Cell Phone Insiders

[Rams]

I'm considering rooting it so I can use the free WiFi tether but I can't decide if it's worth the risk since that's really the only reason I want to root. I rooted my Nook Color and turned it into an Android tablet but I'm generally a little about rooting cell phones. Anybody have any experience with this?

There really isn't any danger in rooting your phone. Very little risk. If you happen to have a problem and need to take it in to Verizon, it's simple enough to un-root it.

Ok.  I haven't done much research since I first got my original Droid and I know there was a danger of bricking your phone and voiding the warranty because Motorola made the Droid notoriously hard to root for some reason.  As long as I know I can go back to stock (unroot) anytime I think I'll give it a whirl and get some free WiFi with my grandfathered unlimited data plan. 

[pissclams]

pretty sad that moto is still shipping locked bootloaders. 

[ew2x4]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/galaxy-nexus-sprint-rumor/

CHA CHING

[kitten_mittons]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/galaxy-nexus-sprint-rumor/

CHA CHING

That's pretty nice, I wish that 4g list included kansas city.

[KCFDcat]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/galaxy-nexus-sprint-rumor/

CHA CHING

That's pretty nice, I wish that 4g list included kansas city.

it will soon 

[ew2x4]

I've had CM7 on my Evo for a couple weeks now. I went full in with Google Voice and Sprint Integration yesterday. Works like a charm. The new google voice app is nice.

[SwiftCat]

http://www.justadzero.com/category/gallery/

Bamboo Phone 

[TheHamburglar]

Upgrading Mrs. Hamburglar from a Jitter-Bug to a smart phone.  Outside of texting, all she is really going to us it for looking crap up and getting directions.  The biggie here is the getting directions.  She has 0 sense of direction.  The question is do I get her an iphone 4s or some android based phone to get the best app for voice, turn-by-turn directions.  Ideally I would get her an iphone 4s if she could use Siri to ask "where is the closest gas station", Siri has a response, and my wife gives some verbal command to load the voice, turn-by-turn directions.  I'm not sure if this is possible without Apple's $10/month GPS app.  I haven't really paid any attention to smartphones for awhile because I've had a work issued blackberry.  Any advice.

[pissclams]

Upgrading Mrs. Hamburglar from a Jitter-Bug to a smart phone.  Outside of texting, all she is really going to us it for looking crap up and getting directions.  The biggie here is the getting directions.  She has 0 sense of direction.  The question is do I get her an iphone 4s or some android based phone to get the best app for voice, turn-by-turn directions.  Ideally I would get her an iphone 4s if she could use Siri to ask "where is the closest gas station", Siri has a response, and my wife gives some verbal command to load the voice, turn-by-turn directions.  I'm not sure if this is possible without Apple's $10/month GPS app.  I haven't really paid any attention to smartphones for awhile because I've had a work issued blackberry.  Any advice.

get an android phone, samsung GSII or google nexus would be a good place to look.  they have the best navigation app using google navigation and it's free.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

I'm still hanging on to my launch EVO 4G.....but it's definitely showing it's age.    What should I be looking at for a replacement?

[pissclams]

i think i answered that in the previous post. or the GSIII should be out in 3Q/early 4Q.

[kitten_mittons]

That galaxy nexus that ew2x4 posted looks pretty sweet.

[SwiftCat]

i think i answered that in the previous post. or the GSIII should be out in 3Q/early 4Q.

I think the GSIII is looking more like late Q2/early 3.

[pissclams]

i think i answered that in the previous post. or the GSIII should be out in 3Q/early 4Q.

I think the GSIII is looking more like late Q2/early 3.

w/ the gs2 they launched internationally months before the 3Q launch in the US and even then it was tiered launch by provider.  i assume it will follow that same path, dunno

[MakeItRain]

That galaxy nexus that ew2x4 posted looks pretty sweet.

It's very nice, its getting hard to hold out until June when my warranty is up.  Do you people live rural or something?  Just go to a Sprint store and play with one.
http://geekaphone.com/compare/Samsung-GALAXY-Nexus-vs-HTC-EVO-3D

[pissclams]

that nexus vs evo 3d comparison is like comparing rocky marciano vs muhammad ali.  one was the real deal (marciano) and one was all hype (Ali)

a better comparison would be the nexus versus the GS2.

[SwiftCat]

w/ the gs2 they launched internationally months before the 3Q launch in the US and even then it was tiered launch by provider.  i assume it will follow that same path, dunno

Samsung doesn't want another huge gap from International launch to US launch, I feel fairly confident it won't be another 5 month delay.

[Mikeyis4dcats]

that nexus vs evo 3d comparison is like comparing rocky marciano vs muhammad ali.  one was the real deal (marciano) and one was all hype (Ali)

a better comparison would be the nexus versus the GS2.

http://geekaphone.com/compare/Samsung-GALAXY-Nexus-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-S-II

[SwiftCat]

that nexus vs evo 3d comparison is like comparing rocky marciano vs muhammad ali.  one was the real deal (marciano) and one was all hype (Ali)

a better comparison would be the nexus versus the GS2.

http://geekaphone.com/compare/Samsung-GALAXY-Nexus-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-S-II

The one thing that comparison fails to talk about is that the GSII has a better CPU/GPU combination than that Galaxy Nexus. The GSII uses Samsung's Exynos processors while the Nexus is using Texas Instruments along with an older generation GPU, in fact the same one used in the original Galaxy S.  I've never used either device extensively, but almost everything I've read states the SGII has a better processor, while this review states they are equal. Just something to keep in mind.

If I had to buy a new Android phone right now, it would probably be the Nexus, but I'm holding out for the GSIII.

[kitten_mittons]

that nexus vs evo 3d comparison is like comparing rocky marciano vs muhammad ali.  one was the real deal (marciano) and one was all hype (Ali)

a better comparison would be the nexus versus the GS2.

http://geekaphone.com/compare/Samsung-GALAXY-Nexus-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-S-II

The one thing that comparison fails to talk about is that the GSII has a better CPU/GPU combination than that Galaxy Nexus. The GSII uses Samsung's Exynos processors while the Nexus is using Texas Instruments along with an older generation GPU, in fact the same one used in the original Galaxy S.  I've never used either device extensively, but almost everything I've read states the SGII has a better processor, while this review states they are equal. Just something to keep in mind.

If I had to buy a new Android phone right now, it would probably be the Nexus, but I'm holding out for the GSIII.

For what reasons?  From that review it looks like all the Nexus has going for it is a better screen.  I don't know why, but I didn't know the GSII had a dual-core.

[SwiftCat]

I'm on a Captivate right now. And I there are 4 main things that I want a future phone to have.

Also, a quick disclaimer. I'm talking about the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, not the International version.

1. 720 Screen - This will be the new standard among Android and WinPho7 in the coming years. I honestly don't see a need to go to a high resolution on a < 5" screen. For web browsing, having those extra pixels makes a huge difference.

2. LTE - If I'm going to be committed to a phone for the next 2 years, then it would be a shame to miss out on LTE. The speeds are dramatically faster than 3g. Even if you don't have LTE in your area right now, you probably will by 2014 when you can upgrade again.

3. At least Dual - Core. Both have pretty great processors, and will get the job done. The TI chip in the Nexus is currently the only chip that allow's LTE, so it's a necessary (if minor) drawback.

4. NFC - Much like LTE, it  isn't quite ready for prime time yet, but I think it will be a big deal in the next two years.

So the 2 big things the GSII is missing are LTE and a 720 screen.

[SwiftCat]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/16/2786970/FRAND-smartphone-industry-apple-motorola-samsung

Interesting article on all the suing and counter suing going on right now.

[Cire]

Just got evo really sad the sprint guy didn't sell me harder on it last year when I bought the samsung.

[SwiftCat]

Just got evo really sad the sprint guy didn't sell me harder on it last year when I bought the samsung.

Evo 3d? And what samsung did you get last year?

[SwiftCat]

http://www.theverge.com/products/compare/5239/5252

Both of these phones have caught my interest. I will still probably hold out for the GSIII, but these are solid phones.