Amazon new launch event June 18th

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Will there be any AT&T bloatware on this phone? and will Amazon do the OS upgrades?

Good questions! That is one of the reasons I hated Android phones so much. You had all the added manufacturer specific apps. Moto was really bad about that. Plus you had all of AT&T's specific apps. Apple doesn't allow that, and I'm glad. Also, I had AT&T for several years, lived near cellular towers and in a major USA metroplex (Dallas/Ft Worth), and the only thing I could count on as far as AT&T went was that my call was going to drop the signal at least once. If AT&T cannot even deliver solid service in their effing home town, you can imagine what it is like in smaller cities and rural areas. I think people would have better luck with two tin cans and a long string!

[afv011]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Good questions! That is one of the reasons I hated Android phones so much. You had all the added manufacturer specific apps. Moto was really bad about that. Plus you had all of AT&T's specific apps.

You can always buy a Nexus phone, or a Play Edition phone, or one of the new Moto (X, G, E) phones.

Originally Posted by HarryT

An unlocked phone can be used on any network: that's what "unlocked" means. Just buy a SIM for your network of choice.

To a point. However, in the USA Verizon and AT&T use different and incompatible systems. So unless the phone has multiple cellular radios, it might or might not work on another service provider's system. A Verizon phone won't work on AT&T and vice versa. I think most of the rest of the world is more standardized in cellular service than is the USA.

Originally Posted by afv011

You can always buy a Nexus phone, or a Play Edition phone, or one of the new Moto (X, G, E) phones.

I wouldn't use a Moto to even wipe my butt after pooping! Even before Motorola sold its cellular division to Google, it was a proprietary company to a fault. Their communication radios though well built are a royal PITA to program because Motorola wants to sell that service too. Most of the radio people I know have long since dropped Motorola for Icom, Yaesu/Vertex, etc. I've had several Moto phones over the years beginning with their famous flip phone way back in the 1990s. Well built, but chocked full of crappy apps and difficult to program. Now that they use Android and are owned by Google I'm sure they are easier to program, but the last Moto I had (Atrix 4G) was full of crappy Moto apps. And I guarantee if it is an AT&T phone it will be full of AT&T crap as well. Meh....

[daffy4u]

The current Moto line is considered to be very close to pure Android and is probably very different from your previous experience. You might want to play with one to see if it is better or worse than you remember.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Now that they use Android and are owned by Google I'm sure they are easier to program, but the last Moto I had (Atrix 4G) was full of crappy Moto apps. And I guarantee if it is an AT&T phone it will be full of AT&T crap as well. Meh....

They are owned by Lenovo, they were sold earlier this year. And the latest Moto phones (from the X onwards) have had a next to pure Android experience, with just a few apps (useful ones, at that) thrown in, like Moto migrate. Moto have been doing it right - the high end is crowded and is saturating, so instead of fighting a losing battle they concentrate on the mid and lower end, where margins are smaller, but volumes are that much higher. The Moto G and E have been selling especially well in emerging markets, and are ideal for people moving up from a feature phone. At $179 and $129 respectively, off contract, they are the best bang for the buck.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by afv011

You can always buy a Nexus phone, or a Play Edition phone, or one of the new Moto (X, G, E) phones.

Nexus products have been great for me. No extra crap and simple to root. I just hope the rumor of no more Nexus devices is not true.

Originally Posted by daffy4u

The current Moto line is considered to be very close to pure Android and is probably very different from your previous experience. You might want to play with one to see if it is better or worse than you remember.

I'm glad to hear the Motorola phones are better now. I had a Motorola Atrix 4g and it had a lot of crap on it.

[sirmaru]

Here is yet another comparison between: Amazon Fire Phone, Samsung Galaxy s5, Apple iPhone 5s and Microsoft/Nokia Lumia Icon:

http://gigaom.com/2014/06/18/amazon-...they-stack-up/

I still think the biggest flaw of the Amazon Fire Phone is that it was introduced in June versus the Samsung s5 DELIVERIES in April. They would have had me as a customer if they had their big introduction last March.

If it had been introduced in March with just a $ 200 price tag and NO contract requirement with ATT, its sales would have soared. That was the model of the Kindle eReaders: early introductions and low prices.

[mystika1]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I'm glad to hear the Motorola phones are better now. I had a Motorola Atrix 4g and it had a lot of crap on it.

I have the Moto G on Verizon network and so far, it is the best phone that I have ever had.(I previously had an iphone 4 and several samsungs) It really is a good phone.

Penny

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by twowheels

You might be interested in Republic Wireless' plans...

$25/mo for unlimited calling, text, and data, no contract. You have to buy a Moto G or Moto X phone up front (starting at $150 for 8 gb Moto G). It uses Sprint as its base network, but can roam onto Verizon. It uses Wifi for calling when you're at home, so you get far clearer call quality than most cell phones when you're at home, and switches seamlessly to cellular when you leave the house. You can also switch between the $25 plan that I just described and their $10 plan (unlimited talk & text) at no charge twice per month (they pro-rate the price according to days on each).

I got it for my daughter and my parents and so far so good...

I've been tempted to switch from Tracfone to Republic Wireless. If the Amazon phone has a service like this, I might be interested.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by jswinden

A Verizon phone won't work on AT&T and vice versa. I think most of the rest of the world is more standardized in cellular service than is the USA.

Yes, and the standard is GSM, used in the US by AT&T and T-Mobile.

The Kindle Keyboard 3G's seamless world-wide internet coverage therefore must be, in the US, served by one of those two carriers.

If the Amazon Fire Phone operated on the same model as the Kindle Keyboard 3G, largely operating as if international borders were non-existent, that would have been somethin'.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I just hope the rumor of no more Nexus devices is not true.

Same here. I love pure Android and the low unlocked pricing of the Nexus line.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Yes, and the standard is GSM, used in the US by AT&T and T-Mobile.

Likewise with Verizon, they may still have the CDMA network online, but it's being phased out.

[user743]

why is the power button on top left? it's going to be hard to reach.

also i noticed two circles next to the speakers (not the cameras) anyone knew what that is?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by user743

why is the power button on top left? it's going to be hard to reach.

also i noticed two circles next to the speakers (not the cameras) anyone knew what that is?

Which speaker - top or bottom? Do you have a pic?