I recently moved to Android for the 1st time and discovered some really annoying issues like advertising via Google’s own products and suffering an intermittent screen freeze when trying to receive and end calls. I admit that the ASUS phone I bought has probably not helped as ASUS preloaded loads of crap with it but to me a phone should just work!
If Apple made a dual sim phone I would already be on my way back to them as a paying customer, sadly however they don’t. With that I am now considering a windows phone for the 1st time. All I really need is a reliable device, good screen, dual sim (both active) and 4G. I am looking at the following Lumia 640XL
Does anybody have any experience with this model? With recent windows phones? Any issues I should be aware of?
I personally love windows phones and rate them right up there against Apple.
Just wish they had more apps other than that they are highly flexible in the way you can set them up.
Thanks Sean, seems the only windows phones that are dual sim, dual active are those with smaller screens currently. Might need to hold off for a little longer.
I have a Windows phone from work (basically the same one you mentioned, a Lumia 640) that generally sits in my bag with a dead battery. It’s one of the worst phones I’ve ever used. But I guess the main problem with it is the lack of available apps.
A 2015 Android phone with Android 5.0 is probably the best smartphone you can use right now, you shouldn’t experience lagginess like you might have on older Android phones. Alternatively an iPhone 6 is a bit simpler if you like that sort of thing. But obviously Apple don’t make dual sim devices. I don’t think even Samsung/HTC make dual sim Android devices - the last gen Moto G was, but the newer one isn’t dual sim anymore. If that’s a really important issue, you might be better off with a Windows phone if using apps isn’t a concern - most of the Android phones with dual sims are low-end ones from iffy brands like Alcatel, Asus, ZTE.
£180, 5.5", decent 8 core CPU, 2GB RAM. There’s a smaller 5" version that’s a bit cheaper too. Looks very similar to an iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy. Some mixed reviews though - on paper it’s basically a Samsung Galaxy S5 but it’s a lot cheaper so there’s probably a reason for that. I might consider one myself though if I needed a dual SIM smartphone for drug dealing or something
You and I have talked about the issues you have with your phone. It is very unfortunate what you’re experiencing but we need to make something clear. It is not Google’s Android version that is giving you all of the advertising and intermittent screen freeze issues that you’re experiencing but rather ASUS’ implementation of Android (or the very dodgy Russian apps you keep purchasing he he).
I’m not going to start saying that Android is better than iOS and Windows, as we all have different requirements/preferences. All I will say is that I’ve had Android since it came out and not experienced any major problems with it. I’m currently using the LG G3 with Lollipop on it and it is superb. There is a dual-SIM version of the G3 but only from HKG and also a HTC M8 one but the dual-SIM versions aren’t exactly cheap.
Did you try out a custom ROM for your Zenfone 2? There seem to be quite a few available now Custom ROM
Maybe it is better for you to go back and use iOS and then get dual/triple SIM with this device
Hope you find the right phone for you mate - I would go insane if my mobile was having the same problem as you’ve described.
Been trying to stay clear of the Chinese phones.
There is a lot of bloatware on this phone but I have been advised that the freezing screen is an android trait that can happen on some phones. That said the prospect of the pure android moto phone sounds like it might be worth a try.
I have rooted the phone and installed adfree which has improved matters re the advertising but I am still aghast at Google for injecting their own OS and apps with advertising mechanisms which have been part of my problem. Lets not even get started on air flow advertising! None of that looks after my best interests as an android user.
I did attempt to custom Rom my phone but alas it failed on the very last step but besides part of me feels I should not need to.
Google definitely don’t install ads in their own apps and OS (well, aside from the desktop version of Gmail and generally collecting all your data and advertising to you in search results). That’s Asus bloatware.
Yeah there’s plenty of tracking stuff in there - iPhones are exactly the same, except they don’t let you opt out - but Google won’t bombard you with in your face adverts in Android or any of their apps, if you’re experiencing that it’s not Google. They didn’t get to be the biggest advertising company in the world by doing blatant annoying advertising.
By the way, basically every app on every device tracks their user’s UDID numbers (unique device ID). On iOS it’s completely hidden to users and you have no control or awareness of it, on Android Google try to get developers to use Google’s Ad ID to track users, which lets users see what information is being tracked, reset it and opt out (although Android app developers can still also track the UDID but Google have given them a nicer option).
It’s the same on the web too, except we use cookies and IP addresses instead of UDIDs.
Another fun Google tracking thing: they have a page where you can see your entire location history with Google maps. Which basically means everywhere your iPhone or Android phone has ever been. A mix of nifty and mildly scary, but GCHQ are probably doing much worse anyway - https://maps.google.co.uk/locationhistory/b/0
I have used iPhones for the last few years and never seen adverts on my phones. Additionally I have not seen adverts appear on any workstation I have used unless of malware delivered to the desktop/laptop by my own sense of internet adventure despite owning a small subnet of static ip addresses and allowing cookie caching in my browser. These ads that I see on the android are generally pushed there using airpush technology and using my Google generated advertising I’d. Whichever way people cut it and dice it I am seeing advertising and other fluff on android that I never saw on Iphone and that Windows phone users advise they simply don’t see. Yes it don’t help that ASUS filled a decent phone with bloat but like other phones I expect the device to work in my favour and protect me from it. Or is that wrong of me? ; )
That’s more due to the fact that Apple and Microsoft don’t install crapware on their own phones, but you can buy an Android phone from anyone, so some manufacturers are a bit iffy (never had any problems with Samsung, HTC or official Google Android devices though). It’s the downside to an open source, free operating system.
Taking your point on board I contacted HTC UK support directly as I like their phone builds and they have a better rep. I was willing to give android another go if I could find a so called pure android phone. Strangely they were not able to sell me a dual sim phone that also offered 4g connectivity. The UK is so far behind the scene in terms of dual sim it seems.
Just thought I would bring this to a close. I ended up going for the MS Lumia 640. Really surprised actually. While the phone did not cost the earth it does everything well. The overall feel of the phone in hand could be better but I tend to use cases which I find removes good or bad feel from the equation. The tile based home screen is not my favourite but I am hopeful of change in windows mobile 10 in this regard (no biggie). Some of the apps could be a little more developed but all the apps I need are available and work fine.
Feature set is great, performance is good, stability is perfect, zero ads and being a windows guy it integrates nicely with my desktop, laptop and xbox etc. Due to the low cost I was also able to go into a sim only rolling contract which saved me money and gives me the ability to stop/change as required. I spend my time troubleshooting corporate and end user technical issues so its finally good to have a 4G Dual Sim blower that just works as expected.
Sorry I haven’t even got a clue what the hell dual SIM is other than double something… lol I’m defo not the geek teckie of TFP that’s for sure… good luck.
