Can't pick a new phone

[diogen]

I could be wrong, but unless you get the Nexus One you will have some sort of restrictions in terms of what can be installed.
Just look at the many discussions about installing 2.1 - you either wait or jailbreak. The later can be done with the iPhone, too...

Diogen.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I could be wrong, but unless you get the Nexus One you will have some sort of restrictions in terms of what can be installed.
Just look at the many discussions about installing 2.1 - you either wait or jailbreak. The later can be done with the iPhone, too...

Diogen.

Even on the Verizon Droid phone?

 

[diogen]

Sorry, I'm in Canada, don't know...

As a general rule, if you get a $500+ phone for less than half with a plan, it will (?) come with restrictions.
Whether they are justified or not, is a different topic...

Diogen.

 

[FunkyBoss]

I'll let you guys know what I think of the Incredible next week as I pre-ordered it yesterday.

 

[yourbeliefs]

Anyone know of any good phones that may be coming out this summer?

 

[iceturkee]

Anyone know of any good phones that may be coming out this summer?

which carrier?

 

[navychop]

Maybe the new iPhone!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Even on the Verizon Droid phone?

With a Moto Droid running stock 2.1 it is possible to root, but it is not as easy to do as it was with Droid 2.0.1, but if you root you are pretty much free to do whatever you want with it; run any custom rom, over-clock, tether, etc....

 

[yourbeliefs]

which carrier?

In order of preference:

1. AT&T (just because I'd prefer to not have to change providers, but this is NOT a deal-breaker by any means, as it looks like if I want a real Android phone I'll need to switch)
2. Verizon
3. Sprint
4. T-Mobile (Their coverage area is rather lacking for my tastes.)

 

[yourbeliefs]

Maybe the new iPhone!

I will keep my eye out on that. What I've read so far is rather appealing, but again, it will have to provide an OVERWHELMING case for me to pick it over a non-Apple phone. Still, I'm not going to deny myself the "best" phone over a petty grudge that no one cares about except me (that is, no one who isn't on an internet forum, no offense intended.)

 

[navychop]

Yeah, I used to be rather down on Apple. Still won't consider a Mac.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I've been looking at the upcoming HTC Desire, which appears to be the next Android release for AT&T. I'm wary of AT&T continuing their policy of stripping a Google Phone of Google Apps and putting their own bloatware in along with disabling the installation of un-signed apps, but I've heard that rooting and custom roms can get around this issue.

What exactly would a "custom rom" do? Is it like installing a new OS? Will having a custom rom cause problems when an OS update is released? Do custom roms affect performance/stability of apps? I know that installing a custom rom voids the warranty if the phone gets bricked, but given that so many people do it, I have to imagine it's relatively safe. I know some people here have rooted and installed custom roms. What have your experiences been? Would a rooted Desire be a tenable solution for staying with AT&T while getting around their programming bs?

 

[digiblur]

I've been looking at the upcoming HTC Desire, which appears to be the next Android release for AT&T. I'm wary of AT&T continuing their policy of stripping a Google Phone of Google Apps and putting their own bloatware in along with disabling the installation of un-signed apps, but I've heard that rooting and custom roms can get around this issue.

What exactly would a "custom rom" do? Is it like installing a new OS? Will having a custom rom cause problems when an OS update is released? Do custom roms affect performance/stability of apps? I know that installing a custom rom voids the warranty if the phone gets bricked, but given that so many people do it, I have to imagine it's relatively safe. I know some people here have rooted and installed custom roms. What have your experiences been? Would a rooted Desire be a tenable solution for staying with AT&T while getting around their programming bs?

I can't speak for Android.... but I know on other phones, generally if you find a ROM that is done correctly it will have newer features, tweakes, and better stability than the stock ROM.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I can't speak for Android.... but I know on other phones, generally if you find a ROM that is done correctly it will have newer features, tweakes, and better stability than the stock ROM.

My big thing too is that I need to make sure, like with the iPhone, that I can "roll back" to the legitimate ROM so that if there's a hardware issue or something that needs to be fixed by the warranty, that I can go back to a standard one so that they'll service the thing. It appears that this is possible as I can't imagine so many people would do it if it meant you had no chance at warranty service.

I just hope that there isn't a long delay to root the Desire. Since it was released in Europe first, I have to think there's already been some work done to do so, and hopefully people can use that to speed up the process.

 

[digiblur]

My big thing too is that I need to make sure, like with the iPhone, that I can "roll back" to the legitimate ROM so that if there's a hardware issue or something that needs to be fixed by the warranty, that I can go back to a standard one so that they'll service the thing. It appears that this is possible as I can't imagine so many people would do it if it meant you had no chance at warranty service.

I just hope that there isn't a long delay to root the Desire. Since it was released in Europe first, I have to think there's already been some work done to do so, and hopefully people can use that to speed up the process.

I understand... I keep the Stock ROM upgrade file handy just for this reason to set the phone back to stock within a minute or two. If I really wanted to get spiffy I could put the stock ROM on my SD card and flash it without a PC

 

[rockymtnhigh]

My big thing too is that I need to make sure, like with the iPhone, that I can "roll back" to the legitimate ROM so that if there's a hardware issue or something that needs to be fixed by the warranty, that I can go back to a standard one so that they'll service the thing. It appears that this is possible as I can't imagine so many people would do it if it meant you had no chance at warranty service.

I just hope that there isn't a long delay to root the Desire. Since it was released in Europe first, I have to think there's already been some work done to do so, and hopefully people can use that to speed up the process.

Ok, if you check out the resources on Droid-life.com (dedicated primarily to Moto Droid and not Droid Incredible), you will find some goodf resources on how 2.1 devices are being rooted - and more importantly how a program called SPRecovery is being used to pretty much instantly flash between custom roms - and back to stock roms.

Root (unlock) | Droid Life: A Motorola Droid Blog


Plus this thread: HTC Desire Rooted. Droid Incredible is Next? | Droid Life: A Motorola Droid Blog on the rooting of the Desire

and this on the SPRecovery

Video: Flashing SPRecovery SBF to Stock 2.1 | Droid Life: A Motorola Droid Blog

 

[yourbeliefs]

Okay I'm about ready to finally just pull the trigger and jump ship to Verizon to get either an Incredible or a Droid. I'm tired of waiting for AT&T to formally announce getting the Desire, and from what I've read, the Incredible is virtually identical, and likely it'll be more of a hassle to deal with the Desire if AT&T continues their Android lockdown trend and I have to root out of necessity as opposed to desire (har har.) I have a few questions first:

1. I am the main account on a family plan with my wife on AT&T. My contract (from what I can tell) has expired so I am free to jump ship. What will happen to my wife? Her contract doesn't expire until December. Will they just sign her up for a new single plan, will her contract be extended for changing services, will there be a penalty that anyone knows of? Actually, looking at the prices, it may be worth it to just swallow the ETF and have her jump with me, but I need to look more into that.

2. Right now I'm leaning towards getting the Incredible, but I'm not making any decisions until I get both of them in my hands. I realize that the Incredible is faster, and while the Droid is by no means "outdated," I am concerned about 550 mhz processor versus 1 ghz. I realize that clock speed isn't everything, but can anyone speak to how these two compare in typical real world scenarios? I'd prefer ones that don't require rooting, but whatever.

3. I realize that Verizon doesn't allow calling and surfing at the same time (something I didn't know until AT&T started firing back at Verizon's coverage ads) but what exactly does that mean? I'm ASSUMING that it means that if I'm using a web app and someone calls, the internet feed cuts off and lets the call come through. It's not like EDGE where if you're using web stuff, all calls go directly to voice mail, right?

 

[Ramy]

3. Yes, the internet gets cut off and the call comes through. I have the Moto Droid.

 

[yourbeliefs]

3. Yes, the internet gets cut off and the call comes through. I have the Moto Droid.

Good. When I had AT&T with Edge, I would often stream Sirius Internet Radio through my phone and during that time I couldn't receive calls or texts, which was ultra annoying then and now would be potentially dangerous since I have a child now and would need to be reached at any given time.

 

[Ramy]

Good. When I had AT&T with Edge, I would often stream Sirius Internet Radio through my phone and during that time I couldn't receive calls or texts, which was ultra annoying then and now would be potentially dangerous since I have a child now and would need to be reached at any given time.

As soon as your call is done on the Droid it resumes what you were doing.