Android phones have finally become a staple option for a lot of consumers. There are many affordable entry-level ones up to the high-end flagship handsets available in the market — and it looks like everyone’s got an Android nowadays.
So let’s put this as a poll — which Android phone are you using right now? And how long have you been using it?
Go hit the comments for your answers. Let’s see how pervasive Android is in the Philippines.
I have a Motorola Milestone for about a year now and I’m just as happy as the first day I bought it :-)
Motorola Defy
– 512mb ram
– 3.7″ multitouch / capacitive, wvga screen
– processor is enough to play divx/xvid encoded videos (SD quality)
– can also play hd games
– can take decent pics under proper lighting conditons
Had my HTC Desire for 6 months now, and I’m still delighted with it.
As said earlier, rooting isn’t really necessary if you’re just a casual user. You can have a very satisfying experience with an unrooted phone – I only rooted my phone after a month of using Sense. I wanted to explore what my phone could do, hence I rooted and first tried out LeeDroid, then Oxygen, then Cyanogen, and finally MIUI (this is now my ROM of choice). My friends are usually daunted by the UI, but really, it’s not that hard to get into.
Im using SE Xperia X10 since last year, still waiting for a SE dual-core. i love SE designs.
SE should’ve made Xperia Arc dual core but accdg to reviews, u dont really need dual cores if ur using ur phone for basic needs like tx, call, apps. its actually pretty fast for a single core
Kaya nga sayang yung design. Pro s performance ok naman. Di ko nmn mhhalata ung difrens compared to dualcore when ur using the basic functions. Pro sa games net. Tsaka capable din ng 1080 ung mga dual. Upgrade n lng ung naging weakness ng arc. Same design with alumnum case pra premium look din. Panalo tlga.
HTC Desire HD. Lovin’ it.
Ive been using a 4 month old galaxy tab line from smart & happy w/ it.Planning to dispose it once Asus EEE Memo arrives and also get a galaxy S II to change my 4 month old samsung HD 8910i.Awaiting for next yr’s 2ghz quadcore from samsung.
Just bought my SE Xperia Arc last week, and so far im liking it. aside from the superb reality display, its actually user friendly….
archos tab running on gingerbread
I am using a sony ericsson x10 mini pro while my father and sister are using ZTE San Francisco. We bought it in switzerland with a very very cheap price of 4500 pesos each (100 swiss francs). It was locked in orange mobile. When the Filipinos in switz learned that it can be unlocked, it was sold out very quick that it was hard to find! today it is now sold at around 5000 pesos at Kiosk stand (where they sell newspaper and drinks)
I’ve been using my HTC Desire for 8 months.
htc legend android 2.2 froyo with htc sense. using it for 6 months now
just bought a samsung galaxy s last week and I’m loving it.
Anticipated the Samsung Galaxy Ace since it was announced, researched its specs if it will fit my needs and bought it a week after it was released here in the Phils. :D
Aside from the design (iphone look-alike), yung specs talaga ang nag “close” ng deal sa akin; a midrange 800mhz android smartphone that can do what the iphone can do (and more). :D
I dont need the HD vid/ vid recording because we have a player and HD tv for that at home.I don’t use my phone for movie viewing anyway. High fidelity mp4 is good enough for me :D
Samsung Galaxy Ace can do word-processing,browsing(wi-fi),gaming,downloading,picture-taking(although the less stellar zoom feature was a little frustrating),music smoothly at a price way cheaper than the iphone. (around 13500Php) :D
So far, wala pa akong naiisip na ipalit dito, but the Samsung Galaxy S II is a possibility. :D
Ayun, haba ng comment ah LOL
Nexus S since January.
Nexus One
Most people don’t need root to be honest. I don’t know much about medical apps but the desktop version of the Android market is way easier to browse than the mobile version:
https://market.android.com/apps/MEDICAL
if i’m not mistaken..some apps needs to be rooted or just the “MOD”s??..i agree that the desktop version is easier but finding/screening a USEFUL one is my problem..
and are all of them really FREE???..too good to be true??..
Some apps which require ‘root’ permission obviously requires the phone to be rooted. Root apps push Android to its limit by changing or altering several things in the Android core to suit the user’s need.
Not everyone is required to be rooted.
Most apps are free. Maybe around 70% of the time.
Btw, you will not be able to view paid apps here in the Philippines because our country is not activated by Google to make purchases.
So yeah, only free apps here. (With the exception of Amazon AppStore)
now i get it..free to INSTALL but NOT free to use..nice marketing strategy..and is there an “apptrakr” for android??
Rooting isn’t really needed since chances are, you can already do what you want or need the device to do:
http://www.androidcentral.com/sometimes-root-isn%E2%80%99t-answer
It’s not like iOS. You can even install non-market (apps not from the Android Market) without the need to root your device.
Sorry I couldn’t help you find cracked apps. I usually download my apps straight from the Android Market.
If you really want access to paid apps, an old U.S. SIM card will do the trick. I have a T-Mobile prepaid SIM handy just to download paid applications. They are cheap anyway averaging at 60 pesos or so per application and updates are free.
As for screening medical apps, Google might be your best friend. Also, reading user reviews and ratings help a lot. Or you can download and try them. They are free afterall and if you don’t like it, it doesn’t take much to uninstall it.
I hope this helps. :)
thanks..but how come i need a US sim card? i don’t get the point..
even if the US sim is not in ROAMING??
Yes. I download things via WiFi since my US SIM has no signal here.
Google hasn’t officially supported the Philippines so you cannot make purchases using SIM cards from the Philippines. See the link below for a list of supported countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Market
The Android Market reads what SIM you have on, and if your SIM is not in the list of officially supported countries, you can only access SOME free apps (you can’t get Google Buzz or the latest version of Maps for example). Even using proxies won’t work.
Yes. I download things via WiFi since my US SIM has no signal here. In fact, my SIM is already expired but I can still use it.
Google hasn’t officially supported the Philippines so you cannot make purchases using our SIM cards. See the link below for a list of supported countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Market
The Android Market reads what SIM you have on, and if your SIM is not in the list of officially supported countries, you can only access SOME free apps (you can’t get Google Buzz or the latest version of Maps for example). Even using proxies won’t work.
Just bought a htc incredible S. Still finding the android way. Anyone kind enough to recommend good apps? especially in the medical field. and i believe this phone cant be rooted yet as of now.
Most people don’t need root to be honest. I don’t know much about medical apps but the desktop version of the Android market is way easier to browse than the mobile version:
https://market.android.com/apps/MEDICAL
Thinking of getting Desire S. By the way, I read somewhere that it is not possible to root it, can anyone confirm? Thanks!
i believe htc has done something to prevent rooting..by NAND or something like that..i forgot the exact thing they’ve done..so as of now new htc phones can’t be rooted or can’t be rooted yet..
Thanks Allan! Saw your post saying you bought an Incredible S. By any chance, did you get it locally? Also, what’s stopping me from getting the Desire S would be the dual cores. They seem like they’d be some kind of breakthrough but up to now, there’s no proven use for their processing power.
as far as i know HTC incredible S wont be available locally..so you need to buy it on other asian countries..
i didn’t go for the dual cores since it would be my first android phone and i dont want to spend alot of money just to regret it in the future because i dont like the android OS or many apps wont be needing dual cores..
plus like ernest said..many of the apps here are free..so i shouldn’t expect much from the apps..unlike iOS which has “cracked” apps..(i own a ipod touch bec. i feel iphones are over-rated but i need the iOS apps for medical purposes)..
i believe FREE apps might not use the full potential of your phone so it might not use dual cores..and lastly, i could wait for a time that majority of apps that utilizes dual cores before buying one..let the apps catch up first..that’s just my opinion…
*i’d rather spend large amount of money buying a tablet than buying above 25K phones..easier to read ebooks, watch movies or edit photos..
These are good points that you brought up, and I agree on the actual ‘need’ for dual cores. Thanks again.
Samsung Galaxy SL. 3 Weeks! Can’t get my hands off it! :)
1 week old Motorola Defy, and i’m loving it!!! rooted but still too chicken to put in a modded rom…
htc desire hd for about 3 months now
Nexus One since Feb 2010…
Samsung galaxy spica i like it very fast for browsing, back to back with galaxy tab.
I have an optimus one. Besides the processor at 600MHz, everythins great. Best value for money. I am now saving for an optimus 2X.
HTC DESIRE HD :) awesome phone and looks great! Has a huge huge screen. :) I love Android :)
HTC Magic for 11 months -> HTC HD2 running MIUI android for 4 months now. It’s Android or nothing!
Never tried an android but surely be my next gadget after this blackberry.
keep them posting sir abe! i love reading it everyday!
How good is the Philippine coverage for Sygic Aura? 70 euros is a pretty steep price….
I have been using an Android phone for 6 months now. My first Android phone is a Samsung Galaxy S. I am now using a Samsung Galaxy Ace and a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. My Galaxy Ace looks like the iPhone but its a far better device than that device. Apple Sucks! Google RULES!
been using a galaxy tab for 6 months now as my main tool for accomplishing my work , love the features and loaded it w tons of apps , very useful specially “sygic aura” , i don’t need to carry another PND when travelling . translator and those measurements apps
Galaxy 5 running 2.2. 6 months.
N1 9 months then it got stolen. Replaced it with a Nexus S, just under a month using it now. :)
SGS running froyo. 3 months. it can pretty much do anything.
been using samsung spica since first release and still loving it. good thing about android is we have a lot of developers now.
LG Optimus 1 on Android 2.2 Froyo…best midrange Android right now…
Planning on getting an Xperia Arc or an LG Optimus X2
n1 – 9months ( nawala)
sgs – 4 months
sonyericsson x10, later sony ericsson arc
HTC Wildfire – almost a year
My first Android phone is the Samsung Galaxy Spica (Samdroid Mod) last Apr 2010 and switched to Motorola Milestone (The FroyoMOD 2.5.0) since Oct 2010 and planning to switch to the LG Optimus 3D or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 or the Asus Eee Pad Transformer in the future :)
Samsung Galaxy S running Froyo. :p
N1 since Feb 2010
Had a Huawei Ideos for a month, then “upgraded” to a second-hand HTC Google Nexus 1, now running Gingerbread. Love it, except that I still have to better manage my battery usage.
Admittedly though, I am currently lusting for a Dell Streak.
samdsung galaxy spica for 8months now :)
SGS Gingerbread since October 2010
@Frank – but are you aware that android is a smartphone’s OS?
Regardless if he is aware or not, his point is still valid. Android phones are not as cheap as the ones with the basic proprietary operating systems – which in his example are Nokia budget phones.
He is just saying that not “everyone’s got an Android nowadays”. This is true. I don’t know anyone who’s using an Android phone. It’s either iOS, Blackberry OS, or Nokia-based operating systems.
Sa mata kasi naming mga pasosyal at social-climbers, mas maganda ang Apple at Blackberry. Pwede ka magpanggap na mayaman pag may iPhone or Blackberry ka, sa Android (Samsung, HTC, Cherry, etc.) medyo kelangan pa ng onting effort. :) Haha joke lang.
Samsung Spica then Motorola Milestone then HTC Desire.
Been using my Wildfire for 4 months now
Desire HD for 4 months.
Just to add; my wife is using a Desire for around a year and I’m planning on getting my 6 year old a Desire S.
envy the 6 year old..=D
Kids are amazing with technology. My daughters been using all our devices with minimal supervision when she was 2. Soon, she will be teaching me about all these things.
“and it looks like everyone’s got an Android nowadays”
hhmm… I don’t quite agree with this. I know a lot of people who still stick with nokia. One can get a decent nokia phone kasi for like 5k while androids are around 8k and above
been using HTC Desire since June of last year.
Planning to get a dual core android for an upgrade. I’ll stick with HTC though. I love their product build.
:)