Develop Bugs

Motorola Defy worth buying?

Hello guys,
I currently have my good, old, HTC Hero but I think it's time for a change. Is the Motorola Defy worth buying?
I am interested in the following:
1. is it easy to have custom roms?
2. any chance to have a working Gingerbread ROM?
3. are those 512 Mb of RAM enough for these days?
4. should I consider buying Defy or should I just look for another phone?
What's the best Quadrant score you know for Motorola Defy? My record is 428.
Thanks!

If you can wait, I suggest getting the Motorola ATRIX when it comes out at the end of February.
Swyped from my HTC Desire running LeeDrOiD 2.3d with Tapatalk.

I can wait, my Hero is pretty decent at this time. Hummm, but what if the ATRIX will cost 3x or even 4x more than Defy ( I could get a Defy for 240 Euro / 333 AUD )? What's the price that ATRIX is supposed to have at launch?

kastraverde said:
Hummm, but what if the ATRIX will cost 3x or even 4x more than Defy ( I could get a Defy for 240 Euro / 333 AUD )? What's the price that ATRIX is supposed to have at launch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Supposedly $599 off contract with AT&T, but it won't be outdated for quite a while yet
.
Swyped from my HTC Desire running LeeDrOiD 2.3d with Tapatalk.

Hummm. I hope it will be available worldwide. When I bought my Hero I did so just because my desired phone at that moment, Motorola Droid, was not available in Europe. Right after I bought my Hero, Motorola launched Milestone. I kinda regret not buying the Milestone.
Anyway, my first 4 questions at the first post are still still waiting for some answers, guys. Thanks!

kastraverde said:
Hello guys,
I currently have my good, old, HTC Hero but I think it's time for a change. Is the Motorola Defy worth buying?
I am interested in the following:
1. is it easy to have custom roms?
2. any chance to have a working Gingerbread ROM?
3. are those 512 Mb of RAM enough for these days?
4. should I consider buying Defy or should I just look for another phone?
What's the best Quadrant score you know for Motorola Defy? My record is 428.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think the ram would be enough for a while, I've seen people posting quadrant scores 1100-1590, the other plus side is the price and the ruggedness of the phone, I'm considering one myself.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

This phone has done nothing but surprise me. i have a samsung epic that is mine personally and the defy is actually owned by my work. This phone easily went head to head with the epic in performance (until the epic got ext 4 hack), and in some cases has actually performed better (ex dungeon defender refused to install on the epic for a long time but have been playing on the defy since it was released).
The only down side is the locked bootloader that makes custom roms (including a GB rom) almost impossible, however there is a great group on here that is willing to help you customize the phone.

kastraverde said:
I am interested in the following:
1. is it easy to have custom roms?
2. any chance to have a working Gingerbread ROM?
3. are those 512 Mb of RAM enough for these days?
4. should I consider buying Defy or should I just look for another phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Not really, due to the encrypted bootloader - it is possible but it makes things much more difficult than on other handsets.
2. Almost certainly not until the bootloader can be decrypted in some way or Motorola release it themselves.
3. Yeah, plenty.
4. You're the only person who can answer that.

Brumble said:
Think the ram would be enough for a while, I've seen people posting quadrant scores 1100-1590, the other plus side is the price and the ruggedness of the phone, I'm considering one myself.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Mini Info, and my RAM is at a constant 50MB (sometimes less) out of an available 476MB. This phone really knows how to handle stuff. Get it!

512 mb ram is enough to run every application
Standart Quadrant Score is 800 ~ 1000
I see a Guy with a Sense Rom, JIT and OC to 1200 mhz he get 2000+

Hell yeah
sent from my DEFY using XDA App

Yes. Very nice device.

i have an HTC Desire but we got the kids Defys .... must say im very impressed with the defy ... go for it

I got my Defy a couple of weeks ago having spent many hours flashing and re-flashing my Hero with the fantastic roms and kernels built by erasmux, elelinux, radu, Cronos and the others. I have to say I was initially a bit disappointed that I couldn't do the same with my Defy. I did root it and started to tweak it a bit, but to be honest it's such a brilliant phone that there isn't the same imperative as there was with the Hero. For the money you can't get better, and I'm amazed that it's not more widely known. If you read the reviews it's been universally admired, and I've not been disappointed. The screen is outstanding, it's as tough as old boots and it flies, even with Motoblur on it. And if you don't like Motoblur, just remove the widgets and you'll hardly know it's there. It's also a good size - more manageable than some of those 'high-end' phones (Desire HD, Samsung Galaxy S etc) and just as capable.
Can't recommend it highly enough.

shorticus said:
I got my Defy a couple of weeks ago having spent many hours flashing and re-flashing my Hero with the fantastic roms and kernels built by erasmux, elelinux, radu, Cronos and the others. I have to say I was initially a bit disappointed that I couldn't do the same with my Defy. I did root it and started to tweak it a bit, but to be honest it's such a brilliant phone that there isn't the same imperative as there was with the Hero. For the money you can't get better, and I'm amazed that it's not more widely known. If you read the reviews it's been universally admired, and I've not been disappointed. The screen is outstanding, it's as tough as old boots and it flies, even with Motoblur on it. And if you don't like Motoblur, just remove the widgets and you'll hardly know it's there. It's also a good size - more manageable than some of those 'high-end' phones (Desire HD, Samsung Galaxy S etc) and just as capable.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give it some time and the development of roms will pick up because its such a great phone.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Brumble said:
Give it some time and the development of roms will pick up because its such a great phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There'll still be the bootloader issue though.
Until Motorola follow through on their promise to find an alternative solution to encrypting the bootloader that's more hacker-friendly, if indeed they ever bother to do so, we'll be stuck with custom ROMs that are based on the same version of Android as the official ROMs.

Step666 said:
There'll still be the bootloader issue though.
Until Motorola follow through on their promise to find an alternative solution to encrypting the bootloader that's more hacker-friendly, if indeed they ever bother to do so, we'll be stuck with custom ROMs that are based on the same version of Android as the official ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but like i said give it time, nothing is going to happen in an instant.

I just got a quadrant score of 897 running at 1ghz. Nothing major. I could get 1500s easy if my gf didn't install so many games anyway, the phone is worth buying and is waterproof as it claims to be
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App

How does Defy handles Flash?

I would say no, if you can wait then wait a bit!
Encrypted boot-loader means you have to hope Motorola release updates. Wait and see of Motorola change their policies about bootloader, they *may* do it after that youtube comment went wild all over the internet and they responded, but they may not either.
I will never ever buy a phone that is locked out this way. Right now all new phones released by Sony Ericcson and Motorola have locked bootloader. So if I were you I'd stick to HTC or Samsung.
I mean look at something like HTC HD2 or HTC Desire, these phones are now pretty old but have multiple gingerbread ROMs, cause they are fully hackable. of course anything that is a Nexus is also hackable and the Galaxy S range from Samsung is good also.
If I needed a phone right now, I'd be looking at the following:
- Google Nexus S
- Samsung Galaxy S
- HTC Desire HD
- HTC Desire Z
They are all known to be hackable and recent models and will perform better than a Hero.

[Q] Would you buy this phone again?

OK, So I'm shopping for a new phone,
I've been enjoying getting my feet wet with a comparatively low end model & am becoming somewhat addicted to constantly tinkering, have managed to compile my own kernel and now feel the need for an upgrade.
This (Desire Z) is currently at the top of my list as it seems to be well supported by the dev community & I really want a qwerty keypad!
So, as users of this phone & knowing what you know now...
Would you buy this phone again?

Well, I love my Z and i think it works fast and the keyboard is amazing. But the problem these days is: Dual core phones are coming out a lot right now, and even the fast processor of the G2 can't compare to that. So, as much as i love my Desire Z, I would wait a while for a Dual Core HTC (like the Pyramid).
But ofcourse: If you REALLY want a phone right now, a Desire Z with an Otterbox Commuter case is my recommendation! (since I personally love the Otterbox case, hehe.)

hubba88 said:
Well, I love my Z and i think it works fast and the keyboard is amazing. But the problem these days is: Dual core phones are coming out a lot right now, and even the fast processor of the G2 can't compare to that. So, as much as i love my Desire Z, I would wait a while for a Dual Core HTC (like the Pyramid).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, thanks for the input...
I hear what you're saying, my thinking right now is that in order to learn more about kernel & ROM development, is that I should be getting something that has a good amount of hacking & dev work behind it already.
The newer phones are less charted waters & I'm not experienced enough to be a pioneer
Will be sure to look at the otterbox case

waydownsouth said:
Cool, thanks for the input...
I hear what you're saying, my thinking right now is that in order to learn more about kernel & ROM development, is that I should be getting something that has a good amount of hacking & dev work behind it already.
The newer phones are less charted waters & I'm not experienced enough to be a pioneer
Will be sure to look at the otterbox case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, that's also true. And indeed, there is alof of development going on for the Desire Z, it's great. And so many awesome roms to choose from as well.

As Hubba88 said, at this point, I'd wait for a dual core like the HTC Pyramid/Sensation. But, I love my G2 and am very happy with the purchase. Great keyboard, capacitive buttons are in the right place, very responsive trackpad. All in all typically great HTC build quality. CyanogenMod support is a huge plus as well for this phone.

If I knew that the z hinge was going to be so ****ty no,I would not buy it again. I'd go for a unibody design instead.
Sent from my Liquid Metal using XDA Premium App

If the keyboard is important to you, as well as the tinkering aspect, then I reckon this is a good phone.
Not sure there has been much talk of dual core's with keyboards? So a real Desire Z upgrade may be some way beyond the next few HTC phones. Even then when they come out it takes time to build the developer base behind it and get rooting sorted etc. I moved a month and a bit ago and reckon there will be nothing to make me desperately want an upgrade for at least a year.
Look how well the desire has done and still does. The DZ has a better processor and more storage on board etc. The overclockability of the chip seems to be something that will extend its lifespan in terms of performance against the newer phones.
Always worth remembering that there is often quite a difference between phones being rumoured, then announced, and then actually on sale and being hacked. Therefore if a desire Z replacement is not yet in the rumours, it will likely be quite a while before its out there in the real world.
So yeah, I think its a good phone, although not perfect.
As I have insurance with my contract I will be OK with any problems with the Hinge - but none so far.

I voted yes but if I were in the market for a phone now I'd wait till the G2x was available and compare side by side. I suspect I'd get that one because it's newer, faster and has a more future proof AT&T compatible radio.

Thanks all for your input so far,
I've been following the Official thread on which phone should I get for some weeks which does talk about the latest & greatest dual core's an awful lot, but, as I said above the support & dev work that has gone into the DZ already is probably the biggest factor for me, it should give me a good base to work/learn from.
crazyC said:
Look how well the desire has done and still does. The DZ has a better processor and more storage on board etc. The overclockability of the chip seems to be something that will extend its lifespan in terms of performance against the newer phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw in Hubba88's sig that 1.3Ghz is achievable, that seems more than fast enough given the apps that are currently available. I'm thinking it will take a while for any apps to be taking advantage of dual cores...
Re Hinge, well I can cope with that if it becomes an issue, the teardown & repair looks pretty straight forward.

waydownsouth said:
Thanks all for your input so far,
I've been following the Official thread on which phone should I get for some weeks which does talk about the latest & greatest dual core's an awful lot, but, as I said above the support & dev work that has gone into the DZ already is probably the biggest factor for me, it should give me a good base to work/learn from.
I saw in Hubba88's sig that 1.3Ghz is achievable, that seems more than fast enough given the apps that are currently available. I'm thinking it will take a while for any apps to be taking advantage of dual cores...
Re Hinge, well I can cope with that if it becomes an issue, the teardown & repair looks pretty straight forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even 1.9 ghz is achievable . And I haven't had any problems with my hinge, it's pretty sturdy.

If you need a phone now, get the DZ.
If you can wait, wait until the quad core phones come out in 2012.

I love my G2 but I would not buy this phone again. With Swiftkey I find that I never use the hardware keyboard which was the main reason I bought my G2. If I could go back in time I would get a Nexus S or maybe a galaxy s.

Obvious answer is obvious:
Why get the same phone again when it has been 6 months since it first came out, therefore rendering the phone "obsolete", so to speak. If I had half a grand cash in my pocket right now I would wait for the HTC Pyramid (Their Dual Core).

[Q] Need advise about my next phone. Thanks for answering.

i´m thinking about retiring my Hero. But i can´t make a decision about Optimus 2x, optimus 3d o SE Xperia Arc.
I realise Arc isn´t that fast, but it´s got an amazing design, camera and ithink that the screen should be great. On the other hand, i don´t know if it´s going to be supported for that long two years of contract with the operator.
The other altenative are the LGs, far more powerfull, support (official or unoffical) it´s quite guaranted and they seem more durable for that 2 years.
So, what do you think? Is the Arc enough to handle android update for 2 years? Or should i buy one of the Lgs (which i don´t really like at all) to be sure about it support android updates?
Thanks for answering and excuse me for my english, i´m trying to improve it!

SE has been keeping up nicely with their support for the play and the arc. The new releases and update to the android os is actually really fast compared to all the companies except for the googles nexus phones.
Sony already announced 2.3.4 for September. I believe their attitude towards people who already bought a phone from them has changed recently. They realized that they need us to buy another from them in two years in order to keep their market shares up..
Sent from my XPlay using XDA App.

Well, i own two out of the three you are choosing from and eventhough the lg has more opportunities to tweak at the moment, custom rom wise, and has dual core, I still prefer using my arc.
Its fast and stable enough for me, and the looks are just stunning. Of course playing games like riptide gp on the lg is amazing but I am not a big gamer.
from my Arc or Optimus 2x

I know the arc´s appearence is just amazing, wonderfull display and so. BUT i´m not sure about the custom roms realease, i mean, i actually got a Hero, and still developing roms for it. If i knew that in 24 month time from now they´d still keep on developing for the Arc, it´d be my new phone.
So i consider the Lg option bacause of that, i asume that the 2x as well as the 3d will have custom roms in 24 moths time quite sure, but no so with the Arc

Sony are far more likely IMO to provide long-term support for the Arc than LG are for their Optimus handsets.
LG pledged to provide a minimum of one major Android update to each of their handsets but since the 2X and 3D ship with 2.2, all LG has to do is update them to Gingerbread and they could drop all support then without breaking their word.
Obviously custom ROMs are a completely different matter and it's impossible to predict how things will play out for either handset.
As you say yourself, you're assuming that the LGs will still have support in a couple of years time.
But that's all it is, an assumption.

Well, i´ve almost made my mind about this about a 75%. I´ll choose the Optimus 3D because of this:
1- Xperia Arc´s got an awesome design and camera. But it´s got last-year hardware and and don´t think it´ll last me that long 24 moths.
2- Optimus 2X i also awesome, dual core and so. But, it´s kind of "included on the 3D". I mean, the 3D is like a 2X with bigger screen, tri-dual and 3D capabilities.
3- The 3D is the most powerfull phone, excellent for multimedia and costs me 0€ in vodafone SP.
Any advice is still thanked.

When you say you 'don´t think it´ll last me that long 24 moths', what do you mean exactly?

Step666 said:
When you say you 'don´t think it´ll last me that long 24 moths', what do you mean exactly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The contract i´m getting in Vodafone SP last for 24 months, i know, abusive. And that´s beacuse i want a phone that´d be able to run android updates for taht long. I realize it´s difficult to predict it, but i think the 3D has power enough inside for it, but the Arc seems unlikely to run android for that long. Finally, i believe that the 3D will have more custom roms movement and ports, we´ll see.....
I know i´m posting in the Arc forum and i also know that you all have chosed the Arc, i respect it because it´s still one of my options, but i also think it´s on disadvantage with the optimus.
Thank for your interest anyway.

24 month contracts are the norm in the UK, I understand that.
It was the part about the phone 'lasting' that long.
One last thing to consider is the warranty.
LG only give you one year, SE give you two.

Step666 said:
24 month contracts are the norm in the UK, I understand that.
It was the part about the phone 'lasting' that long.
One last thing to consider is the warranty.
LG only give you one year, SE give you two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is spain laws oblidge carrieres to give 2 years warranty as a standart.
For "last" i undersrtand handling android updates. I´m sure it´ll do great with 2.3, hope so on 2.4 icecream sandwich, but not sure about custom roms..... will it be as much as is 2X? Who knows...

Should i buy Defy ! ?

I am a proud user of LG Optimus one which s a fabulous phone due to dev support here @ XDA. I am thinking of buying DEFY. I have few questions.
1. Will Defy be a upgrade from LG optimus one?
2. I heard of earpiece failing problems. Is it prominent?
3. I am an audiophile . So i need an in ear earphones for Defy. Is ther any?
4. How s the dev support for defy. Does defy support well known roms such as oxygen, cm and MIUI?
5. I heard defy suffers because of locked bootloader? Is it curtail the development for this mobile?
6. Does defy have any other problems?
Thanks guyz. Awaiting response.

1) defy is definitely an upgrade from optimus one. It has much better hardware.
2) earpiece problem existed in the earlier models. Now they have fixed it.
3) the earphones (not in ear) provided with the phone is decent. If you don't like them maybe buy a senheiser.
4) dev support is really good. We have official cm and MIUI. Both are very stable.
5) we have had amazing development even with the locked bootloader. Devs have found workarounds but we can't boot custom kernels and this does limit the potential of this device.
6) if you buy a new defy now you will probably get one with green lens. It doesn't support 720p recording and has other incompatibility issues with defy with red lens. Although if you buy a defy+ you will get red lens and official ics update and still use the dev roms for defy.

I bet u there are better phones than defy out there...
Defy is now old!!
I don't say its a bad phone but Motorola sucks!!
Sent from my MB525 using xda premium

get one ^^
Moto Moto [so good you say it twice]

overall is a great phone and the build quality is the best IMO as it go water resistance and scratch resistance...

If I look at it now, I would have bought a used nexus s. But defy is cheaper and I find it quite good for the money. Especially with CM7.
Sent from my MB525

Defy is a good phone indeed but it's old now!
I think you should get some other phone and it's not the right moment to buy any motorola device since they're keeping on lying about bootloader matter.

I'm a proud 1 year Defy user looking to buy a Desire Z or something similar.
1. I cannot tell you more than the specs comparison would tell you. But if the screen is bigger than it is an upgrade (I wouldn't buy anything below 480*800
2. That was a problem of the first batches. By the time I bought mine (February 2011) it was already solved.
3. Any stereo headphone will work. I've tried 2 pairs of Apple, some Bose with mic from a Berry Torch, some Samsung that came with Galaxy S+. I use a pair of HeadDirect RE0 (without mic). If you're a big fan of good sound try RE0 or Phonak PFE221 or head over to head-fi.org for advice.
4./5. There are quite a few devs around here. Not too many, but very active. Sadly the locked bootloader keeps them behind (Desire Z already has AOSP ICS 4.0.3 for example). So giving the situation I can say that it is a very supported phone. So there is CM7.1, a few flavors of MIUI, a few modified originals and combinations.
6. At the moment I don't know of any major, wide spread problems.
I should also mention the green/red lens thingie:
Green: also called SoC, no 720p, common on Defy, drivers in 2.1 and 2.2 Moto ROMs
Red: also called Bayer, 720p capable, found on some Defy's and Defy+, drivers in 2.3 MotoROMs
LE: Hardware wise Defy is a great phone (one of the best price/quality) but the locked bootloader pisses me off. I am also looking forward to try a hardware querty.

I bought one of the first Defys released in the US (Nov 2010), Green lens and all. Have had zero issues that I could not sort myself. You might look at the Defy Plus as it has a faster processor and runs 2.3 out of the box (I believe). But, it does not have the t-mo 3G frequency.

I am a bit disappointed to have a phone from Motorola but Optimus one is just a crap if u compare it with defy.
Defy is at least 100 times better than optimus one in all aspect.

By Scott, pull the trigger...
I'm using the optima one titanium, and i would trade this any day for my defy back!!!
Ps.
Month old lg optimus p509 for sale/ trade, Motorola defy..
No scratches, pristine condition. Boxed with original gear, a well as two extra screen protectors, and the case i bought.
Original parts include ear buds, charge with cable as well as 4gb Sandisc micro card.
Phone still has first screen protector, and has never/ will never be overclocked!!!
Let me know
karthikus said:
Thanks guyz. Awaiting response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I guess you can answer this question asking yourself how much you have in the pocket.
For me, it's the best cost/benefit in the market, and I recomend it for everyone!
But if you can buy a brand new model with more 'skills' than the defy, go for it.

I recommend Defy, but HTC HD2 and NexusS also have great value...
IMHO, Defy and RAZR are the best quality made phones, take that as an advantage...

mihovil13 said:
I recommend Defy, but HTC HD2 and NexusS also have great value...
IMHO, Defy and RAZR are the best quality made phones, take that as an advantage...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah but Nexus S build quality is not really as good as Defy's and honestly the back is just ugly (a bit better hardware though and Google support) Hd2 is a very good phone! Very good build quality, very good dev support (maybe the best) but Defy is Faster/Smooter (android native) and has better screen...
I heard that defy is old....yeah? Nexus S is as old as defy...hd2 is veeeery old but still a good phone... As long as you don't go for a dual core phone there's no need to change defy. Is as good as any single core phone on the market, no real/visible difference (performance wise)!

pravarth said:
1) defy is definitely an upgrade from optimus one. It has much better hardware...
...6) if you buy a new defy now you will probably get one with green lens. It doesn't support 720p recording and has other incompatibility issues with defy with red lens. Although if you buy a defy+ you will get red lens and official ics update and still use the dev roms for defy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source on official ICS update? motorola page says it will stay on 2.3

Defy is Great!
Defy is good to go with!
1) It is wtr proof, scratch proof, dust proof.
2) Speed is amazing in CM7 mode.
3) ICS is almost ready only HWA and Camrecoder are left to be fixed. it might be completed within few days for more info visit this thread.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1432100

Yes,you can.
Sent from my MotoA953 using XDA App

Defy+/Defy GB Kernel. this should work with the regular defy with a bayer camera right?

defy is not bad
defy is not bad

Yes, It works.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App

Thinking about getting a WFS

been without a phone for a few months and I'm finally thinking about getting one..
Either a WFS or Optimus Elite on Virgin mobile.
I'm just curious to see whether it's actually worth spending $179+$35 on for an out dated arm6 phone. I mean it's kinda on par with my HTC Hero(which I actually used a wildfire based rom on)
I just don't want to get the phone and then be completely unhappy with it..
I did read/watch reviews on it back in November/December after it came out.
as for rooting and what not... i pretty much know how to do all that
(Two gold MT3g gold cards and unrevoked HeroC) which will greatly improve the storage capacity of the phone.
As always, thanks in advance

u should get galaxy ace/plus/2
they are better than WFS

Both have their pros and cons........the LG elite has a bigger battery,NFC(plus for you??) but no ambient light sensor for auto-brightness(WTF)....it also has an ARMV7 processor,which supports flash
The wildfire s has good looks,A useful Sense UI but a less powerful processor
Also the WFS on virgin mobile is CDMA.......and the CDMA variant of the wildfire s doesn't have much on the development front,the CM9 and CM7 don't work on the CDMA wildfire s
So it's a stalemate in the Dev front........which leaves the decision to you.......if you want NFC and can live without auto-brightness......take the LG elite, Else look at the wildfire s

Well I could always go with T-mobile. but I'd be dropped to 100 minutes talk time.
HTC sense is a BIG plus for me.
NFC, i actually had to google that one, so I don't need it.
For the LG optimus elite, I haven't looked into it yet but I saw it can be rooted, does it have a decent dev. support?

don't know 'bout that

do yourself a huge favour and get anything else but this phone....had the phone around 6 months, and it's been nothing but hassle...just finding a rom that's stable, works, and gives you enough room for even the basic apps is a pain, and in fact something I have still yet to accomplish. don't say I didn't warn you :s

armv6 is a huge setback....DONT buy an armv6 fone or u will cry out loud!!