Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Ask Slashdot: Are There Any Alternatives To Android Or iOS?

Posted by BeauHD on from the slim-pickings dept.

An anonymous Slashdot reader is asking whether or not there are any alternatives to Android or iOS smartphones: Like most of us, I've owned a few smartphones over time, ranging from a Nokia E71 to a Samsung Android phone and now, an Apple iPhone. It is close to phone upgrade time, and I've been reviewing the features that I use on my phone. When I think honestly about it, the only features I really need are:

1. Phone calls (loads of conference calls, for which I use a wired headset with a microphone)
2. SMS Messaging (unlimited on my plan)
3. Navigation (very important, and is probably the most-used app on my phone)
4. Occasional internet browsing

All of this could be done by the Nokia E71, when Nokia Maps was a thing. If I want to move away from Apple, Google and the like, do I have any options now? Are there any trustable (and by trustable, I mean avoiding unknown Chinese manufacturers) phones in the market today that could do all four and (ideally) have better battery life than one day?

42 of 304 comments (clear)

  1. First Post? by 14erCleaner · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, there are no good alternatives.

    --
    Have you read my blog lately?
    1. Re:First Post? by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 4, Informative

      iOS and Android dominate the market today, but there are a few alternatives with potential to escape from the app/spyware hell. Silent Circle make the Blackphone, which is Android-based but with a heavy emphasis on security and privacy compared to most of the major off-the-shelf brands. Perhaps more interesting, Purism are working on the Librem 5 and recently beat their funding target by a comfortable margin, which potentially means a privacy and security focussed phone that runs a different platform entirely could be available in the not too distant future.

      --
      If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
    2. Re:First Post? by countach · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As an iPhone user, what is this app/spyware hell of which you speak?

    3. Re:First Post? by Xenx · · Score: 2

      If we're talking about the apps that get around the permissions system, iPhone users aren't immune to it. It's not as rampant, but it's there. If we're talking about the fact that it's more and more common for apps to track the user and record info, then they're just as vulnerable as any other smartphone.

    4. Re: First Post? by dmesg0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't think rooting is a good idea nowadays. It prevents updates and you can achieve most things rooting allowed in the past without it.

    5. Re: First Post? by Shoten · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Root your phone, then you'll be able to remove all the crapware.

      Actually, no.

      The problem with this is that the worst of the crapware (like Adups' garbage) is tied into the OS itself. So while, theoretically you could remove it...you're talking about altering the OS itself at a very low level. And that brings a host of other problems based around maintenance. New Android version from the manufacturer to address vulnerabilities? Get ready to hack the OS all over again and perform surgery to remove the bad parts...assuming that they are where they were last time. Have a problem with something not working right? Could be from the changes you made...but it's hard to tell and good luck getting any technical support at all. And all of this first requires that a person be a guru on the inner workings of Android, which is a pretty tall order; I would think that someone asking about phone variants out there isn't one of these people, because everyone who is a bona fide Android developer (developer of Android itself...not apps for the Android OS) is pretty plugged-in to the cellphone industry.

      There is a difference between "technically possible" and "actually feasible."

      --

      For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
  2. windows phone? by rogoshen1 · · Score: 2

    You could probably snag a Nokia Lumia from target or amazon or something and save several hundred dollars; provided those are actual needs.

    1. Re:windows phone? by Lije+Baley · · Score: 2

      My $50 Lumia 640 with WP8.1 could do all of that beautifully, and works with band 12 on Tmobile...except the web browser was falling too far behind for my needs. So I updated to WP10. It has more features and the browser works much better, though the UI was a bit of step backwards in usability, mostly around things getting smaller and more complicated. I have no issue with missing apps. I may pick up a used Idol4s when they get under $100.

      --
      Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
    2. Re:windows phone? by DogDude · · Score: 2

      In what way was the UI "a step backward"? It's largely the same, but with some new features from 8.whatever.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
  3. Windows phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Windows phone... ho you asked for a good alternative !

  4. Tizen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Tizen. Samsung Z2/Z3 you can get one on Amazon. They don't have a large amount of apps, but they have all of the things you really need.

  5. Not anymore, anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Happy owner of a WinPhone here. Dated, sure. Fewer apps, sure. But compared to the iOS and Android phones I'm helping other people with on a daily basis, I find it easier to use. But I may be biased... by my better phone.

    1. Re:Not anymore, anyway by BronsCon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So much better that Microsoft has dropped the platform altogether. Bravo.

      It had potential, don't get me wrong; and if Microsoft hadn't screwed every single pooch they encountered on their journey with Windows Phone, I'm sure it would be a real winner, but...

      Its dead, Jim.

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    2. Re:Not anymore, anyway by DogDude · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Windows Phone 10 is supported until sometime in 2020. There's no reason not to continue to use Windows Phones for another years, at least.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    3. Re:Not anymore, anyway by DogDude · · Score: 5, Funny

      What in the fuck are you talking about? "Hopes and dreams?" I'm talking about a phone.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    4. Re:Not anymore, anyway by BronsCon · · Score: 2

      What in the fuck are you talking about? "Hopes and dreams?" I'm talking about a phone.

      I'm talking about behavior patterns of intelligent and successful individuals, and adopting a dead platform is not one of those patterns.

      You're going to have to switch platforms in 2 years, one way or the other. End of life is when you start moving off of a platform, not when you adopt it; the 2.5 years of "support" Microsoft has pledged Windows phone is intended to allow current users enough time to migrate to another solution.

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    5. Re:Not anymore, anyway by BronsCon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If all you use is the features that come with the phone and maybe a handful of free apps, more power to you, have at it. If you really want to keep using a device that's a year or more out of support (there are only 2 years left, remember), especially running a Microsoft OS with no security patches, go right ahead. Sure, it'll "work", it'll power on and at least the default functionality will probably be there; if you ever need to restore after they kill support, your apps will be lost, of course. I wouldn't really consider simply turning on and booting to be "working", when the device is intended to do so much more than that and those functions will necessarily break when Microsoft quits supporting them.

      If you use any apps, you clearly haven't considered that you might need some time to find suitable replacements, or you really don't actually use them enough to care about potential substantial workflow changes. Having migrated from Blackberry to iOS to Android, I've been around the block a couple times; if you have some app that does some function a certain way, it takes time to sift through all the available apps on your new platform that perform that function, in order to find one that has the options you need and works the way you need it to.

      Again, though, if all you care about is the most basic of functionality, sure, stick with Windows Phone. That's all you'll have when MS pulls the plug and, really, you don't even need a smartphone for those functions; most feature phones will perform those tasks, including GPS now, with multiple days of battery life.

      For someone who actually uses a smartphone as a smartphone, adopting a dead platform is simply beyond idiotic and suggesting it as an option is either ignorant, malicious, or both.

      --
      APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
    6. Re:Not anymore, anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      This is not true, Windows 10 Mobile allows you to do everything local to the phone without an account. Heck even apps update without an account in the store, and you can install "free" apps from the store without the account. If anything its the only mobile OS that DOESN'T require you to have an account to use fully.

      Google still requires you to have an account to even use the play store...

      Either way, this might have been true in 8.0/8.1 days but with Windows 10 Mobile (probably just going to be Windows 10 S (ARM) in the near future) you can get away with no accounts signed in.

    7. Re:Not anymore, anyway by tehcyder · · Score: 2

      Jesus, like he said, it's just a phone. Do you get all excited/upset when you have to buy a new microwave with the clock in a different place?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  6. Blackberry! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Blackberries still work. And during the SONY hack, Blackberries were the fallback!

  7. Custom Android ROM by RickRussellTX · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ubuntu Touch/Mobile failed, Microsoft is closing shop on Windows 10 Mobile.

    Honestly your best bet would be a phone that you can root, and put a stripped-down custom Android ROM on it. You don't need to connect to any Google Play services to get all the basics. At least that way you get to pick your configuration and keep it minimal.

  8. 99% good enough by supernova87a · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First, ask yourself why you really need to go to a phone that will be less supported, less well-debugged, less secure. Do you really need that special use case that rarely if ever comes up? Do you have the energy / time to maintain a phone like that to the same standards (and if not, are you just implicitly deciding not to)?

    Sometimes, don't you just want a phone that may not do absolutely everything, but otherwise generally just works? Aren't you old enough to not need to put up with half-assed shit any more?

    1. Re:99% good enough by olau · · Score: 2

      What are those standard you speak of?

      I can understand if you just don't want to think about it at all, but then... why are you here? Please hand in your geek card.

      Perhaps you can get a new card from the I've-seen-the-world crowd down the main stream.

  9. Sailfish on Sony Xperia by chill · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sailfish by Jolla, on either the Sony Xperia or any of a number of other phones as aftermarket.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    1. Re:Sailfish on Sony Xperia by rolandw · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've had a number of Jolla devices. My wife has a Jolla phone. If I were on the market today for a new phone, I'd be running Sailfish. The guys at Jolla are building genuine independence and, by being relatively obscure, I think manage to keep things secure yet flexible. Much of my work is in Linux admin and to be able to do that work, natively, straight off my phone is a joy.

      Word of warning: it's like Linux on the desktop - it works really well but you need to engage your brain. There is no easy way of syncing your music on your phone to some music library on some cloud service but hey, if you want to, you can find a way. Don't use a Jolla if you want a brain-dead experience or if you suffer regularly from hang-overs.

      Word of warning 2: When you meet someone else running Sailfish in the wild the amount of excitement generated probably needs a health warning - for you and those around you. If you have a heart problem, don't go looking for other Jolla fans outside a Jolla event.

    2. Re: Sailfish on Sony Xperia by zeigerpuppy · · Score: 2

      Yep, Sailfish is great, posting here from a Sailfish phone at the moment. It's much better than the malware that iOS amd Android have become. Otherwise I'd probably use LineageOS but very happy with Sailfish on Xperia X.

  10. Cheap Windows phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Any cheapo windows phone will do all that just fine. The built-in map app is great for navigation, even without internet.

    1. Re:Cheap Windows phone by beuges · · Score: 2

      Not sure why you got a funny mod here. Windows Phone allows you to download maps for your region onto the device so you can navigate in areas with poor/no coverage.

  11. The E71 still does ALL that... by williamyf · · Score: 4, Informative

    Provided you load up The Garmin APP, and get the maps from OpenStreetMaps, and OperaMini

    More seriously though, the market has spoken, and there are only three platforms:
    iOS 18% Installed base.
    Google's Android with PlayStore/Services 55%
    AOSP (Android Open Source Ports) 27%

    the rest of the platforms (WindowsPhone10, BlackBerry's BB10, WebOS, Bada) are pretty much roundng errors.

    WP10 will be supported (including security patches) until 2020. BB10 will be "zombie supported" (no mention of security patches) until 2020 as well. The other two, I do not know.

    So, pick your poison wisely; for there is pretty much no escape.

    But, if you are hellbent on not being on neither iOS, nor any flavour of Android, then, for your specific use case, I'd bet either on Bada (Samsung has big pockets to keep the platform going for a while), or a "Smarther than a featurephone, but dumber thn a smartphone" asha-type phone from HMD (the owners of the Nokia brand).

    PS: My last four phones were a Nokia E71 like you (which I still keep around as my Garmin), then a Nokia N9, then a Blackberry Q10, then a Blackberry keyONE (android, current one), but I had a mobile phone in some capacity since 1996 (Motorola AMPS, then ericsson AMPS, then Sony AMPS, then nokia 6119, then nokia 7110, then Ericsson-Symbian-but-I-forget-cause-I-was-mugged, then Nokia 7250i, then some no-name huawei). So I kinda speak from experience.

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
    1. Re:The E71 still does ALL that... by rcs1000 · · Score: 2

      The Nokia N9 was a staggeringly good phone. I still wonder what would have happened if Nokia had thrown its weight behind it rather than behind the (at the time) pretty poor Windows Phone.

      --
      --- My dad's political betting
  12. Here's a comparison: by John.Banister · · Score: 4, Informative

    Comparison of mobile operating systems

  13. Betteridge by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 2

    ubports and Sailfish are probably your best bets if you want to flash a custom firmware to a small base of supported handsets.

  14. Come on... by countach · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From what you're telling us, you have very modest requirements, albeit not quite modest enough to use a plain old candy bar phone.

    Now as a non-tech geek, which is what this profile is screaming, why would you not want to go mainstream? iOS and Android is mainstream. They are readily available. There are tons of resources on how to use them. They have apps available should the need arise. Going out of mainstream is for early adopters, for tech geeks, for people with non-mainstream needs. There's a reason why Android and iOS dominate. THEY WORK FOR MOST PEOPLE.

    1. Re:Come on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Just FYI, you can be a tech geek and still not be interested in installing tons of crap on a little shitty terminal.

  15. Phones for the 1% by gavron · · Score: 2

    You're a rare breed, using your smartphone primarily as a phone (!!!) and secondarily for other things.
    [quote]1. Phone calls (loads of conference calls, for which I use a wired headset with a microphone)
    2. SMS Messaging (unlimited on my plan)
    3. Navigation (very important, and is probably the most-used app on my phone)
    4. Occasional internet browsing[/quote]

    GIven you're not using Signal, #1 and #2 can be handled by any cheap handset.
    Navigation is a function of whose data you want to use. The most accurate data is provided by the companies that have spent the money to build the data and now want you in their ecosystem consuming it. That's Goole, Apple, and Microsoft. As an avid supporter of open source I would also bring up OpenStreetMap, but alas, it cannot compete with big money and complete datasets.
    Internet browsing can be done on cheap handsets as well.

    You say you work in the car with a wired headset. Use your car's nav system and get a cheap (aka Nokia) handset. It will remind you of how you used to do things back in the 1960s, and you won't be disappointed with all the modern features that scare you about IOS and Android.

    Ehud

  16. Buy the tech not into the brand by AHuxley · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1. Phone calls (loads of conference calls, for which I use a wired headset with a microphone)
    2. SMS Messaging (unlimited on my plan)
    Something like a better Nokia 3310 that can support calls, tethering.
    3. Navigation (very important, and is probably the most-used app on my phone)
    A portable GPS unit with free new map support.
    4. Occasional internet browsing
    A quality laptop using any OS you like.
    No android or apple OS needed.

    Buy real devices that support what is needed as part of their design.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  17. There are some, one is kinda viable (sort of) by pngwen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Probably the most viable phone OS is Legacy OS, which is just an open source version of Android. You can install it, and provided you don't instal gapps, it is pretty secure. It also gives you complete control over your phone. Legacy OS + Fdroid gives you a FOSS solution that protects your privacy about as well as any OS for a tracking device can.

    There is also the openmoko stack from a few years ago. If you can get your hands on a Neo FreeRunner, they are an acceptable phone. You'll be on your own for software though, as that project is effectively dead.

    No matter what you do, you can't really trust a phone completely. The nature of the cell network means that any cellphone is a defacto tracking device. Your whereabouts are logged, and because you have shared them with a third party you have no expectation of privacy. They don't even require a warrant for law enforcement. Also, private citizens can simply purchase the location data from most providers. So keep that in mind. I carry a phone, but I am ready to stick it in a microwave and run from it at a moment's notice.

    --
    I am the penguin that codes in the night.
  18. Alternative to Android/iOS by StormReaver · · Score: 2

    Not yet, but there will be in 2019.

    The Librem phone hits all of my requirements, and will be my next phone in 2019. It's not cheap, but its feature set is awesome. Some highlights (in no particular order):

    1) Runs pure Linux, which allows for installing many standard Linux distributions.
    2) Has hardware kill switches for the radio and microphone.
    3) Encrypted calls between Librem phones.
    4) No tracking.

    There are other great features, too. It's the phone I've been waiting for since I first discovered smartphones.

  19. Windows Phone by DogDude · · Score: 2

    Windows Phone 10 works great. I got one of the $200 Alcatel somethings from a Microsoft Store and it's really awesome. Great UI. I like that you can use it without a Windows ID at all. Mail is much better than the other two. Calendaring is good. Maps and GPS aren't bad, but I don't use them much. It has all of the basic "apps" you might need (Lyft and Uber for me).

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  20. Nope. by XSportSeeker · · Score: 2

    If you are looking for something modern, with latest specs, short answer - nope.

    If it can be an older device, for known chinese manufacturers (because all phones are manufactured in China to a degree), your only bet is probably a Windows Phone... which has been discontinued and is currently in a limbo.

    Other than that, Ubuntu Touch is dead, there are some few privacy minded mobile distros still out there, but most options will require you to: install the OS yourself, pre-order something that is still not out, have a hard time actually buying a phone, and/or perhaps trust a company that will probably be making their phone with an unknown chinese manufacturer anyways.
    It's also worth noting that lots of companies tried to come up with either a hardened Android version for privacy, or a Linux distro that would run on a mobile device. It didn't work out too well, either because of technical limitations and speed smartphones are evolving, or for lack of costumers and support.
    I wouldn't recommend going for any small company alternatives right now because long term support is definitely not guaranteed.

    Since you have so little requirements, might as well delegate navigation and browsing to another device, and just buy a dumbphone.

  21. Re:How could I have forgotten about Microsoft? by doom · · Score: 2

    Our only choice will be the winner or nothing. Not a real choice

    I went with "nothing" a long time ago. My life is okay. Really.

  22. I do not agree. by emil · · Score: 2

    LineageOS provides an optional root package. If you apply it, and you also apply a GAPPS package, Google's Skynet/(Safetynet) will mark you forever tainted and forbid you from using Android Pay or Netflix. I don't care about either of these features, so that's what I'm doing for now.

    Option B: You can also skip GAPPS and run without Google. If you load F-Droid, you can use the Yalp app to pull non-GMS (Google Mobile Services) based apps out of Google Play for use on a non-Google version of LineageOS.

    LineageOS updates will successfully apply either way.

    I am carefully considering Option B for my upgrade to Oreo.