Too many poorly made phones

[Droid hungry]

Does anyone else feel like there are too many crappy phones being put out by companies just for the purpose of making a cheap android device and calling it an entry level android phone. Like maybe they are flooding the market instead of just making a couple of really good devices?

 

[SeeK]

Like the SE X10? Yes.

I think that the biggest problem is all the carrier "mods", shall we say, of standard HTC, Samsung and Motorola models that really don't seem like they got as much attention in the R&D department compared to the phones being sold globally.

 

[legendary1022]

I have no problem with it to be honest. Its the flexibility of android imo. It can scale for low to mid range all the way to the high end such as droid lines on verizon, galaxy s line, evo, and g2. It makes sense for companies to not build their own feature-phone os and stick with android. Sure the educated buyers like us won't look at these phones, but my mom and sister could care less. There are some duds out there (backflip, charm, etc) but there are some decent ones as well, like the new lg phones that are getting good reviews. You simply can't expect everyone to buy a 199.99 smartphone w/two-year contract. Some don't have the need or money to do so.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2

 

[dtboos]

I don't mind them having some lesser quality phones out there, but I do think they need to step up the quality on the 'high end' phones. HTC & Samsung both have way to poor of a build quality on their top end models; HTC having a few exceptions like the Nexus One. But the N1 was built to specifications handed to them by Google. I think the only good build quality phone they have released themselves was the Desire (and maybe the G2?)

If I buy a high end Android phone it shouldn't feel flimsy and be mostly housed in cheap plastic.

 

[legendary1022]

You must not have held a g2 which is pretty much a younger brother to the nexus one. Excellent build quality. To me htc and motorola have had some nicely built handsets. I hate samsung continues to use these cheap plastics like you said. That is what makes my stomach turn thinking about this nexus 2/s/whatever

Sent from my T-Mobile G2

 

[li2327]

I have the Motorola Charm and dropped it a million times. Not one scratch on it. I love this phone. Its no where near as nice as the motorola droid or other devices, but I like the fact that lower end devices are available for people who don't need all the bells and whistles.

 

[Papadakis]

This is one of my complaints about the galaxy s line(fascinate to be specific). The cpu/gpu and screen in the fascinate are amazing but the build quality is too cheap for me. If I am spending hundred of dollars on a device I dont want something made of basically all plastic

 

[dacp283]

The droid one was probably the best made phone I've ever owned...I really wish moto would have put that all metal case idea into my X I miss it.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[bfguns]

i'm on my 5th Sprint Epic. 'nuff said.
1) capacitive buttons didnt work right/major battery issues
2) capacitive buttons didnt work right.
3) GPS wasnt locking. (i'd be in Silver Spring, MD, while the GPS kept telling me i was in St Louis, even after a hard reboot)
4) 4g hardware died after 3 weeks
5) Day 3, so far it works.


(all of the devices have been hard-rebooted)

I've actually thought about going back to a blackberry.. at least i never hard hardware issues with any of the blackberries i've owned.

Samsung, get your act together on quality assurance.

 

[nfalbo]

Samsung is hit or miss. I had some Samsung dumb phones that were beasts their smart phones on the other hand seem to be a little less on the smart side compared to a HTC Motorola or a LG for that matter. I think that Samsung is trying to to release phones to quickly and is not putting enough effort into testing. I almost got a Galaxy phone buy when I heard about theproblems people were having I went with a Moto Droid 2. Great phone. Screen is not as nice as a Samsung but other hardware and software work and work great.

 

[bclinger#IM]

And then there are those of us who have had very few problems and for me, no problems at all that were not fixable with a bit of time. Battery issues: I have never gone all day on 1 charge using the standard battery. Never. Extended batteries make the difference, especially in areas where the signal is not good.

Buttons - work too dang well, especially the search button.

GPS - not a problem.

4G - not a problem, though rarely use it due to battery life.

Still using first device. Not every device I have had has that record. Dropped once hard on to a cement floor with no scratches and no performance issues.

Not all of us experience the problems you have and maybe the battery issue was just a bad battery? Batteries do go bad.

i'm on my 5th Sprint Epic. 'nuff said.
1) capacitive buttons didnt work right/major battery issues
2) capacitive buttons didnt work right.
3) GPS wasnt locking. (i'd be in Silver Spring, MD, while the GPS kept telling me i was in St Louis, even after a hard reboot)
4) 4g hardware died after 3 weeks
5) Day 3, so far it works.


(all of the devices have been hard-rebooted)

I've actually thought about going back to a blackberry.. at least i never hard hardware issues with any of the blackberries i've owned.

Samsung, get your act together on quality assurance.

 

[Beezzy]

My Droid 2 is the first smartphone I've owned that doesn't feel thr need to have a case, Im naked on it except that I have a Ghost Armor screen protection cause I will always worry bout scratching a screen, with or without gorilla glass. But this is the best and most solid built phone I've used. The keyboard is essentially one piece since there are no seems or holes in between buttons. They light up perfectly and I don't feel like it can break over time.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

 

[vailjo91#WP]

Alright so I see a lot of people bashing on the Samsung Galaxy S devices. I do admit a few were made crappily. My question to you have you picked up all of the devices or just one of them. I have used all of them and the best quality one was made for ATT. The Captivate is a good phone that is made to Quality and I have had less problems with it then I did with thte droid when I owned it. I had all 3 Versions of the Moto Droid and they were all carp. Next for phones for ATT Motorola has been dropping the ball especially in with the Backflip and Phones as stupid as the Flip Out. SO sure samsung has made some bad quality but so has Motorola and HTC and LG

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Here's the thing. I think this is the double edged sword that is Android. One of the great things (and sometimes not so great) about Android is the ability to put on basically any device running practically any combination of hardware and make it work.

I agree that I don't think it's that detrimental. Someone pointed out earlier that for tech savy users, these "low end" devices most of us wouldn't touch. But for someone who is looking for an inexpensive smartphone, and doesn't have the know-how as some of us do, a lot of these "low end" Android devices are a very attractive option, particularly some of the newer LG devices we have seen recently.

Are they the sexiest? Not at all. Are they the latest and greatest? Of course not. But they just plain work (usually). And sometimes, that's all someone wants.

 

[Droid hungry]

Fair enough. I guess I understand that but still i feel like even the lower end phones just arent very thought out and thrown together. I guess thats just my opinion though.

 

[Jerzyiroc]

I think it's kind of 50/50. I mean you have phones like the htc Hero which was built really good. Made with good materials and feels nice and solid. Personally I think the Hero was built better than the Galaxy phones, it definitely feels better in the hands I tell you that much. It really depends on the manufacture. I think within the next few months there's gonna be a bit of a blurry line between the low end and mir range Android phones. Even with the top end phones like the Galaxy line it can get iffy, but just about all the HTC and Motorola phones are built pretty good.

 

[Beezzy]

Alright so I see a lot of people bashing on the Samsung Galaxy S devices. I do admit a few were made crappily. My question to you have you picked up all of the devices or just one of them. I have used all of them and the best quality one was made for ATT. The Captivate is a good phone that is made to Quality and I have had less problems with it then I did with thte droid when I owned it. I had all 3 Versions of the Moto Droid and they were all carp. Next for phones for ATT Motorola has been dropping the ball especially in with the Backflip and Phones as stupid as the Flip Out. SO sure samsung has made some bad quality but so has Motorola and HTC and LG

But when we are bashing samsung phones, its the build of their Galaxy S line, the phones that are at the top of their food chain at the moment. The buggy GPS, no flash on the Vibrant or Captivate, and the cheap feeling plastic casing on the phones. These are all $100+($200/250) when they first came out) on 2 year contract. When I buy a phone I look for build quaility and the features. And how long will it last with my usage? The Vibrant feels like a toy compared to the Captivate. Now why is the GPS still an issue on most Galaxy S phones? Idk, maybe cause its a hardware and not a software issue. But Sammy is trying to clean it up with Software fixes.

Now you're saying the Backflip, Charm, and Flipside are all crappy devices, their entry level and most are free or $50 on contract. The backflip is a weird design yeah, but I still see most people with it and not have any hardware problems with their phone. And those people aren't their real techy Android fans you and I may be. But it works and they don't care bout the latest OS, just a working phone with cool apps. And all these phones have flash on the camera, working GPS, and still a solid feel. Not the lastest software but it gets the job done.

Completely different standards for 2 different crowds of people. So this is why people are upset that their high end Samsung Galaxy S phones aren't doing the same as these "stupid" phones as you like to put.



Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

 

[srkmagnus]

I have no problem with it to be honest. Its the flexibility of android imo. It can scale for low to mid range all the way to the high end such as droid lines on verizon, galaxy s line, evo, and g2. It makes sense for companies to not build their own feature-phone os and stick with android. Sure the educated buyers like us won't look at these phones, but my mom and sister could care less. There are some duds out there (backflip, charm, etc) but there are some decent ones as well, like the new lg phones that are getting good reviews. You simply can't expect everyone to buy a 199.99 smartphone w/two-year contract. Some don't have the need or money to do so.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2

Very well said. The consumer majority is not reading AndroidCentral or other Tech Sites waiting for the next high end Android device to be announced on their network.

With regards to the build quality many people are refering too, yes, a high end device should be exptected to have good build quality. But I'm sure there are many factors that play into how the final device is turned out in order for everyone to profit from it and keep the cost to the consumer low.