Looking for Android 4.X phone with 480x800 LCD display

[WiiUBricker]

I need a smartphone that comes with at least 4.X version of Android and that uses an LCD panel with 480x800 resolution. I compared Samsung's phones and couldn't find any that fit these criteria. They either have Android 2.3 with an LCD or Android 4.X with an AMOLED. AMOLED sucks since I prefer natural colors of LCDs.

Alternatively, if anyone finds a bluetooth gamepad that can pair up and connect with an Android 2.3 device it would suffice also. The IPEGA and Speedlink gamepads won't connect with my old Android 2.3 device.

 

[kristianity77]

ZTE Blade L2?

http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_blade_l2-6367.php

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

If you happen to have a spare PS3 controller, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dancingpixelstudios.sixaxiscontroller&hl=en Sixaxis Controller supports Android 2.3 and connects via bluetooth. It does require root, but most devices are easily rootable nowadays.

You could also try grabbing a 4.x custom ROM for your phone if it's available.

 

[iluvfupaburgers]

you could always check for a phone that fits your criteria and also check if you are able to install a custom rom that is based on 4.X.X code

 

[cdoty]

I need a smartphone that comes with at least 4.X version of Android and that uses an LCD panel with 480x800 resolution. I compared Samsung's phones and couldn't find any that fit these criteria. They either have Android 2.3 with an LCD or Android 4.X with an AMOLED. AMOLED sucks since I prefer natural colors of LCDs.

Alternatively, if anyone finds a bluetooth gamepad that can pair up and connect with an Android 2.3 device it would suffice also. The IPEGA and Speedlink gamepads won't connect with my old Android 2.3 device.

Have a look at the xperia play, It has a 480x800 screen, has a built in joystick, and runs Android 2.3. You can get one pretty cheap these days.

Android 3.0 was when official joystick support was added, but you can use iCade support on older android devices. The app has to specifically support the iCade though.

One other option are joysticks similar to these:
http://www.gamestop.com/android/accessories/tablet-wireless-game-controller-v2/104425
http://www.gamestop.com/android/accessories/tablet-wireless-bluetooth-controller/97838
http://www.gamestop.com/android/accessories/tablet-wireless-keyboard-controller/104426

They act like a wireless keyboard, and use a single keypress for each input (wasd for directional input, and numbers for the buttons). This will work with just about any app that supports key remapping. The last two have the advantage of being able to be used as a keyboard and an Android gamepad, when you upgrade your phone.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I need a smartphone that comes with at least 4.X version of Android and that uses an LCD panel with 480x800 resolution. I compared Samsung's phones and couldn't find any that fit these criteria. They either have Android 2.3 with an LCD or Android 4.X with an AMOLED. AMOLED sucks since I prefer natural colors of LCDs.

Alternatively, if anyone finds a bluetooth gamepad that can pair up and connect with an Android 2.3 device it would suffice also. The IPEGA and Speedlink gamepads won't connect with my old Android 2.3 device.

Isn't AMOLED supposed to have more natural colors compared to regular LCDs?
Why are you limiting yourself to 800x480?
Maybe look at some HTC devices, they use S-LCD instead of AMOLED.

 

[Mario92]

Why are you talking about resolution and then about AMOLED? I'm sick of super high DPI as well but higher resolution shouldn't make anything worse? (unless some emulator is missing resolution change and phone model in use sucks)
Just forget about Samsung, their software is huge bloatware these days and I also dislike AMOLED as colors are too unnatural and bright with that. LG, Sony and HTC makes really good android models, especially LG Nexus models have been really great.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Isn't AMOLED supposed to have more natural colors compared to regular LCDs?

It's backwards. OLED/AMOLEDs produce too saturated colors. I played Super Soccer (SNES) on an AMOLED device and I couldn't stand the green of the grass field. Super Mario World is another example of a game that has too saturated green. LCDs produce much more natural colors though sometimes on some devices they can be a bit pale. IPS-LCDs are the perfect screens in my opinion. Basically they combine the advantages of both OLEDs and TFT-LCDs in one screen without some of the disadvantages. I reckon because of this Sony uses IPS-LCDs for the new Vita-2000.

Why are you limiting yourself to 800x480?

Because I don't need HD on a small portable device that I use for retro emulation. 800x480 is a good measure for SNES games.

Anyway, after much research I decided to order an HTC One SV. Should arrive soon.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Dammit all, got my new phone yesterday and it's awesome, but it doesn't work with my bluetooth gamepad.

 

[Gaming4Ever]

Dammit all, got my new phone yesterday and it's awesome, but it doesn't work with my bluetooth gamepad.

Guessing u might have to root maybe for app permissions.....

 

[Ulieq]

galaxy s2

 

[Joe88]

and you picked a really bad brand when it comes to root and modding in general

 

[cracker]

There are lots of tuts/kits for rooting that phone so there shouldn't be a problem.

LGs are the worst for customizing that I've seen. Some actually use a Windows Phone tool to factory restore bricked phones since they lack decent Android tool support.

 

[Quietlyawesome94]

If you're looking for good budget devices with the latest version, just order the Moto E ($130) or the Moto G ($180)

They both run Android 4.4 Kitkat and have capable hardware for emulation.

 

[DanTheManMS]

This response is a bit late, but the LG Optimus F3 is a great cheap phone that meets your specs. It's got a 4-inch 480x800 screen, and it's running Android 4.1.2 Jellybean. I've got one myself on Virgin Mobile (prepaid) and it's actually a pretty beefy machine for only costing me $100. It has a 1.2 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM, but it's surprisingly very quick and snappy. I tested the GBA emulator on it and it worked very well with every game I threw at it (even Golden Sun).

The major disadvantage of the F3 is that it only comes with 8 GB of internal space, and Android Jellybean takes up a huge amount of that. You can't install very many apps before you start running out of space. There appears to be a method to root it so you can load some apps to your SD card, but I haven't tried it myself.

 

[cracker]

You don't need to be rooted to transfer many apps to external storage. However, when rooted you can transfer most apps -- not just those with built-in support. Search the Play Store for app2sd. You can also do this manually in the app section of Settings but that can be painfully tedious since many app2sd tools will let you do batch processing.

 

[DanTheManMS]

That's good to know man, I wasn't aware of that. I only use this F3 as a secondary phone so I haven't looked too deeply into figuring out the solution to that issue.

 

[Duo8]

LGs are the worst for customizing that I've seen. Some actually use a Windows Phone tool to factory restore bricked phones since they lack decent Android tool support.

I never got that problem. Customization was never a problem. I found Samsung and HTC phones far more troublesome.

 

[cracker]

Mainly the problems with many LG models are with lack of bootloader unlocking and bricking (because of this) when (ordinarily safe-to-remove) bloatware is removed/frozen. I had this happen to me, unfortunately.

 

[Duo8]

Hmm... My phone didn't have that problem. Probably because of how similar it is to the Nexus 4.
There's only that Security Error when you do certain mods on a locked bootloader. But I've remove most bloat off my phone without problem.