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Thread: Advice on Android devices?

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    Senior Member joshwa's Avatar
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    Advice on Android devices?

    Hello,

    What are good / bad android devices? I'm looking at buying one - sim-free - I assume they're all unlocked?

    I like the look of the Motorola Droid / Milestone - but price puts me off.

    Can they all be upgraded to the latest version of OS?
    Could I buy an old one and then upgrade the OS?

    Probably just a temporary phone till my contact is up in a 2/3 months

    Josh

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    Welcome to stampytown! Salazaar's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    After seeing Guy's HTC Desire I really, really want one of them but they're right at the top end of the price range ~£400.

    It seems to depend on the manufacturer as to whether upgrades get released and when, despite Google releasing updates fairly regularly.
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    Senior Member joshwa's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Is there a timeline anywhere? With OS available?

    Newest:
    HTC Desire
    Nexus One
    Motorola Milestone
    HTC Hero 2
    HTC Hero
    Touch?

    etc to oldest

    I also don't know the different names for them because some were T-Mobile and released with a different name? Makes it quite confusing.

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    ALT0153™ Rob_B's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Pretty sure I've seen 2nd hand Desires selling for £280 if that's an option for you? It does seem to be the Android king (in the UK at least) at the moment.

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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Desire - so very good
    Crosshair VIII Hero (WIFI), 3900x, 32GB DDR4, Many SSDs, EVGA FTW3 3090, Ethoo 719


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    HEXUS.social member finlay666's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by joshwa View Post
    Probably just a temporary phone till my contact is up in a 2/3 months
    Are you/other half/friend on O2 contract?

    If so they sell the Desire without contract for £285 for existing customers, call retentions on 202 (2 then 2 on options), no contract so there would just be the cost of unlocking it

    The milestone is nice, they have an updated one (Droid X possibly?) but finding one is a pain except from places such as expansys

    I'm looking at a Desire or similar myself atm

    EDIT: Forgot the Droid 2 is surfacing now with details
    http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/10/m...fully-exposed/
    Last edited by finlay666; 23-06-2010 at 11:15 AM.
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    Senior[ish] Member Singh400's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    HTC Desire, you seriously can't go wrong with this phone. I LOVE IT.

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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    If you are on O2 or anyone in your family is, ring them up and go through to upgrades. This is what I did and I got a brand new unlocked HTC Desire for £285!

    I think the Desire is probably the best android handset out in the uk, but the Samsung Galaxy S that has just launched is supposed to be very powerful, personally I prefer HTC's Sense UI rather than the Samsung skin...

    The Milestone (Droid) is a very good handset from Motorola, doesn't have quite the grunt of the droid but has a good GPU for gaming and obviously a keyboard. The Droid 2 is just about to launch in the US so it might be worth waiting to see if it makes it across the pond before you buy one.

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    Laird Of The Glen jimborae's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    The Desire is lot of money to spend for a phone that's only going to be used on a tempory basis though.

    I would probably look at trying to get an HTC Legend secondhand, saw a brand new unopened one go on AVForums for about £200 yesterday which is silly cheap if you ask me. Although it's smaller than the Desire & less powerful, in use it seems to be just as quick to me, it truly is a worthy successor to the HTC Hero.

    With reagrds to unlocking, roms etc, some phones are locked to a network, most can be unlocked though. Not all phones will get updated to latest software, that mainly seems to be up to the network apart from the Nexus One. However if you get a fairly popular phone and unlock & root it then you can usually find custom roms available. e.g. My HTC MAgic is currently on a custom 2.1 Eclair rom, yet officially it should only be on 1.6 Donut. My Nexus One is running a Desire rom or unofficial 2.2 FroYo depending on my mood and my Desire is running a Modaco custom rom.

    So it really is horses for courses but I would see how much your budget is and then get the best HTC device available.

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    Senior Member joshwa's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Thanks for the advice - here's what I've found: Prices on ebay for buy now.

    2010 Phones: - Announcement Date, Device / AKA, Release OS - Ebay buy now - Expansys
    18/06/2010 - Motorola Droid X / 2 Milestone 2 - N/A
    07/06/2010 - Motorola Droid/Milestone XT720 - £400 - £429
    17/05/2010 - HTC Wildfire - £240 £234
    23/03/2010 - Samsung Galaxy S - not checked - £459
    16/02/2010 - Sony X10 - £240 - £449
    16/02/2010 - Sony X10 Mini - £170 - £249
    16/02/2010 - HTC Desire - £290 - £399
    16/02/2010 - HTC Legend - £275 ish? - £349
    05/01/2010 - Google Nexus One (HTC) - £350 - £555

    2009 Phones:
    11/09/2009 - Motorola Cliq (US) / Dext (UK) - £130
    08/09/2009 - HTC Tattoo/Ink - £120 - £229
    06/09/2009 - Motorola Droid (US) / Milestone (UK) - £230 - £349
    24/06/2009 - HTC Hero / G2 (T-Mobile), Release OS 1.5 - £165 - £329
    17/02/2009 - HTC Magic (Vodafone), OS - £150?
    05/02/2009 - HTC Dream / G1 (T-Mobile) - £90

    Most tempted by the Milestone, Hero or Dext
    (Tattoo has resistive screen so I've gone off this)
    Last edited by joshwa; 23-06-2010 at 03:16 PM. Reason: updated prices.

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    Laird Of The Glen jimborae's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Ebay prices are way out by the looks of things. A Legend should be cheaper than a Desire by quite a margin. Certainly wouldn't pay £150 for a Magic either, £100-£120 is more appropriate. Out of the one you're tempted by I'd go for the Hero as it's quite cheap, very capable and will be getting Android 2.1 officially at the end of the month hopefully.

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    Senior[ish] Member Singh400's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    "16/02/2010 - HTC Desire - £280?"

    That is an absolute steal. Nab it quickly!!

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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by joshwa View Post
    Thanks for the advice - here's what I've found: Prices on ebay for buy now.

    2010 Phones: - Announcement Date, Device / AKA, Release OS
    18/06/2010 - Motorola Droid X / 2 Milestone 2 - N/A
    07/06/2010 - Motorola Droid/Milestone XT720 - £400
    17/05/2010 - HTC Wildfire - £240
    23/03/2010 - Samsung Galaxy S - not checked
    16/02/2010 - HTC Desire - £290
    16/02/2010 - HTC Legend - £275 ish?
    05/01/2010 - Google Nexus One (HTC) - £350

    2009 Phones:
    11/09/2009 - Motorola Cliq (US) / Dext (UK) - £130
    08/09/2009 - HTC Tattoo/Ink - £120
    06/09/2009 - Motorola Droid (US) / Milestone (UK) - £230
    24/06/2009 - HTC Hero / G2 (T-Mobile), Release OS 1.6 - £165
    17/02/2009 - HTC Magic (Vodafone), OS - £150?
    05/02/2009 - HTC Dream / G1 (T-Mobile) - £90

    The HTC Hero is Android 1.5..... Also, Those prices seem all over the place, since when was ebay an accurate price guide?
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    Senior Member joshwa's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bunjiweb View Post
    The HTC Hero is Android 1.5..... Also, Those prices seem all over the place, since when was ebay an accurate price guide?
    I could quote Expansys - but then prices would be way more than I'm willing to pay But I may as well add them

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    HEXUS.social member finlay666's Avatar
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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bunjiweb View Post
    If you are on O2 or anyone in your family is, ring them up and go through to upgrades. This is what I did and I got a brand new unlocked HTC Desire for £285!
    Quote Originally Posted by finlay666 View Post
    Are you/other half/friend on O2 contract?

    If so they sell the Desire without contract for £285 for existing customers, call retentions on 202 (2 then 2 on options), no contract so there would just be the cost of unlocking it

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    Re: Advice on Android devices?

    Quote Originally Posted by jimborae View Post
    Ebay prices are way out by the looks of things. A Legend should be cheaper than a Desire by quite a margin.
    Where on earth do you get this from? On release some places actually had the Legend more expensive than the Desire. Granted, most places had the Legend £30 cheaper, but that's hardly 'quite a margin'. Add to that the Legend has at times been harder to get hold of than the Desire and that will push the eBay value up a little.

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