Questions about Android

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Stickfigure

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Hi all.

So I'm looking at selling my Blackberry soon and buying an Android.

Phone I'm looking at is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo. Yes I know it's not an S2, but I can sell my Blackberry and get the Neo for an extra R400 so it's a pretty good deal in my eyes.

Before I do this, I have 2 questions however:

1) Data costs. This is the biggest concern for me. I played around a bit on an android phone a few weeks back and ended up using R100 airtime :/ I have wifi at home so I'll use that when I'm home, but when I'm not is the problem. I won't be using my phone to do hectic stuff. Check facebook, mybb, chat on whatsapp etc. so what would be the best data package for me? I'm obviously paying R59 a month for BIS, so I don't really want to have to pay more than that.

2) The phone comes with Gingerbread 2.3.4 as the standard OS. Do I want to keep this? Or upgrade to something better? I see lots of people talking about ROM's and so on, but I'm not too clued up on that so if anyone could clarify that for me I'd appreciate it.

If I've missed anything, or if anyone has anything to add that would help me out, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.
 
If you have wifi at home you should be fine.

I use about 100Mb of data a month. Thats will full sync on all day long, which means push e-mail. I occasionally surf the net using Opera Mini, and check fb and Twitter etc.
 
1) I go through 500mb a month, but that is because I can, Red Bull Mobile makes having an Android device worth it. There are people in my office who get away with 75mb a month; but with the widgets I use (Weather & News) my phone chows about 2mb a day with out me doing anything. Are you currently on contract?

2) The Neo is an awesome device to root since SE actually helped the CyanogenMod team. That been said, first play around with the stock ROM that comes with the phone. It might be all you need / want. Remember rooting = no more warranty.... Although you can hide the fact that you rooted fairly easily :)
 
For one I dont think you will need to change the OS.

SE have some nice features build in regarding your data use, unlike some other OEM's that think data is free. /me stares at HTC.

They have built in data monitor and constantly alert you about excessive use of 3G. I also find that the new 2.3.4 is great for my battery, granted I dont use my Xperia Play for surfing the web/Facebook so it only use WiFi on a pay as you go Vodacom card I get about 4 to 5 days on a single charge.

What I can recommend is rooting and installing Droidwall to add extra control and blocking things like ad's in free apps.

100 MB/p month should be perfectly fine for normal Facebook/email use.
 
Ecco said:
If you have wifi at home you should be fine.

I use about 100Mb of data a month. Thats will full sync on all day long, which means push e-mail. I occasionally surf the net using Opera Mini, and check fb and Twitter etc.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'll obviously use my wifi to download apps/games/software updates etc. Which is more bandwith friendly? Opera mini or the stock browser? I'm using push email on my Blackberry, but it's not a necessity for me.

ZAFluffyBunny said:
1) I go through 500mb a month, but that is because I can, Red Bull Mobile makes having an Android device worth it. There are people in my office who get away with 75mb a month; but with the widgets I use (Weather & News) my phone chows about 2mb a day with out me doing anything. Are you currently on contract?

2) The Neo is an awesome device to root since SE actually helped the CyanogenMod team. That been said, first play around with the stock ROM that comes with the phone. It might be all you need / want. Remember rooting = no more warranty.... Although you can hide the fact that you rooted fairly easily :)
Click to expand...

I plan on using the weather and news widget :) I am on contract yes (TopUp315) so I can use some of that airtime for data. I see it's R49 for 100mb and R99 for 250mb.

Yeah I'll play around with the stock OS and see what it's like. As I'm new to Android, I won't really know how a different ROM will benefit me. I assume when people talk about ROM's, they mean custom OS' for the phone?
 
Elimentals said:
For one I dont think you will need to change the OS.

SE have some nice features build in regarding your data use, unlike some other OEM's that think data is free. /me stares at HTC.

They have built in data monitor and constantly alert you about excessive use of 3G. I also find that the new 2.3.4 is great for my battery, granted I dont use my Xperia Play for surfing the web/Facebook so it only use WiFi on a pay as you go Vodacom card I get about 4 to 5 days on a single charge.

What I can recommend is rooting and installing Droidwall to add extra control and blocking things like ad's in free apps.

100 MB/p month should be perfectly fine for normal Facebook/email use.
Click to expand...

Cool I'll definitely install Droidwall. I'll obviously be at work from 8 till 5 and won't have access to wifi, but I'll be sure to carefully use my phone and not go overboard with data use.
 
Stickfigure said:
Yeah I'll play around with the stock OS and see what it's like. As I'm new to Android, I won't really know how a different ROM will benefit me. I assume when people talk about ROM's, they mean custom OS' for the phone?
Click to expand...

Technically all the ROM's are just versions of the same OS, they just have different look & feel or supply a different list of distributed applications.

Edit: Oh wow, I didn't know but SE sneaked in WebGL support in the 2.3.4's browser, Gooo Sony :)
 
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I'm using my Topup airtime to buy the 250Meg data bundle,i'm averaging 10megs per day at office,using WiFi at home ( note I need to charge at least once daily so fairly medium usage )

Opera mini uses a proxy and compression to cut some data usage. Also using 3g Watchdog to keep track of my data usage daily
 
I have a 500Mb bundle, using a fair amount with emails, news, opera mini....and wifi at home.

I dont use 3G watch dog but I do disable mobile sync.

Sometime its goes over 500, sometimes now, depending now desperate I want to download/update my apps, if I can wait til i get home then generally I dont use much.
 
Nameite said:
I have a 500Mb bundle, using a fair amount with emails, news, opera mini....and wifi at home.

I dont use 3G watch dog but I do disable mobile sync.

Sometime its goes over 500, sometimes now, depending now desperate I want to download/update my apps, if I can wait til i get home then generally I dont use much.
Click to expand...

Simple solution would be to set Auto update with Wifi Only in the Android Market settings, that way the phone will update all your app's for you when you at home ;)

Oh and 3G Watchdog is not always accurate, a better application would be My Data Manager as it will tell you what app is eating data.

Or Onavo that's free without ads
 
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Just a small correction but the Neo comes stock with 2.3.3 (and only recently, like this past week, became upgradeable officially to 2.3.4 in SA).
Also I'd forget about roms and all that for now and just try stock and see how you like it. Then if there's something that bothers you check the market for an app or widget that fixes it or perhaps check if any stock roms are better. Usually however most I've seen so far (and I've been checking the Neo section daily on XDA) seem to still break this or that and I'm perfectly happy with stock anyways.
Custom roms require rooting which voids the warranty by the way.
 
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Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated :)

I was looking at getting the Neo, but I see now I can get the Arc for R600 more. I've looked at the specs of the both phone and the only difference I can spot it the screen size?

Is the Arc's 4.2inch screen more beneficial than the Neo's 3.7inch? I did notice that due to the bigger screen, the Arc has a lower ppi pixel density.
 
Stickfigure said:
Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated :)

I was looking at getting the Neo, but I see now I can get the Arc for R600 more. I've looked at the specs of the both phone and the only difference I can spot it the screen size?

Is the Arc's 4.2inch screen more beneficial than the Neo's 3.7inch? I did notice that due to the bigger screen, the Arc has a lower ppi pixel density.
Click to expand...

Man that is close... http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3619&idPhone2=3734

Personally I prefer the 4.2" screen as its better to type on but it also means it will be a tad more heavy on the juice. To be honest if I had to choose between the 2 I would go Arc as I like the look as well.

But if you start looking at paying a tad more, what would the price compare if you look at a proper phone like the Droid RAZR?

Edit: Interestingly they basically the same as my Xperia Play, well in specs... makes me think the R2000 I paid for the phone was a bargain.

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3608&idPhone2=3619
 
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Elimentals said:
Man that is close... http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3619&idPhone2=3734

Personally I prefer the 4.2" screen as its better to type on but it also means it will be a tad more heavy on the juice. To be honest if I had to choose between the 2 I would go Arc as I like the look as well.

But if you start looking at paying a tad more, what would the price compare if you look at a proper phone like the Droid RAZR?

Edit: Interestingly they basically the same as my Xperia Play, well in specs... makes me think the R2000 I paid for the phone was a bargain.

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3608&idPhone2=3619
Click to expand...

R2000 for the Neo, R2600 for the Arc.

nadimm said:
Stay away from SE. Especially if you're not going to root.

HTC or samsung

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yeah I'd prefer an HTC or Samsung obviously, but I can't afford R4000+ for a cellphone.
 
nadimm said:
Stay away from SE. Especially if you're not going to root.

HTC or samsung
Click to expand...

Why do you say that?

I know I will not own a phone that is not rooted, but for reasons most users wont care about, can you say why he should switch.

Only bad thing I can say about SE phones is the crap Display (Scratch easy) and personally I am not a fan of plastic bodies, but that's also the reason I dont like the S2.
 
Stickfigure said:
R2000 for the Neo, R2600 for the Arc.

Yeah I'd prefer an HTC or Samsung obviously, but I can't afford R4000+ for a cellphone.
Click to expand...

Aaah ok never mind then. Go for the Arc if you can afford the R600, its worth it in the long run.
 
Elimentals said:
Why do you say that?

I know I will not own a phone that is not rooted, but for reasons most users wont care about, can you say why he should switch.

Only bad thing I can say about SE phones is the crap Display (Scratch easy) and personally I am not a fan of plastic bodies, but that's also the reason I dont like the S2.
Click to expand...

Terrible UI. Unstable and ugly. And like you said, cheap build quality. And SE has a bad track record with updates.

Last I checked the arc was a few hundred cheaper than the sensation. And it's dual vs single core. I might be wrong seeing as you're saying its 2500 cash.

In any event if you're going cheap and single core, what about rbm's huaweis?

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
 
Personally I like the 3.7" Neo more than the Arc. The smaller screen makes it easier on the pocket and doesn't really compromise typing all that much. I also find the Arc too thin and thus slippery but that's probably just me.

That said the Arc has attracted more developer interest on XDA so that's also something to consider.
 
Hmmm yeah think I'll go for the Neo.

From what I've read, because the Arc is so thin and top heavy, it's hard to operate the buttons at the bottom of the phone with one hand.

And it is on the big side as well.
 
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