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Hands On with the ZTE Chorus for Cricket

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Thoughts?

Rich Brome

Nov 9, 2011, 1:19 PM
So what do people think of this Android-but-not type of phone? I think it's fascinating, personally. Google has put this powerful software out there, as open-source, so manufacturers can do whatever they want with it. It's a great way to quickly and easily put out a very powerful feature phone, leveraging existing in-house talent for developing Android hardware and software.

I wonder why we don't see more phones like this. It's win-win. Manufacturers can make much better feature phones for far less development cost. It makes it easier for carriers, too, who can put their custom carrier apps on phones like this, re-using most of the code they use for their full Android phones.
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LuciousAsh

Nov 9, 2011, 3:07 PM
I get that it would make for an extremely robust feature phone, but I don't really get the purpose in removing features like the Android market. Is it so they can put cheaper hardware into the device without having to worry about compatibility? Or does it satisfy the carriers, which want it to use less data to fit under the feature phone category?
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Rich Brome

Nov 9, 2011, 3:54 PM
It's hard not to think of this as a crippled Android phone. But I really think that's the wrong way to think about it.

A good Android experience - including all third-party apps - requires a good screen, a good processor, and a certain amount of memory. All of those jack up costs. Plus wi-fi, a minimum 3-megapixel camera, capacitive screen, etc. When you go below that threshold, you can make the phone much cheaper, at the expense of being compatible with many third-party apps (or at least providing a good experience with them.)

Then there's the fact that casual users can easily install badly-written apps that trash the experience. The Android market is filled with apps that drain battery life and/or performance more than they should. S...
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Static

Nov 11, 2011, 10:40 AM
"It's not like they're crippling it to keep Android away from you. If you want real Android, get the Score. If you don't care, get the Chorus. Cricket and ZTE are giving you that choice, so I don't see the downside here."

That's a really good point. For me, however, a resistive touch screen and the lack of Wi-Fi immediately leave this device dead in the water.

I was initially very surprised to learn these aspects of the Chorus. I am not a fan of resistive touch screens and the fact that here is NO Wi-Fi is a head-scratcher. Wi-Fi is one of the main reasons people go with smartphones, in my experience. They just go hand-in-hand...
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