Which Cell Phone Service Provider has the most hacking/rooting/etc friendly phones?

[ibex333]

Recently I became very interested in Motorolla Droid phones, because of the capability to run SNES, Sega, and GBA emulators. I love how Android phones can be hacked to run custom software, gadgets, apps, etc. Also, I need a phone that has a nice keyboard.

Which cell service provider has the most phones like that? I know Verizon has such phones but I hate how Verizon doesn't use sim cards. Any other options?

Thanks.

PS: I would prefer a phone with a good GPS capability. A couple of friends showed me how they use GPS to instantly tell where they are and where they are going, and I thought that was very cool.

 

[vshah]

tmobile g2 sounds right up your alley. they have great service in NYC to boot, and will give you the unlock codes for free if you need to travel overseas.

 

[gsaldivar]

Avoid AT&T and Samsung phones. If you prefer a phone with a SIM card, it looks like Tmobile is your best bet. Some phones are easier to root/mod than others, you will need to research that. People here can help, but I would also recommend checking XDA Developer forums and read through some of the posts for the phone you want to get.

Good luck!

 

[Pliablemoose]

The only thing with CDMA phones is that the carrier is more particular about what you put on their network, IMHO, TMobile is the most hacker friendly with the G2 etc...

 

[boomhower]

Basically anything HTC is very hackable and everyone has at least one model. HTC has been mod friendly for years. As mentioned avoid Samsung.

 

[notposting]

Is the G2 fully modifiable yet? I know they had it setup to automatically restore it when tampered with??

Heck not even sure what the current state of affairs is with the Droid X/2 know some work has been done but not sure how far. The Droid 2 Global if it can be rooted and rom'd seems like a best of both worlds. Especially if they can unlock the SIM card to use American providers

I like my original Droid for games with the GameGripper. Just reflashed it last night, using BB v0.5 with a Slayher 1GHz kernel with compcache enabled. It's flying now.

I guess LTE on Verizon will be using some sort of SIM card, but I imagine the first phones are going to be CDMA/LTE hybrids anyway. Suffice to say there will be something better 6 months after you get whatever it is anyway, so get something that you will like and beat it into oblivion for 2 years

 

[Deeko]

Definitely T-Mobile. Between the G2, Nexus One, and HD2, they have had a very hack friendly 2010.

 

[rudeguy]

Tmobile

They honestly don't care if you hack either. Once I get bored enough, I'm going to warranty swap my Vibrant with the front facing camera installed just for shits and giggles.

 

[Pliablemoose]

TMobile supports the iPhone, and will assist you in getting it on their network, and they've done it since gen 1 of the iPhone.

They're aware of the hacks for cheap data, etc, and allow it to slide, they have the best customer service of all the providers I've ever had.

 

[ponyo]

Tmobile

They honestly don't care if you hack either. Once I get bored enough, I'm going to warranty swap my Vibrant with the front facing camera installed just for shits and giggles.

Pay to play. You already warrantied a phone once because you bricked it due to your error. Seriously, don't abuse the warranty system just because you can. It's illegal and unethical. Sell your phone if you don't like it and move on.

It's same as those unethical people who flash their pcm in their turbo cars and have their engine blow up and then reflash their pcm back to stock before taking it back to the dealer for warranty work.

 

[rudeguy]

Pay to play. You already warrantied a phone once because you bricked it due to your error. Seriously, don't abuse the warranty system just because you can. It's illegal and unethical. Sell your phone if you don't like it and move on.

It's same as those unethical people who flash their pcm in their turbo cars and have their engine blow up and then reflash their pcm back to stock before taking it back to the dealer for warranty work.

and I was honest when I did swap it.

I have no pity for Samsung when they knowingly shipped a faulty product. I have done nothing illegal, immoral or unethical. Samsung however did all three.

 

[ibex333]

Thanks guys. I am also wondering about the Droid Phones... According to my research on google, the Droid X is better than the G2 in just about every possible way minus the keyboard. Better battery life, much better camera, better screen, and more raw power, especially after the overclock. 2GHz?!

This may however all be a waste if Verizon limits the hacking... People seem to be running emulators on the Droid X just fine on utube... Also, some folks mentioned that the Droid X is better for GPS? Can anyone shed some light on this?

PS: Yes, I know I said I prefer sim cards, but I still want to know more about Droids, since if they are really that much better, I may be ok with the lack of a sim card.

 

[ponyo]

Thanks guys. I am also wondering about the Droid Phones... According to my research on google, the Droid X is better than the G2 in just about every possible way minus the keyboard. Better battery life, much better camera, better screen, and more raw power, especially after the overclock. 2GHz?!

This may however all be a waste if Verizon limits the hacking... People seem to be running emulators on the Droid X just fine on utube... Also, some folks mentioned that the Droid X is better for GPS? Can anyone shed some light on this?

PS: Yes, I know I said I prefer sim cards, but I still want to know more about Droids, since if they are really that much better, I may be ok with the lack of a sim card.

If game emulation is important, stick with phones with keyboard like D2 and G2. Droid is just marketing trademark from Verizon. All Droids are simply Android phones. Droid X has better battery life than G2 and may have better camera since HTC isn't known for having good camera. X has bigger screen than D2 but I'm not sure if it's better other than size. G2 is faster than X. Don't let the 800mhz fool you. It's like AMD and Intel. mhz doesn't mean the same mhz when discussing different chips. G2 can be overclocked as well so overclock argument is moot. GPS works fine on both phones. Samsung and Galaxy S phones are the only phones I know that doesn't have a working/good GPS.

 

[ew915]

and I was honest when I did swap it.

I have no pity for Samsung when they knowingly shipped a faulty product. I have done nothing illegal, immoral or unethical. Samsung however did all three.

what is wrong with the vibrant? i don't know of any other phone more hacker friendly than the galaxy s series, with unlocked bootloader and ODIN to boot. I have come across few roms that has fixed the initial GPS issues. May be you just want a new phone.

 

[Pliablemoose]

what is wrong with the vibrant? i don't know of any other phone more hacker friendly than the galaxy s series, with unlocked bootloader and ODIN to boot. I have come across few roms that has fixed the initial GPS issues. May be you just want a new phone.

And that's a bad thing?

 

[rudeguy]

what is wrong with the vibrant? i don't know of any other phone more hacker friendly than the galaxy s series, with unlocked bootloader and ODIN to boot. I have come across few roms that has fixed the initial GPS issues. May be you just want a new phone.

Actually Tmobile swapped my Vibrant with a G2 because my GPS was completely fubard. JI6 did nothing to help. I used the G2 for a few weeks and then traded it to some guy for a Vibrant. The Vibrant I'm using now works great but I still have the bad taste in my mouth.

Plus I pay for insurance and am not afraid to use it but have never had to. I rarely keep phones a year, so the $7/month just gets me overnight shipping on replacement phones swapped under warranty.

And no, the Galaxy S is not the most hack friendly phone. They write their software bass ackwards, so it makes it a PITA for cooks to do anything original. We are constantly waiting for Samsung to release code so that things can get done properly.

Basically you have no clue what you are talking about.

 

[rudeguy]

LOL I jinxed myself.

Was swapping back to stock camera and I boogered something up. My phone now won't read my SIM.

Tmo is sending me a new Vibrant. They didn't care that my account showed a G2.

I <3 Tmo

 

[Bateluer]

LOL I jinxed myself.

Was swapping back to stock camera and I boogered something up. My phone now won't read my SIM.

Tmo is sending me a new Vibrant. They didn't care that my account showed a G2.

I <3 Tmo

Just don't abuse the system.

Samsung screwed the pooch with the Galaxy S phones, and yet people keeping buying them. For some reason.

I may switch to T Mobile, I've been mulling it semi-seriously for a while. Verizon's actions piss me off with Android and I easily see them in a year from now removing the gapps and tying their Android phones to their puke-tastic VCAST App Store. If I wasn't on contract now, I'd walk into a T Mobile store, and flip a coin between the Glacier and G2.

 

[gsaldivar]

Samsung screwed the pooch with the Galaxy S phones, and yet people keeping buying them. For some reason.

Good looks. If only they performed as well as they looked!

 

[rudeguy]

Good looks. If only they performed as well as they looked!

That's the thing...the phones do a lot of things well. Running Froyo with the GPS fix is great.


Oh and I fixed my phone. Turns out I missed a clip on the motherboard. Now I have to call Tmo and tell them to cancel the replacement.


.....maybe

 

[rudeguy]

Just don't abuse the system.

Samsung screwed the pooch with the Galaxy S phones, and yet people keeping buying them. For some reason.

I may switch to T Mobile, I've been mulling it semi-seriously for a while. Verizon's actions piss me off with Android and I easily see them in a year from now removing the gapps and tying their Android phones to their puke-tastic VCAST App Store. If I wasn't on contract now, I'd walk into a T Mobile store, and flip a coin between the Glacier and G2.

some indepents will will pay your ETF to get you to switch.

If Tmo works well in your aread, do it. I'm a picky bastard and I love Tmobile. They are one of the very few customer focused companies left out there.

 

[Bateluer]

some indepents will will pay your ETF to get you to switch.

If Tmo works well in your aread, do it. I'm a picky bastard and I love Tmobile. They are one of the very few customer focused companies left out there.

They have their '4G' network life in Phoenix, tested pretty good in the store. Not sure if they had a microcell or something to boost the signal there.

 

[rudeguy]

They have their '4G' network life in Phoenix, tested pretty good in the store. Not sure if they had a microcell or something to boost the signal there.

I want me some 4G

 

[Bateluer]

I want me some 4G

It was pretty snappy. Verizon 3G seems to top out at ~1Mb down, 30Kb up. Their LTE is going to go online by the end of the year though, only thing keeping me there. Still might switch, just for the better attitude towards the community and consumer in general.

 

[Strk]

As others have said, HTC for whatever carrier is good. The HTC Merge should be coming out soon for Verizon. It's the G2 with a regular slider instead of that Z-hinge. Android won't be nearly vanilla like it is on the G2 though.