Android Phone with just Wifi ?

Mike K · Apr 7, 2016

I'm thinking about buying a used earlier model android phone and wondering if it will work at locations that have wifi (Home) and avoid buying a phone service contract? Questions:

1) Will BI work this way?

2) Is there a best phone to use this way? I see a lot of bargains on Craigs List for around $50.

3) What is the minimum Phone storage capacity and processing features needed to view a live streaming HD cam feed? I have a good router/modem equipment. Would like to be able to handle one cam feed minimum.

fenderman · Apr 7, 2016

Mike K said:
I'm thinking about buying a used earlier model android phone and wondering if it will work at locations that have wifi (Home) and avoid buying a phone service contract? Questions:

1) Will BI work this way?

2) Is there a best phone to use this way? I see a lot of bargains on Craigs List for around $50.

3) What is the minimum Phone storage capacity and processing features needed to view a live streaming HD cam feed? I have a good router/modem equipment. Would like to be able to handle one cam feed minimum.

The mobile app will not run on older versions of android...not sure which ones specifically..

digger11 · Apr 7, 2016

Mike K said:
I'm thinking about buying a used earlier model android phone and wondering if it will work at locations that have wifi (Home) and avoid buying a phone service contract? Questions:

1) Will BI work this way?

2) Is there a best phone to use this way? I see a lot of bargains on Craigs List for around $50.

3) What is the minimum Phone storage capacity and processing features needed to view a live streaming HD cam feed? I have a good router/modem equipment. Would like to be able to handle one cam feed minimum.

1) Yes it will. I just confirmed that I could load and run it his way on my previous phone, a Samsung Galaxy S3. The phone is not activated, but we keep it around in case we break or lose a phone. I put the phone in airplane mode, and then turned on Wi-Fi. No problem connecting to the home Wi-Fi, then loading the BI app from the play store. I can access both my BI server on the local lan, and the BI server at our mountain home over the internet.

2) An S3 like mine wouldn't be a bad choice. At least I can say from first hand experience that works fine for the BI app.

3) I don't think that I've ever seen anything along the lines of "system requirements" listed for the app.

fenderman · Apr 7, 2016

According to the play store it requires android 4.1 and up

Mike K · Apr 7, 2016

fenderman said:
According to the play store it requires android 4.1 and up

Is that for the Galaxy?

fenderman · Apr 7, 2016

Mike K said:
Is that for the Galaxy?

for any phone and tablet, it must be 4.1 and up...

Mike K · Apr 8, 2016

fenderman said:
According to the play store it requires android 4.1 and up

I can buy a new Jiake Model M8, unlocked, for $67. (eBay)

6" Android 5.1 Cell Phone Unlocked 3G Dual SIM Smartphone Quad Core GSM GPS QHD

It has an Android 5.1 OS, but the RAM is only 512mb, (ROM is 4 GB), I'm a little concerned about the low memory but don't know if I should be? The display is 6", which would make a nice mobile viewing device with BI, for a minimal cost.

'

fenderman · Apr 8, 2016

Mike K said:
I can buy a new Doogee Model M8, unlocked, for $67. (eBay)

6" Android 5.1 Cell Phone Unlocked 3G Dual SIM Smartphone Quad Core GSM GPS QHD

It has an Android 5.1 OS, but the RAM is only 512mb, (ROM is 16GB), I'm a little concerned about the low memory but don't know if I should be? The display is 6", which would make a nice mobile viewing device with BI, for a minimal cost.

'

How do you intend to use this? you cant see much on a cell phone unless you are only displaying a single camera or right near it.

Mike K · Apr 8, 2016

fenderman said:
How do you intend to use this? you cant see much on a cell phone unless you are only displaying a single camera or right near it.

I would want to view one live camera stream at a time using the BI app. 2way audio would be great on one camera when my workers are at the remote location.

fenderman · Apr 9, 2016

Mike K said:
I would want to view one live camera stream at a time using the BI app. 2way audio would be great on one camera when my workers are at the remote location.

Why dont you use your own cell phone? Do you intend to just leave it on and streaming, like a monitor?

kozmo2k · Apr 9, 2016

Mike K said:
I can buy a new Jiake Model M8, unlocked, for $67. (eBay)

6" Android 5.1 Cell Phone Unlocked 3G Dual SIM Smartphone Quad Core GSM GPS QHD

It has an Android 5.1 OS, but the RAM is only 512mb, (ROM is 4 GB), I'm a little concerned about the low memory but don't know if I should be? The display is 6", which would make a nice mobile viewing device with BI, for a minimal cost.

'

Those cheap Chinese phones/clones are a mixed bag... Some turn out great, some are a waste of $. Have a look at XDA-developers forum, there is a big community of users.
You want something with a lot more RAM than 512MB. I would target 2GB, or more than 1GB. The internal storage, ROM, can be switched to the external, microSD Card; you may sacrifice a bit of R/W speed, but is barely noticeable. Now, with BI, it might be more, as it is heavier on R/W cycles... A good, reliable SD card is must ( I have the best experience with Samsung EVO UH-1 cards).
The MediaTek chipsets are surprisingly good value...

Mike K · Apr 9, 2016

fenderman said:
Why dont you use your own cell phone? Do you intend to just leave it on and streaming, like a monitor?

My cell phone I use for calling has a much smaller display. I would use the larger one at home for the most part.

fenderman · Apr 9, 2016

Mike K said:
My cell phone I use for calling has a much smaller display. I would use the larger one at home for the most part.

Are you really going to carry it around with you?

Mike K · Apr 9, 2016

No, I would leave it at home.

Mike K · Apr 9, 2016

kozmo2k said:
Those cheap Chinese phones/clones are a mixed bag... Some turn out great, some are a waste of $. Have a look at XDA-developers forum, there is a big community of users.
You want something with a lot more RAM than 512MB. I would target 2GB, or more than 1GB. The internal storage, ROM, can be switched to the external, microSD Card; you may sacrifice a bit of R/W speed, but is barely noticeable. Now, with BI, it might be more, as it is heavier on R/W cycles... A good, reliable SD card is must ( I have the best experience with Samsung EVO UH-1 cards).
The MediaTek chipsets are surprisingly good value...

This one will accommodate two Micro Chips, one for memory expansion up to 4GB.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Quad-Core-2Sim-Android-5-1-Smartphone-Unlocked-3G-GSM-AT-T-Cell-Phone-8MP-GPS-/151940889207?tfrom=152028428689&tpos=top&ttype=coupon&talgo=undefined

fenderman · Apr 9, 2016

Mike K said:
No, I would leave it at home.

yes buy do you intend to carry it around your house? get a larger tablet or even a cheap laptop and leave it stationary.

Mike K · Apr 9, 2016

I have a laptop that I can also use. The smaller one would just be more convenient at home or when I'm in a coffee shop or other places that have free wifi hot spots etc.

fenderman · Apr 9, 2016

Mike K said:
I have a laptop that I can also use. The smaller one would just be more convenient at home or when I'm in a coffee shop or other places that have free wifi hot spots etc.

seems silly to carry around a device just for looking at cams...spend the money on a phone with a larger screen..
You dont need a free wifi hot spot...blue iris can limit the stream bandwidth...you can set 3 different limits and use which ever you prefer depending on your connection.

Mike K · Apr 10, 2016

fenderman said:
seems silly to carry around a device just for looking at cams...spend the money on a phone with a larger screen..
You dont need a free wifi hot spot...blue iris can limit the stream bandwidth...you can set 3 different limits and use which ever you prefer depending on your connection.

When My AT&T contract is up in a cpl of months I should be able to activate this new one for calling (3G/GSM AT&T Cell Phone, http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Quad-Core-...algo=undefined), and sell the old one.

kozmo2k · Apr 13, 2016

Mike K said:
When My AT&T contract is up in a cpl of months I should be able to activate this new one for calling (3G/GSM AT&T Cell Phone, http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Quad-Core-...algo=undefined), and sell the old one.

That phone has a very old SOC (chipset), the MTK6580. That is about 3 years old.
And keep in mind, when it says 8GB ROM, that is the entire internal memory: take out some for System, Boot, Recovery (etc) partitions, and you end up with (maybe) 1.5GB for Data (apps). Which is not that big of a problem, if you're planning to Root and change the mount path (for Data) to external DS Card.
Note: it is 3G only! However, I do get better speeds on my T-Mobile 3G (2 years old chinese iRulu V1S) phone, than on my Sprint 4G/LTE Galaxy S4. But I guess that is regional issue...
P.S.: try to find a US seller/supplier for whatever phone you narrow it down to. Less hassle in case of an issue/return...

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