Looking to get a slightly older cheaper Android phone, bad idea? New to Android.

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StoneTZ

Under the Man's Thumb...waaaaaa!
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Ok, I'm looking at getting a slightly older (cheap) Android phone. Obviously I'd like something new but I'm trying to save money.

A couple quick questions.....

Any reason to avoid the older phones besides not as fast / lower res etc? For example older iphones don't support newer ios. Is that a problem on Android phones?

Basically I want to use a browser, email client, SSH and other pretty basic things. Anything else like connecting to a TV / removable SD card is a bonus.

Battery life and big screens are cool but I can live without either if I have to.

I'd like to spend $100 to $200 but if I can do the same for less or something awesome is a little extra I'd look in to it.

Thanks guys.

P.S. if theres anything special I should avoid or look out for let me know.
 
It will be a bit slower, lower res than current ones......and yes you can run the most recent Android releases even if not officially (see XDA-Dev's)......lots of support behind it.
 
W.Feather said:
It will be a bit slower, lower res than current ones......and yes you can run the most recent Android releases even if not officially (see XDA-Dev's)......lots of support behind it.
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Cool, that doesn't bother me then. Any suggestions on which phone I should go for? I'm not sure what's come down in value recently. Oh it needs to be GSM, 99% sure it's 1900. The company is Claro Chile.
 
The best old GSM phone would be the HTC Desire (basically a Nexus One with HTC Sense). There's an insane number of support at XDA if you're into modding the phone, and it's one of the few phones that will have official updates more than a year after release.

Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 has a better camera and a bigger screen with a confirmed 2.3 update, but the current Android version is poor (still 2.1) and lacks the geek value of the Desire due to lack of third-party software customizations.
 
Are you coming from a dumb phone? Pretty much all carriers require a data plan to activate a smart phone (not sure if you were going to get that or just use wifi). The only reason I got a droid x was the $15 data plan because I never use it and don't want to pay for it. I'm surrounded by wifi.
 
I second the HTC Desire, or you could go with a Nexus One (make sure you get the AT&T version if you do choose this route).

They're practically the same phone, and you can't really go wrong with either. I'm not positive that you'll be able to find either at the $200 level though...

Regardless which device you choose though, you might find Swappa useful - it's a site for "gently used" android devices, from other genuine android enthusiasts. Great place.
 
I saw the HTC Aria around $200, but the Desire is closer to $300.
 
for 200 bucks look for an HD2 and load android on it (directions on XDA).. It sells cheaper then most other phones of its hardware caliber since it comes with Win Mobile. But its got plenty of hardware to push all versions of android.
 
bastage said:
for 200 bucks look for an HD2 and load android on it (directions on XDA).. It sells cheaper then most other phones of its hardware caliber since it comes with Win Mobile. But its got plenty of hardware to push all versions of android.
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thats a good suggestion, though if his carrier uses the same band as ATT for data, the OP is going to be stuck with EDGE only
 
W.Feather said:
thats a good suggestion, though if his carrier uses the same band as ATT for data, the OP is going to be stuck with EDGE only
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There are other versions of the HD2 other then just tmo's.. He should be able to find it with the correct band.
 
bastage said:
There are other versions of the HD2 other then just tmo's.. He should be able to find it with the correct band.
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arnt most Europe ones on the same band ? Plus the Europe ones are low on the on-board mem, the T-Mobile variant is the better of them all
 
Touch Pro 2 has a mind-blowing keyboard, the only drawback is the resistive touch screen. Although if you are the stylus type it could be a benefit. Loading Android is very easy.
 
True, but android (at least the version I am using) on the TP2 doesnt work fully, ie bluetooth and other items do not work.
 
He's looking for a cheaper phone, and the Nexus 1 will be WAY too expensive for him.

Stone, look at the HTC Wildfire, Motorola Milestone, or a HTC Hero. Honestly, if you upped your budget to $300, it's a night and day difference, and I would highly recommend the HTC Desire.

Make sure that the band is 1900 Mhz, you might be able to get a cheap Samsung Vibrant from T-Mobile, it has the 1900 Mhz band in it. You can get them used for 200-300
 
To answer a couple of those questions I'm coming from an iPhone.
Thanks for all the good input, I might just up it to 300, I'll check around and see what I can get for 200 but I could do 300 it's not a big deal if you guys say the difference is night and day.

In regards to data plans they're actually cheap down here, I have unlimited data for $6 a month. Minutes are expensive though I pay about 70cents a minute to call and I have a business plan.
 
I've used android daily, on the 1st android phone that was put out (G1), for now.... 2 years. (HTC Dream).

Here is all anyone needs to know as of 4/1/2011..... All the older android phones run 1.5 or 1.6 stock.... my g1 is 100% capable of running the new android 2.2 like the brand new phones do. It requires root, and I just run my stuff stock.

My friend, whom just bought one of the best android phones (galaxy S on android 2.2) also lets me use his phone.

-------------------WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE, YOU ASK, BETWEEN THE OLDEST ANDROID PHONE AND THE NEWEST?

Nothing besides intense gaming. Everything is the same, 99% of it, no BS, no bias, that is a fact. The only thing my phone cannot do that his can, is play Angry Birds game. Mine plays angrybirds but it lags a little because of the (now somewhat) outdated hardware.

Why buy a new android phone over a new one?

There's only 3 good reasons:

1) Much crispier, more vivid AMOLED screen.... the new AMOLED screens on 2011 phones are SOOOO much nicer than normal LCDs.

2) Faster CPU and graphics processors, thus making it able to run more and faster apps..... this might not matter to at least half of android users as many do not play games that much.

3) Slightly better battery. Batteries are always getting better, year after year. My 2+ year old battery still lasts me all day so I do not complain much besides having to toggle power-saving settings a lot.
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If I was going to buy another phone or suggest one, it would have to be the EVO 4G... any other android phone is just not worth my upgrade $$$ (right now) when I am looking here at the 1st android phone. The G1 still does 95% of what I need to do on a daily basis. It can play decent games, and open 2+ apps, including the browser with 3-5 different website tabs open.... why do you need more? Gaming is all I can say after all that... gaming is the only reason I would upgrade to a newer android phones, besides the 3 things mentioned of course but that is going to apply to any 1+ year old phone......
 
Stone, for $300, you can get a pretty good condition HTC Desire, Nexus One or Samsung Vibrant. They would be compatible with Chile's 3G, and they're VERY easy to unlock to use a local SIM. The Nexus comes factory unlocked, so you don't even have to worry about that. Go over to XDA forum's marketplace and look around. If you get a Nexus, make ABSOLUTELY sure you get the AT&T version, the T-Mobile version won't be compatible with your 3G.

With these, you'll get last year's phones. but still near the top of the line as far as speed and power. All three have excellent custom ROMs available, and while I've used all three, I'm partial to the HTC Desire. One of my favorite phones of all time.
 
Just make sure it's a 2.2 device. There are some key features like Chrome to Phone that are absent before that.
 
entropism said:
With these, you'll get last year's phones. but still near the top of the line as far as speed and power. All three have excellent custom ROMs available, and while I've used all three, I'm partial to the HTC Desire. One of my favorite phones of all time.
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Wow, you still use the G1? Lol, I had it for a year and a half before I bricked it flashing a radio or something last summer. Very sad when it happened. I was hoping to at least keep it as a primary device in my car, but I do agree with what you said.

Although nowadays, I say a 1 Ghz phone is the right type of phone to get if you want it to do everything smoothly.


Blown 89 said:
Just make sure it's a 2.2 device. There are some key features like Chrome to Phone that are absent before that.
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Agree or at least make sure you can root the phone to get 2.2 on it.
 
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