Android

[klight]

I am in the Info tech industry.

Three guys in the next cubicle just go the S2 and it is very kewl.

All the rest of us are suffering from phone lust......

[jckelly]

Yep... and today Bell has a 4 page spread in the Star where they are advertising their four, count 'em FOUR, dual core "superphones" which would appear to be the top of the line from Samsung, HTC, and Motorola. Meanwhile, over here at Rogers, we get to choose the top of the line from only... well... NOBODY.

[Mathieu]

These 4 smartphones from Bell will work perfectly on Rogers 3G network once unlocked.

If you really like one of them, but it, unlock it, put your Rogers SIM card in it and use it.

[jckelly]

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Mathieu wrote:
These 4 smartphones from Bell will work perfectly on Rogers 3G network once unlocked.

If you really like one of them, but it, unlock it, put your Rogers SIM card in it and use it.

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As I know from experience, they don't work "perfectly".  In addition to the crap that Rogers adds to phones (i.e. plastering their name EVERYWHERE**) they do actually add some things that are useful such as name display.  When you purchase an unlocked phone (in my case a Nexus One and, previously, an HTC Tytn II) even if you subscribe to name display you only get the number of the caller.  Yes, I know you can add an app to help with that but I haven't found one yet that really works well.  In fairness, they CAN'T work as well as the network service.

No, the real answer if for Rogers to get off the pot and give us some selection.  I can't understand why the competition gets all the good phones and Rogers gets none.  Have they p*issed off the manufacturers as much as they have their customers?

** I once was looking at someone's phone and between the contents of the screen and the chassis of the phone it said "Rogers" FOUR times. The actual manufacturer's name was not immediately visible at all.

[Mathieu]

I didn't know about the 'name display' feature and it's not working on unlocked devices because it's not a standard technology.
Such features are the very reason why it takes a long time to bring new devices to Rogers network and why it takes even longer to update them.

Other than that, I've been using unlocked smartphones on Rogers network for a while and I have no issue with it.

[crazyhammer]

Another quick post for some Rogers rep to read. Wife has Galaxy S and loves, wants S2 and so does my father.

Father is going to Bell, happy to pay his $400 cancel fee and get S2, he needs to be able to record his calls in and out on the device. Blackberry and Iphone do not allow this. Android does hense if you need to buy Android right now S2 is king.

Wife is waiting for a few months and no luck then she will pay cancel fee and leave for Bell as well.

We could give a sh*t about cancel fees, in the long run at $100/month in lost revenue it's Rogers loss.

[johnnycash]

Boy am I glad I found this thread. 

I was about to sign a contract with Rogers, while taking over a decent retention plan, which had a HUP available. 

My only 2 options were the Iphone 5 or HTC EVO 3D.

Now I'm having 2nd thoughts, and might just go back to bell and grab the Galaxy S2. 

Plus, I had the most frustrating day with Rogers reps today, I literally spent 4 hours talking to different reps, being  transferred to different departments, having to call back several times due to un-helpful reps.  By the end of it, I was exhausted, but finally got a somewhat happy resolution. 

One of the reps flat out told me that she had no idea why they had made such an offer to me, 'cuz it literally made no sense, and was impossible to honor, not because she didn't want to, but because according to the offer, the system isn't set up that way. 

Rogers is too exhausting to deal with, and their CSR's are really un-informed.  

I've also come to the conclusion that if a guy answers the phone, I immediately hang up and call back, they are useless in helping, put you on hold forever, and just talk pure B.S. to try and end the call.

Wish me luck with Bell, hopefully I'll be able to get my old retention plan back, or at least something worth my while.  

[jckelly]

Good news, sort of...

I spoke with a Rogers business rep yesterday (Friday Aug 12) and was told that both the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Droid 3 (maybe XT860?) are, in fact, coming to Rogers.  No ETA was given but soon enough that they know about it.  Apparently, SGS2 was supposed to have been out already but was delayed.  Tried to confirm through a Rogers store employee, who would tell if he knew anything, but this info was news to him.

I'm trying to decide between these two devices.  I think the Galaxy S II is probably the superior device but there are desk and, more importantly, car docks for the Droid 3.  I'd really come to appreciate the car dock for my Nexus One - just snap it in the dock and it switches to car mode, turns on bluetooth and starts charging. But, it was poorly designed and didn't last a year.  I've tried every glue I can think of but it won't withstand the tourqing of inserting the phone.  The Motorola dock appears to be much more solid.  And, of course, the Droid 3 has a keyboard, which is the only thing I've missed since leaving RIM behind.

So... opinions?

[voseyvo]

I gotta start by saying that I'm really pissed that Rogers doesn't have the Galaxy SII.  My wife has the Captivate SI and it's really a great phone (aside from the lack of update to Gingerbread so long after it's been released).  For the number one carrier in the country to not have the best Android phone (most popular OS) - there's something really wrong with that.

Now, with that being said, the SII is about to be eclipsed by a slew of new phones, supposedly in October:

http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-prime-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-possibly-among-deluge-of-upcoming-s... - bigger screens, better screen resolutions, faster processors, ice cream sandwich, etc.

Come October, Rogers had better show us better Android phones because there's no way I'd even consider locking into another 3 year term with the current selection.

[jckelly]

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Now, with that being said, the SII is about to be eclipsed by a slew of new phones, supposedly in October:

http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-prime-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-possibly-among-deluge-of-upcoming-s... - bigger screens, better screen resolutions, faster processors, ice cream sandwich, etc.

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Ahh... now my post above makes perfect sense.  New phones being released in October, Rogers bringing out what by then will be outdated technology at the same time.  I should'a clued in.

Meanwhile, I've found Samsung-made car and desk docks for the Galaxy S II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlRRSD3zaBM&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQz6hKZ-gDY&NR=1).  No sign of them on the Canadian site but they are listed on Samsung's UK site.