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[Cosmic Bus]

Could you not just stay with Virgin Mobile and get the new Xperia?

I'm sort of in the same boat. I want the new Xperia Compact but I'm currently on Verizon so I'm wondering what I should ditch Verizon for. Would Virgin be a good choice?

I don't think you can use just any unlocked phone on Virgin, it has to be one of their branded devices to work. Their selection is extremely limited and generally quite out of date, otherwise I'd stay with the service since it's so cheap.

Main reason I hope a carrier will stock the Xperia is so I can do monthly payments instead of having to drop $400+ straight up for a phone.

 

[DrFunk]

Virgin Mobile (US) is CDMA, so the Xperia X Compact can't work with them. If you really want it, you'd have to switch to a GSM carrier (or their MVNOs) and buy it unlocked, unfortunately.

 

[kaiyo]

And you'll get fingerprint reader activated lol.

I'm in Canada, Sony (for the first time) isn't releasing it here.


The fingerprint reader is deactivated via software so you can easily flash to a international firmware to get the fingerprint reader back.

 

[osiris3355]

I'm in Canada, Sony (for the first time) isn't releasing it here.


The fingerprint reader is deactivated via software so you can easily flash to a international firmware to get the fingerprint reader back.

Does anyone know why they do this? Is it because of a Qualcomm patent or something?

 

[Protome]

Does anyone know why they do this? Is it because of a Qualcomm patent or something?

I don't think they've properly said before. I asked a couple of pages back and brotkasten explained it as:

When they unveiled the Z5 last year, they said it was a business decision to leave out the fingerprint sensor in the US. That points to licensing costs that they want to save. Since the power button is the fingerprint scanner and they didn't bother to produce a different SKU for the US market, it can be enabled by flashing the international ROM on the device. At least it worked for the Z5, I think.

 

[kaiyo]

Does anyone know why they do this? Is it because of a Qualcomm patent or something?

Who really knows what Sony (mobile) is thinking. I mean why did they make a Xperia X Compact and not a XZ Compact? Their X series are confusing. And I thought they were streamlining their lineup.

Right now they have X, XA, XA Ultra, X Performance, E5, X Compact, XZ

X Compact really isnt needed.


Since they insist on having 2 flagships per year for Asian markets. They should release 5" phones in first half and a 5.2"/4.6" ones in the second half. And maybe throw in an Ultra (6.x"). So next year they have X2 Performance 5", a mid tier XA2. In the second half they would have a XZ 2, a XZ 2 Compact, and XZ 2 Ultra. And if they want an Ultra mid tier, throw it in the first half.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

X Compact is now for sale.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/25/xperia-x-compact-now-available-amazon-unlocked-499/

$500 for a SD650 and only a 720p screen...

 

[ThisOne]

So if I can't do Virgin with Sony phones, what carrier should I go for? I'm in the US and looking for a decently priced plan that won't tie me into a contract. Cricket any good?

 

[No Love]

X Compact is now for sale.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/25/xperia-x-compact-now-available-amazon-unlocked-499/

$500 for a SD650 and only a 720p screen...

Sony is a joke. ZTE Zmax Pro @ 1080p and SD617 for $100. How much better can the X Compact be?

 

[No Love]

So if I can't do Virgin with Sony phones, what carrier should I go for? I'm in the US and looking for a decently priced plan that won't tie me into a contract. Cricket any good?

MetroPCS is pretty unbeatable for me. I got rid of T-Mobile (same network) and switched to Metro for $100/mo for 3 lines with 5GB of data each.

 

[Junior Mint]

X Compact is now for sale.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/25/xperia-x-compact-now-available-amazon-unlocked-499/

$500 for a SD650 and only a 720p screen...

LOL

 

[Jzero]

Sony is a joke. ZTE Zmax Pro @ 1080p and SD617 for $100. How much better can the X Compact be?

It's Sony. You overpay for the brand.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

It's Sony. You overpay for the brand.

I really like their phones, but they need to restructure how much they make people pay for fucking phones. For that $500 phone, I can almost guess that the phone's parts only cost $100 at most.

 

[Junior Mint]

Sony still thinks they're a more premium brand than Apple

 

[osiris3355]

It's Sony. You overpay for the brand.

According to gaf OEMs aren't allowed to charge flagship pricing unless they sell as much as Samsung or apple.

 

[kaiyo]

Sony is a joke. ZTE Zmax Pro @ 1080p and SD617 for $100. How much better can the X Compact be?

Well SD650 is much better than SD617. And X Compact will get updated more/longer than Zmax. Also, one's a 4.6" screen the other is a phablet, cant really compare the two.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Well SD650 is much better than SD617. And X Compact will get updated more/longer than Zmax. Also, one's a 4.6" screen the other is a phablet, cant really compare the two.

Either way, the price is still a really rough one to swallow.

 

[Jeffrey]

Does Sony brand mean anything outside of Japan?

They were popular in china for a period but it's all about Chinese brands now.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Sony still thinks they're a more premium brand than Apple

Apple doesn't sell TVs or Playstations so in some situations they are.

Sony has been d-e-d ded in phones for years now though, so they no longer give any fucks outside of Japan.

 

[Quasar]

Does Sony brand mean anything outside of Japan?.

Certainly.

 

[Vic]

Does Sony brand mean anything outside of Japan anymore?

Fixed for accuracy.

 

[kaiyo]

Either way, the price is still a really rough one to swallow.

Ya the pricing is wack in the US

Does Sony brand mean anything outside of Japan?

They were popular in china for a period but it's all about Chinese brands now.

Apple doesn't sell TVs or Playstations so in some situations they are.

Sony has been d-e-d ded in phones for years now though, so they no longer give any fucks outside of Japan.

They are still pretty popular in the Europe.

Sony Mobile doesn't care about the US, and hasn't for a while now. They didn't (much) and don't want play cat and mouse with US carriers.

On another note Sony Mobile does contribute a lot to the AOSP.

 

[Jeffrey]

I recall there being xiaomi or Huawei or some Chinese phone recently that had a sd650 for $200.


Ah this. Pretty good value.


http://www.xiaomidevice.com/xiaomi-redmi-note-3-pro.html

 

[The Faceless Master]

Will any of the 'big 4' US carriers be stocking the Xperia X Compact? I'm on Virgin Mobile right now with a very old Galaxy S3 that's about to die, and will probably move to a "real" cell carrier next. Problem is, all the new Android phones are way too big for me and this Xperia looks like one of the few options I have (or switching to iPhone, which I don't really want to do).

man up.

my li'l sister moved from a GS4 to a Note 7.

 

[this_guy]

So if I can't do Virgin with Sony phones, what carrier should I go for? I'm in the US and looking for a decently priced plan that won't tie me into a contract. Cricket any good?

MetroPCS (uses T-Mobile network) or Cricket (AT&T).

 

[ThisOne]

Ultimately, I'm hoping that one of the new Pixel phones will work for me but the price rumors are off putting. I love the look of Sony's phones but they are ultimately too expensive too.

Are the Axon 7 or OnePlus 3 considered good phones by GAF? Reviews seem good for both and they are more in the price range I'd prefer.

 

[kaiyo]

man up.

my li'l sister moved from a GS4 to a Note 7.

What does your sister have to do with him not wanting a large phone? lol

 

[The Faceless Master]

What does your sister have to do with him not wanting a large phone? lol

my bad.

get an iPhone SE fam.

 

[DrFunk]

Ultimately, I'm hoping that one of the new Pixel phones will work for me but the price rumors are off putting. I love the look of Sony's phones but they are ultimately too expensive too.

Are the Axon 7 or OnePlus 3 considered good phones by GAF? Reviews seem good for both and they are more in the price range I'd prefer.

The Axon 7 is a fantastic phone, and honestly, one of the few phones that has managed to avoid heavy criticism by AndroidGAF. I think one of the biggest issues was it not being available - even reviews are mostly positive. I'd say look into it.

 

[Bboy AJ]

Pixel phone has to have something to it. It's gotta

It looks like October 4 has a lot of news to break, device wise. Lots of stuff getting announced.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Pixel phone has to have something to it. It's gotta

It looks like October 4 has a lot of news to break, device wise. Lots of stuff getting announced.

I'm still betting the price isn't going to be as awful as we think. I also don't think it's going to be a Verizon exclusive like it's been shown. I think those are the two big things. If they could have a similar pricing scheme to when the 5X and 6P came out, it will do well. But we have to see how it turns out on the 4th.

 

[Quasar]

I'm still betting the price isn't going to be as awful as we think. I also don't think it's going to be a Verizon exclusive like it's been shown. I think those are the two big things. If they could have a similar pricing scheme to when the 5X and 6P came out, it will do well. But we have to see how it turns out on the 4th.

I just expect it to be price like other pixel devices, despite it not being a real pixel device in my mind.

 

[this_guy]

Pixel phone has to have something to it. It's gotta

It looks like October 4 has a lot of news to break, device wise. Lots of stuff getting announced.

If they give promotional pricing for signing up with Google Fi like they did with the Nexus 5x I'd be interested.

 

[The Faceless Master]

Pixel phone has to have something to it. It's gotta

It looks like October 4 has a lot of news to break, device wise. Lots of stuff getting announced.

it's gonna have USB-HDMI support and run ChromeOS on a TV when docked.




















i just made that up;

 

[AlphaDump]

Finally got my replacement Note 7. Had black before but went with Coral Blue instead this time, I absolutely love it.

The guy at Verizon said the specs changed but wouldn't elaborate, just "better". He did say all models were going to be the same now internationally, but said no when i asked if it had the faster euro processor. Not sure what that means exactly...

Either way glad i waited.

 

[DrFunk]

Finally got my replacement Note 7. Had black before but went with Coral Blue instead this time, I absolutely love it.

The guy at Verizon said the specs changed but wouldn't elaborate, just "better". He did say all models were going to be the same now internationally, but said no when i asked if it had the faster euro processor. Not sure what that means exactly...

Either way glad i waited.

Nothing's really changed. You just have a non-explodey battery. You don't have the Exynos processor, which is used in the international versions. Still the same Snapdragon 820.

 

[HawkeyeIC]

Pixel phone has to have something to it. It's gotta.

Don't do this to yourself. Next year's phone might have some secret sauce, but not this year's. Not enough time for Google to put something together.

 

[Jeffrey]

the secret sauce is shit battery in the next major android update :^)

 

[AlphaDump]

Nothing's really changed. You just have a non-explodey battery. You don't have the Exynos processor, which is used in the international versions. Still the same Snapdragon 820.

Yeah I'm just glad the battery is sa-

 

[Quasar]

https://9to5google.com/2016/09/25/google-is-testing-andromeda-chrome-osandroid-hybrid-htc-nexus-9/

I guess this is something about Andromeda.

 

[LostMyNarbles]

Seems like Android Police will have something to share related to Andromeda tomorrow. Going off Rudock's Twitter.

We'll have something to share tomorrow morning that should make the case Andromeda is going to be a big deal.

 

[Chinner]

What the hell is andromedia?

 

[osiris3355]

What the hell is andromedia?

The new version of Android that will be installed on laptops instead of chrome OS.

At least thats the rumor...

 

[Quasar]

The new version of Android that will be installed on laptops instead of chrome OS.

At least thats the rumor...

And tablets if the testing on Nexus 9's is any guide.

I guess this is the evolution of the whole running android apps on Chrome idea. Surprised its moving so fast given we're just now starting to see android apps on chrome.

 

[Bboy AJ]

Seems like Android Police will have something to share related to Andromeda tomorrow. Going off Rudock's Twitter.

Better be a new tablet.

 

[Quasar]

Better be a new tablet.

Well there is the long rumoured Huawei 7inch tablet.

 

[wilflare]

not sure if I asked this question here before (if so, I'm sorry. age is catching up to me).

how many of you carry two phones (one personal, one work)
and how do straddle your Play Store account, etc.?

 

[NotBacon]

Can't wait for Oct. 4th. I love my Nexus 6 but it's time for something new and shiny. And if the Pixel is a flop

Spoiler

please don't be

I can still grab a 6P for a good price.

 

[Bboy AJ]

https://9to5google.com/2016/09/25/google-is-testing-andromeda-chrome-osandroid-hybrid-htc-nexus-9/

I guess this is something about Andromeda.

Why would they test on the absolute garbage Nexus 9 and not the Pixel C?

 

[OG Kush]

Didn't expect it to happen but I uninstalled Facbeook on my 1 week old S7 and battery has improved by quite a decent amount.