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Hello everyone,
I was wondering if there is a way to upgrade certain parts of the phone, i.e. processor, camera, audio card, etc. I view my phone alot like a pc, and i built my own pc...so i thought to myself. Is there a way to build an android phone? or maybe upgrade existing parts? I think it would be awesome if we were able to pick and choose what we want in our phones! Personally id like a faster processor, and more internal memory. But i feel it'd be beneficial to all people who only use their phones to do certain things and may not want other "Stock" accesories. Maybe not, Let me know what you think/know about this! Id be interested in building my own android device!
Thanks!
Pascal Borner
Sorry but this would be really unrealistic. The battery is one thing, but phones are so compact and dense that parts aren't really made to take out and put in. I know what you mean, I build computers for a living.
But the parts in phones aren't socketed or use slots, so even just to start would require major unsoldering. I briefly tried to find out how many pins the ARM v6 processor of the Eris has. I'm sure it's a lot, perhaps not as many as the 940-pin AMD AM3 or the 1366-pin Intel Core i7, but it's probably in the hundreds.
And then we're dealing with compatibilities. In desktop processors, they keep the same pin architecture for at least a couple years (but you can find the same architecture for at least five). But they probably don't worry about that with phone processors since they're even more dense than laptops so each and every phone has to be made from scratch, so, for instance, the ARM v7 probably wouldn't fit where an ARM v6 was. There's also the software compatibility. I don't know if they make ARM v6's of different processor frequencies, but I doubt it. Even if they did, you'd still have to deal with the many, many pins.
It's doubtful that they have unused spots for RAM in these phones, and it's doubtful you could just remove the existing RAM and replace it with larger without having problems, but even if so, you're still dealing with all of the pins, procuring compatible RAM of a larger logical size...
You get the idea. I guess I'm just a big ray of sunshine!
The FCC probably would object to roll-your-own cell phones, too...
Thanks for your helpful info. I guess that makes sense. I saw a website (from a European country) that you can order a phone and pick parts from them, I.e. size of internal/external drive, different MP for the camera, flash/no flash(camera) , etc. I forget the company but if you like ill post a link to it when I find it. Once again, thanks for the explaination!
Sent from my Vanilla FroShedYo using XDA App
Sure, no problem. Back a while (maybe years now) there was a similar offering by some company for laptops where you could upgrade parts of it at a later time because it was more modular than most laptops at the time. You could almost always upgrade CPUs on laptops as long as they were socketed, and you still can now, it just requires downloading a service manual to find out what the best order of disassembly is in order to do so, so it's not for the everyday user.
But only laptops with discrete video cards have the possibility to upgrade them, although I have no experience with these kind of laptops so I don't know how easy that is.
but...
So i was checking out stuff on replacing screen etc on an samsung s3, and i also found a section where it shows how to replace camera and motherboard, this is to replace with the exact same one obviously. But i was wondering if maybe you could find a similar camera from a different phone that may fit? I know i cant really answer the question...sorry but just adding input. And another question came to mind with regard to the upgrading of hard ware, is if it were possible lets say to upgrade the camera to a better megapixel, would there be a conflict with the os etc, ie in the coding for the phone is it configured to only be able to process and capture a picture of megapixel of the stock camera. not sure if that makes any sense
this is the link with the replacements http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Samsung_Galaxy_S_III
Ok I have been waiting to buy a Tablet, dont want to get back into the fruit and nut area again. But I was planning on buying a Xoom as I am not sure Samsung will support this device any better than they did my original Galaxy phone. Xoom still doesnt have a working SD card bay from what I can glean from the internet (doesnt seem to be reported as an issue by most reviews) and its all just finger pointing over that issue w/no resolution clearly in sight. What current issues if any should I be aware of looking at (cant believe I am even considering it) buying a Tab 10.1. I also looked at the Transformer but it seems to have issues with flash. I cant believe so many seemingly important issues on those 2 arent covered more.
A Google I/O, multiple manufacturers (including Samsung) talked about maintaining devices with updates for 18 months after release, assuming the hardware would support those updates. I don't think you will have to worry about the Tab staying up-to-date. There is the question looming of whether or not Touchwiz will be an optional addition, and if you choose not to apply it will you be able to receive future updates. That is still unclear. But hardware-wise, the Tab is on par with everything else out there. The only question you have to ask yourself is do you favor form or function? If you don't need SD or HDMI support (on board without accessories) then get the Tab. If those things are necessities, go with something else. The Tab is the lightest and thinnest on the market, which makes it very covetable by those looking for something portable. The Xoom and Transformer are both considerably thicker and heavier.
Personally, I don't need SD support, and would much rather have something lightweight and thin.
SD support is important to me so that leaves me worried about the Xoom. I have lots of media I keep on my phone, kids videos for them, audiobooks, movies for when I am stuck in airplanes, e-books. I also was just told that the Tab doesnt support USB properly is that correct? I mean WTF?? Is that true?? Also will I be able to use Netflix on this thing? How does it handle streaming media?
The US-version of the Xoom is a GED (Google Experience Device), which means it gets HC updates first. It also means that if HC doesn't have SD support, then the Xoom won't, either. 3.2 is reportedly rolling out this month for it.
Xoom custom ROM already has SD support a while ago. Non-US versions (being rolled out) will also have SD support along with 3.1 update.
There are pluses and minuses to every Tegra 2 tablet out here. Xoom has pure Android, GT has TouchWiz. Xoom has ports, GT is lighter. Xoom is cheaper, GT has better screen, etc etc.
The main minus for all of them is that Honeycomb itself isn't quite ready and still has rough edges. And there aren't many tab-specific apps (no NetFlix yet).
There isn't a working Netflix app for any Honeycomb tablet at the moment... I would have to think that will change soon thought. As far as USB connectivity, I'm not sure what you mean? There is a USB adapter that is currently backordered, but as soon as that is available you will be able to hook up flash drives, external hard drives, etc.
Samsung doesn't have ports but there is an adapter you can buy for $20 (or maybe less if you search around) that will let you add USB functionality and/or an SD slot.
It streams just fine from what I can tell, but I am not a big streamer. I'm more of a business guy on the move who wants something that boots up quickly, is light and thin and can last a long time for web surfing, emailing and some light gaming as well.
I had a Xoom, and I now have a Galaxy Tab, and the Tab is a better machine. It's lighter and has a much crisper display, but truth be told, Honeycomb isn't ready for prime time yet. It's manageable, not like it's falling apart or anything, but it's got its quirks and crashes.
If you want something now and ports are important to you, and you don't want to spend extra for the adapters, then the Transformer, or even the just about-to-be-released Toshiba Thrive (which also has a replaceable battery) may be better for you. Both are MUCH thicker and heavier, though.
Good luck.
I really looked at the Transformer but the Flash issues to me seems like a hardware issue. I have 2 Asus laptops and have no qualms with any of there products I have bought. I didnt know about the Toshiba thanks for the tip but how can it offer USB and SD card capability if its on Android 3.1, isnt it something in Android thats not supporting these now from what I understand?
You can turn on the hotspot function of your smartphone and stream/copy stuff from there. They all have SD-Cards If you are close to a WLAN hotspot you have access to, you can usa your router or a NAS system to stream from home over the internet.
Also small USB HDDs will work with an adapter. For example the Samsung S1 mini (size of a credit card) or maybe the S2 portable. Usually external drives need an y-cable and 2 USB slots because of the power consumption, but those models run from 1 USB.
But still, it would be easier if it had an sd slot.
jpinks said:
I really looked at the Transformer but the Flash issues to me seems like a hardware issue. I have 2 Asus laptops and have no qualms with any of there products I have bought. I didnt know about the Toshiba thanks for the tip but how can it offer USB and SD card capability if its on Android 3.1, isnt it something in Android thats not supporting these now from what I understand?
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I think it's just a hardware compatibility issue with the Xoom, to be honest with you. The other tablets work just fine. Don't know what kind of stuff Motorola left out in order to release the Xoom early but apparently it's not an easy fix.
First smartphone was some low-end Android phone on a prepaid carrier, and even though it ran like crap, I've loved Android since. I took a shot with Windows Phone by buying a Dell Venue Pro, but the main reason I chose it (hardware keyboard) turned out to be a bit disappointing, and I kinda came with a negative attitude toward the OS, and eventually returned it. Plus, it was last-gen specs and it had its share of issues, so I probably wouldn't have kept it regardless.
Anyway, I've really been considering getting an HTC Radar on T-Mobile US, because I love everything about the phone (size, design, cameras, etc.)...but I need to be sold on Windows Phone and its functions/capabilities. I'm not too big on customization with Android (single homescreen with no widgets), and most apps I could live without on a daily basis (the few apps like Square I could plan in advance for and use an Android phone). I did like how smooth it was overall, but it seemed like a lot of basic phone/messaging/internet options were either hidden in weird places or non-existent (like manually refreshing certain stuff). And I did update the Dell to Mango, so I don't need to be told about the benefits, unless some of them apply only to the 2nd-gen WP devices like the Radar.
And in this case, I'd either get a Radar and then a Flyer so I can keep Android (and still use it as a phone if necessary), or just the new One S and no tablet.
First of all, everything is about your priorities and preferences. Mobile devices are a personal decision because there is always a tradeoff between cost, power, size, simplicity, customization, prior experience, and battery life. I can only tell you what works for me, then you can evaluate and come to your own decision.
In my signature you can see the devices that I have used, so I have some experience on both the Android and Windows Phone side. Last year I bounced back and forth between the two, but came down on the firmly on the Windows side for one major reason:
Simplicity.
It takes me two or three days to get an Android phone into a usable state so I have my major apps front and center, and eliminate as much "junk" as possible. (Of course, one man's junk is another man's favorite app.)
Windows Phone has most of what I need already set up once I've loaded my Google, Live, Exchange, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. As a matter of fact, give me the standard Microsoft apps, plus a Google Voice client, and I can do just about everything I need to do.
Also, I find the Live Tiles and Hubs very useful in pulling information together from multiple sources. The clean, bold, unified design of the OS is icing on the cake.
After using Windows Phone, Android looks like a mish-mash of random interfaces and cluttered design.
But that's just me.
I've got a Radar on T-Mobile and a Nokia Lumia 900 on AT&T. One of them has to go this week. The Lumia is about the most beautiful phone I've ever used and the AT&T LTE is strong and fast where I live. On the other hand, the Radar feels perfect in the hand, and T-Mobile's HSPA+ is fast enough. (But the coverage doesn't stretch out into the suburbs where I sometimes go.)
If you like Windows Phone and are a T-Mobile customer, the Radar is a quality choice. Also take a look at the Nokia 710. Some people like that handset better.
That's my opinion, for what it's worth. Best of luck!
Thanks for the quick reply. I do agree that Windows Phone is much simpler, and that definitely does appeal to me. I looked around and saw that it's possible to get OEM apps like the Nokia-specific apps without much work, that's nice. It's also nice that there might be a ROM for the Radar sometime soon.
However, I'm a bit confused when it comes to side-loading apps and unlocking and whatnot. I read something about Chevron tokens, and that they're out of stock, but then the official site charges $9 to unlock - what exactly does that do? And then in another thread I read something about being able to unlock it for free through a student DreamSpark account...is there a simple explanation about unlocking and ways to do it?
Anyway, I might be a little more sold on it as a result...if I can get one for a good price, I might jump on it soon.
EDIT: Also, since I saw you had a Nokia N8...where does Symbian fall into any of this - would it be something you'd ever consider going back to? I haven't had the chance to experience it, and have no idea how it compares to Android or WP7.5
magus57 said:
I'd either get a Radar and then a Flyer so I can keep Android (and still use it as a phone if necessary), or just the new One S and no tablet.
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Ive also had experience of both and getting a tablet is a sensible thing.. I have a Galaxy 5 Wifi for my media player and now a Radar for my Phone.
As has been mentioned here.. the best thing is simplicity, unfortunately, Android is being hammered at us from every angle from the One X to the Sensation XE, the Galaxy S2 and now 3 to the Note and sadly, WP7 seems to be getting left behind.
This year we're now seeing HTC and Nokia battle it out, but ultimately.. its down to you.. My advice..
Dont follow the Advertising and Media circus.. it'll drive you mad and no matter what you buy, theres always something new coming out.. so is it Android, with its many apps and open source marketplace.. which can result in some rubbish apps or WP7 for simplicity and ease of use, but without the customisation, just add ons.
Bear in mind, at the end of the day.. they are just phones.. even though the adverts will tell you different. A ONE X is just a faster Desire.. but its still a phone. I find WP7 call quality is much better than my old Wildfire S and under Mango theres alot more to work with.
Good luck
magus57 said:
...However, I'm a bit confused when it comes to side-loading apps and unlocking and whatnot. I read something about Chevron tokens, and that they're out of stock.. Also, since I saw you had a Nokia N8...where does Symbian fall into any of this...
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If side-loading apps is your goal, WP7 is not the best platform. The Chevron unlocker was available to aid developers of the first edition of Windows Phone. But it was never updated for later versions, and after Mango it is useless. So there is no easy way to open up the platform, although some have managed it on a phone by phone basis. But, really, Android is so much more open in that respect that I would stay in that environment if hacking is your goal.
As for Nokia, they consistently make the best phones. The N8 is still unsurpassed as a camera phone. No one has even attempted to put that large a sensor in any smartphone since. It will only be bested this month when Nokia releases the 808 PureView running Symbian. They are ahead of the competition in build quality and their radios usually pulll in better reception that others.
Their move into Windows phone looks very strong, and they have only been making them for six months. It will be interesting to see how that lineup grows.
The Symbian OS, however, gets mixed reviews. Back in the days of Windows Mobile, it was a very strong competitor. In a post-iPhone world, however, it cannot match the mobile operating systems that have been conceived from the ground up for touch navigation. Although they have made huge advancements, including touch-enabling the whole OS, it will always feel a bit more like a super-advanced feature phone OS when compared to Android, iOS, WM7, and WebOS.
Even so , I would say that the combination of Nokia hardware and Symbian represents the best value for money of any phobne / OS combination. For example, all of these phones can upgrade to the just released Symbian Belle update and are faster and have more features than they did when they were originally released:
N8 - Feels incredible in the hand and even more distingushed from the competition today. $340
E7 - The business phone; a tilt-up touchscreen with a great slide out keyboard. $380
C6 - essentially a thinner, lighter version of the N8, minus the super large camera sensor. $215
The problem for most Americans is that they have never used a Symbian phone before, so the whole feel of the OS is odd.
I think Nokia made the right decision moving to WP7, although Symbian will remain a strong platform for them, especially in new developing markets.
This is a new 2048x1536 clone from Best Buy. It has Rockchip RK3288 processor with a Broadcom BCM4350 WiFi AC/BT4.0/FM radio. It came with Android 5.0.1. As usual from the Chinese, the SW leaves much to be desired. In fact the Regulatory Information page is for the N9. It went the FCC as MID7802 and pictures and user manual are post there. I grabbed one for $150. I was interested since it supports HEVC/H.265. It plays them flawlessly. It scored 785 on AnTuTu video test v3.0. The speed test was 38005. Screen looks good. Now for the bad.
1. Won't turn on when off and charger connected.
2. Adaptive brightness doesn't use the control. Really bright and drains battery.
3. SDcard only accessible for stock apps. ES3 or Kodi can't see it. Probably mounted root only.
4. Camera app is really primitive. No option to record as HEVC even though HW encoding supported.
Any thoughts on this tablet and how easy or hard it would be to get a good ROM on it?
Hmm, the bad looks like stuff that could be fixed with a software update. Though I've yet to see an adaptive brightness option that was any good. I almost always adjust manually. I never really use camera functions on my tablets. The part where it won't turn on while charging is a bit disturbing though.
Battery drains while screen sleeps like crazy
decent tab
I managed to pick the flex elite 7.85" tablet up @ my local Best Buy yesterday for a discounted price of only $90 and so far very happy with it for the cost. Not sure I would be so happy at the full $150...maybe so though.
Battery life isn't the greatest even with a good battery saving app. Doesn't bother me to much though because I usually have my tabs plugged into the wall outlet.
Some things I like are the beautiful display and greatly bright lighting, makes it easy to use outside or in. Also like the quick responsiveness and sensitive touch screen. It's not so sensitive that you're accidentally hitting things you don't want to but plenty sensitive to pick up on the intentional hits. I like the thin style (only 0.3" thin, I think). Although it's plastic it feels solid and higher end in the hands. All in all it's just a decent tab for the average user...although maybe not so much for the enthusiast.
A couple things I don't like are that there are no accessories available for it at all. I'm rough on electronics (drop alot) and a good, solid case is near necessity for me. Still ticked off about dropping my Sero 7 PRO and killing it last year...man, was that ever a nice tab?!
Another thing I am a bit disenchanted with is no root instruction yet available and no ROM that I know of...been searching and hoping. I also read somewhere that it's not possible to write to the micro SD card from the tablet...if true, that really sucks! Though I rarely use a micro SD card with tabs, it's nice to be able to use them to keep onboard space freed up. I still need to buy a micro SD to test this last statement for myself, so can't guarantee the accuracy of the statement.
Anyway, decent tab that will probably fulfill my web browsing, shopping and WordPress needs for the next year so can't complain for a $90 investment. I don't expect any updates to the firmware over it's lifetime and really not to hopeful for a root instructional to be written but still pretty decent out of the box so far....I'll let you know about the possible microsd issue once I find out for myself.
OK, so I found out that the microsd card is difficult to get mounted and working correctly on this tablet (unfortunately I'm no geek). But I was finally able to use an app to xfer files after formatting the SD card to ntsf instead of fat32. Still a pita but got it working.
Now if only someone would make an easy root instructional for this thing I might actually keep it for a while
Alrighty, got one of these and so far it's been good for its price.
I can turn it off and on while charging, both sleep/wake and full power off/power on.
The brightness seems fine to me, but again I've not used adaptive as I've never had a tab with a worthwhile adaptive brightness, and I've had Nexus 7 and 9, Galaxy Tabs pro and S, and a half dozen others.
Getting an SD later today for it.
Battery life isn't great, but I'm not seeing the sleep drain I keep reading about.
As has been mentioned the SD is only visible to system apps. Unless you format it NTFS, then it can be found by other apps. Need to figure out how to make shortcuts/symbolic links so it can be reached from areas other than /mnt as I think some apps expect it to show up in the storage folder and other places.
It's fast and snappy. Display is crisp & nice and bright and is the perfect size. I too am seeing unexpected battery drain overnight (losing 50% of battery) while the tablet is sleeping. I wish the battery lasted longer on standby as my needs are to read to fall asleep and then wake up and study - the Tab A has a longer lasting battery than this. Takes a long time to boot up if it's entirely shut down. It refuses to run Netflix either in the Netflix app nor in the browser. I have all the latest updates of the OS plus Netflix but it's not working. It's a shame but I am today returning it to BestBuy due to the Netflix issue which I consider a core app. WINS: Display is awesome and CPU speed is very good! CONS: Won't play Netflix, battery life is weak, takes long to boot up.
still no sign of 4rd party rooms?
in the market for something to replace my POS dell 8 tablet. can anyone say how insignia is on updates? will this get 6?
Oma has made a rom for it at arctablet.com
bbobb said:
Oma has made a rom for it at arctablet.com
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link?
cannot post links.
google 'insignia flex elite oma root'
should be top result.
Got to page 4, post 49.
micro sdcard should be formatted ntfs
i just bought this tablet used
i think my rom is hosed, it has a system process kill at startup and it is very laggy. it also shuts down is left to sleep for more then 5min. a factory reset doesnt change anything... but ive seen this before... nothing short of a full rom wipe fixes it. that's the real danger of chinese tablets, if you hose the os there is no way to fix it...
im trying to root it and put oma rom on it, to see if that fixes the software issues. i dont think its hardware, because once im in a game or app it runs lightning quick. even games like mortal kombat with their high end graphics run smooth... its really somethin on this screen.
boot time SUCKS on this tablet. like, 4min or something. what the hell insignia? you cant optimize this rom even a little bit?
I like the tablet. I have seen several software updates (didn't check the build numbers) before I flashed Oma's ROM. It still has a long boot time, but if you go to the developer options, and turn off the animation options, it feels pretty fast (definitely faster than anything that is even close to this price range). Oma's current rom doesn't fix the Netflix app issue. Maybe an update can figure out what the conflict is?
superhumvee said:
I like the tablet. I have seen several software updates (didn't check the build numbers) before I flashed Oma's ROM. It still has a long boot time, but if you go to the developer options, and turn off the animation options, it feels pretty fast (definitely faster than anything that is even close to this price range). Oma's current rom doesn't fix the Netflix app issue. Maybe an update can figure out what the conflict is?
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I just got one yesterday. I didn't update to the December update, but I flashed oma's rom (pretty sure I did?), rooted with king root and then replaced with super su and the boot up time is much much faster than stock. I want to say less than a minute vs. close to 3 or 4 before.
I bought two of these used off eBay, both seem to suffer from sound stutter/slight freeze ups once in awhile. I've reset both and made sure they are running the current OTA update.
It seems to mostly do it for Youtube and YouTube for Kids, but notice it once in awhile during some more graphic intense games. Which surprises me as from the specs at least this should be a pretty decent budget tablet.
I just picked up a "seller refurbished" on from Ebay -- there are a *ton* of them up there at the moment. It actually looks pretty decent. The battery life is *horrible* (about 4 hours of SOT for reading or web surfing), but the rest of the flaws can be worked around.
First off was setting the window animations to zero, as suggested here earlier, followed by KingRoot and SU substitution (also as suggested). Then, from the Store:
- SDFix:KitKat Writable MicroSD and
- Folder Mount
combined to let me store app data on the microSD.
- FlashFire did a great job of installing Xposed Framework and from there I can tweak to my hearts' content (Greenify, GravityBox, and XSSID Indicator so far)!
Right now, it looks like your best bet would be Oma's rom that someone mentioned earlier, which would be rooted and let you do some customization. I don't use KingRoot because there's some report that the software collects data on you without your consent. What with all the rumors about Xiaomi snooping on you and China's officially-sanctioned practices in cyber space, you don't want to assume unnecessary risks. Bad enough that Uncle Sam is looking over your shoulder, but China?? Do the math!
Back to the matter at hand. Looks like your tab will be stuck with Lollipop forever (1) because the sales of this model is low enough not to stimulate any interest in developing custom roms; (2) manufacturer's support is non-existent (I mean literally non-existent); (3) if you get a representative to answer, the person doesn't know enough to say anything beyond what's in the manual; and (4) they categorically refuse to release even a stock rom for the user to restore where the tab is bricked by their own OTA updates!!! What sets them apart is that I know of no other reputable manufacturer that would so adamantly oppose such potential remedies. Unbelievable! The only recourse is warranty - which means if you're outside that period, you're toast, even if the hardware is in perfectly working order.
To recap, absolutely no support and no update. Promulgating a policy that drives away consumers is of course their prerogative, but why they care so much about losing business is beyond me. So think hard before shelling out for their products. Low prices and enticing specs ain't worth crap if the tablet doesn't work at all.
Since I can't link to where I got it (I don't think I can link to anything here right now), here's the important specs:
MTK 6735M 1.0GHz
8G/1G
Android 6
Just your usual cheap China phone, except for two wrinkles. For one, Android and the included apps take up way too much space (5.25G), leaving far too little memory. Also it seems to have some issues with SD cards as the stock launcher has a habit of generated multiple copies of the apps you have on SD card. Since the manufacturer hasn't provided any updates, the million dollar question since I like the feel and size of the phone, is it possible to replace the ROM, either with an aftermarket or another Chinaphone's ROM that isn't so crappy?