[UFO Chicago] mobile phone advice sought

[Stefan]

Very good advice and tons of info from Larry.

+1 for the Android.

I would also check with
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=564. Sooner or
later you will want control over your [new] device :-)

***Stefan Mititelu
http://twitter.com/netfortius
http://www.linkedin.com/in/netfortius



On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 1:01 AM, Larry Garfield <larry at garfieldtech.com> wrote:
> Warning: Biased content follows.
>
> At this point, there are only two serious platforms in contention,
> Android and iOS.  Blackberry is sliding rapidly, webOS was stillborn
> (due more to business failure than technical failure), and Windows Phone
> (or Mobile, or whatever they're calling it this week) is still going
> nowhere fast, even with Nokia getting in bed with them.
>
> Of those two, iOS had the early lead but Android is currently growing
> faster and has a larger market share, even with the surge from the
> iPhone 4S.  I think some stats have Android capturing over 50% of the US
> smartphone market.  Both platforms have a bajillion apps.
>
> Android is *not* open, in the sense that Free Software people tend to
> use the term.  To make it useful still requires tying into Google.  Some
> manufacturers still pull dick moves to lock down the device.  However,
> it is still far far less closed than iOS is, by leaps and bounds.
> There's a healthy custom ROM community, if you are into such things.
> Almost all devices let you side-load apps or install 3rd party markets
> rather than going through the One True Curated Walled Garden of The
> Steve(tm).
>
> Some recent stats actually suggest that Android is more stable than iOS,
> despite conventional wisdom saying the opposite.
>
> If not obvious by now, I'd suggest an Android device. :-)
>
> Most carriers have at least some good devices.  Verizon has arguably the
> best selection of high-end phones, but then you'd be using Verizon.
> T-Mobile is reputed to be the most customer-friendly carrier (I've been
> with them for going on 9 years now), but I'd say the weakest lineup of
> hardware.  Sadly due to different frequency bands in 3G/4G spectrum you
> really can't take a phone to a new carrier anymore in this country,
> because we're a third world banana republic.
>
> Probably the best place to track down information on the Android world
> is Phandroid.com.  Pretty good news feed, decent archive of device
> specs, and active forums.
>
> Things to consider are if you want a keyboard or not (they're sadly
> rare), 3G/4G (just get a 4G phone, really), screen size (anything from
> 3" to 5" is available; I like a 4" sweet spot but YMMV), manufacturer
> reputation (Samsung is great for initial sale, suck on upgrades and
> support; HTC is better, and the Google Nexus line is best in that
> regard), and processing engine.  (Yes, you can get phones with more CPU
> cores than your laptop, plus a dedicated GPU. It's an amazing world we
> live in.)
>
> There's only a scant few phones shipping with Android 4.0 right now, and
> a few others that will supposedly get upgrades sooner or later.  I would
> recommend getting something with 4.0 on it, or one that has a public
> commitment from the manufacturer to upgrade to it.  Most phones in the
> wild today run Android 2.3.  (Android 3.x was just for tablets.)
>
> If you have specific additional questions, ask either here or on Phandroid.
>
> (Disclaimer: I carry a Samsung Vibrant, aka the T-Mobile version of the
> Galaxy S; best-selling Android phone to date, but Samsung's support and
> upgrade offerings for US customers have been atrocious.  How much of
> that is Saumsung being dicks and how much are carriers being dicks is a
> subject of some debate.  Sadly Samsung is the only manufacturer using
> SAMOLED displays, which are seriously awesome screens.)
>
> --Larry Garfield
>
> On 02/02/2012 09:34 PM, Brian Sobolak wrote:
>>
>> So when discussing the popularity of Unix and Linux, it is often left
>> unremarked that almost all of the mobile phone vendors have moved towards
>> unixy platforms through Android and iOS (and if still relevant in two
>> years, qnx aka Blackberry).
>>
>> So I need a new phone. I have been using a corporate one for some time and
>> haven't paid much attention to price vs features. I do need a smartphone,
>> as I plan (hope?) to be able to use it as a GPS for recording exercise and
>> geocaching.  Beyond that, I'm flexible.
>>
>> My only other requirement is that I will not use AT&T. I despised Cingular.
>>
>> Any deep thoughts to share?
>>
>> brian
>>
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