Android and Me » android polls

T-Mobile customers unwilling to pay for faster 3G data speeds

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:36:53 +0000

T-Mobile is expected to upgrade their 3G network to HSPA 7.2 later this year. This means Android phones will have access to a faster data network that supports download speeds of 7.2 Mbps instead of the current cap which is around 1.8 Mbps. We asked T-Mobile if there would be any additional charge for the upcoming speed boost, but they do not comment on future business strategies.

Since the exact pricing strategy has not been announced, we asked our readers “How much extra would you pay for the boosted speeds of T-Mobile’s upcoming 3G network?”

Faster 3G is coming in 2009.

An overwhelming 84 percent of our readers think the 3G upgrade should be offered for free. Around 15 percent said they would pay $5-10 extra per month and only 2 percent said they would pay any price.

T-Mobile currently offers some of the most expensive data plans for Android phones. They charge $24.99 for an unlimited data plan or $34.99 for unlimited data and text. Customers are still required to purchase a separate calling plan.

Sprint has a bundled smartphone plan with 450 minutes and unlimited data for $69 and Cellular South is offering a plan with 500 minutes and unlimited data for $49.

T-Mobile is already testing the even faster HSPA+ in Philadelphia and we are still waiting for them to announce a rollout schedule for the HSPA 7.2 speed boost.

New poll: Will Verizon cripple Android?

Taylor Wimberly — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:34:48 +0000

I have never been a Verizon customer, but I have considered switching so I could get the new Motorola Sholes. In every article I have posted about Verizon, someone leaves a comment saying that Verizon is going to screw up Android. I don’t want to believe that Verizon will place limits on the Android platform, but they have a long history of crippling other devices.

We have been reporting for several months that Google is working with Motorola and Verizon to launch the first Android 2.0 phone. I’ve also been told that the Sholes device will be a full Google experience phone and feature all the Google Android apps. Given the importance of this major launch, I seriously have a hard time seeing Verizon cripple Android, but I guess anything is possible.

If you have ever been a Verizon customer and would like to weigh in on the issue, we welcome your feedback. Please leave a comment and we will highlight the best responses when poll closes and we post the detailed results.

Take Our Poll

Motorola Sholes the most desired Android phone

Taylor Wimberly — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:09:35 +0000

Last week we introduced our first weekly Android poll and asked you, “Which upcoming Android phone are you looking forward to the most?” There were many phones we could have listed, but I chose the three that we know are launching in the United States by the end of this year.

Verizon should launch the Sholes in December.

To no surprise, the Verizon Motorola Sholes came in first place capturing 43 percent of the vote. The Hero and Cliq were tied with 22 percent each and “Other” finished with 12 percent.

Both the Hero and Cliq are essentially first generation devices since they feature the same Qualcomm chipset as the T-Mobile G1. On the other hand, the Motorola Sholes is expected to be a second generation phone and the first to ship with Android 2.0. The Sholes is rumored to feature a Texas Instruments OMAP3430 chipset and offer twice the performance of any competing Android phone.

The top response for “Other” was the Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 which is rumored to feature a 1 GHz Snapdragon chipset. The Xperia X3 is said to be coming in 2010, but it remains unknown if any United States carrier will pick it up.

Some other random responses to “Other”:

Anything w/o an old Qualcomm in it.
T-Mobile UK Pulse
HTC Tattoo
Cellular South Hero
Samsung Instinct Q
HTC HD2 Running Android
Anything with Nvidia Tegra
SciPhone N12
I’d rather hear that Donut is compatible with G1
ANY Android phone that even thinks about coming to ATT
Your Mom

Check back tomorrow for our next weekly poll. Enough people complained about the hidden results that we decided to display the voting percentages while the poll is live.

T-Mobile, JesusFreke, Haykuro, or TheDudes? Android Build Information Chart and Poll

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:47:49 +0000

Every time we get a new official Android release, the number of custom builds grows. With all the different builds out there, it can be hard to keep up with the changes in each one. Many people have been asking me which is the best release. Normally I tell them to try out several builds and see which they like. I still believe that is the best method to finding a build you are happy with.

If only we had a cheat sheet to show us all the differences…

Thankfully, user SimonNWalker from XDA has posted an extensive list that includes all the current builds available for flashing. Remember when changing builds, you need to perform a wipe is most cases. Read the instructions for each individual build. Backup your data and always have access to a card reader. Browse it over to get a good idea of what build you might like to try next.

Update: Site has moved to http://www.simonwalkerphotos.com/android/android_build_information.asp

While we are on the subject of Android builds, several readers requested this poll and I thought it was a good time with the recent updates. Tell us which build you are running and why. Do you like the extra features included in Haykuros releases or do you prefer a plain vanilla ADP build?

Take Our Poll

Poll link for RSS readers.

What are the differences in each build of Android?