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Pumpy Dumper posted:What if my budget goes up to $400? In that range you might be able to find an LG G3, that phone would easily meet your battery and camera requirements. Or an Xperia Z3/c, I'm not sure if they have a model that has all of T-Mobile's LTE bands though, someone more knowledgeable on that should be able to help though.
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Jun 26, 2015 18:32
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Country/Provider: USA, AT&T Contract Status: Just switched to the Mobile Share Plan with my family's company plan, we will be with AT&T indefinitely afaik. Budget: $400? Not necessarily opposed to spending more but I'm probably fine with getting an older version of whatever model I land on. Features I'm looking for: This will be my first smartphone, so I can't be entirely sure how I'll use it. I'd love to have a camera I can use to photograph insects and plants I come across when them and don't have my camera on me. I don't know how much macro capabilities vary between phones or if it's reasonable to expect anything good from any of them. I'm also interested in the phone game scene. Broadly speaking, how many new titles will I be missing out on with an older/cheaper phone? Thanks!
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Jun 26, 2015 18:57
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Also, where's the best place to buy phones online? I figured ebay would be best for prior models of phones.
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Jun 26, 2015 23:57
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Ebay and Swappa are both good. Swappa usually has slightly better prices.
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Jun 27, 2015 02:45
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Megachile posted:Country/Provider: USA, AT&T I would look for either the Moto X 2nd Gen (2014) or he iPhone 5S, the used prices for both of them should be falling a bit.
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Jun 28, 2015 12:28
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What phone should I get? Cost is not a concern, I'll be getting it on contract with a hefty discount. I'm an Android user, so the IPhone is out. I'm on the Note 3 just now, but since I got the Galaxy Tab S, I don't feel like I need a phone quite this big anymore, and I don't use the S pen half as much as I used to. My main considerations are the S6 Edge, the LG G4, or I could hold off till the Note 5 later in the year. I don't watch much media, and rarely play games, but I use social media a lot, including accessing this forum.
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Jun 28, 2015 13:33
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mehall posted:What phone should I get? If you are between Samsung and LG always go Samsung. Personally, I don't get buying the Edge for more money than the normal S6, but that's your choice. This would apply to the Note series as well, why pay extra just for a Pen or for an Edged screen? There are rumors of a new Motorola phone, which has a great reputation of mostly vanilla Android, but I haven't seen anything on when that is coming out. I would wait for the new Moto, but that's entirely personal preference.
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Jun 28, 2015 16:15
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mehall posted:What phone should I get? Of those three I'd recommend waiting for the Note 5. The G4 is pretty good but it's lacking quick charge and a fingerprint reader, which is about to become a big native component of Android in a few months. The Note 5 is rumored to have a beastly 4100 mAh battery as well as quick charge and wireless charging, which would make it one of, if not the, most future proof Android device this year.
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Jun 29, 2015 01:05
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Country/Provider: Canada/Rogers Current contract status: None, corporate account Budget (phone/plan): $100-$150 CAD Features I know I want: Standard smartphone stuff. Maybe root for AdAway? I've been rolling with an Xperia Ion since 2013, but it seems to be on its way out with constant reboots every fifteen minutes or so. It's persisting after a full factory reset, so it's probably some sort of hardware problem. The original plan was to wait for the Nexus 5 refresh and my partner and I were going to get a pair of those, but now I need something cheap to get me going until then. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorola-Mo...=item33a355d53b Is a first gen Moto X a good buy for $150 CAD? I'm willing to go cheaper as long as it runs smoothly for reading news, weather and the forums, along with regular phone stuff.
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Jun 29, 2015 07:19
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Coxswain Balls posted:Country/Provider: Canada/Rogers Assuming you find one in the frequencies you need, yeah, I think you'd be happy at least until November.
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Jun 29, 2015 13:55
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Country: Sweden so can get unlocked phone by default Budget: 100-350 Features: Small (4.5" maximum) but with decent camera and battery life I'm looking to get a new phone since my current Xperia Z is totally broken (camera lens has shattered at some point, battery life is awful since the update to 5 and I can only hear people talking and they can only hear me if I turn on speaker mode for whatever reason). I've been eyeing the Xperia Z3 Compact for some time, but I'm looking for some alternatives. From comparing different phones I found that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is basically the perfect size and I can get one for cheap, but it's 2 years old at this point and I have no idea how good it actually is. Also there's the HTC One Mini 2 which seems to be a bit on the large side for a "mini" phone. Are there any other alternatives?
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Jun 29, 2015 21:02
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The Z3 Compact is the only thing that's going to remotely meet your wants. Small phones just don't exist anymore.
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Jun 29, 2015 21:09
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Endless Mike posted:The Z3 Compact is the only thing that's going to remotely meet your wants. Small phones just don't exist anymore. That's what I suspected. I'm a bit burnt on Sony since every update something breaks though. 
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Jun 29, 2015 22:11
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netcat posted:That's what I suspected. I'm a bit burnt on Sony since every update something breaks though.
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Jun 30, 2015 01:10
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Country/Provider: USA/Page Plus Current contract status: None, Budget (phone/plan): $60/mo reimbursed and more available. Hardware budget is decent, but not huge Features I know I want: Dumb phone, hotspot and something to handle MMS. I have a new job that requires me to separate out my data and voice needs without blowing the budget. My thought was to go old school with the phone and phone/tablet/phablet + laptop on a hotspot with a ton of data. I need the ability to handle MMS due to my customers' love of group texting. I need the ability to use my laptop where ever I am and a phone/tablet/phablet for quicker things that I don't want to fire up the laptop for and for what I'm currently using my android phone for (banking mostly, cribbage sometimes). Is this possible?
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Jun 30, 2015 01:29
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Dominoes posted:Is there a way to reformat modern phones to make them stock android? There are roms , but it's very rare for them to work as well as the OEM firmware.
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Jun 30, 2015 02:12
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I'm going to Asia (Vietnam, Singapore, Japan) for a couple weeks on vacation - what should I get that's cheap and is essentially a tiny tablet with which I can access wifi? I don't plan to get service in any of the places I'm going other than probably paid wifi in japan. I'd ideally like something with a microSD slot so that I can shuttle pictures around from my point and shoot camera, and a replaceable battery so that I can keep a stack with me. I have a sprint HTC one, which is a great phone but doesn't meet either of the above requirements.
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Jun 30, 2015 03:43
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A used Galaxy Note 3 or 4?
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Jun 30, 2015 03:59
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I like turtles posted:I'm going to Asia (Vietnam, Singapore, Japan) for a couple weeks on vacation - what should I get that's cheap and is essentially a tiny tablet with which I can access wifi? I don't plan to get service in any of the places I'm going other than probably paid wifi in japan. What's your working definition of cheap? The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 fits the mini-tablet requirement (5.5" screen, with small bezels so it's not too huge in hand), has a microSD slot, and gets better wifi reception than my old HTC One m7. No replaceable battery, but it has the best battery of any phone I've ever used. I can regularly get 7 hours of screen-on time before I'm down to the single digit battery%. If I don't use the screen much, I can easily get 48 hours out of it; I've only had about an hour of screen on time today but 3 hours of Audible and decent amounts of cell data and I'm at 55% remaining after 20 hours. But it's $250. IDK if that's "cheap".
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Jun 30, 2015 05:26
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regulargonzalez posted:What's your working definition of cheap? I'd say cheap is in the neighborhood of $200. I could go up to $300 for the right device. I suppose I used the "mini-tablet" term improperly, I'd be happy with a regular phone sized phone, no phablets required. I more meant that I don't particularly care about the ability of the device to get on a cell network - some kind of wifi only device would probably be fine. I think a used galaxy s4 or s5 would probably do just fine for me. I really do like the removable battery thing, it was so nice when I traveled internationally before not to have to worry about external battery packs/etc. Although, I guess unlocked GSM wouldn't hurt, I can get a vietnamese sim for like $30 prepurchasing it in the states, and I'm sure they'd be available more cheaply in Vietnam. Since I'd be in Singapore for like 3 days max I wouldn't bother there, and renting a Japanese sim seems like it'd be a fine way to go too.
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Jun 30, 2015 05:34
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You can get an unlocked LG G2 for around $200. I think G3's are $300ish, but they're not really significantly better.
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Jun 30, 2015 15:08
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Australia / Optus. Currently on a $30 / month SIM only plan. A couple of days back i had to drop back to my Samsung Galaxy Pocket. That phone is just a backup and it has issues. I looked around at replacement phones and concluded the market is friggin retarded right now. So far the best option I have come up with is to update my plan to $40 / month with free* phone. My reason is that the $40 / month plan is the same as a $40 / month SIM only plan, so the free* is essentially value adding / less gouging than the SIM plan. It also may come with 6 months of NetFlix which would be nice. I'm also in credit so I'd be well into next year before my regular payments would need to be upped a touch. Relevant options for an android based phone with no extra monthly payment are: * Samsung Galaxy Core Prime * Samsung Galaxy A3 * HTC Desire 820 * Huawei Ascend G6 * LG F70 I think they are all Android anyway. I don't know which way to go. Things I like (may be contradictory): *Battery life. *Removable battery *Good phone reception. *small size. *Large enough screen so I can type using my stubby fingers. *Loud volume for ringer and calls. *Lots of storage / CPU / RAM (realistically enough to avoid lag, Also able to keep me entertained while waiting in cars / waiting rooms etc) *Physically tough. *Rootable and flashable *Good integration with Google apps and services (all of them anyway) Things I need beyond the basics: *GPS *SD card slot Things I don't give a poo poo about *Selfie camera The thing is I'm really being drawn by the HTC desire 820 because of it's 4x4 octacore design (reminds me of the Galaxy Tab Pro which hauls rear end), 64 bit architecture(!), 2GB RAM and good storage options. I know it's power hungry, doesn't have a removable battery and so loving huge I don't know how I'd keep it on my person. Case with belt clip maybe? I'd also be able to type without the overwhelming urge to throw it. I need more eyes. I looked at the specs of all of them and am kind of on the fence. Thing is I kind of need to decide today. One drat day without my Motorola Defy+ (at the end of it's life pretty much) and I got lost at night along dirt tracks with no reception. I got home clearly but gently caress that. Also the reason I'm not going to but a phone outright is the ones within my price range are really, really bad and I can't afford a decent one outright. My reason for removable battery is essentially I've had a couple of batteries inflate like a balloon. It's nice to be able to replace them. Or does this not really happen with the current generation? Please help steer me in the right direction!
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Jul 5, 2015 02:27
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General_Failure posted:Australia / Optus. Is the Sony Z3 Compact available to you? It's got a huge battery and it's small. It's also pretty much the only option if you want a good phone that's not huge.
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Jul 5, 2015 03:12
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What I listed are the available phones from my provider for the $0 month extra over plan. I can't justify added cost. I'll check to see what Telstra has available. If they have that with a competitive plan it is an option. Tablet posting I goofed the quote sorry. E: checked Telstra. They can go suck a bag of dicks. e again: Optus do have a Z3 compact. But it's an extra $8 / month. It really does have the features I want too. Didn't know about the PS4 connectivity until now though. It's a little hard to justify an extra $18 / month total. I really need to think about this. General_Failure fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Jul 5, 2015 |
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Jul 5, 2015 05:53
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General_Failure posted:What I listed are the available phones from my provider for the $0 month extra over plan. I can't justify added cost. I'll check to see what Telstra has available. If they have that with a competitive plan it is an option. Tablet posting I goofed the quote sorry. All the phones you listed are pretty awful and will lag, be generally unpleasant to use, etc. The Z3 Compact is a former flagship in terms of specs and is literally the best really good small Android phone (though Moto X 2013 is close, those two are really it when it comes to small good Android phones).
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Jul 5, 2015 12:32
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RVProfootballer posted:All the phones you listed are pretty awful and will lag, be generally unpleasant to use, etc. The Z3 Compact is a former flagship in terms of specs and is literally the best really good small Android phone (though Moto X 2013 is close, those two are really it when it comes to small good Android phones). I'm using an Asus TF700T to type this. I am no stranger to lag. Usually our local market is way behind some other countries in tech and prices stay high longer. Honestly I ended up going with the HTC. I figure I've wanted a phablet for ages and I write emails and SMS a lot. I nearly bought one of those old xperias with the slide out keyboard on eBay but I couldn't justify the cost for something lower spec than my old Defy+ My brain was telling me Samsung is the wise choice because they are physically tough, my heart said Sony because I loved my W810i, and my MD player, but the urge to play with a 64 bit ARM based device is just too strong. Plus there are cheap model specific cases for belts online. That should help alleviate my breaking problem. Not going to deny I wanted to buy something I found interesting for once. I know it's only a mid level phone. I don't need high end. Not going to deny I was lusting after the Sony, especially because it has an IP rating but I couldn't justify the extra outlay. I'm sure the HTC will be fine once I can get into it and strip the superfluous poo poo. I do appreciate the advice. Thanks!
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Jul 5, 2015 12:54
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General_Failure posted:I'm using an Asus TF700T to type this. I am no stranger to lag. Usually our local market is way behind some other countries in tech and prices stay high longer. Honestly I ended up going with the HTC. I figure I've wanted a phablet for ages and I write emails and SMS a lot. I nearly bought one of those old xperias with the slide out keyboard on eBay but I couldn't justify the cost for something lower spec than my old Defy+ Those Samsungs you were looking at were awful, so don't worry about skipping them. I'd have that HTC a (distant) second to the Z3 Compact of the phones you were considering, so you could've done worse  I will say you really need to not get so sucked in by things like it being a  64 bit octacore , as that doesn't mean anything when it's a midrange year old phone. I'm sure the 820 will be fine, but if it's something you're planning to keep for a couple years, it's going to start dragging sooner rather than later (no Lollipop in sight, for example). Paying a little more for something higher end can save you money and hassle in the long term.
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Jul 5, 2015 19:27
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Country/Provider: USA/Tmobile Current contract status: None Budget: <$300 off contract My 2013 Moto G is getting a little cramped. I need something a little snappier and with more memory - things start crashing when I run more than one program at a time. As someone who listens to audio books and uses Waze like 100% of the time in addition to whatever alerts pop up, that doesn't work form me. I was looking at the Asus Zenphone 2 and the Oneplus One, but since they are never recommended I'm assuming there is something wrong with them?
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Jul 8, 2015 16:09
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Wow! So I got a fire phone a month or two ago, and after side loading the google play store and installing google launcher this thing is great. Too many buttons, the front facing 3D camera is a gimmick, but it is quick, has good battery life and people think it's pretty cool. Now it's 160 bucks plus it comes with a year of Amazon Prime. Even if you just want a backup phone, this is a great option. http://amzn.com/B00OC0USA6 I use mine for browsing SA and Reddit, listening to podcasts via plugged in speakers and bluetooth, it tethers well. The speaker is pretty loud and the camera works pretty well. I'd say that the screen is a bit inferior compared to my HTC One M7 in super bright conditions, but other than that, no complaints! I commonly use navigation software while listening to music/podcasts and have not experienced out of memory type issues. This phone really is a $500 dollar quality/power phone from last year that holds its' own today.
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Jul 8, 2015 17:13
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Jago posted:Wow! So I got a fire phone a month or two ago, and after side loading the google play store and installing google launcher this thing is great. Too many buttons, the front facing 3D camera is a gimmick, but it is quick, has good battery life and people think it's pretty cool. Now it's 160 bucks plus it comes with a year of Amazon Prime. Even if you just want a backup phone, this is a great option. This is not the kind of stuff you should have to worry about when using your Android phone. The bolded is ridiculously overselling it. It has unremarkable hardware with awful gimmicky software that you'll have to futz with to keep compatible with Google services. It takes a really bad phone to be almost universally panned by online reviewers like the Fire Phone was.
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Jul 8, 2015 17:34
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Danger Mahoney posted:Country/Provider: USA/Tmobile The zenfone gets recommended in the android phone all the time. The Oneplus One less so. Not sure why, but I think part of it is that it comes loaded with a custom version of android. This version had a patch at one point that disabled calling 911. If Motorola still has their $50 rebate after 30 days thing going on with the Moto X 2014, that would bring that down to $300 too. And I think LG G3s are in that range now too. The Alcatel Idol 3 has good specs and band 12, but it had some teething problems. I would check to make sure those got fixed before buying one. 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Jul 8, 2015 |
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Jul 8, 2015 19:54
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22 Eargesplitten posted:The zenfone gets recommended in the android phone all the time. The Oneplus One less so. Not sure why, but I think part of it is that it comes loaded with a custom version of android. This version had a patch at one point that disabled calling 911. Thanks, I went ahead and picked up a new Moto X on your recommendation. I am kinda wishing I went with the Zenfone 2 in retrospect, but all the unremovable Asus software and "cheap" feeling build quality mentioned in the reviews turned me off. Those specs tho.
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Jul 8, 2015 21:56
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RVProfootballer posted:This is not the kind of stuff you should have to worry about when using your Android phone. The bolded is ridiculously overselling it. It has unremarkable hardware with awful gimmicky software that you'll have to futz with to keep compatible with Google services. It takes a really bad phone to be almost universally panned by online reviewers like the Fire Phone was. You're out of date, Amazon has updated the phones to kit-kat and mine and my friend's are both solid. I haven't seen a play services or store crash since 4.1 was pushed out. I wouldn't buy one of these phones from my grandmother but if you are comfortable enough to sideload 4 APK's onto the thing it does a great job. I'm comparing it to my old One M7 and the performance at battery life seem to get better. In any case we're talking about a 60 dollar fully warrantied, unlocked phone for those who want more Prime. It has a camera button, too which I love. Universally panned? Most of the reviews complained about the app store and the inability to use Google stuff. I'm telling you it works great for all of that. Additionally, the firefly software works better than google goggles and about as well as shazam. Google Launcher fixes the shell issues! It just works! http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-phone/general/google-play-store-4-6-1-version-4-apks-t3098592 You can always return it if you don't like it.
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Jul 8, 2015 22:17
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I mean if it works for you that's cool, but you shouldn't have to regularly go to XDA to have essential components of Android working in 2015.
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Jul 8, 2015 22:36
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I'm only putting it out there for people who like me, couldn't quite pull the trigger on a 500 dollar phone. I was having trouble because something cheaper wasn't really an upgrade from my failing HTC One. This is a bit nicer and way cheap. If I drop it in a swimming pool I'm only out a couple hundred bucks. Since the kitkat update I haven't had to do anything extra for this phone to continue to work as I want.
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Jul 8, 2015 23:16
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Danger Mahoney posted:Thanks, I went ahead and picked up a new Moto X on your recommendation. I am kinda wishing I went with the Zenfone 2 in retrospect, but all the unremovable Asus software and "cheap" feeling build quality mentioned in the reviews turned me off. Those specs tho. Good, I hope you like it. I was seriously considering it, but I couldn't justify paying that much right now, and I really do need the phone right now.
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Jul 8, 2015 23:59
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Jago posted:I'm only putting it out there for people who like me, couldn't quite pull the trigger on a 500 dollar phone. I was having trouble because something cheaper wasn't really an upgrade from my failing HTC One. This is a bit nicer and way cheap. If I drop it in a swimming pool I'm only out a couple hundred bucks. Since the kitkat update I haven't had to do anything extra for this phone to continue to work as I want. Dominoes fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jul 9, 2015 |
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Jul 9, 2015 00:04
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7 hours 45 minutes left on the $159 deal. Probably goes back to $200 after. http://goeurope.about.com/cs/stayingconnected/a/cell_phone_buy.htm This talks about Europe requirements a bit. http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Amazon-Fire-Phone_id8731 This suggests that the fire phone is 5 band and has many of the things in the former link. That said, I'm not a GSM pro.
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Jul 9, 2015 00:17
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Thanks for the info. Sucks that's a sale price. I'd consider an impulse buy if it wasn't so big.
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Jul 9, 2015 00:18
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RVProfootballer posted:Those Samsungs you were looking at were awful, so don't worry about skipping them. I'd have that HTC a (distant) second to the Z3 Compact of the phones you were considering, so you could've done worse Let me put it this way. These are my previous Android based smartphones. Huawei U8150 Samsung Galaxy Pocket (as in the Front / Gingerbread one) Motorola Defy+ The HTC is light years ahead of these. I ordered it on Sunday night and received it on Tuesday morning. Optus is mind blowing-ly fast getting things to me. I'm totally happy with it. The battery life is really good. After it's initial charge it was mostly chugging along installing and updating things on and off for a day and a half via wi-fi. It's also been used for some YouTube and Minecraft. During that time the battery only dropped to about 50%. It's got a tough case coming but given how slow shipping is the past couple of years it'll probably be here in 2 weeks to a month. The octa core aspect isn't what got me especially because there isn't a huge amount of difference between the high and low power cores, which are all clocked pretty low. I am aching to get stuck into the phone with the JDK and NDK because I couldn't resist a new class of ARM SoC with 64 bit architecture. I'm happy with it. It's all good.
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Jul 9, 2015 02:46
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