Buying a smartphone

1If you want to buy an Android phone, which one should you buy?

• Buy a phone that

  • is used (not new)
  • has external SD card

  • was originally sold by manufacturer, not carrier

    • is not carrier-locked

      • WP:SIM lock
      • WP:Razor and blades model

  • from a trusted person you know personally (family, friend, coworker)

• then factory-reset it.

• Which company's phone?

  • A Google Android phone has Google's crap.
  • A Samsung Android phone has Samsung's crap plus Google's crap.
  • An X Android phone has X's crap plus Google's crap.
  • 2014 New Android OEM licensing terms leak; "Open" comes with a lot of restrictions
  • androidforums.com: What smartphone has the least amount of or no bloatware?

• SO 13159494: Should I be concerned with flash memory write cycles resource limits? Likely no.

• Alternatives to Android?

  • forks (I don't know how usable)

    • WP:Replicant
    • WP:List of open-source mobile phones

  • It's hard to start an alternative.

    • user first or developer first?

      • WP:Catch-22
      • WP:Chicken or the egg
    • WP:Network effect
    • WP:Barriers to entry

    • Who has a WP:war chest that can match Google's?

  • if you don't need software compatibility

    • feature phones?
    • Ubuntu Phone?
    • Apple iPhone
    • Microsoft Windows Phone?

• Backdoors?

  • Need corroboration. Truth unknown.
  • I don't know whether these sources are true.
  • WP:Hardware backdoor
  • 2017, bleepingcomputer.com: Chinese Backdoor Still Active on Many Android Devices
  • 2013, zerohedge.com: NSA Has Full "Back Door" Access To iPhone, BlackBerry And Android Smartphones, Documents Reveal
  • 2015, wired.com: Cops don't need a crypto backdoor to get into your iphone

• When can I have a Debian phone? Why isn't there any?

  • https://www.androidpit.com/turn-your-android-device-into-a-linux-pc-without-rooting
  • https://www.thanassis.space/android.html
  • https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/maru-os-brings-debian-your-phone
  • or just buy a laptop/notebook/netbook and a GSM dongle
• Why are old Android phones so sluggish?
  • Combination of shitty (weak) hardware and shitty (bloated, RAM-eating) software.
  • 2018 software is still shitty (if not shittier); it's just that the hardware has become powerful enough to plow through all that shit.

2Android vs iPhone

• Which company would you rather screw you?
  • Company isn't about good or bad.
    • It's about profit.
    • Everyone can make mistakes.
  • Google
    • is an advertising company
      • 96% income from online ads
    • [salon.com: 4 ways Google is destroying privacy and collecting your data](https://www.salon.com/2014/02/05/4_ways_google_is_destroying_privacy_and_collecting_your_data_partner/)
  • Apple
    • is a hardware company
      • income from computers, phones, devices
        • with handsome profit margin
    • [cultofmac.com: MacBook butterfly keyboard problems spawn recall petition](https://www.cultofmac.com/545441/macbook-butterfly-keyboard-problems-recall-petition/)
  • playground analogy
    • Google is the kid who
      • has a design for big sand castle,
      • gets all the other kids to build that castle (with some strict licensing terms).
    • Apple is the kid who
      • builds the most beautiful sand castle
      • but doesn't want to play with anybody else.
• price
  • For the same hardware specs, Android phones should be much cheaper than iPhone.
• interoperability
  • Android phones use standard connectors (USB).
  • iPhone uses Apple-only connectors (Lightning).
    • There are adapters though, but sold separately?
    • Never expect any Apple hardware to just work with non-Apple hardware.
      • Either buy everything from Apple, or buy nothing from them.
        • Treat Apple as a religion.
          • You don't join a religion with half your ass. You go all-in.
      • [SO 18884705: Transfer data between iOS and Android via Bluetooth?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18884705/transfer-data-between-ios-and-android-via-bluetooth) No.
        • [Does wireless charging excuse Apple not using USB-C?](https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/9/14/16303506/apple-iphone-x-lightning-wireless-charging-qi-standard-usb-c) No.
• serviceability
  • You can't open the case of an iPhone.
    • You can't replace the battery of an iPhone.
• software
  • All popular services are likely to be available on both Android and iPhone: WhatsApp, Go-jek, Grab, Uber, etc.
    • Unless you're in China.
    • Android software
      • is more shitty
        • Java, bloat, no good for realtime audio
        • I bought a Samsung Galaxy Nexus in 2012.
          • Every time I turn wifi on, the phone hangs for a minute.
          • Every time I open Chrome after not using it for a while, the phone hangs for a minute.
      • but more varied because there are more users and developers.
    • Android has more software than iPhone,
      • but unless you have uncommon needs, both Android and iPhone should have the software.
• App store
  • Android: app store regulated by Google but not as heavily as Apple
  • iPhone: app store heavily regulated by Apple
• App store users
  • Android has lots of stupid users giving 1-star to an app for reasons unrelated to the app
  • iPhone users are more willing to pay than Android users

3Unethical phone companies.

3.1We should not let companies get away.

• I have so little control over my phone. That angers me so much. There is not much I can do about it; the only thing I can do. That angers me even more.
• <2018-10-26> I'm not going to install phone OS updates.
• We need a libre open source phone.
• How do we beat the network effect?

3.2Users are damned if they update their phone OS, damned if they don't.

• If you update, your phone slows down.
  • https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/24/apple-samsung-fined-for-slowing-down-phones
• If you don't update, you have security risk.

3.3Apple deliberately makes their devices irreparable.

• Genius Bar caught ripping customer off ON CAMERA by CBC News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2_SZ4tfLns