
Ask HN: Smartphone recommendation for developers in 2017? - dexcs
Hey guys, i need a new smartphone after my iphone 6 is falling apart. Currently i&#x27;m in the mood of trying something new after sticking to apple for several years. Is there any &quot;secure&quot; open-source smartphone out there which is worth a try? Looking at the blackphone right now... I need email, messengers like whatsapp, spotify and a camera would also be nice.<p>Other stuff is not necessary.<p>Thanks for help...
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roryisok
How about a Windows Phone? I know security through obscurity is generally not
encouraged, but the fact is that the majority of exploits target iOS and
Android, because the WP market share is so tiny that it's just not worth
trying. That counts for something.

I've got a Lumia 925 running Windows Phone 8.1, and a 640 running Windows 10
Mobile. Coming from iOS it'll take some getting used to. I'll try and be as
unbiased as possible here:

PROS:

\- fast, intuitive UI

\- email, whatsapp, spotify all available

\- no slowdown over time

CONS:

\- lots of big apps missing

\- No official Google apps (you can use gmail, but only through the stock
email app. Youtube is basically just a shortcut to the site)

\- Sometimes - no _often_ \- you get a 3rd rate app experience, as companies
put less effort into the apps for the shrinking market. for instance, slack is
a packaged web app on WP, but I'm pretty sure its a native app on both iOS and
Android.

\- limited hardware choice.

\- no third party keyboards (but the stock one is, IMHO, one of the best
mobile keyboards I've ever used)

\- speech recognition is inferior to Android / iOS

\- tied to MS services (OneDrive, Bing etc)

I miss trying out the latest apps. When some new todo list app is announced on
HN, it's never available for me. I feel left out at times.

The flipside of this is that I don't get sucked into playing Pokemon Go, or
Minecraft, or browsing Pinterest. I switch to android for a few months after
my last lumia broke, and I wasted so much time with my head buried in apps I
would have never used on WP. I recognised this and switched back.

------
brudgers
There is no mainstream open source phone.

If a Windows phone is a viable consideration, the Lumia 950 has a pretty good
camera in keeping with its Nokia heritage. Shoots RAW as DNG, full manual
controls, and the LumiaSuite image editor is pretty good.

Spotify and Whatsapp both have apps in the Windows Store (don't know how good
they are). Email app is reasonably good.

In terms of security, I'd bet on Microsoft or Apple or Android in focus. In
terms of research and disclosure, I would bet on Microsoft over Apple. All
that is premised on the idea that I am not doing something that is illegal in
the place where I live and am not a person of interest to state level actors.

Personally, I prefer the Windows interface to Android and iOS and OLED screens
are nice. Generally, Windows 10 Mobile has kept improving every month or so
since I bought my phone.

Probably the worst element of Windows 10 Mobile is maps. The text is not
readable without my reading glasses which is kind of not practical. Battery
life is mediocre.

Good luck.

Good luck.

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dexcs
Wow didnt't see that coming... to recommendations for windows phones. Thanks i
will have a look at it.

