so im getting ready to switch carriers and was wondering what the best phone is to get i really like the galaxy series but with the new ones that are coming out and being unable to take out the battery and the bootloaders locked and the incapability to put a sim card in and everything else i really dont think ill be sticking with them (although with the changing of carriers the bootloaders may not be locked idk who were gunna switch to yet) but which phone has the most customizability and developers and good camera quality and is fast for gaming?
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Can anyone suggest a phone that is comparable (diversity of different operating systems/ROMS, running ROM from the SD card etc...) on the ATT network.
Sadly!!! I need to switch from T mobile to ATT (or in a worse case scenario, to Verizon, due to work and reception problems).
I would love to have my HD2, but it is really not designed for ATT/verizon.
I really liked having the choice to run windows or load android from the SD card!!!
I can keep upgrading to the latest android ROM. Just having the freedom to chose was giving me a blissful feeling that I am going to miss if I can't find a comparable phone.
You won't find another one like the HD2 for ATT or Verizon. Unless you can find a Telstra HD2 which can then be used for ATT 3G.
In a way you're lucky. AT&T is the only other carrier where you have this flexibility since the Leo is the only handset with this flexibility.
Search eBay for "t9193" You'll find what you're looking for. You'll also find they're not cheap. I'm going to be getting rid of mine soon as I've settled on Android I don't need that flexibility offered by the Leo anymore. I've moved to the Inspire from the Leo, and while I've grown attached to it, the time is now to move on.
Get a galaxy s 2. xD
Kailkti said:
Get a galaxy s 2. xD
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me too >______<
I tend to prefer my next phone to be a THC phone. Just because I would expect more consistency between software and I would think that most programs tend to be designed with HTC phones in mind. I had Toshiba phone and a lot of the software never worked well with (accelerometer, video etc...).
Although I am not sure if my assessment is correct, I am being cautious when spending a few hundred dollars on a phone.
Okie. Well there's not telling if there's gonna be a sensation with a T&t's 3g bands so Iunno. Plus we don't know if HTC will give an update to unlock the sensation's bootloader. You could try the inspire 4g or a canadian desire z though.
Just to note, if you're paranoid about samsung updating, they're one of the best, if you haven't noticed, comparable to HTC, seeing as how the galaxy s got gingerbread so fast, before HTC even delivered gingerbread to any of their phones.
And read some reviews of it then. Maybe you'll get inspired.
And no, most apps are not designed with HTC in mind, if a developer thought like that, then he'd be in trouble. Most apps are designed to bode with all sorts of phones/processors.
I have a chance to get a Droid X in "mint" condition today for about $75 and I'm considering it, but I wanted to ask a few basic questions that I wanted to just consolidate into one post instead of dropping questions all over the place in various threads. I did spend a few hours doing thread research and reading here and HowardForums and the Rootzwiki (and Cyanogenmod as well) so here goes:
- I'm assuming the bootloader is still locked on the Droid X as I see/saw threads with people doing a petition (like that's gonna change anything), so what exactly does that mean for the Droid X overall - I see some custom ROMs available so I'm confused: I thought having a locked bootloader meant you couldn't have custom ROMs or, are they all running from the microSD card?
- for anyone that bought a Droid X and used the stock ROM(s) from Verizon, does using a custom ROM (if you do so) help the battery life at all, and to what degree (and how bad/good is/was the stock ROM battery life anyway?)?
- I saw mention of ICS in several instances, and also along with some ROMs but, there doesn't seem to be a full fledged ICS ROM available (or is Liberty just such a thing?) so, are the chances high that ICS will never be fully fleshed out for the Droid X? I think I saw mention that there's "some" ROM now with ICS features but isn't the full fledged build, and that the camera doesn't work at all... just hoping for clarification on this. If it's an issue of "at some point we'll have ICS working proper, completely" then I suppose it's worth taking a chance now.
- Last question: would people think that $75 for a Droid X in near "mint" condition (seller's comment, haven't actually held it in my hand yet), a memory card (unknown size but most likely the stock 2GB card), and the charger/USB card is a somewhat decent deal? I've gone through several HD2's over the years and run all sorts of OSes on it, and while it arguably is the best damned enthusiast phone ever created, I am currently on the lookout for something different - can't afford a brand new dual core monster phone (I really want that Samsung Galaxy Note but it'll probably never happen).
While the Droid X is getting older, it seems like it's still a somewhat useful device overall so I'm really leaning towards getting this.
Any advice, info, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Edit: the X came with a 16gb [not 2]card, btw...so make sure to ask for that if you can.
br0adband said:
I have a chance to get a Droid X in "mint" condition today for about $75 and I'm considering it, but I wanted to ask a few basic questions that I wanted to just consolidate into one post instead of dropping questions all over the place in various threads. I did spend a few hours doing thread research and reading here and HowardForums and the Rootzwiki (and Cyanogenmod as well) so here goes:
- I'm assuming the bootloader is still locked on the Droid X as I see/saw threads with people doing a petition (like that's gonna change anything), so what exactly does that mean for the Droid X overall - I see some custom ROMs available so I'm confused: I thought having a locked bootloader meant you couldn't have custom ROMs or, are they all running from the microSD card?
- for anyone that bought a Droid X and used the stock ROM(s) from Verizon, does using a custom ROM (if you do so) help the battery life at all, and to what degree (and how bad/good is/was the stock ROM battery life anyway?)?
- I saw mention of ICS in several instances, and also along with some ROMs but, there doesn't seem to be a full fledged ICS ROM available (or is Liberty just such a thing?) so, are the chances high that ICS will never be fully fleshed out for the Droid X? I think I saw mention that there's "some" ROM now with ICS features but isn't the full fledged build, and that the camera doesn't work at all... just hoping for clarification on this. If it's an issue of "at some point we'll have ICS working proper, completely" then I suppose it's worth taking a chance now.
- Last question: would people think that $75 for a Droid X in near "mint" condition (seller's comment, haven't actually held it in my hand yet), a memory card (unknown size but most likely the stock 2GB card), and the charger/USB card is a somewhat decent deal? I've gone through several HD2's over the years and run all sorts of OSes on it, and while it arguably is the best damned enthusiast phone ever created, I am currently on the lookout for something different - can't afford a brand new dual core monster phone (I really want that Samsung Galaxy Note but it'll probably never happen).
While the Droid X is getting older, it seems like it's still a somewhat useful device overall so I'm really leaning towards getting this.
Any advice, info, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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A locked bootloader means no custom kernels...
But with the 2nd-init this means next to nothing that is negative for us.
We can run CM7, MIUI, and ICS.
These are 2nd-init roms that don't use any of Motorola's framework.
EncounterICS is definitely a daily driver rom...if you don't mind missing out on your camera.
This is the stock ICS experience.
Cm7 is fantastic.
Everything works.
Miui is fantastic.
Everything works.
Liberty and the other roms are 1st-init...meaning they use blur framework...and varying amounts of blur features...depending on the rom.
Battery?
On 2nd-init...we're at about stock levels.
1st-init may get slightly better than stock.
The X gets pretty darn decent battery life anyway...I wouldn't worry about it.
Our ICS ports might not have a working camera for quite some time...
But I'm sure they'll get there.
Is it a good buy?
I'd say yes.
The X has these features missing from the current top-tier phones...
4G
NFC
Front facing camera
Dual core.
We can even spoof the market into letting us download dual core games...
And overclock and use Chainfire3D to run said games.
It's a surprisingly nice phone...
If we had an unlocked bootloader...we'd have a fully functional ICS already.
But that's something for the devs to work on...and it really has no effect on us aside from a longer wait.
Check my sig for DX specific rom/root/tuts if you end up getting it.
Sorry for jumping all over the place...writing this on my phone!
Came with 16GB originally, really? Damn that would be nice, but I won't find out till later today when I meet to get my hands on it. That would be awesome if it was one of the original ones but, I don't want to get my hopes up for it. Hell, Fry's carries 16GB microSD cards under $20 most every day now so it's not like it'll be a lot of money to get one.
No worries about the jumping all over the place - I've been online since 1977 (seriously, at a whopping 50 baud!) so I can keep up with disjointed thoughts and whatever.
As for the "missing features" on top tier phones, none of those are relevant to me at all, as weird as that might sound. I'm in Las Vegas and we're fairly blanketed here for 4G coverage but, I think that kind of speed (when it works) for cell/smart phones is still just a gimmick but that's just me.
So a solid CM7 ROM might be the best for me to get started I suppose. The owner texted me earlier to set the meeting time (another few hours) and confirmed she did reset the phone to factory condition which iirc means it's at the Android screen which means it's waiting to be activated - can you or anyone else confirm that the old 4-corner trick will bypass that activation so I can get into it and verify everything works? I probably won't bother with the actual activation anytime soon unless I find some good local pricing here in my area, but being able to demo the phone and make sure everything works is an absolute must.
And thanks for the response, the info was very helpful.
I'd agree with ya there.
We've yet to get 4G in my area...but even connecting to WiFi loading web pages takes about the same time...not like I'm downloading 3gig torrents on my phone.
But yes, 4-corners works.
Edit: Do an esn check too.
I think there are online tools to do so.
Or possibly calling Verizon if need be.
Calling ##program will bring I believe...or check behind the battery.
(I'm actually on a loaner right now...getting my phone repaired through Best Buy...so I can't verify this.)
So I got the Droid X, it's in great condition but certainly not "mint" (people always say that and I don't think most know what mint actually implies - it should practically untouched by human hands).
Anyway, that CheckESNFree.com site says this one is clean and ready for activation so that's a plus, if that site is dependable of course. Always have to worry that someone would be creating a database of ESNs/ESIDs/IMEIs for some dastardly and nefarious purposes!!!
It's definitely a LOT snappier than my HD2 (listed in my sig) but it's also a slightly better internal architecture than the HD2 was, of course. Everything seems to function fine, not sure where to start so I'll much with it for the evening and see what gives. Came with a very tiny HTC 5V USB adapter, the original Motorola USB cable, and a separate USB charger as well.
Oh, and it does have the 16GB microSD card in it too.
I'm the admin/founder/owner of CheckESNFree.com
I can assure you that we do NOT log/store/record ESNs in any way shape or form.
We process roughly 14,000 ESNs per day, and we have a huge following of supporters, including places such as ReCellular, Gazelle, and FastLaneWireless.
Let me apologize for how horribly informed about phones I am even though my study is in a related industry (I'm a computer science undergrad), but I just don't understand all the different terms well enough to draw any proper conclusions as I research my way on getting a Galaxy S4. (I will be getting the Fido S4...so I'm guessing the i337?)
So let me get this straight:
Rooting gives you root access, as with any *-nux systems. So it means you'll have full control of your phone.
And as far as I can tell, only some variants of the S4 are root-able at the moment
Bootloader (lock/unlock) is whether or not you can put in a new (custom) firmware or not.
And so far, it looks like most variants are locked in terms of the bootloader.
Unlocking, I'm guessing in most occasions mean SIM-unlocked right?
What I don't understand is if a device is rooted and flashed with a new ROM. Does that effectively also unlock the sim lock?
Sorry for the weird questions and I know it doesn't seem like it's really S4 related, but I'll be getting an S4 soon so I thought it'll be a good idea to ask in here. More to the point, I'm worried about what it takes for me to get my new phone to the most potential. One thing I'm most concerned about is the SIM lock because there is a good chance I'll be traveling with this phone.
Thanks in advance for any answers.
In case you guys haven't figured it out yet, development, Imo, is dead. There isn't stable root, no rom development outside of slightly modded stuff to change your status bar and the most recent breakthrough was substratum... Which wasn't even meant for this phone but rather the s8 but it still works. Now I use and love substratum but I really want an aosp/pixel rom and stable root and Xposed but I don't think that any of this is coming ever. I could be wrong. But I'm tired of buying locked down Samsung devices because of this. This seems more like a rant but it's more of a psa to developers who wanna help the hopeless. Ya know?
RileyIssKing said:
In case you guys haven't figured it out yet, development, Imo, is dead. There isn't stable root, no rom development outside of slightly modded stuff to change your status bar and the most recent breakthrough was substratum... Which wasn't even meant for this phone but rather the s8 but it still works. Now I use and love substratum but I really want an aosp/pixel rom and stable root and Xposed but I don't think that any of this is coming ever. I could be wrong. But I'm tired of buying locked down Samsung devices because of this. This seems more like a rant but it's more of a psa to developers who wanna help the hopeless. Ya know?
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I purchased this phone coming from an Iphone 6Plus, thinking I could definitely obtain root on the most sold android phone still in use. Nope. Pretty disappointing as I think it may be the best phone ever made.
RileyIssKing said:
In case you guys haven't figured it out yet, development, Imo, is dead. There isn't stable root, no rom development outside of slightly modded stuff to change your status bar and the most recent breakthrough was substratum... Which wasn't even meant for this phone but rather the s8 but it still works. Now I use and love substratum but I really want an aosp/pixel rom and stable root and Xposed but I don't think that any of this is coming ever. I could be wrong. But I'm tired of buying locked down Samsung devices because of this. This seems more like a rant but it's more of a psa to developers who wanna help the hopeless. Ya know?
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I didn't do enough research before buying S7. Coming from Nexus 6p this is really foreign to me. I saw s7 had root but didn't look into the 2 different processors, all the different carriers (it doesn't matter on Nexus devices.)
Far as Development goes...its probably not going to happen unless someone finds a way to unlock the bootloader. Next best thing might be Safe Strap but afaik there's nothing in the works.
For now I'm making the best of it. I'm having a decent experience with the Eng kernel. Currently looking into the nonrooted Rom. My hope is I'll be able to make some changes (like installing viper) then switching to the stock boot.img and trying to make those changes stick. Supposedly it's possible but I'm still trying to get some guidance. Experimenting with this phone sucks because the process for root is pretty long then setting everything up THEN it might not work so back to square one.
Especially once done with purchase plan or contract (should you have one) and out of warranty. After that point, it's mine to do with as I please! (I know, should be able to do it whenever, but I'm playing by their rules for a minute.) So it's already BS for those who bought first few months and have paid off.
Personally, what is driving me crazy is battery drain. I'm running about 144k on AnTuTu, so no major complaints with performance, but plugging it in more than once a day sucks. Power drain when I'm not doing anything: sucks. I know it's all this useless crapware running in the background, even tho I killed some with Package Disabler Pro. Just addressing that would improve my mood. If AT&T is trying to ensure we'll all look very carefully at unlocked phones next time, they are doing a bang-up job.
Hi i'm thinking of getting the Verizon S8 during the black friday sale, my question is:
1. From people who own it is it generally a good phone and are y'all happy with it?
2. I saw the thread about rooting the US. Snapdragon version i'd like to know if there's anything different/would stop me from rooting since ill be getting it on Verizon? PS. ill be activating it on Verizon but buying it at BestBuy in case that makes a difference.
Thanks for your help
kelu1997 said:
Hi i'm thinking of getting the Verizon S8 during the black friday sale, my question is:
1. From people who own it is it generally a good phone and are y'all happy with it?
2. I saw the thread about rooting the US. Snapdragon version i'd like to know if there's anything different/would stop me from rooting since ill be getting it on Verizon? PS. ill be activating it on Verizon but buying it at BestBuy in case that makes a difference.
Thanks for your help
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Personally knowing what I know now I'd be looking at a different phone. These things are carrier owned locked bootloader with no unlock on the horizon. The root method sucks with it being so long and complicated, reminds of the Sony Xperia days. Plus you lose 20% battery and there's no fix because locked bootloader. The list can go on but why bother I think you'll get the point. Have fun
I would suggest you OnePlus 5T if you want root, custom roms ecc. But if you want a freaking georgous screen that stretches at it's maximum, a great camera, and overall great build and design I would suggest S8. I have not rooted it yet, and personally I don't find the need to do it. Regarding the looks I can change through substratum or through custom themes(which just install as a normal apk but change even the notification bar). As far as speed goes it is pretty good, been using it for 5months and never noticed a big lag that bothered me.
kelu1997 said:
Hi i'm thinking of getting the Verizon S8 during the black friday sale, my question is:
1. From people who own it is it generally a good phone and are y'all happy with it?
2. I saw the thread about rooting the US. Snapdragon version i'd like to know if there's anything different/would stop me from rooting since ill be getting it on Verizon? PS. ill be activating it on Verizon but buying it at BestBuy in case that makes a difference.
Thanks for your help
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It is a great phone, with an amazing screen, it´s super fast, has good batterylife and a great camera. All of it even with a stock Samsung ROM.
That said, if you are used to rooting your phones and installing different Custom ROMs and Mods, maybe the US S8 isn´t right for you. It´s a real hassle to root and it can only be charged to 80% after root. The ROM and Mod development is very slowly picking up with Flashfire, although I´m confident we will see some more ROMs in the future, since the installbase is quite big.
So, the Phone is great on it´s own, but I personally wouldn´t buy the US Version, if I would want to use Custom ROMs or Mods.
As everybody said its a great phone as it is . No need for root and custom roms . But if you are really into these things then don't buy it from any carrier .