The Future of Cheap Androids Begins Now | Hacker News Reader

The Future of Cheap Androids Begins Now

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91 pointspietrofmaggi71 comments

The really important thing is is that the phone is $25/mo. as the full usage fee. That's less than half the price of what I'm paying right now on Verizon, and less than a third of what people can pay for the iPhone. I'm considering downgrading to this device right now just because its price is so low.

I have this phone and have no complaints so far. It's not a high-end phone, but the display is nice and performance is snappier than my old G1.

What wasn't mentioned in the article is that you can use this phone with WiFi only and no plan if you choose. http://blog.gerundinganimal.com/2011/01/cheap-wifi-only-andr...

I'm not sure how many phones let you do that, but I don't think it's very many. Certainly not at the $150 price for a new device with Android 2.2.

Indeed.

$25/mo for 'unlimited' data + 300minutes is outstanding, compared to every other option I am aware of in the US.

I currently pay that much for the required "data plan for smart phone".

Do you know what kind of network they are? Could you use an iPhone or GSM Android phone on Virgin?

Virgin Mobile USA is a Sprint MVNO - in fact they are wholly owned by Sprint. So that means they're CDMA.

They're apparently pretty well locked down, device-wise. So presently you can choose either a crappy Samsung Android device or this reasonable competent device.

$25 for unlimited data - if anything, this would make it a wonderful wireless hotspot option for wi-fi only tablets...

How much would you pay for a MiFi style device + plan on that network? I read about one US citizen who was going to have to spend so much, he got a Galaxy Tab for the same price which could perform the same function, plus much more.

I bought my wife an Optimus-T for Christmas and, though it may not be as fast as my Nexus-S, it's a solid, well-built little phone that does everything she needs and a lot more. In fact, I tend to think the build quality is higher than the Samsung. I loathe contracts so we just paid list price for the phones (the Optimus-T seemed like a bargain at 240) and we're on a contract-less family plan with T-Mo.

This is really the beginning of the low-cost Android revolution. With more users able to jump into the pool without having to sign up for a ridiculous contract, it'll make what might have otherwise seemed superfluous (Android instead of a "dumb" smart phone) accessible to just about everyone, which is going to be a Very Good Thing for us app developers. The market is going to expand dramatically in the coming year.

This is great news for devlopers (or at least me, and I want to be a mobile app developer).

Get an iPhone subsidized, pick up this cheap Android device, and suddenly be able to develop on both platforms while paying <$65 a month for data (plus my regular phone service that I already pay for). A year ago that would have cost a heck of a lot more.

And I'm fine with it being a weak Android phone, I had planned on developing to a low spec device anyway.

> And I'm fine with it being a weak Android phone, I had planned on developing to a low spec device anyway.

I just gave up my iPhone yesterday for a Nexus One. All-in.

Yes, it's not a minimum-spec G1 but I wanted to use it in place of the iPhone. I truly believe if you want to develop for a platform you have to use it everyday. All the quirks, some of the benefits. The iPhone is definitely smoother but I do like the hardware 'back' and 'menu' buttons. Keyboard and screen sensitivity is driving me nuts... The App Market is a mess - took me forever to figure out which Advanced Task Killer was the real monty (tons of title/keyword spam). The lack of scrolling gravity is really noticeable but less annoying now.

I am truly amazed at the quality of the Twitter for Android application (compared to most other apps).

Don't use a task killer, it'll just mess things up for you. Either uninstall or stop the services you don't want (using the built-in app manager).

Android ~1.6 did have some issues, plus the slower processor and memory meant that the task management didn't really work out like it was supposed to. But it's absolutely not needed on modern Androids.

Thanks

Unless your provider is anything like mine, Sprint. They load your phone down after each update with apps you don't want (Nascar, Blockbuster, NFL) which cannot be uninstalled without rooting and seem to randomly just appear in running tasks.

Also I've found that a properly-configured task killer can do wonders on battery-starved android phones like the Evo 4G.

For keyboard complaints, get Swype. It chagned me from never using the soft keyboard on my Droid to using it 75% of the time, and I specifically got a Droid to have a hard keyboard.

Except Swype is not readily available for the Droid. At least my Droid 1.

https://beta.swype.com/android/get/

Except it is. You have to get it from their site instead of the Market.

Hey, thanks! Last I checked, the beta was closed. I had to jump through some hoops to register, but now I'm good.

Oh man, this is really great. Thanks again!

Thanks again, I love Swype! The times when I can go scrawling like mad and it recognizes the word - it's like wow, it's a game. Then again, it hates new words. But I like that it can let you still type words keystroke by keystroke. I find I'm not capitalizing a lot of my texts and emails because it requires extra effort.

> Get an iPhone subsidized, pick up this cheap Android device, and suddenly be able to develop on both platforms while paying <$65 a month for data

Why not get an Android on the same carrier as your existing phone? If it's for dev use then it doesn't need its own plan; just swap your existing SIM into it. Not like you're going to be developing for both phones at the same time.

This is what I did; I have an N1 and an iPhone 4, and every now and then I swap my SIM into the N1. Just needed to get a MicroSIM adapter off Amazon and everything works great.

I just ordered my first Android, a Nexus S for $199 with a 2-year contract cancellable for $200. Best Buy on line was the only place I could get it, the local store couldn't sell it (I'm going to make a blog post about that insanity). Even though it's contract-subsidized it's not carrier locked and seems to expressly permit custom firmware.

Way to go Google! I kind of like having them around. I'd stayed away from smart phones because I found the contracts, carrier locking, and the rooting, jailbreaking, DMCA challenges simply gross. But Google seems to be trying to keep those clowns honest and now I feel comfortable participating in that market.

> I just ordered my first Android, a Nexus S for $199 with a 2-year contract cancellable for $200.

Wait, what? If you buy a Nexus S outright without contract it costs $529. You're telling me that I can buy a Nexus S with a contract for $199, cancel for $200, and thus have a contract-free Nexus S phone for $399?

Can someone else verify this?

Yes. I'm sure there are some taxes and other fees that make it not such a huge win. IIRC there was a $35 activation fee that probably isn't refundable.

Personally, I would feel a little gross about doing that kind of thing, mostly from the "this is why we can't have nice things" angle.

So as much as I've regretted cell phone contracts in the past, I'm going to give T-Mobile a fair try. After all, I do need some provider even if I hardly ever use the voice (my previous phone was a prepaid thing I kept in the trunk of the car with the battery out mostly for emergencies).

I know I don't count as "someone else" but see http://www.bestbuymobile.com/article/google-nexus-s-faqs/ Are there two different versions of the Nexus S, locked and unlocked? No, the Nexus S is always unlocked, regardless of whether it is sold with a T-Mobile contract or not.

I'll confirm this as soon as I get my phone of course.

Consider it confirmed. The device I received (admittedly, over two months ago) was plain jane Gingerbread.

My previous device was a G1, so I can't really compare it to anything more recent, but it was most definitely vanilla, to the extent that I chucked when I found myself installing the 'T-Mobile My Account' app.

Yep, the $199 Nexus S (with contract) works great. Not locked. Not even any lame carrier apps pre-installed.

Posts from Best Buy's community forums - http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Mobile-Phones-Mobile-Broadband/... - suggest that buying phones online subject them to an "Equipment Discount Provision" - http://wireless.bestbuy.com/template/simplecontent.aspx?page... - which enables Best Buy to recover the difference between the discounted price and the full purchased price if you cancel your phone contract within 180 days. If this is the case, you would end up paying both T-Mobile's ETF and Best Buy's fee, making your contract-liberated Nexus S $200 more expensive than just buying it without a contract.

Up to now the price difference between iOS devices and Android devices hasn't been decisive but this feels like the point at which Android starts to eat away the bottom 2/3 of the iOS market.

I don’t think cheap Android phones are going to eat away the bottom two-third of the iOS market. They will be much more attractive to the many people who currently don’t own a smartphone and wouldn’t buy an iPhone or a high-end Android phone because they are too expensive. (In other words: I expect the market for iOS phones to continue to grow, albeit slower than the overall smartphone market, particularly slower than Android.)

He does say iOS rather than iPhone, so he could be talking about expansion into markets that currently have an iPod Touch and a dumbphone, or no phone at all due to youth or poverty.

The iPod touch is currently not two-thirds of the overall iOS market, it’s 38 percent (10 million units in Q1 2011 vs. 16 million iPhones). Non-iPhone devices (iPod touch and iPad) were a bit more than 50 percent of the overall iOS market.

In the best case scenario for Android, cheap phones can completely obsolete the iPod touch (I think that’s very unlikely), but even then they would only take 38 percent of the iOS market.

I have an LG Optimus T on T-Mobile. I got it a while back for $200 with no contract.

My $60 plan through T-Mobile is more expensive then the Virgin one mentioned in the article, but because T-Mobile reduces your bill if you don't take the phone subsidy, it is a lot cheaper than the other options I looked at when buying.

I can't stress enough how great a phone is for the price. The CPU is only 600MHz, but with Android 2.2 it doesn't feel sluggish to me (perhaps because I don't know how fast a phone like the Nexus S feels).

The best part of having no contract is in a year I can just buy a new low end phone with dramatically better specs and hand this one down.

Did anyone else just think "cheap testing device?"

Yep. Two weeks ago I bought a cheap Huawei Ideos running Froyo at about $100 here in Kenya.

Testing Android apps on a physical device beats using the emulator hands down.

I bought a ZTE Blade (Orange San Francisco) for 90 euros in Switzerland for that exact purpose.

I don't see the devices in this class of prices as a big threat for Apple. They're not in a race for market shares, what Apple looks for is revenue share.

Apple has always targeted the high-end of the smartphone market, and is using iOS to differentiate their devices from all the other (and they have a strong brand).

This kind of devices speaks trouble for two subjects:

1. Nokia. There's no future for the Symbian phones, and now that Android phones cost less that the less-capable Nokia smartphones they're in big trouble.

2. High-end Android smartphones. It's difficult to differentiate for an high-end device when the cheap ones runs the same application with little or no downgrades... this will inevitably shrink the margin of the manufacturers (Motorola has the brand, but what about the others?).

I've enjoyed being on the cutting edge with high-end smartphones for a few years (I'm on an iPhone 4 right now), but I could see settling into one of these in the near future. Most of my phone usage is fairly simple and probably won't change - map searches, social networking, Rdio for music, web news reading. In short, I have little doubt that these phones would work for me and I'm an early adopter. With Google voice commands, even a resistive screen device might be surprisingly useful.

Hrm... I'd rather see an article about full prices, no gimmicks. It's much easier to compare phone prices here in Italy, as they're basically all unlocked and full price.

The full price for the phone in question is $150, no gimmicks.

Though from the Archos in my pocket that goes for $150, touchscreens have a ways to go before I'm going to care to use a $150 unsubsidized touchscreen on a phone. (Though throw on a keyboard and it might be different.)

Of course, I got the Archos as a testing device, not as something to rely on.

Don't put LG down for Archos's poor screens.

Non-contract prepaid phones are also subsidized in the US.

There have been billboards in Austin, among other places I'm sure, for: http://www.stopcellphonetrafficking.com/

I haven't considered the math yet, but I suspect that the rate of price decline cited in this article is too aggressive, and that truly subsidy free Android phones for $99 are some time away yet.

I once washed my phone, and I didn't want to renew my contract.

The guy in the store suggested that the cheapest way for me to get a working phone was to buy a prepaid phone and swap the SIM card from the one I washed.

This is the device that could have saved Nokia in the smartphone market.

Nokia has devices very much like this, just not in the USA.

for the same price? I spent more than that (150 Euros) for a C5, which is basically an almost dumb phone + ovi maps.

Ok, so it's not exactly the same, but the C3 had a nice screen + QWERTY for 130 euros retail. Do realize that's without subsidies, I'm sure you can find something and knock about 30 euros off the price (which happens with prepaid, you never pay full market price with the bundles) and fine something very similar.

Nokia has no devices running Android, which was what I meant to refer to.

I was really hoping this was cheap mechanical slave labor.

this is how android will eat symbian's market share

Cheap androids have been here for a while now... 69€

http://www.elpais.com/corporativos/elpais/coleccionables/201...

89 Euros with no contract in Italy (and a new sim card with 5 Euros) http://www.wind.it/shop/prodotto133.phtml

Tried one in the shops, nice but the resistive touch screen is something I'm not used to!

Perhaps you're thinking of a different phone? I believe the Optimus T/S/V line all have capacitive screens.

has anyone bought the optimus v at a radio shack yet? i've tried tracking one down for the last day, and no one seems to have it in seattle; the stores haven't received shipment of them yet.

from what i read on howard forums, you should check with the target in your area

I got mine at Target this past weekend. Call ahead and they can put one on hold for you if it's in stock.

cool, thanks

I just bought one from a Radio Shack in Austin. They weren't on display yet, but they were in stock.

Signal: Pandora's streaming fine and I can browse the web as well as I'd expect to.

The phone itself: It comes with a little bit of bloatware, you'll probably want a bigger microSD card, and I don't know what the situation looks like for rooting the thing, but I'm tentatively considering it a solid value.

Nevermind the cheap device. The $25 per month service that includes 300 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited data is the real story here.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/beyond-talk-...

Of course, you get what you pay for in coverage

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/check-cell-phone-coverage

Meanwhile in Canada you can't even get unlimited data over wired internet.

In Canada I have unlimited data (with fair use policy), unlimited text and unlimited minutes (North America) for $40/month. The existence of such plans is quite new.

Concerning the introduction of "mandatory" metered internet in Canada: it appears the big guys may have been so greedy they over-reached. The consumer backlash is strong and the decision is now under review by government.

Could you explain the "fair use policy"?

Yes - you pay and they decide later what you get.

Max speed to 5GB per month after which they reserve the right to slow down your connection.

Can you then explain the use of the term "unlimited"

The carrier has an unlimited license to distort the English language.

That sounds like a mobile plan in the €30 per month range, not like an unlimited residential plan.

I guess that means all our plans here in New Zealand are technically "unlimited"...

You know, the ones that give you X GB of traffic, after which you're throttled back to dial-up speeds.

If that's on mobilicty - they use AWS so you are bit more limited in your choice of phones, and where they will work.

Yea, the cheap device part is nothing new. Just look on ebay for "unlocked android phone" and you'll find tons of G1's and other low end devices below $100.

I agree, the real deal is the plan. Otherwise you could get an iPhone 3GS for $49 with AT&T and it would be a much better device than that.

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