Droid Prime in October for Verizon

[nemov]

I've said it before and many times: the difference between a stock android phone and a nexus phone is a big deal. Great example: T-mobile G2. Ran 'stock' but wasn't updated for a long time after Gingerbread came out and was not even one of the first to get the Gingerbread update. The appeal of going Nexus is the updates. If the Prime is not a Nexus device, I see no added benefit to purchasing it.

As the owner of a OG Droid the added benefit isn't the updates, it's the vanilla Android experience with no UI built over it.

 

[soccerfon711]

As the owner of a OG Droid the added benefit isn't the updates, it's the vanilla Android experience with no UI built over it.

And sticking with that vanilla experience for months after other phones get updates? If you wanted a stock experience you could slap ADW on any phone. Nexus = complete Google support/fast updates.

 

[Hand_O_Death]

Ok, what the community cares about and what the general public cares about are two completely different things.

The OEMs and the carriers really don't care what the community wants. Phone nerds probably represent 1% of the buying market. In three months I think I've seen one person walk into the 5 stores I work in that was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about phones like we are.

Nexus phones are BORING and are hard to sell because they are BORING. Try to pitch the average person on the benefits of a pure Google phone and watch their eyes glaze over while they pretend to care what you're talking about. Try to get them to recognize how smooth phone A is over phone B and listen to them say, "I don't see it".

That's who the carriers care about. Pure Google has next to ZERO wow-factor, and hopefully Google has recognized this and will let Verizon and Samsung put out the first ICS phone as the Droid Prime. Google and Samsung want Apple bad now. Verizon wants mega-phones to battle it out while they sit back and watch the activations go up and up and up. A Nexus phone will not do that, unless ICS is something amazingly beyond belief, which I don't think Google is capable of. Google is hip, but they're not cool. Their mentality is too under-the-radar-ish.
Google and Verizon understand that Samsung is the top dog in the Android world. Samsung knows how to whip something together that most people will want to buy.

Everybody has to start understanding this about their beloved devices. Who cares about bloat, this, that and the other thing? Root the phone and flash the ROM if it's that big of a deal. That's half the fun!!! There's nothing but my limited understanding of the inner workings of Android that's keeping me from turning my phone into what ever I want to. And don't argue that "I shouldn't have to blah blah blah..." Then why are there people rooting and flashing on Nexus phones?

PS: Speaking of bloatware, we don't know how super powerful and amazing ICS is going to be. I doubt any amount of bloat could hurt this phone.

Sent from my Samsung Droid Charge 4G-LTE

You are absolutely right about people. It is why iPhone ads are so popular. I mean every time I hear it say 'If you don;t have an iPhone, you don't have FaceTime" and all I can think of is "No, I don;t, I have a couple others including Tango which works on your phones better than your own program AND connects to my phone as well."

People want a selling factor thrown in their face and told it is the best and only way to accomplish that end goal, wether it is true or not. People are buying the LG Revolution and the only selling points are 1) The newest 4G phone and 2) The FIRST phone with the Netflix app. Really?

 

[Rominucka]

I actually like the Revolution. I've played with it many times and with the exception of it's slightly hazy screen, it's pretty cool.
As selling points I use, aside from the obvious Android benefits and 4G benefits...
Newest 4G phone
3 free months of Netflix
Then I pull out my Charge and say, "If the Revolution was out when I bought this (the Charge) I would have gotten that (the Revolution) instead". Hahahaha I'm lying though.
As I show them my phone, I say how LG was smart by combining the best aspects of stock Android and TouchWiz (another lie, kinda) and that they're smart for copying Samsung because Samsung has the most successful and easy to use interface (which I do believe)

So anyway, yea....Samsung Droid Prime (or whatever it's gonna be called Droid Charge 2), the greatest smartphone ever!!!!

 

[intheb0x]

im sorry,
there is NO way this phone can be even considered a nexus.

yes it may have ICS, but unless its BLOATware free, carrier crap free then its not a nexus.

VZW still has there dirty greedy hands all over it, so it wont get direct updates from google because vzw wont allow it,
there needs to be a sub board made for the Droid Prime, because its nothing close to a real nexus if its marked,and bloated with carrier crap.

thats like sprint getting the nexus s and installing carrier ID and sprint ID.

 

[Rominucka]

....there needs to be a sub board made for the Droid Prime....

Yes please I agree. If I see one more person whine and cry about bloatware and lack of vanilla Android I'm terminating my VZW contract and going to Metro PCS for a flip phone.
It's like a damn broken record around here.


Sent from my Samsung Droid Charge 4G-LTE

 

[f150fan]

Looks like you'll probably be cancelling your contract if other people complaining about something is enough for you to do that. People will always find something to complain about. It's the nature of the beast.

Back on topic, who knows if it will actually carry the Droid moniker. Time will tell and I can see it being an option, at least from a marketing standpoint. I hope that it actually keeps the Nexus name but I care more about it being treated like a true Nexus device than what they decide to name it.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk

 

[sndplace]

The DPrime could very well be the NexusP, In Specs , Casing and UI may or may not come fully bloated. But really who cares. I think the main concern is if this is not the official Nexus phone then updates will be coming from VZW and thats not what you want. This Phone will be amazing and if its not the Nexus3 ( i dont think it will) it wouldn't matter. For every million phone users of the same phone there are only 100 thousand or less that root, everyone else is ok with the phone the way it is so which customers would you really want under contract. ( just a scenario . not real facts but could be)

 

[Rominucka]

Looks like you'll probably be cancelling your contract if other people complaining about something is enough for you to do that. People will always find something to complain about. It's the nature of the beast.

That's not the point.
The point is that what ever this phone is, it is NOT a Nexus phone, so leaving it in the Nexus sub-forum just makes it a place for people to spam it with, "...if it isn't pure stock, you can suck my fat...", and stuff of the like.

Administrators and moderators, let this thread go free into the open Rumored Devices section to let Samsung/VZW/Droid fanboys with more balanced perspectives pontificate and fantasize over this future competition executioner, without the obstacle of the relentless redundancy that is the opinion of most Nexus fans.
Thank You!

 

[DolfanCole]

That's not the point.
The point is that what ever this phone is, it is NOT a Nexus phone, so leaving it in the Nexus sub-forum just makes it a place for people to spam it with, "...if it isn't pure stock, you can suck my fat...", and stuff of the like.

Administrators and moderators, let this thread go free into the open Rumored Devices section to let Samsung/VZW/Droid fanboys with more balanced perspectives pontificate and fantasize over this future competition executioner, without the obstacle of the relentless redundancy that is the opinion of most Nexus fans.
Thank You!

As far as I can tell, whether it's a Nexus phone or not is just speculation. Or better yet, speculation on top of more speculation. I don't think anyone can definitively say whether it is or is not a "true" Nexus phone at this stage. If they can, they should provide a link/source of the claim that proves it without a doubt.

 

[nemov]

As far as I can tell, whether it's a Nexus phone or not is just speculation. Or better yet, speculation on top of more speculation. I don't think anyone can definitively say whether it is or is not a "true" Nexus phone at this stage. If they can, they should provide a link/source of the claim that proves it without a doubt.

FWIW: Samsung ordered a cease and desist on the use of the term Nexus Prime.

 

[irl Panda]

The DPrime could very well be the NexusP, In Specs , Casing and UI may or may not come fully bloated. But really who cares. I think the main concern is if this is not the official Nexus phone then updates will be coming from VZW and thats not what you want. This Phone will be amazing and if its not the Nexus3 ( i dont think it will) it wouldn't matter. For every million phone users of the same phone there are only 100 thousand or less that root, everyone else is ok with the phone the way it is so which customers would you really want under contract. ( just a scenario . not real facts but could be)

Honestly, for us it shouldn't matter if it's a NP or not. Most, if not all of us, root our phones. With root, an unlocked device has the newest Android firmware when a dev gets the source code and writes a stable rom for it. This means you get it pretty much right when it is released on Nexus devices, and sometimes sooner if the OTA update rollout takes a week or more. Good example: Nexus 4G owners had 2.3.5 on July 25th (3 week rollout). I had 2.3.5 the next day on my OG Droid. There was actually a delay with the update for the original Nexus S. I'm not sure when it got it.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[soccerfon711]

FWIW: Samsung ordered a cease and desist on the use of the term Nexus Prime.

But that could be what other carriers are going to call it. We have no idea at this point.

 

[soccerfon711]

Honestly, for us it shouldn't matter if it's a NP or not. Most, if not all of us, root our phones. With root, an unlocked device has the newest Android firmware when a dev gets the source code and writes a stable rom for it. This means you get is pretty much right when it is released on Nexus devices, and sometimes sooner if the OTA update rollout takes a week or more. Good example: Nexus 4G owners had 2.3.5 on July 25th (3 week rollout). I had 2.3.5 the next day on my OG Droid. There was actually a delay with the update for the original Nexus S. I'm not sure when it got it.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Then why do you want a vanilla android phone if you can root your phone and have it on any phone? I don't understand why people that argue that it doesn't matter if this is a nexus or not are waiting for this phone. Not attacking, but I really would like to know.

 

[huskerkate]

FWIW: Samsung ordered a cease and desist on the use of the term Nexus Prime.

yeah, that's why P3droid keeps capitalizing "N" & "P" words in his tweets - e.g., Nice Phone, New Princess, etc...

 

[huskerkate]

Then why do you want a vanilla android phone if you can root your phone and have it on any phone? I don't understand why people that argue that it doesn't matter if this is a nexus or not are waiting for this phone. Not attacking, but I really would like to know.

if it's strictly a Nexus device, then it has an unlocked bootloader and no bloat, so it's extremely easy to root, add custom roms, overclock, etc. also, OS updates came directly from Google. however, with non-Nexus devices, the bootloaders can be locked, and it's much more difficult to root. also, you have to wait for OS updates to come from the OEM and carrier, because they have to be tweaked so as to run with all the tweaks that have been made to the OS. beyond that, if it's not a pure Nexus device, but a Nexus-type device with some other branding (e.g., Droid Prime), such a device is generally thought to be much more open, not locked down, and more readily available to accept OS updates.

the OG is an example. it is a Nexus-type device, inasmuch as it didn't have a ton of bloatware (no Blur, minimal pre-loaded system apps, etc) and the bootloader was pretty open. but, it wasn't a pure Nexus device, and carried the Droid branding. yet, it was easy to root, rom, and overclock. however, later Droid devices (DX, D2, etc) had locked bootloaders and lots of bloat, and weren't very open for custom development (at least not without a ton of effort).

so the debate here comes down to whether it will be Nexus Prime or Droid Prime. if it's Nexus Prime, then it will be a pure Nexus device, and wide open. but, if it's the Droid Prime, the concern is that it might be locked down, and have lots of bloatware. the other possibility is that, even with the Droid branding, it could still be a Nexus-type device (like the OG) and be a pretty open device that is very rootable and open to custom development.

personally, i'm all for the Droid Prime, as long as they use the Droid branding solely for marketing purposes. but, if they attach the Droid name to it, and lock it down, then BOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

[Rominucka]

so the debate here comes down to whether it will be Nexus Prime or Droid Prime. if it's Nexus Prime, then it will be a pure Nexus device, and wide open. but, if it's the Droid Prime, the concern is that it might be locked down, and have lots of bloatware. the other possibility is that, even with the Droid branding, it could still be a Nexus-type device (like the OG) and be a pretty open device that is very rootable and open to custom development.

It seems like Samsung phones are pretty easy to root, they are friendly to the Dev community. I didn't get my Charge on launch day, I think I got it a month later, and rooting and ROMing was already going down, but the Charge is basically a beefy version of the Fascinate so that does have to be taken into account.

But seeing as this is going to be the latest and greatest, never before seen version of the OS, it might take a little longer to figure how to root it. The only thing that concerns me about bloat is the aspect of slowing the phone down, but the Samsung ICS phone is going to be a monster of biblical proportions.
I think we'll all be pretty happy with this new device out of the box, long enough to tide us over till root is achieved. Better yet, if the phone looks and performs well enough, I probably'll just use my Charge for all my customizing desires and keep the i515 (or whatever the ICS phone will be) stock.

 

[soccerfon711]

if it's strictly a Nexus device, then it has an unlocked bootloader and no bloat, so it's extremely easy to root, add custom roms, overclock, etc. also, OS updates came directly from Google. however, with non-Nexus devices, the bootloaders can be locked, and it's much more difficult to root. also, you have to wait for OS updates to come from the OEM and carrier, because they have to be tweaked so as to run with all the tweaks that have been made to the OS. beyond that, if it's not a pure Nexus device, but a Nexus-type device with some other branding (e.g., Droid Prime), such a device is generally thought to be much more open, not locked down, and more readily available to accept OS updates.

the OG is an example. it is a Nexus-type device, inasmuch as it didn't have a ton of bloatware (no Blur, minimal pre-loaded system apps, etc) and the bootloader was pretty open. but, it wasn't a pure Nexus device, and carried the Droid branding. yet, it was easy to root, rom, and overclock. however, later Droid devices (DX, D2, etc) had locked bootloaders and lots of bloat, and weren't very open for custom development (at least not without a ton of effort).

so the debate here comes down to whether it will be Nexus Prime or Droid Prime. if it's Nexus Prime, then it will be a pure Nexus device, and wide open. but, if it's the Droid Prime, the concern is that it might be locked down, and have lots of bloatware. the other possibility is that, even with the Droid branding, it could still be a Nexus-type device (like the OG) and be a pretty open device that is very rootable and open to custom development.

personally, i'm all for the Droid Prime, as long as they use the Droid branding solely for marketing purposes. but, if they attach the Droid name to it, and lock it down, then BOOOOOOOO!!!!

That's exactly my point. Some people are saying it doesn't matter, but it really does. There is a difference between a vanilla android phone and a nexus phone. I would like this to be a nexus phone and represent all that Android is supposed to represent. If it is a stock phone (like the OG Droid), it will be a great phone, but will not have Google's complete support and will have bloat. I'm fine with it being a nexus phone and being called a 'Droid'. As long as Google is the main force behind it, Verizon can call it whatever the heck they want.

 

[DolfanCole]

That's exactly my point. Some people are saying it doesn't matter, but it really does. There is a difference between a vanilla android phone and a nexus phone. I would like this to be a nexus phone and represent all that Android is supposed to represent. If it is a stock phone (like the OG Droid), it will be a great phone, but will not have Google's complete support and will have bloat. I'm fine with it being a nexus phone and being called a 'Droid'. As long as Google is the main force behind it, Verizon can call it whatever the heck they want.

Whether it's a "Nexus Prime" or "Droid Prime", I'd like to call it "mine".

 

[irl Panda]

That's exactly my point. Some people are saying it doesn't matter, but it really does. There is a difference between a vanilla android phone and a nexus phone. I would like this to be a nexus phone and represent all that Android is supposed to represent. If it is a stock phone (like the OG Droid), it will be a great phone, but will not have Google's complete support and will have bloat. I'm fine with it being a nexus phone and being called a 'Droid'. As long as Google is the main force behind it, Verizon can call it whatever the heck they want.

Google isn't the main force behind any phone, Nexus or not. Sprint was still the one who released the OTA updates for both the Nexus S and the Nexus S 4G. One phone actually got the update before the other, meaning even pure Google devices don't get updates as soon as they are ready. This is a Samsung phone,so the possibility of it being locked is quite low since they actually gave the Cyanogen Team a SGSII to play around with. Sure, if this were being made by Motorola or HTC, things might be different. In this case, the phone is going to have just as much of a dev following as the OG Droid, and if you can't wait an extra day to get a new firmware update how are you going to wait 2-3 months for the actually phone to release?

To be honest, no one is going to know how this is going to play out. The person being slammed with C&D letters by Sammy for his work on the NP denies there even being a phone called the Droid Prime. I wouldn't worry too much when we have no idea if there is even a possibility of it being a Droid phone or not.

Edit: Can I also add real fast, that you can't receive OTA updates, as far as I'm aware, while rooted anyway?