[ale] Linux Smart Phone Recs

[Charles Shapiro]

Getting a smartphone is, well, fraught.  You are married to your wireless
provider.  Sprint is one of the relatively good guys of a quite bad lot.
I'm currently on T-Mobile, in large part because I find Verizon
unconscionable ( https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/11/verizon-x-uidh ).
Verizon also found a way to nullify HTC's bootloader policy, forcing you to
rely on Exploits to bring the phone under your control.  T-mobile still
helpfully informs me that my phone is rooted every month or so.

The radio part of every current smartphone (the software and hardware that
actually connects you to the phone network) is completely closed and
riddled with security holes.  You'll have to decide whether the inherent
insecurity of the device is worth the significant additional daily-life
power it gives you.  The latest editions of CM have some enhancements to
make you marginally safer, FWIW.

+1 for Oneplus one, although I've had no personal experience with it.
Failing that, HTC will unlock your bootloader on request (
http://www.htcdev.com/bootloader ), making it easy to install CyanogenMod
or any other 3rd party ROM you fancy.  Plan to spend at least a few hours
hacking your phone when you first take it out of the box.  It gets
significantly harder to make the device your own when you have content on
it.  I've been pretty happy with my HTC One M8, although the speakerphone
and sound recorder mic is very weak.

I'm also a fan of swappa ( http://swappa.com ), a site where people sell
their used Android phones.  I've bought a couple of phones through them and
been happy with the results.  Wireless provider purchase plans are
generally a poor deal.   You can usually purchase a phone outright for
significantly less, and you shouldn't have to pay to get free of your
provider if you decide you don't like them.

-- CHS




On Tue, Nov 4, 2014 at 12:02 PM, Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com> wrote:

> Oneplus one
>
> Runs a cyanogen out of the box.
>
> Availability is an issue. Presales SWAMPED the site. It's on par with a
> nexxus 6 at half the price. Reviewers have liked it lots.
> On Nov 4, 2014 11:19 AM, "H P Ladds" <householdwords at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I'm (with some dread) giving-in and buying a "smart" phone.
>>
>> I seem always to turn a tech buying decision into a big "thing." I fear
>> that as I learn of all the proprietary tech, backdoors and privacy rights
>> stomping I will become angry and despondent.  But here goes...
>>
>> What stay ye Linux enthusiasts -- what phone should I buy for the Sprint
>> network?
>>
>> My inclination is to use Cyanogenmod.
>>
>> I prefer a phone that allows me use the machine in any way I see fit. If
>> I want to repurpose the thing as calculator, that's my choice.
>>
>> Is this Holy War fodder -- hope not?
>>
>> Cheers and TIA.
>>
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