A total droid newbie here. As in I've never even seen an android-based phone in person before. However, I am a web-application developer who needs to make sure her apps work well and look right on, among other things, android-based phones.
In general, I love Google products and the open design philosophy they espouse. Unfortunately, the cell phone world is a pain of locked phones and disabled features, and that seems to reach into the Droid realm as well. So I'm at a loss here. I was thinking that perhaps the people at this forum could help. I need:
* Basic featureset. The phone at a minimum needs to be able to support web browsing over wifi
* Fairly representative of the typical android product range most consumers will have
* Email support
* Minimal cost possible given the above
Here's what I would like:
* Not required to be locked into a given network
* Not required to have a data plan
* Able to make use of a minimal dataplan with low cost and minimal capabilities
* Still able to get higher data performance or more monthly data xfer if I later decide I want to pay for it.
* Able to have those capabilities in Iowa City, IA zip code 52240, and in Detroit, MI if possible
I've been told that Verizon has good coverage around here; I don't know about other providers. But when searched for "verizon droid unlocked", I found a lot of negative info about whether this was possible. Off the bat, all I'd want to pay for is enough data service to have access to email everywhere. Later, however, I might want more for actual data-intensive browsing.
To be honest, I would probably not buy a phone as expensive as these new smartphones if it were up to me. I don't really need those capabilities. But my work requires it, since *other* people are buying these phones, and I need to make sure our webapps look and run right on them. And so I want minimal cost (purchase and monthly) now, but . And I want things to be open/unlocked as much as possible. Nothing drives me crazier than existing capabilities being deliberately shut out of software (yeah, I'm a Linux user )
Thanks in advance!
- Karen
In general, I love Google products and the open design philosophy they espouse. Unfortunately, the cell phone world is a pain of locked phones and disabled features, and that seems to reach into the Droid realm as well. So I'm at a loss here. I was thinking that perhaps the people at this forum could help. I need:
* Basic featureset. The phone at a minimum needs to be able to support web browsing over wifi
* Fairly representative of the typical android product range most consumers will have
* Email support
* Minimal cost possible given the above
Here's what I would like:
* Not required to be locked into a given network
* Not required to have a data plan
* Able to make use of a minimal dataplan with low cost and minimal capabilities
* Still able to get higher data performance or more monthly data xfer if I later decide I want to pay for it.
* Able to have those capabilities in Iowa City, IA zip code 52240, and in Detroit, MI if possible
I've been told that Verizon has good coverage around here; I don't know about other providers. But when searched for "verizon droid unlocked", I found a lot of negative info about whether this was possible. Off the bat, all I'd want to pay for is enough data service to have access to email everywhere. Later, however, I might want more for actual data-intensive browsing.
To be honest, I would probably not buy a phone as expensive as these new smartphones if it were up to me. I don't really need those capabilities. But my work requires it, since *other* people are buying these phones, and I need to make sure our webapps look and run right on them. And so I want minimal cost (purchase and monthly) now, but . And I want things to be open/unlocked as much as possible. Nothing drives me crazier than existing capabilities being deliberately shut out of software (yeah, I'm a Linux user )
Thanks in advance!
- Karen
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