[Q] Cheapest Android phone with full kernel source - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

What is the cheapest available phone out there that has full kernel and android sources? I and a bunch of classmates need to do a project which requires custom kernel building and development on a phone. We have experimented with dev boards etc but now its time to get 4-5 real phones, so obviously cost is an issue.
Our project doesn't really need very high resources, so ROM size/RAM size/CPU speed, etc don't matter much - as long as touch screen works, calling works, wifi works, and custom kernels and android can be built and uploaded to the phone, Unbrickable/difficult to brick is a plus of course.
Any suggestions? We looked at mt6573 based Motorola Xt389, which seemed perfect, but it seems there is no source code released even though motorola has released lots of source code for other devices ( on sourceforge /motorola/wiki/Projects/ ).
Is there ANY thing out there that we can use? I know there are several in the higher cost range with full source code, but something close to, or cheaper than Xt389 is pretty much all we have the budget for.
Would appreciate any suggestions!

HTC g1 (dream) can get these oh so cheap now. Or really any nexus device is made easy, do they have to be new or will used work?
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demkantor said:
HTC g1 (dream) can get these oh so cheap now. Or really any nexus device is made easy, do they have to be new or will used work?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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On initial searches, HTC G1 looks like a promising lead. I will look into it further, thanks.
I'd prefer (relatively) recent CPUs though.
Used could be OK, as long as they are reliably available (5-10 pieces) in good condition - the phones might end up being demoed, so new wouldn't hurt, but we are students so I guess beggars can't be choosers.

If you want at least somewhat newer buy still used and cheap maybe check out nexus 1, nexus s, galaxy nexus, etc. Maybe even nexus 4. The moto g can be found brand new and comparatively cheap.
But for the cheapest with sources available I still would say g1, which is not hard to find and for sure inexpensive.
Buy I guess preference will be what you need to do specifically
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demkantor said:
If you want at least somewhat newer buy still used and cheap maybe check out nexus 1, nexus s, galaxy nexus, etc. Maybe even nexus 4. The moto g can be found brand new and comparatively cheap.
But for the cheapest with sources available I still would say g1, which is not hard to find and for sure inexpensive.
Buy I guess preference will be what you need to do specifically
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So I looked into the G1 a bit. We are based in India - the prices in Indian Rupees (all from Ebay.in)
* Cheapest android phone (new) : ~2500 INR ( this one is based on Spreadtrum SC6820 SoC)
* Motorola Xt389: ~3500 INR (this one is based on mt6573)
The two above and dozens other models based on similar chinese chipsets are listedn by many vendors for 5000 INR or less.
* HTC G1: ~5000 INR (only one vendor, so a bit questionable in terms of reliable availability)
* Nexus S: ~ 6000 INR
* Nexus One: ~10,000 INR
* Galaxy Nexus: ~13000 INR
* Moto G: ~14,000 INR
* Nexus 4: ~18,000 INR
Unfortunately, anything beyond 5000 INR per piece would pretty much break our budget. So G1 does look viable and I hadn't even thought of it until you mentioned, so thanks again.
Is there really no hope for the Spreatrum and Mediatek ones? Those would be *SO* perfect for the project

Cheapest phone
You should go with samsung galaxy y, as it useful for experiments like flashing custom roms and kernels,tweaking,and many more...
and the most important one its inexpensive it should come under 5000 INR.

Related

Best Budget Tablet?

Hello,
Looking into investing in a little cheap tablet for general usage (Internet browsing, social networking, emails and spotify/netflix), wanting something with better specs than my phone so I'd be happy with a 1.5ghz dual core 7" tablet and 1gb ram would be nice. Looking to spend well under £100 and from a well-known site/company and not wanting to import or buy from abroad so UK only would be great. Development wise, it'd be nice to have it rootable with a microsd slot (for A2SD purposes) and custom ROMs and recovery would also be nice to have.
Thanks,
Curtis.
its going to be difficult to find what you want in that price range. im not sure whats coming out in the near future but the nexus 7 is still probably the best bet. (for that price)
no, isnt, if you like quad core yeah, but if you know how to manage it, the kindle fire hd for 200 dollars and the kindle fire 2 generation for 160 or 150 dollars
Looking to spend well under £100 and from a well-known site/company and not wanting to import or buy from abroad so UK only would be great. S
So well under $130. its not impossible but devs dont support crazy off brand tabs, which he stated he wants.
Dude. Dont waste you money and regret it later! spend around 150 pounds and get the nexus 7. worth every penny. it has aweseome dev. support. will get latest versions of android etc.
Get china tablet that unknown brand.
Just get a nexus 7 man. You'll love it.
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spitfire2425 said:
Just get a nexus 7 man. You'll love it.
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Or you could wait and get the new nexus 7... it should come out in April when Google releases the new Android platform.
I personally am in the market for a tablet as well but I am looking into the Note 8 whenever it comes out. What do you guys suggest? Note 8 or new Nexus 7?
Thanks for the replies.
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Ra-fik said:
Or you could wait and get the new nexus 7... it should come out in April when Google releases the new Android platform.
I personally am in the market for a tablet as well but I am looking into the Note 8 whenever it comes out. What do you guys suggest? Note 8 or new Nexus 7?
Thanks for the replies.
Sent from my SGH-I317M
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Well, there's no word yet on what the new n7 will be, or if they're even going to make a change to it. However, i would say get the n7 now if you need a tablet now, or wait until the next n7 releases, and buy the "old" n7 at a discounted price, since that's probably not far off.
Don't get the kindle. It's got much less processing power, and Amazon isn't going to support it for aosp releases, so you're stuck with developer releases only. I'm still on the xoom, which is working well, but with jelly bean there's a lot of functionality i've had to give up.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
phishfi said:
Well, there's no word yet on what the new n7 will be, or if they're even going to make a change to it. However, i would say get the n7 now if you need a tablet now, or wait until the next n7 releases, and buy the "old" n7 at a discounted price, since that's probably not far off.
Don't get the kindle. It's got much less processing power, and Amazon isn't going to support it for aosp releases, so you're stuck with developer releases only. I'm still on the xoom, which is working well, but with jelly bean there's a lot of functionality i've had to give up.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
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Im probably going to wait for the Note 8 since I have the Note 2... samsung is pulling an apple and centralizing all their products to work together so it may be a bonus (or a curse?) to get the note 8... although its screen won't be super compared to other tablets !
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CurtisAndroid5 said:
Hello,
Looking into investing in a little cheap tablet for general usage (Internet browsing, social networking, emails and spotify/netflix), wanting something with better specs than my phone so I'd be happy with a 1.5ghz dual core 7" tablet and 1gb ram would be nice. Looking to spend well under £100 and from a well-known site/company and not wanting to import or buy from abroad so UK only would be great. Development wise, it'd be nice to have it rootable with a microsd slot (for A2SD purposes) and custom ROMs and recovery would also be nice to have.
Thanks,
Curtis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one seems to have all you're looking for.
In my opinion,Nexus 7 is the best choice and if Google will release the new Nexus 7, the present one will down the price.The great chance to get a cheaper but very great small tablet.

Should I buy SGS3?

I had HTC Desire for nearly 3 years, and it is a great phone, but I think it is time to upgrade, because:
- it is annoyingly slow with my regular set of programs installed, even on fastest available roms
- it doesn't have kernel 3.0, and because of that JB roms have shortcomings
- a little bit too small screen for GPS navigation
- really crappy camera
- somewhat short battery life
Some time ago I had a chance to look at Galaxy S2 in person and it looked like a perfect phone (at least for 2 minutes I had it in my hands).
Somewhat bigger screen, more internal storage, kernel 3.0.
I use custom roms, so big development community is important for me. I have been spoiled by Desire as it (still) has a large one.
Galaxy S2 would cost me around 170-200 euro to get it.
Then there is S3, which looks like a better phone alltogether, even if more expensive (~350 euro).
But the doubts about that one after reading user opinions are:
- quite dark screen, worse than One X
- bad build quality
- flimsy home button
- external speaker on pair with Desire
I would welcome SGS3 owners views on the above.
My general requirements (compared to HTC Desire):
- larger screen (not necessarily much larger)
- solid build quality
- large development community
- noticeably faster CPU than Desire (Dual+ core would come in handy)
- microUSB
- good/very good camera
- good battery life
- have a good and loud external speakers for listening to podcasts
- would be nice if it had FM transmitter (not receiver) but it is not necessary
- it must by BLACK or therebout
the s3 fits each one of those requirements.....
Hi there. I was an owner of HTC Desire for 2 years. I loved that device and still have it in my drawer. I recently bought a Galaxy S3 to upadgrade my old DS. The transfer from Desire to Desire S was something logical to me back then. Almost the same device but newer software. I was searching for a new phone and I thought that one X was the only road for me. I had a chance to compare one X with SGS3 side by side. The screen on one X has more natural colors for me and I think the sound quality is better. Honesty I picked the SGS 3 cause of the community that has here in xda the removal battery the sd card slot and I think the camera quality is better. Im still new here and haven't managed to explore the hole forum but I found a lot of things and I'm amazed by the community
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There are better options market than s3 at this point of time
sent from the state where marijuana is NOT illegal !
kangerX said:
There are better options market than s3 at this point of time
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Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
impactor said:
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the S4 i9505. Better dev support due to no exynos. Get 2nd hand
Got to be honest, if i was in your shoes, i wouldn't. Not for 350€. Would be a different thing if you had an awesome deal at hand, but if you're just getting them from a regular store, for the full price, no.
I've seen you don't require neither external sd nor an removable battery so i'd easily go with a nexus 4 if i could. Around same price point, best bang for the buck specs wise. Also, you get updates directly from google instead of waiting forever for samsung
If you're not into the nexus 4 (which isn't easy to come by for every country) you may want to take a look at the oppo find 5. Seems a fantastic phone, has even better specs than the nexus and therefore a bit more expensive. Easy to get in europe and they even throw in a few extras like NFC tags and a (flip?) cover for your phone. Also the developer openly encourages custom roms so there shouldn't be a problem having updates.
Moar ram (this is REALLY important on the S3 since 1Gb is not nearly enough for a samsung rom), no-bul**** touchwiz with a lightfast pure aosp rom (with the nexus) or anything close with the oppo and no exynos with closed sources, making custom roms not being able to be all they can. You won't get some somewhat useless bells and whistles (smart stay, camera effects, multiwindow, etc) but that can almost all be reinstated with 3rd party apps if needed. Samsung has a bad history of kind of neglecting their phones who're not flagships anymore - by this i mean they say they will update but only when convenient to them and that means waiting forever with no ETA at all. Not to mention you may get a unit with the screwed up chip which is apparently not in danger of suddently dying anymore but it's fix has been reported causing severe lag. It's not a bad phone at all, it's just there are better alternatives out there.
The S2 though is still a fantastic phone and it's probably the cheaper you'll get. It's just it's old and most likely not supported (or about to be, not sure) by samsung by now.
kaynpayn said:
i'd easily go with a nexus 4 if i could. Around same price point, best bang for the buck specs wise.
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This is a really good point.
I think the price points are still a little high
You should expect after September 5 or so, and then check prices for:
- i9300 unlocked new and second-hand; IMHO the best thing about it is the form factor + huge availability of ROMs; major downside = only 1 GB RAM
- i9305 unlocked new and second-hand; it fixes the problem with just 1 GB and also has LTE, but much less development and fewer ROMs to choose
- N7100 (note 2) unlocked new and second-hand; IMHO a good choice that fixes most problems with i9300 and i9305, BUT creates a new one - size; that one is a deal killer for me
- also look at the prices for note 3 (will be launchd around September 4-5) and i9505 (might drop a little, eventually the i9506 might become available).
Thanks guys.
- I never used stock rom on any android phone I had. I root and install custom rom instantly, so I am no bothered by Sense or Touchwiz or whatever bloat there is in stock.
- Nexus 4 has one major flaw - only 16gb, and not expandable. In my Deisre, I have a 16gb card and btween GPS maps, podcasts and backups, I am almost constantly out of space. Plus, it has lesser camera, and screen.
- SGS3 would be in silicon cover anyway, so I don't care much about the build quality EXCEPT for the front panel/home button.
impactor said:
Thanks guys.
- I never used stock rom on any android phone I had. I root and install custom rom instantly, so I am no bothered by Sense or Touchwiz or whatever bloat there is in stock.
- Nexus 4 has one major flaw - only 16gb, and not expandable. In my Deisre, I have a 16gb card and btween GPS maps, podcasts and backups, I am almost constantly out of space. Plus, it has lesser camera, and screen.
- SGS3 would be in silicon cover anyway, so I don't care much about the build quality EXCEPT for the front panel/home button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SGS3's problem is that AOSP devs cannot make ROMs as quickly (or make the "fully functional" as quickly) due to having an Exynos CPU. I personally would look for an S4 i9505 2nd hand if I wanted a good phone with AOSP support. It has no Exynos.
S4 is way to expensive for me.
How about HTC One X?
impactor said:
Thanks for this informative post. Could you share those better options?
I am not going to pay more than 350 euro for it, so unless those better options are the same price or cheaper than SGS3, mentioning them is pointless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What would be pointless is buying a exynos device paying 350 euro.. N4 / oppo find 5 great devices / or second hand i9505 / one x
sent from the state where marijuana is NOT illegal !
impactor said:
S4 is way to expensive for me.
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In the UK I found a 2nd hand i9505 for £330, 384 Euros on buy it now (ebay).
Wait a month or two, it will be lower. Worth considering. Or look for an auction instead. I'm confident it can be done.
Oh you didn't mention the need for more than 16gb. That actually weights in a lot. The oppo finder 5 should be a good candidate then, I believe it's the best price you can get for a phone with those specs that already brings 32gb (if bought new)
If you understand and don't mind the exynos, the 16gb+sdcard lte s3 is also an option (2gb ram), not sure about prices though.
Also, for what's worth, I've compared the camera of my s3 with the n4. Didn't think it was all that different apart from effects I don't really use. Phones are cool for the casual shot (and actually take very decent ones) but if it's serious quality I'm after, nothing beats a good, dedicated camera.
Edit: oops didn't realise you couldn't spend more than 350. I still wouldn't get the s3 and would wait out for the prices to get lower. Still, if you must change your phone now, for that price point, with your requirements is probably the best bet.
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---------- Post added at 02:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:24 PM ----------
rootSU said:
In the UK I found a 2nd hand i9505 for £330, 384 Euros on buy it now (ebay).
Wait a month or two, it will be lower. Worth considering. Or look for an auction instead. I'm confident it can be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Main issue I find with ebay uk sellers, they won't send to any other country, even if its their neighbor Portugal few miles below
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kaynpayn said:
Main issue I find with ebay uk sellers, they won't send to any other country, even if its their neighbor Portugal few miles below
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I wasnt suggesting buying from Ebay UK. It's just an example.
rootSU said:
SGS3's problem is that AOSP devs cannot make ROMs as quickly (or make the "fully functional" as quickly) due to having an Exynos CPU. I personally would look for an S4 i9505 2nd hand if I wanted a good phone with AOSP support. It has no Exynos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure what is the problem with S3 cpu. S3 seems to have great support community, a lot of roms, etc. I do not really care if I have the newest subversion of Android available on my phone 5 days after the newest Android was released.
I just want it to work, and I couldn't care less if I have to wait a month, or 3 months for Android 4.3, if I have fully workin 4.2.2, with great battery life, photograps, excellent GPS, screen, and pretty great for a mobile audio quality (headphones, and speakerphone).
Considering that, would you still disadvice me an S3? I looked at prices of S4 and even 380 euro is a bit of a stretch, considering I wanted to spend 200 euro initially, and 300 for S3 is already a significant budget enlargement.
And what about HTC One X? Would that be better than S3?
Exynos documentation lacking. No sources. Poor camera. All devs complain including cyanogen. Read their threads, posts and blogs. Research. Or buy blindly. You choose
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rootSU said:
Exynos documentation lacking. No sources. Poor camera. All devs complain including cyanogen. Read their threads, posts and blogs. Research. Or buy blindly. You choose
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Click to collapse
Here are results of my research:
1. Stable CM10.2 available on S3
2. S3 camera is one of the best among mobile phones
3. Considerable amount of roms available for S3.
I just don't see the point you are making. I do not want to get S3 blindly, but neither do I want to blindly reject it.
impactor said:
Here are results of my research:
1. Stable CM10.2 available on S3
2. S3 camera is one of the best among mobile phones
3. Considerable amount of roms available for S3.
I just don't see the point you are making. I do not want to get S3 blindly, but neither do I want to blindly reject it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Cyanogen refused to release 10.1 as "stable" release. Remains nightly build forever due to lack of exynos sources and documentation. Same with 10.2
2. Touchwiz rom camera great. Since samsung didn't release camera HAL, aosp camera not very good.
3. Loads of aosp roms. None meet their own potential due to the issues mentioned above.
4. Battery life poor on aosp roms.
S3 is great of you're happy with touchwiz. Bloated and slow but good pics and great battery life. But if you know you'll be using aosp roms, its a poor choice - and im sure any aosp dev would agree with that. Yes there's lots of choice. I even use aosp all the time but it cannot exploit the devices potential.
Also a lot of devs are starting to move on now. Kernel development for aosp is down to about 3 or 4 good ones.
Im trying to be Frank and save you buying a dying devices thinking it will be as good as you think it is. I wish I had known about the exynos issue before buying. Would I have held out and bought something else? Probably not. It was the only device that met my requirement 14 months ago. That said, would I recommend it now? No.
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[Q] Are chinese Android phones reliable/good?

I've been visiting dealextreme.com and found some pretty good-looking Android phones for cheap. The problem is, well, these are chinese no-name phones.
Their specs seem to be pretty good. I won't lie. But to be honest, they seem too good to be true.
What I'd like to know is: Are they any good?
Look at the N6300 MTK6589 and the JIAYU JY-G3 MTK6589T in dx.com, for example. Their price tag is pretty low, and the phone looks great. But the thing is: Will they last, or fail quickly?
Also, I found a good deal on a used Sony Xperia Go on Latin America's eBay equivalent (MercadoLibre). For about $160USD.
Which phone should I pick and why? What opinion do you have about chinese Android phones? Would you trust these phones for your daily use? Would YOU buy one of those? Or should I just buy the used Xperia Go?
I live in Mexico, so getting a smartphone for $199 + contract is pretty much impossible here. They still cost an arm and a leg even under plan.
To be honest I've gotten knockoff Chinese phones before...some can be really good but keep in mind there's really no rooting or development for em and you'll stay pretty much stock on it...hence a big reason they stay cheap...blu is a good decent brand..id go with a more name brand phone if you want that and there is places like eBay you can get a good phone pretty cheap
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REV3NT3CH said:
To be honest I've gotten knockoff Chinese phones before...some can be really good but keep in mind there's really no rooting or development for em and you'll stay pretty much stock on it...hence a big reason they stay cheap...blu is a good decent brand..id go with a more name brand phone if you want that and there is places like eBay you can get a good phone pretty cheap
Sent from my P4R4N01D R3D D347H 4.3 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'd be better off buying the used Xperia Go? A safer bet, I guess.
I Own the Cubot GT 99 , 140 USD for 4.5 inch 720p , quad core 1.2 ghz, 12,6mp camera and performs like galaxy s 3 in numbers. The problem with Chinese phones is that they have a cpu brand called mediatek and everything is closed source. So no roms, you can find miui and/or lewa rom, but you have to search. For example my phone, Cubot, is a rebranded xyz x1, and roms like miui are available (I can install 2 day old miui). BUT , unless things change, you are v stuck with the same android version it shipped with, 4.2.1 for me... closed source sucks... and of course no cyanogenmod , also gps is the worst thing in those chips, lock time about half day !
Ya go with the xperia
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I have a G3S Jiayu, ono commented mate up the big problem is that the code is not released, so no chance of modificafo kernel or custom roms
REV3NT3CH said:
Ya go with the xperia
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can the Xperia Go be upgraded to 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3? I don't mind if it needs CyanogenMod.
Lol, I remember the first time a friend gave me a plum mobile phone for free, three words piece of ****. The god dam phone had only 300 mb ram and 1.0 GHz along with its disgusting screen material and display, not only that but the phone lagged so hard every time I clicked on a app, some process had to end. You can visit the site by googling plum mobile.
Most Chinese android phones aren't reliable/good but there are a handful of companies that make high quality devices like Asus and more.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Icyice said:
Can the Xperia Go be upgraded to 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3? I don't mind if it needs CyanogenMod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Youd have to check the thread for it...im very sure there is custom roms for it
You may see on XiaoMi HongMI, quad core, samsung camera, dual sim and latest MIUI only cost 799 yuan.
http://www.xiaomi.com/hongmi
or
oppo.
Icyice said:
about $160USD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can buy THL W100
Icyice said:
getting a smartphone for $199
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can buy THL W200, Here: http://www.thlmobilestore.com/
It really does depend on the brand, I haven't ever used one myself but friends of mine have tried some out. The bigger brands like Huawei or Xioami are totally legit but the lower ends are pretty much guaranteed to be broken garbage. Still, it's certainly viable to go Chinese.
Grand Guignol said:
It really does depend on the brand, I haven't ever used one myself but friends of mine have tried some out. The bigger brands like Huawei or Xioami are totally legit but the lower ends are pretty much guaranteed to be broken garbage. Stil, it's certainly viable to go Chinese.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
China has some small brands of mobile phones is also doing well.
Lindsay02 said:
China has some small brands of mobile phones is also doing well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, like Jiayu is good and Star is pretty good now too. I think chinese really (like under 50$ or MTK6589 for 100$) are garbage. For example big comapny - ZTE has a model V967S which costs on alie 130-135$ with shipping. It's very cheap for that kind of phone.
muf18 said:
Yeah, like Jiayu is good and Star is pretty good now too. I think chinese really (like under 50$ or MTK6589 for 100$) are garbage. For example big comapny - ZTE has a model V967S which costs on alie 130-135$ with shipping. It's very cheap for that kind of phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
100 $ or less Chinese mobile phone, you'd better not buy, there is big quality problem.
depends
Huawei, ZTE and most of other big brands works very good, but unknown brand will usually means problems all the time.
I have Zte v967 and is very good for. 150$. Huge battery as well.
Sent from my ZTE V967S using Tapatalk
just thought I would add in that the Cubot gt99 is great.. really solid build, great screen etc. but as someone said, you are currently stuck with the version of android delivered - 4.2.1. to which I don't see a problem with for a phone with such great specs for such a cheap amount.
there do seem to be a lot of 'copy' phones , eg the cubot one.. these, from my reading don't seem to far so well.
I've stuck with cubot and alongside the gt99 for the wife, which I have seen for less than £100 (- potential import taxes) I've ordered a cubot t9. have to see how it goes.
I am hoping that they will release the source in due course, they are supposedly thinking about it as per the cubot forums.
one thing that really impressed us was the built in to the design replaceable screen protector. when you get it, there is one in place that you can hardly tell, much nicer idea than the after thought stick on top. It is nice and thick too.
Using a Jiayu G3 phone for more than a year. First, there are MANY Chinese companies with hundreds of different models so it's hard to say something common about all of them, some are better than other. I have no complains about my Jiayu after one year quality is good, design is good screen is good. It was $200 when I bought it you can still buy a variant now probably $50 cheaper now.
What is common:
Most use Mediatek SoCs. They are not on the same class as Qualcomm or Exynos but they have for some time Quad core A9 and A7 based and the Octacore A7 just start appearing in some phones (gets about 30000 Antutu scores so not bad for the price).
Mediatek supports dual SIM so all Mediatek based phones have dual SIM (very popular in China).
Now, be careful. All phones have Quad band GSM (2G) so they will work in any GSM based network, but the 3G will most likely not work (may be some small networks in Europe which works). They do not have yet LTE and when they will have may work just in China. So if you need data , forget the Chinese phone. If you use it for voice only, just make sure (in US and Canada) that your provider supports GSM for 2G (it's not one of CDMA ones).
also most phones will hardly get any updates, so expect that what you get is all. Some bigger companies will offer updates and you will find a number of custom ROMs (MIU, Lewa) but if you don't speak Chines you will need to spend a lot of time using Google translate). Rooting is not a problem however, I did not hear about any Chinese phone which could not be rooted, and if you stay with more common brands and models you will find custom recovery besed on TWRP for them.
You can get a quite decent phone either 720p or 1080p with good screen and very decent performance in the $200 range, if you are good with the limitations above.
You can get higher end models with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (or Tegra 4) but you will be in $500+ range which gets you in the big brands range.
In conclusion:
Buy one only if you use it for GSM (2G) voice. Forget if you need 3G or 4G.
Don't buy the very cheap no name ones, I would stay with $150+ for a decent phone. For most, in this price range or higher quality is not a problem, but higher you go in price more features newer SoC, more memory, better screen more recent OS you get.
You can get models which will be at least as good (or better) than brand names if you go to $500+ range (but you will still not have 3G and 4G, and will have less community support, at least if you don't speak Chinese so think twice).If you only use the phone for voice and WiFi for data, however this models could even be one step ahead of brand names ( it looks like VIVO will be the first phone with 1440p LCD).
A good tip I can give is spend as much time as possible to check out reviews about the phones.
At least, that is what I did for my Inew.
When I saw the phone was almost everytime in the top 5 list of the "most sold" or "most popular" phones, I thought those people can't be wrong.
Also, check some reviews for the brands, although there are a lot of brands, it is easy to see which brands are preferred.

Best Unlocked/Unlockable Android Smartphone?

I've been trying to decide on the GPE Galaxy S4, GPE HTC One, Nexus 5 or Moto X Dev Edition since I have AT&T in the USA and want a device with an unlocked/unlockable bootloader.
IDEALLY, I would purchase a Developer Edition Android smartphone from AT&T since their insurance I have covers any Android device sold by AT&T which is apparently 0. Verizon has a Dev Edition S4, and I heard rumors in 2013 of an AT&T version, but nothing at all yet.
So, if I'm going with a non-ATT insured Android, I want the absolute best functionality, specs/speed, and battery life so I can use it for at least a year to last through Android OS latest version updates as it gets better and better.
Truly the Moto X having specialized processors which dazzles me, but I wonder how long before it gets sluggish with its dual-core processor. Anyone have knowledge/experiences to share?
Thanks everyone! I love these forums!
-J
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
justintime001 said:
I've been trying to decide on the GPE Galaxy S4, GPE HTC One, Nexus 5 or Moto X Dev Edition since I have AT&T in the USA and want a device with an unlocked/unlockable bootloader.
IDEALLY, I would purchase a Developer Edition Android smartphone from AT&T since their insurance I have covers any Android device sold by AT&T which is apparently 0. Verizon has a Dev Edition S4, and I heard rumors in 2013 of an AT&T version, but nothing at all yet.
So, if I'm going with a non-ATT insured Android, I want the absolute best functionality, specs/speed, and battery life so I can use it for at least a year to last through Android OS latest version updates as it gets better and better.
Truly the Moto X having specialized processors which dazzles me, but I wonder how long before it gets sluggish with its dual-core processor. Anyone have knowledge/experiences to share?
Thanks everyone! I love these forums!
-J
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as what device to get, if you want the most development and fastest updates the Nexus 5 is the way to go. The GPE HTC One and GPE Galaxy S4 are also excellent choices, but they are also 6 month old devices if your really looking for more recent device release. The Motto X is a great device with the features it offers, as far as being slow because it's dual core keep in mind it's not the usual dual core architecture it uses the custom X8 processor architecture, which you can read more about here http://www.anandtech.com/show/7235/moto-x-review/4. Overall, if I had to make a decision I would go with the Nexus 5 excellent development, specs, and value.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
shimp208 said:
As far as what device to get, if you want the most development and fastest updates the Nexus 5 is the way to go. The GPE HTC One and GPE Galaxy S4 are also excellent choices, but they are also 6 month old devices if your really looking for more recent device release. The Motto X is a great device with the features it offers, as far as being slow because it's dual core keep in mind it's not the usual dual core architecture it uses the custom X8 processor architecture, which you can read more about here http://www.anandtech.com/show/7235/moto-x-review/4. Overall, if I had to make a decision I would go with the Nexus 5 excellent development, specs, and value.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/Agree
Nexus devices are the best choice based on the OPs parameters.
shimp208 said:
As far as what device to get, if you want the most development and fastest updates the Nexus 5 is the way to go. The GPE HTC One and GPE Galaxy S4 are also excellent choices, but they are also 6 month old devices if your really looking for more recent device release. The Motto X is a great device with the features it offers, as far as being slow because it's dual core keep in mind it's not the usual dual core architecture it uses the custom X8 processor architecture, which you can read more about here http://www.anandtech.com/show/7235/moto-x-review/4. Overall, if I had to make a decision I would go with the Nexus 5 excellent development, specs, and value.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oldsoldier2003 said:
/Agree
Nexus devices are the best choice based on the OPs parameters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks a lot guys. Few other questions: what do you guys have to say about it having an internal battery and and no external storage?
Also, according to the dimensions and possible button placement, my Otter box Preserver series for my S4 MIGHT allow the Nexus 5 to fit...though no guarantee. Prob gotta head to a store and try it.
Can the Nexus 5 do voice command as well as the Moto X if hacked properly?
Last Q, promise: what about selling my brand new S4 in mint and getting a Moto G until I can get my hands on the S5? Awesome as that sounds, I believe the S5 will be locked down even more.
The Nexus 5 is looking VERY attractive.
Thanks again guys.
Update and question below: I decided to list my Samsung S4 32GB that I got on Jan 21st so I can get the Nexus 5. Gonna lose quite a bit of money for all the accessories I bought for it. I'm excited, assuming my phone sells soon, I've never used swappa.com but it IS XDA recommended.
Question: Will I be able to transfer SMS/MMS from the S4 to the Nexus 5 pretty easily? I suppose there might be some contacts on-device, and not in my google contacts that I'd transfer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
justintime001 said:
Awesome, thanks a lot guys. Few other questions: what do you guys have to say about it having an internal battery and and no external storage?
Also, according to the dimensions and possible button placement, my Otter box Preserver series for my S4 MIGHT allow the Nexus 5 to fit...though no guarantee. Prob gotta head to a store and try it.
Can the Nexus 5 do voice command as well as the Moto X if hacked properly?
Last Q, promise: what about selling my brand new S4 in mint and getting a Moto G until I can get my hands on the S5? Awesome as that sounds, I believe the S5 will be locked down even more.
The Nexus 5 is looking VERY attractive.
Thanks again guys.
Update and question below: I decided to list my Samsung S4 32GB that I got on Jan 21st so I can get the Nexus 5. Gonna lose quite a bit of money for all the accessories I bought for it. I'm excited, assuming my phone sells soon, I've never used swappa.com but it IS XDA recommended.
Question: Will I be able to transfer SMS/MMS from the S4 to the Nexus 5 pretty easily? I suppose there might be some contacts on-device, and not in my google contacts that I'd transfer.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize for the late response classes have been keeping me very busy.
1. Regarding an internal battery up until I bought my Nexus 10 all my previous devices had come with an removable battery, but I got used to the non-removable battery really quickly and if you need to do a hard reboot you can simply hold down the power button on the device until you feel and hear it vibrate and it will reboot. While the non-removable storage isn't optimal it's a lot more manageable if you use say Google Music to store your music, Netflix for video, and Drive, and other cloud services to store your content only keeping your most used content on the devices internal storage.
2. For the case I would like you said head to the store and see if it fits. But the main question I would ask it while we all like saving a few bucks if I'm spending $350+ on a device another $30-$40 to get a case that is meant for the device and will fit securely is a worthy investment.
3. While I don't have any personal experience with using the app the Open Mic+ app (As featured on the XDA Portal) is said to do an excellent job of simulating the Motto X touchless controls.
4. This SMS Backup and Restore app will allow you to transfer your SMS and MMS from the Galaxy S4 to your Nexus 5.
MUCH THANKS! LOVING MY UNLOCKED BOOTLOADER, CUSTOM RECOVERY, ROOTED NEXUS 5...although transferring my MMS group messages doesn't seem to be working
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Is Android Development for Alpha dead?

Hi guys, I'm planning to get alpha or some similar phone, and yeah, i have YouTube channel and i m recording some ROM reviews and some things about phones, as i can see there's just one ROM in android development Will be there more, if yes i will pick this phone for sure, would you suggest me some other phone to pick instead this, that have great developer support? Its really disappointing that there's one rom just for alpha it is really beautiful phone
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
KiaTheKing said:
Hi guys, I'm planning to get alpha or some similar phone, and yeah, i have YouTube channel and i m recording some ROM reviews and some things about phones, as i can see there's just one ROM in android development Will be there more, if yes i will pick this phone for sure, would you suggest me some other phone to pick instead this, that have great developer support? Its really disappointing that there's one rom just for alpha it is really beautiful phone
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's too bad about the alpha but it seems right now people want 5 inch screens so it loses out on that. I would recommend the S5 or HTC one m8, both have great dev support. But the best idea is to wait for spring/summer when the S6 and the new HTC is released
lingowistico said:
Yeah it's too bad about the alpha but it seems right now people want 5 inch screens so it loses out on that. I would recommend the S5 or HTC one m8, both have great dev support. But the best idea is to wait for spring/summer when the S6 and the new HTC is released
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really really like alpha Probably i will sell mine lg g2 for 250 euros and i will add 100 or less and buy lg g3, i will play with it for a while and then i will buy galaxy s6 or some phone that will come out I was thinking about xperia z3 or z3 compact , but z4 will come out in march (i think so) , also i dont like plastic galaxy s5 but i like htc one m8....
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
The Galaxy Alpha is a great phone! you don't need actually replace rom.
Just got a small ota update and se security update from play. Changelog anyone?
Perhaps preparing for 5.0
KiaTheKing said:
I really really like alpha Probably i will sell mine lg g2 for 250 euros and i will add 100 or less and buy lg g3, i will play with it for a while and then i will buy galaxy s6 or some phone that will come out I was thinking about xperia z3 or z3 compact , but z4 will come out in march (i think so) , also i dont like plastic galaxy s5 but i like htc one m8....
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since quite a lots of android users switched-to/switched-back Iphone now because of 4.7"/5.5" Iphone launched. You really don't expect any android discussion board will be as busy as in the old age, the time has gone. Another major reason is nowadays people slowly upgrade their smartphone because hardware is started to mature. When you look on XDA, you will know many new phones development board isn't that active now.
I'm now with Z1 Compact and also thinking to upgrade to Z3 Compact or Alpha or S6(if it manage to smaller than S5 in size a bit) in around March/April. I think mostly I will pick Z3c or Alpha because I believe S6 would be too expensive to me and excess my budget but I will put an eye on it. Z4/Z4c/Z4U is almost sure to hit a big delay now, they will all announce only on May/June sometimes. So, I decided to don't wait them now.
If you like Alpha, just go get it. It is a rare Samsung phone though almost no development here but the phone itself is very capable without any support. If you want a little bit bigger community and need a microSD slot, then pick Z3c.
TheEndHK said:
Since quite a lots of android users switched-to/switched-back Iphone now because of 4.7"/5.5" Iphone launched. You really don't expect any android discussion board will be as busy as in the old age, the time has gone. Another major reason is nowadays people slowly upgrade their smartphone because hardware is started to mature. When you look on XDA, you will know many new phones development board isn't that active now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Switching to Iphone from more matured system? Iphone was good and impressive like 3 generations ago when android wasn't so matured system, nowdays I don't see a reason for people who own for example a S4 to switch to Iphone.
The latter part is very true, a 100€ phone can handle basically anything that basic user throws at it. And the devs and other people who can get more out of their current older phones trough custom roms, don't really have reasons for upgrade.
leripe said:
Switching to Iphone from more matured system? Iphone was good and impressive like 3 generations ago when android wasn't so matured system, nowdays I don't see a reason for people who own for example a S4 to switch to Iphone.
The latter part is very true, a 100€ phone can handle basically anything that basic user throws at it. And the devs and other people who can get more out of their current older phones trough custom roms, don't really have reasons for upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You gonna search more information. Iphone market share worldwide is same with Samsung in 2014 Q4 and already excess Samsung now in 2015 Q1 so Apple is the No.1 smartphone company again now.
System-wise is always Android better but since Iphone borrowed more and more functions from Android in every generation OS, the gap in different will just become smaller in long run. But on the other hand, Iphone still owns the most best apps and even both platform got the same one, IOS one usually performs better.
TheEndHK said:
You gonna search more information. Iphone market share worldwide is same with Samsung in 2014 Q4 and already excess Samsung now in 2015 Q1 so Apple is the No.1 smartphone company again now.
System-wise is always Android better but since Iphone borrowed more and more functions from Android in every generation OS, the gap in different will just become smaller in long run. But on the other hand, Iphone still owns the most best apps and even both platform got the same one, IOS one usually performs better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't like Apple at all... I really like Android cause you can access all parts of system and you can do many things. also i mentioned that i m making video reviews of many android roms and i need phone that have good developer support... Can u suggest me some phone that i can buy right now instead Note 4 (its too big)... I will buy some better phone (probably g4) when some phone that impress me come out.... Thanks for reply
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KiaTheKing said:
I don't like Apple at all... I really like Android cause you can access all parts of system and you can do many things. also i mentioned that i m making video reviews of many android roms and i need phone that have good developer support... Can u suggest me some phone that i can buy right now instead Note 4 (its too big)... I will buy some better phone (probably g4) when some phone that impress me come out.... Thanks for reply
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only G3 or S5 or M8 have active development I can name(Z3/Z3c isn't active coz most people still using Z1/Z1c/Z2) but M8 camera is really suck I don't suggest it. And you don't like plastic samsung so no S5 I think, only G3 leave.
S6 will use Exynos and no S810, this time S6 development should not be very active as well because Exynos is harder to support. G4 will also hit a big delay becoz GFlex2 will out first on March/April, G4 won't appear until May/June much like Z4.
I feel bad right now cus im hoping to see alot of roms for this great device but i guese i was wrong.Im not upset or anything but this is why we buy android phones instead of iphone we need to change to somthing new
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