Ask HN: Choosing 5 Android handsets for QA purposes: Which 5?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7936596

by AVTizzle • 12 years ago

9 4 12 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hey HN - if you were developing an Android app and had the opportunity to pick 5 Android handsets for QA purposes, which 5 would you choose?

I suppose you'd want to go with 5 Androids that represent some balance of covering as wide of a spectrum-representation as possible, while also representing the major families of Android (Galaxy S-series, Droid Razr?, etc...)

Thoughts? Which 5 do you go for?

higherpurpose• 12 years ago

Nexus 5, Moto G, Galaxy S5 (I think these 3 are pretty mandatory), and the other two maybe a Sony and an LG (maybe even lower-end versions than the Moto G, especially resolution wise). If you want to target mainly the US market, I guess Sony isn't very popular there, so perhaps an HTC device instead.

GFischer• 12 years ago

Maybe a phablet and a "mini", lower resolution device?

higherpurpose's point is very important, regarding which is your target market - it's VERY different to develop targeting the U.S. than, say, Latin America.

Edit: I see your company is focused on managing "street crews" for campaigns, I guess first world then :)

Apparently the best-sellers over there are:

- Samsung Galaxy S III (> 30 million sold)

- HTC One

- Motorola DROID

I second higherpurpose's recommendation of a Motorola Moto G (maybe instead of the DROID).

I'd choose a 320 x 480 pixel device like Galaxy Mini 2 for South America, and maybe a 240 x 320 device like Galaxy Pocket which is the default "free" phone over here.

Or, for the Indian market - I've heard they use a lot of local and Chinese brands over there, not necessarily lower specced but I've read about a lot of Mediatek-powered devices.

swanson• 12 years ago

If you have an existing app, use the Google Play Dev Console to find the phones your existing users are using and consider buying the top 2-3.

These sites are also helpful: http://choosedevice.com/ http://www.handsetdetection.com/

My picks (with no context): Nexus 5 (straight from Google, use this as the gold standard), LG Optimus Fuel ($30 unlocked at Walmart, runs KitKat but has a tiny screen), Samsung Galaxy S4/5 (whichever is most popular), Samsung Galaxy S3 (still tons of those in the wild), and Kindle Fire 7" (covers tablet and FireOS).

rahimnathwani• 12 years ago

LG Optimus Fuel ($30 unlocked at Walmart, runs KitKat but has a tiny screen)

Is this Straight Talk version unlocked?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Talk-LG-L34C-Optimus-Fuel...

Ask HN: Choosing 5 Android handsets for QA purposes: Which 5?

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