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Essential Phone, available now

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Re: Essential Phone, available now

#381

Post by jshevek »

skykooler wrote: post #121
git-pull wrote: post #85

I admire the gumption of making a new phone. But controlled obsolescence kills me. The real feature that improves in phones the past few years for me is the software and apps, not the hardware . My wishlist: - Give me a lighter, snappier OS. Not something clunkier and slower and uses more ram, gpu/cpu (aka battery life). - Actually support updates to the things for longer than 2-3 years. - (Not related to this phone)…

Related to the last one: there's a keyboard mod for the Moto Z Play, which Motorola has officially approved, which is coming out next month.

Very cool! I wasn't aware it was Moto approved. I look forward to 3rd party reviews:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keyboard-mod-a-physical-k...

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#382

Post by werber »

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…

I've had my current iPhone for three years and think it'll go for at least one or two more

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#383

Post by jhasse »

_jal wrote: post #109
feocco wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair. But, it seems to me that having to choose between Android, iOS, or any other OS is an expression of who you are. For others, there are more properties that express them. /shrug

So, do tell. What does my choice of an iPhone express about who I am? People seem to believe they can infer a very weird amount from a smidgen more than 1 bit of information.

You don't care about free software.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#384

Post by jensv »

busterarm wrote: post #346
vturner wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but that box is oh so hard to check. ;)

Is it? I need my phone to do three things: 1) Make and receive calls & texts. 2) Run a small number of ubiquitous apps (maps, ride hailing) 3) Not get hacked at DEFCON. Phones with the Apple logo on the back do this job best. Their security posture is just so much better and you don't have carrier-enforced forced obsolescence from the software side. You literally can always run the latest iOS until the hardware _just…

Don't forget about Blackberry! :P

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#385

Post by kevinSuttle »

radiorental wrote: post #252
kevinSuttle wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live nowhere near SF.

Again, it's a referential catch-all for people inside tech echo chambers. The vast vast majority of people with access to mobile phones do not have the way or means to replace them at the rate you suggest.

The vast majority of people aren't going to be dropping $700+ on an iPhone alternative either.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#386

Post by veeti »

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?

Just go through the monthly Android security bulletins [1]. Without fail there are a bunch of critical RCE issues every single month.

[1] https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-08-01

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#387

Post by freehunter »

Hasz wrote: post #338

You want fixable and well designed, long software updates, and a good price? Buy an (old) iPhone. I've got a 5S -- still perfectly fast for what I use it for (email, youtube, brokerage account, general internet, some small games), and is getting OS updates and security patches until IOS11. It's $120 on eBay; a new screen can be had for $13, a new battery for $11. it's solidly designed and there's a gigantic field of…

Plus you have a great piece of industrial design.

I love the look of the 5S/SE. It looks premium, it feels nice in your hand, it's solid, and those chamfered edges are so nice.

It's a shame they went from that to the iPhone 6 design and stuck with it all this time. It might make bigger phones easier to hold but man it just doesn't look as nice IMO. It looks like a generic round phone. Nothing stands out about it at all.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#388

Post by veeti »

throwaway613834 wrote: post #370
JohnZi wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apps do get updates, but they aren't the issue. The system/kernel/system libraries don't get updates and if they are compromised all your apps are compromised too. If someone know a vulnerability only in a normal app he can't do anything but look at only this one app, with system access well he can do way more. (Also Android got some additional security/privacy features after Android 4)

But the thing is, even if 100% of your apps are vulnerable, it doesn't mean anything unless the attacker can reach your phone somehow. That can only happen in 5 different ways: (1) Low-level Wi-Fi bug exploit, (2) SMS exploit, (3) Cellular exploit (like a Stingray), (4) Cellular internet connection (open ports, etc.), (5) App-level exploits. I don't know of any critical examples of #1 that I would need to protect aga…

https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2017/04/over-air-expl...

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#389

Post by movedx »

Hasz wrote: post #338

You want fixable and well designed, long software updates, and a good price? Buy an (old) iPhone. I've got a 5S -- still perfectly fast for what I use it for (email, youtube, brokerage account, general internet, some small games), and is getting OS updates and security patches until IOS11. It's $120 on eBay; a new screen can be had for $13, a new battery for $11. it's solidly designed and there's a gigantic field of…

This is a great view to take. I might consider this for my wife who refuses to use an iPhone (that old chestnut, "Apple suck!") yet sees the missed opportunities almost daily when we want to share stuff between each other.

Re: Essential Phone, available now

#390

Post by ekingr »

Tharkun wrote: post #104

Pardon the tangent, but here's a quote from their website: > There’s a reason titanium is used to build rockets and replace bones. Unlike aluminum, which is what most phones are made of, titanium doesn’t scratch, dent, or bend. The reason why titanium is used to replace bones is not its strength (though it certainly doesn't hurt). It's because titanium is the most biocompatible metal and has a capacity for osseointeg…

And especially because of its flexibility (Young's modulus) - which is very similar to the bones' ones. That's why Ti alloys are preferred when a prosthesis needs to be anchored into a bone, like the stem part of a hip implant.
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