Help choosing an Android 2.3 phone

[KZ0]

This far, I've mostly been looking at the Nexus S. The lack of a memory card reader is a shame, but I think I can manage on 16 GB in total. Also, I really appreciate having pure Android (no TouchWiz, etc.).

Are there any regular scenarios where a dual core has a clear advantage over a single core? I reckon either would be a vast upgrade to my current Nokia 5800.

I was very happy with the media player and calendar on my last phone, and will probably continue using those quite a lot. I assume they aren't worse on Android 2.3 / Nexus S? Experiences?

I've been wanting a Nexus S since it came out, and now it's been available in Norway for some time, but considering how much new has happened since it's release, I don't know whether it would be the best purchase. Alternatives would have to be in the price class of Nexus S or lower.

Some advice would be much appreciated!

 

[ponyo]

I don't know about prices in Norway but Galaxy S2 would be my number one pick right now if I was buying. Yes it has TouchWiz but 4.0 is supposed to be very good. But I'm a fan of Touchwiz and even 3.0 is good. Touchwiz with Launcher Pro is great combination IMO. Touchwiz has lot of good improvements over stock Google and the music player is vastly superior to what you'll find on vanilla Android. Same with video player. Galaxy S2 will probably run you close to $1k US.

 

[boomhower]

I wouldn't stress over 2.3. Pretty much anything current will be updated and it really doesn't bring anything earth shattering. That said, the Nexus S is a great phone and I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up. Right now dual core doesn't do a whole heck of a lot outside of benchmarks. Is it an improvement, yeah. Is it something I would sacrifice other things for? Nope.

 

[vshah]

are you willing to root and install a community ROM?

 

[KZ0]

Thanks for the replies

I don't know about prices in Norway but Galaxy S2 would be my number one pick right now if I was buying. Yes it has TouchWiz but 4.0 is supposed to be very good. But I'm a fan of Touchwiz and even 3.0 is good. Touchwiz with Launcher Pro is great combination IMO. Touchwiz has lot of good improvements over stock Google and the music player is vastly superior to what you'll find on vanilla Android. Same with video player. Galaxy S2 will probably run you close to $1k US.

It's 10 % more expensive than the Nexus S here. Better quality video recording, and even XviD support. Though I guess there are third party video players for that in the market. Dual core processor, and the screen would be better - Norway doesn't get Nexus S with Super AMOLED.

If the Galaxy S 2 had shipped with clean Android, this would hav ebeen a no brainer for me ... But now, I have no idea what to decide.

I wouldn't stress over 2.3. Pretty much anything current will be updated and it really doesn't bring anything earth shattering.

I've also been considering how Google has come out with updates Nexus One way quicker than other phones have seen their updates, and I'd hate to get stuck on an older version.

That said, the Nexus S is a great phone and I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up. Right now dual core doesn't do a whole heck of a lot outside of benchmarks. Is it an improvement, yeah. Is it something I would sacrifice other things for? Nope.

Yeah, that seems quite like what I had gotten the impression of.

are you willing to root and install a community ROM?

If there's an advantage to it, yes. Would that void the warranty? Is the update process easy / how fast do the updates get pushed out?

--

Are there any other phones I should be considering besides Nexus S and Galaxy S 2?

 

[Monster_Munch]

I wouldn't stress over 2.3. Pretty much anything current will be updated and it really doesn't bring anything earth shattering.

It has a lot of improvements for games developers, so if you are interested in playing the latest games on your phone then it's worth making sure you get 2.3

 

[MikeMike]

If there's an advantage to it, yes. Would that void the warranty? Is the update process easy / how fast do the updates get pushed out?

Yes there are advantages. Maybe. Sorta. Very

 

[vshah]

Yes there are advantages. Maybe. Sorta. Very

it may or may not void the warranty. many people have had success with reverting the phone to stock to send it in for hardware warranty work. HTC would fix hardware issues on nexus ones even with custom roms installed, but they would probably reflash you to stock.

Being open to flashing custom roms would increase your choices for a gingerbread phone. there are probably more phones that have community gingerbread roms than there are phones that come with gingerbread today.

updates are super easy. download the update zip file to your sd card, reboot your phone into "recovery" mode using a special key combo, and navigate the menus to apply the zip file. then reboot. the custom recoveries out there also support creating a "nandroid" backup to your sd card. this is a complete image of everything stored on your phone's internal flash, so you can easily revert if something goes wrong or you don't like the rom you just flashed.

 

[ncalipari]

It has a lot of improvements for games developers, so if you are interested in playing the latest games on your phone then it's worth making sure you get 2.3

devs usually don't use the latest features, as they don't want to preclude most of the market from trying the game.

That's why fragments are distribuited also in a separate package.

 

[CVSiN]

The dual core phones on 2.3 are much faster than current 1 core phones it's a night and day difference how snappy they are. even with the bloatware they are very very fast.

 

[KZ0]

I must admit I'm tempted to get the Galaxy S II. Are there any other phones I should consider?

 

[poofyhairguy]

If you don't mind third party support (if its REALLY good support) I would get the G2X. Why? Because it is a primary platform for the Cyanogen team, and there is already a good CM7 ROM for it.

 

[KZ0]

Well, T-mobile doesn't exist in Norway, so that's not really an option. Would the same ROM work on a reguilar LG Optimus 2X?

 

[vshah]

Well, T-mobile doesn't exist in Norway, so that's not really an option. Would the same ROM work on a reguilar LG Optimus 2X?

slightly different rom, but yes, there are builds for the optimus 2x (p990) as well

you can see the current nightly roms here. It will probably be released as stable in a few weeks.
http://mirror.cyanogenmod.com/?device=p990

 

[s44]

G2x is the obvious choice on American Tmo, but if you can get the SGS2, do it. The extremely active European dev community for the SGS1 is largely planning to transfer over, and the hardware is just unmatched.

 

[sciwizam]

I believe the Nordic release date for the Galaxy S2 is May 12th.

 

[KZ0]

G2x is the obvious choice on American Tmo, but if you can get the SGS2, do it. The extremely active European dev community for the SGS1 is largely planning to transfer over, and the hardware is just unmatched.

So there will be custom firmware for the SGS2, then. SGS2 with clean Android just sounds ... perfect. Heck, I can't think of anything I don't like with that thought. Hoping AT will get a review out some time soon.

I believe the Nordic release date for the Galaxy S2 is May 12th.

I've seen a store claiming to have it in storage by April 7th, but those dates aren't always too reliable. Like your avatar

Does anyone have a 16 or 32 GB memory card to recommend? I've usually been buying stuff like this from Deal Extreme, but searching didn't turn up too much. Found a 16 GB and a 32 GB, the latter being 4x the price. I'd prefer a 32 GB card, but with this kind of premium, I don't know. Perhaps there's something I've overlooked, or somewhere else to get it? Norwegian electronics stores tend to take even larger price premiums for memory cards.