Getting a phone

[miffy495]

On my 18th birthday, I got one of these:

 

 

I've been using this phone for seven and a half years now. It still works just fine for texting and calling, and the battery can last for almost three days, but it is now physically held together with scotch tape. I graduate with my second degree next week (again, got the above phone just after leaving high school) and my folks have decided to finance a new smart phone for me as a grad gift. The phone can be any phone. Given my 7 year old flip phone ways, I have no idea what makes a good smart phone. The people here seem like they'd know what they're talking about, so I figured I'd come for advice. I'm leaning towards going Android, as the only Apple product I own is a five year old iPod touch and I don't really like Apple that much. Going Android means that I have way more choices though. The Galaxy 4 just came out, and it's easy to be tempted by the newest, shiniest thing, but I don't want to just blindly get a thing because it's new without being at least kind of aware of what I'm ruling out by making that choice. Also, as I post here, it's a pretty safe assumption that I'm a gamer. I know that smartphones are a popular way of conveying games these days, but have no idea what the scene on any particular OS is. So I put it to you, Idle Forums:

 

1. What sort of advice can you give me on picking a new Android phone? Or, if you're an Apple zealot, what may you say to convince me (as someone who's always found Apple to make products which are fine functionality-wise, but overpriced to the point of being status symbols as soon as you get beyond the base level) that an iPhone 5 may be worth it?

 

2. What is the gaming scene like on Android? From what I can tell, phone gaming is something that would interest me as a curiosity for about a day and then I'd forget about it and go back to my 3DS. Is there anything actually compelling to do on there?

 

Thanks, thumbs!

[elmuerte]

1. Pick an android phone which is open. Phone manufacturer are notoriously bad in supporting their hardware. If you want your phone to move along for a couple of years you will have to resort to custom ROMs. Phones that do not require dirty hacks to access them completely are therefor better. Google Nexus devices are generally well supported by Google itself. A good way to find "open" phones is to check the latest supported CyanogenMod levels for phone: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Devices#type=%22phone%22,%22phone%20%28slider%29%22;cmversions=%2210.1%22;  Most phones that are listed are open, some require some special steps to unlock the phone (i.e. execute some commands and  say "yes I know this will void warranty"). Having an "open" android phone can extend its life quite a few years.

 

2. I don't know, I don't play games on phones.

[Merus]

The Google Nexus is a fine phone from what I understand. The Galaxy 4 has a very nice screen but might have problems with shelf-life.

 

You will find that constant internet access is a game-changer. Be aware that your usage will change once you realise you can look up anything you're wondering about while you're out, like whether these "free-range" eggs in the supermarket are actually ethical or just slightly less barbaric than caged eggs.

 

I have an iPhone mostly because I'm happy with defaults a lot of the time and the App Store is somewhat better for games than Android. The more open platform also means there's a lot more incompatibility, and the Apple luxury tax means developers find it easier to get money out of people on iOS. It sounds like you have different priorities, so I think Android's a good choice for you.

 

There are Real Games on mobile devices; Cave and Square Enix have released their back catalogue, for instance, so you can have FF Tactics or a proper bullet-hell shooter on your phone if you'd like. The proportion of substantial games on mobile devices is slim, mostly they're endless runners, action puzzle games and microtransaction nonsense.

[SecretAsianMan]

I have a Nexus 4 and I love it.  It's sleek, fast, and the price can't be beat.  The biggest drawbacks are battery life, non-removable battery, no LTE support, and no SD card slot.  Battery life tends to be a problem across the board for Android phones.  You'll maybe get a day's use out of it with moderate usage.  The lack of SD card slot is a problem for some, but I have the 32GB model and I've never found storage to be an issue, although I don't keep any music on there and instead use cloud services.  Perhaps the best part about the Nexus 4 is it runs stock Android, which means less bloat compared to third party UIs.

 

The Galaxy 4 is also probably a good choice.  I had a Galaxy S2 before I got a Nexus and that was a great phone.  I'd also consider the HTC One (not to be confused with the Xbox One).  Personally, if I had to choose between the Galaxy and the HTC One, I'd pick the HTC One.  Both of those will come with their manufacturer's UI on it (Samsung/HTC), but if you can wait for a bit, both will be available on June 26th from the Google Play store with stock Android like the Nexus 4.  Of course, they won't be as cheap as the Nexus, around $600.

 

As for games, there are a lot of fun things, but nothing that would replace a 3DS.  The real benefit is obviously when you don't have anything else with you and you want something to play.  Chris has mentioned Drop7 a couple times on the cast and that's a fun one.  There's stuff like Plants vs Zombies, more tower defense games than you can count, ripoffs from Gameloft, Angry Birds, and more.  One thing to consider is the Humble Bundles.  There have been several Android bundles and there's a nice app that you can use download all the games you've purchased from any bundle.  I'm sure there will be more Android bundles in the future.

[BrnYhl]

HTC has good build quality, but their "Sense" ROM can be annoying. Maybe not to you if you've never used a smartphone.

Also the newer HTC phones don't let you take the battery out and I've not had good luck with their batteries.

[brkl]

You should get a Lumia.

 

 

[Hermie]

Oh, I like this topic!

 

First of, iOS versus Android in terms of gaming. iOS is more or less always declared the winner when it comes to this, as the games released on iOS are usually higher quality, and it's easier to get a hold of the best games without wading through shovelware, both due to a better storefront and word of mouth. Those two factors kinda beget eachother.

 

However, as a "gamer" you have some good advantages on Android. If you're the same kind of gamer as me (or Elmuerte, clearly) you enjoy having everything tweaked just right, and will go searching for the optimal experience. In this camp Android is the clear winner, as you can do more or less whatever you want to make the phone optimal for you.

 

 

Another thing that might interest you is retro gaming. On iOS, there are plenty of old adventure games in shiny remade versions, that are a great fit for a touch screen. On the other hand, on Android you can install emulators and ScummVM, so there you can play all the old games (you legally already own copies off, of course). 

 

I find a phone too small to play heavier games, so in the end I have an iPad I use to mostly play ports of PC games (lately I've been playing Gemini Rue, Frozen Synapse, and I just got KotOR), while I have a Galaxy S3 that I usually just play smaller puzzle games on; Drop7, Sudoku, crosswords, etc.

 

 

 

The flagship Android phones right now are the all previously mentioned Galaxy S4, HTC One and Nexus 4. If price is no object, get one of these. (Preferably with stock Android like SAMan said, as both Samsung and HTC's skins are kind of annoying.) To pick between them you should go into a store to touch and feel them, see which design you like the best. If you're looking for something cheaper, the S3 or even S2+ are still great phones.

 

Oh, and if you're worried about moisture damage, get a Sony Xperia.

[Gormongous]

Fuck yeah. I hate my Xperia for so many things, because it's a terrible phone abandoned by AT&T three months out of the gate, but it's the only phone that's ever survived a full immersion while on.

[feelthedarkness]

I'm using an HTC One, and I'm quite enjoying it. If you aren't using it heavily the battery is pretty good, the power saver is very effective.

The galaxy nexus is a great phone, but if you're in a location with great high speed wireless, the nexus can't use it, 3G only.

[JonCole]

My Android advice:

 

1. If you're at all interested in rooting/installing new ROMs, get a Nexus, Samsung, or LG phone. HTC and Motorola have notoriously difficult to unlock bootloaders.

2. Get the most flagship-y, recent phone you can afford (in that order). In almost any instance, I'd recommend getting the top of the line phone of the last generation (3-6 months old) over a second, budget-targeted phone of the current generation. Flagship means installed base, which means there'll be the greatest support from the manufacturer, carrier, developer community, accessory makers etc. You'd be surprised how ridiculously difficult it is to get a dock or decent selection of cases for a second-string phone.

3. Battery life is almost universally disappointing coming from your previous phone. With regular use, almost every Android phone will last you a day (8-10 hours). If you plan on gaming or using the device for high power consumption needs (streaming, GPS, video processing), look for a device with a relatively small, AMOLED screen, with removable battery. You can get a lot more out of your phone if you can replace the battery after a year or buy an extended battery.

4. If you care about the camera a fair amount, buy a HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4 full-stop. The standard fare 8MP cameras in most phones are absolute garbage in low light and have slow shutter.

 

Regarding the gaming scene, it's mediocre. Most of the games I've played at any length are very much of the newspaper puzzle or Bejeweled sub-genres.

 

I'd probably recommend a Samsung Galaxy S4. While I'm absolutely smitten with the industrial design of the One, I've been burned one too many times on HTC's locked bootloaders and poor accessory availability. If you're going to own an Android phone, you might as well own the most popular, biggest one out there.

[Nachimir]

I have had regrets over going with Android in the past, but it's improved a lot in recent years. The times me or friends have looked into Android phones, it's seemed to come down to a Samsung or a HTC. I got a One X last year, it's absolutely fine, and I'm pretty overjoyed at not having to dick around rooting it just to make the damn thing work.

 

If you decide not to root, then things can vary depending on your carrier. Mine seem to send HTC updates out almost immediately, but a friend has the same phone on a different network, and they can take a few months over it because they insist on shoving carrier specific shitware in there with it. IMO, rooting Android phones isn't much fun unless you like having a project instead of a phone. I used to have a HTC Legend, and never found a build that didn't have some catastrophically annoying bug or other.

[Twig]

I spent a couple hours rooting my phone (an hour longer than necessary because I fucked up a step) and have had literally no problems since then.

[SecretAsianMan]

I rooted my phone almost right away and have also had zero problems.  One bit of advice with rooting, if you're going to do it, do it right away.  You'll lose all data in the process and any apps or other info will have to be downloaded again.  Rooting is good if you like a lot of control and are a bit of a power user.  But it seems like more and more apps are able to do things without root that you couldn't before, so it seems to be less necessary than it used to be.

[TheLastBaron]

Was just about to post what SAM said about rooting ASAP. I've never gotten around to rooting my phone which I've had for a couple years because by the time I decided I wanted to do it I'd had my phone for a while and am too lazy to back everything up. I'm going to get a new phone soon (Galaxy S4 most likely) and it'll be the first thing I do with it.

[JonCole]

Rooting with ClockworkMod Recovery and CyanogenMod is a breeze. Clockwork will notify you of updates and flashing the updated version of the ROM is no more complicated than an OTA carrier update.

[Frenetic Pony]

Ooooh I know this as good as anyone! (Ereyday I'm reading da engadget an typin up this in en renderm axence).

 

Root root root!

 

Unless you're getting a stock Android phone (highly recommended) root that shit and use Cyanogen mod! The purpose isn't realy to "power user" but to get the damned updates on time or rather all if ever you can.

 

Also, don't bother with Samsung, only the ignorant tend to go with them (not that they're THAT bad, just not the best), the only reason they've the market share they do is marketing. Their phones are never particcularly well made. The HTC One is a better phone all around, with a better camera, stereo speakers, better build quality, and is just as fast, and you can get it with stock android, meaning every OS update you want is yours to have immediately without rooting your phone or any of that shit. It's too bad HTC didn't catch onto the "advertising" thing and will be closed soon, but with stock android your updates come directly from Google, so that shouldn't bother you.

 

If, on the other hand, you are looking for something like a kickass camera that can replace anything and everything but a high $500+ camera, wait a few months for Sony's new very cool camera phone they're supposed to be revealing soon. 2/3" sensor ftw! Almost everyone uses Sony sensors anyway, but this one is quite a bit larger than any other mobile camera sensors out there, and sensor of for sensor larger is much better. Sony also has a solid reputation for phones, though their specs are usually a bit behind.

 

The other thing to consider is smaller phones. In which case you buy a 4" iphone 5 and call it good. It's a really good all around phone really, and no one makes smaller phones anymore, which makes me mad >: ( The bigger phones feel awful, I'd never go beyond 4.3" I'd really suggest trying some phones out to see how big or small you'd want them.

 

And as the joke goes, no one owns a Windows Phone besides MS employees. And my mom, and me, and my brother (until he smashed his). Point is they're really quite good if app selection isn't terribly your thing. I still like the interface more than Android, and I've used a Nexus 7 extensively. They're also out for a good price, and the Lumia's high end tends to have excellent cameras.

[Twig]

But it seems like more and more apps are able to do things without root that you couldn't before, so it seems to be less necessary than it used to be.

Yeah, that's true. Main reason I rooted was to cleanse my phone of vendor trash. Same reason I immediately reinstall Windows when I get a new laptop.

[JonCole]

I guess it might be helpful to list the advantages of rooting, since it's a little obscure why you would do it:

 

1. You can delete any stock apps (as Twig mentioned). I don't know how different Canadian carriers are than State-side carriers, but here Verizon and Sprint drop a lot of proprietary garbage apps on the phone that you'll never use.

 

2. Root-only apps. Sure, there are fewer of these every day but there are some functions that simply wouldn't be allowed without root access. For instance, there are apps that allow you to use gestures to trigger specific functions in the OS. You can enable your device to allow system level management from your PC wirelessly. 

 

3. Full backup of the device. With a custom recovery, you'll be able to completely backup your system with a system image. Mess with anything you shouldn't have? Enjoy performing clean installs on your Windows machine every now and then because it just seems snappier? Full backups via root let you do that. Not only that, but you can use an app like Titanium Backup to completely backup the data of various apps, which is useful if you ever upgrade your phone and want to transfer save data from games or make sure that all your texts and contacts transfer over.

 

4. Overclocking/underclocking of CPU and/or GPU for performance/power consumption/heat preferences.

 

5. Completely getting rid of manufacturer tweaks to the UI.

 

6. Updates potentially forever. There are developers who put the latest version of Android on the HTC HD2, which released in 2009 running Windows Mobile 6.5. It took Verizon and HTC 6 months longer than the developer community to install Android 4.0 on my Rezound. The Nexus One (released in Jan 2010) was highly acclaimed for getting all the latest updates from Google, until Android 4.0 which wasn't supported by the device thanks to being below minimum spec. Fortunately, developers in the ROM community ported it in a usable state. Sure, it's not ideal, but the ROM community will support any flagship phone for months if not years longer than the manufacturer/carrier.

[Ben X]

I don't know much about phones, but I've got an HTC One X which I'm very happy with and play Scumm VM games on. There was an Android gaming thread at one point, I think...

 

My main advice would be to invest in a really good protective case. I got the £30 OtterBox one for mine and I'm so glad I did. It makes the phone a little bulkier, which for me is a plus, and has protected it from all kinds of drops, scrapes and spillages which otherwise would have killed it within about a month. Also, Bluetooth wireless headphones are brilliant, I got a pair for £20-£40 and they're great.

[Nachimir]

Rooting with ClockworkMod Recovery and CyanogenMod is a breeze.

 

This is true, and what I ended up doing, but I never found a good ROM for the Legend. Unless you know there's one out there for the phone you're getting, it can be a lottery.

[toblix]

I'm pretty excited about what Apple is doing with iOS next week, with the new flat-look design and lots of changed everywhere, according to rumors. I feel like they've been skating along with their cruddy old stuff for a few too many years, and hopefully they're feeling the pressure enough to make many enough interesting changes to make things feel fresh again. If they announce another version with their bullshit notification system and non-removable compass app, I'm selling all my Apple stock.

[elmuerte]

FYI, installing a custom ROM isn't rooting. If you can get access to the bootloader and install a different OS without abusing software flaws then it's not rooting.

[Berzee]

[JonCole]

FYI, installing a custom ROM isn't rooting. If you can get access to the bootloader and install a different OS without abusing software flaws then it's not rooting.

 

Semantically, "installing a custom ROM isn't rooting" makes sense. However, "getting access to the bootloader" means that your bootloader is unlocked and therefore you have root access. The colloquial "rooting" is granting access to the root of a device by abusing software flaws, as you said.

 

It's a semantic difference, but a meaningful one. For instance, HTC has recently exposed the HTCdev channel to the consumer as a means of "unlocking your phone". It gives you access to a very specific version of what HTC calls "hboot", which is essentially a form of the bootloader. That said, you can only install using a tethered fastboot process and you can't make any changes to the boot.img (meaning you can't install a custom kernel or radio). Without being able to change the kernel, you can't do things like modify voltage or frequency of the CPU/GPU.

 

The upshot is that without achieving s-off (true access to the bootloader) and not HTC's 90% of the way there hboot, you'll have a lot harder time installing custom ROMs to a phone. I have personal experience with this process having dealt with my HTC Rezound. Without S-Off, I was stuck with installing ICS/JB ROMs that utilized the GB kernel and thus suffered from power efficiency issues as well as various bugs in components like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Even still, various HTC devices require a "wire trick" to achieve S-Off, which requires precise timing of connecting exposed contacts on the back of devices while software is interfacing with the phone via ADB. In short, a total pain in the ass that easily results in bricking a phone.

[syntheticgerbil]

Hmm, Miffy, I don't know if I can be of any help, but you seem like you have a similar attitude towards phones that I have. I had a doofy Nokia for years, then tried again in 2009 by buying an older style model that was a smart phone with Symbian  tat played Ngage 2.0 Games(I wanted to play Metal Gear Solid NGage, but by then the NGage service was broken so I could never purchase the full version (). Did you ever have a data plan on your phone? I have gone out of my way every time to avoid a data plan by never buying a smart phone from the service provider. They almost never allow you to do so without having a data plan in your contract.

 

So last November, my Ngage style phone became a mess of broken buttons and plastic that I had to keep supergluing together. My major needs for a mobile phone tend to be internet and FM RADIO TRANSMITTER. Non one makes FM radio transmitters for phones anymore, so the Nokia N85 actually still serves as my MP3 player in my car. I guess most car stereos have bluetooth systems now, but my old Toyota still runs fine.

 

Anyway, ended up purchasing some kind of Samsung Galaxy 1 (i9000 I think?) refubished for $350 and stuck my sim card in it. I use the wifi only at home or work or when I can (if I need to get maps and I'm lost somewhere, I drive around looking for a free wifi signal). I don't play any games on it, because I play all the mobile stuff on my iPad. It's still mostly a thing I use for calling and texting but has a touch screen and is sturdier. I kind of feel ripped off in a way, because I never use all the bells and whistles on my phone, but I guess I'm somewhat up to date finally. IT ONLY HAS A BLUE TOOTH TRANSMITTER THOUGH WHICH IS BS. I bought an FM transmitter that did audio out from the phone but it made all this horrible static and was a rip off piece of junk.

 

Anyway, if you are a cheap ass who doesn't really care about extensive smart phones, jailbreaking, or data plans, I say buy an unlocked phone that is a few years old and then use it for 7 years again.