Bye bye Google Nexus line and Hello Android Silver?

[Duncan]

I was waiting to see what the new Nexus 6 would look like before deciding which phone to pick up next but it might look like i'll have to wait til next year to see what Google does. Rumors have it dropping the Nexus line in favour of Android Silver. Basically they're trying to unify their ecosystem so bloatware isn't as big of a factor with phones on Android.



Hmmm... i wonder if i can wait that long to see what the first iteration for this new line looks like. My patience with my iPhone4 is wavering.

[jeSteR]

Samsung is releasing the Galaxy F around the same time as the iPhone 6. It's supposed to have most of the bloatware off.

[joel]

why not get a one plus one?

http://oneplus.net/

[joel]

[geForce]

[Duncan]

the OnePlus One looks cool, but people have said it's got poor call quality and it sucks that there's no microSD slot. it also is a 5.5" screen. It looks huge. the size isn't a big deal for me, but i wonder about the call quality.

[nature boy]

i hate it when phones don't have expandable memory. a guy (apple fanboi) said that no one needs expandable memory because of cloud services.
i'd still want expandable memory though.

[geForce]

If we don't need expandable memory because of cloud services, then Apple wouldn't make 16gb, 32gb and 64gb versions of the same phone. It's all a money-making ploy. Doesn't Apple charge for cloud storage too? I mean, you get a small amount for free, but they charge you if you want more, I think.

Also, using cloud services chews up data. Not everyone can afford 6gb data plans.

[joel]

the nexus 5 didn't have any type of SD slot either.

and now that there are micro usb memory sticks, technically all android phones have expandable memory.

i also think the benefit of not having the sd slot outweighs the benefit of having it. but that's just me...

[Duncan]

lol, dunno if i want a stick sticking out of my phone all the time or if i want to carry it all the time. the benefit of having a microSD is so that you can actually use it like in phone memory. You can even install apps on your microSD.

don't get me wrong, it's not a deal breaker because i've used a 16gb iphone forever and it hasn't been that bad, but it just sucks when i have to delete apps/videos/pics so often. The GS5 can use up to a 128GB microSD. That'd be sweet especially if i wanted to put videos on my phone for the kids.

[nature boy]

do all androids support reading off the usb port though? i thought that was a relatively new thing starting with the nexuseseesessses

[Duncan]

i think most androids in the past were able to read from the usb port. probably not the really early ones but android being an open file system at the core things i'd assume they could do it.

[nature boy]

[joel]

less power drain, less hardware/components, less kernel/driver/software running to support the sd slot, less redundancy and a more simple/elegant design...

while not a benefit, i also like that it promotes the concept of centralized data, rather than having disparate copies of media data on each device, that such information is hosted instead..

[nature boy]

hm, i guess i never looked at it that way. i like how i can swap out cards if i ever need to, and cheaply expand my memory when i need to as well.
it's the manufacturer's problem to work out the kinks, not mine, so i guess i don't see not having one as the benefit to the consumer.

like how apple is getting rid of the standard 3.5mm jack on their phones in favour of a new lightening port audio output. sure, i can get that doing so can make the phone thinner by like a half a millimeter, but i don't like how i would now have to use an adaptor if i want to use my old headphones. you want to make a thinner phone? that's your problem, but don't sacrifice my convenience for it.

having said that, i see the expandable memory thing being more and more a thing of the past, along with other conveniences that i've grown accustomed to. such is the way to try to be like apple, i guess.