5 ms·

A couple of months ago I got a new phone. I had a fairly short list of needs: 1. Micro sd slot 2. Supports sprint in the US 3. Supports cyanogenmod 4. Given

by ikeboy 10y ago

A couple of months ago I got a new phone. I had a fairly short list of needs: 1. Micro sd slot 2. Supports sprint in the US 3. Supports cyanogenmod 4. Given those, it should be powerful as possible To my surprise, none of the 2016 flagships were acceptable. The Nexus line did not have a micro sd slot. Samsung s7 did not have cyanogenmod. Oneplus 3 did not support sprint. Most other phones were just not powerful, slow processors, etc. I ended up settling for a 2015 moto x pure (style in op). Still disappointed that I couldn't get one with an 820 processor. Are my needs that exotic that nobody cares about them? Or have the phone companies just dropped the ball?

ergo14 10y ago
Probably Xiaomi MI5 with cyanogen would fit the bill - not sure about point 2 since I'm in the EU.
- ikeboy 10y ago
  Looks like it doesn't support a micro sd card.
  - ergo14 10y ago
    Ah wait, thats possible - i thought it can mount sd card in one of sim slots like my honor 6 plus could.
- oDot 10y ago
  I think it's the 5s with CDMA, but whatever it is double check the bands before purchasing an imported phone, especially Chinese.
oDot 10y ago
I don't think any demand is exotic on it's own, but to get them all together you have to be pretty lucky. You'll need a company that can make a water resistant phone with a card slot, or is willing to give up the water resistant feature. You'll need that company to be able to ship a CDMA version, which is harder when GSM is more common. You'll need that company to not be a *ick company and have drivers for their hardware. You'll need that company to achieve all of that and still be able to get a 820 and keep expected margins.
djsumdog 10y ago
I have the same requirements, except I can use GSM. I currently use an older Sony Z-yuga. Your biggest problem requirement is Sprint. Outside of the US, almost no one used CDMA. The rest of the planet is on the GMS/HSDPA/LTE stack. I think Sprint and Verizon are the two largest networks in the world that are still on CDMA. Verizon is actually owned by Vodaphone and I think the reason they haven't rebranded their US offering is because all their other companies are on GSM.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  The radio question is almost dead. https://www.amazon.com/Moto-4th-Generation-Exclusive-Lockscreen/dp/B01EZC9WC0 https://www.amazon.com/Moto-4th-Generation-Exclusive-Lockscr... (cheap phone with support for big 4 US networks) edit: Also, Verizon Communications bought out Vodaphone a couple years ago, Vodaphone no longer has an interest in Verizon Wireless.
- ecopoesis 10y ago
  Verizon bought Vodaphone's share of Verizon Wireless in 2014.
jhasse 10y ago
LG G5?
- ikeboy 10y ago
  I seem to remember looking at that and deciding against it, but I can't remember why.
snovv_crash 10y ago
HTC 10? Basically a Google Pixel released several months earlier.
kpil 10y ago
I think that the phone companies are struggling to get a grip on the drivers on the market. The rather esoteric needs of a software developer is probably not high up on the marketing department's list of USPs... Plus, that it seems as if different regions are wanting different things - like an absurd number of cores, etc. As an example, I am very fond of Sony. They make the best android phones in my opinion, with a really nice clean design and good support for updates. A plus for me is that it's still a Swedish team that make the phones although they seem to slowly loose the fight against the Japanese mega-corp mannerisms. There is more and more shit pre-installed on the phone, etc. Unfortunately they peaked with the Z3 - anything after that is a lesser phone in some aspect. ZX is good and expensive as hell but compensates the faster processor and camera with a much much worse battery. X is fast, but is not water proof, etc. Edit: I don't think the ZX supports CDMA unfortunately.
- ikeboy 10y ago
  I don't develop software (not for android, at least). The reasons I need cyanogenmod are 1. Some apps only work on root 2. Stock can have restrictions, like not allowing tethering while cm doesn't have anti features 3. Updates usually far after the manufacturer has abandoned the phone There's a large community of people using custom roms. Some take it farther than others, but it's definitely not restricted to developers.
  - protomikron 10y ago
    Hi there, developer here. Can you please elaborate? Actually I would very much appreciate a really open smart phone with the same customization capabilities that the PC platform provides. However I believe (maybe wrongly?) most customers do not need to have a rooted phone, so I am really interested in the type of application? I hope that we get an open phone soon (I want to `pkg install $foo`), but unfortunately most endeavors seemed to have failed (Ubuntu Phone, etc.) I always wonder why that's the case.
    - ikeboy 10y ago
      I'm not entirely clear on what you want elaboration on. You can get linux on android by using http://www.techradar.com/how-to/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/how-to-install-linux-on-an-android-phone-1322579 http://www.techradar.com/how-to/phone-and-communications/mob... Edit: "However I believe (maybe wrongly?) most customers do not need to have a rooted phone, so I am really interested in the type of application?" EDS for mounting encrypted volumes only works with root, since it needs elevated access to the kernel to mount stuff. That's probably the only app I use that requires root, but there are other customizations that I couldn't do on stock. For example, on my moto x pure the onscreen buttons were in the "wrong" places, and I needed the aicp (it's a ROM) ability to customize which button does what and icons. Mainly I wanted the back button to be on the right and not the left, and the other buttons to be the same as my previous phone. If it's a custom rom, I expect others to have the same issues I'll have and someone will have developed a workaround or fix. On stock, this won't always be the case. Then there's the whole "tethering" thing, which can be a big deal when traveling with a phone and laptop. Stock won't let you tether unless your plan allows it, while cyanogenmod or aicp doesn't care. (Still annoyed that moto x pure, aicp, and ringplus 4g don't seem to mix, and I can only get 3g on anything besides for stock.)
rattray 10y ago
Funny, I had a similar conundrum and the same solution (buy a 2015 moto x pure).

by ikeboy 10y ago

ergo14 10y ago

Probably Xiaomi MI5 with cyanogen would fit the bill - not sure about point 2 since I'm in the EU.

ikeboy 10y ago
Looks like it doesn't support a micro sd card.
- ergo14 10y ago
  Ah wait, thats possible - i thought it can mount sd card in one of sim slots like my honor 6 plus could.
oDot 10y ago
I think it's the 5s with CDMA, but whatever it is double check the bands before purchasing an imported phone, especially Chinese.

oDot 10y ago

I don't think any demand is exotic on it's own, but to get them all together you have to be pretty lucky. You'll need a company that can make a water resistant phone with a card slot, or is willing to give up the water resistant feature. You'll need that company to be able to ship a CDMA version, which is harder when GSM is more common. You'll need that company to not be a *ick company and have drivers for their hardware. You'll need that company to achieve all of that and still be able to get a 820 and keep expected margins.

djsumdog 10y ago

I have the same requirements, except I can use GSM. I currently use an older Sony Z-yuga. Your biggest problem requirement is Sprint. Outside of the US, almost no one used CDMA. The rest of the planet is on the GMS/HSDPA/LTE stack. I think Sprint and Verizon are the two largest networks in the world that are still on CDMA. Verizon is actually owned by Vodaphone and I think the reason they haven't rebranded their US offering is because all their other companies are on GSM.

maxerickson 10y ago
The radio question is almost dead. https://www.amazon.com/Moto-4th-Generation-Exclusive-Lockscreen/dp/B01EZC9WC0 https://www.amazon.com/Moto-4th-Generation-Exclusive-Lockscr... (cheap phone with support for big 4 US networks) edit: Also, Verizon Communications bought out Vodaphone a couple years ago, Vodaphone no longer has an interest in Verizon Wireless.
ecopoesis 10y ago
Verizon bought Vodaphone's share of Verizon Wireless in 2014.

jhasse 10y ago

LG G5?

ikeboy 10y ago
I seem to remember looking at that and deciding against it, but I can't remember why.

snovv_crash 10y ago

HTC 10? Basically a Google Pixel released several months earlier.

kpil 10y ago

I think that the phone companies are struggling to get a grip on the drivers on the market. The rather esoteric needs of a software developer is probably not high up on the marketing department's list of USPs... Plus, that it seems as if different regions are wanting different things - like an absurd number of cores, etc. As an example, I am very fond of Sony. They make the best android phones in my opinion, with a really nice clean design and good support for updates. A plus for me is that it's still a Swedish team that make the phones although they seem to slowly loose the fight against the Japanese mega-corp mannerisms. There is more and more shit pre-installed on the phone, etc. Unfortunately they peaked with the Z3 - anything after that is a lesser phone in some aspect. ZX is good and expensive as hell but compensates the faster processor and camera with a much much worse battery. X is fast, but is not water proof, etc. Edit: I don't think the ZX supports CDMA unfortunately.

ikeboy 10y ago
I don't develop software (not for android, at least). The reasons I need cyanogenmod are 1. Some apps only work on root 2. Stock can have restrictions, like not allowing tethering while cm doesn't have anti features 3. Updates usually far after the manufacturer has abandoned the phone There's a large community of people using custom roms. Some take it farther than others, but it's definitely not restricted to developers.
- protomikron 10y ago
  Hi there, developer here. Can you please elaborate? Actually I would very much appreciate a really open smart phone with the same customization capabilities that the PC platform provides. However I believe (maybe wrongly?) most customers do not need to have a rooted phone, so I am really interested in the type of application? I hope that we get an open phone soon (I want to `pkg install $foo`), but unfortunately most endeavors seemed to have failed (Ubuntu Phone, etc.) I always wonder why that's the case.
  - ikeboy 10y ago
    I'm not entirely clear on what you want elaboration on. You can get linux on android by using http://www.techradar.com/how-to/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/how-to-install-linux-on-an-android-phone-1322579 http://www.techradar.com/how-to/phone-and-communications/mob... Edit: "However I believe (maybe wrongly?) most customers do not need to have a rooted phone, so I am really interested in the type of application?" EDS for mounting encrypted volumes only works with root, since it needs elevated access to the kernel to mount stuff. That's probably the only app I use that requires root, but there are other customizations that I couldn't do on stock. For example, on my moto x pure the onscreen buttons were in the "wrong" places, and I needed the aicp (it's a ROM) ability to customize which button does what and icons. Mainly I wanted the back button to be on the right and not the left, and the other buttons to be the same as my previous phone. If it's a custom rom, I expect others to have the same issues I'll have and someone will have developed a workaround or fix. On stock, this won't always be the case. Then there's the whole "tethering" thing, which can be a big deal when traveling with a phone and laptop. Stock won't let you tether unless your plan allows it, while cyanogenmod or aicp doesn't care. (Still annoyed that moto x pure, aicp, and ringplus 4g don't seem to mix, and I can only get 3g on anything besides for stock.)

rattray 10y ago

Funny, I had a similar conundrum and the same solution (buy a 2015 moto x pure).