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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Supposedly $599 off contract with AT&T, but it won't be outdated for quite a while yet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.

Official launch of the Gingerbread update?

Are there any info on a possible launch of the official Gingerbread update for the Defy (not counting the leaked beta)?

Maybe it will be released on Q3 ( by the end of september ).
There's not an official news yet.

I can confirm the previous gb leaks are for a newer model soon to be released. The only changes are the color, battery and 1ghz CPU.
It's unclear whether or not our old model will get the same update.
Sent from my MB860

racca said:
I can confirm the previous gb leaks are for a newer model soon to be released. The only changes are the color, battery and 1ghz CPU.
It's unclear whether or not our old model will get the same update.
Sent from my MB860
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In fact. If you flash the latest leaked GB firmware, you'll see that it shows "MB526" as model number. Maybe it's not a big change (I mean, Droid was A853, and Droid 2 is A955 - that's a huge variation, comparing to MB525 vs MB526), but it's probably a different piece of hardware that the ones we have now.
OR, it could be that they're relabeling the current Defy (red lens) to MB526 to officialize its difference from the old Defy (green lens). But that's just a far guess, based only in what I think.

K3n H1mur4 said:
In fact. If you flash the latest leaked GB firmware, you'll see that it shows "MB526" as model number. Maybe it's not a big change (I mean, Droid was A853, and Droid 2 is A955 - that's a huge variation, comparing to MB525 vs MB526), but it's probably a different piece of hardware that the ones we have now.
OR, it could be that they're relabeling the current Defy (red lens) to MB526 to officialize its difference from the old Defy (green lens). But that's just a far guess, based only in what I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or.. it may be a big change!
everyone knows Samsung Galaxy S (I9000) isn't it? It has a 1Ghz Processor..
But Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy S Plus (I9001) which has a 1.4GHZ Processor!!
So there might a a great improvement in the new Model, Maybe better screen, etc

WIIstpM said:
Or.. it may be a big change!
everyone knows Samsung Galaxy S (I9000) isn't it? It has a 1Ghz Processor..
But Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy S Plus (I9001) which has a 1.4GHZ Processor!!
So there might a a great improvement in the new Model, Maybe better screen, etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's not the case here. I do have the specs and pics of the new piece. It's intended as a silent (and low cost) replacement of the old MB525.
1GHz OMAP"3620", silver, ~1700mAh and that's about it.

may i ask where yoh got the specs?
sent from my cm7 defy

1GHz OMAP"3620", silver, ~1700mAh and that's about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh, silver?!

WISH RED GUYS GET OFFICIAL 2.3 GINGER

rachit2588 said:
WISH RED GUYS GET OFFICIAL 2.3 GINGER
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So maybe we won't get it at all? Seems strange to only offer the Gingerbread update to those who buy a possible brand new version of the Defy.

racca said:
No, it's not the case here. I do have the specs and pics of the new piece. It's intended as a silent (and low cost) replacement of the old MB525.
1GHz OMAP"3620", silver, ~1700mAh and that's about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow you got the Pics!? :O can you PM me them? XD

racca said:
No, it's not the case here. I do have the specs and pics of the new piece. It's intended as a silent (and low cost) replacement of the old MB525.
1GHz OMAP"3620", silver, ~1700mAh and that's about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it seems that this will be more downgrade then upgrade from current Defy.
3620vs 3630..

It will be released this week.........in a parallel universe
i think, we will never get gb for defy( at least from carriers), and we do not need it because we have MIUI and CM7 wich are gingerbread 2.3.4.

viper. said:
it seems that this will be more downgrade then upgrade from current Defy.
3620vs 3630..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Show me one official document that shows Defy is marketed as 3630.
Sent from my MB860

When you connected to rsd lite in bootloader mode it will detect the cpu signature....and for defy its omap 3630
also there is a link here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=917000

from where did you get the pics and specs? can you post the pics? and i dont think theres gonna be an update exclusively for red lensed defy. and it would be stupid to come out with a new defy just for gb with higher cpu speed (our omap 3630 can handle 1.2ghz at default...)
sent from my cm7 defy

Well since you can't prove your words, racca, can you hint at least date when new Defy will be shown?

People stop asking for pictures as you won't get any at the moment. No one is stupid to make them public for obvious reasons (nondisclosure agreements). For sure there will be a new Defy launched by Moto in the future. As for the Gingerbread official update I don't think we will ever see it for Defy. In addition please take a look at the sloppy and slow Froyo upgrade process.

we may just be lucky if the bootloader will be unlocked on the new defy, maybe it will be compatible with our hardware (and it should be )

why are you so sure there wont be a gb update, there are leaked versions!
sent from my cm7 defy

[Q] when 2.3 comes officialy ?

hey guys any news about official 2.3 coming on defy ???
thanx in advanced

i dont think they will release an official 2.3 to defy...defy+ will be launched very soon...which comes with GB..

AFAIK they are busy with the 2.3 Defy-upgrade, so it may come.

Vistaus said:
AFAIK they are busy with the 2.3 Defy-upgrade, so it may come.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where did u get that news ? ofcourse its on air news flying here and there that gingerbread update is on d way . bt no concrete news regarding it . so asking in a way is there any proof regarding that ?

The presently available gingerbread updates(leaked) are for defy plus..
If they were going to offer an official update for defy it would have supported GREEN LENS cameras as well because they can't just abandon green lens defy.
Since green lens is not supported it looks like official 2.3 will be made available only for defy plus.

Short answer: Never
But i think on red lens devices, the defy+ rom will work smoothly
Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk

insomaniac.droid said:
Short answer: Never
But i think on red lens devices, the defy+ rom will work smoothly
Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
ah !! too pessimistic... atleast have some hope !! better than having nothing in your hand ... and to be frank . if GB update rumor wasnt around on air . we wd have never got the GB leaks so who knows the green lens owners might be lucky enough

Motorola said it on official forum,there isn't any plan to update the Defy beyond FroYo.

Install Motoginger and be happy.
Install Motoginger and be happy.

ovi1602 said:
Motorola said it on official forum,there isn't any plan to update the Defy beyond FroYo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, HTC said some crap like that about the Desire not getting 2.3 - they changed their mind a little bit later.
I'll wait until it appears here what will happen to the Defy regarding the elusive Gingerbread update.

i hope that`s true...i`m using custom roms now but will be nice to have official ginger on defy...maybe the devs will make wonders from it

Who cares if bootloader gets hacked and CM7.1 is there.

I care, because the Defy with green lens will be fully supported. Nevertheless, CM7 is a great option too.

Motorola Cliq 2 finally gets Android 2.3 Gingerbread update

http://blog.gsmarena.com/motorola-cliq-2-finally-gets-android-2-3-gingerbread-update/
Motorola has finally released Android 2.3 Gingerbread update for its year and a half old Cliq 2 smartphone.
Will the Defy get such great surprise?
The cliq 2 has similar hardware of Defy, but with a qwerty keyboard in addition....
https://rsddownload.motorola.com/download/MotorolaVersion.2.0.87.MB611.T-Mobile.en.US.pdf
https://motorola-global-portal.cust...sion/L3RpbWUvMTMzNjM4OTcxMC9zaWQvSXlFa052WGs=
T Mobile has just paused Defy Upgrade upto 2.2.1 .... Hence do we see them updating to Ginger Bread 2.3 ? Hope for the best !

popcorn1122 said:
Hope for the best ! Expect the worst!
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Click to collapse
FTFY!
This was probably an error or something, it's not Motorola's style.

No I confirmed this on motorola website:
http://www.motorola.com/mycliq2

No, no, I didn't say that you were wrong, I've read the news too. But the fact that Motorola is offering an update to an older phone... Seems almost like an error from them .

Does the slow JB update schedule put you off future XPERIA phones?

What do you think guys?
They are doing same mistake again n again, no lesson learnt from Xperia X10 disaster !!
http://www.xperiablog.net/2012/12/2...XperiaBlog+(Xperia+Blog)&utm_content=FaceBook
from the Giant Killer Samsung Note 2

Don't worry there will be plenty of fanboys buy Sony.
And they say slow update means polished update. LMFAO.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium HD app

I'm one of these fan boys but from now on only nexus because it will always be the best supported device, on the software part at least!
I will still love Sony and praise their efforts on creating such sexy and smart devices!
I hope one day we will see a Sony nexus, this will be awesome!
Sent from my Xperia S using xda premium

No. I'll still buy a Sony as long as it's the best looking phone. I don't need updates right away for a device that I use for sms, email and phone calls.
But it needs to look good, I don't want to think 'ew this thing is ugly but at least it runs the latest android version' every time I pull out my phone.
If updates are so important to you, why didn't you buy a nexus in the first place?
It has nothing do with 'fanboys'.
Some people have different priorities in a phone than you.
My boyfriend is still satisfied with his sola even if won't get jb.
My little sister hasn't even updated her ray to ics because she doesn't even know what it is.
Some people just want their phone to work the way it did when they brought it. Which is why they bought it in the first way.
Gesendet von meinem LT26i

The new Nexus looks ok (it is LG but what the hell) as for the previous which was Samsung..... ewww!

It probably wouldn't put me off too much.
I've had an Arc S and the Xperia S, and loved them both. I'm also capable of flashing ROMS, so as long as theres dev support, I wouldn't be bothered if Sony are waaay behind release schedules.
The new Yuga looks awesome, although I'm not due an upgrade till October next year.
Although, after buying a Nexus 7, and getting the 4.2 update about 10 hours after Google released it, I definately consider a Nexus device as my next handset.

Not really. i like sony devices somehow and i'm inclined towards buying them always. i had couple sony devices and loved them all. i like arc s but due to half gb of ram i moved to sxs. i'm not on cm10 by fxp and loving it. though it has few bugs i really do not miss official updates. one thing i like about sony is they support open source projects. i'm waiting for xperia yuga and thinking of waiting till xperia nexus. :fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed:

Updating android is not a big deal
For me ur still can use most app in play
Sent from my Xperia S using xda app-developers app

Not getting a working ICS has put me off let alone the wait for JB.

MrBelter said:
Not getting a working ICS has put me off let alone the wait for JB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, if Sony had pushed a fixed ics, especially for UK generic then I would have happily sat back, waited for jelly bean and probably bought another Sony next summer, I don't need the latest update straight away, but I do need a phone that works. So after the way Sony treated me, not now.
Sent from my RM-825_eu_euro1_217 using Board Express

Samsung GS2 and Note are getting JB from Next month...! Aw Sony! What up with the Koreans anyway??

I don't care about the updates.
Well... Right now I'm testing a JB ROM and it's great and everything, but I prefer stock Sony ROMs. When official JB gets released I'm going to flash it over the CM10 based ROM I have now. And also I'm thinking that my next phone will be a Sony Xperia Odin xD
Maybe Sony is going to fix all its mistakes next year, or maybe they're going to make the same bad decisions about updating their phones but the hell with that, I'm happy with my XS right now!

richteralan said:
Don't worry there will be plenty of fanboys buy Sony.
And they say slow update means polished update. LMFAO.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don u rmb the the amount of bug ics had?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Yep. I was hoping a JB update to iron out the issues but they screwed me over again with this late release. They don't even give us the new features of the new software versions... (I mean officially)
Sent from the outer space, delivered by an android

No need for official updates, when you've got great teams like FXP and KXP
You get CM, AOKP, MIUI plus a bunch of stock- and custom-based ROMs with even better features than the official ROMs...
That's what you get if your device gets an unlockable bootloader and gets featured on the xda portal
Tha only bad thing, though, is no CM7...

someone755 said:
No need for official updates, when you've got great teams like FXP and KXP
You get CM, AOKP, MIUI plus a bunch of stock- and custom-based ROMs with even better features than the official ROMs...
That's what you get if your device gets an unlockable bootloader and gets featured on the xda portal
Tha only bad thing, though, is no CM7...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not the point.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium HD app

I'll buy the next Xperia because I love Sony (Ericsson)'s design and UI (since 2007), they are better than other Android phones, but I'll change if Sony don't change (maybe a Nexus or Lumia in 2014 )!

Nek0x90 said:
I don't care about the updates.
Well... Right now I'm testing a JB ROM and it's great and everything, but I prefer stock Sony ROMs. When official JB gets released I'm going to flash it over the CM10 based ROM I have now. And also I'm thinking that my next phone will be a Sony Xperia Odin xD
Maybe Sony is going to fix all its mistakes next year, or maybe they're going to make the same bad decisions about updating their phones but the hell with that, I'm happy with my XS right now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly how I feel. I am willing to wait because I dont want the stock google experience. I already have a Nexus 7, I dont need a nexus phone, unless it was a Nexperia. Sony android is really damn good for phones, amazing for music.
---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------
someone755 said:
No need for official updates, when you've got great teams like FXP and KXP
You get CM, AOKP, MIUI plus a bunch of stock- and custom-based ROMs with even better features than the official ROMs...
That's what you get if your device gets an unlockable bootloader and gets featured on the xda portal
Tha only bad thing, though, is no CM7...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM7 are you kidding?

I bought XPS just for the look (also their skin are beautiful). For the software side I'm using CM. So, kinda problem solved for me.
But yes it is very annoying to see the lower end phone will got update sooner than you.
I would totally bought Nexus if they weren't made by Samsung or LG.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I was big fan of Sony as you can see from my name Used Xperia X10, Arc, Play but after that I was very disappointed with Sony, used XS n then moved to Note 2.
Going by the specs and sleek design, I like the Xperia Z (Yuga).
If Sony is going to release this globally by March with atleast JB 4.1.2 I will buy !!!
from the Giant Killer Samsung Note 2