• From: Stockholm, Sweden
  • Registered: 2009-01-23
  • Posts: 241

Topic: Smartphone for crunch banger?

First off my stance on smartphones is they are gaudy toys, a bit like this guy's view:
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.c … art-phone/

The problem is my trusted old GSM phone
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_t310-404.php
is showing signs of coming close to its end and when I look around for a new non-smart phone I find very cheap ones that look like they are down-grades quality wise compared to the old one or better ones that are as expensive as entry level smart phones. In between I find non-smart 3G phones that have a bunch of features my old phone hasn't but their build quality isn't convincing.

So since I might have to give in and get myself a smartphone I thought we could have some fun here. Are there any crunch bangish smartphones -- smartphones that just works, without crudware and GUI bloat?

/Martin

MartinRF's Website

  • Registered: 2009-11-03
  • Posts: 2,009

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

It seems I've been ranting a lot about smart-ass phones today.....

I'll break it down by platform

iOS/iPhone
Kind of like living with your retired mother in a nice neighborhood. You get a lot of perks like food (timely-updates), washing (very clean UI), and a sense of belonging (Apple's really good at pretending they care about their users). Added benefits include the security and serenity of the neighborhood (not many rogue apps due to Apple's iron grip on the App store), plus you don't get dodgy door-to-door salesmen trying to sell you crappy stuff (less useless apps compared to Android). The neighbors are mostly conservative folk, if a bit hipster-ish and tend to believe everything the government tells them (iSheep). Your mom, being a mother and all, is over-protective in many cases. It's rumored that she killed innocent kids (Foxconn) in the past just to get you a place in university. Also you'll have to pay for everything since your mom is retired and all. So every little thing is gonna take a bite out of your wallet (seriously, $4.99 for an app to open zip files...wtf?!). She'll argue that she slogged to give you a good life and home and whatnot, and the price you pay is that you have to do everything as she says (eg: you can't simply drag n drop files via usb like other handsets, you need to use the blasted iTunes or some Mono-infested gtkpod shit-app to transfer media). Obviously, girlfriends and porn are out of the question.


Android
A bit like living with a bipolar stripper girlfriend in an urban semi-chicque ghetto. She can be hot when needed (ICS looks great), and the sex is usually pretty satisfactory (speed is much improved). Problem is, being bi-polar and all, she might try to stab you (crashes/random reboots) every once in a while. Plus she has some really privy friends and can't help gossiping about you (Google's privacy policy) to everyone. The door-to-door salespeople try and sell you all sorts of weird stuff (useless apps) and you'll probably get a friendly wink from the resident drug-pusher asking if you need a fix (trojans/rogue apps). You've also got the old mafia (McAfee/Symantec) trying to sell you "protection", but no one really listens to them anymore so you're fine as long as you keep the doors locked. Oh, and your girlfriend is an all-out swinger, so she'll often send her hooker friends over (Custom ROMS) for free - sometimes hot (CyanogenMod), sometimes not (every other ROM), but you'll never know what they're packin' underneath (Android ROM people suck at recompiling kernels) until it's too late.


Windows Phone
Kind of like living with a STD. You could be very capable at your job and whatnot (I heard it's quite fast and responsive), you could be living in a decent neighborhood (decent app selection, if highly vetted), heck you could even be a gorgeous supermodel (Nokia have always made sexy hardware).... but society will always label you as a STD carrier (Windows stigma)

Last edited by gutterslob (2012-01-30 06:13:02)

Point & Squirt
  • From: inside Ed
  • Registered: 2011-07-25
  • Posts: 2,867

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

I went back to a dumb phone (semi-dumb, it has that Symbian OS, but no touch screen), and frankly, I couldn't be happier. Don't look at them as something to have around for dozens of years, look at them as disposable lighters. Plus, the best thing about dub phones is battery life. I always lol when people mention 3 days battery life as an argument, as I usually go for about 10 days between charging.

LVM | Catalyst | Wireless
  • Unia
  • #! Die-hard
  • Offline
  • From: The Netherlands
  • Registered: 2010-07-17
  • Posts: 2,308

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

Android is full of Carier pre-installed (crap) applications. Android is only a nice system, IMO, if you're willing to invest time in it and flash a Custom ROM to your device. If you don't plan on doing this, I wouldn't go with Android.

I just bought a Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia) and I'm hooked. I would definetely recommend Windows Phone (although it could be a bit tricky if you don't use MS's services, such as hotmail or messenger. No issue for me as I was using these before I went to Linux and I'm still using them now).

I'd advise you to go to a local phone shop and just try all the different OS's they have. That way you can just see for yourself, easy big_smile

Let's do it and don't screw it.
      Github || Deviantart
  • Registered: 2011-03-09
  • Posts: 3,235

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

gutterslob is spot on on this one. go with what he says. plus, today my wife's iPhone 3Gs got wet so she asked me to remove the battery... turns out you need an uber-pro electronic screwdriver-set to do that, because the thing is held together with the tiniest midget-screws ever. and i thought Apple just locked down its software...

@Unia: yes, you get carrier-crap and bloatware with Android phones indeed. i wouldn't use an Android phone without rooting it, so you can remove that nonsense right away. flashing a custom ROM is a great idea too. just the fact that this kinda stuff is possible makes me love my Android. i mean, people can bitch about buying something which you then proceed to completely change, but the same thing goes for every laptop which has Windows pre-installed and we put Linux on. you get used to it and it becomes normal smile

bash :: @script :: system :: fclean
  • Registered: 2009-11-03
  • Posts: 2,009

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

Unia wrote:

I just bought a Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia)

Nokia N9 > Lumia
Seriously, the hardware was made for Meego-Harmattan. The concave glass just doesn't work as well on the Lumia's WP compared to the SwipeUI on the N9. Plus, Meego-Harmattan is the most open of platforms out there. You get apt-get package management, a small but decent group of people making apps (a lot of em from the old Maemo platform), plus you can, with enough know-how, port any Linux app (that isn't bound to X86) to it.

General knowledge: Lumia = Whore (in Spanish slang)
Quite a fitting name considering how Nokia abandoned it's open source friendly roots and whored themselves out to Microsoft.

Last edited by gutterslob (2012-01-29 19:17:56)

Point & Squirt
  • Unia
  • #! Die-hard
  • Offline
  • From: The Netherlands
  • Registered: 2010-07-17
  • Posts: 2,308

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

^ Ok, ok, I'll craw back into my cave.. big_smile

Let's do it and don't screw it.
      Github || Deviantart
  • Registered: 2010-03-26
  • Posts: 66

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

I own a Nokia phone and the quality is amazing. Alas, as you have already seen in an earlier post, they have gone to the dark side. You can still get some of their older Symbian phones though from places like Amazon. These phones are fully unlocked so can be used on any GSM carrier. I think you should check out the C3-00,  E5-00 and the C2-01.5 (this is the one I think you will like the best). Oh how I wish Nokia never went over to the dark side, they make such great phones.

  • Registered: 2011-09-03
  • Posts: 97

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

Well, I found an Android phone not so long ago. Of course, they blocked it, so it's not really a PHONE any more.If tey hadn't of done, I would of probably used it as a phone, but loads of silly applications on there, and then left it on a shelf for days on end when I don't wish to speak with people.

Thing is, I carry a laptop around with me everywhere I go. I'm serious, even when I go to work in retail, I carry my laptop with me. I've also got a 3DS, which plays music and games. So what's the point in spending so much money on a smartphone, if I hardly use the one I've got now?

Also, my hands are sooo big, I don't get along so well with the touch screens. >_> **Needs his buttons**

The other day, I went into a proper Apple store!! I spoke to a guy in a blue shirt and dread locks (he worked there). We had a good conversation about all manner of things, turns out he was an Ubuntu user. ^_^

At one point, I asked this guy......

"If Apple just made a new iPhone 4S, that does everything an iPhone 4 and does and everything every other iphone does, is there much point in buying an older iPhone if you've got the cash for the latest one?"

He told me there was no point. Because the newest iPhone was the best. (Fastest, could do everything the older ones did and more, better camera, better everything).

"So is it fair to say that Apple only make one phone? It's just different models?"

He thought about this, but said it was.

Since they support their older phones (to differing extents), but only make 1 phone at a time, and only market for the latest phone.

So, if there's no point in buying the only phone that they market for currently, which is the best as it's fastest and has all the features......

Does this mean that there's only 1 Apple iPhone?

Yes, in fact, it does.

But here's the thing....

Everyone's different. People like different things, people want different things. Why only make 1 phone and market to that 1 group of people, when they could be makin' more phones?

Apple are crazy.

Windows aren't much better, but there's no need to tell stories about THOSE guys. tongue

Android? Well, here's the thing about that.....

Google will like you, so long as everything you do is with Google.

Right now they're tryin' to pool all their services together, the next step is to unify and pin it down onto YOU, your details, your history of everything you do online, (they log your Google searches, you know?).

YOU HAVE TO HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT TO GET NEW STUFF ON YOUR ANDROID PHONE!!!!!

So, now they know which phone you have (it's MAC address), they know where you connect with it to the internet, they know everything you search for, every YouTube video you look at..... It's crazy!! How do we know they're not sending our text messages to their head office? Readin' over how we're gonna "Bang you like a monkey on crack when we get home tonite!!".

>_>

I've totally lost the point in this little rant now. Sorry guys!! tongue

If I make people laugh, that makes me pleasant, right?

What if I make people laugh about unpleasant things?
  • From: #! NightClub
  • Registered: 2011-06-02
  • Posts: 3,869

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

@Martin: Are you sure it is that difficult to find a decent old school mobile phone? They are now soo cheap, like @el K's lighter, I have also such a thing, man, 10 days battery life, incredible! I think you want to make you believe you need a smart phone, you don't. smile

Font Task Force | The ultimate MPD guide | Little MOC how-to

The sound of #! COFFEE
  • Registered: 2009-10-10
  • Posts: 284

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

the motofone f3 from motorola is the the perfect smartphone for crunchbangers!
it has an E ink display and is very simple!
and: you can get those very cheap at ebay - most of them unused...
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/218/454511242_54755a4ab9.jpg

Last edited by beadmaze (2012-01-29 22:42:36)

Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup of  milk, 3 tbs water, 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 apple, few grains of salt
Preheat your pan or griddle to about medium heat. Slowly combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, work in sliced apple. Each pancake should take about a minute or so on each side. Serve with plum jam, maple syrup, or powdered sugar
  • pvsage
  • Internal Affairs
  • Offline
  • From: Section Six
  • Registered: 2009-10-18
  • Posts: 6,006

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

^ Is that considered a "smart" phone?  Looks more like a basic disposable mobile.

while ( ! ( succeed = try() ) );
  • Registered: 2009-10-10
  • Posts: 284

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

@pvsage well, this phone is very smart, you know?!
the great tihng about it is you can even "programm" it via magic combination of numbers...

[however, my post referred to the initial

"I thought we could have some fun here"

in the Off topic]

Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup of  milk, 3 tbs water, 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 apple, few grains of salt
Preheat your pan or griddle to about medium heat. Slowly combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, work in sliced apple. Each pancake should take about a minute or so on each side. Serve with plum jam, maple syrup, or powdered sugar
  • From: Stockholm, Sweden
  • Registered: 2009-01-23
  • Posts: 241

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

Great response so far and great fun!
My smartphone colleagues enjoyed gutterslob's rant for sure :-)

I do find old-style phones but those that are pure 2G-phones only are very basic in quality and with less features (only dual band for instance) than my old T310. Old-style 3G-phones (Nokia C2-01 etc as mentioned by linux4life88) seems better built and works on all major frequency bands.

I popped into one of those all things electronic department stores tonight and probed a few phones. The Nokia C-whatever seem nice and the Sony Ericsson Cedar (or some such) wasn't bad either. Of the proper smartphones I really only noticed the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray for being sleek and still having some screen size, Xperia Active for its rugged chubbiness and the Nokia N9 for looking and feeling much better/solid than any Samsung/HTC/Apple. How they actually work is impossible to know but some of them were alive and I could at least read the screen of the Nokia C5 (I turn 52 in a months time) and its keys felt OK.

The Motofone is not a smartphone by any stretch of imagination but I kind of like its style. I don't think I have ever seen one over here though.

/Martin

MartinRF's Website

  • Registered: 2009-01-07
  • Posts: 306

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

What would be real cool is to install #! on a smartphone.
And add ability to make phone calls.

Sheng-Chieh

Tux's Links
http://shengchieh.50webs.com/tuxslinks.html
  • Registered: 2009-11-03
  • Posts: 2,009

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

Old image of a Debian on a HTC Incredible

http://ompldr.org/tY2pydQ

Pointless, but nice.

Last edited by gutterslob (2012-01-31 11:39:00)

Point & Squirt
  • From: 127.0.0.1
  • Registered: 2010-07-02
  • Posts: 1,274

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

You can get a N9 for around $300 if you shop around. I've been tempted.

  • Registered: 2009-11-03
  • Posts: 2,009

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

^It's great, imho.
I have a 16GB black one. It has it's flaws, but there's just something very cerebral about the experience. The swipe-UI is the most natural of any smartphone OS interfaces. I often end up trying to swipe and double-tap my Android handsets in the same manner unconsciously. Battery life is pretty decent compared to most smartphones as well, though don't expect dumbphone levels of uptime. The multitasking is a thing of beauty.
Update PR 1.2 is just around the corner, btw.

But... I wouldn't really recommend it to someone who's looking for an app-ecosystem (whatever that means). The reason I got it was because I wanted the last real Nokia phone (R.I.P Nokia), and also cos many of the former Maemo/Meego-Harmattan devs are currently contributing to the Mer framework (forget Tizen) and Nemo, so if any current-gen phone gets compatibility, it'll most probably be the N9.

Last edited by gutterslob (2012-01-31 13:20:17)

Point & Squirt
  • From: Stockholm, Sweden
  • Registered: 2009-01-23
  • Posts: 241

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

Almost a month since starting this thread and I have yet to do something about my phone inventory. I have simply been too busy for anything but short bursts of 'researching' smart phones. Now I have two questions.

I have never really felt the need for navigational help even when traveling abroad but that is when it could be useful. On Android phones navigation relies on access to Google Maps I understand. That means constantly downloading data with roaming fees. I assume there are ways around this and I have found at least one app that claims it can cache Open Street maps. What do you guys use? What works? (Buying a Nokia phone takes care of this) Are there any differences between Android phone brands?

Second consideration: If I ever wanted to write myself some little app it would have to be Python-based. This should be possible for Android and, I think, for Symbians and Meego but what about the others?

/Martin

MartinRF's Website

  • Registered: 2009-10-10
  • Posts: 284

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

maybe this one is the right phone for crunchbangers:
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Neo_FreeRunner
as it should be possible to run #! on it...

Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup of  milk, 3 tbs water, 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 apple, few grains of salt
Preheat your pan or griddle to about medium heat. Slowly combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, work in sliced apple. Each pancake should take about a minute or so on each side. Serve with plum jam, maple syrup, or powdered sugar
  • From: Japan
  • Registered: 2011-04-09
  • Posts: 475

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

Ive been enjoying my Japanese pseudo-dumb phone.  It has tons of features but a very clunky interface.  I can also scrape 2 weeks of battery life out of it.  Can browse the internet if I have to... but its not pretty, or fast.

一期一会 Let it be good.
My Screenshots - Blog
  • dubois
  • The Old Codger
  • Offline
  • From: Austin, Texas
  • Registered: 2010-09-03
  • Posts: 2,193

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

^ MartinRF, Open Street Maps is the way to go if at all possible.  big_smile

My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.
Cary Grant
  • Registered: 2011-05-02
  • Posts: 1,069

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

pseudo dumb-phone Motorola - I do not use the $$$data feature

basic is good for now even without apps feature

Vansgo's Website

  • kd5ob
  • #! CrunchBanger
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2012-02-02
  • Posts: 144

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

gutterslob wrote:

It seems I've been ranting a lot about smart-ass phones today.....

I'll break it down by platform

iOS/iPhone
Kind of like living with your retired mother in a nice neighborhood. You get a lot of perks like food (timely-updates), washing (very clean UI), and a sense of belonging (Apple's really good at pretending they care about their users). Added benefits include the security and serenity of the neighborhood (not many rogue apps due to Apple's iron grip on the App store), plus you don't get dodgy door-to-door salesmen trying to sell you crappy stuff (less useless apps compared to Android). The neighbors are mostly conservative folk, if a bit hipster-ish and tend to believe everything the government tells them (iSheep). Your mom, being a mother and all, is over-protective in many cases. It's rumored that she killed innocent kids (Foxconn) in the past just to get you a place in university. Also you'll have to pay for everything since your mom is retired and all. So every little thing is gonna take a bite out of your wallet (seriously, $4.99 for an app to open zip files...wtf?!). She'll argue that she slogged to give you a good life and home and whatnot, and the price you pay is that you have to do everything as she says (eg: you can't simply drag n drop files via usb like other handsets, you need to use the blasted iTunes or some Mono-infested gtkpod shit-app to transfer media). Obviously, girlfriends and porn are out of the question.


Android
A bit like living with a bipolar stripper girlfriend in an urban semi-chicque ghetto. She can be hot when needed (ICS looks great), and the sex is usually pretty satisfactory (speed is much improved). Problem is, being bi-polar and all, she might try to stab you (crashes/random reboots) every once in a while. Plus she has some really privy friends and can't help gossiping about you (Google's privacy policy) to everyone. The door-to-door salespeople try and sell you all sorts of weird stuff (useless apps) and you'll probably get a friendly wink from the resident drug-pusher asking if you need a fix (trojans/rogue apps). You've also got the old mafia (McAfee/Symantec) trying to sell you "protection", but no one really listens to them anymore so you're fine as long as you keep the doors locked. Oh, and your girlfriend is an all-out swinger, so she'll often send her hooker friends over (Custom ROMS) for free - sometimes hot (CyanogenMod), sometimes not (every other ROM), but you'll never know what they're packin' underneath (Android ROM people suck at recompiling kernels) until it's too late.


Windows Phone
Kind of like living with a STD. You could be very capable at your job and whatnot (I heard it's quite fast and responsive), you could be living in a decent neighborhood (decent app selection, if highly vetted), heck you could even be a gorgeous supermodel (Nokia have always made sexy hardware).... but society will always label you as a STD carrier (Windows stigma)


Wonder what he thinks about Obama's Blackberry?  HA!  love this guy...

  • From: Stockholm, Sweden
  • Registered: 2009-01-23
  • Posts: 241

Re: Smartphone for crunch banger?

dubois wrote:

^ MartinRF, Open Street Maps is the way to go if at all possible.  big_smile

Yes but can I cache maps for my destination before leaving home?
Mapdroyd
http://www.mapdroyd.com/
claims I can but has anyone real life experience of this?

If I go for Nokia this is part of the Nokia Maps.

/Martin

MartinRF's Website