missing T-Mobile Band 12 (one of their LTE bands), but AT&T is covered.

I'm guessing you are speaking of the Zenfone 2. So it will only work on ATT? No chance in hell of me signing up with them.

So is that their only band?

M9 and S6 released today so I went to look at them.

M9

As I am familiar with Sense, the HTC was very comfortable right away. I liked the build quality and it felt fairly light. The overall phone is almost the same size as my DNA, it just has less border and larger screen in the same footprint. The boomsound speakers sounded pretty good for phone speakers, certainly the best I've heard. The headphone jack sounded pretty dull, though, enough to possibly be a deal breaker. Screen was nice and crisp with minimal stutter on text as the screen scrolls. Screen motion was very fluid otherwise. Something I noticed on most of the new phones was when you turn the volume up it warns you that you are damaging your hearing. This obviously assumes you are using efficient included earbuds/etc, so bringing up the voltage enough for my UERM meant I was always in the danger zone, so that was annoying. The M9 had this 'feature'. Battery seems decent on the M9, but all metal design means no wireless charging, so two big things for me, no wireless and dull headphone output means I probably won't get a M9. The sdcard slot seems difficult to access regularly, so props for actually having one, but not something you could easily access to load a different music library. 3000mah battery is decent and optimization seems to be well done.

S6

Previously I've never considered a Samsung, mostly cause everyone that didn't have an iPhone had a Samsung, so I didn't want to be a sheep. Tonight I looked at the S4 (which has a super-retarded UI, like WTF) which was next to the M9 display and saw the points I'd seen about the plastic design and just not a good feeling machine, poor design, etc. I picked up the S6 and was impressed with the change in build quality. It felt as good as the M9, though somewhat heavier in the hand, probably because the flat back (S6) vs round back (M9). Speaker sound was average, so not that great. Headphone sound had really nice detail, but bass was hard to come by, probably a deal breaker. Thankfully the UI is closer to stock android now than that S4 garbage, so I could actually use the phone. Navigation between screens and apps was quick. I played the same high res youtube video on both M9 and S6 and didn't see much difference. If anything the S6 seemed to be a hair choppy where the M9 was ultra smooth. Of course the M9 is lower resolution so an easier work load, but despite the better resolution, I saw basically no difference. Wireless power is there on the S6 so that would be a good plus, but that bad sounding headphone jack just kills it, as well as the higher price. No sdcard slot anymore, usually not a deal breaker for me (my DNA does not either), but would be nice for extra music, etc. Smallest battery of the bunch, but apparently the best optimized.

Droid Turbo

So with both of those having some deal breaking issues I revisited the Motorola Droid Turbo. This one had probably the smoothest screen action and most zippy interface, moving screens and changing apps. Also, while the external speaker was only slightly better than the S6, the headphone output was very good (for a phone). It has wireless charging, but no sdcard. It's priced lower than the rest too. 3900mah battery is the best of the bunch, but I hear the phone may not be as optimized as others so the bigger battery doesn't translate to as much advantage as it should.

Nexus 6

I'd never tried a Nexus product before, and was scared of the sheer size of this thing, but as I had time, I decided to give it a try. It is certainly large. While the other phones mentioned are basically the same size as my DNA, this one was noticeably larger. Still it might be pocket-able. The UI is stock android and looks good, but I'd need to do a lot of config to get it looking how I'd want. The screen performed well and the processor had no trouble keeping things going quickly. The external s peaker is marginally better than the Droid Turbo (so #2 overall, but a large step behind the M9), and the headphone output was solid, almost as good as the Turbo. It's basically the same price as the M9 and slightly more than the Turbo. It has wireless charging, but no sdcard as with the other Motorola. 3200mah battery is a good size and people report regular multi-day uses between charges.

So I might be back to Turbo, unless Asus finally decides to grace us with a Zenfone 2 announcement. The Nexus 6 was better than I expected and is bloat-free and not that much more expensive, so it's still under consideration. M9 is out, S6 I want to like, but overall the price/performance isn't there.

Halp!

Dropped my iphone 5s on saturday and shattered my screen. Still usable under packing tape, but only barely.

I am done with Apple's phone. There are several irrelevant reasons, and a few relevant ones. I hate Apple's data storage micromanagement, and I hate that it auto defaults to its own apps (which seem to multiply with each update and cannot be deleted).  I am at the point that I am presently unwilling to pay to have the screen fixed until I exhaust other options. I was looking to move on before the screen tragedy, but this has accelerated my timeline.

I am still under contract until end of September, so I need help deciding whether or not I should limp along with a shattered, taped screen. I am grandfathered into AT&T unlimited data, and not keen to give that up, as we use enough data to break the "value barrier" for switching to the newer payment models, even if I am paying for a subsidy I don't receive. I am looking for a usable non-apple phone in the $300-400 range; it means selling some headphones, but I can deal with that.

Obvious contenders include oneplus, nexus 5, moto [which letter?], and older/used galaxy, but I am sure I am missing some. I find samsung notes attractive, but cannot afford without subsidy, and question if I would ever use its full stylused potential. I have read tangentially about windows phones, but it seems the "ecosystem" isn't really up to snuff yet.

- I am married to AT&T for the near future, they provide fine service for my needs, and still honor my unlimited data (I haven't experienced bad throttling, and have no need to tether yet.)
- I am accustomed to the 2yr refresh rate, and typically fine with it.
- I am fine adapting to new UI and technologies; it is actually exciting when the "new thing" isn't utterly stupid (e.g. sony proprietary jukebox software of the late 90's early 2000's).
- All the home hardware is apple/mac. Office is windows. I am not embedded in the apple ecosystem. My photo, video, and audio files are maintained in home server in non-proprietary file structures. I am well versed with many of google's products.
- Related concern: my entire extended family has iphones, so un-training things like facetime will be a pain, even though I prefer hangouts for chat and video on my iphone already.
- Size is a mixed bag. Coming from a 5s everything seems like a phablet to me. The very word, phablet, is absurd. However, the usefulness of a screen that big is appealing, and I almost never have my phone in my pocket; if I do its in my back pocket on way from office to car, car to front door, etc.
- Related concern: I am frequently a one-hander, but as voice commands get better, it matters less.
- Battery matters but isn't a deal breaker; I charge every night, and in the car if heavy use while driving. If I am somewhere remote and without easy access to electricity, it is almost certainly intentional, and my phone isn't a concern.
- I don't really play games or do music on my phone, but I email, talk/text, and consume the webs heavily.
- Can't live with only 16g storage; would prefer 64g or an sd card slot.
- Camera matters: we have a toddler, and photo/video capability is a must with emphasis on start-up lag, focus lag, and solid auto settings. When I want to get snazzy, the SLR comes out.
- Durability matters generally, but I am careful: this is the first damaged screen in my entire cell phone existence, with the last 7 years being smartphones. I use a case.

If I can limp along until October and get something subsidized, that would be grand, but I am not sure I can last. I understand the "rational consumer" would pay to have the phone fixed and shut up, but the "rational consumer" also takes his money elsewhere when he doesn't like the goods/services he is receiving, and I am at that point.

Thoughts?

If I can limp along until October and get something subsidized, that would be grand, but I am not sure I can last. I understand the "rational consumer" would pay to have the phone fixed and shut up, but the "rational consumer" also takes his money elsewhere when he doesn't like the goods/services he is receiving, and I am at that point.

Thoughts?

I really would not recommend a Nexus 5 at this point. It's seriously dated, and the camera is pretty bad. I think the OnePlus One has your name all over it. It's right up there in terms of hardware specs with last year's flagships, at half the price. It's not quite as quick as a Galaxy S6 or M9, but obviously you're not paying the price for those either. You now have two options as far as the OS, either OnePlus's own OxygenOS, which is basically stock Android with a few tweaks to enable the added functionality that the phone has, or Cyanogen 12S, which is similar, but has a lot more customization. Basically everything you could possibly think of to tweak or change can be done in Cyanogen. It's the only phone on the market to offer both on screen buttons and hardware capacitive buttons, so you can pick whichever one you like better. The 64GB version is $349.