ASUS ZenFone 2 16GB, now with 4GB RAM

[poofyhairguy]

I feel it's still about the same. At least now some of the manufacturers have official ways of bootloader unlocking (HTC, Motorola, Google). It's mainly the carriers that want locked booyloaders for some reason.

Two things:

1. There are more "flagship" level devices then back then, meaning third party support is fragmented. Back in say 2011 you either bought what Samsung had or what HTC had. There wasn't a lot of options, and every phone had a pile of ROMs and developers. Nowadays unless your phone is owned by a legendary developer you aren't getting a really stable AOSP rom, and even then as soon as they move to a new device (which superstar developers do often) you are screwed.

2. Carriers locking that out is a huge huge thing in North America. Carriers sell a lot of phones, and those phones secondhand are a great value for Android users. But now you have to face situations where the unlocked version of a phone (or the "TMobile version") sell for more than the carrier versions secondhand because of the locks, and you have to be careful what you buy. Plus this further fragments the developer talent as most have given up trying to unlock locked down devices.

With regard to the ZenFone 2, it supposedly has an official bootloader unlocking method. Should be community supported for quite a while.

That is very true, and its CM builds have made progress for sure. If you don't mind the bugs that go hand-in-hand with third party ROMs you won't have a problem keeping the device up-to-date.

 

[blankslate]

The Zen phone is nice with the expandable memory but until the experimental just barely in developmental research phase battery breakthroughs covered a year ago make it to the consumer market I'll be also looking for user replaceable batteries as well.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141013090449.htm

Scientists have developed a new battery that can be recharged up to 70 per cent in only 2 minutes. The battery will also have a longer lifespan of over 20 years. Expected to be the next big thing in battery technology, this breakthrough has a wide-ranging impact on many industries, especially for electric vehicles which are currently inhibited by long recharge times of over 4 hours and the limited lifespan of batteries.

The article was published before quick charging became a widely used feature. charging to 70% in 2 minutes and having a 20 year usable life would certainly make replaceable batteries a moot point for the vast majority of smartphone users.

 

[clamum]

I'm nearly set on picking up a Zenphone 2 (can't decide 16 GB or 64 GB). I currently use a LG Ultimate 2 on Straight Talk and would really like an upgrade. I've always had cheap, borderline crappy (compared to most people I guess) phones so I think the Zenphone would last me quite a while.

It's not sound thinking, but 16 GB barely lets you put any apps on your phone. If you don't have a large quantity of apps, why do you need so much RAM?

I get that there's always the browser, taking all the RAM it can, but that was my thinking.

I realize it doesn't stand to much scrutiny, but that's still my gut reaction when I see those two specs next to each other.

Hahaha. I have 5 GB total free space on my current phone, and still have 1.6 GB free. I have enough apps on it that I use, and plenty that I hardly use at all. Not everyone installs hundreds of huge apps. I bet Minecraft and Final Fantasy III would run better if I had that much RAM.

 

[clamum]

Well I decided on the 64 GB version; it should be here tomorrow along with a SIM card. Oh man I can't wait! I'm so used to having cheap phones that this'll be a nice treat. Now I just gotta find one of those phone holsters cause a 5.5" phone is gonna be a bit too big for my pocket I think.