[Q] GSM Phone for travel - Droid Incredible Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I go to China quite often and have a GSM phone for use there (not willing to go into poverty so I can use my incredible there ). Simply put it sucks. What would you recommend I get for use there to replace the one I currently have? I don't want anything too expensive. Based on my experience with my incredible, and what I've heard from my friend who has a D2, I really want something HTC and not Moto but anything else could be fine if it's outstanding. What would you recommend? What have you tried and what have you hated?
From the research I've done, I might consider:
HD2
Desire GSM
N1
G2 (Desire Z)
Not gonna consider:
Moto Phones
Blackberries (eew)

Related

[Q] Roms

Okay so I am new to the pro coming from an incredible...and well when i first got the incredible there really wasnt anything as far as rooting and roms go..but the pro has been out since november..it has root..however it doesnt seem like a lot of people are interested in porting roms and making customs ones for it..i mean is fission the only thing being worked on? no miui or cynagen?
That seems to be the case. I am actually researching how to cook Roms to see if I could do it since no one else seems to be.
Sent from my DROID PRO using XDA App
yeah im thinking about learning to do it too...its just finding time with school/work
I also came from the Incredible. The development for that device was amazing within a few months. However, for the Pro, it's really a sad state of affairs--no ROM to speak of. There is a Fission ROM RC1, but it's definitely not a daily driver and there's been nothing since that first release.
I LOVE the physical keyboard of the Pro, but I miss the fun of the Incredible. I'm sure I'll soon sell my Pro for the upcoming Incredible 2 or thunderbolt. I'll never buy a Motorola Android device again.
Yeah. It's kind of too bad. I have a Droid Pro and a Droid 2 (was given the Droid Pro), and recently switched to the Droid Pro as my everyday device. I love the keyboard and form factor, but would prefer to be able to run something closer to AOSP stock (have the most recent build of Fission on the D2).
I'm guessing that there just aren't enough Droid Pros out there for anyone to be interested in developing ROMs. Too bad, because it's a great phone, although I can see people not being interested in a "high-end" phone with an HVGA display.
Maybe the next version of MotoBlur will be better than the current one (although I've been happier with the stock software on the Droid Pro than I was with the Motoblur on the Droid 2 when it came out).
I mean for me its not so much as the UI...i actually dont mind moto blur at all and aside from missing the favorites widget for contacts and the default clock..i like it a lot better than sense...but the thing that i want is custom kernels and what not for speed/battery management and the other extra things
where are the chefs............?????????????
its pity, great phone with great hardware but dump software, we need chefs here..... where are you??????
please dont let droid pro to go down the drain, please......
we need a stable and fast AOSP ROM .......if possible......donating not a problem
please guys.....
Yeah I am really hoping for a Cynagen port of 2.3 onto this device
Really? This is where we stand on this? Nothing since February?
yah i know it sucks i want to learn to port so i can take the roms made for dx or d2 i really want cyn
Isn't the bootloader locked on this thing? That's why not really any roms?
Bootloader on the Droid X and Droid 2 are locked as well but both have some custom ROMs available..
Think it's more of an issue with the lack of numbers....not any devs have this device and not a huge number of Droid Pro users compared with the others....with the similarities with the X and Droid 2 you would think it wouldn't be too hard to port over a ROM to the Pro....
if you go check out droid forums you will see there is a guy working on CM7 for the PRO i cant wait for the first beta
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/motorola-droid-pro/154369-gonna-build-cyanogenmod-7-pro.html
jayhammy said:
I also came from the Incredible. The development for that device was amazing within a few months. However, for the Pro, it's really a sad state of affairs--no ROM to speak of. There is a Fission ROM RC1, but it's definitely not a daily driver and there's been nothing since that first release.
I LOVE the physical keyboard of the Pro, but I miss the fun of the Incredible. I'm sure I'll soon sell my Pro for the upcoming Incredible 2 or thunderbolt. I'll never buy a Motorola Android device again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the problem is the pro was targeted at corporate America. Not the IT guys or nerds but the exec's that loved the blackberry. The result is you don't have a lot of pro owners that know what xda-developers.com is, let alone a custom rom.
Bashing motorola? For realz? Damn man I love my Droid X, I do product reviews on just about every phone on the market and I have to say my original Droid X is still my favorite and I don't pay for service, phones or anything. I have my pick... and it's the Droid X. I've been thinking about switching to the Droid X 2 which is just as outstanding, the only problem is I don't want to reward them for not going 4G with it. I don't really need a processor upgrade and I have a 32 gb micro in the Droid X 1 (which I was surprised it recognized to be honest).
Anyway, Droid X 1 with MIUI FTW

Is it a good idea to buy HTC Incredible S instead of HTC Desire?

Only thing it is holding me back because it isn't popular phone so I might don't have much of support or any help for rooting, hardware issue or anything like that. I could just save $150 and go for HTC Desire, but I like 8mpx, front camera and the screen on HTC Incredible S. I like HTC Desire because it is quite popular and it has a lot of support, but Incredible S sounds and look much cooler.
Also excuse me for posting in wrong section, I couldn't find a correct section for general discussion of android phone (hardware).
EDIT: I posted this thread in both section Desire and Incredible S for unbiased opinion.
Two words. Incredible s. If you can wait get a sensation
Sent From My HTC sensation (desire with rcmix s )
Incredible S defenietly has better specifications, but it indeed does not have the same customrom / supportuserbase on xda yet.
Like stated above, the Sensation will be out in 1-2months, and thats a great phone. If you cannot wait and want a new phone now, perhaps the Desire HD is a valid option also (Better than regular Desire, similar specs to Incredible, but awesome support/userbase here on XDA).
Blah id get the lg optimus 2x for that amount of cash (dual corez)
But if i had to choose incredible s (desire is booring)
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App
I got an Arc to wait for the Sensation with root, I am considering to sell it and get a Desire or DHD just because the Arc while it has root it doesn't have any custom rom!
I sold my 1 year used N1 for 330$ 2 weeks ago so I think selling a Desire or DHD in 2 months will be pretty the same, whereas the SE price droping fast and its lack of popularity will mean that I will sell it for even less than a Desire.
So if you can't live without custom roms more than 2 weeks...buy a good old Desire or DHD!
The Sensation will be out between the 8th and 15th June, add to that another month to find a root and the price to decrease
Well, guys, thanks for replying, but why would you ever mention Sensation? I have a budget and I couldn't shell out that much of money and what I heard, dual-core is a battery drainer plus I don't want 4.3" screen as it's too big for me. Even 4" is, that's why I was going for Desire which is 3.7" or something.
Can you put custom ROM on Incredible S?
^If you're that worried about budget and everything, you might want to look into the Nexus S, it runs better than any of these phones (except dual-core), has decent dev support, is factory-unlocked, and it's more pocket-able than 4.3" phones.
If you're absolutely tied between the Desire and the Incredible S, then go for the Incredible S because of significantly better specs, a newer version of Sense and WAY more onboard memory.
To be honest, the main reasons people here work on custom roms, is because we don't have Sense 2.0 on the Desire without an Ace rom (DHD), because of memory limitations (147MB on stock partition table, vs 1.1GB in Incredible S), to make it run faster, or to run MIUI or AOSP.
Sense is great, and with the Incredible S, your phone will run better than a Desire running sense ever would, so go with that!
TheSobadef said:
^If you're that worried about budget and everything, you might want to look into the Nexus S, it runs better than any of these phones (except dual-core), has decent dev support, is factory-unlocked, and it's more pocket-able than 4.3" phones.
If you're absolutely tied between the Desire and the Incredible S, then go for the Incredible S because of significantly better specs, a newer version of Sense and WAY more onboard memory.
To be honest, the main reasons people here work on custom roms, is because we don't have Sense 2.0 on the Desire without an Ace rom (DHD), because of memory limitations (147MB on stock partition table, vs 1.1GB in Incredible S), to make it run faster, or to run MIUI or AOSP.
Sense is great, and with the Incredible S, your phone will run better than a Desire running sense ever would, so go with that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't go for Google Nexus S because it doesn't have support in Moscow, Russia e.g if I have hardware failure or such, I couldn't take it to the support.
Sounds like I wouldn't need to change ROM on Incredible S but I would like to be able to root it to have full power on it. Is Android applications depended of which phone model do you have (I'm already aware it's depended of android version)?
Also, is dev support is that important? If it is, then I guess I should fall back down to HTC Desire.
Also, I'm pretty tired of this 5 minutes limit for editing/posting, when will it get removed?
If you are in desperate need of a new phone and you can afford something more expensive than Desire, I think you should get either Incredible S or Nexus S.
If you can wait and still afford the price when it comes to the market, I think Sensation would be the better option.
The good old Desire is still a good option to get. Despite of all its weaknesses due to being an old model with old specs, Desire is very cheap at this moment, especially the second handed one.
I had a Desire about a year ago, then moved to the Samsung Galaxy S.
But just today I bought a Desire for £200 brand new, I couldn't resist as it's just such a good phone!
Running AdamG's Oxygen ROM on it now, it's so awesome!
Oh well I just discovered the weather from Sense 3.0 has been ported to DHD in a 100% workingl rom, the Desire will follow shortly
I guess it boils down to price for you by the sounds of it. Also consider if you are big in to gaming and video as Incredible GPU is much better than Desire from what I can remember. Is the Incredible locked though, as in bootloader/ROM's? Also something to bear in mind.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
If you can I'd get a desire s sounds about right for you.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Ill sell u my white htc desire good condition with 16gb class 10 card (13mb write 23mb read) and all manuals headphones usb charger. Unlocked running miui 1.4.29
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App

[Q]Logical upgrade for the Desire?

What would be a logical upgrade from my desire?
i'm looking for a new phone, but all i really want is a desire with a bigger screen and preferably a dual core processor (OFC as it is a new phone i expect it to be updated to ICS, is this expectation wrong)
What is also important for me would be the modding community, there are so many people modding the desire, with so many roms, and awesome mods. I hope for something near that in a new device.
I don't really care if it's from the US or EU, as long as it works on the GSM band we use in denmark. but it would be nice if it was available in the US as they are usually cheaper over there.
What would be a logical upgrade from the desire?
So it said... You want an HTC phone with dual-core processor? As for now it's HTC Sensation & Sensation XE) and of course, EVO 3D)
Sent from my HTC Runnymede using XDA App
iYappi said:
So it said... You want an HTC phone with dual-core processor? As for now it's HTC Sensation & Sensation XE) and of course, EVO 3D)
Sent from my HTC Runnymede using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well really it doesn't have to be made by HTC, i really like the new android barebones interface on ICS
i also need to know, does the fact that an American phone supports GSM mean that it will accept one of my fancy european SIM cards (heard that CDMA doesn't need a sim card)
Beaverman20 said:
Well really it doesn't have to be made by HTC, i really like the new android barebones interface on ICS
i also need to know, does the fact that an American phone supports GSM mean that it will accept one of my fancy european SIM cards (heard that CDMA doesn't need a sim card)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm from Russia myself, and I'm using a SIM-card too) as I've heard, some of the US operators (like AT&T and T-Mobile) are using GSM bands, so... There should be an American GSM versions of those phones. Well, if you want ICS - take a look at Google Galaxy Nexus...
PS: The CDMA-2000 phones use R-UIM cards instead of SIM. In our county...
Sent from my HTC Runnymede using XDA App
iYappi said:
I'm from Russia myself, and I'm using a SIM-card too) as I've heard, some of the US operators (like AT&T and T-Mobile) are using GSM bands, so... There should be an American GSM versions of those phones. Well, if you want ICS - take a look at Google Galaxy Nexus...
PS: The CDMA-2000 phones use R-UIM cards instead of SIM. In our county...
Sent from my HTC Runnymede using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This Galaxy nexus could be the right choice, it's rather expensive, but offers all the things i really want.
One question remains tho: will the modding scene be as big as the desire, or even the original nexus?
It seems to me that it won't be so big as for N1 and Desire... Because Galaxy Nexus doesn't have a twin with HTC Sense as N1 does...) But xda thread for Android development for GN has already about 70 topics... And there are roms, kernels...
Two years ago Desire was the mainstream phone... Galaxy Nexus is the top-class... There won't be so many people having it, IMHO...
Sent from my HTC Runnymede using XDA App
IMO,
The Desire S isn't a true upgrade over the original Desire.
The Desire was tthe top end phone in 2010.
In 2011 it was the Sensation that succeeded it.
The Legend was the stylish mod range phone in 2010
In 2011 the Desire S was the molid range stylish phone
So I think the sensation is the true successor
-------------------------------
Sent from my HTC Desire S
This is a very difficult question.
I have also been pondering an upgrade. The way I see it we have Four Choices.
1) Samsung Galaxy SII (sorry, I know it is not a HTC, but I thought it was worth mentioning).
2) HTC Sensation XE
3) HTC Evo3D
4) Wait until March when new phones will be announced.
The thing which bothers me most about the Sensation XE and the EVO3D is that the screens appear to looked washed out compared to my Desire. In my opinion the Inedible S is the only new(ish) HTC phone with a nice(ish) screen.
Just wish HTC used AMOLED again like that did with the Desire.
John
Beaverman20 said:
This Galaxy nexus could be the right choice, it's rather expensive, but offers all the things i really want.
One question remains tho: will the modding scene be as big as the desire, or even the original nexus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definintely. all the nexus phones from google are "developer" phones.
Unlike the desire or other non-google partner devices, when google releases source code for a new android version, they also release the proprietary files (drivers etc) in order to compile the source fully for the device without the need for hacks like we see here. Of course google will eventually stop updating the devices like they did the N1 but, they will still attract a large community of developers.
I'd get one if they ever stop letting Samsung make them. Maybe Moto?
I suggest the sgs2. Its in every way better than the sensation. I bought one too.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Sgs 2, or sensation xl
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A

[Q] Question on Processor

Hi, I am looking at buying an HTC Wildfire S to activate on Virgin Mobile. I want the Qualcom MSM8227 (not the 7227 that most Wildfire S phones have). The specific phone is released on US Cellular.
Code:
htc dot com/us/products/wildfires-uscellular/
I can get it unlocked on Amazon for $200-$250. I BELIEVE it is the A510e but I have seen differing specs, so any Wildfire with the 8227
Code:
amazon dot com/HTC-A510e-Unlocked-Android-Bluetooth/dp/B0055DXZZY/ref=pd_cp_cps_0
My two questions:
Is the 8227 as great as it is made out to be? What version ARM is it?
Will I be able to activate it on VM (again, I'm buying unlocked, I'm more asking people's experience with non-carrier-branded devices on Virgin)? (if not, what prepaid service can I in the USA, I'm not tied to Virgin Mobile, and their utter lack of Google Voice integration steams my peas).
Bonus: Given the hardware difference, what are my chances of easily attaining S-OFF and Root and flashing a custom (Ideally Cyanogen) ROM on it. I'd kill for CM9 but I have my EVO 3D and ThinkPad Tablet for that (eventually), CM7 would be nice, even CM6 would be very acceptable.
I ended up buying a Samsung Intercept and hacking that (UbuntDroid, Cyanogen was not flawless) but it is still a slow as heck pile of crap and we both hate it equally.
I used to have an HTC Aria so I know HTC can put out a decent 600MHz phone, I'm wondering if the 8227 is the same ARM version as my HTC EVO 3D (MSM8660). I know it is geared towards low end, but will it run Firefox (the Aria and Intercept do not), and overclocking aside, is it a good processor/phone.
I love me some HTC so I'm hoping for favorable answers above. I don't care about cell phone carriers, as long as it's not AT&T (which unfortunately rules out GSM entirely in my area). I am located in Central Vermont for anyone generous enough to suggest carriers.
And honestly, as long as I can activate it at some point, that's fine. She HATES it when I spend money on her (perfect? yea she is lol) so this is going to be a "toy" for me for a while until I "get bored with it". Yeah it's obvious and yeah she still gets mad but I have that technicality to fall back on
In an unrelated but while-I'm-here question, I have an Ex with whom I have a joint sprint account and she just trashed her EVO 3D screen and is in need of a new phone, something reliable (it was always crashing on her), just wondering if an EVO 4G with Cyanogen is as bulletproof (software wise) as you can get with Android on Sprint as I am going to end up surprising her with a new phone eventually.
I think u have to use virgin mobile only phones on there network, (I could be wrong) if you want a faster procesor there are oc kernels that will oc to 806 mhz compared to stock 600mhz , I'm not sure what you mean about low end arm processor, the wildfire s are good phones
Sent from my HTC_A510c

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!!

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