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New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

arstechnica.com

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Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#41

Post by billfruit »

StudentStuff wrote: post #30
Grazester wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go apps are stripped down version of their normal counterpart. These stripped down versions are smaller in size and maybe be optimized for slower internet services. Android Ones is still going well in places like India but Google usually has a say in what hardware is used on Android One phones as they push the updates for these devices. With Android Go any hardware can be used.

> Go apps are stripped down version of their normal counterpart. They're slightly smaller, but the update model is still a total mess. You can never uninstall the baked in Google Apps, and updates are extremely bulky (basically storing a 2nd copy of each Google app). > Android Ones is still going well in places like India The #1 & #2 non-Apple phone manufacturers are totally uninterested, and Xiaomi (the current Andr…

I don't think Xiomi is banned in India, they are still available.

Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#43

Post by radix07 »

rb808 wrote: post #22

I wonder if these are a good solution to phone addiction, ie can still let you use maps, uber and check email without being good for FB & games. If only they had a good camera...

Yes of course any modern smart phone can do this by just not installing apps. But there is absolutely a need for a minimal or 'dumb' smart phone. Just having Google Play with everything available is enough to get you distracted enough to go into a never ending pool of distractions and wasted time. Yes, I should certainly have the control to stop myself and I even do an application detox occasionally when I get the will power. But if I couldn't get into that useless stuff in the first place, I wouldn't need to worry about it.

I have seriously considered going straight to a dumb phone and had one much longer than most of my friends, but then I need to carry a GPS, MP3 player, and a not shitty camera. I just want a phone that actually fits in my hand with email, a light weight web browser, Spotify/Pandora, Maps, maybe some health/fitness trackers, and a half decent camera. And of course the actual phone functions to text and call when needed.

Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#44

Post by diggan »

timlod wrote: post #34

> This also means the battery is—get this—replaceable! When you take off the back you can actually pull the battery out and—if you have an extra on hand—replace it with a fully charged battery. Amazing. Not sure if this is meant to be a joke... My understanding that most lower-tier phones have replacable batteries, at least my last phones (from the Moto G series) had.

I've been a Moto G fan since the first one, but the current one I have (3rd Generation, falcon) does not have replacable batteries. But instead it has space for a sd-card. I was not sure which one was best to have, but after having the phone for a while and the battery loosing it's juice, I would definitely be happier with a replaceable battery compared to upgradable storage.

Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#46

Post by ac29 »

tudelo wrote: post #11
jdietrich wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You won't get a 4x for that price, but you can get a 5A for under $100. For that price you'll get a Snapdragon 425, 2GB of RAM, a surprisingly bright 720p display and a non-awful camera. I can only assume that these devices will sell for vastly below the listed price in their target markets, otherwise they're going to flop miserably. https://www.banggood.com/Xiaomi-Redmi-5A-Global-Edition-5_0-...

These phones seem like really good deals... too good to be true? I'm in the market for a cheap phone coming from a moto E 1st gen and these seem like promising options.

LTE band support isnt great for the US market. Its supports exactly zero of Tmobile's 5 LTE bands, for example. 3G should work fine just about anywhere though.

Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#47

Post by criddell »

amiga-workbench wrote: post #21
bruceb wrote: post #19

Not sure what the point of this article is. There are plenty of Quad core, 2gb ram, 16gb phones for under $100 already available in the US. Of course some are initially locked but they are locked to MVNO that have relatively cheap plans $20-$40 a month. This configuration (Quad,2gb,16gb) seems like a good minimum that you can use most apps without major problems and have enough space to not uninstall stuff all the ti…

I'm pretty much through buying "flagship" devices due to the pathetically short software support lifetime they have, I bought a second hand Xperia Z5 Compact for £150 about 6 months ago and loaded Lineage OS onto it. Even my old Xperia Z3 has a port of Oreo available, and its perfectly functional.

I'm not buying any phones anymore unless they come from Google or Apple. Even manufacturers that do update their phones can be very slow getting security fixes out.

Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#48

Post by eof »

having used androids and always getting frustrated at them getting super laggy, i finally took my friends advice and bought a used 5s for $80. runs like butter for the last year.

unbelievable to me we still can't keep garbage processes and excessive ui down enough to have a budget phone run like crap

Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#49

Post by BoorishBears »

amiga-workbench wrote: post #21
bruceb wrote: post #19

Not sure what the point of this article is. There are plenty of Quad core, 2gb ram, 16gb phones for under $100 already available in the US. Of course some are initially locked but they are locked to MVNO that have relatively cheap plans $20-$40 a month. This configuration (Quad,2gb,16gb) seems like a good minimum that you can use most apps without major problems and have enough space to not uninstall stuff all the ti…

I'm pretty much through buying "flagship" devices due to the pathetically short software support lifetime they have, I bought a second hand Xperia Z5 Compact for £150 about 6 months ago and loaded Lineage OS onto it. Even my old Xperia Z3 has a port of Oreo available, and its perfectly functional.

The iPhone is a flagship with excellent software support, it just so happens it’s also Apple's only phone line

Re: New “Android Go” phones show how much you can get for $100

#50

Post by MarcScott »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #38
MarcScott wrote: post #37

I'm now on my third "budget" phone, my last previous premium phone being a Nexus 4. I used a Moto G4 until I broke it, a Moto G5 until I broke it, and now have a new G5, which given my history will last me about 6 months. I break phones too often to fork out anything over about £150. If I can get a sub £100 phone, that will run Google maps, an email client, a web browser and give me the ability to tether then sign me…

> I break phones too often Could you stop doing that? Or get insurance that covers accidental damage. The premium will cost less than £150 every 6 months.

> Could you stop doing that?

No, I'm fairly clumsy and get through phones, laptops, e-cigs etc at an alarming rate.

My phone costs me the equivalent of £25 a month plus an additional £10 for 4G from my provider. After 6 months, it's just the £10. This is far cheaper than the £50/month 2 year contracts on most premium phones.

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