Love the Phone but HATE Sprint. Advice on Buying a New Android phone without a skin

[Bmilano3161]

I own an EVO

Love the phone - hate the provider. I hate Sprint so much that I am selling my EVO on eBay as I write this.

I am looking for an Android phone which does not have any skins on it. I am only aware of one such phone, the T-Mobile G2X.

Are there any others out there?

I live in NYC and Sprint's 4G coverage is horrible. I hardly ever am able to to access their 4G network and when I do get a connection it drops in seconds.

Their 3G isn't that much better. I am averaging .50mbs on the 3G network. And it ain't the phone. I had a bad EVO and Sprint replaced a week ago but that didn't change the horrible coverage I am getting

So it is time to make a change. Gonna eat the $100 early termination and get a new phone and a new network

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[project.in.process]

by Skin, you mean UI? or do you mean Theme of the phone?

If UI, then
majority of HTC phones use Sense UI
majority of Motorola phones use Blur UI
majority of Samsung phones use Touchwiz UI

your best bet would be a Nexus line of phone for true vanilla Android---
as stated by MsRandall, the Nexus S for Sprint will be released soon. It'll be Samsung, and might have Touchwiz added

 

[Bmilano3161]

by skin i mean ui

 

[MsRandall]

May 8th Nexus for Sprint will be released.

 

[igotsanevo4g]

The nexus line is pure Google, the nexus s 4g is coning to sprint. If you're switching from sprint, I'd suggest t mobile and the G2x.

 

[Bmilano3161]

Sprint is NOT an option - they are absolutely horrid in the NYC area.

 

[Bmilano3161]

Anyone here on t mobile?

 

[Dark Wizard Matoya]

I'm with Verizon and we don't have a pure Google phone either. At least Sprint will be getting the Nexus S. I doubt that Verizon will be getting a pure Google phone any time soon. I despise Sense's visual style with the burning intensity of a million blazing suns. It's just so childish and cartoony looking. It looks like it belongs on a children's toy, not a real piece of consumer electronics. If I had my way I would eliminate the custom UI's completely, or at least make them optional. Package them as an installable .apk file. If the user want's to install it they can. If they don't want to they don't have to. Oh well. Thank God for Cyanogenmod. And before anyone asks why I bought a Sense phone if I hate sense so much, I didn't. I was given my Droid Incredible as a gift this past Christmas so I didn't get to choose my phone or my carrier. If I had I would have a Nexus One right now. I love my Dinc, but I hate Sense.

Sorry about the rant. I just had to vent.

 

[Bmilano3161]

If I can't sell the EVO I'm going over to the revoke site and root the damn thing

 

[paradroid]

If you don't like sense, just root the phone, problem solved with the UI. doesn't help with the 4g though.

 

[Bmilano3161]

I read and watched lots of video about rooting my EVO
But I also read lots about Cyanogenmod.

What is this, what does it do and how do I install and use it ?

 

[Dark Wizard Matoya]

I read and watched lots of video about rooting my EVO
But I also read lots about Cyanogenmod.

What is this, what does it do and how do I install and use it ?

Cyanogenmod is a custom ROM built from the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) so it gives you the pure Google experience. I'm using it on my Incredible and I love it. This web site explains how to flash a custom ROM onto the Evo, just be sure to back up your current ROM first just in case.

http://theunlockr.com/2010/07/20/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-the-htc-evo-4g/

 

[thecarline]

Covering a lot of posts, but here goes:
1. If you don't like the UI but don't want to root, go with a new launcher, ADW, Launcher Pro, Zeam, SPB Shell 3d. Those are just apps in the app market but can give you a feeling of a brand new phone.
2. If you are interested in rooting; root. There are countless guides on this site plus almost everyone on the forum is helpful when rooting if you have questions. I rooted about 2-3 months ago. I like it.
3. Cyanogen or CM7 is a rom you can install on your phone after you root your phone. I think it may be the most widely known ROM; it is based on standard android. If you use CM7; you will not have the sense based widgets and features. It's a pretty nice rom; I had it for about a month; had no issues with it, but I missed the sense widgets.
4. After you root; there are an abundance of roms for the Evo; currently I'm on Myn Warm Z twopointtwo; its just like having htc sense but the newer version of sense.
5. Lastly, one nice thing, if you use it, about rooting is most roms come with a wireless tether app pre-installed. It allows you the ability to setup your phone as a wireless hotspot without having the additional sprint fee.

 

[dfine1966]

My question to the OP is are you wanted a new phone or a new network. If service is as bad as you say where you are, then rooting the phone or getting a vanilla phone on Sprint won't work for you. If service is bad where you live, you can get out of your contract without penalty. Make up your mind about if it is the phone or the Service. A new phone or rooted phone from Sprint won''t make a difference in coverage. Talk to friends in the city that you know and find out who has the best service where you are mostly. Then you can decide what phone you are going to get.

Good luck.

 

[RkyMtnHigh]

I'm with Verizon and we don't have a pure Google phone either. At least Sprint will be getting the Nexus S. I doubt that Verizon will be getting a pure Google phone any time soon. I despise Sense's visual style with the burning intensity of a million blazing suns. It's just so childish and cartoony looking. It looks like it belongs on a children's toy, not a real piece of consumer electronics. If I had my way I would eliminate the custom UI's completely, or at least make them optional. Package them as an installable .apk file. If the user want's to install it they can. If they don't want to they don't have to. Oh well. Thank God for Cyanogenmod. And before anyone asks why I bought a Sense phone if I hate sense so much, I didn't. I was given my Droid Incredible as a gift this past Christmas so I didn't get to choose my phone or my carrier. If I had I would have a Nexus One right now. I love my Dinc, but I hate Sense.

Sorry about the rant. I just had to vent.

Menu, Scenes, Clean Slate. Nothing there now, so it can't POSSIBLY look like a cartoon.

 

[Dark Wizard Matoya]

Menu, Scenes, Clean Slate. Nothing there now, so it can't POSSIBLY look like a cartoon.

To me everything about sense looks cartoony. The launcher, the dialer, the keyboard, everything. And since Sense is so deeply ingrained into the phone it's impossible to escape that cartoonish look completely short of flashing an AOSP ROM.

 

[Bmilano3161]

What is the URL?

 

[Dark Wizard Matoya]

What is the URL?

This site explains how to flash a custom ROM on the Evo...

How To: Load a Custom ROM on the HTC Evo 4G | TheUnlockr

and Cyanogenmod is here.

http://www.cyanogenmod.com/

 

[igotsanevo4g]

Check out the rooting/roms in hacks section here on AC for most of your questions on rooting etc.

 

[BroncoTed]

Sprint is NOT an option - they are absolutely horrid in the NYC area.

which area are you having data problems in? I too live in and work all around the NYC area and my experience is that Sprint is just as good as any other provider.