CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Non-Audio Stuff => The Geek Cave: Home Theatre, Computers, and More! => Topic started by: zerodeefex on December 23, 2014, 11:11:32 PM
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Changstar is growing and we're getting a more regular crew. Since I've seen questions such as "Should I buy X or Y device?" followed by completely off base advice quite a bit, I thought I'd create a normal, people friendly thread.
I have pretty extensive access to smartphones, especially of the Android flagship variety; although I do spend quite a bit of time using iPhones as well to stay current on what iOS offers. If you're willing to provide a little context on your needs and general usage patterns, I can help you pick a device that's right for you!
Here are some useful questions to answer when posting for advice (feel free to disregard and ask questions free form as well):
- What country are you in and what carrier do you prefer? This helps me determine availability as well as radio support/performance.
- What price range are you considering/how price sensitive are you?
- How many years do you go between upgrades?
- If in the US, are you willing to pick up a subsidized phone attached to a 2 year contract?
- How durable does your device need to be? Are drops a regular occurrence? Do you have kids or pets?
- How important is customizability?
- How important is ease of use? How comfortable are you with new technology/interfaces?
- What are you using currently?
- Do you have a lot of music and/or other digital content associated with one platform or another? Are you married to one platform or another for any particular reason?
- How long do you spend away from outlets during the day? How important is multi day battery life?
- Do you have size considerations? Are you comfortable with a large phone, or is one handed use important?
- Do you need the fastest, baddest ass device?
- How often do you take pics and in what conditions? Are you an avid smartphone snapper and value good IQ? Do you want to mess with settings or have your pictures just come out great?
- Any other specific use cases you want to be considered? Do you attend a lot of concerts and need to get a good audio recording? Do you film adventures with your smartphone?
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I think my next phone will be the HTC One M8, but I'm not up to speed on a lot of the newer offerings.
So, I'll take you up on your offer:
1) US
2) n/a
3) 2
4) I always get 2 year contracts
5) Drops are rare to never...I don't use a case on my GS4 and it's been fine.
6) I use Nova Launcher. Rooted my phone once in the day, but Nova is enough to tide me over on the customization front.
7) Android. Know it. Love it.
8) Galaxy S4
9) All of my music is on my phone in mp3 format.
10) Always have an outlet handy, but would like to be able to make it through the day without needing one.
11) Galaxy Note is too large. Beyond that, not too picky.
12) Nope, but I hate lag.
13) Pics on occasion. I have my DSLR for serious stuff, though.
14) I'm a pretty basic user. Priorities are Music/ Good Looks/ Battery Life /Nice screen, in that order.
Thanks!
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How did you end up getting on with the big honking Sony?
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I think my next phone will be the HTC One M8, but I'm not up to speed on a lot of the newer offerings.
Thank you for taking a chance on this thread! I am assuming you are on either ATT or T-Mobile (I'll edit the first post to ask for people to specify their carrier preference; I had a brain fart apparently). I'll change my recommendation if you are on Verizon, Sprint, or one of their respective MVNOs.
I honestly am hesitant to recommend that you upgrade from an S4 to the HTC One M8 (or any current flagship). Going from the S4 GPe (Google Play edition) to the HTC One M8 GPe, there is little noticeable daily difference outside of a few items:
- Slightly better headphone output
- an improved gaming experience
- Better front facing speakers
- a marginal improvement in overall snappiness
Honestly, in your situation, I'd recommend the Sony Xperia Z3 with two caveats:
1) CES is around the corner followed my MWC in March which means new, interesting options
2) You'd be getting an incremental upgrade, rather than a generational leap forward
Here are a couple of reasons why I think the Z3 might be right for you:
- It's pretty without being over the top. It's glass all around and you mentioned you're careful with your devices.
- The audio quality is decent and there is still a MicroSD slot
- The battery life is fucking phenomenal
- It sounds like you don't need a QHD (2560x1440) screen to enjoy your phone. The Sony display is pretty nice in practice for a 1080p display. The only complaint I would lob against is is that they tend to skew toward a slightly cooler color temperature than I like. If you're not married to 6500K. You can adjust this in the settings to get the color temperature more reasonable, but whites skew blue rather than yellow
That being said, your S4 is still 90% as good as most of the devices out there and is super durable to boot. The replaceable battery means you can keep a spare easily. The Sony is really the only stand out device in the class you mentioned that I'd consider in your shoes. The other contenders are:
- the Moto X 2014 which I discounted due to a completely shit headphone output and lack of microSD support
- the HTC One M8 which is a solid device but not improved enough to warrant the move from the S4 in practice
- the Note4/Nexus 6 which are both too big
- the S5 which I can't honestly recommend to you given your S4
- the LG G3 which (if you can play with it in person) might be a contender but I discounted due to being slightly too large to hold comfortably
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How did you end up getting on with the big honking Sony?
I liked it but it was ultimately compromised quite a bit. Lollipop really cleans up android for big phones and I ultimately wasn't convinced large phones were great until I had the Nexus 6. I will revisit the Sony Z Ultra with Lollipop and let you know if it's improved.
It's fucking awesome to watch movies and consume content on a big ass screen. It's also super nice to play games that you'd normally have to have a tablet to play comfortably. After living with such big devices for a while, I can see the appeal.
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- What country are you in? This helps me determine availability as well as radio support/performance.
- What price range are you considering/how price sensitive are you?
- How many years do you go between upgrades?
- If in the US, are you willing to pick up a subsidized phone attached to a 2 year contract?
- How durable does your device need to be? Are drops a regular occurrence? Do you have kids or pets?
- How important is customizability?
- How important is ease of use? How comfortable are you with new technology/interfaces?
- What are you using currently?
- Do you have a lot of music and/or other digital content associated with one platform or another? Are you married to one platform or another for any particular reason?
- How long do you spend away from outlets during the day? How important is multi day battery life?
- Do you have size considerations? Are you comfortable with a large phone, or is one handed use important?
- Do you need the fastest, baddest ass device?
- How often do you take pics and in what conditions? Are you an avid smartphone snapper and value good IQ? Do you want to mess with settings or have your pictures just come out great?
- Any other specific use cases you want to be considered? Do you attend a lot of concerts and need to get a good audio recording? Do you film adventures with your smartphone?
I'm not quite in the market for a new phone just yet, but would like to keep my eyes/options open.
1) Canada
2) poor grad student with a mortgage and car payments, though at least the car payments will be done by summer
3) I upgrade rarely. My current phone is a Galaxy Nexus which was a hand-me-down from my brother. Before that, it was a crappy Nokia flip phone which I only got because I switched carriers. Before that, an ancient Siemens phone that I used for maybe 8 years.
4) N/A
5) No kids, no pets, I'm careful with my toys and will probably get a case to protect it from bumps
6) I like to have some customizability, but value functionality out of the box
7) I'm pretty quick to pick up new tech
8 ) Samsung Galaxy Nexus for a couple months now; I'm pretty new to smartphones in general
9) I have about 500 gb run primarily through JRiver on my pc laptop. I don't do Apple
10) I'm usually near an outlet, but would like to have a phone that can last at least 2 days if not in active use
11) I would like the phone to be easily pocketable; I find the Nexus a bit on the big side (especially with a case)
12) while I am not immune to new toy syndrome, I value functionality and longevity more
13) the only things I take pictures of are items that I need to fix around the house, so I can go to home depot and show them what I need
14) my old Fuze and Clip+ are dying, so I'll probably want to use the smartphone as dap as well. Oh and maybe gps and tether if I ever get a data plan
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I liked it but it was ultimately compromised quite a bit. Lollipop really cleans up android for big phones and I ultimately wasn't convinced large phones were great until I had the Nexus 6. I will revisit the Sony Z Ultra with Lollipop and let you know if it's improved.
It's fucking awesome to watch movies and consume content on a big ass screen. It's also super nice to play games that you'd normally have to have a tablet to play comfortably. After living with such big devices for a while, I can see the appeal.
Thanks!
I'm actually on Verizon if that makes any difference.
I'll give the Sony a look.
Like you said, my GS4 is still holding up well. I just tend to change my phones out every two years. I've still got 6 months left on this one, and a lot can change between now and then.
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Sad as it is, I have a iPhone 3G. Still. It can do phone calls, text, how slowly my apps, do, take. But it's paid for. Many times over. Was going to go for the i6 Plus. Unexpected expenses. Perhaps the i7 next year? Or fuck it, and get a Jitterbug! :)p13 :)p13 poo
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I'm not quite in the market for a new phone just yet, but would like to keep my eyes/options open.
If you find the Galaxy Nexus large, you only really have four choices on the market right now:
Moto X 2013. A great device but no MicroSD slot might prevent you from using it as your primary DAP.
iPhone 6 regular. You're not a fan of Apple so this is out.
Sony Z3 compact. This device is great, but a bit out of your price range ($500)
Moto G 4G/LTE (first generation). This is what I recommend for you. It's affordable, has a MicroSD slot, and is a great, durable basic device. It's not the fastest or the flashiest, but it has decent battery life and is much cheaper than the other options.
Thanks!
I'm actually on Verizon if that makes any difference.
I'll give the Sony a look.
Like you said, my GS4 is still holding up well. I just tend to change my phones out every two years. I've still got 6 months left on this one, and a lot can change between now and then.
The Z3V on Verizon is a weird hybrid of the Z2 and the Z3. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who holds onto their device for more than a year. I'd wait for April, post MWC and upgrade once Verizon has more interesting flagships. If you can get over the size, the LG G3 might be for you, but it's still not really a perfect fit given what you've shared about the Note 4 being too big.
Sad as it is, I have a iPhone 3G. Still. It can do phone calls, text, how slowly my apps, do, take. But it's paid for. Many times over. Was going to go for the i6 Plus. Unexpected expenses. Perhaps the i7 next year? Or fuck it, and get a Jitterbug! :)p13 :)p13 poo
Are you happy with it? Get the latest iPhone when you're ready to buy if you don't mind paying the Apple premium. I suspect you are married to iTunes and that ecosystem :) . It's easy to use and you like it, why rock the boat? Switching cost for going from Android to Apple and vice versa is high.
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Something to ponder. Not totally happy with iTunes. The ecosystem... Apple's seems to be fine. The Earths's ????
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I have an iPhone each for my wife and I, and am thinking of upgrading both of my parents to iPhones (they use flip phones now).
I bought both of my iPhones outright since I work overseas and am sometimes half the year or more out of the US, so I'm not tied to any carrier/plan. I currently use the AT&T service which is $60 for data up to 2.5 gb., i did use H20 in the past but found switching plans to cost/min when I was overseas such a pain that I went back to AT&T.
I am thinking of switching everyone to the T-mobile family plan, 4 lines for $100/month total. My question is, in the Bay Area, is T-mobile good coverage, is data good speed?
I had it a few years ago on the pre-paid and couldn't get coverage in some parts of the city.
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- What country are you in? This helps me determine availability as well as radio support/performance.
- What price range are you considering/how price sensitive are you?
- How many years do you go between upgrades?
- If in the US, are you willing to pick up a subsidized phone attached to a 2 year contract?
- How durable does your device need to be? Are drops a regular occurrence? Do you have kids or pets?
- How important is customizability?
- How important is ease of use? How comfortable are you with new technology/interfaces?
- What are you using currently?
- Do you have a lot of music and/or other digital content associated with one platform or another? Are you married to one platform or another for any particular reason?
- How long do you spend away from outlets during the day? How important is multi day battery life?
- Do you have size considerations? Are you comfortable with a large phone, or is one handed use important?
- Do you need the fastest, baddest ass device?
- How often do you take pics and in what conditions? Are you an avid smartphone snapper and value good IQ? Do you want to mess with settings or have your pictures just come out great?
- Any other specific use cases you want to be considered? Do you attend a lot of concerts and need to get a good audio recording? Do you film adventures with your smartphone?
I know you already helped me a bit before, but I figured I'd participate and get any other advice you have. I'll be buying the new phone on New Year's Eve.
1) US
2) up to $300 with contract
3) I have been upgrading every 2 years, but mostly because other problems I'll describe below.
4) Contract is how I have always done it. I prefer Verizon.
5) I never drop my phone and have never used a case. I am considering it because in the 4 years I've been using smart phones I've had 4 separate phones. I keep having to get them replaced because at my violin shop I use fine steel wool and it somehow collects on the speaker through the opening while in my pocket and the speaker gets crackly and useless. I need suggestions for a case, if necessary, that will protect against this.
6) Customization isn't very important.
7) Completely foreign can be annoying but I can deal with it. Both of my phones have been HTC so I am familiar with Sense and it takes me a second to figure out things on my boss' Samsung when I have to be tech support. I briefly owned a iPod Touch from the iPhone 3g generation so I am somewhat familiar with iOS, but I'm sure it is quite different now.
8 HTC DNA which currently has an unusuable speaker and the headphone port no longer works.
9) I am not tied to anything, but I use Windows computers and iOS devices can be annoying to interface. All of my music is in flac so whatever device that can handle that would be a bonus.
10) Multi day battery is not important, but more is always good. My DNA was originally supposed to not be great about battery life, but I have had no problems at all.
11) My first phone, the original Droid Incredible, was about 4 inch, but thick. The DNA is about 5 inch but thinner. At first I thought the DNA was too big, but as I tried it in the store the thinness made it easy to pocket. I don't think I would want anything much larger, especially if I'll be using a case this time.
12) I don't need the best, but I tend to get top quality stuff anyway. I can afford it, so why not.
13) It would be handy to have a better camera. I usually use my old point and shoot for anything that needs to be high quality, even though it isn't all that great.
14) I have a wireless charging pad I would like to keep using, so the phone and case need to be compatible. Regarding the case, I hate grippy rubber, so the cases need to be hard/slick.
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I have an iPhone each for my wife and I, and am thinking of upgrading both of my parents to iPhones (they use flip phones now).
I bought both of my iPhones outright since I work overseas and am sometimes half the year or more out of the US, so I'm not tied to any carrier/plan. I currently use the AT&T service which is $60 for data up to 2.5 gb., i did use H20 in the past but found switching plans to cost/min when I was overseas such a pain that I went back to AT&T.
I am thinking of switching everyone to the T-mobile family plan, 4 lines for $100/month total. My question is, in the Bay Area, is T-mobile good coverage, is data good speed?
I had it a few years ago on the pre-paid and couldn't get coverage in some parts of the city.
T-Mobile is good in the major areas, but falls back to HSPA+ a lot. LTE coverage on my Verizon device is MUCH better. Also, when I'm in the North Bay, Verizon wins hands down.
I know you already helped me a bit before, but I figured I'd participate and get any other advice you have. I'll be buying the new phone on New Year's Eve.
Honestly, if you can't wait and you're okay with the size in hand, get the Droid Turbo. It's just a solid phone overall. The Moto X is a little smaller, but battery life takes a hit. If you need to store more music since it sounds like you want to carry FLAC (the biggest droid turbo is 64GB), the Note 4 (big as heck), or the One M8.
I like the HTC One M8 which has the best audio quality of the phones I've tested. I use a 128GB microSD with it on T-Mobile and a Nexus 6 for Verizon (too big for normal people).
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I like the HTC One M8 which has the best audio quality of the phones I've tested. I use a 128GB microSD with it on T-Mobile and a Nexus 6 for Verizon (too big for normal people).
Amen to that, especially those glorious front-firing speakers.
I'm curious though, do you use aa case on your M8? II found it too damn slippery otherwise.
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Yup. I use a thin grippy case.
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Is there an Android version of Siri? Co-worker has an iPhone and uses Siri often. Seems handy to set alarms/timers, place calls/text and look up information quickly.
Went by Verizon today, but they were closing early so only got about 15 mins to look around. Liked the One M8 and the Turbo. Both have their speakers on the front, so I'm not sure how to protect them from the steel wool I use. I'll have to go back another day to spend more time with more models.
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Is there an Android version of Siri? Co-worker has an iPhone and uses Siri often. Seems handy to set alarms/timers, place calls/text and look up information quickly.
Went by Verizon today, but they were closing early so only got about 15 mins to look around. Liked the One M8 and the Turbo. Both have their speakers on the front, so I'm not sure how to protect them from the steel wool I use. I'll have to go back another day to spend more time with more models.
Why not just download the Strong Bad MP3, put it on the phone and use it as your wake up tune via your alarm clock?
If you need something less Strong Bad bad ass go for Numa Numa Dance or Nyan Cat.
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Is there an Android version of Siri? Co-worker has an iPhone and uses Siri often. Seems handy to set alarms/timers, place calls/text and look up information quickly.
Went by Verizon today, but they were closing early so only got about 15 mins to look around. Liked the One M8 and the Turbo. Both have their speakers on the front, so I'm not sure how to protect them from the steel wool I use. I'll have to go back another day to spend more time with more models.
Google now. It's pretty close to siri in function, though it prefer certain keywords for triggering action, it's not as "talkative" as siri.
As for protection against the steel wool, I know there are flip cases that covers the whole front, it should sit flush against the speaker for the m8 and droid turbo.
Case for m8: http://www.amazon.com/HTC-One-M8-Terrapin-Feature/dp/B00IJ5ZNKK/ref=sr_1_8?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1420119894&sr=1-8&keywords=one+m8+flip+case
Case for droid turbo: http://www.amazon.com/Abacus24-7-Wallet-Leather-Motorola-Pockets/dp/B00Q2XISGM/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1420120786&sr=1-2&keywords=droid+turbo+flip+case
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Is there an Android version of Siri? Co-worker has an iPhone and uses Siri often. Seems handy to set alarms/timers, place calls/text and look up information quickly.
Went by Verizon today, but they were closing early so only got about 15 mins to look around. Liked the One M8 and the Turbo. Both have their speakers on the front, so I'm not sure how to protect them from the steel wool I use. I'll have to go back another day to spend more time with more models.
If you are okay with both, consider the Droid Turbo. The HP out is not as good, but it's a small step forward and will most likely have a longer lifespan. The battery is also freaking awesome.
The big downsides of the Droid Turbo (compared to the m8) are: no expandable storage & crappier headphone output.
The big upsides are: VoLTE support (pretty nice actually), faster, more durable, easier to grip in hand (at least the ballistic nylon), most likely longer useable lifespan (faster processor + more RAM + more durable), bonkers resolution (QHD)
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Cool, thanks. Now to find a case that protects the speaker and is still compatible with wireless charging...
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I'm terrible at accessories :)
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Hey ZF.
My iPhone 5s sadly died new years eve(not due to heavy partying or anything). Can you recommend some options?
- With decent audio quality
- Below 4,7 inches
- Price not an issue
Was pretty happy with the 5s, except for when skiing, it would always die on me and refuse to boot until l got inside.
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Hey ZF.
My iPhone 5s sadly died new years eve(not due to heavy partying or anything). Can you recommend some options?
- With decent audio quality
- Below 4,7 inches
- Price not an issue
You've got two choices for "small" phones. 3.5 is out forever so you have the iPhone 6 and competitors at the 4.5-4.7 inch space. Of these, only the Sony Z3 compact is of flagship quality, but it only sports a 720p screen. I use one on my T-Mobile line and its a great phone once you install Google Now Launcher and Google Keyboard. It has a microSD slot and GREAT battery life. However, if you're pretty tied to the Apple ecosystem and enjoyed your 5s, the 6 is probably a better choice for you.
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Thanks ZF!
Tried to fix my 5s, but...may it forever rest in my closet. On the other hand i bought a white Z3c. It will probably attract less fingerprints then the black one. I can post impressions between the two if anyone is interested.
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Went to get the Turbo 64 in Ballistic Nylon. Rep wouldn't honor the $100 trade in quoted by another rep a few days earlier. My current phone is only worth $46 trade in. Not a lot of difference in the grand scheme of happiness, but something about the situation felt off. Perhaps it just isn't the phone for me. Being forced to update my phone because of broken headphone jack and speaker when everything else works perfectly is really what's upsetting me, I guess.
I'm also still trying to figure out the steel wool fix. I looked at the lifeproof and otterbox cases for the turbo. The Lifeproof made the speaker sound bad and the earpiece for calls was muted, also it's friggin ginormous. The Otterbox provided no protection for my problem. Should I be looking for water proof phones? The Sony Z3v was there and waterproof, I saw no openings for speakers, so that would be safe, but it's a huge brick by itself, but it can wireless charge, has expandable storage and has decent specs.
edit:
So the Z3v appears to be a slightly modified Z2. Screen and power from a year or two ago. Thinking I will pass.
At this point I'm considering other carriers. I like the real Z3 which is on T-Mobile, not my favorite carrier.
edit again: Looks like the Z3 and Z3c don't have Qi charging...
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Okay so I have been playing around with the Z3c and iPhone 6. While I won`t say which is better since a phone is highly personal, I will say the camera on the Z3 is pretty horrific.
Conclusion? I bought a 5s :-X
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Hey guys, I am getting my hands on a OnePlus One phone 64gb edition since I was one of those folks that got the 20,000 invites for their twitter promotion. I know when it came out it got some serious raves, but it's a year later now. Still worth the $349? I think so, but I'm just one data point. What do you fine folk think?
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re: oneplus one, its really hard to say since there are limited numbers of people with hands on experience (i.e.: odds are most of us probably don't know anyone who has one to tinker with). Personally, I have mild to moderate lust for one. It ticks lots of boxes, but as many have complained, the lack of microSD and easily accessible battery is disappointing.
A googler friend of mine got one, and said its basically what a nexus 5+ should be if google had upgraded, instead of stupidly ended, that line. I can't stand to hear him go on about fucking google, but he is a good bellweather in terms of usable tech (for me at least). I say the price alone for the feature set on an unlocked phone screams "worth it." If I got an invite, I would buy it. If you hate it I would probably buy it from you. Also curious what others think...
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It's hard to get a huge sample size of people who actually have the OnePlus One cause it's invite or competition only.
Would love to get my hands on one though. I've been using an iPhone 4S forever and really don't like the lightning connector in the new Apple phones. From a feature perspective, it looks amazing.
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Rounding back to this, I did get the 1+1 and am enjoying it. Still waiting for the rugged case as I sometimes am clumsy with a phone.
Also they are now selling them every Tuesday on their site. I still think they have manufacturing and distribution limitations, but you can get them without an invite. https://oneplus.net/blog/2015/02/oneplus-one-open-sales-every-tuesday/ (https://oneplus.net/blog/2015/02/oneplus-one-open-sales-every-tuesday/)
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awesome. meme have you used it for music yet? I am not expecting much, but wonder how it performs as a source in a pinch. especially since you should be able to bypass internal dac with an OTG cable.
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So, my contract had expired almost two years ago, so I went to my cel provider (Claro Puerto Rico... uses GSM so I can use ATT phones) and they actually told me I could select either a Galaxy 5, LG G2 or the new Motorola Maxx. Since I was already using a Moto G, decided to stick with Moto... glad I did!!!
The Maxx is basically an updated Motorola Droid Maxx (Verizon) but for GSM use!
The difference in speed, responsiveness, etc. is awesome.
Still no microSD but I don't mind (comes with 64gb internal)
Battery life is kick-ass (huge ass battery so it better!), battery charges very quick, and all in all, I just love it!
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_maxx-6779.php
I really think it kicks butt. Specs seem to be better than most of what's out there...
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
CPU Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450
GPU Adreno 420
Haven't really tested audio capabilities though since I usually don't use the phone as media player other than watching a couple of vids, etc.
Just another option to consider... if it's priced right!
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Still on the search for a new phone. Found a good source for service, Harbor Mobile. They resell T-Mobile business lines to the public and you are listed as a 'sole proprietor'. Their plans are T-Mobile plans exactly, but $20 cheaper per month. I found out about them on slickdeals on a thread that is quite old, so I'm guessing the service is legitimate and stable.
On the hardware side, I've been exploring offbrand phones like Blu's Studio Energy that just released today. Specs are not so amazing, except the 5000mah battery, but for $149 unlocked it looks reasonable. Most of my data use is on WiFi so LTE is not as important as I originally thought. Also, I'm not a power user, most of my use is webpages, music and audio books, so I'm thinking I can get away with something less powerful. At a price like this I'm willing to forgo wireless charging, though I hope that is a feature that eventually filters down to non-elite phones.
I'm confused about the bands it operates on, and which carriers I can get service with. Any help ZD?
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My subscription with the iPhone 4S 16 gb is ending in a few months.
In general I still think it is a good phone. If I were to switch to a new phone, middle of the range with a slightly larger screen what do you recommend?
In the "no more smart phone" scenario I am considering going for a decent iPad or iPad Mini and a "dumb" phone that is simply functional.
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I'm confused about the bands it operates on, and which carriers I can get service with. Any help ZD?
Since the phone you chose don't have LTE, we'll focus on UMTS/HSPA+ bands.
T-mobile use 1700/2100Mhz and 1900Mhz for UMTS/HSPA+.
AT&T use 850Mhz and 1900Mhz for UMTS/HSPA+.
T-mobile's 1700/2100Mhz network has been around longer than 1900Mhz, which they are re-framing/building out. 1700/2100Mhz is most common, and 1900MHz is mostly available where there's LTE.
BLU Studio Energy (on amazon) has 850/1900/2100 bands. It'll work with AT&T, and T-mobile's 1900 Mhz band.
I assume you're leaning T-mobile, yes?
Based on you location (Oklahoma city), which T-mobile has strong LTE presence, you should be fine.
Double check with your address
http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage.html
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So, my contract had expired almost two years ago, so I went to my cel provider (Claro Puerto Rico... uses GSM so I can use ATT phones) and they actually told me I could select either a Galaxy 5, LG G2 or the new Motorola Maxx. Since I was already using a Moto G, decided to stick with Moto... glad I did!!!
The Maxx is basically an updated Motorola Droid Maxx (Verizon) but for GSM use!
The difference in speed, responsiveness, etc. is awesome.
Still no microSD but I don't mind (comes with 64gb internal)
Battery life is kick-ass (huge ass battery so it better!), battery charges very quick, and all in all, I just love it!
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_maxx-6779.php
I really think it kicks butt. Specs seem to be better than most of what's out there...
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
CPU Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450
GPU Adreno 420
Haven't really tested audio capabilities though since I usually don't use the phone as media player other than watching a couple of vids, etc.
Just another option to consider... if it's priced right!
Moto MAXX and the Droid Turbo are actually my favorite phones if you don't need a MicroSD card slot. GREAT devices and the battery life is absurd.
That being said, you're on on one of two carriers that are definitely getting Project Ara devices later this year, so look out for those ;).
Still on the search for a new phone. Found a good source for service, Harbor Mobile. They resell T-Mobile business lines to the public and you are listed as a 'sole proprietor'. Their plans are T-Mobile plans exactly, but $20 cheaper per month. I found out about them on slickdeals on a thread that is quite old, so I'm guessing the service is legitimate and stable.
On the hardware side, I've been exploring offbrand phones like Blu's Studio Energy that just released today. Specs are not so amazing, except the 5000mah battery, but for $149 unlocked it looks reasonable. Most of my data use is on WiFi so LTE is not as important as I originally thought. Also, I'm not a power user, most of my use is webpages, music and audio books, so I'm thinking I can get away with something less powerful. At a price like this I'm willing to forgo wireless charging, though I hope that is a feature that eventually filters down to non-elite phones.
I'm confused about the bands it operates on, and which carriers I can get service with. Any help ZD?
You'll get HSPA+/UMTS support on T-Mobile AND AT&T which means meh internet speeds, but still serviceable (sounds like LTE isn't a priority for you). I get decent performance watching streaming video at medium/low quality on T-Mobile's HSPA+ in my area, but this is dependent on the network performance in your area. I really really like LTE, but I do consume a LOT of data and have a little ADHD when it comes to pages loading instantly and quick downloads when away from wifi networks.
This device looks really good for just basic usage. The screen isn't anything to write home about, performance is meh, and it's not super future proofed with the limited RAM (1GB). For listening to music, browsing the web, and phone functionality, it looks like a good choice. Also, the Android team is dedicated to fitting the OS onto 512GB RAM devices so as long as Blue Studio provides updates, you'll get fresh Android builds over time.
The two biggest worries I have for this phone for you are:
1. Longevity with basic devices is hit or miss. Seems like people have a favorably view of their previous devices so this might not be a problem.
2. I see a couple complaints about mediocre wifi performance. Get it from Amazon with a decent return policy and you'll be set.
If you need a basic device for browsing, this looks solid. Especially if you're planning on gaming, etc from a tablet.
My subscription with the iPhone 4S 16 gb is ending in a few months.
In general I still think it is a good phone. If I were to switch to a new phone, middle of the range with a slightly larger screen what do you recommend?
In the "no more smart phone" scenario I am considering going for a decent iPad or iPad Mini and a "dumb" phone that is simply functional.
If you like Apple devices, why move away from them? The 5S is my favorite phone from them. Audio quality is better and the smaller size makes it more interesting to me.
In terms of middle of the road Android devices, I really like the Moto X if you can live without microSD cards and a mediocre headphone out, the Z3 Compact if you are fine with a 720p screen (I use this and a Nexus 6), the LG G3 and the HTC M8.
Okay so I have been playing around with the Z3c and iPhone 6. While I won`t say which is better since a phone is highly personal, I will say the camera on the Z3 is pretty horrific.
Conclusion? I bought a 5s :-X
Sounds like the right choice for you :)
Hey guys, I am getting my hands on a OnePlus One phone 64gb edition since I was one of those folks that got the 20,000 invites for their twitter promotion. I know when it came out it got some serious raves, but it's a year later now. Still worth the $349? I think so, but I'm just one data point. What do you fine folk think?
I still like this phone for $350. Darn good deal for that price if you don't want to deal with contracts.
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Oh great guru of smartphones. What about the LG G Flex 2? Getting really fucking sick of Apple maps on iPhone.
Looking for the following. Here are my priorities.
- Good screen real-estate for maps, games, movies, browsing changstar, maybe porn.
- Need good response (iPhone touch response with latest iOS seems sucky it's cost me a few raids in Clash of Clans)
- Default maps to Google or Waze. Apple maps is downright dangerous.
- Doesn't not perma-bend like latest big screen iPhone.
- Does not release major OS upgrades which changes the interface once every four months. At least it seem that way.
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Give the G Flex 2 some time on the market to see if there are any issues in actual use by real people. I've not seen it in person but will endeavor get ahold of one in the next couple of months to test for a few days to give you a real opinion.
If you're on Verizon, I still love the Droid Turbo.
It's interesting that you're getting crap touch latency with iOS. For years it was one of the biggest advantages Apple's OS had over Android.
What carrier are you on? That makes a big difference in terms of your options.
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New HTC One (M9) due in a couple weeks (March 1st). Interested to see what they do with it. I like Sense and HTC in general, both smartphones I've had are HTC. If I go for a spendy phone after researching all these offbrands and such it will have to hit all the marks. Wireless charging (not present on M8), fantastic screen, XLTE, min 3000 mah battery, and reasonably good speaker. Apparently the camera is a big focus, which would be nice since my best camera is still my very old Canon P+S.
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Zerodeefex, thank you for the tip.
I like the 4S as it still runs smoothly. One of my best friends has told me that the 5S is basically the best iPhone that is still compact enough and does everything you need it to do.
If costs remain an issue for me I consider keeping the 4S as a sim-only phone. I can switch to Android with ease but build quality and bloat ware are things I keep an eye on.
I have a love-hate relationship with smartphones. Nowadays I deal with people who prefer chatting over actual face-to-face conversations regarding important matters. So often people hide behind their screens and I do not want to become one of them. The smartphone rudeness is almost being accepted by some seniors nowadays.
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awesome. meme have you used it for music yet? I am not expecting much, but wonder how it performs as a source in a pinch. especially since you should be able to bypass internal dac with an OTG cable.
Sorry, haven't used the phone as a music source at all. I'm comfy with separating the functions of the phone and a dap (DX50 and/or ipod classic with a Leckerton (or at times not). That's just me.
As Zero said, it's a pretty good deal, even if it was last year's flagship spec'd. I'm loving the battery so far.
For new phones, they're going to announce some phones at Mobile World Congress in a couple of weeks. You could wait to see what they say then. Or not. :)
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Give the G Flex 2 some time on the market to see if there are any issues in actual use by real people. I've not seen it in person but will endeavor get ahold of one in the next couple of months to test for a few days to give you a real opinion.
If you're on Verizon, I still love the Droid Turbo.
It's interesting that you're getting crap touch latency with iOS. For years it was one of the biggest advantages Apple's OS had over Android.
What carrier are you on? That makes a big difference in terms of your options.
I'm on Sprint. No choice where I live in Calabasas. Verizon is actually worse.
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You seem to like Motorla Devices, which might be a good (or bad) thing in this case. I kinda wanna jump on the big screened phone bandwagon, so Note 4 - IPhone 6 Plus - Nexus 6 are what I'm looking at. Leaning towards Nexus 6 because I like stock android, bigger screen, I like the look and more importantly its like $100-$200 cheaper which is key since I'd be buying off contract. My concerns with Nexus 6 is screen burn in, I've owned Galaxy S2, Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, Galaxy Nexus, and guess what they've all had burn at one point or another. But I haven't had amoled in a while so I'm hopeful it's not as big of an issue nowadays. Is Nexus 6 a good choice for $700?
Another more creative have my cake and eat it too scenario, since I don't wanna spend more than 7 or 800 bucks in total, would be to get something like a Nexus 5, Moto X, or HTC One M8 since they are cheaper and then with the leftover money get like an Ipad Air or Mini Retina which still has a bigger display than even the largest of the oversized phones.
What scenario do you think would be a better bet for long-term (2-3 years) happiness?
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http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g_flex2-review-1209.php
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Will answer more questions today on the thread, but wanted to solicit requests for new phone info from MWC. I'll be traveling elsewhere but a couple of coworkers will be there who have good opinions about devices.
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Hello zerodeefex,
I would like to try Android. Have been on the Apple system for the last 8 years but would like to try something new. Feeling left behind not knowing how to use an Android phone.
Bought a Red Rice 2 recently from Xiaomi, truly disappointed - applications and the OS is slow. Click... and wait. Scroll... and wait. Are all androids like this?
Is there something good in the similar price range? Red Rice retails for around $120, no contract.
Other priorities: good to have 4G. in Hong Kong, Not super price sensitive but would prefer something that has a higher resell revalue, considering that I may sell it quick if I can't stand it.
I replaced my phone every year since iPhone 3G. In general I try my best not to drop phones. am on iPhone 6 currently. If the phone can play good music that would be awesome... :)
Thanks and have a safe trip
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Moto MAXX and the Droid Turbo are actually my favorite phones if you don't need a MicroSD card slot. GREAT devices and the battery life is absurd.
That being said, you're on on one of two carriers that are definitely getting Project Ara devices later this year, so look out for those ;).
Oh yeah, I've read about Project Ara.
Not sure when it will be available but I definitely will try to secure a couple of them mod devices just to play around.
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I am waiting for project ara as well, but it was too late for me to keep dealing with slowness and battery issues with my previous phone. I'll keep checking on it as I do like the modular phone concept.
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No Android phones are not slow. Has nothing to do with the OS when comparing to an Appletax phone. You bought cheap hardware, you get cheap performance. I'd love to see the speak s and performance of a new $100 iPhone.
Simple logic.
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New HTC One (M9) due in a couple weeks (March 1st). Interested to see what they do with it. I like Sense and HTC in general, both smartphones I've had are HTC. If I go for a spendy phone after researching all these offbrands and such it will have to hit all the marks. Wireless charging (not present on M8), fantastic screen, XLTE, min 3000 mah battery, and reasonably good speaker. Apparently the camera is a big focus, which would be nice since my best camera is still my very old Canon P+S.
As I mentioned, this is a make or break year for MWC so expect to see some awesome new devices this year. The M9 vs S6 will be one hell of a battle. I'm also curious to see what Sony does with the Z4 (or if they will even release the device). Stay tuned and I'll have post show impressions from some trusted sources.
Zerodeefex, thank you for the tip.
I like the 4S as it still runs smoothly. One of my best friends has told me that the 5S is basically the best iPhone that is still compact enough and does everything you need it to do.
If costs remain an issue for me I consider keeping the 4S as a sim-only phone. I can switch to Android with ease but build quality and bloat ware are things I keep an eye on.
I have a love-hate relationship with smartphones. Nowadays I deal with people who prefer chatting over actual face-to-face conversations regarding important matters. So often people hide behind their screens and I do not want to become one of them. The smartphone rudeness is almost being accepted by some seniors nowadays.
Anti-tech/smartphone sentiment is a really common theme these days, believe it or not. I totally understand your perspective. In fact, I know of a large company whose entire wearables strategy is to limit the amount of downtime people have due to their smartphone during dinner and when engaging other people.
My advice is generally to not buy new devices if you're happy with your existing device. You'll get stuck in an upgrade loop. In your shoes, I'd seriously consider buying a tablet and during the buyer's remorse/return period, turn off data on your iPhone 4S and see if you like the idea of a phone only device and a tablet. If it works for you for a couple of weeks, you know that might be a good path.
I'm on Sprint. No choice where I live in Calabasas. Verizon is actually worse.
You're fucked. Wait for MWC and see the fallout. G Flex 2 Korean version would be considered unusable for someone coming from an iPhone. General system latency is really high for no good reason during some tasks. TBD if this is a problem with the US units.
Oh yeah, I've read about Project Ara.
Not sure when it will be available but I definitely will try to secure a couple of them mod devices just to play around.
I am waiting for project ara as well, but it was too late for me to keep dealing with slowness and battery issues with my previous phone. I'll keep checking on it as I do like the modular phone concept.
Don't wait. It'll come out when it's ready :)
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You seem to like Motorla Devices, which might be a good (or bad) thing in this case. I kinda wanna jump on the big screened phone bandwagon, so Note 4 - IPhone 6 Plus - Nexus 6 are what I'm looking at. Leaning towards Nexus 6 because I like stock android, bigger screen, I like the look and more importantly its like $100-$200 cheaper which is key since I'd be buying off contract. My concerns with Nexus 6 is screen burn in, I've owned Galaxy S2, Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, Galaxy Nexus, and guess what they've all had burn at one point or another. But I haven't had amoled in a while so I'm hopeful it's not as big of an issue nowadays. Is Nexus 6 a good choice for $700?
Another more creative have my cake and eat it too scenario, since I don't wanna spend more than 7 or 800 bucks in total, would be to get something like a Nexus 5, Moto X, or HTC One M8 since they are cheaper and then with the leftover money get like an Ipad Air or Mini Retina which still has a bigger display than even the largest of the oversized phones.
What scenario do you think would be a better bet for long-term (2-3 years) happiness?
It sounds like you have no idea what you want to do which is perfectly fine :) Can you answer some of the questions in the first post? I have no context for your use or what you're trying to do so giving you advice is difficult. In general, I advise most people to try the larger phones before purchasing. I use a Z3 Compact in one pocket and a Nexus 6 in the other. If I had to carry just one phone, it would be the Z3 Compact. The large devices are a fun luxury, but battery life is key in my world. Without knowing your use case, I can't make a good, informed decision.
Hello zerodeefex,
I would like to try Android. Have been on the Apple system for the last 8 years but would like to try something new. Feeling left behind not knowing how to use an Android phone.
Bought a Red Rice 2 recently from Xiaomi, truly disappointed - applications and the OS is slow. Click... and wait. Scroll... and wait. Are all androids like this?
Is there something good in the similar price range? Red Rice retails for around $120, no contract.
Other priorities: good to have 4G. in Hong Kong, Not super price sensitive but would prefer something that has a higher resell revalue, considering that I may sell it quick if I can't stand it.
I replaced my phone every year since iPhone 3G. In general I try my best not to drop phones. am on iPhone 6 currently. If the phone can play good music that would be awesome... :)
Thanks and have a safe trip
You bought a dumpy device and compared it to your flagship Apple device. Honestly, stick with your iPhone 6 :). If you want to learn Android to see if it's something you might enjoy, consider picking up a tablet. A Nexus 7 (2013) or a newer equivalent should be a nice, cheap ($200ish) entry point into Android and you can see if the operating system is a good fit for you. The stock Android experience on a snappy device has come a long way from before. That being said, the UX studies I've seen have shown that:
1) If you're an iOS user, it's very difficult for you to get used to Android.
2) If you're an Android user, it's very difficult for you to get used to iOS.
3) If you're a feature phone user, both platforms are equivalently easy to get into (stock Android and iOS).
Sell the Red Rice, get an Android tablet to sate your curiosity, and decide if Android is for you!
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This is for Zerodeefex or anyone else who knows: Know of a good media player for iOS? I am using Infuse 3 (it was $10 on iTunes) and it is great, just curious if there is a better alternative. I love the feature of it automatically searching for subs for the given movie.
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You're fucked. Wait for MWC and see the fallout. G Flex 2 Korean version would be considered unusable for someone coming from an iPhone. General system latency is really high for no good reason during some tasks. TBD if this is a problem with the US units.
Per the review it seems to be throttling of the 810 for thermal management. Explains the lag I experienced at CES combined with a then unfinished lollipop. Have to see what happens with the US version. Supposedly Samsung is abandoning the 810 for an exynos solution.
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Found out T-mobile has the best coverage and data speeds for the areas that I haunt. Wow, it seems T-mobile really stepped up their game. They seem to have put the billions they got from the failed merger to good use. The Sony Xperia Z3 phones... any good?
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Found out T-mobile has the best coverage and data speeds for the areas that I haunt. Wow, it seems T-mobile really stepped up their game. They seem to have put the billions they got from the failed merger to good use. The Sony Xperia Z3 phones... any good?
Yes. I wish Verizon carried the pure Z3 instead of their bastardized version.
I think the Z4 is due out soon? I'm looking at smartphones as well, but am waiting for the new crop to be announced here in March.
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Z3 is quite good, the biggest pro is it is "special" so you can hardly find anybody hold the same phone.
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New Sony M4 sounds promising in the mid range. Should be $300-350 off contract.
The Xperia M4 Aqua features a 5-inch 720p display, 2GB RAM, octa-core Snapdragon 615 CPU, 13MP camera that has an Exmor RS image sensor, 5MP front shooter and a 2,400mAh battery. The device will be available in storage variations of 8 and 16GB, and will feature a microSD card slot. LTE connectivity will also be on offer in select territories, with other regions getting the 3G-only model. The IP65/68 certification makes the device water and dust resistant.
Fast processor with good looking but only 720p screen should be pretty snappy, and decent battery life despite only 2400mAH. Still has SD card slot and has fewer flaps compared to the Z series. No wireless charging as expected in midrange.
New M9 looks great, but I'm waiting for pricing before I think about it.
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We'll see where the M4 Aqua lands. 299 EUR is pretty pricey. I like the waterproof nature of the Sony devices, but I would want to use the device to see how snappy it is in practice. I LOVE the Z3 Compact and I'm unsure if I'd be willing to sacrifice so much performance when my device was $400 new on ebay and the M4 will probably see a street MSRP of just $100 less.
One super interesting device out of MWC is the ASUS ZenFone 2. Crazy good specs even for the $199 variant. I suspect the mobile Atom is being heavily subsidized by Intel for ASUS to hit this price point in exchange for Intel gaining market share quickly in the smartphone space. Once we have more reviews of the battery life and camera in practice, I'll try to get my hands on one to give it the ol' ZD try.
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What are the price levels for which options on the ZP2? The news site I browsed today didn't mention that phone.
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What are the price levels for which options on the ZP2? The news site I browsed today didn't mention that phone.
$199 for Z3580 with full HD display, 2GB of ram and 16GB of rom. There's option for 4GB of ram and 32 GB of rom, i don't think they announced pricing for those yet.
The ZenPhone 2 is bigger than both the One and Xperia M4 though, it's about Note 4 size.
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Yes. My current DNA is 5" which seemed very large at first, but since it was rounded back and thinner than my Droid Incredible it actually worked fine. This Zen is .5 larger and about the same shape. If the price is good enough I might owe it to myself to get used to a 5.5, but I'd rather stay smaller. The Zen looks too good to be true. The only puzzling item is the limit to 64GB on the sdcard instead of the standard 128GB.
So is the Z3580 the 1080p and top processing specs? I remember there being talk of a 720p model with slower chip that might be the $199 model. Do you have a link to official pricing, or at least something from Asus?
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Sale starts March 9th in Taiwan, so more info will be revealed/clarified then.
In the mean time, I'm seeing a lot of conflicting information.
Some say $199 for 5 incher, $299 and up for the 5.5 inch models.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Asus-ZenFone-2-up-for-preorder-price-for-the-4-GB-RAM-model-revealed_id66184
Other says $199 for 5.5 inch model with Z3580, full HD display, 2GB of ram and 16GB of rom.
http://www.mobile01.com/newsdetail.php?id=16315(Source in chinese)
The first source is based on the pre-order page on aliexpress, since it's not a official Asus sales page, I'm not putting much stock into it.
The second source is a news piece from a Taiwanese forum with relationships with Asus (they get press samples for review, etc), so I trust it more. You can also see the 5 inch next to the 5.5 inch in that post.
I made a table comparing the 3 model
(http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah147/1buttercream/Zenfone2_zpsmjasints.jpg) (http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/1buttercream/media/Zenfone2_zpsmjasints.jpg.html)
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Hi, i'd like some advice. But first let me cry a little.
I and my gf have (had) the Sony Xperia Go (waterproof). This thing really sucks for some reason apart from the waterproofness and it has usable camera.
It takes litterally 30 sec or more to open up call log. In essence it takes approx 1min to dial a number.
The phone went this slow after few months of use. I tried reseting to factory state and updated software, but no change.
Am i just unfortunate or is it standard that low/mid range android phones suck ass?
I fondled some newer offerings from Samsung and really liked the A5 and Alpha compared to Iphone6. My experience so far makes me hesitant to buy android phone again though.
My requirements for new phone would be:
Durability - able to survive droping to floor
Speed - I'd like to be able to call a person in a time frame provided by yesteryear Symbian based phones
Timeproofness - So i'd like it to perform consistently for 2 years.
Design - I liked the new Samsung edgy series phones, but not so much the curvy S series nor the new Iphone.
Price - Not willing to go over 500€
-Flashlight would be a great bonus.
-Preferably android, but not limited to.
-Good idle/call time battery life would be a plus.
-I have big hands so at least 4.7'' of display.
-And no, the Caterpillar is too clumsy even for me.
Thanks
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Hi, i'd like some advice. But first let me cry a little.
I and my gf have (had) the Sony Xperia Go (waterproof). This thing really sucks for some reason apart from the waterproofness and it has usable camera.
It takes litterally 30 sec or more to open up call log. In essence it takes approx 1min to dial a number.
The phone went this slow after few months of use. I tried reseting to factory state and updated software, but no change.
Am i just unfortunate or is it standard that low/mid range android phones suck ass?
I fondled some newer offerings from Samsung and really liked the A5 and Alpha compared to Iphone6. My experience so far makes me hesitant to buy android phone again though.
My requirements for new phone would be:
Durability - able to survive droping to floor
Speed - I'd like to be able to call a person in a time frame provided by yesteryear Symbian based phones
Timeproofness - So i'd like it to perform consistently for 2 years.
Design - I liked the new Samsung edgy series phones, but not so much the curvy S series nor the new Iphone.
Price - Not willing to go over 500€
-Flashlight would be a great bonus.
-Preferably android, but not limited to.
-Good idle/call time battery life would be a plus.
-I have big hands so at least 4.7'' of display.
-And no, the Caterpillar is too clumsy even for me.
Thanks
Check out the Moto X line, or maybe a Nexus 5. My N5 took an absurd amount of abuse before finally cracking. SQ out isn't bad, either, albeit a tiny bit v-shaped.
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Hey, thx for input. My friend has the Moto G and E which aren't that bad either, at least they seem to last.
Maybe i will try a Motorola then.
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Hey, thx for input. My friend has the Moto G and E which aren't that bad either, at least they seem to last.
Maybe i will try a Motorola then.
Motorola build quality is top notch. My girl has had 3 Droids in a row, and she regularly hurls them around our apartment in frustration, and the worst she's ever had is a cracked screen (twice in three phones). They're also water-resistant - I used to work for a competitor of the company that does the anti-water-damage nanocoating they use.
Moto G is probably the best budget phone out there.
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American websites are getting review samples and some are doing give away contests for the Zen Fone 2. Looks pretty solid it will release here, and in April. Going to look at the One M9 when it is in stores on April 10th, and maybe the S6.
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Anyone know which carriers the Zenfone 2 will work on? I don't know how to interpret all the bands and LTE numbers and stuff.
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Will reply to all the questions I can later today. Asking more about the five versions of the zenfone 2 from my buddy at ASUS.
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missing T-Mobile Band 12 (one of their LTE bands), but AT&T is covered.
Honestly, having futzed with an early sample, I really like the Galaxy S6. Best Samsung device I've used in years. Just feels polished, well put together, the camera is awesome, the screen is awesome, and it's just a great device all around.
The M9 feels like the M8. Don't know what the fuss is there. Not worth an upgrade.
For durability, I really do like my wife's Moto X (2014). I'd still lean towards the newer devices, though, if you plan on keeping it for a few years. Her 2013 version got slower and slower until I factory data reset it a few times then gave up. Hoping the 2014 doesn't go the same way.
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Honestly, having futzed with an early sample, I really like the Galaxy S6. Best Samsung device I've used in years. Just feels polished, well put together, the camera is awesome, the screen is awesome, and it's just a great device all around.
This is the direction I'm leaning, but no microSD slot. It kills me. I've always used my phone as my portable music device, and this kind of throws that use out the window.
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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.
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Sorry, I did mean the Zenfone 2. It will work with T-Mobile but will be missing the LTE band they're rolling out in new markets.
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So is that their only band?
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hey guys I need an opinion
I need a new phone currently deciding between nexus 6 and note 4, currently leaning towards the 6 (simple works). My question is the battery and camera that much better on the note 4 ($100 worth?)? can you see the 6 screen outside in the daylight?
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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 speaker 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.
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Any advice on best cameraphones nowadays, in terms of both frontal and rear cameras? The only requirements would be SD card slot and removable battery. I could drop those, but it would handicap device for me.
I'm still thinking, but the plan is to have smartphone as both camera and transport feeding some quality lil dongle to pair with low impedance high sensitivity IEMs (Ortofon e-Q8) both on the go and at home or on whatever PC when i want to use IEMs or don't have access to my speakers.
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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?
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@aufmerksam
I'd look into the Asus Zenfone 2 when they finally release it here, which will probably be May at the earliest. They recently announced release in India later this month, so an announcement at this point would put it into May.
It has a very quick chipset, large but not too large screen (5.5), up to 64GB on board with SD slot, and up to 4GB of ram for lots of easy multi-tasking. It will work perfectly on AT+T's network. The UI is close to stock Android with a few tweaks most reviewers have found beneficial rather than detrimental. It has a decently large battery at 3000mah.
Even with top specs it should be $400 or less. You should be able to get a 32GB with 2 GB of ram for $250-300 and still have the SD card. Lesser versions can already be bought on Amazon, but they are somewhat inflated and the sellers are less reliable (product sourced from Asia).
If you do try to get one now, be sure you get the specs you think you are getting. There are two processors available in the top model, 2 ram options (2 or 4), and at least 2 storage options (32/64). There is a lesser model that is only 720p, a slower still chip, lower ram (2GB max) and lower storage (16GB only IIRC).
Here is a link to the proper model (ZE551ML) with the higher speed chip 2GB ram 32GB of storage with sd card up to 64GB for $319 but no warranty as it's sourced from Asia.
http://www.amazon.com/ZenFone-ZE551ML-Factory-Unlocked-Glacier/dp/B00VE3M5WI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1428985301&sr=8-2&keywords=ze551ml
edit:
Here's a list of the models and what they are currently selling for in another market (converted to USD)
ZE551ML (5.5″, 1080p display, 4GB RAM, 64GB) – 9990 NT$ (~US $317) (fastest chip)
ZE551ML (5.5″, 1080p display, 4GB RAM, 32GB) – 8990 NT$ (~US $285) (fastest chip)
ZE551ML (5.5″, 1080p display, 2GB RAM, 32GB) – 6990 NT$ (~US $221) (slower chip)
ZE550ML (5.5″, 720p display, 2GB RAM, 16GB) – 5990 NT$ (~US $190) (even slower)
ZE550CL (5″, 720p display, 2GB RAM, 16GB) – 4990 NT$ (~US $158) (abacus speed)
edited more info on each line
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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.
(https://content.oneplus.net/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/400x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/0/3/03.jpg)
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And no SD card on the OPO. Or wireless charging. I guess you have to settle sometimes.
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https://youtu.be/sBO5RKq8PXc
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Found some more Asus info. There is an event scheduled for April 28th in NYC that will probably include the release of the ZF2 for America. Expect availability to follow soon after.
Also found a comment on a thread that the user found the audio from headphone jack to be surprisingly good. Who knows what his experience level is though.
More info:
The US spec one per Asus is going to support band 17/700mhz.
That means it will support all TMO bands.
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Thanks for all the responses guys. I was shying away from zf2 since I had no idea when it would be actually released, and legitimately put through paces by reliable review sites, but a few weeks for US release isn't bad. The specs are incredible for the price, and it appears to run on stock Android yes? A big question will be battery life...
One thing I am concerned with is the switch up to 64 bit processors, namely, I know Android L supports 64 bit yes? Is M going to require it? The oneplus's (et al) snapdragon 801 is still 32 bit, but I have no idea how long before that significantly impacts performance. Can anyone weigh in?
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Alrighty. Cleared my app and system cache from the Moto4G. Give me 5.1 already! Gimme, gimme, gimme... :)p3
If anyone wants insight to the process:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/moto-g-2013/388151-cache-clear-moto-g.html
App cache can be managed individually or altogether in storage settings.
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Quickly: Camera on the new S6 edge is a pleasure to use. Great subjective performance as I've taken it around campus to test shots.
Another interesting tidbit: If you're on a budget, the moto G 2nd gen is awesome and supports the Geek Out line natively. I'm using a moto g > geek out 450 > HD600 quite a bit and I am liking the combo.
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Well that didn't take long.
www.gsmarena.com/nokia_rumored_to_return_to_making_phones_next_year-news-11976.php
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So, today was the rumored Zenfone 2 US launch date. Turns out, today was just a developers conference. Frustrating...
I don't think I can wait much if any longer. I've already been toting around my current phone (phone/web duties) and my old phone (audio duties) since the middle of December and it's getting extremely old.
Zenfone 2 has almost everything I want at a great price, but they just won't sell it here for some reason, and I'm not paying $400 on Amazon (w/no warranty) for a phone that will be under $300 (w/ warranty) when it finally releases.
Going to see what deals are out there, maybe a G4, or OPO.
Edit - nevermind about the G4, they won't have phones in south Korea until end of May, much less the states.
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So here's where I stand...
My family plan with Verizon is not a More Anything plan, so Edge does not make financial sense (no monthly discount) and all the new promotions (for S6 and M9) rely on Edge contracts, so that makes the interesting phones $150-200 on 2 year contracts. My portion of the family plan is $50 and gives me 2GB of data.
I found (via Slickdeals) Harbor Mobile, who does T-Mobile business lines for individuals at a good price. $30 for 2.5GB, $40 for 4.5GB, $50 for unlimited, same actual plans as T-Mobile just cheaper. So I'd go with the $30 plan since 2GB has been enough on Verizon. An acceptable phone I can get now would be the OPO 64GB @ $350.
So it sounds like the TMO/OPO plan is a clear winner, right?
There's a hitch. Verizon has the Sony Z3v (normally $150) on sale for Mother's day for $0.99. This phone is one I've looked at and found to be solid. The interesting thing about these phones is they both use the Snapdragon 801/Adreno 330. So technically they are on par, even the batteries are both good at 3200/3100mah. A few differences - 32GB (Sony) vs 64GB (OPO), up to 128GB SD (Sony) no SD (OPO), wireless charging (Sony) none (OPO), 5.2" 1080p (Sony) 5.5" 1080p (OPO), and front facing speakers (Sony) vs bottom facing (OPO) which will probably be a worse setup.
So for two years I'd be looking at $1200 on Verizon with the Sony, with easy transition (already on Verizon), better coverage, and a phone with expanding storage and wireless charging. Two years on the TMO/OPO option is $1070.
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I love my Tmobile plan but get the Sony deal. Better phone it seems to me for my needs. If you travel abroad a lot, you need Tmobile. Verizon is useless for intl travel.
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I guess you mean the opposite on your last comments? (oh.. I guess you meant out of the country, nevermind)
Mostly I'm in one area, but will be taking trips to New Hampshire this and next summer, so better coverage does mean something to me.
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Took a further look at the Z3V today as well as a first time look at the Moto X, both of which are 99 cents (2yr contract) for Mother's Day. The Moto X was not very impressive. Sound quality was fairly good, both speaker and headphone, but the rest of the phone felt unfinished, cheap. The controls weren't as responsive and just felt sluggish in general.
I'd looked at the Z3V before, but it was more of a quick glance, I never tried the speakers or used headphones with it. The Z3V feels a heck of a lot more premium than the Moto X. I loaded up the Walkman app and liked what I saw. Compared to the default music players of other phones this one looked great and felt well organized. It was also one of very few phones I've looked at during all of this that actually had some music on board. The sound quality was excellent (for a phone) and drove my UERMs well, losing just a bit of detail towards the top frequencies. Even the stereo speakers sounded nice until near maximum volume. The UI feels similar enough to Sense that I can transition easily. I will truly miss the internet browser from the HTC phones, though. The side-slide pie-style thumb menu is so nice.
Think I'll pick up the Z3V, despite it being basically a slightly updated Z2, and hold out for a more cutting edge phone next time. Now the question is... white or black?
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Ended up trying out the Z3V a couple nights back to give my take. It's surprising close to my Z3 compact. I think you'll like the device.
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Well that didn't take long.
www.gsmarena.com/nokia_rumored_to_return_to_making_phones_next_year-news-11976.php
It's a lot more along the lines of "the Nokia badge will return to being on phones." I'm not waiting with bated breath. Nokia's efforts with Android so far have been absolute dogshit, and it makes their jump into Windows Phone seem less stupid in hindsight. Imagine them trying to take on Samsung/HTC/Moto with the garbage they've put out so far.
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I love my Tmobile plan but get the Sony deal. Better phone it seems to me for my needs. If you travel abroad a lot, you need Tmobile. Verizon is useless for intl travel.
Most VZW phones come with GSM capable SIM slots (unlocked out of the gate I believe) so that they can be easily used with local SIMs. Now granted if you need to start making calls or use data literally the moment the plane lands, then yeah, VZW is useless.
Personally, I think the best deal in town is either ATT prepaid if you absolutely have to have full speed LTE, or a MVNO if you're ok with whatever the speed cap is on their LTE, usually around 8mbit I think. T-mobile is in the process of rolling out more 1900, but if you're outside of major metro areas in a huge part of the country, you're going to be stuck on EDGE which is basically worthless. ATT on the other hand will give you at least HSPA+ pretty much nationwide.
You also have more options in terms of BYOD with ATT, as the EU doesn't use 1700 AWS as far as I'm aware, so EU market phones tend not to have it. That means pretty much any phone from anywhere that uses GSM, like my imported Galaxy Note 1 for example, has full HSPA+ support everywhere, whereas on T-mobile it's pretty much worthless - EDGE or very limited 3G where T-mobile has 850/1900.
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It's a lot more along the lines of "the Nokia badge will return to being on phones." I'm not waiting with bated breath. Nokia's efforts with Android so far have been absolute dogshit, and it makes their jump into Windows Phone seem less stupid in hindsight. Imagine them trying to take on Samsung/HTC/Moto with the garbage they've put out so far.
What efforts are you referring to? The new N1 tablet which is the only mobile device they make and hass gotten more positive feedback than the iPad? Or the prior half-ass Android phantom devices prior to the Microsoft sale that were used for leverage during the acquisition process? Or do you mean the cheap and free phones Nokia was making for third world countries? Honestly I'm not quite sure what you're on about there.
If the N8 had twice as much memory as it did, I'd still be on Symbian tbh. For my needs, I'd still take a 1020 or 1520 over most Android or Apple devices out there. Heck, the only reason I have an Android phone is the N8 wasn't waterproof and died horribly, and windows phone didn't have the Torque app.
We'll see what happens now that Nokia mobile is based out of Shanghai. Could be better or worse. Time will tell. Honestly, I could give two f**ks about Apple and Samsung's little circle jerk. I don't think Nokia's strategy is, "We must destroy Apple and Samsung NOOWWWW!!!"
Might be interesting to see if Sony and Nokia want to try and share resources in some fashion. Just a random thought.
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ATT around here is awful. My boss has it and half his calls go straight to voicemail without ringing. He misses texts all the time. My other co-worker has TMO and has to move to a different room to get better call quality, but doesn't miss any calls or texts. I never miss texts and have good call quality anywhere on Verizon.
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You also have more options in terms of BYOD with ATT, as the EU doesn't use 1700 AWS as far as I'm aware, so EU market phones tend not to have it. That means pretty much any phone from anywhere that uses GSM, like my imported Galaxy Note 1 for example, has full HSPA+ support everywhere, whereas on T-mobile it's pretty much worthless - EDGE or very limited 3G where T-mobile has 850/1900.
Meh, that's pretty much BS. My last two phones were a N8 and Moto 4G on T-mobile. They don't offer the devices so I BYOD on tmobile just fine. I've also been to nearly 10 countries over the past half year and have free unlimited 3G+ speeds, free texts, and .20c a minute calls in everyone except Vietnam which doesn't have an agreement in place. Nobody out there has a better intl plan than that I know of. Nobody.
Not to mention Verizon is so freaking awesome, they provide no reception where I live ironically. All my friends come to my house with Verizon and nada. Plus they have shit call quality, the compression is awful. I can barely understand wtf anyone on Verizon is saying around here. No thanks.
ATT? :)) :)) :)) Yeah, I'm not giving those cocksuckers a cent if I can help it.
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ATT around here is awful. My boss has it and half his calls go straight to voicemail without ringing. He misses texts all the time.
^ This! I ran into this for years when ATT bought Cingular. I had no idea the entire time it was just them being douches. F*ck ATT. F*ck 'em hard.
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What efforts are you referring to? The new N1 tablet which is the only mobile device they make and hass gotten more positive feedback than the iPad? Or the prior half-ass Android phantom devices prior to the Microsoft sale that were used for leverage during the acquisition process? Or do you mean the cheap and free phones Nokia was making for third world countries? Honestly I'm not quite sure what you're on about there.
If the N8 had twice as much memory as it did, I'd still be on Symbian tbh. For my needs, I'd still take a 1020 or 1520 over most Android or Apple devices out there. Heck, the only reason I have an Android phone is the N8 wasn't waterproof and died horribly, and windows phone didn't have the Torque app.
We'll see what happens now that Nokia mobile is based out of Shanghai. Could be better or worse. Time will tell. Honestly, I could give two f**ks about Apple and Samsung's little circle jerk. I don't think Nokia's strategy is, "We must destroy Apple and Samsung NOOWWWW!!!"
Might be interesting to see if Sony and Nokia want to try and share resources in some fashion. Just a random thought.
The one phone they've made so far running Android was the god awful Nokia X. You're right that we'll have to wait and see what they can come up with, but like I said, I'm not holding my breath. I don't think they're going to do a pure stock phone, and though I'm sure people would appreciate it if they did, the Nexus 6 is already there, and the rest of Moto's devices are also pretty close to stock. If they make a value play, they'll be unlikely to be able to outmatch the Moto E or Moto G, and at the high-end, they'll run into the GS6. Nokia supposedly didn't go this route initially because they wouldn't be able to differentiate themselves in the market, though of course the real story is much closer to MS handing them a big bucket of cash so they'd shack up with WP, which would fail, devalue Nokia, and then MS could swoop in and buy it.
Now they're back where they started, and the established players are all stronger than they were before. Certainly Samsung's industrial design is light years ahead of where it was when Nokia abandoned Symbian and MeeGo for WP.
I don't think Sony wants to get in bed with another mobile player, not after the Ericsson mess. I think some sort of partnership with HTC might be smarter. Outside of their one flagship, nobody really cares about anything HTC makes.
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Meh, that's pretty much BS. My last two phones were a N8 and Moto 4G on T-mobile. They don't offer the devices so I BYOD on tmobile just fine. I've also been to nearly 10 countries over the past half year and have free unlimited 3G+ speeds, free texts, and .20c a minute calls in everyone except Vietnam which doesn't have an agreement in place. Nobody out there has a better intl plan than that I know of. Nobody.
My GN1 has no 1700 AWS, so in like 90% of the country I'd get 2G EDGE or nothing. Of course all T-mobile has around here is 2G EDGE anyway, so...
If it works for you though, more power to you. I'll never go back to VZW because of their bullshit business practices, that and if you happen to be in an area where they don't have LTE, their 3G is horrid, nearly as bad as Sprint. I've got no love for ATT as a company, but they've got LTE around here, and at least HSPA+ just about everywhere in New York State, and I have no coverage issues or problems with dropped calls. I don't do much international travel anymore, but when I do, I just buy a prepaid SIM at Heathrow and buy a few hundred minutes and unlimited data for 10GBP or whatever it is.
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Yeah, just goes to show each person has a different need and experience with cell phones.
I don't think Nokia is quite back where they started. They aren't tied to Symbian or Windows Phone anymore. It's kind of a good place they are in. They have a quality reputation and nobody really expects a damn thing from them and pretty much everyone has written them off. Actually not a bad place to be when you think about it.
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I don't think Nokia is quite back where they started. They aren't tied to Symbian or Windows Phone anymore. It's kind of a good place they are in. They have a quality reputation and nobody really expects a damn thing from them and pretty much everyone has written them off. Actually not a bad place to be when you think about it.
Potentially. I guess the question is, what aren't the big guys doing? Sony has the phones for people that want to go snorkeling with them, Moto covers a large price range with reasonably solid, competitive near stock options at various price levels, plus loads of customization options. Samsung has the best displays, they can now match Apple's TouchID, and apparently the camera in the GS6 is very good. HTC has fallen behind a bit, but LG seems to be doing pretty good lately, and they are holding the torch for those that absolutely must have removable batteries and SD card slots.
The fact that Samsung is losing market share I think is also not necessarily good for Nokia because I think it's forcing them out of their complacency. The GS5 basically sucked. The GS6 doesn't suck. I'm curious what they will do with the Note 5 later in the year, but my guess is they are going to pull out all of the stops, as typically the Note is a higher-end product than the Galaxy series. A Note with a real leather back like the LG G4 would be cool, that might be enough to finally get me to sell my GN1 and make the upgrade.
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Arg... Now that I've decided on the Z3v, Asus today announces the Zenfone 2 will release in the US on May 18th. What to do, what to do.
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Got the Z3v. Liking it quite a lot so far. Glad I finally picked up a new phone.
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Better to just get it and log off forums. Nerds can talk you blue in the face. In practice, Sony makes nice devices
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Any browsers you know of that have the old quick controls from the AOSP browser? Coming from 4 years of HTC phones where the default browser is a Sense modified AOSP browser with the quick controls from the labs menu, I am completely stunned there are no browsers on the Play Store (that I can find) that have this absolutely essential interface ability. Been trying to find an acceptable browser all night and nothing is anywhere near as controllable.
I assume you know what I'm talking about but if you don't here's an example. You slide your finger from off the screen on to the left or right side to reveal these blue menu buttons with further levels once you hold on the first level button.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfUe6DJfKLQ
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Nobody uses the radial PIE menu anymore. I'll dig but you might be SOL :(
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Why not? It is light years better than anything else. Using Chrome on my Z3V tonight is like driving without a steering wheel. It's almost enough to make me want to return the phone. There are threads upon threads of people for years (based on my searching tonight) demanding Google add it to Chrome.
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Doesn't fit with the current interaction design and the UX studies show that it confused the hell out of most users. If we can find a way for it to work for most, it will make it's way into the browser among other things.
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I have no idea how anyone could be confused by it. The icons speak for themselves. Also, why is it not available as an option? The original AOSP browser didn't have it on by default, and it was actually fairly well hidden in the labs menu. I mean.. if people are confused by it, turn it off??? But give people with more than 2 brain cells the option of using the best innovation I've seen for mobile browsing.
I can't understand why there isn't at least one browser out there with something like it.
I'm going to be physically sick.
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Edit: Fuck me... thought this was the other all purpose thread...I just woke up, no flame...
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I just ordered the LG G3 from amazon for $400.
I backed off the 1+1 for a couple reasons: questionable product support if you have a defective unit, but more importantly limited / no support for trrs headsets. I drive quite a bit for work, and use that time to make phone calls. I hate bluetooth headsets, and use the ety-com, which is great for calls while in a car. It is not supported by 1+1, and after much pondering, that was a deal breaker.
I briefly lusted after the z3, but it is only offered in US by TMO, and isn't sold unlocked anywhere local. I really wanted to play with whatever I spend hundreds of dollars on before I purchase. The closest "local" is B&H online, and still its ~$550.
I started reading about the moto x, and went into the local at&t store (an experience I always hate) to play with one, and the sales person recommended I play with the g3, which has a HUGE screen, yet is impressively similar in hand to the moto x (for me). I swooned. It fits in hand, has sd-card, decent specs, and takes MUCH better pictures than the others I played with, which matters more than I thought it would.
Anyway, I waited to the g4 to drop, and happily the g3 price did as well. I have no idea how much I will hate the UI, but when I was at the store, the only one I really hated was touchwiz.
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Glad you found something that works well for you.
Still loving my Z3V. I'm still not happy about the internet controls on modern browsers, but I've found one that seems to be reasonable in it's control scheme, Orbitum.
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I'm in Malaysia. Tried update the Z Ultra with 5.0. However, the user experience is far from smooth compared to 4.4. I felt overall lagginess and sometimes forced shutdown. Hmmm. However, the big 1080p screen is marvelous!
Now having a Huawei Honor 6, didn't dare to update to EmotionUI 3.0. Heard that the camera sucks. I wonder. And Huawei really takes their sweet time to roll out updates.
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I'm in Malaysia. Tried update the Z Ultra with 5.0. However, the user experience is far from smooth compared to 4.4. I felt overall lagginess and sometimes forced shutdown. Hmmm. However, the big 1080p screen is marvelous!
Now having a Huawei Honor 6, didn't dare to update to EmotionUI 3.0. Heard that the camera sucks. I wonder. And Huawei really takes their sweet time to roll out updates.
Darn, you really want 5.1. 5.0 has bugs. It also sounds like your install included the new forced encryption scheme which was part of 5.0. I believe further updates allowed vendors to remove the laggy encryption scheme for phones not able to run it smoothly.
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The G3 is a great phone. Everyone who uses one at work loves it.
With regard to the move to lollipop on your Z Ultra, wait for 5.1. Also wipe the cache partition when you get a chance, that has sped up a bunch of older devices I've upgraded to 5.0.
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Got Nexus 6 few days ago.
Very good phone overall.
Screen is better than the 2014 Moto X, more accurate, less saturated color.
Biggest con for me is the size, but I am a small asian guy. I guess the phone fits perfectly in Kobe's hand.
For me I really think pure Android outshine iOS now.
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Lollipop for Z2 removed more features than it added. I also have to move my fingers much more to perform simple operations. It's laggier as well... I wanna get all zeitgeist on Sony, but the 5.1 did at least add the command to close all programs. Annoyed as hell, even after a month of getting used to it.
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Ravi -
Regarding microSD, if using FLAC files, should you worry about the speed of the card too much from a playback standpoint? A standard class 10 card should have ample bandwidth for mere FLAC files but I've heard of some phones acting sluggish with FLAC if using cards of that speed. Should I play it safe and get a UHS-1/U3 card?
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Chris: I've never had a problem but all of my cards are UHS-1. 24/96 should be 11-12 mbps which would require around 2MB/sec transfer speeds with overhead. Phone manufacturers are notorious for cheaping out on the interface, so I can see why some folks aren't getting good performance. If the price delta is small, you might as well get the better card.
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Well lets hope Sony isn't one to cheap out since they are sorta audio focused. Thanks for the advice. I was looking at the U3 cards, but I think I can safely lower my expenditure to the U1 cards. Not a lot of options for 128GB at U3 anyway.
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I'm really torn now between the Galaxy S6 and the LG G4.
The G4 has the removable battery and microSD card and just seems like an all-around fantastic device. Strong battery life, good camera, etc.
The S6 is smaller (better for pockets) and also seems to be a strong phone, overall. I know this is minor to most, but I really appreciate the fingerprint scanner as well.
I never thought that'd be an important feature, but I've fallen in love with it on my tablet. Makes using my password manager (lastpass) infinitely nicer.
Tough call for me. Perhaps I should also be posting this in the 1st world problems thread. :P
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My 2 cents...
Removable battery: do you expect to actually swap batteries? I got the G3 and have yet to be in a situation where I actually need to swap battery, some of that has to do with my use habits, but still, with decent battery life, and regular (daily) charging, it hasn't been an issue.
SD Card: How much do you think you will use the SD card? The big data chunks by my analysis are photo/video and music. Photo/video can be EASILY put into the clouds now (google photo = holy shit), but audio is a mixed bag. Will you use your phone as audio source, or do you have a dedicated player? If you are not using phone as audio source, then SD storage, while really nice, becomes less essential.
Fingerprint ID: I miss this SO MUCH from my 5s. Enough that I still haven't sold my 5s, because (along with things like size difference, certain UI preferences, etc) I might switch back for now. Even with knock code, and all the other cool ways to get into your phone, touch/fingerprint id is tremendously convenient. I thought I wouldn't care, but after switching away from having it, it is not a trivial feature.
The G3 is a very nice phone (for my uses) and the G4 improves on that, but it seems like you are leaning toward the S6. My suggestion: if you have no strong feelings about the UI overlays, and don't use your phone as a source, go with the S6.
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I'm really torn now between the Galaxy S6 and the LG G4.
The G4 has the removable battery and microSD card and just seems like an all-around fantastic device. Strong battery life, good camera, etc.
The S6 is smaller (better for pockets) and also seems to be a strong phone, overall. I know this is minor to most, but I really appreciate the fingerprint scanner as well.
I never thought that'd be an important feature, but I've fallen in love with it on my tablet. Makes using my password manager (lastpass) infinitely nicer.
Tough call for me. Perhaps I should also be posting this in the 1st world problems thread. :P
I would probably lean towards GS6. Perhaps this well help.
https://youtu.be/Qb9ItJV7IF8
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My 2 cents...
Removable battery: do you expect to actually swap batteries? I got the G3 and have yet to be in a situation where I actually need to swap battery, some of that has to do with my use habits, but still, with decent battery life, and regular (daily) charging, it hasn't been an issue.
SD Card: How much do you think you will use the SD card? The big data chunks by my analysis are photo/video and music. Photo/video can be EASILY put into the clouds now (google photo = holy shit), but audio is a mixed bag. Will you use your phone as audio source, or do you have a dedicated player? If you are not using phone as audio source, then SD storage, while really nice, becomes less essential.
Fingerprint ID: I miss this SO MUCH from my 5s. Enough that I still haven't sold my 5s, because (along with things like size difference, certain UI preferences, etc) I might switch back for now. Even with knock code, and all the other cool ways to get into your phone, touch/fingerprint id is tremendously convenient. I thought I wouldn't care, but after switching away from having it, it is not a trivial feature.
The G3 is a very nice phone (for my uses) and the G4 improves on that, but it seems like you are leaning toward the S6. My suggestion: if you have no strong feelings about the UI overlays, and don't use your phone as a source, go with the S6.
I've always used my phone as a car music player in the past, which makes microSD cards a fairly big deal to me. I like the removable battery only under the off-chance that mine craps out on me.
But maybe I just get a cheap fiio and move on.
I'm a bit worried about the all glass construction of the s6 as well. A fingerprint magnet if nothing else.
But, the s6 is sleeker and I really am not a fan of big phones. Plus, the fingerprint scanner like I mentioned. I've been enjoying my tab s quite a bit.
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Considering a move from the iPhone 5 to the S6 Edge. Not so much for audio listening, just regular performance and use. Does the Edge suck?
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Edge was kind of cool when I got to play with it at CES. Question is can you switch from iOS to Android without flipping out?
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Edge was kind of cool when I got to play with it at CES. Question is can you switch from iOS to Android without flipping out?
Should be okay! iPhone 5 was my first Apple phone so I'm not in the deeply entrenched category yet. Edge looked like a neat alternative to getting a 6, reviews are a bit scarce but I figure ZD and others might have gotten some play time with it already.
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Should be okay! iPhone 5 was my first Apple phone so I'm not in the deeply entrenched category yet. Edge looked like a neat alternative to getting a 6, reviews are a bit scarce but I figure ZD and others might have gotten some play time with it already.
Why the Edge, specifically, over the regular GS6? I still fail to see anything useful about it at all.
https://youtu.be/Ws9KAQS02Yo
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Why the Edge, specifically, over the regular GS6? I still fail to see anything useful about it at all.
Great video, thanks! A vendor I was chatting with has a lead on the Edge. It's not something we can do on Massdrop because phones aren't really "enthusiast" products (+ really thin margins unless you're direct), but for personal use it seemed like it could potentially be a fairly decent upgrade to the 5.
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Hey guys, I saw this pop up in my email just now: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/saygus-v-squared#/story (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/saygus-v-squared#/story)
Skepticism about the audio features aside, the storage being offered is impressive and the rest of the feature set is at least par for the course if not better. I have doubts about the performance of the chipset in it and build quality but it looks like it might be worth the money. What do you guys think about it?
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I'm intrinsically sceptical about crowd funding. Xiaomi became one of the biggest phone companies in the world*, in just a few years, without indiegogo. Schiit may be small by comparison, but it's not exactly tiny: two guys, own capital, own work.
Rants and prejudices out of the way, nice features.
*Are they in USA? Maybe not, but remember that most of the world is actually in Asia.
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Hey guys, I saw this pop up in my email just now: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/saygus-v-squared#/story (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/saygus-v-squared#/story)
Skepticism about the audio features aside, the storage being offered is impressive and the rest of the feature set is at least par for the course if not better. I have doubts about the performance of the chipset in it and build quality but it looks like it might be worth the money. What do you guys think about it?
Eh. Nice storage I guess... but otherwise, what's the big deal? Also, my guess is that the screen will be absolute shit.
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I don't like the S6 in practice compared to the G4. The S6 feels slightly laggier in use and the build seems too much like an attempt to mimic Apple. It definitely feels nicer, in hand, but it's not the "leagues better" that the pro reviews are stating. I like the replaceable battery on the G4 since the S6 does not come close to lasting a full day with my usage, but I also don't get a full day of use from any flagships (Sony excluded, battery life on them is AWESOME) so the replaceable battery is actually useful for me.
With regard to fingerprint scanners, they will be obsolete soon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGrRYnqHegc
As presented, the team found a method 10x more secure than fingerprint scanners using data your phone is already capable of collecting.
The indiegogo phone is a huge fucking clunky monster. Avoid.
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Apparently the Zenphone2 has major battery life problems due to the way the screen refreshes. Most, but not all, apps are coded to work with x86 either, so not everything in the Play store will necessarily run on it. The materials Asus opted for also scratch REALLY easily. Ultimately I think the OnePlus is still the sub $300 phone to beat, especially running CM12S.
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IMO these "bang for buck" spec phones like saygus and 1+1 seem great until, after using one, you realize that a significant portion of making a good phone (or any consumer electronics device) comes from the hardware/software integration.
In other words throwing a bunch of chips in a box and getting it to work is relatively easy compared to getting it to work well.
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IMO these "bang for buck" spec phones like saygus and 1+1 seem great until, after using one, you realize that a significant portion of making a good phone (or any consumer electronics device) comes from the hardware/software integration.
In other words throwing a bunch of chips in a box and getting it to work is relatively easy compared to getting it to work well.
In regards to the OnePlus, I know at launch CM11S was not really that ready for prime time, but CM continually pushed out updates, and from what I've read, CM12S works pretty well. Oxygen OS I'm less familiar with.
In my experience, the worst hardware/software experience is usually a carrier branded, bootloader locked phone, like those sold by VZW and AT&T, whether its a $700 flagship or a midrange model. There's almost always bloat galore slowing down the phone, serious functionality problems like the seemingly never ending line of AT&T Samsung Galaxies and Notes that can't find their ass from a hole in the ground because the GPS never works for some reason, software updates that land months and months after unbranded world phones get their updates due to incompetent carrier "testing," (and when the updates are finally delivered, many are so beyond borked that you have to wonder just what the F they were doing for all those months) and while you can usually at least root and get rid of trash like carrier branded, paid navigation apps, you can forget about loading CM or ParanoidAndroid thanks to the locked boot loader because the carrier thinks you're too stupid to be allowed to use the phone you just paid for.
Compared to that, I'll take a OnePlus One all day long.
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Right now I am keeping my iPhone 4S for an extra year. It is still too good to ditch for what I need.
In the Netherlands the second "Fair Phone" is coming out based on more modular design and actually replaceable parts. The phone is not entirely fair but the design choices are a step in the right direction. This could be a great trend.
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Yet another reason to not buy a carrier branded locked phone, this time much more serious than the typical bloatware and buggy, late updates. If you have an AT&T or VZW (and most likely Sprint as well) Galaxy with this particular Samsung built Swiftkey keyboard, good luck waiting for your carrier to push out an update.
T-mobile users can at least change roms because T-mobile doesn't mandate locked bootloaders, but the unbranded world phones can be patched as soon as Samsung has an update.
http://time.com/3925962/samsung-galaxy-edge-hacking-s4-s5-s6-security-cyberattack-keyboard/
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What country are you in and what carrier do you prefer? This helps me determine availability as well as radio support/performance.
US, stuck with Verizon
What price range are you considering/how price sensitive are you?
Open to most
How many years do you go between upgrades?
2, could do more
If in the US, are you willing to pick up a subsidized phone attached to a 2 year contract?
Yes
How durable does your device need to be? Are drops a regular occurrence? Do you have kids or pets?
Very, I drop shit all the time
How important is customizability?
Very
How important is ease of use? How comfortable are you with new technology/interfaces?
Sure
What are you using currently?
Galaxy S4, first smart phone. Reasonably satisfied.
Do you have a lot of music and/or other digital content associated with one platform or another? Are you married to one platform or another for any particular reason?
Don't music on my 'phone
How long do you spend away from outlets during the day? How important is multi day battery life?
Very important, S4 requires nightly charging which I don't like
Do you have size considerations? Are you comfortable with a large phone, or is one handed use important?
Comfortable with large 'phone. Prefer to text with landscape mode
Do you need the fastest, baddest ass device?\
No
How often do you take pics and in what conditions? Are you an avid smartphone snapper and value good IQ? Do you want to mess with settings or have your pictures just come out great?
S4 was good with camera, I'd like similar abilities
Any other specific use cases you want to be considered? Do you attend a lot of concerts and need to get a good audio recording? Do you film adventures with your smartphone?
No
Ravi help plz. If you say S6 is apple-fied I want reasonable alternative
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IMO these "bang for buck" spec phones like saygus and 1+1 seem great until, after using one, you realize that a significant portion of making a good phone (or any consumer electronics device) comes from the hardware/software integration.
In other words throwing a bunch of chips in a box and getting it to work is relatively easy compared to getting it to work well.
Um, my one plus one works pretty well. No giant issues. I wonder if you actually have used one of those phones that led you to your conclusion.
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Oneplus one is good in the value segment but i wouldn't recommend it to most regular users. I've futzed with the unit I have on and off for a while and when you fall off the happy path it's a pain in the arse to diagnose.
OJ: I'd take the iphone 6 plus or Note 4 in your spot. If camera wasn't as important, the Droid Turbo would be a no brainer (2 day battery life, pretty decent experience).
I like the Z3, but haven't used the Z3V much (the z2/z3 hybrid Verizon has).
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What country are you in and what carrier do you prefer? This helps me determine availability as well as radio support/performance.
US, stuck with Verizon
That's too bad, it sounds like the GS6 Active would be a good option. Tough, much larger battery than the standard GS6, same excellent camera. It's an ATT exclusive though.
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Is the larger size of the Note 4 more likely to break?
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Ok, just went to Verizon store. Note 4 is pretty bomb
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Get the Sony. Wiztouch or whatever sucks. Don't believe the press. All that shit is written by Samsung shills. I was forced by work to get a Samsung S5. It's a POS compared to the Sony Z3. Samsung is for losers. Even the girl at the T-mobile store told me Samsung is for losers. You will never get laid with a Samsung phone. The dude behind the counter had a Sony and said Samsung is for losers.
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the Sony variant for Verizon is one full generation back currently. Since the next step (Z4 Japan, Z3+ outside of Japan) is about to launch exclusively on Verizon this summer as the Z4v, I'd wait for that.
The Note 4 is okay. You can install Nexus Launcher on anything to at least get rid of the shitty launchers that come with most phones. Other than that, there is still more bullshit on the Note 4 there than Sony tends to put on their phones. Verizon is a crapshoot, though. Who knows what the heck they'll mandate on the device?
All things being equal in mechanical design, a larger screen device will transfer more energy to the screen during a drop, especially on a corner making it more likely to crack if the glass isn't significantly thicker or reinforced. There's a delicate balance you have to strike when you're creating large devices with thin bezels and sufficiently thin glass to keep weight down.
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Get the Sony. Wiztouch or whatever sucks. Don't believe the press. All that shit is written by Samsung shills. I was forced by work to get a Samsung S5. It's a POS compared to the Sony Z3. Samsung is for losers. Even the girl at the T-mobile store told me Samsung is for losers. You will never get laid with a Samsung phone. The dude behind the counter had a Sony and said Samsung is for losers.
Lol. The main reason I've stuck with Samsung is their OLED screens. If you like OLED, and I do, theirs are the best in the biz, that, and I hate on screen buttons, and Samsung is one of the VERY few hold outs still using physical home buttons and capacitive touch for task switching and back. Those are the upsides. The downsides are Touchwiz and that they block LTE bands by region because they don't want people importing phones, so you have to buy the T-mobile version if you actually want access to the boot loader AND LTE. With that you can load a custom rom and actually get rid of TouchWiz rather than just papering over it with the stock Android theme and Google launcher, but if you're on VZW, you can forget about any of that. Their phones are totally locked down, so re-skinning and replacement launchers are all that can be done.
https://youtu.be/GkqI_2Fp9ok
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Bricked my Note II a while ago so I'm getting a Note Edge next week.
Stoked.
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Still loving my Sony Z3V. For normal tasks, I think phones have reached where computers did about 10 years ago. Anything in the mid-range and up will perform similarly. There is less and less reason to get the highest spec performance. The Droid DNA I had previously I got in Dec 2012 and it performed like a snail compared to this Z3V on benchmarks, but in real life, the difference wasn't as drastic as the bench indicates. It absolutely is faster and more agile, but the differences are subtle, not glaring.
From this point forward, I'm prioritizing things like audio quality first (something this Sony does extremely well, for a phone), dust/water protection (work is messy), features (sdcard/memory/storage/etc), then finally speed of the chip. So in this way I don't find the Z3V to be outdated. My computer at home is the same system it has been since about 2009, an i7 860 based rig that still does just as well as anything I could buy these days for what I use it for (older games/web/music). In some ways, technology is no longer a rapidly obsolescent market segment.
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Thinking about one of:
Galaxy S6
iPhone 6 plus
Note 5 (would require waiting...)
Been using Galaxy variations for the last 4-5 years it seems so that's familiar. But I want a giant phone. I rarely hold phone to my ear, so that's irrelevant and for my use the bigger phone is a benefit. And since the 6 plus is the same size as the Note 4 more or less, it's on my radar. I won't get the Note 4 simply because my work plan gives me the latest for free, so it's in my interest to get whatever is the best likely resale value 2 years out.
Also don't care about storage since I'm not loading much on it. Will probably stick with streaming on it so maybe the Apple nuances will be less annoying to me with just that method of audio?
Given my familiarity with Samsung, I'd probably grab a Note 5 right now if they were out, but wondering if the iPhone 6 plus would satisfy me. I'm not drawn to Apple generally.
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What about the Nexus 6? Very solid phone that gets the updates before anyone else.
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Thanks for pointing that phone out. It wasn't really on my radar but it's in the same niche so I'll make sure to compare it.
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Nexus 6 is a good option. Otherwise the big Android phones currently available are either from lesser known Chinese companies like Huawei and Xiaomi or are outdated like the Z Ultra and Asus Zenphone 6.
iOS is a little bit less locked down than it used to be, for example you can now use your preferred keyboard instead of the shitty Apple keyboard, but if you like to tinker, you may still find it too confining. I for one use huge widgets on my home screens, and so iOS is an immediate no go.
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Same here. The widgets are a nice draw. I've been reading about Nexus 6 the last hour or so, and was almost settled on it since running stock Android would be nice. But I just looked and it's not clear this phone gets the same subsidy I get on the apple/samsung ones under my work plan. Have to check into that. If not, maybe I'll ditch Samsung for Apple as an experiment. Two really divergent choices though, haha.
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Nexus 6 has shit battery life. I can't recommend it as an only device unless you're pretty modest with your usage. I use mine side by side with a Z3 Compact and it's not even close. The Compact literally lasts twice as long. With my usage, the Nexus 6 is pretty much empty by the early afternoon even WITH the significant improvements I saw with the Lollipop MR (5.1). I'd avoid the S6 for the same reason. The battery life is okay, but nothing spectacular. Moderately better than the N6, but not best in class.
The other consideration is that the Nexus 6 is anecdotally fragile (based off my experience). I have NEVER broken a smartphone and I've used hundreds over the past decade. I broke two Nexus 6 screens, both within a week of obtaining each device.
Honestly, CEE TEE uses the iPhone 6 plus and I'd recommend it if you weren't already bought into the Samsung line. An S6 or Note 4 would probably make you happy given your past with Samsung devices.
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my nexus 4 8gb is feeling a little old now despite my custom 5.1.1r6 rom and kernel. I need to upgrade but I don't want to pay flagship prices. I'd like a bigger screen.. the oneplus two coming out next month seems like it might be good.. except you need an invite.. I was looking at the asus zenfone 2 4gb 64gb at $299 on amazon but it doesn't have lte with t-mobile usa for some reason.. otherwise seems like a great budget device.. battery life probably isn't great since it's an intel cpu.. if anyone has a oneplus TWO invite next month please bequeathe it to me!
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Although I think I might have been more philosophically drawn to the Nexus 6, it ended up not being subsidized on my plan so went with the iPhone 6 plus.
Just about to unwrap and begin swearing at Apple as I discover absurd repurcussions to this decision. Tethering? Music? I have no idea what I'm doing on iPhone.
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my nexus 4 8gb is feeling a little old now despite my custom 5.1.1r6 rom and kernel. I need to upgrade but I don't want to pay flagship prices. I'd like a bigger screen.. the oneplus two coming out next month seems like it might be good.. except you need an invite.. I was looking at the asus zenfone 2 4gb 64gb at $299 on amazon but it doesn't have lte with t-mobile usa for some reason.. otherwise seems like a great budget device.. battery life probably isn't great since it's an intel cpu.. if anyone has a oneplus TWO invite next month please bequeathe it to me!
At this point, I think the original OnePlus One is a better phone than the Asus. From what I've seen, the Asus is extremely fragile, and the back scratches if you so much as look at it wrong. The screen is not well designed, and it chews through the phone's battery as a result. The OnePlus has like double the battery life of the Asus. Performance wise you're unlikely to notice the difference between the Snapdragon 801 and the Atom in the Zenphone.
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Just about to unwrap and begin swearing at Apple as I discover absurd repurcussions to this decision. Tethering? Music? I have no idea what I'm doing on iPhone.
https://youtu.be/P9r5ZkXyoPc
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Alright, I've all but decided on the LG G4. My one hesitation is the size.
For those of you with larger phones, how do you go about carrying them? The S4 already annoys me in my pocket, but I suppose I'll just get used to it? I'm not sure if the size difference will be all that noticeable.
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Alright, I've all but decided on the LG G4. My one hesitation is the size.
For those of you with larger phones, how do you go about carrying them? The S4 already annoys me in my pocket, but I suppose I'll just get used to it? I'm not sure if the size difference will be all that noticeable.
If you were making the move from a small phone like an iPhone 5S (or earlier model), Xperia compact, S5 mini, or old 4" smartphone (Motorola Atrix 4G, ad infinitum), I'd say that you might notice a substantial difference. The Galaxy S4 is already a 5" phone, so the LG G4 won't seem like that much of a difference at 5.5".
I've been using Galaxy Notes since the first model. IMO the trick with any large phone is in the case. You want something with good protection - but no Otterbox-like bulk. Check out the Verus Thor - for my Note 4 it hits all the marks. I see that they make a similar model for the LG G4 as well.
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If you were making the move from a small phone like an iPhone 5S (or earlier model), Xperia compact, S5 mini, or old 4" smartphone (Motorola Atrix 4G, ad infinitum), I'd say that you might notice a substantial difference. The Galaxy S4 is already a 5" phone, so the LG G4 won't seem like that much of a difference at 5.5".
I've been using Galaxy Notes since the first model. IMO the trick with any large phone is in the case. You want something with good protection - but no Otterbox-like bulk. Check out the Verus Thor - for my Note 4 it hits all the marks. I see that they make a similar model for the LG G4 as well.
I've always carried "naked" devices.
Over the past 5 years of smartphone usage, I've gotten by so far.
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my note II lasted a solid 2 years before any damage occurred, I dropped it many many times but eventually the glass cracked
bought a replacement off ebay and all was good
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Marshall's coming up with a new smartphone called London.
https://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_se_en/phones/london
I doubt it's gonna sound much good but still, I like the design somehow.
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Marshall's coming up with a new smartphone called London.
https://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_se_en/phones/london
I doubt it's gonna sound much good but still, I like the design somehow.
Eek. Only 16GB MicroSD?
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Eek. Only 16GB MicroSD?
Nah, 16GB Internal up to 128GB (likely up to 200GB) MicroSD.
I'm almost curious enough try this phone out. I like styling and materials (especially the volume wheel). If the screen isn't shit and the WM8281 audio hub sounds decent, it could be a pretty good all in one portable solution.
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Nah, 16GB Internal up to 128GB (likely up to 200GB) MicroSD.
I'm almost curious enough try this phone out. I like styling and materials (especially the volume wheel). If the screen isn't shit and the WM8281 audio hub sounds decent, it could be a pretty good all in one portable solution.
Ah, I see now. Read it incorrectly.
Pretty cool looking. Too bad about the crappy camera.
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Another potentially interesting newcomer. It seems like ZTE wants to pick a fight with the One Plus Two. 5.5" 2K screen, 3AH battery, capacitive buttons (yay!) and a camera system somewhat like the M8's but without the shitty "ultrapixels." Rom is supposedly near stock Lollipop. I believe it's supposed to come in around $450 unlocked, which will probably be more than what the Two costs, but you should be able to just buy it, no invites required.
(http://cdn2.ubergizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/axon_phone-640x449.jpg)
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That Marshall phone has a 4.7" 1280x720 screen and a 1.2Ghz Snapdragon 410 - basically a slightly smaller Moto G. If it costs more than $200 unlocked, it's a rip off.
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That Marshall phone has a 4.7" 1280x720 screen and a 1.2Ghz Snapdragon 410 - basically a slightly smaller Moto G. If it costs more than $200 unlocked, it's a rip off.
If you only look at that list of specs, definitely. The Moto G is a damn good phone for the price.
But a Moto G doesn't have dual 3.5mm output, improved volume control (something that android seriously lacks - I'd pay premium that alone they made it have more than 15 giant volume steps), premium design, or a dedicated Wolfson audio solution.
It's a niche product and it's certainly priced high (~586 USD IIRC). For that price, I'd have liked to have seen dedicated media control buttons, bottom mounted 3.5mm plugs, more internal memory, and guaranteed USB-OTG support with assurances of future support.
But hell, even an AK Jr. is $500. It'll come down to how it sounds on whether or not the value is there. As a midrange phone, it's a poor value. If it performs nearly as well as a midrange DAP as far as sound quality goes, then it'll be a decent value for the convergence factor alone.
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Considering how lousy the Marshall headphones are, I wouldn't put too much stock into the dedicated audio solution. I would be surprised if it's even as good as a Pono player.
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Really digging the OnePlus Two. Seems to address pretty much all of the shortcomings of the original, and supposedly the fingerprint scanner is better than the GS6's. The home "button" operation is completely customizable, as are the two capacitive touch buttons, so you can have back/multi-task on whichever side you prefer, PLUS optional on screen buttons as before.
Further improved Oxygen OS, with some features pulled out of Android M like the ability to enable/disable individual app permissions, which is awesome. Screen remains 1080p, which I could care less about. I'm far more interested in color, contrast, and screen power management than 2K resolution. There does however seem to be two major downsides at the moment - reduced battery life compared to the 1+1, which may just be the Snapdragon 810 being a power hog, or could be early software. Hopefully it's the latter.
The more strange one though is the apparently very slow charging, which doesn't make a lot of sense. USB Type C should be capable of FAR more current than the standard 5V 1A, so even if the phone doesn't support 9V "quick charge" like other recent phones, you'd think they'd be able to just up the amperage to 2 or 3A like tablets have been using over regular USB since basically forever. Not sure what's going on there. Still, at $389 for 64GB unlocked, it's hard to argue.
https://youtu.be/8qJPGyn7awo
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Should I be as excited about the new moto lineup and I am feeling?
The new G is pretty solid and still super cheap. It might be the phone that finally convinces my wife to leave apple (she does NOT need a flagship phone, but iphones are either old, buggy, and still $400 or $650+).
The new X seems excellent, not outrageously priced, and bloat free. Glad they aren't using the 810 tbh. Few phones are actually using its full potential, and I like my hand without heat burns. Will have to see how it actually performs of course, but seems promising. Its a little pricier than the 1+2, BUT has an SD card slot up to 128, which means I can dump most of my music on, AND motorola has much better support than oneplus (technically not hard, since oneplus support appears to still be zero).
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Should I be as excited about the new moto lineup and I am feeling?
The new G is pretty solid and still super cheap. It might be the phone that finally convinces my wife to leave apple (she does NOT need a flagship phone, but iphones are either old, buggy, and still $400 or $650+).
The new X seems excellent, not outrageously priced, and bloat free. Glad they aren't using the 810 tbh. Few phones are actually using its full potential, and I like my hand without heat burns. Will have to see how it actually performs of course, but seems promising. Its a little pricier than the 1+2, BUT has an SD card slot up to 128, which means I can dump most of my music on, AND motorola has much better support than oneplus (technically not hard, since oneplus support appears to still be zero).
I'm pumped, too, but so bummed that the Moto Play isn't available in the US. It's my dream phone.
Guess I'll be waiting for the new/revamped Droid line to be announced.
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I'm pumped, too, but so bummed that the Moto Play isn't available in the US. It's my dream phone.
I completely agree.
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The new Motos look great. Unfortunately I've vowed to never buy another phone without image stabilization.
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Hello. I was hoping some wise pyrates could help me with a dilemma that may be all-too-familiar to some. I tried searching multiple times on Changstar but was unable to find anything that lays it out in detail. So here I go....
At work and out and about, I use my AT&T LG G3 as a source to stream TiDAL at redbook rates (16/44.1). My IEMs are Sony's dual hybrid XBA-H1 and Etymotic's HF3s (BA). The Etys are consistently brilliant but the Sony's sound noticeably dull directly from the HP out of my LG G3. After adding a Fiio E12 in the signal chain, the sound opened up but the bass was boomy and fatiguing. FWIW, Brent Butterworth found wild impedance swings when writing for Soundstage magazine (link 1 below).
But the Fiio E12 isnt the cleanest because it still gives me annoying levels of background noise, hiss and static, so I thought I should opt for an IEM friendly amp like Fiio's E12a or one of Nick Leckerton's or Jan Meier's lovely little amps.
But this is where things got murky for me. After reading literature and emailing a few manufacturers, it seems that smartphone and tablet DACs aren't all that good compared to standalone USB DACs. But according to measurements on GSMArena.com, the LG G3 is exceptionally good as a DAC for what I need, i.e., 16/44.1 (link 2 below). Another thing I read was that if I bought just an amp to connect to my LG G3s HP out, I would be double-amping which is bad. So, according to these sources of knowledge, the best case scenario is to buy something like the Oppo HA-2 or something which has a better DAC and also to avoid double amping. But its $300!!...more than the cost of my headphones combined.
So should I buy a DAC+Amp or just an amp (or if possible,tweak the Fiio E12 into being more IEM friendly)? Any (hopefully?) wallet-friendly suggestions welcome! As far as sound signatures go, I love the Hifiman HE-400i and the Etymotics. Thanks in advance.
link 1
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1133:sony-xba-h1-earphones&catid=263&Itemid=203
link 2
http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g3-review-1086p7.php
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So should I buy a DAC+Amp or just an amp (or if possible,tweak the Fiio E12 into being more IEM friendly)? Any (hopefully?) wallet-friendly suggestions welcome! As far as sound signatures go, I love the Hifiman HE-400i and the Etymotics. Thanks in advance.
My personal approach is to use the USB OTG out from the phone, into a small amp/dac dongle, then to my headphones. I use the AudioQuest DragonFly 1.2 (~$150), but that isn't necessarily a recommendation, it's just what I bought. The Schiit Fulla ($79) is probably better, and there are many others. GeekOut is pricier but way better. I have to use an app called USB Audio Pro on my phone to make this work, as the built in Android USB OTG support doesn't work for many DACs, but with that app everything I have tried works well.
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Double amping is not all that bad, but you are correct most aftermarket dacs should sound a bit better than the phone. It may be minor though. I have used the HRT Microstreamer to good effect with Android phones using an OTG cable and with an ipod 5th gen and cck.
Powered any iem I had very nicely. The only real issue is the increased strain on your micro USB port on the phone. I had a Moto X that eventually failed at that port. But you cannot beat the little microstreamer from a pocketability standpoint. Does it sound as good as the Leckerton as far as the amp stage goes.......no!
I just ordered another microstreamer (thought I could live without one and sold it) after becoming dissatisfied with my phones hp out, but will have to wait and see if windows 10 for phone will support OTG USB at some point. In the meantime, I may just grab another ipod or android phone to play music. Anyone know of a good flac player app for either platform?
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My personal approach is to use the USB OTG out from the phone, into a small amp/dac dongle, then to my headphones. I use the AudioQuest DragonFly 1.2 (~$150), but that isn't necessarily a recommendation, it's just what I bought. The Schiit Fulla ($79) is probably better, and there are many others. GeekOut is pricier but way better. I have to use an app called USB Audio Pro on my phone to make this work, as the built in Android USB OTG support doesn't work for many DACs, but with that app everything I have tried works well.
Unless they changed something the Fulla will not work with OTG as it needs more power from the usb port. sounds nice though.
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I definitely dig the new Motorola's!
I've been using a Moto Maxx (http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_maxx-6779.php) since December/January and it's definitely a kick-ass phone. Good performing (haven't noticed any lags at all for the things/apps I normally use), ok audio (call) quality, seems to be excellently constructed and that quick charge thingie is definitely pretty cool!
But, lately I've been using... :eek: my Lumia 830 a bit more!!! What can I say? I like Nokia! LOL I believe that since I'm not really a "power user", the simple nature of Windows phone just calls me (no pun!).
Lately though I've been really looking into Blackberry QWERTY phones (Q5, Q10, Classic). I love qwerty phones and sadly they are no longer being made. Since I mostly use social media stuff (FB, Twitter, Whatsapp), browser, youtube, E-mail/Calendar, etc) I think the Blackberry could be an awesome phone to have at home just in case I feel like using something different.... I know... I'm weird...
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This is brilliant :)p13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEywT9-7s38&ab_channel=BarelyProductions
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Hello folks. So something interesting happened today. I was looking at my LG G3's screen (AT&T D850) while listening to TiDAL on my Ety HF (LG G3 > Ety HF5) and saw a headset-with-mic icon on the top left of the screen. Fair enough I thought....but when I added my Fiio E12 in the signal chain where LG G3 > Fiio E12 > Ety HF5, the headset-with-mic icon was replaced with an icon showing a TRS plug.
Curious, I looked up the manual and discovered that the TRS icon denotes "Wired high impedance accessories or AUX". Does this mean that the LG G3 is switching over from "amplifier" mode to a "line out" mode when it sees a device like the E12 connected? Or is it just a pretty UI tweak? Thanks.
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I have a note 5 now.
Does this thing resample all audio to 48k?
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Hello folks. So something interesting happened today. I was looking at my LG G3's screen (AT&T D850) while listening to TiDAL on my Ety HF (LG G3 > Ety HF5) and saw a headset-with-mic icon on the top left of the screen. Fair enough I thought....but when I added my Fiio E12 in the signal chain where LG G3 > Fiio E12 > Ety HF5, the headset-with-mic icon was replaced with an icon showing a TRS plug.
Curious, I looked up the manual and discovered that the TRS icon denotes "Wired high impedance accessories or AUX". Does this mean that the LG G3 is switching over from "amplifier" mode to a "line out" mode when it sees a device like the E12 connected? Or is it just a pretty UI tweak? Thanks.
Probably UI tweaks, but who knows? If you can adjust the phone volume, it is probably treating it just like anything else plugged in with a regular TRS jack.
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Probably UI tweaks, but who knows? If you can adjust the phone volume, it is probably treating it just like anything else plugged in with a regular TRS jack.
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Probably UI tweaks, but who knows? If you can adjust the phone volume, it is probably treating it just like anything else plugged in with a regular TRS jack.
Thanks zdfx. I can adjust the phone volume so probably a UI tweak then. Bloody smartass smartphone