXY A8+ owner, there is 100% guarantee that you will never get it visible, no matter what you do, how much days you keep the device turned ON without rebooting, if your phones are EXYNOS or SNAPDRAGON CPU based variants, what or any kind of ROM you flash. It will never be visible. Because the big ******* SAMMY doesn't want you to open up your device's BL and root it and do whatever you might want to as in case of an ANDROID DEVELOPER.
So I sold my GALAXY A8+ yesterday and I am going for XPERIA XA2 ULTRA, where SONY does respect the free choice of either UNLOCKING or keeping the BL LOCKED. They don't go around dictating what owners of their SMARTPHONES can and cannot do.
SONY IS THE BEST.:good:

noob_coder said:
I had been a month and around 10 days user/owner of the GALAXY A8+ phone, and though I loved the phone and everything in it, I would like to share my SORRY and APOLOGETIC feelings for all the Samsung Galaxy Series owners, that if you open up your phones, enable the DEV OPTIONS, and didn't get the OEM UNLOCK option, trust me, after 40 days of waiting and trying as a former but recent GALAXY A8+ owner, there is 100% guarantee that you will never get it visible, no matter what you do, how much days you keep the device turned ON without rebooting, if your phones are EXYNOS or SNAPDRAGON CPU based variants, what or any kind of ROM you flash. It will never be visible. Because the big ******* SAMMY doesn't want you to open up your device's BL and root it and do whatever you might want to as in case of an ANDROID DEVELOPER.
So I sold my GALAXY A8+ yesterday and I am going for XPERIA XA2 ULTRA, where SONY does respect the free choice of either UNLOCKING or keeping the BL LOCKED. They don't go around dictating what owners of their SMARTPHONES can and cannot do.
SONY IS THE BEST.:good:
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Click to collapse
Root the Sony is difficult too I pass on that one and got this one I have been rooted since day one.
You should have gotten a one plus the development for is a lot.
Sent from my SM-A730F using xda premium

mchlbenner said:
Root the Sony is difficult too I pass on that one and got this one I have been rooted since day one.
You should have gotten a one plus the development for is a lot.
Sent from my SM-A730F using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had 3 different Xperia phones since 2014 until 2016 and I never had any problem rooting them. It took sometime for my first Xperia phone but then it became so easy for me that I would root my next 2 Xperia Phones in just a matter of a single day. Infact SONY officially promotes and welcomes unlocking the BL on their smartphones for the sake of Development community. Unlike this b****y SAMSUNG and LG policy of blocking the BL UNLOCKING and not allowing OEM UNLOCKING by built-in hardware securty functions.
I will never go back to SAMSUNG and LG again.

Exynos and Verizon

Oh darn, I cracked my S8 screen, time for a new phone! I didn't have the Exynos S8, so I was never able to root this phone, and I miss it desperately. I'm probably going to buy an S10 or maybe S20, and it looks like there's still no Snapdragon root. My question is - is there any drawback to getting an Exynos version, and does it place nice with Verizon? Are all international versions Exynos? What search terms do I have to use to verify that I'm getting an Exynos version? Basically - is there any reason not to get an Exynos S10? Is there an Exynos version of all of the S10 phones (S10, S10+, S10 Ultra)?

I have been Rooting Samsung Galaxy's since the S6.
My friend owns several independent phone stores.
We have tried virtually every provider out there.
Prior to owning Samsung Galaxys I WAS an iphone owner. (My very last iphone was a 5.)
I always Jailbroke the iphones and the reason I stopped purchasing was the price...
So, what I have found out about buying and rooting Samsungs is this:
I don't believe you will get the performance of a U.S . phone when you purchase a EXYNOS.
My belief is due to the fact that you won't have the same bands available to you vs the American version. If you can live with less connectivity then go ahead and make your purchase.
Additionally, the whole process of Rooting a Samsung Exynos phone is complicated. You are not likely to Hard Brick the phone, but be prepared to spend time on XDA solving your problems.
Because of my background in Computer Systems Analysis, and due to the fact that I am patient and willing to ask the questions, plus read through an entire blog listing for the specific download, I have been successful...but to what end? When I think about the time spent, aggravation, etc., there is a diminishing loss ... currently running S10e EXYNOS Rooted with TWRP
Look for the SM-G970F SM-G973F SM-G975F versions which are EXYNOS

Thanks, although that's disappointing. I don't mind the technical stuff, I've rooted every phone prior to my s8, and I don't mind a challenge, I've softbricked plenty of phones, but haven't hard bricked one yet. I've done IT stuff my whole life, so if it's not actively on fire, it's still fixable, and I learn stuff in the process.
But from your reply and doing a lot of reading, it does seem like Exynos would be a significant performance hit. I'm really stubborn about things being open source and hardware being hackable, and my biggest reason for rooting is simply because I should be able to on principle, and I have daddy issues and don't like being told what to do, lol. I'll have to balance that with the performance/connectivity hit.
I'm assuming it's the same deal with the note line? Exynos is the only thing rootable and is significantly slower? Phooey. I've been using Samsung galaxies for the last 8 years or so, maybe I should look into the Pixel? I think that's the only other comparable Verizon phone?

uberpippi said:
Thanks, although that's disappointing. I don't mind the technical stuff, I've rooted every phone prior to my s8, and I don't mind a challenge, I've softbricked plenty of phones, but haven't hard bricked one yet. I've done IT stuff my whole life, so if it's not actively on fire, it's still fixable, and I learn stuff in the process.
But from your reply and doing a lot of reading, it does seem like Exynos would be a significant performance hit. I'm really stubborn about things being open source and hardware being hackable, and my biggest reason for rooting is simply because I should be able to on principle, and I have daddy issues and don't like being told what to do, lol. I'll have to balance that with the performance/connectivity hit.
I'm assuming it's the same deal with the note line? Exynos is the only thing rootable and is significantly slower? Phooey. I've been using Samsung galaxies for the last 8 years or so, maybe I should look into the Pixel? I think that's the only other comparable Verizon phone?
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Actually its not the same. I just switched to Note 10+ Exynos and the performance is extraordinary! I havent rooted it yet, but out of the box everything is fast, including uploads of pics. I went to the Plus because of the higher resolution & 12GB memory + MicroSD Capability.