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The way I see it, there is only one Android phone out there: Nexus One. Getting anything else does not make sense - you're essentially getting a loan (!) for a
by old-gregg 16y ago
The way I see it, there is only one Android phone out there: Nexus One. Getting anything else does not make sense - you're essentially getting a loan (!) for a dumbed-down, restricted and less capable phone hampered even more by "value adding" crapware, running an obsolete OS without any guarantees of an upgrade in the future.
T-Mobile offers cheaper plans for those who don't need a loan to buy a phone, i.e. getting a financed/subsidized crap actually ends up being expensive in the long (2yr) run.
Its not the carriers who are guilty, it is the users who keep flocking towards subsidized crap. Its like buying laptops from Dell at 50% off financed at 20%APR that have Windows+crapware engraved in ROM, incapable of booting anything else.
- aphexairlines 16y agoSo where are the Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, HP, Gateway, Acer, Asus, Alienware, Samsung, MSI, etc of phones?
- sandGorgon 16y agoNo - there are several "Android" phones. These are the ones which Cyanogenmod supports. Cyanogenmod is a community supported Android distro made for each and every phone model that it supports. My HTC MAgic (equiv. T-Mobile Mytouch 3G) is now running Cyanogenmod 6 based on Android 2.2 Most of the other custom firmware for phones are based off Cyanogenmod, rather than stock Android. Support the project financially or otherwise, and request for your particular phone. Usually, all HTC phones are supported.
- m_eiman 16y agoDoes this method rely on security holes, like the iPhone jailbreaks, or is it something explicitly allowed by handset makers (and operators)?
- sandGorgon 16y agoQuite a few of the phones allow it (most of the HTC, the original Moto Droid, the Nexus One of course, etc.). I think even the Samsungs allow it. For some of them (early HTC, etc.) the process exploits a hole. The install process for both is the same though: install new bootloader -> choose your flavor of Android.
- blasdel 16y agoI assume you made that analogy hypothetically, but consumers buying PCs subsidized by overpriced network service contracts was actually common practice 10 years ago. Most of the major ISPs did it — the consumer would get a ~$400 instant rebate on a PC sold at an inflated retail price, in exchange for signing up for an expensive multi-year contract for dialup internet access. Some of the vendors even had schemes where the PCs showed advertising!