On 2/5/2022 2:13 AM, Dan wrote:
> I am after a new phone, Xiaomai are out as far as I am concerned.
> Their security updates are poor, if they do. Then it is months late.
> I see on YouTube new Nokia X series. All it contains are well produced
> videos showing off the specs.
> No release date. Searching on the Internet, the usual indian websites
> containing crap like "UBB 4". Really!!
> I emailed Nokia UK. They do not know when these phones are going to be
> released.
> I like the Nokia X50 Pro. But when it is going to available in the UK?
> I might buy an iPhone!!
>
> Long term updates is what I am after.

Samsung pushes out security updates for a minimum of four years, and a
minimum of five years for some flagship devices.

On 2/5/2022 5:46 AM, Dan wrote:

<snip>

> Agree, but the have so much bloat ware.

It depends where you purchase the Samsung phone. The unlocked Samsung
phones, purchased direct from Samsung or some big box stores, don't have
much. The locked phones purchased from carriers have a lot.

On Sat, 05 Feb 2022 13:46:10 +0000, Dan wrote:

>>> Long term updates is what I am after.
>>
>>Samsung pushes out security updates for a minimum of four years, and a
>>minimum of five years for some flagship devices.
>
> Agree, but the have so much bloat ware.

What Samsung bloatware are you specifically talking about?

I have an unrooted Samsung Galaxy A32-5G and I have no problem with that.
<https://i.postimg.cc/7LmRqXNn/organize01.jpg>

What Samsung bloatware are you talking about that bothers you so much?

On Sat, 5 Feb 2022 08:08:09 -0800, sms wrote:

> The locked phones purchased from carriers have a lot.

Hi Steve,

Facts please.
Not bullshit.

I have a free locked Samsung phone from the carrier.

I don't have _any_ problem disabling what I consider bloatware.
And I'm probably more stringent on that definition than most people.

Could it be that your belief system, again, is based on no facts?
I suspect this "Dan" troll also has a belief system based on zero facts.

Maybe your belief system (and the trolls' too) is based on facts perhaps?
Tell me.

What bloatware are you talking about that is bothersome to the user
and that the user can't easily disable, or delete please?

Facts please.
Not bullshit.

Facts.

On 2/6/2022 12:50 AM, Dan wrote:

<snip>

> I am defiantly not a Troll.

LOL, "defiantly" or "definitely," both work.

The reality is that phones sold by carriers, except for iPhones, have
"bloatware" that can't be removed without rooting the phone and
installing a different ROM; this is often not even possible as some
manufacturers won't let you root their devices.

From the opening screen, to carrier specific apps, the uninstallable
apps are annoying, but not really a big deal. You can move the icons off
to a separate screen where you never see them.

In the U.S., the savings by buying a subsidized phone from the carrier,
as long as you don't plan to change carriers, can be significant, all
the way up to free, and it makes sense to take advantage of these offers
when they become available because there's no discount for not taking
the subsidy. Even the prepaid MVNOs frequently have heavily discounted
phones, especially the previous year's models. Some of these phones are
locked down hard (iPhones and Samsung phones) and some are trivial to
unlock.

Lately there are a lot of good deals on phones from carriers, phones
that will be automatically unlocked after 60 days, and that cost very
little.

You can get a mid-range, non-5G phone for around $25 with the trade in
of any Android device. I have one coming Monday, and I'm thrilled to be
able to send them my old Moto G for recycling instead of it going to the
landfill.

A mid-range 5G mmWave phone can be purchased for under $100, including
the 60 days of service before it is automatically unlocked. I have one
of those coming Monday too.

I also got a "free" 5G (no mmWave) phone from my broadband provider
whose bizarre pricing model gives you 600 Mb/s Internet service for $35,
including one line of their Verizon MVNO phone service, but without
taking the phone service it costs $60. The phone comes locked, but I
paid less than $3 to have it unlocked so if someone on my 4 line plan
needs a new phone they can have it.

Nokia phones are not very common in the U.S. ever since HMD Global
licensed the Nokia brand name and began selling low-end to mid-range phones.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“The Great Tragedy of Science—The Slaying of a Beautiful Hypothesis by
an Ugly Fact.” ― Thomas Henry Huxley
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Sun, 06 Feb 2022 08:50:16 +0000, Dan wrote:

> I am defiantly not a Troll.

OK. I'll believe you.
But on what basis do you make your claims of bloatware?

As I told Steve, I'm likely as sensitive to such things as anyone is.
My free Galaxy A32-5G is perfectly manageable in terms of bloatware.
<https://i.postimg.cc/7LmRqXNn/organize01.jpg>

That's the only reason I ask for the facts.
I base my belief system on assessments of fact.

On Sun, 6 Feb 2022 06:58:35 -0800, sms wrote:

> The reality is that phones sold by carriers, except for iPhones, have
> "bloatware" that can't be removed without rooting the phone and
> installing a different ROM; this is often not even possible as some
> manufacturers won't let you root their devices.

Steve,
I hate to provide facts to you but I own iPhones & iPads too you know.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Xq5SpS4D/tmopromo02.jpg>

Definitely iOS comes with a shit ton of bloatware, some of which, defiantly
so, can't even be removed.

That's just a fact.
I know you don't like facts.
But the fact you don't like facts doesn't change the fact they are facts.

While iOS is filled with bloatware, what it doesn't come with is _carrier_
based bloatware, which is a different thing than pure bloatware.

'Cuz there's tons of bloatware on iOS, straight from Apple.

> From the opening screen, to carrier specific apps, the uninstallable
> apps are annoying, but not really a big deal. You can move the icons off
> to a separate screen where you never see them.

With _some_ bloatware on both iOS and on Android, you can delete it.
With _some_ bloatware on both iOS and on Android, you can't.
At least on Android (but not on iOS) for those, you can hide the icons.

It's yet again, another of the umpteen facts showing how crippled iOS is in
that it can't do something like this, which is about as simple as it gets.

> In the U.S., the savings by buying a subsidized phone from the carrier,
> as long as you don't plan to change carriers, can be significant, all
> the way up to free, and it makes sense to take advantage of these offers
> when they become available because there's no discount for not taking
> the subsidy.

I know you look at these things differently than I do, but for me, and for
plenty of others, there is only the choice of the big three.

And once you choose one of the big three, you stick with them for years.
Hence them adding a two-year stipulation is nothing, especially if you ever
did want to leave, you just pay off the free phone (on only what's left).

In essence, there is no downside to the free devices, where I even have a
handful of free HP Stream laptops, which, I must admit, suck in that they
are hard coded to 32GB of permanent primary storage (so a 400GB sdcard is de
rigueur just to augment that lousy primary storage limitation).

> Even the prepaid MVNOs frequently have heavily discounted
> phones, especially the previous year's models. Some of these phones are
> locked down hard (iPhones and Samsung phones) and some are trivial to
> unlock.

I have to observe you go to a hell of a lot of trouble with these MVNOs,
where I'm perfectly happy with my T-Mobile family plan of $25/month/phone
<https://i.postimg.cc/nhpbcP50/tmopromo04.jpg>

Is all that MVNO machination worth the effort? Dunno.

> Lately there are a lot of good deals on phones from carriers, phones
> that will be automatically unlocked after 60 days, and that cost very
> little.

See also:
*Selecting an Unlocked, Mid-Range, Phone*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/qe7lsYEtKag>
> You can get a mid-range, non-5G phone for around $25 with the trade in
> of any Android device. I have one coming Monday, and I'm thrilled to be
> able to send them my old Moto G for recycling instead of it going to the
> landfill.

If they let you like T-Mobile did last year, I'd trade in a flip phone.
> A mid-range 5G mmWave phone can be purchased for under $100, including
> the 60 days of service before it is automatically unlocked. I have one
> of those coming Monday too.

See also:
*Good $200 Android phone please*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/EoqHQGrRtic>

> I also got a "free" 5G (no mmWave) phone from my broadband provider
> whose bizarre pricing model gives you 600 Mb/s Internet service for $35,
> including one line of their Verizon MVNO phone service, but without
> taking the phone service it costs $60. The phone comes locked, but I
> paid less than $3 to have it unlocked so if someone on my 4 line plan
> needs a new phone they can have it.
>
> Nokia phones are not very common in the U.S. ever since HMD Global
> licensed the Nokia brand name and began selling low-end to mid-range phones.

See also:
*My First 5G Phone Arrived Yesterday*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/eTNSvuG8VvM>

On Sun, 06 Feb 2022 16:07:00 +0000, Dan wrote:

> I see your point, but I have a SIM only deal. So I need an unlocked
> phone 5G - one which is not bottom end.
> Nokia was looking good but now I wonder what is available now.
> New Samsung Galaxy is being launched soon. But at over�1000.
> Too much for a mobile since a semi respectable gaming laptop costs
> similar.

Steve opened a thread on good mid-range phones which is referenced here.
*Selecting an Unlocked, Mid-Range, Phone*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/qe7lsYEtKag>
Since we also have a thread on low-end phones, what we're missing is higher
end phones from about $800 and up (but that's for someone else to write).
*Good $200 Android phone please*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/EoqHQGrRtic>

On 2/6/2022 8:07 AM, Dan wrote:

<snip>

> I see your point, but I have a SIM only deal. So I need an unlocked
> phone 5G - one which is not bottom end.
> Nokia was looking good but now I wonder what is available now.
> New Samsung Galaxy is being launched soon. But at over£1000.
> Too much for a mobile since a semi respectable gaming laptop costs
> similar.

I think the best mid-range unlocked Android would be the Samsung Galaxy
A52 5G or A52s 5G. These are just below the flagship level, not low-end
like the A32 5G.

On 2/6/2022 10:38 PM, Dan wrote:

<snip>

> I have seen Nokia vs others, it is so different.
> Nokia phones have no added company specific add ons.
> The A52 5G is looking good.

I would hurry!

Samsung is releasing the A53 5G which is essentially a decontented A52s 5G.

The A52s 5G is an upgraded A52 5G, and is not sold in the U.S.
unfortunately. The A53 is predicted to lose the headphone jack, the
MicroSD card slot, and MST.

The unlocked A52 5G has been increasing in price in the U.S.. In
December you could buy it for around $400, now it's around $500, though
Samsung still has some discounts on it.

The most annoying thing missing from the A series phones is wireless
charging.

On Mon, 07 Feb 2022 06:38:43 +0000, Dan wrote:

>>That's the only reason I ask for the facts.
>>I base my belief system on assessments of fact.
>
> I have seen Nokia vs others, it is so different.
> Nokia phones have no added company specific add ons.

I'm not gonna disagree or agree that Nokia is low on bloatware as I wouldn't
know, but all I was saying is that _my_ Samsung isn't bad (IMHO) in that
anything I didn't want to see, I don't see.

And I'm a picky consumer at removing crap from Google and Samsung too!
<https://i.postimg.cc/g0jQBKrs/updateallapps09.jpg>

> The A52 5G is looking good.

Steve suggested that phone and he's rather good at picking phones that have
a range of features that the mid to high end phones often have.

Me?
I got my handful of A32-5G phones for free so I didn't choose them.
The only phone I chose recently was my iPhone 12 mini (128GB).
<https://i.postimg.cc/YC1B906F/tmopromo01.jpg>

For advice on mid-range phones, look to what Steve suggests, not me.

Steve cares about a lot of things I don't care about (like wireless charging
or MST or ANT+, etc.) but that which you might want (for all I know).