

Which android phone is good for android app development? - mbchandar

HTC Wildfire?
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nuclear_eclipse
If you want a deal on a really good development phone, I'm looking to sell my
Nexus One. It's an excellent device, and is fully unlocked and can easily be
flashed with custom firmware or stock android from a nice GUI app at the drop
of a hat. I absolutely love the phone, but I just want the next greatest,
unlocked phone.

I still have all the original boxes, cables, books, etc, and I also have the
official car dock that puts the phone in car mode, has a loud speakerphone,
etc. It's engraved on the back with my username, but it's otherwise in
excellent condition, no scratches, screen protector, etc.

If you're interested, contact info is in my profile.

~~~
lzm
I'm interested in a Nexus One. I just sent you an email, but I understand if
you give priority to the poster or would not like to ship internationally.

If anyone here has a used, unlocked N1 and is willing to ship it to Brazil,
please contact me.

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theBobMcCormick
The Emulator will give you plenty of experience with what your app will run
like on _really_ slow hardware. :-( So I'd suggest skipping the common
recommendation of getting a low end phone like a G1. Get something reasonably
high end and recent. Almost anything decent and popular should do.

Having access to several devices might be beneficial if you're programming
something like a game (where you might want to playtest on different size
screens, etc.) or are otherwise pushing the UI envelope.

If you're doing basic productivity, social network, etc. apps (like todo
lists, twitter clients, etc), then there really isn't going to be much
different between different devices. If you follow the recommendations in the
developer doc on handling multiple display densities, etc. then the platform
really does a great job abstracting away any differences between different
phones.

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pcnofelt
I would get the G2 since it's Googles official development device. It may be a
bit clunky but its a solid hardware configuration and Google uses this device
internally for development. Also, the hard keyboard is useful when testing for
those target devices (folded up and hidden, virtual keyboard should activate).

I still use the G1 and it has yet to fail me.

G2 site: <http://bit.ly/g8Ck6E>

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bryanlarsen
I thought Google's official phones were the G1, Nexus 1 and Nexus S. The G2 is
an HTC-only effort, as far as I'm aware.

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runjake
The G2 is notable, because it's an HTC phone with an unmolested version of
Android. It's important to note the G1 was not an official Google developer
phone, either. You're thinking of the similarly-named, carrier and developer
unlocked ADP-1.

Google developer phones: ADP-1: aka G1 ADP-2: aka HTC Magic, myTouch Nexus One
Nexus S

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bryanlarsen
A couple of additional recommendations:

The G1 is not the lowest end Android phone you can get, hardware wise. The
Huawei U8100 is the lowest end phone I'm aware of. It's 320x240 resistive
screen and 128MB of RAM is truly crappy. It can be had for <$150, so testing
your app on a very-low-res screen won't cost too much.

And you may also want to test on a tablet, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab or a
rooted Nook to ensure your app doesn't look horrible when blown up on a large
screen.

OTOH, rumours are that the Android tablet marketplace will change
significantly soon, so you may want to hold off on a tablet.

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ryandvm
I've got an HTC/Droid Incredible and it's been pretty pleasant to work with. I
suspect as long as the carrier or manufacturer hasn't disabled the "USB
Debugging" option in the settings, they are all probably about the same.

I suppose what makes the Nexus platform good for development is that it's
usually running the latest Android version several months before the rest of
the market. Are there any other development benefits to having a Nexus?

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bdfh42
I have just ordered the new Nexus S for development work but the Samsung
Galaxy S looks the part as well.

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wccrawford
I'm pretty sure the Nexus S -is- a Galaxy S.

Nexus S, Vibrant, etc are all just the individual versions of the Galaxy S
class of phones.

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tocomment
Is there a price difference?

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wccrawford
All the different Galaxy S phones have slightly different features and prices.

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ins0mniac
HTC Desire. It matches the Nexus One in hardware spec and rooting the device
is just as easy (if you want to develop on custom ROM's).

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bmelton
If you can afford it, I'd recommend both the G1 and the G2. The G1 is pretty
much the lowest end device you'll have to deal with. I still have and use mine
regularly, and it is impeccable, though it's stuck on Android 1.6.

The G2 is the other end of the spectrum. It's far more cabable, modern,
bigger, yadda yadda. It's probably more like the top end phones you'll see
more frequently.

If you have to only get one or the other, go for the G2. If you want to make
sure that your stuff works on lower end devices, pick up a G1 too -- you
should be able to get one for a song.

~~~
bryanlarsen
For a top end phone, I'd recommend something which has been promised to
receive 2.3 quickly, which as far as I'm aware, is limited to the Nexus 1 and
the Nexus S.

