Recommendation for Smart Phone

[GRiM]

And you miss my point, It IS highly likely to get major updates in future, Just not direct via Samsung/Kies.

For example the CyanogenMod team will be releasing CM official updates for many Android versions to come aswell as many other types of roms built from Android source code. Plus we also now have a the Galaxy SII+ which will get official Sammy updates which should be easy to port over to standard SII.

Official carrier updates (which is what you're referring to) are simply not a factor when considering buying a 1-3 year old popular device as the dev community will still release roms/updates for it.

I myself will likely be getting a Galaxy SIV once released, however if I was looking for a still near high end device for reasonable price it would 100% be the SII simply for the dev backing behind it compared to Sony devices.

Unlikely to get an update but still go for a phone? Also, which is 2 years old?

Why root if you can have it officially? Like I've mentioned in other threads, people here don't want to void their warranty by rooting things.

By no means I'm suggesting Sony. Instead, I'm suggesting to look for more options.

Yet again you missed what I wrote I said LIKELY not UNLIKELY!

Also rooting isnt just for flashing custom roms, that is just a small part. Rooting enables many capabilities to your device and gives you many features that you cant use on a non-rooted system.

Also if you need to send away for repair/replace you can simply un-root/re-stock before sending. If its in a state where you cant boot device up into a flashing mode then it makes no difference if its rooted or not because in 99% of cases the repair center cant tell its rooted and will only be replacing the motherboard anyway.

You're either naive or dont have much experience in this side of mobile devices m8. I've been doing this for nearly 10 years since days of Windows mobile, in fact the whole reason XDA came about was because of wanting to do more with devices then what was originally allowed/enabled and because of lack of update to next OS version.

[DKT27]

Yet again you missed what I wrote I said LIKELY not UNLIKELY!

Also rooting isnt just for flashing custom roms, that is just a small part. Rooting enables many capabilities to your device and gives you many features that you cant use on a non-rooted system.

Also if you need to send away for repair/replace you can simply un-root/re-stock before sending. If its in a state where you cant boot device up into a flashing mode then it makes no difference if its rooted or not because in 99% of cases the repair center cant tell its rooted and will only be replacing the motherboard anyway.

You're either naive or dont have much experience in this side of mobile devices m8. I've been doing this for nearly 10 years since days of Windows mobile, in fact the whole reason XDA came about was because of wanting to do more with devices then what was originally allowed/enabled and because of lack of update to next OS version.

I don't know why you can't understand that rooting (for getting updates) is not always the first choice of users? Why a user has to root in the first place when he can have a newer phone at better specs and price?

Sure, you can un-root but I'm referring to other brands (note: I've mentioned some brands don't care) like HTC, people root their phones officially, which void their warranty. Yes, I know we are talking about Samsung here, but I'm talking about rooting topic in general.

Again, why a person has to root his new phone to get updates? A person can be a noob who cannot root, a person may not want to take the effort to root. There are rumours that Key Lime Pie (Android 5.0) is going to be announced in 4-5 months from now. So why should I suggest a person, an 2 years old phone, which is going to be officially obsolete softwarewise, so that a person has to invest his time in rooting and flashing his new phone, whereas he can get a better phone with official updates? You are rooting for 10 years, some people wouldn't have touched a smartphone and bought it, later coming to know that they can't have official updates hence they have to spend atleast couple of days to do it unofficially.

I'm going to root and flash my phone myself soon. I'm very much interested to do it myself. But I will never ever suggest a fellow person to go for something that is going to be obsolete and old in just few months. I know rooting and flashing exists, but again, why if you can have one without needing to flash?

[GRiM]

Yet again you missed what I wrote I said LIKELY not UNLIKELY!

Also rooting isnt just for flashing custom roms, that is just a small part. Rooting enables many capabilities to your device and gives you many features that you cant use on a non-rooted system.

Also if you need to send away for repair/replace you can simply un-root/re-stock before sending. If its in a state where you cant boot device up into a flashing mode then it makes no difference if its rooted or not because in 99% of cases the repair center cant tell its rooted and will only be replacing the motherboard anyway.

You're either naive or dont have much experience in this side of mobile devices m8. I've been doing this for nearly 10 years since days of Windows mobile, in fact the whole reason XDA came about was because of wanting to do more with devices then what was originally allowed/enabled and because of lack of update to next OS version.

I don't know why you can't understand that rooting (for getting updates) is not always the first choice of users? Why a user has to root in the first place when he can have a newer phone at better specs and price?

Sure, you can un-root but I'm referring to other brands (note: I've mentioned some brands don't care) like HTC, people root their phones officially, which void their warranty. Yes, I know we are talking about Samsung here, but I'm talking about rooting topic in general.

Again, why a person has to root his new phone to get updates? A person can be a noob who cannot root, a person may not want to take the effort to root. There are rumours that Key Lime Pie (Android 5.0) is going to be announced in 4-5 months from now. So why should I suggest a person, an 2 years old phone, which is going to be officially obsolete softwarewise, so that a person has to invest his time in rooting and flashing his new phone, whereas he can get a better phone with official updates? You are rooting for 10 years, some people wouldn't have touched a smartphone and bought it, later coming to know that they can't have official updates hence they have to spend atleast couple of days to do it unofficially.

I'm going to root and flash my phone myself soon. I'm very much interested to do it myself. But I will never ever suggest a fellow person to go for something that is going to be obsolete and old in just few months. I know rooting and flashing exists, but again, why if you can have one without needing to flash?

At what point did I say it was "first choice" of users?

Its pretty obvious from the choices of the user in OP that he wants a decent budget phone from the choices he gave which is why I recommended the S2 because of its sheer development following compared the the Xperia S. Rooting the S2, updating via CWM or ODIN is VERY easy and can be learned in a few minutes and then you open your device up to a world of many different custom roms, Many of which are VERY stable and much better then actual stock rom.

With regards to your last question, the answer is EASY, and that is because via official update via your OEM you can only have their propriety rom which usually comes with a shitload of bloatware and you have limited choice and features, where as if you root device you have ability to uninstall bloatware or even flash a custom rom based on the OEM rom but has added features or bugs fixed or even completely stock Android without any of the propitiatory launcher/apps etc that OEM puts on, or even a CyanogenMod rom etc. Rooting also gives you ability to customize more on your device or installs apps that need root access like Titanium Backup Pro that can backup apps/appdata.

I root my devices from day1 of me getting them because I feel hampered and restricted otherwise and rooting gives me complete control to use full hardware and capabilities of device. It would be like buying a PC and then not been able to install different OS or not having ability to install/use any app I liked. I understand that majority of people will not root device or even understand what rooting is or what it does but my point is not about that. The OP asked which device is better and I answered the S2 simply because of its dev community plus its hardware is still very good and not "Obsolete" as you and OEM's would like you to believe.

[DKT27]

Now that's some good points. :) I agree with your points.

I would surely advice him S II for the phone itself. Sure, S II is not obsolete, but if S IV is going to release soon and if S II is not going to receive any major official updates, it's going to be almost obsolete before 2013 ends, something many people don't want (their device being old in one year).

So in the end, if the OP plans to root and flash his phone, sure enough, he can go for S II blindly (yes, that good of a phone it is for the price). But, if he wants a phone he wants to use for 2/3+ years, I'll advice him to look at his options first, if none better are available, then go for S II. Fair enough? :)

[mara-]

That's why my advice was to go for S2 plus, which is released today. Pricing about 470$ (some say $430) and it's the same thing as S2 and it will have more future updates.

Cheers ;)

[DKT27]

That's why my advice was to go for S2 plus, which is released today. Pricing about 470$ (some say $430) and it's the same thing as S2 and it will have more future updates.

Cheers ;)

Now that you have mentioned it. S II Plus looks good, but is kinda little above his budget. So I just saw Galaxy S III Mini which is little lesser good than S II but still good enough. :)

[Tweety.Abd]

Go with Sony Xperia S, its got better AOSP support.

[Linus]

That's why my advice was to go for S2 plus, which is released today. Pricing about 470$ (some say $430) and it's the same thing as S2 and it will have more future updates.

Cheers ;)

Now that you have mentioned it. S II Plus looks good, but is kinda little above his budget. So I just saw Galaxy S III Mini which is little lesser good than S II but still good enough. :)

Any idea, what are the prices for S II Plus & S III Mini in India?

[DKT27]

I generally refer to ebay.in and Flipkart for these type of things. Unfortunetely, flipkart doesn't have either of phones, but ebay.in has. S II Plus seems to be around Rs. 28,000-29,000 (told you, might be out of budget). And S III Mini is Rs. 20,000-25,000. I would personally visit real shops to get the correct prices though. I think you are not in Mumbai, but in here, we visit Alfa-Alfa shop to get the best price. :)

[Linus]

I generally refer to ebay.in and Flipkart for these type of things. Unfortunetely, flipkart doesn't have either of phones, but ebay.in has. S II Plus seems to be around Rs. 28,000-29,000 (told you, might be out of budget). And S III Mini is Rs. 20,000-25,000. I would personally visit real shops to get the correct prices though. I think you are not in Mumbai, but in here, we visit Alfa-Alfa shop to get the best price. :)

I am in Mumbai. But because of work i am too busy for exploring outside other than the internet. I guess ultimately I'll have to visit some shops now..

And by the way, I know one Alfa, it's at Irla, Vile Parle. You are talking about the same one, right?

Will check out S III Mini there, I looked it up on the internet, sounds promising.

[DKT27]

I am in Mumbai. But because of work i am too busy for exploring outside other than the internet. I guess ultimately I'll have to visit some shops now..

And by the way, I know one Alfa, it's at Irla, Vile Parle. You are talking about the same one, right?

Will check out S III Mini there, I looked it up on the internet, sounds promising.

I see.

Yes, the Irla one. Beware though, you can't actually demo a phone there, go only there to buy or get the price. First check out the phones somewhere else, and go to Alfa to get the final price. Also beware that they are very very rude people. We buy from them because they are the cheapest around, they have a fool-proof bills and we are buying from them from a long time.

While you are there, explore all the phones, don't just stick to one. Look at everything possible, then finalize things. Cause things in real and things online are two totally different stories. ;)

[Linus]

I am in Mumbai. But because of work i am too busy for exploring outside other than the internet. I guess ultimately I'll have to visit some shops now..

And by the way, I know one Alfa, it's at Irla, Vile Parle. You are talking about the same one, right?

Will check out S III Mini there, I looked it up on the internet, sounds promising.

I see.

Yes, the Irla one. Beware though, you can't actually demo a phone there, go only there to buy or get the price. First check out the phones somewhere else, and go to Alfa to get the final price. Also beware that they are very very rude people. We buy from them because they are the cheapest around, they have a fool-proof bills and we are buying from them from a long time.

While you are there, explore all the phones, don't just stick to one. Look at everything possible, then finalize things. Cause things in real and things online are two totally different stories. ;)

OK! I have heard there is a shop besides Alfa, I guess the name is Magnet, in there they give full demo for any models. Will explore there and then will compare the rates with Alfa.

[DKT27]

OK! I have heard there is a shop besides Alfa, I guess the name is Magnet, in there they give full demo for any models. Will explore there and then will compare the rates with Alfa.

I see. I came to know that there are some company showrooms next to Alfa too. Look for them too. :)

[Linus]

OK! I have heard there is a shop besides Alfa, I guess the name is Magnet, in there they give full demo for any models. Will explore there and then will compare the rates with Alfa.

I see. I came to know that there are some company showrooms next to Alfa too. Look for them too. :)

OK! Will check out. Thanks for all your help. :) I will try to visit these shop's soon.

[dcs18]

OK! I have heard there is a shop besides Alfa, I guess the name is Magnet, in there they give full demo for any models. Will explore there and then will compare the rates with Alfa.

I see. I came to know that there are some company showrooms next to Alfa too. Look for them too. :)

OK! Will check out. Thanks for all your help. :) I will try to visit these shop's soon.

If you're window-shopping @ Alfa check out the Irla one - chicks are better looking. ;)