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Essential Phone, available now

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Re: Essential Phone, available now

#351

Post by quicklime »

throwaway613834 wrote: post #336
dmoy wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Security update for one. Idk about 1-2 years, but if it doesn't get security updates I'm not getting email/sms/etc on it

But your email app will still get updates right? (I guess I'm using Gmail and assuming you are using something like it that gets updates too, but maybe I'm wrong.) Same with SMS - lots of apps that get updates. What's the exact issue?

"Stagefright" is an Android vulnerability that allows attackers to exploit a device by sending a specially crafted MMS message. No user intervention is required, no dodgy apps need to be installed.

You're on Android 4, so your phone is vulnerable. If you use your phone for anything important, I'd suggest getting that new phone ASAP.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#352

Post by baybal2 »

Ugh

>You deserve a phone that can resist the trials of everyday use. That’s why we made Essential Phone out of titanium and ceramic. These materials are harder, stronger, and more resistant to dents and scratches than the materials that make up most smartphones. And while costs for such finely crafted materials are usually reserved for high-priced, out-of-reach goods, we've tried to make our phone as affordable as possible.

I almost feel how hard he is forcing his engineer self to sound "markety"

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#353

Post by kale »

Yetanfou wrote: post #242
filmgirlcw wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Apple moved to using aluminum from titanium in its PowerBooks (the design would later be the basis of the original MacBook Pro), in part, because the softness of of the metal, led to warps and bends in those first-gen TiBook models. I don't know how Essential is using titanium, but history certainly has examples of gadgets that suffered from using that metal over others.

...and if you believe that, I've got a bridge for sale. Titanium is many things but soft it is not. It can also be alloyed with many other metals for specific purposes. One thing it definitely is though is expensive which is most likely the reason for Apple to look for alternatives. That is actually is possible to use titanium to create form-stable notebooks can be seen by e.g. the many Thinkpads which sport titanium…

Titanium is also a relatively poor conductor of heat. Aluminum conducts heat over 10 times better than Titanium. Use of aluminium would be much better at conducting heat away from the body of the notebook.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#354

Post by thinbeige »

Android is a funny ecosystem. Every month, dozens of new Android phones hit the market bringing new exciting features like a clippable 360 camera but still after 10 years, there is no policy in place for direct updates from the OS vendor (like with iOS or Windows Phone).

Sorry, I was a huge Android fan for many years but I just can't take an OS serious where 50% of billiona of phones out there won't get any updates because manufacturers don't get this managed. This is just insane.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#355

Post by balls187 »

a1371 wrote: post #332
balls187 wrote: post #290

I found it off-putting that on the home page, the 2nd section about the phone was an interview with the founder with exposition on his intentions. Seems unnecessarily narcissistic--tell me about the phone and it's features first and sell me on your product.

Well, the guy founded Android so it would be interesting to know what he has to say.

Sure, but before you tell me anything about the phone?

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#357

Post by nradov »

as1mov wrote: post #248
feld wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - And physical keyboards. Something for SSH'ing with. There is no market for this product. Nobody wants it except a tiny fraction of the market who work in IT.

Not really. Manufacturers just stopped making phones with PKB because since Apple wasn't making them, they weren't worth it. It hard to estimate the demand for PKB phones when no one is making them. I'd buy one in heartbeat if one launched with low-mid end specs and less than $400. We've constantly chosen form over functionality. Larger sized phones, fragile build materials(glass over plastic), lesser battery just so…

Physical keyboards died because manufacturers want to save money by selling a single device worldwide. With a physical keyboard they would need a different SKU for every language region. Plus physical keyboards have terrible UX for non-alphabetic languages like Chinese (where much of the market growth is happening now). It sucks for users like us who type a lot exclusively in English because even the best on-screen keyboards are so much shower and less accurate. But we're no longer driving the market.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#358

Post by andrepd »

They talk repeatedly about how their phone is so much better while still being affordable. Well, 700$ for a phone isn't affordable, especially in an age where a solid phone, excellent for 95% of your daily tasks, sets you back no more than 150$.

I don't get it, what's the draw here? Is it the accessories? A couple other phones already did that shtick, and the result was the same: release 3 or 4 gimmicky products and forget about it. They talk about maintainability, but there is no replaceable battery, no expandable storage... I don't get it, what's the draw?

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#359

Post by teekert »

Ok, so he starts with a link to his 6 beliefs, I click it, read them then proceed to read the rest of the post, which contains the 6 beliefs again... I do like them though, except for the last one ;). Seems like a nice phone, but it doesn't seem particularly better then my OP3. They talk about freedom yet it's just Android right? Everything straight to Google right? What's so different from OP and the Nexus devices which also get updates and are minimal Android? That screen is nice, 128 GB is also nice. But other than that, I'm not really feeling it.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#360

Post by mariushn »

ariofrio wrote: post #286

Give me software updates for 7+ years, then we'll talk about buying your $700 phone. Lasting hardware means nothing without lasting software. In the meanwhile, I'll keep buying $120 phones (Moto G4 with Amazon Ads FTW) and keeping them for ~2 years until they break or software updates stop. Even though as a Catholic (Laudato Si, Rerum Novarum) it kills me to waste all those materials every couple of years and be part…

What do you think about cheap chinese phones, with good hardware specs? eg http://www.elephonestore.com/elephone-p8-mini-octa-core-mobi...
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