On 1/24/2022 1:47 PM, Nil wrote:
> On 24 Jan 2022, sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in
> comp.mobile.android:
>
>> While I'm not a fan of carrier-provided, locked, phones, this
>> thread is ample evidence that _sometimes_ it makes sense to take
>> advantage of phone discounts in exchange for being locked to a
>> carrier for six months to a year.
>
> I would avoid locked phones, I have bought them in the past when it was
> just too good a deal to pass up. I'm a Tracfone devotee - their
> paradigm fits me well. I mostly use my phone as a wi-fi device, don't
> do a lot of voice or texting, and while I get a limited amount of
> mobile data with my annual re-up, I can buy more as I go if I need it,
> and I get to keep all unused service when I renew. Tracfone offers a
> few decent locked phones, sometimes at very good promotional prices.
> Since I have no immediate plan to leave Tracfone, I might get one of
> theirs if the price was compelling (the dreaded Samsung A32 5G was an
> example of that) but I would prefer go for a third-party unlocked
> phone.

I an on Total Wireless. Currently I have two locked phones. A Total
Wireless iPhone Xr that was $211.75 back when it sold unlocked for $499,
and a Tracfone Samsung A51 (4G) which was $88.99 (and included a year of
Tracfone service). Once unlocked, I can use them on any carrier, but for
now they work fine (I don't really use the A51, it was just too good of
a deal at the time, and eventually it will be deployed on my Total
Wireless account for my daughter who goes through phones rapidly.

Nil wrote:

> I'm still not willing to pay premium prices for
> a premium machine that will always be
> near-obsolete within a couple of years.

My premium Galaxy S10+ is in its 3rd year
and just got upgraded to Android 12...

On 24 Jan 2022, AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote in comp.mobile.android:

> Nil wrote:
>
>> I'm still not willing to pay premium prices for
>> a premium machine that will always be
>> near-obsolete within a couple of years.
>
> My premium Galaxy S10+ is in its 3rd year
> and just got upgraded to Android 12...

Excellent! I don't think I've ever (until now) had a phone that got
more then one Android update, but I guess that's the price of being
cheap and buying last year's technology.

I recently bought a Google Pixel 5a, which I'm assured will get Android
updates for at least 3 years. Out of the box it had 11, but it
immediately updated to 12.

By "near-obsolete" I also mean that the batteries always lose
rechargeability. When it gets down to getting discharged in less then
half a day, I consider it to be practically near-dead. I could try
cracking it open and replacing the battery, but I confess to being
distracted by newer, shinier objects.

On Mon, 24 Jan 2022 21:04:46 -0500, Nil wrote:

> I don't think I've ever (until now) had a phone that got
> more then one Android update, but I guess that's the price of being
> cheap and buying last year's technology.

I think you put too much unwarranted emphasis on the "next Android update."

Android isn't like iOS is, in that the "update" for iOS is critical due to
Apple's shitty architecture - but Android is a _great_ update architecture.
<https://www.xda-developers.com/android-project-mainline-modules-explanation/>

Android (like all other common operating systems _except_ the shitty iOS
architecture) updates the core components _completely independently_ of the
Android version. Two dozen core modules are updated outside the carrier.

There are articles out there published as recently as today saying that
Apple's absolutely shitty update mechanism is why iOS is so vulnerable.

Android, at least, can update 25 core modules asynchronously as needed.
And then _all_ the key apps (how many? Maybe another 25?) update similarly.

That's about 50 critical apps in Android updated whenever it's needed.
Those 50 apps can't update in iOS until/unless Apple ships iOS as one unit.

The point being the only OS you _must_ get that damn update, is shitty iOS.
Not Android.
--
Of all operating systems, only iOS updates monolithically - which is stupid.

On 1/24/2022 7:04 PM, Nil wrote:
> On 24 Jan 2022, AJL wrote:
>> Nil wrote:

>>> I'm still not willing to pay premium prices for a premium
>>> machine that will always be near-obsolete within a couple of
>>> years.

>> My premium Galaxy S10+ is in its 3rd year and just got upgraded to
>> Android 12...

> Excellent! I don't think I've ever (until now) had a phone that got
> more then one Android update, but I guess that's the price of being
> cheap and buying last year's technology.

So far I've not noticed any difference using my upgraded phone's Android
12 but then I haven't looked around much beyond my normal everyday use
which isn't all that much.

> I recently bought a Google Pixel 5a, which I'm assured will get
> Android updates for at least 3 years. Out of the box it had 11, but
> it immediately updated to 12.

I think the security updates are likely the most important ones.

> By "near-obsolete" I also mean that the batteries always lose
> rechargeability. When it gets down to getting discharged in less
> then half a day, I consider it to be practically near-dead.

I've been lucky in that I've never needed to replace a battery on any of
my phones before I wanted (not needed) a new one. My current 2+ year old
phone drops about 20% to 30% a day depending on how long the wife shops
(and I kill time reading my phone)...

> I could try cracking it open and replacing the battery,

I did replace the wife's phone's battery once but I didn't have to crack
the case open, the battery had swollen up and done it all by itself...

> but I confess to being distracted by newer, shinier objects.

Me too. I just bought a shiny new Chrome OS tablet today...

On Mon, 24 Jan 2022 20:12:10 -0700, AJL wrote:

> So far I've not noticed any difference using my upgraded phone's Android
> 12 but then I haven't looked around much beyond my normal everyday use
> which isn't all that much.

We've covered Android versions in detail in the past.
They're like different versions of Windows 10.
You barely notice the difference between Android versions.
All the software will almost always work.

It's not iOS where Apple designed it as a clusterfuck so that they have to
update the entire kludge of an operating system just to update one module.

> I think the security updates are likely the most important ones.

Three things are important on Android for system security.
a. The monthly or quarterly security updates (which go on for years!)
b. The ad hoc updates to the 25 core modules in project mainline
c. There are also even ad hoc firmware updates (e.g., to Qualcomm modems)

> I've been lucky in that I've never needed to replace a battery on any of
> my phones before I wanted (not needed) a new one. My current 2+ year old
> phone drops about 20% to 30% a day depending on how long the wife shops
> (and I kill time reading my phone)...

With the size of batteries nowadays, you can jumpstart your car.
Some are six amp hours (my _free_ phone is five amp hours!).

With such huge batteries, dead Android smartphones are a thing of the past.

Even if they wear down to HALF their original strength, they're at the
_starting_ point of the brand new iPhones I bought earlier this year.

On 1/24/2022 7:12 PM, AJL wrote:
> On 1/24/2022 7:04 PM, Nil wrote:
>> On 24 Jan 2022, AJL wrote:
>>> Nil wrote:
>
>>>> I'm still not willing to pay premium prices for a premium
>>>> machine that will always be near-obsolete within a couple of
>>>> years.
>
>>> My premium Galaxy S10+ is in its 3rd year and just got upgraded to
>>> Android 12...
>
>> Excellent! I don't think I've ever (until now) had a phone that got
>> more then one Android update, but I guess that's the price of being
>> cheap and buying last year's technology.
>
> So far I've not noticed any difference using my upgraded phone's Android
> 12 but then I haven't looked around much beyond my normal everyday use
> which isn't all that much.

I have phones with 10 & 11 and really don't notice the differences
though I'm sure some exist.

My Note 9 shipped with 8 and then got 9 and then 10.

All my Android phones in use still get security updates occasionally but
Android no longer has all the security issues that still plague another
operating system.

The Note 9 was the pinnacle of Samsung phones, in my opinion. Headphone
jack, MicroSD card slot, FM radio, ANT+, MST. Then Samsung began copying
Apple and decontenting their phones.

In article <ssov1i$msj$1@dont-email.me>, sms
<scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

>
> All my Android phones in use still get security updates occasionally but
> Android no longer has all the security issues that still plague another
> operating system.

yes it does, and is currently the platform with the most malware.

> The Note 9 was the pinnacle of Samsung phones, in my opinion. Headphone
> jack, MicroSD card slot, FM radio, ANT+, MST. Then Samsung began copying
> Apple and decontenting their phones.

nobody is decontenting anything. companies add and remove features
based on what people actually use, not to fill out a checklist.

On 1/25/2022 6:47 AM, sms wrote:

> The Note 9 was the pinnacle of Samsung phones, in my opinion.

> Headphone jack

I don't think I've used my phone's headphone jack in over a year and
when out and about I don't see many folks with a wire hanging out of
their ears (I do see some earbuds) so perhaps the headphone jack
will eventually be gone on most phones.

> MicroSD card slot,

My phone has 128GB storage so I've never needed to use the card slot.
Perhaps many folks also? It may also go away on most new models?

> FM radio,

I can listen to most any station in the world on my phone online (but
don't) so wouldn't miss FM capability if I had it. Perhaps many folks
also? Except perhaps for those on a cheap data budget.

> ANT+,

Never needed it on my treadmill... ;)

> MST.

I still find it easier to dig out my credit card and wave it at the
payment terminal than my phone. YMMV. And the Applebee's waitress would
give me a funny look if I waved my phone at her anyway...

But I realize all of the above are a YMMV thing. My GUESS is that most
will fade away with time (like removable batteries) except perhaps for
the latter items.

> Then Samsung began copying Apple and decontenting their phones.

My new (released in 2020 but new to me) Lenovo Chrome OS tablet has the
brand name "IdeaPad". Does that sound kinda like iPad to you? Wonder if
that was on purpose. And to make the copycat complete it has no card
slot or headphone jack but came with a headphone dongle that plugs
into the one USB-C port making charging and listening at the same time
difficult just like you know who's stuff. Again with the IdeaPad having
128GB of storage I probably won't miss the card slot...

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 08:58:19 -0500, nospam wrote:

> yes it does, and is currently the platform with the most malware.

No common operating system but iOS uses a primitive monolithic mechanism.

The news this week is all about how iOS's update system is a clusterfuck.
a. They have a critical hole (they didn't find) but that they fixed.
b. But they can't ship it until the entire iOS 15.3 is ready to ship!

At this very moment, Apple has huge bugs that they didn't find, but that
they fixed, but they _can't_ ship those fixes until iOS 15.3 is ready.

At least Android updates like all other operating system do except iOS.
a. Two dozen key modules are updated all the time over GPS
b. Even the Qualcomm firmware is updated over GPS nowadays
c. All the key apps are updates asynchronously also!

All these updates are completely independent so they can happen when needed.
Of all common systems, only iOS uses the primitive monolithic update scheme.
>> The Note 9 was the pinnacle of Samsung phones, in my opinion. Headphone
>> jack, MicroSD card slot, FM radio, ANT+, MST. Then Samsung began copying
>> Apple and decontenting their phones.
>
> nobody is decontenting anything. companies add and remove features
> based on what people actually use, not to fill out a checklist.

Apple's (admittedly brilliant) MARKETING yearly removes basic functionality,
one by one... so that you are forced... eventually.. to buy it all back.

Samsung and Google tried to copy Apple's sleazy customer-unfriendly ploys.

It's "courageous".

In article <sspf88$178f$1@gioia.aioe.org>, Andy Burnelli
<spam@nospam.com> wrote:

>
>
> No common operating system but iOS uses a primitive monolithic mechanism.

ios does not use a 'primitive monolithic mechanism'.

incremental updates are tiny, only seconds to download in many cases,
depending on the size of the update, the same as with other operating
systems

the only primitive mechanism is your brain, which cannot comprehend
anything new.

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 13:31:46 -0500, nospam wrote:

> ios does not use a 'primitive monolithic mechanism'.

You don't even understand your own primitive operating system, nospam.
*Why I believe the Android version doesn't matter as much as some people*
*(aka iKooks) think it does*
<https://groups.google.com/g/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/c/pT9BaEaf09Y>

a. Apple didn't find their own bugs (they almost never do)
b. The researchers reported them to Apple (long ago)
c. Finally, the researchers gave up on Apple (and published them)

Only then, after the researchers gave up on Apple and published the flaws,
did Apple even _bother_ to fix them (they're serious flaws by all accounts).

Yet...

Apple _can't_ ship the fixes until they assemble an entire new iOS release!
Worse, Apple _still_ hasn't done that yet.

So _billions_ of iOS devices are exposed to full control by hackers using a
public exposed flaw that Apple has fixed internally, but can't ship yet.

All because iOS has a primitive monolithic clusterfuck release mechanism.
--
No other operating system uses the primitive iOS monolithic clusterfuck.

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 05:47:30 -0800, sms wrote:

> I have phones with 10 & 11 and really don't notice the differences
> though I'm sure some exist.

Android updates almost everything asynchronously _outside_ the OS version.

> My Note 9 shipped with 8 and then got 9 and then 10.

Almost every phone I've gotten, and mine are all low end phones lately,
has gone through at least one (and recently two) Android updates.

Yet, like you (and like most others), I barely notice any differences.
And that's fine.
> All my Android phones in use still get security updates occasionally but
> Android no longer has all the security issues that still plague another
> operating system.

The problem with iOS is that Apple, even today, has a fix in hand, for an
exploit that was _published_ which Apple has to wait to build a new iOS
before they can ship that fix.

That's a key problem with the primitive iOS monolithic update mechanism.

Here's an article _pleading_ with Apple to update its primitive mechanism.
*Here�s why Apple should provide standalone updates for native iOS apps*
<https://9to5mac.com/2022/01/21/heres-why-apple-should-provide-standalone-updates-for-native-ios-apps/>

> The Note 9 was the pinnacle of Samsung phones, in my opinion. Headphone
> jack, MicroSD card slot, FM radio, ANT+, MST. Then Samsung began copying
> Apple and decontenting their phones.

a. Apple decontents phones so that you are forced to buy the content back.
b. It's a very profitable strategy (given their gullible customer base).
c. Apple is "courageous" in decontenting saying that "it's for the kids".

Worse...
A. The big players (who can afford the risk) follow Apple's profitable ploys
B. They do so, though, usually on the _expensive_ phones only
C. That way they can contain the risk if it fails (which it often does)

Luckily...
1. As far as I recall, Samsung failed miserably copying Apple's tricks
2. I'm not sure about Google's Pixel series though (as I don't follow them)

Which phone has been successful copying Apple profitable decontenting ploys?

On 1/25/2022 7:33 AM, AJL wrote:
> On 1/25/2022 6:47 AM, sms wrote:
>
>> The Note 9 was the pinnacle of Samsung phones, in my opinion.
>
>> Headphone jack
>
> I don't think I've used my phone's headphone jack in over a year and
> when out and about I don't see many folks with a wire hanging out of
> their ears (I do see some earbuds) so perhaps the headphone jack
> will eventually be gone on most phones.

Pre-pandemic, when I was sometimes riding mass-transit, I would look to
see how many people were using wired versus wireless earpods. This was
back in early 2020, and back then it was about 60% wired/40% wireless.

>
>> MicroSD card slot,
>
> My phone has 128GB storage so I've never needed to use the card slot.
> Perhaps many folks also? It may also go away on most new models?

I like to keep a lot of audiobooks and music on my phones. 128GB would
not be sufficient.

>
>> FM radio,
>
> I can listen to most any station in the world on my phone online (but
> don't) so wouldn't miss FM capability if I had it. Perhaps many folks
> also? Except perhaps for those on a cheap data budget.

You can do this when data is available, but not where you're in areas
with no cellular coverage. But it's true, that except in natural
disasters, the use of the FM radio is rare.

>> ANT+,
>
> Never needed it on my treadmill...  ;)

A lot of existing fitness equipment uses ANT+, but there are adapters to
use on phones without ANT+ (all iPhones, and many Android phones). But
dongles are a hassle.

>> MST.
>
> I still find it easier to dig out my credit card and wave it at the
> payment terminal than my phone. YMMV. And the Applebee's waitress would
> give me a funny look if I waved my phone at her anyway...

Well you eat at Applebee's so that explains a lot! But seriously, I find
MST very useful at businesses that don't take Google Pay or Apple Pay,
and since I get 3% back on mobile wallet purchases it's useful
especially when buying big ticket items.

On 1/24/2022 4:06 PM, AJL wrote:
> Nil wrote:
>
>> I'm still not willing to pay premium prices for
>> a premium machine that will always be near-obsolete within a couple of
>> years.
>
> My premium Galaxy S10+ is in its 3rd year
> and just got upgraded to Android 12...

Samsung and Apple are really the only two manufacturers that make an
effort to roll out multiple full OS updates for their devices, and for
Samsung it's only on their flagship devices, not their mid-range or
low-end devices. Mid-range devices may get one update if a new Android
version is announced shortly after the device is released.

In article <sspjcu$gda$1@dont-email.me>, sms
<scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

> >> ANT+,
> >
> > Never needed it on my treadmill...  ;)
>
> A lot of existing fitness equipment uses ANT+, but there are adapters to
> use on phones without ANT+ (all iPhones, and many Android phones). But
> dongles are a hassle.

that is very much false. most modern fitness equipment and health
devices uses bluetooth le and can even connect to apple watches,
without any adapters or hacks.

ant+ is dead, and barely was even alive.

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 11:34:54 -0800, sms wrote:

> Pre-pandemic, when I was sometimes riding mass-transit, I would look to
> see how many people were using wired versus wireless earpods. This was
> back in early 2020, and back then it was about 60% wired/40% wireless.

The aux jack is a basic requirement for low end & medium phones, I'd say.

There is a reason a headphone jack is on something like over 99% of Android
models, where the only phones "getting away with" decontenting are the most
expensive ones, where the buyer will be likely getting fancy bluetooth sets.

>>> MicroSD card slot,
>>
>> My phone has 128GB storage so I've never needed to use the card slot.
>> Perhaps many folks also? It may also go away on most new models?
>
> I like to keep a lot of audiobooks and music on my phones. 128GB would
> not be sufficient.

The sdcard is _not_ only used to compensate for lousy permanent storage.

*When you have essentially infinite storage on the phone*, you can do a lot
more things than if you have to do all those things only using a cloud.

Which, incidentally, is why MARKETING removes the sdcard, where again, if
it's a higher end phone, then the owner doesn't care about renting 400GB of
storage on the cloud for his expensive phone to be able to do those things.

>>> FM radio,
>>
>> I can listen to most any station in the world on my phone online (but
>> don't) so wouldn't miss FM capability if I had it. Perhaps many folks
>> also? Except perhaps for those on a cheap data budget.
>
> You can do this when data is available, but not where you're in areas
> with no cellular coverage. But it's true, that except in natural
> disasters, the use of the FM radio is rare.

I have to agree also that I rarely use FM radio as not only do you have to
have it set up ahead of time (because if you're using it, you don't have
Internet access most likely), and worse, you also need headphones in hand.

Still... it's a nice feature just as 911 is a nice feature, even if you
rarely use it because you _want_ it there when you do _need_ it.
>>> ANT+,
>>
>> Never needed it on my treadmill...� ;)
>
> A lot of existing fitness equipment uses ANT+, but there are adapters to
> use on phones without ANT+ (all iPhones, and many Android phones). But
> dongles are a hassle.

I didn't know what ANT+ even was until you mentioned it, where it seems like
a nice feature for a higher end phone, but maybe not for a low end phone.

>
>>> MST.
>>
>> I still find it easier to dig out my credit card and wave it at the
>> payment terminal than my phone. YMMV. And the Applebee's waitress would
>> give me a funny look if I waved my phone at her anyway...
>
> Well you eat at Applebee's so that explains a lot! But seriously, I find
> MST very useful at businesses that don't take Google Pay or Apple Pay,
> and since I get 3% back on mobile wallet purchases it's useful
> especially when buying big ticket items.

I didn't know what MST even was until you mentioned it, where it seems like
a nice feature for a high end phone, but perhaps not for a low end phone.

On 2022-01-25 1:09 p.m., Andy Burnelli wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 11:34:54 -0800, sms wrote:
>
>> Pre-pandemic, when I was sometimes riding mass-transit, I would look to
>> see how many people were using wired versus wireless earpods. This was
>> back in early 2020, and back then it was about 60% wired/40% wireless.
>
> The aux jack is a basic requirement for low end & medium phones, I'd say.

And the floppy disk is a basic requirement for low-end & medium PCs.

>
> There is a reason a headphone jack is on something like over 99% of Android
> models,

It isn't.

There are 2225 Android phones currently available or coming soon:

<https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?sAvailabilities=1,2&sOSes=2>

Modify that to include only phones with an 3.5mm jack, and you get 1843
phones.

<https://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?chk35mm=selected&sAvailabilities=1,2&sOSes=2>

Now.. ...I'm not a professional mathematician...

....but 99% of 2225 is about... ...2203 (approximately)...

....and you're claiming it is "something like over" that.

...and it's just not.

> where the only phones "getting away with" decontenting are the most
> expensive ones, where the buyer will be likely getting fancy bluetooth sets.

That might be interesting...

....if you had actually stuck to facts.

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 14:44:16 -0500, nospam wrote:

> ant+ is dead, and barely was even alive.

I had never looked up ANT+ until Steve mentioned it, where it seems like
something that belongs on a higher end phone more so than on a budget phone.

In article <sspqth$1bn7$1@gioia.aioe.org>, Andy Burnelli
<spam@nospam.com> wrote:

> > ant+ is dead, and barely was even alive.
>
> I had never looked up ANT+ until Steve mentioned it, where it seems like
> something that belongs on a higher end phone more so than on a budget phone.

it's very rarely used and not needed on anything. if it was popular and
in high demand, you would have heard of it and it would be a common
feature.

On 1/25/2022 12:34 PM, sms wrote:
> On 1/25/2022 7:33 AM, AJL wrote:

>> My phone has 128GB storage so I've never needed to use the card
>> slot.

> I like to keep a lot of audiobooks

That must be a whole lot of audiobooks to threaten 128GB. But YMMV. I
only keep the ebooks that I'm currently reading on my phone, usually 2
or 3 at most. The rest of my ebook collection, if needed, is easily
available in the cloud. And if I used audiobooks I doubt 2 or 3 would
take up all that much room.

> and music on my phones.

YMMV. Just checked. My 4,794 song collection takes up 28.6 GB. A long
way from 128GB. Course I don't listen to music on my phone anyway so it
doesn't figure in my storage needs.

> 128GB would not be sufficient.

Perhaps for some geeks no. But I'm GUESSING that for 90+ percent of the
population, 128GB is way more than sufficient. And I'm further GUESSING
that in the not too distant future 90+ percent of phones won't have
either a headphone jack or a card slot. Sorry geeks...

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 11:37:18 -0800, sms wrote:

> Samsung and Apple are really the only two manufacturers that make an
> effort to roll out multiple full OS updates for their devices, and for
> Samsung it's only on their flagship devices, not their mid-range or
> low-end devices. Mid-range devices may get one update if a new Android
> version is announced shortly after the device is released.

While the Android update is only a curiosity for me (I am perfectly happy
with one or two Android releases per phone just as I am for Windows 10),
I _thought_ it was more than just Samsung who rolls our multiple OS updates.

Doesn't Google do it too?

Searching, we find even more than just Samsung so I think Steve's data may
be outdated but maybe he's talking about a different kind of update?
*Best brands for Android updates*
<https://www.techadvisor.com/buying-advice/google-android/best-brands-for-android-updates-3798154/>

*Which manufacturer updates its phones the fastest? *
<https://www.androidauthority.com/android-11-rollout-1201648/>

*Android 12 is available for these phones*
<https://www.techradar.com/news/android-12-news>

Lot's more are in those lists than just Samsung so I'm not sure what Steve
is claiming as maybe I didn't understand his claim, but I check them all.
--
It's what intelligent people do (which is _why_ they're intelligent).

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 14:51:25 -0700, AJL wrote:

> Perhaps for some geeks no. But I'm GUESSING that for 90+ percent of the
> population, 128GB is way more than sufficient. And I'm further GUESSING
> that in the not too distant future 90+ percent of phones won't have
> either a headphone jack or a card slot. Sorry geeks...

It's clear this AJL doesn't _understand_ what sdcard storage actually is.

AJL "thinks" only one dimensionally.
He "thinks" the sdcard is there _only_ to augment the existing storage.

Sure, it _does_ that (i.e., you now have almost infinite cheap storage).

But it does _more_ than that.
Far more in fact.

*The purpose of the sdcard is to give you a variety of _choices_*!

For example, you can easily _port_ your phone from one to another.
Without putting your private data on the Internet, for example.

That, and many other _choices_ are why they decontent the sdcard.
The (admittedly brilliant) marketing team wants to _limit_ your choices.

They want you to do everything on the cloud, for example.
They _hate_ when you don't _need_ that cloud, for example.

People like this AJL can't _understand_ that concept of having a choice.

On Tue, 25 Jan 2022 16:51:14 -0500, nospam wrote:

>>> ant+ is dead, and barely was even alive.
>>
>> I had never looked up ANT+ until Steve mentioned it, where it seems like
>> something that belongs on a higher end phone more so than on a budget phone.
>
> it's very rarely used and not needed on anything. if it was popular and
> in high demand, you would have heard of it and it would be a common
> feature.

I'm not gonna disagree with you on ANT+ as this is a _budget_ phone thread.
Certainly I'd not ask for ANT+ on a $200 cellphone.

I'm not sure of what _belongs_ on low & high end phones, but I know what I'd
_expect_ if I were buying either the low end phone or the higher end phone.

For a budget phone, something like this in that list is what I'd expect.
sdcard (it gives you _choices_ like you can't believe)
aux jack (it's there if you need it and it is cheap to use)
fm radio (it's like 911 to be there when you really need it)
For a higher-end phone, I'd expect more stuff in that list, maybe like this:
sdcard (it gives you _choices_ like you can't believe)
aux jack (it's there if you need it and it is cheap to use)
fm radio (it's like 911 to be there when you really need it)
ANT+ (you should have the choice to do that sort of BT stuff)
MST (you should be able to have the choice to pay any way you like)
UPDATES (I'm guessing the convenience of five years of updates is nice)

In article <ssprct$8q7$1@dont-email.me>, AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:

>
> > 128GB would not be sufficient.
>
> Perhaps for some geeks no. But I'm GUESSING that for 90+ percent of the
> population, 128GB is way more than sufficient. And I'm further GUESSING
> that in the not too distant future 90+ percent of phones won't have
> either a headphone jack or a card slot. Sorry geeks...

a very good guess. most people stream content and don't need space for
music or videos. phones still have a headphone jack, it's just digital,
either usb-c or lightning, for a higher quality and more reliable
connection. card slots are rarely used.

people want high-capacity phones because they *create* content on them.
shooting 4k or 8k video can easily fill 128 gig very quickly, which is
why the highest capacity phone is currently 1tb.