[Mr. Marco]

I'm interested in possibly owning an Android OS device before year end and am interested to know who's hitting homeruns with hardware (processing power, quality, running of OS smoothly, etc.) and who's not. I don't care about rooting so please exclude that from the discussion. Simply the goods that come out of the box is what I'm interested in.

So the three main players seem to be HTC, Motorola, and Samsung. Samsung is what made me start this thread because the Fascinate (Galaxy S variant on Verizon) has impressed me with what I have heard about it's processing and graphics power. I read on some tech site about some benchmarking tests and the Samsung Hummingbird processor and graphics muscle is out performing those of the Motorola and HTC's. But I don't want to buy a Samsung if they aren't fully committed to Android. I know Motorola and HTC are fully committed and will back their devices with support and updates for a good while. I'm afraid Samsung might be alittle sketchy at this time since they are really new players in the Android market.

Anyways you guys get the jist of where I'm going with this discussion so who HAS the best hardware out there and who do you think WILL be putting out the best hardware? And please do compare/discuss what's out there now, Droid X, Droid 2 (coming August), HTC Incredible, etc.

[Retrokid223]

Droid xxxxx

[xliderider]

Moto, Samsung, HTC. In that order...

[corbintechboy]

Moto, Samsung, HTC. In that order...

Really how you figure?

Samsung makes great phones and the Hummingbird CPU in the Galaxy S series of devices just puts a good whooping on the Motorola devices.

Not to mention the screen on the Sammy. WOW! Look at the videos.... Simply stunning!

I will be getting the Fascinate, no question on that one!

[xliderider]

Oh, I agree. I held the Samsung Captivate the other day and i like the form factor a lot. It is a gorgeous device. But the x is already out and the hardware build quality and materials are quite nice as well.

[corbintechboy]

Oh, I agree. I held the Samsung Captivate the other day and i like the form factor a lot. It is a gorgeous device. But the x is already out and the hardware build quality and materials are quite nice as well.

You would be correct.

If someone needs a phone right this second the X is a decent choice (not the Dinc IMHO). But if one could wait a little bit I do believe they would get the better device .

[shacknews]

Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant.






Check out and compare here. Galaxy S blows everything out of the water. Captivate, Fascinate is the same, just different name.

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...6/original.jpg


Did I mention it also does TV out?
Cables are about $3 to $10 on ebay.



Samsung has about 5-6 other phones on the market not just Galaxy. They are coming out with tons of new Android based phones aswell.

Even a phone which does projection up to 50" in size.


Galaxy Beam - Overview - Samsung Mobile Singapore

[Mr. Marco]

Yeah, I been hearing that Samsung is pulling out all the stops in it's Galaxy S lineup. Supposedly their Hummingbird processor and GPU setup are outperforming the Droid X/Droid 2 and delivering a real knockout to Snapdragon processor.

To add to this I hear that whatever Motorola is cooking up next (after Droid 2 release, possibly holiday release?) is getting a more powerful GPU. So for what's out there now it seems Samsung has the most muscle.

Also for those of you that care, as far as I read and know the Droid X (but since the Droid was able to be rooted I wonder if the Droid 2 can be?) can't be rooted but the Galaxy S can be.

All I know is that things are really heating up in the Android universe. Maybe heating up enough to make the iPhone irrelevant as far as a powerful and cool device. Unless Apple does something really spectacular the iPhone might one day just become "another smartphone". Which personally I don't see not happening since Apple is so h*ll bent on really locking down their devices and having full control over them whereas Google Android is really an open source system.

[syb0rg]

IF you are TECHNOG33K you need to kick the Droid X to the side, they have a locked bootloader, which means NO ROOTING.

Samsung is pretty committed to android, they had the Behold 2, on T-Mobile which was a test run for them.

The good thing about rooting phones is you can add updated ROMS to the phone once the current provider/carrier/maker stops caring about the phone.

for example i have 2.1 on my HTC Magic. And a friend of mine has 2.1 on a HTC Dream. Which according to T-Mo the Dream wouldn't support anything over 1.5.

The moto DX might be the big fling right now, but with a locked bootloader... i'd stay away if you are a technog33k.

if you want to keep it stock the HummingBird processor is a better graphics chip than the Droid's chips.

better gaming better video....

[avt123]

A bit off topic, but for those with the Galaxy S, can you please download "Quadrant Standard" from the market, run the test and tell me your score? I have the X and am currently getting in the 1290's almost up to 1300. I'm interested in what the Galaxy S would score. I'm sure I can look it up, but I would like to see what some other users are getting.

[dragozoid]

IF you are TECHNOG33K you need to kick the Droid X to the side, they have a locked bootloader, which means NO ROOTING.

Samsung is pretty committed to android, they had the Behold 2, on T-Mobile which was a test run for them.

The good thing about rooting phones is you can add updated ROMS to the phone once the current provider/carrier/maker stops caring about the phone.

for example i have 2.1 on my HTC Magic. And a friend of mine has 2.1 on a HTC Dream. Which according to T-Mo the Dream wouldn't support anything over 1.5.

The moto DX might be the big fling right now, but with a locked bootloader... i'd stay away if you are a technog33k.

if you want to keep it stock the HummingBird processor is a better graphics chip than the Droid's chips.

better gaming better video....

Yeah but what happens when the developers stop caring about the phone and move onto newer phones? Same thing.

And FYI, a locked bootloader only means it's gonna be difficult to get custom ROMs. We can still get root access. But I'm sure the majority of us DX owners don't really care about it because our phones work so much better out of the box than a hacked Droid or N1 ever could (still have my Droid running a stock 2.2 ROM overclocked that's about to be sold).

[TrendyProfessional1]

If you want better gaming performance get the Fascinate, only downside to that with VZ it may not be out til the end of the year.
If loading your apps faster and overall speed is your desire, then go with the X.
Screen that will be to your taste as well. If you like the higher color saturation.
Then go with the Fascinate. The Fascinate will whup the X in 3D graphics rendering, no contest. I have the X by the way....

[syb0rg]

Yeah but what happens when the developers stop caring about the phone and move onto newer phones? Same thing.

And FYI, a locked bootloader only means it's gonna be difficult to get custom ROMs. We can still get root access. But I'm sure the majority of us DX owners don't really care about it because our phones work so much better out of the box than a hacked Droid or N1 ever could (still have my Droid running a stock 2.2 ROM overclocked that's about to be sold).

The verzion version (say that 10 times fast) of the Dx has a E-Fuse on it, which checks the ROM you are putting on the phone v. what is available from VZW, and if the two don't match the phone will lock onto the bootload screen and not go past it....

I don't see anyone getting past it...

and the CM group said they won't touch the phone.

the guys @ XDA might be up for it... but i don't personally see it.

[Mr. Marco]

If you want better gaming performance get the Fascinate, only downside to that with VZ it may not be out til the end of the year.
If loading your apps faster and overall speed is your desire, then go with the X.
Screen that will be to your taste as well. If you like the higher color saturation.
Then go with the Fascinate. The Fascinate will whup the X in 3D graphics rendering, no contest. I have the X by the way....

If the Fascinate can handle something as taxing as playing 3D games better than the Droids and HTC's of the world, then I'm confused as to why overall speed and loading app performance would go to the Droid X and not the Fascinate?

[dragozoid]

If the Fascinate can handle something as taxing as playing 3D games better than the Droids and HTC's of the world, then I'm confused as to why overall speed and loading app performance would go to the Droid X and not the Fascinate?

He's actually right. I just watched a video comparison and the DX was a little faster at overall speed but the Galaxy S's graphics performance was a little better than the DX's. The screen on the GS also looked a little more vibrant indoors.
(Part 1 is just spec reviews)

Both phones are neck and neck either way and will get Froyo as well as Gingerbread. Both will also be able to be rooted but it doesn't look like the DX will get custom ROMs which could be a drawback for some of the geeks on here who like to beta test different builds.

[Mr. Marco]

He's actually right. I just watched a video comparison and the DX was a little faster at overall speed but the Galaxy S's graphics performance was a little better than the DX's. The screen on the GS also looked a little more vibrant indoors.
(Part 1 is just spec reviews)

Both phones are neck and neck either way and will get Froyo as well as Gingerbread. Both will also be able to be rooted but it doesn't look like the DX will get custom ROMs which could be a drawback for some of the geeks on here who like to beta test different builds.

Maybe thats due to Samsung Touchwiz being less efficient at the time of the video. Either way you slice it if the Fascinate's guts are more powerful then they are more powerful.

[anon(1491185)]

I really like the form factor on the Fascinate but am worried about updates (not quite convinced on rooting myself, would like it to be nice and smooth out of the box). Last I heard it would be released with 2.1.

Has anybody heard if Samsung/Verizon will be supporting future OS updates? 2.2 is just around the corner....

[DarkSource]

I really like the form factor on the Fascinate but am worried about updates (not quite convinced on rooting myself, would like it to be nice and smooth out of the box). Last I heard it would be released with 2.1.

Has anybody heard if Samsung/Verizon will be supporting future OS updates? 2.2 is just around the corner....

You should know from experience with the Storm, even if the carrier and manufacturer don't have their act together about updates, there will always be a new leak to keep your mouth salivating for more!

[anon(1491185)]

I love to getting custom themes on my BB but never did an unofficial OS update. One of the reasons I'm uneasy about rooting is I'm a Mac user and from the (admittedly scant) amount of research I've done, all the rooting instructions are for PC. Unless it can be done right on the handheld. Sorry if this just reeks of noobishness....

[DarkSource]

I love to getting custom themes on my BB but never did an unofficial OS update. One of the reasons I'm uneasy about rooting is I'm a Mac user and from the (admittedly scant) amount of research I've done, all the rooting instructions are for PC. Unless it can be done right on the handheld. Sorry if this just reeks of noobishness....

That's what made the Storm fun; all the people frantically waiting for the new OS leak! I can see your worry, but it is all done in CMD, Terminal or a Linux Terminal. The first few steps are mainly to "push" the files to your phones SD card. You can easily replace those steps by drag and dropping the files there yourself. The next half of rooting is just changing read/write access to some files and running a script or two. This part is all done in an ADB Shell on your phone, so the commands are universal. You could always run Windows in a VM if you can't root your phone on your Mac. Don't be afraid to root.

[anon(1491185)]

That's what made the Storm fun; all the people frantically waiting for the new OS leak! I can see your worry, but it is all done in CMD, Terminal or a Linux Terminal. The first few steps are mainly to "push" the files to your phones SD card. You can easily replace those steps by drag and dropping the files there yourself. The next half of rooting is just changing read/write access to some files and running a script or two. This part is all done in an ADB Shell on your phone, so the commands are universal. You could always run Windows in a VM if you can't root your phone on your Mac. Don't be afraid to root.

You're going a little over my head here! I've read the article on rooting over at androidpolice.com and did a little lurking on the droidforums. Any place you would recommend on the internet that takes you through the process step-by-step that is appropriate for first-timers like me?

Thanks for your thoughtful input.

[syb0rg]

You're going a little over my head here! I've read the article on rooting over at androidpolice.com and did a little lurking on the droidforums. Any place you would recommend on the internet that takes you through the process step-by-step that is appropriate for first-timers like me?

Thanks for your thoughtful input.

Depends on the device.

cyanogen(mod) is a GREAT place for
-Dream/Magic
-Nexus one
-Desire
-Evo
-Hero CDMA
-Hero GSM
-Droid
-slide

CyanogenMod Forum
CyanogenMod Wiki

The Unlockr has a ton of information is simple to understand and the cover a ton of phones.
TheUnlockr.com - Cell Phone How To's, Phone Reviews, and Wireless News!

[anon(1491185)]

Thanks for the help!