[Noisebridge-discuss] Seeking advice -- new Android phone with good physical attributes?

[Ari Lacenski]

The Galaxy Nexus would be a truly great keyboardless option if it fit
in more people's hands.

I owned one for 1 day before determining that I couldn't deal with my
palms cramping from trying to type on it. I don't have notably
delicate paws. Google employees who get the things for free have also
complained about its size. It's an awesome device. Find one and give
it a whirl before you commit.

Ari


On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 11:58 AM, Rubin Abdi <rubin at starset.net> wrote:
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> Consider this the Current State of Android Keyboard Devices...
>
> So when I broke my femur over Sunday, I actually landed my hip right
> on top of my G2. The battery cover is mangled but some how the screen
> didn't crack and the thing works just fine (though I was scrambling
> through pain to get the battery back into the device to call for
> help). I'm kinda surprised this single device has lasted me for about
> 1.5 years now.
>
> If you're looking for a GSM Adnroid with a keyboard in the states, G2
> and the MyTouch 4G Slide are pretty much about it. I have both and
> they're currently running various versions of ICS. The MyTouch is my
> loaner currently out to Christopher with Soup.io visiting SF.
>
> So a note about ICS. It offers more stuff, which might sound like
> it'll slow down whatever device you're loading it onto. But ICS also
> utilizes the on board GPU, which speeds up screen rendering. So some
> parts of Android are slower, while other parts are faster, which more
> or less balances out on the G2 and most other devices.
>
> There's also the Samsung Sidekick, which doesn't seem to have as big
> of a dev/hack community and not as easy to root and do neat things
> with. Still stuck on Android 2.x.x. The keyboard on that has a numrow,
> but personally I don't like the feel of it at all. Others on the other
> hand love it to death.
>
> HTC has publicly stated they have no plans on creating any more
> Android devices with physical keyboards. That more or less leaves
> folks to import Motorola devices from Europe, and last I checked the
> hack communities behind those also suck.
>
> My G2 is still a great device, a little slow but functional with ICS.
> I bought a set of HTC EVO 2000 mAh batteries for it (shaved off some
> plastic to make it fit) and just carry a spare in my wallet. I imagine
> when I break my G2 a little more I'll either order a used one through
> ebay or switch over to the MyTouch 4G Slide.
>
> The MyTouch is a faster device, offers a nicer rear camera and a front
> facing camera over the G2. The current ICS builds suffer from some
> battery and Bluetooth issues, but other than that functions just fine.
> The keyboard feels a little less up to snuff when compared to the G2,
> but I think that's mostly because my G2 is more worn in.
>
> Both the G2 and MyTouch have notification lights (though their usage
> is entirely dependent on how fucked the build of CM is), tethering
> through Cyanogen, and of course have some alpha/beta build of CM9 in
> the works.
>
> There's a part of me that really wants to get one of these Motorola
> world/travel phones from Sprint or Verizon, that offer dual CDMA/GSM
> radios, but it seems like hardly anyone is hacking them. And importing
> a Motorola Europe GSM phone is going to cost me an arm and a leg (and
> I've only got 1 good one left).
>
> I'd list out these Motorola devices but it's been a while since I've
> done that research, and am currently not planning on doing so until
> I'm either on a little bit less pain medication or actually looking
> for a new device.
>
> If I had to buy a new Android right this minute (as in my life
> depended on it, and literally this minute), I would go with an
> unlocked Galaxy Nexus. The only caveats I currently see with keeping
> them from being the "perfect pocket computer" is a lack of a keyboard,
> and storage issues (lack of MicroSD support, and unable to mount
> internal storage as a removable device via USB). It's my goto device
> when recommending something for friends who are about to go traveling,
> or visiting the states.
>
> Other factors that I'm going to take into consideration when making my
> next pocket computer purchase would be Ubuntu's work towards getting a
> full desktop running off of them, front facing camera, NFC, and
> surprisingly, a nicer camera.
>
> Hope this advice is helpful.
>
> - --
> Rubin
> rubin at starset.net
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