Can I get some help with testing an Android?

[RasperberryIV]

Help with testing Android

I currently have a Windows Phone and would like to test Android to see if I want to switch. I would like to demo Android 5.0 on a cheap device prior to making the switch. I am not concerned with having cellular coverage so no carrier requirements.

Could someone suggest a device to do this with? Would it also require a different ROM from what it comes with?

Thank you.

 

[belodion]

Welcome to AC.☺

If you're talking about phones rather than tablets, and ones that have already been updated to Android 5.0, so far as I know there's not much more choice at the moment than the LG Google Nexus 5, to give it its full name. I have one, it's a very high quality device, and even bought new, is inexpensive. However, Android 5.0 is new and is not without its problems, which will no doubt be dealt with in further updates, so it will not necessarily give you a good idea of what using a typical Android device is like.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Rukbat]

Re: Help with testing Android

I'd agree with belodion and buy the cheapest Android 4.3 or 4.4 phone I could find (even used, but working), to see what Android looks like (it's very different than Windows). I did that to check carrier coverage - bought a $10 Tracfone that runs on AT&T to see if I got coverage where I needed it. (It's about the cheapest new working AT&T phone there is - not Android, just a phone. Eventually my grandson got the phone, which is now sitting on my desk being charged because he left it here.) You can probably find a working Android phone for a few $10 bills on Craig's List. Normally I wouldn't suggest that because of the "Craig's List Scam - they sell you the phone, then report it stolen and have it replaced - you can't activate the phone. But in your case, you don't plan on activating it, so as long as it's working, you can "sideload" any apps you want to try out (remember, though, that a $20 phone is going to be slow, and not have much storage space for apps) and, if you decide that Android's not for you, you haven't lost much. If you plan on using it as an emergency spare, do the exchange at the carrier's and ask them, even though you're not putting it on a plan, to change the owner of record to you - before you hand the money over. An honest local seller won't have a problem with that.

Try to find one for the carrier you currently use, so that if you do decide to keep it, it's a spare phone. (Keep the battery out of the phone [IOW, it has to be a phone with a removable battery] and at about 40% charge, and check it every few months, recharging as needed, when it's sitting in a drawer, and you'll have a "who cares if I lose it" phone for years. That's my 10 year old Motorola V551. It has a camera [that was new back then] and an contact list [also pretty new] - but it makes and receives phone calls, and would cost about $20 to replace.)