Hi,
I'm on the verge of purchasing my first smart phone and I'm pretty much sold on the Droid 2. I live in Australia and it looks like this is the best phone out here at the moment that features a QWERTY keyboard, along with some great overall specs. It looks great, too!
Anyways... Here's my problem... There are two versions of this phone available to me: the Milestone 2 and the Droid 2 Global and I have no idea which one I should go with.
I know the D2G has a slightly more powerful processor and is a few mm thinner than the original, but I've also read about the terrible battery life and overheating issues with this set. Those are two problems I'd really like to avoid, where possible. On the plus side, it's my understanding that this is the latest version of the phone and I imagine the support from Moto will be better than for the MS2 going forward.
The MS2, to my knowledge, is apparently much harder to root and doesn't have any roms available yet like TeamDefuse's Fission which is available for the D2G. On the plus side, it doesn't suffer from the same battery and heat issues as the D2G and is about $150 cheaper to purchase outright. Only other thing I'm concerned about is the support from Moto... Apparently the support for the first Milestone was absolutely terrible in comparison to its US counterpart the Droid 1, despite the phones being essentially identical.
In terms of what provider I want to go with, I'm currently leaning towards Optus... So not having access to Telstra's NextG network isn't a deal breaker to me.
Can anyone offer any additional thoughts on these two phones to help sway my opinion? I'm very interested in hearing what people who have some experience with these phones have to say about them. I've always been a tech geek but I have absolutely no clue when it comes to phones and I really don't want to mess up my first Android purchase. I could really use some help if possible.
Thanks in advance and my sincerest apologies for the extra long post!
MJHx
I would say go with the global, I have it and its nice, you can notice the speed a little and yes the battery life isnt the best but thats the case on just about every android phone so its nothing to be worried about. Its gonna get more updates and as long as your ok with the bloatware from vzw but then just root it with Z4 and delete the stock apps.
evilp8ntballer7 said:
I would say go with the global, I have it and its nice, you can notice the speed a little and yes the battery life isnt the best but thats the case on just about every android phone so its nothing to be worried about. Its gonna get more updates and as long as your ok with the bloatware from vzw but then just root it with Z4 and delete the stock apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, thanks so much for your advice.
I wonder what the battery life would be like after rooting the phone, removing the unnecessary bloatware and running a clean copy of Froyo with Fission? Has anyone here tried that setup and care to comment on how it affected the phone's battery life or heat issues?
MJHx said:
Cool, thanks so much for your advice.
I wonder what the battery life would be like after rooting the phone, removing the unnecessary bloatware and running a clean copy of Froyo with Fission? Has anyone here tried that setup and care to comment on how it affected the phone's battery life or heat issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
batterylife is pretty much the same, it might actually be a bit better, but it is insignificant. not sure i noticed a heat difference either, but i didnt install fission for better batterylife
rusty815 said:
batterylife is pretty much the same, it might actually be a bit better, but it is insignificant. not sure i noticed a heat difference either, but i didnt install fission for better batterylife
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
That's interesting... I would have thought that running vanilla Froyo with all of the bloatware switched off would have made a bit of a difference. That said, I don't know much, so I'll take your word for it. Does the phone ever get uncomfortably hot, in your opinion and would you suggest the D2G over the Milestone 2?
Now that the SBF file is out for the D2G, I'm starting to really lean towards that. From what I've read, this should really help to open up the phone to developers, meaning more roms and less motoblur. I've also found a couple of reputable Stateside eBay sellers who are selling the phone brand new and at a great price, which eliminates my previous concern about cost... I'm just waiting to hear from Motorola about how warranty would work if I pick the phone up from eBay.
Got my fingers crossed.
Droid 2 global is superior in many ways to Milestone 2. However, remember, its software is designed to work on US Verizon's network which may cause some things to act wired when using foreign SIM in it.
My phone is a D2G and I use it outside US with foreign SIM. So far there are some small annoyances like GSM radio going offline on its own (happens seldom though) or signal reading pretty weak, but they seem glitches that weren't fixed by Motorola due to the fact phone is designed to run primarily in CDMA, not GSM mode. MMS is another annoyance, which for whatever reason went away since I started using GoSMS app instead built in one.
If Milestone 2 is operator independent, I am sure its software will work better. I am sure hacker community will wind up on it just like it did on Milestone 1 (which I also happen to have) and will roll out some fine ROM's like CM6.
Another fact you should consider is warranty. With D2G you pretty much opt out for warranty support, while with MS2 situation could be different.
My decision to go with D2G over MS2 was based purely on the fact phone has 850/1900 WCDMA bands which I need for Canada to get 3G working. Currently available Milestone 2 doesn't have them, but a model with these frequencies is supposed to be available shortly if not already. For Australia you need 850/2100 if i am not mistaken. So Droid2Global has you covered, but if Milestone 2 is available with these frequencies I would think twice before getting the D2G.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL
leobg said:
Droid 2 global is superior in many ways to Milestone 2. However, remember, its software is designed to work on US Verizon's network which may cause some things to act wired when using foreign SIM in it.
My phone is a D2G and I use it outside US with foreign SIM. So far there are some small annoyances like GSM radio going offline on its own (happens seldom though) or signal reading pretty weak, but they seem glitches that weren't fixed by Motorola due to the fact phone is designed to run primarily in CDMA, not GSM mode. MMS is another annoyance, which for whatever reason went away since I started using GoSMS app instead built in one.
If Milestone 2 is operator independent, I am sure its software will work better. I am sure hacker community will wind up on it just like it did on Milestone 1 (which I also happen to have) and will roll out some fine ROM's like CM6.
Another fact you should consider is warranty. With D2G you pretty much opt out for warranty support, while with MS2 situation could be different.
My decision to go with D2G over MS2 was based purely on the fact phone has 850/1900 WCDMA bands which I need for Canada to get 3G working. Currently available Milestone 2 doesn't have them, but a model with these frequencies is supposed to be available shortly if not already. For Australia you need 850/2100 if i am not mistaken. So Droid2Global has you covered, but if Milestone 2 is available with these frequencies I would think twice before getting the D2G.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the in depth response.
Just heard back from Motorola and it would appear that their warranty is not available if the phone is purchased outside of the United States. There is one well respected Australian retailer who is offering the phone with their own 12-month warranty, but the phone is listed at $200 more than the prices I've seen overseas. Still, something to consider.
Interesting point you bring up about the software. Given that it is supposed to be a global phone, you would think everything would run properly. Wouldn't this all be a moot point if the phone had the Fission rom running on it or is it still an issue? Are there any Australian D2G owners who could comment on how the phone's software works over here?
Related
So what's a better buy, since I am confused and conflicted as to what to get.
Motorola Milestone or Nexus One/Desire?
I actually have no clue, its confusing to think which one and every time I think I decide I go back to the middle.
And I know that for the Nexus One, this website has one strong modding front behind it, but I have no idea where, if any, modding movement exists for the Droid, since I haven't found anything on this forum.
What are your thoughts on it?
aniteshj said:
So what's a better buy, since I am confused and conflicted as to what to get.
Motorola Milestone or Nexus One/Desire?
I actually have no clue, its confusing to think which one and every time I think I decide I go back to the middle.
And I know that for the Nexus One, this website has one strong modding front behind it, but I have no idea where, if any, modding movement exists for the Droid, since I haven't found anything on this forum.
What are your thoughts on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally have the N1 and also have T-mobiles "droids" aka cliqs... Htc is far better when it comes to hardware. I suggest the N1!
In my experience - if I want to get google/android updates ASAP I would only go with whatever google choses to sleep with (stock i.e. without any skin)
For GSM that would be the Nexus One.
dextroz said:
In my experience - if I want to get google/android updates ASAP I would only go with whatever google choses to sleep with (stock i.e. without any skin)
For GSM that would be the Nexus One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha no Droid love? Is there a site dedicated to Droid mods like this has a section for Nexus development as well?
aniteshj said:
Aha no Droid love? Is there a site dedicated to Droid mods like this has a section for Nexus development as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, moto is lacking in the game... plus nexus isnt a branded phone... its a HTC/GOOGLE not a T-mobile/AT&T/Sprint/V-word phone that should be enough to go by in your choice...
I'm also kind of in a boat like this one. I have a G1 and desperately want to upgrade. I'm considering the EVO since Austin has a 4G tower here. The prices and plans are attractive too. The one thing holding me back however is the hotspot feature in froyo. Sprint will almost certainly cut this feature out of the froyo update for the EVO since they want to charge 30 bucks a month to use that. I'm wondering if there will be a version of froyo from cyanogen (or the many other developers out there) for the evo to circumvent this (not to mention to get rid of the Sense UI).
This isn't any easier a decision to make now aha.
I vote for Motorola milestone
considering its hardware keyboard
I have a Milestone and the hardware keyboard is useful, but I don't like the way Motorola have locked down the bootloader.
That means that even when rooted, we are limited in what can be hacked about!
I will be getting rid of the Milestone and getting a Desire soon if that tells you anything.
-------------------------------------
Sent from my Milestone via the XDA Tapatalk App
stooby said:
I have a Milestone and the hardware keyboard is useful, but I don't like the way Motorola have locked down the bootloader.
That means that even when rooted, we are limited in what can be hacked about!
I will be getting rid of the Milestone and getting a Desire soon if that tells you anything.
-------------------------------------
Sent from my Milestone via the XDA Tapatalk App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see what you mean, well I've put in a few offers to some used N1s, my local shop stopped carrying them!!!
If you do not have any need for a hardware keyboard N1 will be better beause of the faster CPU.
If you like hardware keyboards like me you will forget about N1.
There are quite a few forums with support for the Droid/ Milestone.
Depends on the kind of work you want to do. If all you want is a shiny super modded device with great screen contrast (excluding touchscreen response) and speed and early updates, get Nexus One.
If you need to do a lot of typing and/or need better screen response, get Milestone.
While milestone doesn't have a dedicated community behind it, doing lots of rom porting, most of the useful N1 mods work on it. Also, it is a very solid and well built phone. The build quality compared to nexus one is equally good, if not better. You can also get it overclocked to about 1.2GHz which makes it run superfast, if you are worried about speed.
i am thinking of upgrading from my hero to the nexus s (sprint)
what i want to know are real users thoughts..the lack of sd card(for pushing zips to and does having all apps on phone make it slugish), the rumored reception problems (from sprint blogs), and an idea of what roms are doing, i assume there is a root to unlock tethering?
anyone using rom manager/wireles tether/titanium backup or slide it keyboard, do u know if they are supported
thanks in advance for any input
ive had numerous devices. most recently went from the evo to the nexus s 4g. love it. really wanted that pure goog.
you will not be disappointed. i thought id miss out on the better cameras, sd slot but that is not the case. pics are great and i have not been in trouble without the sd slot. my $0.02
any reception issues, thats what really holding me back, i travel ALOT and not always big towns, i actually work cell tower site maintance
sroeseler said:
any reception issues, thats what really holding me back, i travel ALOT and not always big towns, i actually work cell tower site maintance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend going to Sprint.com and check out their coverage maps for the areas you will be frequenting. If your not in a high population area or on a main highway they pretty much suck. I carry a cheapo Trac phone for that reason.
seems the community agrees that the s4g has reception issues however, the crux of the problem is sprints network. i have never been able to not use my device because of the s4g reception issues.
don't trust coverage maps. they are used as a crutch by carriers to claim service in places there isn't any.(real world) not to mention real world results are not taken into consideration by devs constructing these maps. use the device and if it doesn't work for you, return it within thirty days.
yeah i know how coverage maps work all to well, i know all about the bull **** marketing they ploy about their networks, i do work on it all, i know what is there and isnt... i choice sprint years ago because it is the only carrier that wehn i deployed in the military they would "pause" my contract till i returned home. they do have a strong network and roaming partners, ive been pretty happy with sprint in the south east US, i have service where most else fail.. though i have had to keep a pre paid att on my truck in the field as u said. thanks for the info, does anyone know about compatability with the mentioned apps
sroeseler said:
i am thinking of upgrading from my hero to the nexus s (sprint)
what i want to know are real users thoughts..the lack of sd card(for pushing zips to and does having all apps on phone make it slugish), the rumored reception problems (from sprint blogs), and an idea of what roms are doing, i assume there is a root to unlock tethering?
anyone using rom manager/wireles tether/titanium backup or slide it keyboard, do u know if they are supported
thanks in advance for any input
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I upgraded from the Hero on launch day, and didn't even look back. They gave me $40 to trade in my [beat-to-hell, cracked screen] Hero, which was unexpected but appreciated. I have had 0 regrets after all the trouble I had with the Hero (Freezing, rebooting, slow, low storage space, etc). I always copied files to my Hero by mounting the SD card, it is no different with the NS. Also, I think Apps2SD is actually slower, because the transfer rate for phone storage is faster than SD storage. I get no worse reception than I did with the Hero; still pretty horrible where I sleep and where I work, but everywhere else seems to be good And with the supposed locked bootloader on the Evo3D, the NS4G still remains on top. Definitely the best phone I have had. I can understand the hesitation if you switch from a Thunderbolt/Atrix/iPhone to the Nexus S, they are comparable. But if you are still on the Hero, don't think twice...upgrade!!
EDIT: I had ASOProm on my Hero, and preferred it over CyanogenMod. Currently on stock ASOP with a custom kernel, OC'd to 1.4ghz.
cool, thx,..... 10 characters min really...ok
Evo?
I have had them all (Hero, Evo, Optimus, Pre, etc...)
The Nexus is nice, and fast, but build quality does not compare with the Evo (which has great build quality.) Also the Evo has better connectivity (more reliable connections, faster throughput, etc.)
If you are not concerned with weight (Nexus 4.6oz vs. Evo 6 oz) I would wait for the Evo 3d in a few weeks time. In terms of size, the Nexus is longer, but more narrow than the Evo. The Nexus is slippery, so you will probably want a case, which really makes size comparable to a bare Evo (which has rubberized back so not as much need for a case IMO.)
(The only thing I like about the Nexus more than the current Evo is the higher contrast screen.) The current Evo 4G even has far better battery life in my experience.
IMO.
I didn't post download link.
Because its for ME865 china ,but seems the last test version.
fastboot-p3_edison-edison-user-4.0.4--10273930-release-keys-ChinaRetail-CN_chn.tar.gz
Sent from my ME865 using xda premium
dickluo said:
I didn't post download link.
Because its for ME865 china ,but seems the last test version.
fastboot-p3_edison-edison-user-4.0.4--10273930-release-keys-ChinaRetail-CN_chn.tar.gz
Sent from my ME865 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please do link
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
I second lkrasner. Any leak could potentially be beneficial, and we won't know until we check.
http://115.com/file/c25msn57#fastbo...273930-release-keys-ChinaRetail-CN-chn.tar.gz (hit the green button to download, it will be pretty slow)
It's an fxz (how they find these things I have no clue). Don't even think about flashing it though. If the international MB865 ICS leaks haven't helped us then I don't think this will be of any help either :\
So, since I'm essentially clueless on the actual coding and development aspects of this type of stuff - I'm no stranger to flashing ROMs and testing them out, been doing that for almost a decade now and still doing it between several devices (Axim X50v/X51v, HP iPAQs, Nexus S, Galaxy S, and now my Atrix 2) - but I don't understand what the actual problem is with this ROM with respect to the AT&T model of the Atrix 2.
I'm going to guess there's something going on with the Chinese/international leaked ROMs that will completely bork/hose/obliterate the AT&T model if I or anyone else attempts to install it, perhaps even permanently bricking it so...
Obviously I'm not about to try it myself, I'll leave that to the more talented folks around here already working on trying to get ICS for all of us. The Atrix 2 is such a damned nice device from the hardware perspective, and yes I'd love to get ICS on it (I know Motorola is working on it but as usual they're so tight-lipped about everything we're never going to know when it'll be available until it actually is, Cheesecake or not...), and now with having messed around with Jelly Bean on the Nexus S for a few hours - wasn't great but it was noticeably "butter" smooth as they're claiming - that gives me very high hopes that ICS will make an appearance on the Atrix 2 soon.
Come on, Motorola, if you can't get talented people to get this done, there's a bunch of people here on XDA that would do it practically for free just to get it done once and for all (not saying they wouldn't like to be compensated, obviously, maybe a free Droid RAZR MAXX or whatever for their efforts).
Yah, I know, Motorola could care less about this phone already, it's such a shame that this "disposable society" is what it is. Hell, I still use my Dell Axim X51v almost daily, and it's close to 7+ years old now, still running a custom Windows Mobile 6.5 from LennySH... I don't believe hardware is "useless" until the moment it actually doesn't work anymore, at all, totally hopelessly bricked or dead.
I'm impatient and I know it, so are most of you reading this.
If I thought a petition would help Motorola just skip ICS completely and jump right to Jelly Bean for the Atrix 2 I'd start one, but obviously that's just a waste of time. Sad we'll most likely never see Jelly Bean on the Atrix 2 officially 'cause it most certainly is a device that could manage it (minus a few aspects like NFC and whatever).
Bleh... just rambling, sorry. But I really would like to get some kind of basis for why the Chinese leaked ROMs are a no-no on the AT&T model, if anyone can spare a few minutes to explain, and be as thorough as you like as I'm all about details.
Thanks...
br0adband said:
So, since I'm essentially clueless on the actual coding and development aspects of this type of stuff - I'm no stranger to flashing ROMs and testing them out, been doing that for almost a decade now and still doing it between several devices (Axim X50v/X51v, HP iPAQs, Nexus S, Galaxy S, and now my Atrix 2) - but I don't understand what the actual problem is with this ROM with respect to the AT&T model of the Atrix 2.
I'm going to guess there's something going on with the Chinese/international leaked ROMs that will completely bork/hose/obliterate the AT&T model if I or anyone else attempts to install it, perhaps even permanently bricking it so...
Obviously I'm not about to try it myself, I'll leave that to the more talented folks around here already working on trying to get ICS for all of us. The Atrix 2 is such a damned nice device from the hardware perspective, and yes I'd love to get ICS on it (I know Motorola is working on it but as usual they're so tight-lipped about everything we're never going to know when it'll be available until it actually is, Cheesecake or not...), and now with having messed around with Jelly Bean on the Nexus S for a few hours - wasn't great but it was noticeably "butter" smooth as they're claiming - that gives me very high hopes that ICS will make an appearance on the Atrix 2 soon.
Come on, Motorola, if you can't get talented people to get this done, there's a bunch of people here on XDA that would do it practically for free just to get it done once and for all (not saying they wouldn't like to be compensated, obviously, maybe a free Droid RAZR MAXX or whatever for their efforts).
Yah, I know, Motorola could care less about this phone already, it's such a shame that this "disposable society" is what it is. Hell, I still use my Dell Axim X51v almost daily, and it's close to 7+ years old now, still running a custom Windows Mobile 6.5 from LennySH... I don't believe hardware is "useless" until the moment it actually doesn't work anymore, at all, totally hopelessly bricked or dead.
I'm impatient and I know it, so are most of you reading this.
If I thought a petition would help Motorola just skip ICS completely and jump right to Jelly Bean for the Atrix 2 I'd start one, but obviously that's just a waste of time. Sad we'll most likely never see Jelly Bean on the Atrix 2 officially 'cause it most certainly is a device that could manage it (minus a few aspects like NFC and whatever).
Bleh... just rambling, sorry. But I really would like to get some kind of basis for why the Chinese leaked ROMs are a no-no on the AT&T model, if anyone can spare a few minutes to explain, and be as thorough as you like as I'm all about details.
Thanks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ME865 (the Chinese version of the atrix2), has different hardware in it. There are also 3 slightly different versions of the MB865 (also the atrix2)... confused yet....
What it means is that the if you own a US AT&T version, you can not flash any of the international versions of the firmware, because there are slight hardware differences in all of the versions, and the AT&T US version has a whole different radio on top of the different wifi, gps, and GSM/GPRS/UMTA&S chipsets.
Well, that pretty much covers it.
I really do love this device, it's got an awesome form factor, feels fantastic in the hand, same screen size (diagonal) as my beloved HTC HD2 which I don't have anymore (but yes I'll get another one someday just 'cause it's the baddest portable device ever made for enthusiasts). Great cameras, there's really nothing to dislike about it so far, at least to me. Still on the lookout for a Lapdock as well (if my research has been accurate, I can use the original Atrix Lapdock with the Atrix 2 and a small mod of flipping the connectors on the Lapdock around - I hope I'm correct in that).
But ICS would definitely be nice to get, and soon. It's just a shame that Motorola Mobility is so far behind the curve with things. I had hoped that Google's acquisition of them might improve the situation but, with Google's announcement they were buying but leaving them alone to keep on doing what they've been doing, that basically nipped that hope right in the bud.
Anyway, thanks for the answer.
Hi,
So I'm new to Android, and I've only had a Nexus 7 for a week (I sold it) which I rooted and had some custom roms for.
I wanted the Xperia Z, but it's shape is too square and thus bulky. I like that this Razr HD is a bit water resistant, has excellent battery, the keflav back, and is a less cumbersome size.
But- i'm concerned as this device isn't one of the more popular. Does this mean i will have to wait much longer for upgrades even if rooted? And less support in future? could some apps not run/be designed for this device?
Basically- Im someone who keeps their phone for ages. Im still using a jailbroken 3GS happily. As much as i dont like apple- its good that i can always run the latest OS...
Just wanted thoughts on all this. Cheers
ycon said:
Hi,
So I'm new to Android, and I've only had a Nexus 7 for a week (I sold it) which I rooted and had some custom roms for.
I wanted the Xperia Z, but it's shape is too square and thus bulky. I like that this Razr HD is a bit water resistant, has excellent battery, the keflav back, and is a less cumbersome size.
But- i'm concerned as this device isn't one of the more popular. Does this mean i will have to wait much longer for upgrades even if rooted? And less support in future? could some apps not run/be designed for this device?
Basically- Im someone who keeps their phone for ages. Im still using a jailbroken 3GS happily. As much as i dont like apple- its good that i can always run the latest OS...
Just wanted thoughts on all this. Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Official upgrades for android devices are at the whim of the manufacturer and the carrier unless we're talking about a nexus device which gets updates directly from Google. On Verizon updates typically take longer to come out due to what they say is extensive testing, but recently they've been better about it imo. Unofficial updates are governed by the amount and quality of developers on that particular device. For moto phones we have a nice core of developers that keep us up to date. Now that the newest moto phones have had their bootloaders unlocked, development has really picked up. The development scene on Android is a lot different and more complicated then the Apple side. Due to the amount of high end android devices that are released every year the development scene moves pretty quickly. That isn't to say older devices aren't dev'd for but it is a possibility to consider. In the moto world devices as far back as the droid 3 are still actively supported. Many of us started out with moto and have never left.
Don't worry about the apps. Unless the device falls really behind in the os version all apps will be supported. It's not like apple where if your phone doesn't have the latest update a third of the apps don't work. There are apps coded specifically for features only available on the latest Android version but those are very few due to people wanting to make money lol.
sent from my xt926 RAZR maxx hd
Cheers for that really helpful response.
It all seems pretty good to me with app compatibility.
So- if I understand correctly, if I unlock the bootloader & root my phone, I wont have to rely on Moto/my carrier for the OS updates?
Are there any other general things I should know before saying no to more mainstream (GS4) device?
Cheers
ycon said:
Cheers for that really helpful response.
It all seems pretty good to me with app compatibility.
So- if I understand correctly, if I unlock the bootloader & root my phone, I wont have to rely on Moto/my carrier for the OS updates?
Are there any other general things I should know before saying no to more mainstream (GS4) device?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes to your first question. Technically you would only need root to stop carrier updates but none of the new roms are being developed for locked devices.
Firstly know that the HD has basically the same innards as the gs3 except with 1gb less ram and a less impressive camera. The two monster phones out/coming out right now are the gs4 and the HTC one with a new nexus hopefully out soon. The gs4 represents some of the best hardware available (with newer still coming out later this year) and will have a lot of Dev focus. Out of those 3 phones Verizon will only be getting the gs4 most likely. In terms of what phone to get I would say you need to physically handle each before making a decision. If you must be on Verizon then the gs4 would be a great choice but some people don't like the build materials and feel of the phone (similar to gs3). People sticking with moto appreciate the solid feel, excellent materials, amazing radio strength, and battery life.
sent from my xt926 RAZR maxx hd
koftheworld;4080229The gs4 represents some of the best hardware available (with newer still coming out later this year) and will have a lot of Dev focus. Out of those 3 phones Verizon will only be getting the gs4 most likely. In terms of what phone to get I would say you need to physically handle each before making a decision. If you must be on Verizon then the gs4 would be a great choice but some people don't like the build materials and feel of the phone (similar to gs3). People sticking with moto appreciate the solid feel said:
Cheers for that. I am not on Verizon (I'm in Australia), I'll buy the phone unlocked.
I have had a look at the GS4, HTC One and Razr all together.
The GS4 is my favourite in terms of size, but I'd rather sacrifice the power (Quad core) for the longer battery, better call reception, stronger build, and lower price of the Razr HD.
I might jsut have to wait for the new Nexus phone to come out. I've heard Google will be subsidizing it, so the price might be right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess this phone is not what everyone wants it to be. Exposed and Gravity Box can only do so much for a crack flasher.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
Actually xposed provides just about everything any custom rom does. BTW, you posted in the wrong section.
Sent from my XT1080 using xda app-developers app
tecsironman said:
I guess this phone is not what everyone wants it to be. Exposed and Gravity Box can only do so much for a crack flasher.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What improvements would you like to see? Request and maybe someone will be up for the challenge. Maybe not to create an entire ROM, but flashable zips at the least.
Most of the stuff I do is with gravity box. Most of the info and apk files are in the forums. I was just curious
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I came from the Vivid, where I was used to flashing something every other day too, so I know the pain of your withdrawals! I'm not sure battery life can be pushed too much farther on this thing though, and there isn't really any issues to fix. Once 4.4.3 appears I'm sure there will be people porting it.
The biggest problem from the start was people saying the stock OS was perfect and didn't need more than what exposed modules could do. Also this phone has 2 major stock apps that are loved by most touch less control and active notifications. For me that is a deal breaker in a custom ROM. Development is driven by want if the majority of people don't want custom ROMs why build them.
At this point just having root would be like winning a lottery with 4.4, and of course 4.4.2 would be nice as long as it's rootable as well. I got no real issues with the phone itself (the Droid Mini), and I have to admit I'm just sick and tired of dealing with custom ROMs (been doing that for over a decade now on 100+ devices), it's pretty much boring to me nowadays.
I just want a device that works, is rootable so I can run some things that legitimately require it (Titanium Backup primarily, a few others), a kernel that allows for some better performance adjustments and governors with tools like SetCPU or nowadays I prefer Trickster MOD for that stuff, and gives me battery life that I can reasonably count on, and a few tweaks here and there - my one big tweak that I really miss nowadays is using the volume buttons to skip tracks during music playback (screen off) since Motorola just won't put a damned TRRS headphone jack in their devices that allows for actual remotes that work on the headset cords - wonder why they refuse to do that so steadfastly... makes no damned sense to me. Samsung and Apple understand it matters and there's no issue with their devices, can't speak for HTC since I don't mess with their stuff anymore but it sure would have been nice to have proper volume/playback controls for these Motorola devices.
4.4 on the Droid Mini isn't doing that, obviously, at least not as well as I'd hope for battery life but I came from a Droid MAXX before it so I suppose there's nothing out there that comes close to that level of native battery life except the LG G2 and I haven't touched one of those.
As far as development goes, I would tend to lean towards it's basically dead for the Droid Ultra/MAXX/Mini at this point even in spite of them being so closely related to the Moto X/Moto G in some respects (X8 chipset, etc). It's a shame I suppose but that's how it goes.
I'm happy with just root. I use to have the flash itch, but not with this device. Custom Roms are great when they solve a real problem. They're a huge pain in my butt too though. I don't have any real issues with my maxx, so I wouldn't want to deal with the custom rom headaches.
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bigv5150 said:
The biggest problem from the start was people saying the stock OS was perfect and didn't need more than what exposed modules could do. Also this phone has 2 major stock apps that are loved by most touch less control and active notifications. For me that is a deal breaker in a custom ROM. Development is driven by want if the majority of people don't want custom ROMs why build them.
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/sign, good post. nothing else to add.
ps: and if you should remember the moto x development threads, as this phone is actually the same phone as the moto x, only with bigger screen... so i dont see a "problem" with flashing a moto x rom...
Even official development is dead since lenovo bought them.
radzer0 said:
Even official development is dead since lenovo bought them.
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Prove it
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Prove a word that has come from anyone lenovo and not google. Lenovo has a great track record of not updating even current android phones or tablets. There a hardware company and that is all they have been for quite some time. They dont even put together the images for there windows based computers anymore. Its an outside company that lenovo contracts too than loads the drives.
Lenovo wont even sell us any phones they make no matter what. A few years back there was a few models people wanted to see here and we never saw them other than graymarket. The motorola purchase is for the IP portfolio.
radzer0 said:
Prove a word that has come from anyone lenovo and not google. Lenovo has a great track record of not updating even current android phones or tablets. There a hardware company and that is all they have been for quite some time. They dont even put together the images for there windows based computers anymore. Its an outside company that lenovo contracts too than loads the drives.
Lenovo wont even sell us any phones they make no matter what. A few years back there was a few models people wanted to see here and we never saw them other than graymarket. The motorola purchase is for the IP portfolio.
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i cant see the problem of lenovo buying motorola. seriously. i mean as what we have seen to now, motorola was to google always the unwanted child which google tried to get rid of...
lets see what the future brings and we dont know how much lenovo will interfere in motorolas development (there will be some, thats sure).
the ip portfolio will stay at google. lenovo will only have some license rights to use them in their phones without haveing the fear of paying high patent fines to google. this deal was part of the contract lenovo did with google....
I think we have to just wait and watch, what Lenovo is going to do with Motorola.
Following three good things may happen
[1] Motorola phones getting SD slots again like all Lenovo phones.
[2] Motorola phones to come with bigger batteries NOT JUST IN DROID MAXX series like earlier, as Lenovo phones also have bigger batteries [P780 has 4000mAh battery)
[3] Motorola phones to reach much more markets especially in Asia and Europe.
[4] More better and affordable DualSIM phones (again NOT for USA) for Asia, Europe and Brazil
But following things are in UN-SURE mode
[1] Moto's faster updates MAY NOT continue (esp after Lenovo becomes boss of Motorola) as Lenovo has bad update history (if one exists in first place)
[2] Unlock BL program may NOT continue esp for GSM handsets sold in Asia and Europe, as I don't think Lenovo cares about Dev support