Team-BHP - Android Thread: Phones / Apps / Mods

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluengel180 (Post 2677032)

Future - proof yourself with a dual core phone. here are two within your budget

Amazon.com: Motorola Atrix Unlocked 4G Cell Phone with Android 2.2 OS. 4-inch HD touchscreen: Cell Phones & Accessories

Amazon.com: LG P990EUBLK Optimus 2X Android Smartphone with 8 MP Camera, Touchscreen, Dual Core Processor and Wi-Fi - No Warranty - Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

Make sure its a GSM "unlocked" phone and it will work here in India. (though CDMA non-contract phones work too if you're willing to port over to an Indian CDMA carrier)

MAKE SURE that you dont buy a T-mobile branded or a Tmobile variant of the phone you wish to buy.If you do 3G wont work here in India

The Atrix you've mentioned starts from 470 USD by reputed sellers, I don't want to buy from unknown sellers. And the LG is no warranty phone, I don't want to take any chances.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HighOctane (Post 2677208)

I would suggest you to have a look at Sony Ericsson Neo V and LG Optimus 2 which comes in your budget and those are among best single core android smart phones. Neo V will get official ICS update which is future proof and LG can have ICS from devs.
Not sure on unlocked Nexus with warranty, Usually I dont frust ebay dealers and ebay does not take any responsibility on transactions.

I'll take a look at those. Xperia Neo V seems a very good option at the price. Thanks.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Gandhi (Post 2678080)

The Atrix you've mentioned starts from 470 USD by reputed sellers, I don't want to buy from unknown sellers. And the LG is no warranty phone, I don't want to take any chances.

Anyway if you are looking to buy from the US these phones will be locally available for around 350 ish

As for the warranty it wont be valid in india even if you have one .

And the 1ghz phones are really not future proof, sure they'll be able to run ICS like the current entry level phones run gingerbread. but nothing beyond that.Dual core phones will atleast run the next google OS

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluengel180 (Post 2678107)

I've claimed US warranties in India previously (you just have to be firm about it).

Neo V looks good too except for very low internal memory, just 200mb available to user. That's a deal breaker for me. I don't really want to flash custom ROMs etc but still want lots of apps/customizations installed on my phone (my poor XCD35 right now has 100+ apps installed).

It's back to Galaxy SL vs Nexus S with Nexus leading.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gandhi (Post 2678123)

How about the motorola defy+ huge internal storage as well as a dev community backing it up.
The sony neo is great as a phone and more polished. but its fragile and you cant tinker with it too much

Now this has been a debate with me and my friends for some time now. Before I start the discussion let me be frank I am only talking about Android here.
So Apple fanboys please excuse.

I have been an advocate of buying a good Android phone (around 15K) along with a decent Android Tablet (around 20K).
This against buying a high end Android mobile phone, like the Galaxy Note or Galaxy S2.. or some high end phone in Motorola or HTC ( the ones that are above 30K).

I believe that functions of Tablet cant be just mimicked by smart phones. So I believe in restricting functions of Smart phone to Facebook, Twitter, Office mails, general browsing etc. and for others I believe there should be a tablet like gaming, ebook reader, movie watching.
Now I know few would say there is a laptop to do this function, but hey its still has restricted freedom if one wants to play games or read ebooks etc.

So let me start this argument, which school of thought do you belong to.

Option A:
Buy a high end mobile: Like Samsung Galaxy S2 or Galaxy Note or Galaxy Nexus to do all in one OR

Option B:
Buy a decent Android phone, Galaxy Y or HTC Wildfire etc. And then buy a good Android Tablet. I am not talking of the likes of Galaxy Tab or Motorola Xoom. but some other decent tablets like Ainol or Coby ones.

Whats your verdict.

I would go with option A. I think tablets are still not that user friendly. They are just too big in size. Plus I do not want to carry around two things with me when I can have both of them...say in S2. Tablets do provide a better experience in browsing etc but apart from that -nothing in my view. As far as gaming is concerned, I would rather play games on my laptop or pc rather than on a tablet

I would go for option 1 as well!!! Why have the headache of carrying 2 gadgets when one will almost suffice to one''s needs. No matter what, I still feel tablets are not yet a totally practical option when a good high end mobile can do it all!!!

P.S - this comment comes from a hardcore Apple fanboy :D !

Frankly i feel that Android is its best on a tablet (Especially 3.0 and 4.0). An android tablet cannot be compared to a android phone, even though theoretically both can do the same stuff there are lot of things that a tablet does WAY better than a phone.

I was skeptical about tablets till i got my zoom.now it has completely replaced my laptop , something which my phone could not do.

Anyway even though getting a tablet makes sense you should not spoil your android experience by settling for a low/mid range phone. i have moved up from low>mid>high and now i know that even though the value-for-money phones are VERY usable, the android "experience" bit is lacking. now that i have a pretty decent dual core phone i CANNOT use my other droids anymore. there is plenty of lag and out-of-the-box experience is pretty basic.

Get a tablet if you want, but don't skimp on the phone..OR the tablet

I would go with option B.

A decent android tablet for around 18-20k. This would take care of all my browsing, movies, apps and stuff while at home via wifi. Yes, i have a laptop but using a 7 inch tab is way more comfortable and portable too. Then go for a phone for around 10-12k to have android on the go.
4.3" and above mobiles are not easy to carry around, atleast not for me. Nor are they big enough for comfy browsing and movies.

I may be the odd one out here, but this works best for me :)

Option A would be my pick any day.

Am using the Galaxy S i9000 running Android 4.0. Honesty I have never felt the need for a tablet so far. Moreover my laptop usage has gone down by 50% after switching over to this Android.

As somebody has rightly pointed out please don't settle down for a lower spec android phone in case you choose option B.

How do you intend to plan your data usage in case you opt for plan B?

No Android experience is complete without wifi or 3g connectivity. Hence you may need two data connections depending on your need.

How about option C? Retain the fone whatever you have now. And switch over to a high end tablet. You may even use your tablet as a phone with a sleek Bluetooth earpiece? How does that sound?

Buy the best in the segment that you look for. It means a lot in the long run in terms of product support, resale etc.

My two cents!! Good luck :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gandhi (Post 2678123)

Am having Neo V its true that it has low internal memory. but even after having installed almost 35 APPs, my internal memory shows 182 Mb free, so i don't think it will be an issue. And am really loving the Facebook integration and the UI, it really great value for money phone and with HDMI out put its really best option. And yes the display is one of the best except the AMOLED display. And if you go by build quality also it stands better than Galaxy.