Replacing G2 with Another QWERTY Phone? - G2 and Desire Z Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Now that G2 is two years old, many of us are considering an upgrade. But if we need a physical QWERTY keyboard and need Tmobile USA 4G GSM support, what options do we have?
The Galaxy Relay 4G is currently out on Tmobile USA but the physical keyboard is terrible, it has nearly flat keys. And it seems bulkier than the beloved G2.
I love the Motorola Photon Q design but it's not available on Tmobile USA GSM.
Does anyone have any idea what to upgrade to from a G2?

Do you really need a QWERTY phone? Devices with screen sizes of 4.3in+ its easy and efficient to use the onscreen keyboard, it makes QWERTY phones pointless imo. This coming from someone that has had tons of Blackberrys in the past and got a G2 because of this worry. In the end, I barely used my G2 physical keyboard.
My advice get a Nexus 4 and enjoy.

mail_e36 said:
Now that G2 is two years old, many of us are considering an upgrade. But if we need a physical QWERTY keyboard and need Tmobile USA 4G GSM support, what options do we have?
The Galaxy Relay 4G is currently out on Tmobile USA but the physical keyboard is terrible, it has nearly flat keys. And it seems bulkier than the beloved G2.
I love the Motorola Photon Q design but it's not available on Tmobile USA GSM.
Does anyone have any idea what to upgrade to from a G2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You get used to the keys on the Relay 4G.
After using the phone for about a month, I had to use my G2 again for some tethering for the day. I couldn't type anymore on the G2. My fingers got adjusted to the way the Relay keys were and never noticed the switch until I tried typing on the G2 again.

I was really trying to convince myself to get the Relay 4G but I guess I just didn't see the value proposition because the keyboard didn't seem adequate.
Do you have root and/or custom ROMs (such as CM) on the Relay 4G? I'm not sure if it's as customisable as the G2 is currently.
ohn5788;34389718]You get used to the keys on the Relay 4G.
After using the phone for about a month, I had to use my G2 again for some tethering for the day. I couldn't type anymore on the G2. My fingers got adjusted to the way the Relay keys were and never noticed the switch until I tried typing on the G2 again.[/QUOTE]

2 years for a phone? Its still pretty good? no? Am I crazy or what? Am I the only one who thinks like that? a waste?
(i'm not juging the op here, its not the point, it is in general)
Of course, if the phone is broken, why not.
But most of the people dont care if its good for their needs, they want the lastest, we can see it with the iphone. I'm living in a big city, and I dont realy see 3g or 3gs anymore....
I had 2 phones, my first one was a krzr when it went out (2006?). My second one was this g2 (2010).
anyway, the proccess of phone making is very discusting with the rare earth extraction in china.

I'm happy with my G2 for now. I just hope for a decent attachable keyboard that you can throw on a touchscreen phone by the time I need to upgrade, although i suppose there will always be issues when it's an attachment and not naturally part of the phone....

I am very happy with DZ I had sold my Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 and purchased this...though I know it's old but don't know what happened with all brands why they stopped making qwerty phone???
I had selected this because of internal memory and now very happy on my selection now will wait hope in 2013 they launch some nice werty models.

The Relay's keyboard is great. I came from a MyTouch 4g slide (previously had a 3g slide and a G2) and when I use my wife's, it's awkward compared to the relay.
Rooting is ridiculously easy
Install recovery via Odin, then flash super user while in recovery. That's it.
There aren't many developers, but once more folks realize the potential, it'll hopefully skyrocket.

What about the battery life in Samsung Relay 4G?
I think I'd rather now go to bigger screen, instead of physical keyboard.

With light to moderate use and 2x battery this is not uncommon.

Related

Tocuh pro 2 inner battle

i am in biggest battle of my life! heres the issue. im very interested in buying the touch pro 2 and as of right now am without a phone since i sold my htc fuze. now, the touch pro 2 looks good but i see its coming out to the Americas. now the only difference i see is the 3g and let me add that i have tmobile and dont have internet on my phone so 3g really isnt much of a factor. the tmobile version really dosent look that great compared to the original chrome version. and another issue....the htc hero.. in your opinions what would be my best choice. buy the phone now? euro version? wait till a branded version comes out but apart from 3g what else would be better with that? or wait till the htc hero comes out? another detail money isn't the issue in any of this Lol
I feel your pain...
I just went throught the same thing... I'm on ATT... see my post... I pulled the trigger on the Touch Pro 2... it wouldn't run on 3G... it didn't come with Voice Command... those two are deal killers for me... I use heavy data apps on my phone... I can't go back to 2G just for the sake of having the phone. I'll wait until ATT branded phone comes out... in the meantime (when I get my money back) I'm going to get a Apple I-Phone... If you are not heavy into speed.. then ok, if so, dont do it... its a horrible let down. the people selling the phone don't tell you the deal breaking details, they hope you will just live with it... NOT ME.. Len
TP2 is 3G in the UK, how come T-Mobile have removed it for the US?
nicathug101 said:
i am in biggest battle of my life!
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If this is the biggest battle of your life, you've had a very easy life so far!
one benefit of buying it local is getting hardware issues fixed under warranty...
Before I purchased the TP2 I realised it wasnt going to be released in Australia for a while. I also realised that if I wanted the phone now, I'd need to order from overseas. It crossed my mind: what if there are issues with the phone. I dismissed those after I realised I had owned several HTC phones in the past and they were all fine.
I found myself with a faulty screen after getting my TP2 from Singapore. I contacted HTC, and its going to cost about 10% of the device's cost to send it off for repair via FedEx!
I'm a bit hesitant to send the thing off. I dunno how long I can live without it!
dazkeirle said:
TP2 is 3G in the UK, how come T-Mobile have removed it for the US?
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Click to collapse
omg seriously?? have you even TRIED to look around this forum and read some of the posts?
THE EUROPEAN MODEL OF THE TOUCH PRO 2 DOES NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY BANDS TO SUPPORT 3G IN THE US.
ALL OF THE US CARRIERS WILL BE GETTING THEIR OWN RESPECTIVE MODEL OF THE TP2, WITH T-MO PROBABLY BEING THE FIRST. THEIRS WILL BE COMING OUT AROUND MID-AUGUST. AUGUST 12.
it's not that they removed it. they never made a European model that supported US 3G in the first place.
next time, before you ask a question like that, READ. PLEASE.

Htc touch pro2 ii unlocked t7373

Haven't been to this website in a while ... Been using an iPhone for about a year .. Tried some of the [supposed] iPhone killers. Xperia and others, but I didn't like them. I have this phone coming tomorrow ..
HTC TOUCH PRO2 II UNLOCKED T7373
Am I in the right place ?? HTC has so many phones. This one that I am getting is the European model, 2 cameras .. I was due for a free upgrade from Tmobile but that phone looked awful compared to this version .. Are the models different ? I don't think Tmobile has to cameras, I don't need 2 but if I can have 2, I want them.
Diane
theonlynickleft said:
Haven't been to this website in a while ... Been using an iPhone for about a year .. Tried some of the [supposed] iPhone killers. Xperia and others, but I didn't like them. I have this phone coming tomorrow ..
HTC TOUCH PRO2 II UNLOCKED T7373
Am I in the right place ?? HTC has so many phones. This one that I am getting is the European model, 2 cameras .. I was due for a free upgrade from Tmobile but that phone looked awful compared to this version .. Are the models different ? I don't think Tmobile has to cameras, I don't need 2 but if I can have 2, I want them.
Diane
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Click to collapse
Hi Diane,
The model you got (unlocked unbranded HTC TP2) will work here in the states, but I don't believe that you will be able to use T-mobile's 3G bands on it, so your data would only be EDGE (i.e. slower). Unless I'm mistaken, Tmo is the ONLY carrier in the world that uses their specific 3G bands, so unless you buy a phone branded by T-mobile, odds are you won't get 3G with it.
Now as far as the dual cameras....that's another thing that no US carrier has implemented, yet. The phone may have the camera, but if the provider you're using doesn't have that capability setup on their network, it's not much good to you I'm afraid. I believe I've seen some upcoming models for AT&T that advertise a front camera, so I believe they're about to introduce that capability...but as for now, none of the carriers here can do that
But yes, you're in the right place....every model of this phone is technically a "HTC Rhodium", no matter what carrier model (or unbranded) it is. So, these are the forums you want to be in, to learn more than you ever wanted to know about your new toy
Thanks for your reply and info. My Tmobile contract is up for renewal on this one. June for the contract that my HTC shift uses... I am wondering if I should renew or just go with ATT .. they seem to have better phones and better service .. anyone agree ??
diane
theonlynickleft said:
Thanks for your reply and info. My Tmobile contract is up for renewal on this one. June for the contract that my HTC shift uses... I am wondering if I should renew or just go with ATT .. they seem to have better phones and better service .. anyone agree ??
diane
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best people to ask that are the ones that live or work in close proximity to you...it doesn't really mean a hill of beans what anybody's reception is like anywhere but where you'll most often use the phone Find a friend with AT&T and compare coverage with them side-by-side in different places.
Be careful about switching carriers because one or the other seems to get "better phones"...that can change with the wind, and you may find the only one phone you really want, went to the carrier you chose not to go with lol. Also, carriers and manufacturers negotiate new agreements for almost every new phone that gets made, so one carrier may get several great new phones this quarter, but nothing truly decent for months and months, so...just pick your carrier based on your service needs (price, coverage, signal quality, etc), there will always be a way to get a phone you like no matter which you choose.
My service needs are simple. I don't care about 3G. But if I did, Tmobiles is different than anyone elses. I never really use the browser on my phone. I check my eBay auctions on my phone, but not with a browser. My iphone "has an app for that."
What disappoints me most about Tmobile is that not many of the new phones work with Tmobile. iphone doesn't. My iphone cost me about $700 because I had to get it from Italy where it was unlocked by Apple. I bricked my other one. The Blackberry Bold 9000 also wasn't unlocked for Tmobile. And there are others.
Even their website is HORRIBLE .. I have been with them for about 10 years. It is time I stopped waiting for them to get with the program.

[Q] Sprint Motorola Droid Pro Thread Mods ?

Hi All,
Just switched from ATT to sprint to try out the Motorola XPRT was wondering if we can either start a new thread on the sprint version or not? Or a seperate thread on main forum just for the Sprint Version? A little about me....
Always been into phones, Currently have Blackberry Torch AT&T and a HTC Desire Z unbranded. ATT service sucks in the new condo I purchased and I been eying the droid pro since It was been released on VZW but I refuse to be raped by the plans lol... I have so many diffrent smart phones its ridiculous but just wanted to put this out there because I love this phone so far except that it does suck in direct sunlight unless brightness is turned almost to 75%. I already tried to see if the radio frequencies were locked by putting in my gf att sim card and it said no gsm networks detected..
I just wanted to see if someone would be willing to work on getting this rooted so we can enjoy some fun.
I already tried Z4 root all in one root no go...
I am up for trying some things out as I am in withing my 30 day trial period
Froyo or Gingerbread? Gingerbread is so far unrootable, while Froyo is rootable using aroot or superoneclick
Its froyo 2.2.2 ill try using aroot....
Sent from my MB612 using XDA App
WOW I shouldve looked more...But I just used"Superoneclick" root install method using the universal root and it worked. I am rooted.
I realize the Sprint Motorola XPRT is a retread of the Droid Pro (with a better battery), but to release it with Froyo and 3G-only made it a questionable move in my mind (I considered it), even if the target market was Blackberry users.
Doug
dougsyo said:
I realize the Sprint Motorola XPRT is a retread of the Droid Pro (with a better battery), but to release it with Froyo and 3G-only made it a questionable move in my mind (I considered it), even if the target market was Blackberry users.
Doug
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel quite the oppisite, I'm glad its 3g only because $10 less a month on my bill and until Sprint gets wimax/lte on a better band imo sprints 4g sucks.....I have the evo shift and have used the og evo and for the most part unless you are within 8 blocks from the tower it disconnects frequently and hangs....
Having froyo at launch was a plus since rooting was done using 1 click and in the evo shift forums gingerbread doesnt have an exploit yet....
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[Q] dinc replacment

What's a good replacement for the dinc
Raven2m said:
What's a good replacement for the dinc
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Click to collapse
I am waiting for the Nexus 4 to get back in stock. Going to run the BYOP Straight Talk plan on it. :good:
funny thing is that if you ask that question on a Dinc forum where people are still actively using and developing for the Dinc, the correct answer should be......another Dinc! lots of used ones on eBay for under 60$. Unlocked, Rooted, overclocked and running a better OS than Stock plus EXT4 fix makes this device still a usable device today.
but on a more serious note, me using the Dinc is tied into a couple of factors-that I am on Verizon and probably staying that way but might go to one of it;s derivatives like Pageplus Cellular. this keeps me in the CDMA/3G world for the time being so any replacement would have to be compatible.
seems like this question gets asked alot-what are some 3G VZW compatible phones out there? can you take a VZW phone and bring it to Straighttalk as easy as you can with Pageplus Cellular?
tekweezle said:
funny thing is that if you ask that question on a Dinc forum where people are still actively using and developing for the Dinc, the correct answer should be......another Dinc! lots of used ones on eBay for under 60$. Unlocked, Rooted, overclocked and running a better OS than Stock plus EXT4 fix makes this device still a usable device today.
but on a more serious note, me using the Dinc is tied into a couple of factors-that I am on Verizon and probably staying that way but might go to one of it;s derivatives like Pageplus Cellular. this keeps me in the CDMA/3G world for the time being so any replacement would have to be compatible.
seems like this question gets asked alot-what are some 3G VZW compatible phones out there? can you take a VZW phone and bring it to Straighttalk as easy as you can with Pageplus Cellular?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am currently on Pageplus and don't have any complaints. I have looked around for a newer CDMA phone and the prices are crazy. The Nexus 4 is the best deal I have seen but I will have to switch to Straight Talk as it is GSM only. I don't think there is an option on Straight Talk to bring your own CDMA phone.
yes, that is my understanding on Straighttalk as well-they support sprint CDMA phones with some flashing or modification but it;s not easy. They want to push everyone to GSM.
So do you have a Dinc on pageplus? how is that working? was there any complications with getting it working on their service?
tekweezle said:
yes, that is my understanding on Straighttalk as well-they support sprint CDMA phones with some flashing or modification but it;s not easy. They want to push everyone to GSM.
So do you have a Dinc on pageplus? how is that working? was there any complications with getting it working on their service?
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Click to collapse
Pageplus has been problem free for me. The website can occasionally be a pain to deal with when purchasing more minutes is my only complaint. The Dinc was a breeze to port and everything worked without any setup. If you need any info on Pageplus, go to http://www.howardforums.com/ and look up Pageplus. They have lots of info.
I have two Dinc's on Page Plus currently, no problems at all, OTA programming was all that was needed. I've activated a bunch of phones on PP over the years, for myself and for friends, and compared to the hacking you used to have to do on 'feature phones' to get WAP access working, Dincs are super easy. I've also done a few Droid X's and a Droid X2, also with no issues. Currently, newer phones, in addition to being quite expensive, are also 4G, which makes them a pain to activate on PP and usually requires some significant hacking. Definitely do your homework before buying a 4G phone with plans of activating it on PP.
It depends on your plans. If you plan on sticking with Verizon you could go with the Samsung GS3 or the Note 2 (I think Verizon has the Note 2). If large screens aren't your thing you can go with the HTC Incredible 4G or Motorola Razer M.
Sent from my Nexus 4
just switched my GF feature phone on Pageplus Cellular to a Dinc I bought on eBay running CM10.1. happened easier than I expected as I was able to do everything via live chat without holding forever on the phone. text messaging seems to work including notifications. have it on the TNT 1200 plan, lets see if that will work for a month.

[Q] The Captivate Glide vs The Stratosphere II?

I learned the Stratosphere II existed like a week ago and I've been researching this phone like crazy. Seems like a better version of the Glide. Is this essentially an unofficial update of the Glide? The specs seem to match up, with the only thing lacking on the Strat's side is the megapixels (the Glide has 8, the Strat 2 has 5) and the Strat 2 having a dual 1.2GHz CPU compared to Glide's dual 1.0GHz CPU.
I've been looking to get a Glide for a long time. I've been keeping up with this board for updates and everything. And while it seems like an awesome phone, the GPS problems worry me. But, there are plenty of guides here so when I finally get a Glide, I can see if the GPS solutions here work.
But the Stratosphere II...I mean its so new I don't think anyone has figured out how to root it yet. So no custom roms for the time being, but I'm sure it would be coming as more people learn of its existence and start working on it.
My main cause of concern is the GPS, as I travel to Mexico alot. I already have service there that I maintain here (Movistar) by going to a tienda every three months and putting a few dollars on it. While you can't root the Stratosphere II, I could at least slap the SIM card in there and use it (apparently if I buy it outright Verizon can/should/will unlock the GSM functionality for me) until that magical moment does come when a root guide finally pops up online. And I could be wrong but I think there's no GPS issues with the Stratosphere II.
So that's where I am. Get the Glide for pretty cheap ($225 online), with the ability to root and flash roms but with shaky GPS (and apparently no Jelly Bean?), or get the Stratosphere II for not pretty cheap ($445 directly from Verizon) with no ability to root or flash roms, but, great (as far as I know) GPS? Thoughts, comments, suggestions?
I knew about the original Stratosphere but not the 2. It looks like a nice device. Personally I wouldn't buy a device without root, let alone some sort of dev community. I can pretty much confirm your GPS worries about the Glide. It blows and there is no nicer way to put it. I have tried tweak apps, modding files myself, even copying the conf files right from my N7 to it. It still takes like 2 minutes to get a lock and loses it rather easily. Compared to my N7 which takes under 10 seconds.
The Glide is a good phone though. Our dev community kind of sucks, being so small and relying on key people to do most of the work. But at least we have one and a pretty decent JB builds.
I'm not sure what to suggest. If you can live on stock without root and such, the Strato 2 looks nice. But after having my Glide for nearly a year, I still really like it. But I don't use GPS much with it either.
I sell for all carriers so I'll give you my thought.
Glide is an older device with a tegra 2 processor and operates on GSM. It has an older touch wiz on it meaning the skin and other tweaks Samsung applied to the gs3 isn't all their.. The strat 2 is a well built phone slightly smaller than its older brother. But had newer touch wiz along with newer things Samsung threw in. I'm not going to go into a lot of tech specs of the two phones since u can do that but if I had a choice it would be the strat 2 because of the newer touch wiz which is faster and nicer to look at. Plus the over all look and feel much nicer on the strat 2.. the glide is pretty bulky you really must consider who you want to pay monthly and who has better coverage Verizon or AT&T?
Good luck Bud.:beer:
My battery is dead now.. Have fun!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
bobbinthreadbare said:
I knew about the original Stratosphere but not the 2. It looks like a nice device. Personally I wouldn't buy a device without root, let alone some sort of dev community. I can pretty much confirm your GPS worries about the Glide. It blows and there is no nicer way to put it. I have tried tweak apps, modding files myself, even copying the conf files right from my N7 to it. It still takes like 2 minutes to get a lock and loses it rather easily. Compared to my N7 which takes under 10 seconds.
The Glide is a good phone though. Our dev community kind of sucks, being so small and relying on key people to do most of the work. But at least we have one and a pretty decent JB builds.
I'm not sure what to suggest. If you can live on stock without root and such, the Strato 2 looks nice. But after having my Glide for nearly a year, I still really like it. But I don't use GPS much with it either.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. I have a rooted Epic 4G (hence my name), so I know the joys of having a rooted phone. But I want to switch to a GSM device (more on that below in dincdoes.me), but unlike you would rely on the GPS a lot.
dincdoes.me said:
I sell for all carriers so I'll give you my thought.
Glide is an older device with a tegra 2 processor and operates on GSM. It has an older touch wiz on it meaning the skin and other tweaks Samsung applied to the gs3 isn't all their.. The strat 2 is a well built phone slightly smaller than its older brother. But had newer touch wiz along with newer things Samsung threw in. I'm not going to go into a lot of tech specs of the two phones since u can do that but if I had a choice it would be the strat 2 because of the newer touch wiz which is faster and nicer to look at. Plus the over all look and feel much nicer on the strat 2.. the glide is pretty bulky you really must consider who you want to pay monthly and who has better coverage Verizon or AT&T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, I want to go to Net10, do their BYOD program, and basically have AT&T service through Net10. Why? Net10 has that international coverage plan, its like $60-$65 a month, and I can call my friends in Mexico (via an 800 number I believe) and talk as long as I want (well as long as THEIR minutes will allow). And it makes no difference if its to a landline or a cell phone. Also when I go TO Mexico, just swap out the Net10 sim card for my Movistar one.
Also, at least in NC, the AT&T coverage is second only to Verizon. Definitely better than Sprint, and T-Mobile might as well not even exist with its shaky coverage.
The GPS function is VERY IMPORTANT to me, especially in Mexico, and I have seen my friends in Mexico's Androids use GPS (Google Maps) to find stuff just fine. So...I may have to go ahead and get the Strato 2 and just live with it being unrooted for a while.
That's a tough decision. If time wasn't a factor, I would wait a month or two to see what happens with the i415 (Stratosphere) within the XDA community. Unfortunately for qwerty keyboard lovers, the phones we want don't get as much hype and publicity as the candybar phones. Otterbox and CyanogenMod barely acknowledged our phones. We happened to get VERY lucky getting this much support for the i927 (Captivate Glide) as the early stages were definitely desperate.
I'm currently running the Vanilla Rootbox rom and even though there are still a few bugs, the essentials work well enough for me not to upgrade. I heavily use GPS as I have a memory of a fish and it works flawlessly.
Long story short, after watching the i927 go from a simple request in a Captivate forum to it's own forum with no devs to what it is today, I would go with the Captivate Glide. Who knows if the i415 will get also get lucky with support or not? After all, qwerty phones are a dying breed.
rogernizzLe said:
That's a tough decision. If time wasn't a factor, I would wait a month or two to see what happens with the i415 (Stratosphere) within the XDA community. Unfortunately for qwerty keyboard lovers, the phones we want don't get as much hype and publicity as the candybar phones. Otterbox and CyanogenMod barely acknowledged our phones. We happened to get VERY lucky getting this much support for the i927 (Captivate Glide) as the early stages were definitely desperate.
I'm currently running the Vanilla Rootbox rom and even though there are still a few bugs, the essentials work well enough for me not to upgrade. I heavily use GPS as I have a memory of a fish and it works flawlessly.
Long story short, after watching the i927 go from a simple request in a Captivate forum to it's own forum with no devs to what it is today, I would go with the Captivate Glide. Who knows if the i415 will get also get lucky with support or not? After all, qwerty phones are a dying breed.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. Well...what I am considering is getting the Glide (the Rogers version, which it appears that you have) and just root and put a rom on it (I would like one that mimic's the Jelly Bean, but if the Vanilla Rootbox you're using is fine, I may try that), and use that until more development pops up for the Stratosphere II. If you have the Rogers Glide, and your GPS problems are nil...I don't know, I'm considering it. I probably should have mentioned if I get the Glide it would be the Rogers version (somehow its cheaper than the AT&T version, which costs more than the Stratosphere II! ).
I could do that, or just get a Strato 2 and live without root/flashed roms for a while (but if it already has Jelly Bean may not need it). Thinking, thinking...
Is time a factor? Well I plan on going to Mexico sometime in April, so kinda sorta. But since I plan on making regular trips, not really, I guess.
5-row keyboard!
rogernizzLe said:
That's a tough decision. If time wasn't a factor, I would wait a month or two to see what happens with the i415 (Stratosphere) within the XDA community. Unfortunately for qwerty keyboard lovers, the phones we want don't get as much hype and publicity as the candybar phones. Otterbox and CyanogenMod barely acknowledged our phones. We happened to get VERY lucky getting this much support for the i927 (Captivate Glide) as the early stages were definitely desperate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If all other things were equal, and they're not (in terms of development progress here on xda), I would go for the 5 row keyboard. One of the things I found very irritating very early on with the glide is that every time you type a number, you have to hit Alt first. Given the number of characters and numbers in text these days, this gets really old, really fast.
If I had had more patience, and thought more deeply at the time, I suspect I would have preferred to wait.
CDN$0.02.
bs27975 said:
If all other things were equal, and they're not (in terms of development progress here on xda), I would go for the 5 row keyboard. One of the things I found very irritating very early on with the glide is that every time you type a number, you have to hit Alt first. Given the number of characters and numbers in text these days, this gets really old, really fast.
If I had had more patience, and thought more deeply at the time, I suspect I would have preferred to wait.
CDN$0.02.
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Click to collapse
I forgot the Glide only had four rows. As much as I've been using my Epic 4G...well it would be a learning curve to go from 5 rows to 4.
Stratosphere II has a locked bootloader and hasn't even been rooted yet. Also, while I haven't seen any reports yay or nay, it probably suffers the same domestic GSM lock all other Verizon phones have. It is possible to counter this, but not without a lot of dev support and root.
I switched from Captivate Glide to the Galaxy S Relay 4G. It has 5 rows, supports AT&T and a few other odd UMTS frequencies (Wind Mobile for instance) and has a fairly decent (but small) dev community with a working unofficial cyanogenmod 10.
The other choice is the Motorola Photon Q for Sprint, which comes comes with GSM capabilities, but you have to remove the pre-soldered SIM chip and add a SIM card adapter. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1929143 I have seen no information on whether it is locked domestically for GSM. It can be reflashed to Cricket and PagePlus on the CDMA side as well, and there is a CM 10 for it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1929143
Nardholio said:
Stratosphere II has a locked bootloader and hasn't even been rooted yet. Also, while I haven't seen any reports yay or nay, it probably suffers the same domestic GSM lock all other Verizon phones have. It is possible to counter this, but not without a lot of dev support and root.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. That no one has tried to root or unlock or even just manipulate the settings on this phone, which to me appears to be the true [yet unofficial] successor to the Epic 4G...blows my mind. Is there just no interest, or people don't know that it exists...I just don't understand.
I switched from Captivate Glide to the Galaxy S Relay 4G. It has 5 rows, supports AT&T and a few other odd UMTS frequencies (Wind Mobile for instance) and has a fairly decent (but small) dev community with a working unofficial cyanogenmod 10.
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Well my gameplan was to have a phone I can use both in the US and in Mexico...in Mexico it wouldn't be a big deal, but here any GSM (like from Net10) will go straight to the T-Mobile network since its a T-Mobile phone. And T-Mobile sucks and doesn't appear to be getting any better. I don't know how good or bad the 4G functionality is, but its not enough to have me go back to T-Mobile. That was a year of hell, not just from the almost non-existent coverage but the idiotic customer service as well. My uncle still has them and he complains about them all the time, but he's with them for a reason (something about coverage in Canada, I forget).
The other choice is the Motorola Photon Q for Sprint, which comes comes with GSM capabilities, but you have to remove the pre-soldered SIM chip and add a SIM card adapter. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1929143 I have seen no information on whether it is locked domestically for GSM. It can be reflashed to Cricket and PagePlus on the CDMA side as well, and there is a CM 10 for it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1929143
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I'm not good at soldering. Plus if I mess up, gotta buy another phone.
Dang. Looks like I'll have to stick with the Glide for now. Well, I'll have to GET the Glide, then stick with it for now.
Um, I hate to break it to you, but your gsm service depends on which sim card you have. I am using the Galaxy S Relay just fine on AT&T.
Sent from my SGH-T699 using xda premium
Nardholio said:
Um, I hate to break it to you, but your gsm service depends on which sim card you have. I am using the Galaxy S Relay just fine on AT&T.
Sent from my SGH-T699 using xda premium
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Not the way Net10 worded it, and I've spoken to them many times. They said it depends on the phone itself, as far as the BYOD program goes.
QWERTY Geek here
I've had the following QWERTY phones:
OG Droid
Stratosphere 1
Stratosphere 2 (current phone)
And my wife had the Captivate Glide until she dropped it recently.
Here are my thoughts:
1. Out of this list of phones, the Stratosphere 2 is best, no question. It's slightly faster than the Captivate Glide, has NFC, has a 5 row keyboard, has Verizon LTE, and has Bluetooth 4.0. There's hardly anyone even talking about this phone, much less getting dev/root work going. Sucks, too, since this is basically a Galaxy S3 Lite w/ QWERTY. Everything about this phone is solid.
2. The Captivate Glide GPS's sucked. And the ICS upgrade was an utter disaster. The new ICS upgrade isn't as bad, but the GPS on this phone is definitely much worse than any other phone on the above list. My wife stopped using it altogether and would just use Google Maps like I did back in the iPhone 3G days.
3. I liked the Captivate Glide's keyboard, but my wife hated it. She preferred the Stratosphere 1's keyboard and then the Strat 2. And in case you are wondering, I was barely surviving on the Strat1 when I upgraded in January... a 1GHz single core 512MB RAM phone just doesn't hold up any more, and battery life was awful (about 10 hours with light use, 16-20 hours with no use).
4. A Jellybean (4.1) update just came out for the Strat2. I've been holding back on upgrading due to my wife's horrible experience with ICS. In researching it, I discovered that FoxFi would apparently be broken and 4.1/4.2 has issues with a lot of N-only routers. I've been happy with the Strat2 and ICS, so I won't upgrade. But I so wish Cyanogen would pick up the slack.
5. Are we sure the Strat2 has a locked bootloader? My understanding is that Samsung phones have an unlocked bootloader but switch a flag if you change the ROM so warranty can be denied. Can someone verify?
Thank you very much for the note, some good and interesting stuff in here.
JoeFresco said:
1. Out of this list of phones, the Stratosphere 2 is best, no question. It's slightly faster than the Captivate Glide, has NFC, has a 5 row keyboard, has Verizon LTE, and has Bluetooth 4.0. There's hardly anyone even talking about this phone, much less getting dev/root work going. Sucks, too, since this is basically a Galaxy S3 Lite w/ QWERTY. Everything about this phone is solid.
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Any comments, Glide vis a vis Galaxy S Relay 4G? [e.g. you say Stratosphere 2 is basically a Galaxy S3 Lite w/qwerty - I've yet to come across a similar 'rating' for the 4G. I believe Glide would be S2 (Sii). I don't know what the 4G is.]
For me LTE vs anything else doesn't matter - I don't do data. Wi-fi, yes, so the N only issue is biting me. (Which I think is a phone hardware, not a software, issue. Guessing.) Much the same for Bluetooth - most any bluetooth, and within, say, 10', does what I need it to do. Can you say what Bluetooth 4 brings to the party?
JoeFresco said:
2. The Captivate Glide GPS's sucked. And the ICS upgrade was an utter disaster. The new ICS upgrade isn't as bad, but the GPS on this phone is definitely much worse than any other phone on the above list. My wife stopped using it altogether and would just use Google Maps like I did back in the iPhone 3G days.
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New ICS upgrade? (Link?)
JoeFresco said:
4. A Jellybean (4.1) update just came out for the Strat2. I've been holding back on upgrading due to my wife's horrible experience with ICS.
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Can you comment on that horrible experience? I've yet to upgrade from Gingerbread to something ICS here, so looking to be forearmed with (your) forewarning, here.
JoeFresco said:
In researching it, ... 4.1/4.2 has issues with a lot of N-only routers.
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I'm now wondering if this explains what I'm seeing on a certain router - across multiple phones and laptop. It's becoming a PITA. At home I get around some problem by setting a static IP.
Is this a common experience for people, across hardware - be it phones or laptops?
The Galaxy S Relay 4G looks like it basically has the tech of the Strat2, so I'd expect them to be equivalent. It looks like it has a physical mashup of the Captivate Glide and Strat2. Assuming you like the keyboard, the S Relay 4G looks like a better phone than the Captivate GLide. I have no experience with this phone.
Bluetooth 4 lets you use super low power bluetooth devices. StickNfind.com (I bought 6) is the first one I know of, but there will definitely be more over the next year or two. Lots of workout type devices and other sensors will start using it. It first arrived in phones in the iPhone 4s.
The Captivate Glide's original ICS upgrade was over Kies and was pulled due to horrendous user response. You can read threads all over by googling. Here's a taste: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1879432
Basically, GPS went to completely useless, phone app crashed constantly, contacts app crashed constantly, keyboard backlight never lit up, text messages coming in 15 times even though only sent once, and more. Most were fixed in a latter OTA update, though the text message thing still happened. The GPS also would sometimes go in and out of lock and wasn't really dependable.
Until the OTA update came out, I was about to have my wife take the phone back to the ATT store to exchange for a Gingerbread model under warranty. Incidentally, a month ago she dropped it and broke the screen and I replaced it with an LG Escape, which she LOVES (no qwerty). She never liked the Captivate Glide keyboard and considers the LG Escape's software keyboard to be just as good and it resolved all her other problems.
The router problem I'm seeing is only on phones that were working fine with ICS and then were upgraded to Jellybean. Here's a couple links:
https://community.verizonwireless.com/message/950253
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=34786
What you are experiencing sounds like a poor/dying router. It's definitely not normal. A firmware update may resolve the problem or you may try installing ddwrt.
Oh, here's a thread about rooting the Strat2 with no success yet:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2078615
Incidentally, I just tried to root the Samsung Stratosphere II i415 via SRSRoot, which claims it can root that phone. Unfortunately, after 3 attempts, I have nothing but failure. It tries to use root4, 4b, and 5 regardless of whether all root options or smartroot is selected.
Sucks because now VZ is forcing the JB update down. My options were simply to install now or defer 5 days. I chose the defer option, but from what I'm reading, that's a one time deal. So if I can't get rooted in the next 4 days and stop it, I'm going to be running JB whether I like it or not.
Stratosphere II gsm access
Hi
does the samsung stratosphere ii 2 work with gsm in the United States? What about internation gsm?
JoeFresco said:
Incidentally, I just tried to root the Samsung Stratosphere II i415 via SRSRoot, which claims it can root that phone. Unfortunately, after 3 attempts, I have nothing but failure. It tries to use root4, 4b, and 5 regardless of whether all root options or smartroot is selected.
Sucks because now VZ is forcing the JB update down. My options were simply to install now or defer 5 days. I chose the defer option, but from what I'm reading, that's a one time deal. So if I can't get rooted in the next 4 days and stop it, I'm going to be running JB whether I like it or not.
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I'm more interested in flashing it to another service like Cricket. I think its possible, not 100% sure. People barely know this phone exists, let alone have taken the time to hook it up to QPST to see what happens.
liongood9 said:
Hi
does the samsung stratosphere ii 2 work with gsm in the United States? What about internation gsm?
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Click to collapse
That's the question. Like I said, except for the nice fellow in this very thread, no one else really has it, so so far no one has bought it and taken it abroad to see if the GSM works. I would think its locked out the box, though. Verizon refuses to give me a straight answer, and I think its kinda obvious why: its impossible to be unlocked abroad yet locked here, meaning its unlocked all the way or not at all. Meaning if they unlock it, I could just buy it and take it to AT&T.
My guess (heck the Verizon folks are guessing if not outright lying) is that the CDMA functionality works in tandem with the GSM functionality, if you use the phone in the US. It kinda has to, since the GSM slot is also the 4G LTE slot and how you'd get the 4G functionality. Abroad, the CDMA functionality will both detect the 4G LTE SIM isn't there (you'd have to remove it to put in the international SIM from the carrier of your choice while abroad, like Telcel or Movistar in my case) and that you're not in the US, thus giving you "permission" I guess you'd say to let it be unlocked for the duration of your visit. Once you return, however, Verizon will say "Ah you're back in the US" (the CDMA will detect an active Verizon network and account) and lock it right back so you'd have no choice but to replace your international SIM with the 4G LTE sim.
Basically, Verizon through the CDMA functionality can lock or unlock the GSM functionality, merely through network detection (if you're in the US) and by itself using the GSM (4G).
So if you buy the phone outright, you'd never have to worry about the CDMA part since you never had an active service with Verizon through that phone. Without an active CDMA, its merely...a GSM phone, meaning it can be unlocked and can be used on any GSM network. Hence Verizon's reluctance to say yay or nay to whether the GSM can be unlocked. They can't stop you from buying the phone outright, but they don't have to help you unlock the GSM part and potentially take it to another carrier, either. I've heard more or less "Well by law..." yes, but they either don't know the law or count on you not knowing the law. And even pointing it out to them can simply result in "well we don't know how to unlock it, so..." Which would be BS, but there being a law won't make them do anything. They'll just find ways around it. Plausible ways.
All guesswork, and I could be 100% wrong. But hey, that's what it seems like. If I'm right, at least it could potentially be used as a GSM phone at least abroad until someone figures out how to root it.
Go for the Strat 2.
1. Faster CPU
2. Better GPS.
3. Jelly Bean Released on it.
4. 4 row keyboard, I hate having to hit ALT to hit a number. Use excel a lot and that is really annoying.
5. I think it has more internal memory as well. Glide has only 4GB useable internal memory. (they say it is an 8GB phone)
Don't get me wrong GLide is a great phone but it is stating to show its age. Unfortunately I have a 3 year contract, so still have another year and a half on it.
JB
dudejb said:
Go for the Strat 2.
1. Faster CPU
2. Better GPS.
3. Jelly Bean Released on it.
4. 4 row keyboard, I hate having to hit ALT to hit a number. Use excel a lot and that is really annoying.
5. I think it has more internal memory as well. Glide has only 4GB useable internal memory. (they say it is an 8GB phone)
Don't get me wrong GLide is a great phone but it is stating to show its age. Unfortunately I have a 3 year contract, so still have another year and a half on it.
JB
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Seems unrootable, but I'm wondering if its unflashable. I would like to buy it, flash it to Cricket, and just wait till someone roots the sucker. Flash it to Cricket and also unlock the GSM for use abroad. :good: That's my dream anyway. :fingers-crossed:

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