Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone • Hacker News Board

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#311

Post by logifail » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:27 PM UTC

mlinksva wrote: post #267

logifail wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The positive (and there's plenty of criticism; search and read) point being made about iphone is that it has a longer support duration Yup, and the OTA updates with Tesla are also better than you'd get on a car that's 1/10th of the price. Isn't it just a little bit over-entitled to bring up any iPhone in a discussion about budget phones ? Newsflash: the vast majority of the planet can't afford to drop $1000+ on a m…

Newsflash (just looked it up), an iphone se is $429, a used one is cheaper, and factoring in support duration, may be cheaper yet. A friend who would've been among the last people I'd expect to use an iphone blogged this https://announce.asheesh.org/2022/09/i-switched-to-iphone-fo... I'm really embarrased by this (I've been a borderline Apple hater basically my whole life) but also acknowledge reality.

> a used one is cheaper, and factoring in support duration, may be cheaper yet

Q: For all those hundreds of millions of people who have paid less than $150 for their phone, how many of them even gave a second thought to the support duration when they decided what to purchase?

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#312

Post by idonotknowwhy » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:27 PM UTC

dmix wrote: post #225

wardedVibe wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do none of the good phone options get sold in the US??!? E.g. Sony has one of the few modern smartphones in a reasonable size (xperia 10II (might be the dumbest name though)), and way too few of the bands work in the American market.

You can't complain about availability of phones (or any electronics) while being in the US. Try living anywhere else like Canada.

Or Australia. I end up importing phones here and missing out on some features our shitty telcos don't provide unless you have a white listed phone

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#313

Post by aspyct » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:28 PM UTC

twobitshifter wrote: post #182

poisonborz wrote: post #50

Why is it so hard to add a removeable back cover to have swappable battery? Seemingly battery replacement can still be done "in 5 minutes" but this still makes pop-out/on the road battery swapping unpractical. https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/nokia-g22

With the Samsung S5, I’d take a couple extra batteries with me when traveling. Never had to worry about a dead battery or bother with a power bank. That phone was waterproof but had a special ridge around the back panel.

I actually prefer power bank to spare batteries.

Spare batteries can only be used with the phone, whereas power banks are standard and usable with many other devices if needed.

Also, small phone batteries usually don't come with a carrying case. They're fragile and you could accidentally short them.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#314

Post by dzhiurgis » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #21

tuetuopay wrote: post #15

> It runs Android 12 and will be supported for three years of monthly security updates and two major Android version upgrades. And that's why I stick to iPhones for long-lasting devices, those two major versions are a joke. Apple has the crown with seven on the iPhone 6S. When will someone make Android phones other than Pixels with non-abysmal software support? Yes, I know you can install alternate ROMs on your phone…

Yes, I had to throw away my perfectly capable phone because my banking app refused to work at some point because the version of Android was too old and the phone stopped supporting newer versions of Android. Edit: not sarcastic, 100% serious.

Can’t you use web app tho? I only seen one bank that would limit features on a web app (I don’t understand why), but there are tons of banks out there nowadays, many digital ones with features where no traditional bank will ever even dream to implement.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#315

Post by aspyct » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

a1371 wrote: post #104

This seems like a Savvy move from Nokia. At least in my country, Nokia phones are remembered for the following: - nearly indestructible - well priced - back pops out Nokia is doing the most sensible thing to reuse these as its differentiator. I understand people taking about the OS. But Nokia has little control over the software and it has also never been its selling point for me with Symbian, and later Windows Phone…

I applaud this initiative by Nokia, and can't wait to lay my hands on one of those phones when mine dies, but let's be real: it won't be as tough as the 3310.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#316

Post by geraldwhen » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:31 PM UTC

dmix wrote: post #221

1986 wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do, with uBreakIFix providing fulfillment: https://store.google.com/us/magazine/preferred_care?hl=en-US

Nice looks like it's the exact same service fees for broken sceens and accidental damage. They copied it wholesale to be competitive. Which is a good idea.

AppleCare will hand you a new phone if you break a new, flagship model before they have spare parts. I suspect “UbreakIfix” will not do this.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#317

Post by jimnotgym » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:32 PM UTC

moremetadata wrote: post #291

mlinksva wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's defnitely a big benefit. I used LineageOS (whatever it was called then) to extend the life of my Galaxy S, but at that time not having a working phone for awhile was a lot less disruptive to life and work, so I didn't attempt this time. But once I'm 100% migrated to my new Pixel 7, I'll certainly put an alternative ROM on the Pixel 2 to extend its non-phone life!

>I used LineageOS (whatever it was called then) It used to be called CyanogenMod and it was easily hacked by the UK authority's.

Whereas the big vendors don't need hacking, the UK authorities just have to ask

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#318

Post by nevi-me » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:35 PM UTC

riku_iki wrote: post #295

solarkraft wrote: post #35

I'm happy about this! But, while repairability is always great, a major (maybe the biggest) part of phone obsolescence is due to software. 2 or 3 years of updates are a joke, Apple does up to 8. The best hope here is that this phone's repairability will attract a software hacking community to provide inofficial updates, but what a terrible thing to have to rely on. Besides: Phones by other brands like Pocophone are p…

> The real next innovation for an Android device maker will be providing at least 5 years of updates pixels starting with pixel 6 have 5 years of updates.

It's unavailable in many markets. Even if one imports it, there's a risk that it becomes unrepairable (or costly to repair) if it breaks.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#319

Post by lallysingh » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:38 PM UTC

nhchris wrote: post #263

lallysingh wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Support costs money, and it's part of the price. This moralizing is ridiculous.

That's my point - it doesn't cost money on PC. I don't need "support" from my motherboard vendor to install the latest linux.

Yeah. Part of that is radio support (open source phone projects have had this problem) and packaging - you still need a separate packaged image per phone model. Openmoko had the support problem (iirc) pretty early on.

Until those ecosystem issues are fixed, dumping on a $150 phone for concessions that a $800-1000 phone doesn't have to make us pretty ridiculous.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#320

Post by crabbone » Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 9:38 PM UTC

leoedin wrote: post #210

mlinksva wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The positive (and there's plenty of criticism; search and read) point being made about iphone is that it has a longer support duration. This seems highly complementary to repairability -- both seem important to maximize useful life -- and thus an entirely fair point, no? I'm recently on my 4th Android smartphone in 12 years (Galaxy S, Moto G, Pixel 2, Pixel 7) and would be still on the Pixel 2 if not for lack of upda…

I think I've had 3 phones in the time my wife has had 1 iPhone 7. Every time I buy a new phone I'm like "but Android is cheaper", but I'm fairly sure the lifetime cost of "phone" is in her favour at this point. I think my next phone will be an iPhone.

I only ever had one smartphone, and that's Samsung Galaxy S7 (bought in the year it hit the market: 2016). I will have to replace it very soon though because my banking app is going to stop supporting the Android version it has, and Samsung doesn't provide upgrades.

But... it's not really Android's fault anymore than this is Samsung's fault. The phone itself is in a good condition. The battery holds the charge for almost as long as it used to when bought. Maybe I'm not a typical user, or have very modest use patterns that allowed this phone to survive this long. Whichever this is, it shows that it's not really a problem of Android (I don't like the system for other reasons).

Before replacing, I'm going to try to install LineageOS on it, and, we'll see, maybe I'll get another couple years out of it.

At the same time span, my wife burned through 4 smartphones. All of them died for reasons unrelated to the operating system they have (i.e. were dropped, stolen etc.) It's possible that being, in general, cheaper and more disposable, Android phones don't live as long as iPhones, but this doesn't mean they shouldn't or cannot live just as long.