[Q] Aria vs. Inspire vs. Captivate vs ?? - Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking

AT&T customer here.. I was pretty happy with my rooted Aria, but it got stolen a little while ago. I've already got my insurance replacement on the way.
Question.. From what I've read, there's a good chance that my replacement Aria will have 2.2 which prevents it from being rooted. I'm pretty much addicted to having Swype, so that's a big problem. I liked the relatively small size of the Aria, but there are times when I think that I might not mind a larger phone.
So.. I'm considering selling my replacement and buying something else. I have to stay with AT&T, so I've looked at the Captivate and the Inspire.
How would your rate these phones vs the Aria (assume 2.2 version) for:
1. Rooting
2. Screen visibility
3. Battery life/speed/performance
Any other thoughts are also welcome.
Also - I had one or two purchased apps on my phone. Is there any way to get those back without having to pay again?

I'd go with the inspire if I were you. Atrix is the strongest of the three...with a locked bootloader. It's like buying an expensive gaming computer only to find OSX on it

Related

is this phone worth $200?

i bought one from ebay is it worth it?could i have gotten a better one?
condition is mint no scratches or anything
hey,
i bought the phone a few month ago for about $300...
and of course you could have gooten a better one...
But here's the BIG BUT:
-when you want to have a hardfware keyboard then theres only one other phone...the desire z (about $600)
-if you dont need the keyboard then u could get the HD2 if u want it to hgave windows mobile
-or you could get the desire wich in my eyes is a high end device without any limits for now...
--->but thats all a matter of what you want to spend for a new phone...
but i can only tell you that it is a great phone i use it every day and its just great to have the keyboard...
and for that price $200 you couldnt get a better phone then this one!
just flash a cusom rom and the phone is just awesome!
nick
Not a bad price; was it a 'bid' or 'buy it now' option?
I was lucky to snag one with a bunch of accessories (including 2 batteries, 3 cables, 2 AC chargers, a spare battery cover, extra stylises, & an Otterbox) in mint condition for about $150 shipped. It was a buy-it-now sale, so I assume that I got that deal because the seller really didn't know what it was worth. The seller was changing carriers and just wanted to get rid of the phone.
Since the phone has been discontinued and the new Windows 7 phones are out, the prices are coming down quickly. I'm not ready to jump into a W7 device, so I'm happy with my purchase.
Keep reading the forums and, if you're brave about customizing it, I'm sure you'll be happy with this device, too. Enjoy!
Debbie
the-nj said:
hey,
i bought the phone a few month ago for about $300...
and of course you could have gooten a better one...
But here's the BIG BUT:
-when you want to have a hardfware keyboard then theres only one other phone...the desire z (about $600)
-if you dont need the keyboard then u could get the HD2 if u want it to hgave windows mobile
-or you could get the desire wich in my eyes is a high end device without any limits for now...
--->but thats all a matter of what you want to spend for a new phone...
but i can only tell you that it is a great phone i use it every day and its just great to have the keyboard...
and for that price $200 you couldnt get a better phone then this one!
just flash a cusom rom and the phone is just awesome!
nick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what phone could i have gotten for $200 better than this?i thought this was the max
DebbieNY13 said:
Not a bad price; was it a 'bid' or 'buy it now' option?
I was lucky to snag one with a bunch of accessories (including 2 batteries, 3 cables, 2 AC chargers, a spare battery cover, extra stylises, & an Otterbox) in mint condition for about $150 shipped. It was a buy-it-now sale, so I assume that I got that deal because the seller really didn't know what it was worth. The seller was changing carriers and just wanted to get rid of the phone.
Since the phone has been discontinued and the new Windows 7 phones are out, the prices are coming down quickly. I'm not ready to jump into a W7 device, so I'm happy with my purchase.
Keep reading the forums and, if you're brave about customizing it, I'm sure you'll be happy with this device, too. Enjoy!
Debbie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it was at buy it now price
And thank you for replying
Well, after reading this thread, I decided to buy one off ebay too. Then to see how the xdandroid stuff is working...
bought my tp2 before they hit the U.S for $600,been pleased ever since.You got one for $200,you got lucky,great buy
Was it an unlocked device? It wasn't a BAD price, really but I don't know if I would consider it a great one either. The phone is a bit on the slow side these days, but not excessively so. They are still selling new Android phones with even slower CPUs. But it's no Snapdragon either. The hardware keyboard is nice. I thought about moving to a Focus with WP7 but I really don't like the soft keyboards and I am not impressed with the Quantum.
So, yeah, not a real helpful post, but the TP2 remains one of if not the overall best WM 6 device out there. AT&T is still selling it for $199 and you would be locked into a 2 year contract for it so if you got it for $199 I suppose you did okay. Especially if, as previously mentioned, you aren't adverse to a bit of out of warranty modding and custom ROMs.
Avatar28 said:
Was it an unlocked device? It wasn't a BAD price, really but I don't know if I would consider it a great one either. The phone is a bit on the slow side these days, but not excessively so. They are still selling new Android phones with even slower CPUs. But it's no Snapdragon either. The hardware keyboard is nice. I thought about moving to a Focus with WP7 but I really don't like the soft keyboards and I am not impressed with the Quantum.
So, yeah, not a real helpful post, but the TP2 remains one of if not the overall best WM 6 device out there. AT&T is still selling it for $199 and you would be locked into a 2 year contract for it so if you got it for $199 I suppose you did okay. Especially if, as previously mentioned, you aren't adverse to a bit of out of warranty modding and custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it was unlocked

[Q] A bit of a quandry...

Folks - I have a problem....
My Desire had an unfortunate accident involving a flight of stairs and a bounce-bounce-bounce-smash incident!
The insurance says it is unrepairable but they have no Desires in stock to replace it with a new one.
If they are unable to source a Desire and offer an alternative phone, what is the best option in your opinions?
***** slap them round the face and demand a replacement. It is up to them to provide it. You are paying for insurance and your entitled to a replacement phone so it's up to them to keep stocks up. There's nothing really you can do only talk to the insurance company. Talk to some manager instead of some grunt. You usually get a little more out of it that way.
Thanks - but if they genuinely cannot get a replacement within a reasonable period, what is my preferred alternative to demand from the manager as possibly an upgrade?
Desire HD, Samsung etc?
Take the money and get a new phone, or wait til after the Mobile Congress in Madrid and see what's out
DHD is a very nice phone but obviously size is a key factor so go see one in the metal
If they're gonna have you wait a bit, might as well go for the latest: HTC Inspire
We don't have 4G in the UK, so it's useless
I can't recomend the DHD, the build quality is aweful. I sold mine and kept with my Desire. I was very dissapointed with the device. If my Desire broke/failed I'd do what I could to get an identical replacement from my insurer.
Surely they can give you the money to buy another one? CPW have them for sale on their website so I'm sure they can get one from somewhere!!
Cheers - I shall "discuss" at length with them....
Yogimax said:
Thanks - but if they genuinely cannot get a replacement within a reasonable period, what is my preferred alternative to demand from the manager as possibly an upgrade?
Desire HD, Samsung etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm! Do you use the GPS at all? If yes, then the Galaxy line would be a disappointment. If not, then get a Galaxy, I'd say...at least as snappy, tons of custom ROMs available and even more on the way; a tad larger AMOLED screen...
Personally i would hold out for another desire - they aren't in short supply so they should have no trouble at all in sourcing another (me and a mate only just got ours) to be honest Desire is still the mutts nuts and i wouldn't settle for anything less just my 2 cents
I bet they just don't want to part with money really so they're stalling.
Yeeeaaahhh!!
Quandry solved - replacement Desire just arrived
It is an unbranded and unlocked model A8181 where the previous one was a branded locked Orange one full of Orange crapware (until it somehow accidentally got rooted and a different ROM inexplicably appeared on it )
Happy days are here again...

[Q] Upgrade to EVO yes/no poll

There are a couple of threads on this out there, but I wanted to make a Poll.
So, right now I'm using my old HTC Hero with CM 6.1, and I love it. Rooting my phone made me fall in love with my smartphone all over again (it's my first smartphone).
So for those of you Sprint people, they told me that I can upgrade right now or when my contract is up, it won't matter: I will get the Evo for $200 with a new contract.
Before we dive in, do you know if this is really the cheapest option from Sprint? I am aware I could probably just buy an Evo from Ebay or something of the sort, but I'm a bit worried about doing that. Anyone has experience getting Evo somewhere else and can share?
I use my phone for a lot of things.. internet, calling, texting, games, even as a flashlight sometimes. I got myself an extra battery for this phone but I assume I will need a new one for the EVO. I see people asked about battery life, but seriously, I don't expect my phone to stay alive for more than 8 hours or so with all these apps running.
Next, what I like about the EVO is the better camera, and the fact that it has flash (I use my phone for pictures). Front facing camera is nice, haven't used it before, is it really worth it? Is chatting with it smooth, or is it slow as sh*t?
Keyboard - I used to hate the touch keyboard because it would freeze for split seconds and writing something would be frustrating. I still find it annoying to use the touch screen for typing because the buttons are so small. I have a feeling the evo would help with that, but perhaps I should wait for something with a real keyboard? Anyone knows of a good model that's suppose to come out, and when?
4G - I live in New York city. Anyone from around here knows if 4G is really available, or it just exists in very specific locations? Is it much faster? How do you like the fact that you can maintain data connection while making a call, is it a big deal? I don't barely actually use my phone for talking. I count on Gchat and texting.
Speed - There are speed issues with my phone right, especially when I run intense apps (angry birds is very choppy, for example, and Pandora can hang the entire system up), does the Evo take care of that?
Size - It's a big phone. To be honest, the weight and the size do not attract me, but I do realize that a bigger screen will be better to work with and might aid with the keyboard issue. Thoughts?
Rooting - How hard is it? I think CM runs on the EVO if memory serves right. I Rooted my Hero so I assume doing it to the EVO would not be much harder. Thoughts?
So yeah, these are some points I'm considering. Should I get it? And is there a cheaper (good!) way to get it?
Thanks for reading!
you posted in evo forum, expect biased answers, that said
you will love an evo! I had a hero first, still do. the batteries are the same,
the keyboard on the hero wasn't very accurate so typing was frustrating, on the evo it is splendid,
rooting is a breeze with unrevoked
no slowdowns at all for any apps, in any situation, I've been downloading while streaming pandora and playing games with no issue,
I highly recommend it, the evo changed the way I think of smartphones
I would wait to the end of march and see what sprint announces
Swyped from my cyanogenized and gingerbreaded EVO
I would wait as well. Some new phones should be coming out shortly
Sent from my Evo while i should be working
I doubt an Evo 2 will come out anytime soon. So yes. The new phone coming out is most likely the HTC Arrive, which is the HTC 7 Pro. That aside, the Evo is just f*cking awesome. Also for individual line upgrade, Amazon says $180 with free 2-day shipping: http://wireless.amazon.com/dp/B003N9B3CY
CTIA is soon. Sprint announces new phones at CTIA. So I would wait. Unless you want to buy one off contract on Ebay.
WAIT for something better.. This bad ass brick will soon be replaced and become just a plain old acme brick soon
I have a bad feeling Sprint isn't gonna have much this year as far as Android devices go... we will see. An Evo 2 would be bad ass or a dual core Samsung.
Sent from my Evolutionized Evo!
I don't care if Samsung comes out with a quad-core phone. I'm not touching that **** after what happened with the Galaxy S line.
they better come out with something that will at least compete with others phones (like the droid x::evo) otherwise they will have many unhappy customers who cancel and leave... hell they charge $10 for a premium phone now, how premium will the HTC EVO be come this Spring? (I don't want to pay for a "premium phone" when its outdated)
anyways sorry for the semi rant.. im slightly upset with sprint and their actions right now.
CTIA is guaranteed to give us something good. I am hoping for a Galaxy S2 or something equivalent. But then again... Sprint has been known to let you down. Tough call.
masterfuel said:
they better come out with something that will at least compete with others phones (like the droid x::evo) otherwise they will have many unhappy customers who cancel and leave... hell they charge $10 for a premium phone now, how premium will the HTC EVO be come this Spring? (I don't want to pay for a "premium phone" when its outdated)
anyways sorry for the semi rant.. im slightly upset with sprint and their actions right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You aren't paying $10 for a premium phone. You are paying the $10 for the premium data package, and All smartphones on the sprint network will be paying the exact same fee, its not isolated to the Evo, Shift, or Epic, it will encompass the blackberry's and all other android phones that sprint carries.
On topic of best deals for the EVO, check RadioShack's online wireless store. It's going for $149.99 with free activation on new/upgrade subs. Or in-store, they require a trade-in of any old working phone with a charger to get the $149.99 price (check with your local stores if the deal still available).
IMHO, with all the new phones coming out, I would wait. I love my Evo, but I wouldn't get locked into a new 2-yr sub on a phone that is around 4mos shy of being a year old.
I would wait. EVO is nice but nothing compared to what other carriers are getting (Optimus). Hold out for a dual core device (hopefully from HTC).
Sent from my Unleashed EVO using XDA App
Product F(RED) said:
I don't care if Samsung comes out with a quad-core phone. I'm not touching that **** after what happened with the Galaxy S line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this. Samsung left a bad taste with me after having my epic with GPS issues, dropped keys and no 2.2 (till just recently)
Sent from my Evo while i should be working
Give Dropbox a try for easy file sharing. Use my referral link and help me get more space!*http://db.tt/6qeoiYa
heck yea its amazing i was skeptical too till i played with one
I love my Evo. That said I think it would work perfect for everything you listed except for one. The Evo's camera pretty much sucks.
I have a release day Evo, so maybe the newer ones are a little better, but unless the pictures I have taken were in bright daylight they are almost unusable.
http://www.studentrate.com/STUDENTR...deals/Sprint-Student-Rate-Member-Discount--/0
Not sure if studentrate still offers $69.99 Evos.
ATM The Evo is the best phone for Sprint. If you want to wait for something better you can. Personally this is the best phone I've ever used. While it is on par or a little worse than some of the newer phones coming out, its been a year and they are finally catching up.
You also have to take into consideration how much longer the Evo is going to stay ahead or on par with these phones. We might be seeing Gingerbread and Sense 2.0 but that might be a long shot.
If you aren't having any issues with your Hero, I'd say stick with it for a few more months. See what comes out.
Thank you everyone, for the honest opinions. I got a lot of info.
Well, it's about a month later now, and I'm still on my HTC Hero. I just found out about the $10 extra, which I will be paying if I upgrade. My girlfriend has a big family plan on T-mobile, and after calculations, it seems I will be saving about $20 a month using a phone under her name, on T-mobile.
Of course, this means I need to ditch Sprint. I don't feel too bad after being on the Network for a year and being charged for extra if I want to upgrade. No serious official updates for their phones either, thank god I rooted mine, the best thing I've ever done to it.
I checked the T-mobile 2G today, and wasn't that impressed. I liked the keyboard, but the specs are not as good as the EVO. By the way, what are these issues I'm hearing about the EVO's camera? it's 8MP, how come it's so bad? I only have 5mp now, and so does the 2G. What are the specific issues you guys are having?
Right now I am going to find out just how much it will cost me to get out of Sprint, and if it's worth it (buying a new phone on T-mobile will cost me $100 extra over an upgrade in Sprint). What are some of the good T-mobile phones you guys think are good? Camera with flash is important to me, and so does screen size - two things I really like about the EVO. I do want a big screen. I would also like a keyboard if possible.
Anything changed in the market? New amazing Spring phones I'm not aware of, or T-Mobile? I am specifically interested in HTC, I'm not a big fan of Samsung or Motorola.
beholder121 said:
Thank you everyone, for the honest opinions. I got a lot of info.
Well, it's about a month later now, and I'm still on my HTC Hero. I just found out about the $10 extra, which I will be paying if I upgrade. My girlfriend has a big family plan on T-mobile, and after calculations, it seems I will be saving about $20 a month using a phone under her name, on T-mobile.
Of course, this means I need to ditch Sprint. I don't feel too bad after being on the Network for a year and being charged for extra if I want to upgrade. No serious official updates for their phones either, thank god I rooted mine, the best thing I've ever done to it.
I checked the T-mobile 2G today, and wasn't that impressed. I liked the keyboard, but the specs are not as good as the EVO. By the way, what are these issues I'm hearing about the EVO's camera? it's 8MP, how come it's so bad? I only have 5mp now, and so does the 2G. What are the specific issues you guys are having?
Right now I am going to find out just how much it will cost me to get out of Sprint, and if it's worth it (buying a new phone on T-mobile will cost me $100 extra over an upgrade in Sprint). What are some of the good T-mobile phones you guys think are good? Camera with flash is important to me, and so does screen size - two things I really like about the EVO. I do want a big screen. I would also like a keyboard if possible.
Anything changed in the market? New amazing Spring phones I'm not aware of, or T-Mobile? I am specifically interested in HTC, I'm not a big fan of Samsung or Motorola.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See: http://www.androidcentral.com/sprin...ils-leaked-expect-evo-3d-evo-view-4g-and-xoom
CTIA is this coming Tuesday. Sprint's presentation is hours long. I'd be sure to keep your eye out on here and other tech news sites for what Sprint announces. If that Evo 3D becomes a reality, I'd imagine anyone would want to hold out for that instead of acquiring the Evo now only to have the Evo 3D replace it in months.
Furthremore, if looking into T-Mobile and leaving Sprint (which, as a biased member, I would be against!), keep in mind that at 3:15 PM EDT, a merger between AT&T and T-Mobile was announced, the former acquiring the latter.

[Q] Repair/Replace Options

So here are the facts:
I dropped my EVO and the screen shattered like an iPhone. Looks like a spider web.
Sprint contract started 11/2010, so I'm not up for upgrade/renew for almost a year.
My phone is rooted w/ EVO Deck ROM. I would probably need to undo this before taking to Sprint.
All other functions on my phone work as usual, just hard to see with the screen.
I'm an engineer, so I'm not too scared of trying to repair this manually.
...I'm also a mechanical engineer, not electrical, so good chance I could make things worse.
I really don't want to spend $600 to replace this phone.
I love the EVO, but if there are any upgraded models out there I would prefer to buy one of those if I must buy new.
Now, here are my questions:
If I choose to repair, I found this guide. Seems legitimate, unless someone can suggest better?
I think this is the kit I'll need to buy to complete the repair, but honestly I have no idea if that is 100% what I would need?
If I were to buy new, then which phone and from which store to find best price?
If I were to buy used/refurbished, which service would I use to find a legitimate replacement?
Which of these 3 options (repair, buy new, buy used) would be most recommended and why?
Thanks for your help!
My understanding is that screen replacement is pretty easy. I've seen a lot of people post they did it themselves. being any kind've engineer, I think you could handle it.

Atrix 4g or Samsung Captivate Glide

Thanks to bimasakti85 on the Atrix forum i found out that my Atrix's digitizer is broken.
I looked on ebay and for around $45 i can get a new one and replace it myself.
AT&T is already sending me a Samsung Captivate Glide, i had insurance and i am paying a $125 deductible and i have to send my atrix back.
At the end of the month i am up for an upgrade and will be getting a HTC 8X windows phone 8 phone; however, do want to keep an Android phone as well that way i can just switch sim cards when i want.
My question is
Should I just keep the Samsung and return the Atrix, or should i just return the Samsung and replace the Atrix screen?
I also thought about selling the Samsung on ebay, but that would leave me with no Android once i get the HTC 8x.
solidsnakejv37 said:
Thanks to bimasakti85 on the Atrix forum i found out that my Atrix's digitizer is broken.
I looked on ebay and for around $45 i can get a new one and replace it myself.
AT&T is already sending me a Samsung Captivate Glide, i had insurance and i am paying a $125 deductible and i have to send my atrix back.
At the end of the month i am up for an upgrade and will be getting a HTC 8X windows phone 8 phone; however, do want to keep an Android phone as well that way i can just switch sim cards when i want.
My question is
Should I just keep the Samsung and return the Atrix, or should i just return the Samsung and replace the Atrix screen?
I also thought about selling the Samsung on ebay, but that would leave me with no Android once i get the HTC 8x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should keep the Glide. Better phone IMO and now it has some nice stuff going for it
Sent from my SII(i777) running Task and Ktoonsez AOKP 10/5
I looked at the Atrix as well when I bought this.. the reason I chose this phone over the atrix? Well the atrix has a nice and slightly faster dual core @ 1.2ghz, more screen area, and a gig of memory..
But no, I own a original captivate and it was called the unbrickable phone! Once a couple settings had been set, a few tweaks and a new recovery, I seen this had absolute potential..
That and the atrix still default has the moto lock still on it so no firmware hacks til you remove that crap.
I love my glide and am glad I made the choice for it. Moto atrix was cheaper, but I knew this phone would be as good as its legacy.
Samsung SGH-i927:
CWMR Touch v4.0.0.1
Keyboard fix
Superuser 3.2r3 ARM Optimized
LiteKernel v4.1
---------- Post added at 08:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------
I think the atrix also does not have as big of a community as we do here, means lack to support with less people working on it. We have some good devs that don't even own a glide and they give us great roms and mods and we love that we can have full power like that.
The fact is, the captivate glide is the unbrickable 2.0 and I love this phone and our community is full of awesome people.
Samsung SGH-i927:
CWMR Touch v4.0.0.1
Keyboard fix
Superuser 3.2r3 ARM Optimized
LiteKernel v4.1
I had a Glide a while back, maybe a month ago. I loved it but I wanted something new, and I wanted AOSP/AOKP. So I went to an infuse then a SII. If I could have a space device, I would choose the glide.
Sent from my SII(i777) running Task and Ktoonsez AOKP 10/5
The $$ aside and focusing just on the phones...I have the Atrix and the mrs has the Glide.
The Atrix has a better screen and is more capable. fingerprint unlock is great. I've only rooted the phone and have no need for ROMs or anything special. I have a lapdock too (one of those $50 deals) and it works ok. Plenty fast and battery life is good.
The Glide is not as capable overall compared to the Atrix, but it's a good phone nonetheless. The keyboard is the only reason to pick the Glide over the Atrix IMO. Battery life is not as good as the Atrix IMO with minimal services running and when idle.
solidsnakejv37 said:
Thanks to bimasakti85 on the Atrix forum i found out that my Atrix's digitizer is broken.
I looked on ebay and for around $45 i can get a new one and replace it myself.
AT&T is already sending me a Samsung Captivate Glide, i had insurance and i am paying a $125 deductible and i have to send my atrix back.
At the end of the month i am up for an upgrade and will be getting a HTC 8X windows phone 8 phone; however, do want to keep an Android phone as well that way i can just switch sim cards when i want.
My question is
Should I just keep the Samsung and return the Atrix, or should i just return the Samsung and replace the Atrix screen?
I also thought about selling the Samsung on ebay, but that would leave me with no Android once i get the HTC 8x.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would keep the Samsung; IIRC, Motorola isn't going to push out ICS (Android 4.0.x) to the Atrix. That alone should sway you over to keeping the Samsung over the Motorola. Motorola mentions this themselves: Atrix 4G will remain on Gingerbread officially.
Yeah I decided to keep the glide and return the Atrix, so far I'm happy with my choice. Although I still think the Atrix is a great phone after getting a taste of ICS I couldn't give it up. The camera on the glide is incredibly much better than the Atrix.
The glide was much easier for me to be able to get used to in terms of rooting and ROM management. Right now I'm running the leaked ICS.

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