Show HN: StockDroids.com – A curated list of near-stock Android devices
stockdroids.com
stockdroids.com
Would suggest also adding whether the phone supports a removable battery/extended battery. That seems to be a feature that is nearly dead on new android phones these days, except for the lg v10 and the moto z (via the moto mod battery case).
Also seconding the 'last update' column - I'm largely trying to forego most of my power-user desires for sd slots/removable batteries for a nexus phone because of just how many security issues with android seem to require it to be up-to-date.
Oh yeah, would also like a 'fingerprint reader' column - it's becoming near-ubiquitous these days though some phones from last year don't have it (e.g. moto x)
* Carrier Support (GSM vs CDMA)
* "Modes" (Frequencies, bands,whatever you want to call it)
* Sim card size (Normal 3FF, Nano 4FF)
* Removable Battery
* Wireless charging (I must have Qi)
* Fingerprint
Otherwise, awesome tool.
It's a great phone. User-replaceable battery, great screen, MicroSD slot, poncy stylus that I never use, hardware menu key (seriously Google, I use the menu key all the time). Still works well and fast enough, if not a rocket compared to this year's phones.
I find it disappointing that 3 years after getting the Note 3, apparently all the phone companies have forgotten how to make a new phone that can compel me to put down the money that I'm ready and wanting to spend.
Basically I want a faster Note 3 with a 6.5" AMOLED screen.
I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one. How can all these companies be so smart yet so brain-dead at the same time?
the only question is Qi Wireless Charging... and I'm not liking what I'm seeing...
Although, with that many hits, I may have to just take it anyways.
The size of the phones is nearly identical.
As you mention, the only thing that I dislike is not having a hardware menu key.. but it's worth looking into as a decent replacement phone.
The problem with the S7 is Samsung isn't as friendly for the ROM tools. The S3 doesn't let me use TWRP so I have to either use Stock or CWM. I've never really liked CWM for some reason.
I'd pay good money for an upgraded Note 3 with TWRP capability.
I have big hands/pockets so why not use them?
if, on the other hand, you have a Micro and the new phone is a Nano... then you'll have to go through extra steps to move between phones.
This, of course, assumes you want to do that more than once when you upgrade to the new phone.
I like switching between my Android and my Windows phone and that becomes more difficult if the SIMs don't match.
Granted, I did find a converter I hadn't thought of looking for before until typing this reply so it's even less needed:
https://www.amazon.com/iPhone-Nano-SIM-Card-Adapter/dp/B009G...
BUT I have no clue on what google doesn't like next. There were not rules and regulation on their service terms. If I put money in Bank and Credit card company, I know there is consumer credit protection act.
I know so such law to protect me from and $ in in Google or Paypal's account. There isn't even a phone # to call for these "services" at this time.
Those search terms just return a lot of MBa mumbo jumbo
Google Bans Hundreds Of Pixel Phone Resellers From Their Google Accounts https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/11/20/0727240/google-bans...
Google has since "reviewed banned users' appeals and re-enabled their accounts," reports The Guardian.
1. Micro sd slot
2. Supports sprint in the US
3. Supports cyanogenmod
4. Given those, it should be powerful as possible
To my surprise, none of the 2016 flagships were acceptable. The Nexus line did not have a micro sd slot. Samsung s7 did not have cyanogenmod. Oneplus 3 did not support sprint. Most other phones were just not powerful, slow processors, etc.
I ended up settling for a 2015 moto x pure (style in op). Still disappointed that I couldn't get one with an 820 processor. Are my needs that exotic that nobody cares about them? Or have the phone companies just dropped the ball?
Your biggest problem requirement is Sprint. Outside of the US, almost no one used CDMA. The rest of the planet is on the GMS/HSDPA/LTE stack.
I think Sprint and Verizon are the two largest networks in the world that are still on CDMA. Verizon is actually owned by Vodaphone and I think the reason they haven't rebranded their US offering is because all their other companies are on GSM.
https://www.amazon.com/Moto-4th-Generation-Exclusive-Lockscr...
(cheap phone with support for big 4 US networks)
edit: Also, Verizon Communications bought out Vodaphone a couple years ago, Vodaphone no longer has an interest in Verizon Wireless.
You'll need a company that can make a water resistant phone with a card slot, or is willing to give up the water resistant feature.
You'll need that company to be able to ship a CDMA version, which is harder when GSM is more common.
You'll need that company to not be a *ick company and have drivers for their hardware.
You'll need that company to achieve all of that and still be able to get a 820 and keep expected margins.
The rather esoteric needs of a software developer is probably not high up on the marketing department's list of USPs... Plus, that it seems as if different regions are wanting different things - like an absurd number of cores, etc.
As an example, I am very fond of Sony. They make the best android phones in my opinion, with a really nice clean design and good support for updates. A plus for me is that it's still a Swedish team that make the phones although they seem to slowly loose the fight against the Japanese mega-corp mannerisms. There is more and more shit pre-installed on the phone, etc.
Unfortunately they peaked with the Z3 - anything after that is a lesser phone in some aspect. ZX is good and expensive as hell but compensates the faster processor and camera with a much much worse battery. X is fast, but is not water proof, etc.
Edit: I don't think the ZX supports CDMA unfortunately.
1. Some apps only work on root
2. Stock can have restrictions, like not allowing tethering while cm doesn't have anti features
3. Updates usually far after the manufacturer has abandoned the phone
There's a large community of people using custom roms. Some take it farther than others, but it's definitely not restricted to developers.
I hope that we get an open phone soon (I want to `pkg install $foo`), but unfortunately most endeavors seemed to have failed (Ubuntu Phone, etc.) I always wonder why that's the case.
You can get linux on android by using http://www.techradar.com/how-to/phone-and-communications/mob...
Edit: "However I believe (maybe wrongly?) most customers do not need to have a rooted phone, so I am really interested in the type of application?"
EDS for mounting encrypted volumes only works with root, since it needs elevated access to the kernel to mount stuff. That's probably the only app I use that requires root, but there are other customizations that I couldn't do on stock. For example, on my moto x pure the onscreen buttons were in the "wrong" places, and I needed the aicp (it's a ROM) ability to customize which button does what and icons. Mainly I wanted the back button to be on the right and not the left, and the other buttons to be the same as my previous phone.
If it's a custom rom, I expect others to have the same issues I'll have and someone will have developed a workaround or fix. On stock, this won't always be the case.
Then there's the whole "tethering" thing, which can be a big deal when traveling with a phone and laptop. Stock won't let you tether unless your plan allows it, while cyanogenmod or aicp doesn't care.
(Still annoyed that moto x pure, aicp, and ringplus 4g don't seem to mix, and I can only get 3g on anything besides for stock.)
- some you can root, some you can't.
- some have 3rd party junk, some don't.
- some get updates, some don't.
Being a fan of free/open source software, I want Android to succeed, but they have turned a good thing into a fucking quagmire.
If you want a known quantity with common support, buy a standard mainstream model. If you want the best thing for your needs you may have to do some research. It's like picking a Linux distro. I'd rather have variance than only Ubuntu.
But transformed the landscape? It's unquestionable that the iPhone truly transformed the mobile landscape. Closed-source Android has eaten up a huge amount of market share across the spectrum (particularly in low-cost high-volume sales). Open-source AOSP is a relative footnote. It has barely transformed anything.
Don't worry. At the rate we're headed, soon nobody will root their devices anymore, because practically every app they want to use will refuse to work on a rooted device.
My suggestions for improving this would be to add:
- Dual SIM - many buyers, esp. in developing countries and frequent travellers prefer dual-SIM phones.
- Network Bands - many people have a preferred mobile network, e.g. Verizon or T-Mobile in the US, Telstra in Australia, etc. Each of these networks only supports specific frequency bands for 3G and 4G. So I'd suggest adding in a search-based filter which allows a user to find phones that support a particular band, e.g. 28 that their favorite mobile network uses.
So the short and the long of it is: Ubuntu Touch, as a phone operating system, is dead. It's probably not long for this world on tablets either, considering that the only supported device is a single product from an obscure Spanish manufacturer.
Here is what's in the works. Hopefully answering most of your requests:
- Upgradability (how fast does the phone get official updates)
- Better specs (sent out emails to the companies yesterday)
- Rootability
- Unlockable Bootloader
- CM port available
- Non-stock phones with CM port
* Carrier Support / GSM-CDMA / Frequencies-Modes
* Changeable Batteries yes/no
* Wireless (Qi or that other one)Also sometimes for a USB Serial UART connected to an Arduino.
I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
There is nothing useful third-party "extra sauce" can add. In fact all the incentives for them are to make the OS worse.
Went from about 5 hours of useful time (1-2hrs SOT, had to charge at work just to make it home) with about 2hrs of listening to podcasts to making to dinner time (maybe 12hrs, 2-3hrs SOT).
I figure by the time I need to replace the battery on my G4+, someone will be selling a replacement. Just cause it's not "User Replaceable" doesn't mean that someone with a screwdriver can't replace it.
On a total side note, I'm kinda pissed that the new Moto M is coming out so soon. It's practically the same price as the Moto G4+ and seems to be better. I like the USB-C, rear fingerprint sensor, and metal body. Oh well.
When I was buying a budget android phone a few months ago, this was my primary criterion for purchasing. Wish it'd been around sooner.
If anyone is interested in the technical details -- I am using an angular-cli version that doesn't support AOT compilation so no tree shaking. Also no Angular Universal, therefore a loading screen.
I hate spinners. And hamburger menus.
I guess the specific audience of people looking for good stock phones might be operating off of a low cost data plan though? Otherwise of the many things the author could work on (improve curation, link to Swappa for purchase), I wonder if shaving a megabyte off the size is the most pressing issue.
The CPU model is way to indirect a comparison to be useful
I want AMOLED
Aside from that a reasonable attempt at a solution
About 6 months ago my second nexus 5 crapped out and as I couldst find any nexus replacements (Im In SEA) I decided to try out the Xiaomi Mi4i. Im now fully converted. Its as big an improvement over the Nexus as the Nexus was over the Samsung. And its half the price of one.
The biggest surprise was MIUI. It rocks and in my opinion a far superior UI than vanilla android. Its also updated really frequently, the last update they did (last week) rectified the only major issue I had with the UI (quick-links on the status menu).
Seriously, I cannot praise this phone highly enough. My only qualm is the performance with while flicking between apps. But hell - its $170!
I'll be sticking to OnePlus though, so far they have provided the best environment for their phones to flourish in the custom rom scene.
I'm running latest Android without hassle! ( CM 14 )
> It is planned but as sibling comment suggests, in the backlog for the moment.
> If anyone is interested in the technical details -- I am using an angular-cli version that doesn't support AOT compilation so no tree shaking. Also no Angular Universal, therefore a loading screen.
> I hate spinners. And hamburger menus.