Android Good phone to buy and how to unlock?

[kirbymaster101]

I would also be wondering how to root one by any chance? also is it as easy as jailbreaking an iphone?

 

[Thanatos Telos]

What's your budget? Carrier? Contract or no contract?
What will you use it for? What phone do you have now?
We have to know these things.

 

[kirbymaster101]

I say to 200 to 500 depending on how much I save? I was hoping to get it unlocked so I can use my sim card from fido. honestly moslty just games and browing internet to watch tv although if I can use my sim from my zero dollar phone that would be great too. As far as performace goes I guess anything that I iphone 4g or higher can do.

 

[IBNobody]

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is currently the top smartphone. It has phenominal battery life, even when using 4G.

The LG Nexus 4 is close, though. Because the Nexus 4 is a "Google Nexus" brand phone, it will get OS updates more frequently. It's a niche phone, though, and finding accessories to fit it will be harder than the carrier-ubiquitous GS3.

The Nexus 4 uses an LCD screen, as opposed to the GS3's AMOLED screen. AMOLED screens have problems with black dots appearing on them and can be annoying when watching video in a dark room. The flip-side is that AMOLED screens can be brighter and (when used with a dark background) allow for better battery life.

Rooting is a snap. You go to XDA, look for a rooting guide (that for the GS3 DOES NOT INCREASE THE BINARY COUNTER), and follow it.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

I say to 200 to 500 depending on how much I save? I was hoping to get it unlocked so I can use my sim card from fido. honestly moslty just games and browing internet to watch tv although if I can use my sim from my zero dollar phone that would be great too. As far as performace goes I guess anything that I iphone 4g or higher can do.

I say you get a Nexus 4, but I think that they're backordered. Otherwise, I would grab either the S3, the One X, or the original Galaxy Nexus. (The last one's a good phone and is dirt cheap, but it's over a year old.)

 

[Zorua]

Right now is not a good time to buy a phone. Here's why:

1) The Galaxy S3 is going to be replaced by the S4 come February.
2) HTC are also planning to release their latest flagship, the Butterfly (it's currently available as a Verizon only contract phone).
3) The Nexus 4 is either sold out everywhere, or is sold at prices $200 higher than its original price.

So yeah, I'd suggest you wait it out. Also, rooting an Android phone is a breeze. If you're not familiar with ADB (Android Debug Bridge) or are uncomfortable with command lines, you could very easily find a 'toolkit' or the likes of it on XDA. You need to unlock the bootloader (which removes all your data) on most devices before rooting, so make sure you do that out of the box. Oh, and about Samsung's retarded binary counter, I'm pretty sure you could just use 'Triangle Away' by XDA dev Chainfire to reset it.

 

[IBNobody]

Samsung is about to announce the S4, but it won't make it to North American carriers until May, June, or July. Can the OP wait that long?

Oh, and about Samsung's retarded binary counter, I'm pretty sure you could just use 'Triangle Away' by XDA dev Chainfire to reset it.

What you say is true, but Triangle-Away costs $2.49. There are some rooting methods out there that do not trip the counter and are very easy. In my case, it was just flashing down an image with Odin. The image I used didn't trip the counter.

 

[Zorua]

Samsung is about to announce the S4, but it won't make it to North American carriers until May, June, or July. Can the OP wait that long?



What you say is true, but Triangle-Away costs $2.49. There are some rooting methods out there that do not trip the counter and are very easy. In my case, it was just flashing down an image with Odin. The image I used didn't trip the counter.

I don't own a Samsung phone currently, but doesn't the binary counter increase even by flashing roms? Anyway, $2.49 is almost nothing. Would you rather get a chips packet than have a valid warranty and ROMs of your choice? Also, it doesn't go without saying that you can get it free elsewhere. Anyway, triangle away is pretty nifty because you can set it to reset the counter on boot when you flash new roms, so very little effort is required.

 

[kirbymaster101]

So I can wait that long but is there an easy method to unlock when I get it?

 

[Zorua]

So I can wait that long but is there an easy method to unlock when I get it?

Did you read my previous posts? Also, a device gets rooted even before it's released sometimes. I'm pretty sure there will be a root method by the time you get it, if even on day 1.

 

[kirbymaster101]

Wait a minute is unlocking and rooting the same thing cause I'm sure they are different?

 

[Gnargle]

NEXUS 4
Buy it from google for cheap and it's already unlocked
Rooting is as easy as plugging it into a computer, downloading an app and clicking a button
Go learn from XDA-developers

 

[Magsor]

Nexus 4 is hard to find in canada google does not sell it.
Android users (including me) tend to change phones regularly so look on kijiji and you will find pretty good deals.
First you have to choose a carrier and a plan for your use these are more expensive than phones.
Also your phone does not need to be unlocked nor rooted android is already "jailbreaked".

 

[kirbymaster101]

Nexus 4 is hard to find in canada google does not sell it.
Android users (including me) tend to change phones regularly so look on kijiji and you will find pretty good deals.
First you have to choose a carrier and a plan for your use these are more expensive than phones.
Also your phone does not need to be unlocked nor rooted android is already "jailbreaked".

what about if I want to use my existing plan(fido) on the android?

 

[Jamstruth]

Right. You want your phone to be Unlocked so you can use it on all carriers? Buy the phone off Amazon or similar. They will always sell the "SIM Free" versions which have no carrier locks. Just stick your current SIM card in and you're away. Do not buy it from any carrier shop. Unless you can get a good deal off Fido's website.
You want it to be rooted? Go to XDA-Forums and look up the rooting guides. Rooting doesn't actually do a lot to your phone though and it invalidates the warranty (as in most cases you also have to unlock the bootloader). It lets you do a few extra things like delete crap system apps and backup your phone more thoroughly.

 

[Zorua]

You want it to be rooted? Go to XDA-Forums and look up the rooting guides. Rooting doesn't actually do a lot to your phone though and it invalidates the warranty (as in most cases you also have to unlock the bootloader). It lets you do a few extra things like delete crap system apps and backup your phone more thoroughly.

Not really? Unrooting a phone and locking the bootloader is as easy as doing the opposite. People root devices to also play with their CPU frequencies, install custom kernels, tweak governors, etc. AND, to flash custom roms. Although I'll give you that rooting isn't necessarily a prerequisite to that.

 

[kirbymaster101]

I heard you can buy like unlocking codes, what's that all about?

 

[Jamstruth]

If you buy a phone from a carrier it will be locked to that network. To remove that lock you need an unlock code from the carrier. Enter it into the right place on the phone and your phone will accept SIM cards for other networks.

 

[Zorua]

Yeah and...certain Chinese sites offer to give you an unlock code for cheap if you send them your IMEI number. I haven't tried them though, because I've never had a locked phone.

 

[Magsor]

what about if I want to use my existing plan(fido) on the android?

You can... if you are happy with them you can buy second hand locked to rogers or fido they are the same. I really recommend buying your device used. It really depends what you are looking for but google <phone> specs and you got them.

minimum specs to have a enjoyable android experience:

Known brand(Sony, LG, Samsung, HTC)
Android 2.2 (to have tethering)
800mhz processor
4GB base memory(some will be used by android based rom)
1gb ram
5 megapixel camera with a flash

Specs that are a plus for me:
Physical keyboard
Front facing camera
FM radio
LTE support
OTG support
MicroSD slot
Long battery life (can't really know this one appart from reviews)
Android 4.1 (not really needed but nice)