Starting to look about a new smart phone/cell phone, need advice

Now, I haven't paid too much attention to the cell phone/smart phone market lately. So, I don't really know what phones on the market are worth looking into.

Had my current phone close to five years now (or thereabouts), and I've just not bothered to upgrade since my current phone (Nokia E71x) just "works" and fits my needs (for the most part). And frankly it's the first phone I've owned that wasn't falling apart within 2-3 years of buying it, this one has held up quite well. My current phone is running on some version of the Symbian OS. But I have as of late began to wonder what new phones were out there, and what technologies I might be missing out on.

Now, nearly all of the phones I've owned to this point have been Nokia phones, aside from one Motorola I had that was absolutely terrible (after which I immediately went back to Nokia). But I've come to the realization that Nokia apparently has a lot less market share now (and less products in general) than they did five years ago when I purchased my current phone. So, I know I'll probably have to go with something other than Nokia.

I have tried out some iPhones that friends and relatives have had (3GS, 4, 5), and they seemed reasonably easy to operate overall.

I've not had any experience with an Android phone yet, so don't know what they're like. But I do have one friend that's had two or three of them now and says he's loved his Android phones.

So, I guess my overall question is what brands and models of phones should I be looking at or considering to be my new one?

Check this section.. this question has been asked a few times recently...

Anyway, love my Galaxy S6!

Buy an "i"phone, be prepared to handle it more gently than a newborn.
So fragile....

The Galaxy phone are superb. Very fast and while not a strong as the indestructible Nokia, it's still strong.
Android is very easy to use and quite flexible.

whats your budget like and are you going with a carrier subsidized phone or unlocked? that's going to be a big deciding factor on what options you have.

DavidJa said:

whats your budget like and are you going with a carrier subsidized phone or unlocked? that's going to be a big deciding factor on what options you have.

Click to expand...

Yes, this.

I actually recently compiled a list of cheap-to-free last year flagships for my wife since she's due for an upgrade and doesn't need the latest/greatest. Maybe this will help...

These are in the order I would probably rank them for you (you being my wife), for what it's worth. The camera edges the Galaxy S5 above the HTC One M8, though everything other than the camera makes the One M8 the better phone. It truly depends on how important camera is between those two. (If you enjoy flashing custom ROMs do not get the Galaxy S5.)

The 2nd Gen MotoX is really just there in the event you just really don't like any of the other four options. It's a good phone, but IMHO it's not in the same league as the other three.

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LG G3 - my phone - $1.00

Metallic black: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-g3-4...less/7199144.p?id=1219256831461&skuId=7199144
Blue steel: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-g3-b...less/9868102.p?id=1219441172798&skuId=9868102

Pros: I have it and know it inside & out. 32GB internal storage with option to add an SD card. Operates fast. Form factor similar to other options but has a larger screen due to thin bezels. Great camera.
Cons: On the bigger side.

Review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8169/the-lg-g3-review
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Samsung Galaxy S5 - $49.99 for certified pre-owned, available in white or black - http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/galaxy-s-5-certified-pre-owned/

Pros: Good battery life, very good camera, fast operation, allows for external SD card to expand storage. Essentially waterproof.
Cons: Software** , the back of the phone was criticized for looking somewhat like band-aid.

(**Samsung bloats-up their operating systems, which is admittedly less of a problem with the speed of today's hardware; just a personal preference I wouldn't own a Samsung phone for that reason...it's a perfectly viable option for someone that doesn't tinker like I do. I didn't want to put this in the actual 'cons' list so it looked artificially bloated...much like the OS. )

Review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7903/samsung-galaxy-s-5-review
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HTC One (M8) -

Red - $1.00 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/htc-one...less/7127005.p?id=1219250429699&skuId=7127005
Metallic Gray - $49.99 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/htc-one...less/8469054.p?id=1219461891432&skuId=8469054

Pros: Great phone, very fast, solid battery life.
Cons: Middling to poor 4MP camera (read about it in the review I'll link). Smaller screen size for the form factor due to its stellar metallic design. Non-changeable battery.

If it weren't for those two cons, I would have that phone rather than the G3; it's definitely worth strong consideration.

Review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7893/the-htc-one-m8-review
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Sony Xperia Z3v - $0.99 - http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/xperia-z3v/

Pros: Good phone, great camera, Walkman media player, PS4 streaming capability, 32GB onboard w/ SD card slot.
Cons: A bit blocky, I'm not a fan of the design personally.

Review: http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-xperia-z3v/
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2nd Gen MotoX - $0.99 -

Black: http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/moto-x-2nd-gen/
Designed-by-you version for $49.99 - http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/moto-x-2nd-gen-designed-by-you/

Pros: Solid phone, good battery life
Cons: Camera is just 'ok', internal storage is 16GB without an option to expand via an SD card. Non-changeable battery.

Review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8523/the-new-motorola-moto-x-2014-review
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Hope that'll help a little. Figured I'd post that somewhere else since I already put it together.

DavidJa said:

whats your budget like and are you going with a carrier subsidized phone or unlocked? that's going to be a big deciding factor on what options you have.

Click to expand...

Yes, I plan to go with a carrier subsidized phone. The unlocked versions just cost too much for me to afford normally. I usually keep my phones for 3-5 years anyway, so I see no reason at this time to get an unlocked phone when I don't plan to switch carriers. Carrier is AT&T.

Probably looking at somewhere in the range of $150-200 at most, unless I find something a bit above that which I absolutely have to have for some reason.

And I guess I should have mentioned this in my original post, but phones with 16GB or less of storage are out, unless they have the option for micro SD card storage. Have a relative that got a 16GB phone, and they completely filled it to capacity with apps and song downloads from iTunes within a year. They advised me to get more than 16GB of storage for that reason.

Really, the only phones I have any familiarity with are the Apple iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S5. A relative of mine keeps saying they wanted to get a Galaxy S5, so the name stuck with me. And it seems like most of my family members have iPhone's so I've had several people suggest that to me. Though, I haven't actually used either of those phones.

LG makes a great line up of phones. I use an inexpensive LG L90 D415. For the price, it's a great phone even comes equipped with an IR beam for controlling TVs and cable boxes and what not.

The LG G3 is one baddass phone hands down. I'd pick that one for me if my pockets where lined a little greener.

+1 to the LG G3, check out my experiences here: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/752864-LG-G3-Thoughts-amp-First-Impressions

However, you can get very close to any brand new phone with your budget, not just last year's big dogs. Pick the latest flagship you like and go with it. The LG G4 should be coming out soon, the HTC One M9 just came out, as did the Galaxy S6. The Galaxy S6 is a sexy phone, if you can deal with Samsung's OS and don't want the ability to flash a custom ROM. Get the storage you want from the get-go though, because there's no SD card slot.

There's nothing at all wrong with the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus either, Apple just isn't my cup of tea. If I didn't care so much about customization, I'd probably go with the Galaxy S6...it's just an incredible looking phone. Otherwise I'd wait for the G4 - especially if you want extended storage since it will probably have an SD card slot. The G3 has one too.

The One M9 is a great looking phone but has some performance issues with Qualcomm's new processor (see the Anandtech review) and battery life isn't as good as the M8.

FWIW, my wife went with the Galaxy S5 and it's quite a nice phone, I must admit. If I didn't have a flashing addiction and could live with a bone stock OS, I could get used to it. It feels nice in the hand, the screen is absolutely beautiful and it's very snappy. Got it for $.99 at Best Buy for her this afternoon (with 2 year contract on Verizon, of course).

I would get LG G3 with that budget! but moto g is cheaper if you want! or one m8 if you like a premium build and the speakers are better than my Logitech z323 (my father had m7 and just bought m8 today its also fast and clean) you can also get moto x or one plus one if your into it

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EarthDog said:

Check this section.. this question has been asked a few times recently...

Anyway, love my Galaxy S6!

Click to expand...

I personally don't see any reason why I should get S6, I mean its amazing! But it doesn't do anything more than a LG G2 or M8 or any other old phone other than being simply awesome I mean if you have money to give why not! but really not worth it

Its a lot faster than those two.

Choices, Choices

Samsung Galaxy S5 FREE +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s-5.html#sku=sku7120234

LG G3 $99.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/lg/g3.html#sku=sku7280270

Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB $129.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s6.html#sku=sku7520249

Apple iPhone 5s 32GB $149.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/iphone/iphone-5s.html#sku=sku6880888

I may need to see if I can actually get some hands-on experience with some of these phones before making a choice.

Prices keep changing, last week the LG G3 was Free and the Samsung Galaxy S5 was $129.99.

Silver_Pharaoh said:

Buy an "i"phone, be prepared to handle it more gently than a newborn.
So fragile....

The Galaxy phone are superb. Very fast and while not a strong as the indestructible Nokia, it's still strong.
Android is very easy to use and quite flexible.

Click to expand...

while I'm not a fan of the iphones, one can not disagree with the fact that if you break them, they are far cheaper to fix than any other smart phone.
stick it in a good case (lifeproof, otterbox, etc) and they end up being quite durable, and easily fixable.
i have a motorola nexus 6, but am unsure if would get it again.
if getting a new phone now, i would probably go for the galaxy s6, i had the original galaxy, the galaxy nexus, galaxy s3, galaxy s5, and my gf had the galaxy s4, they were all good to me!

if i replace my iphone 5s im probably going with an s6 active. it has 32gb which is double my iphone and is only 129 through att. im waiting for the release of another samsung interation next week to see if any of the other s6s change price.

Tech Tweaker said:

Choices, Choices

Samsung Galaxy S5 FREE +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s-5.html#sku=sku7120234

LG G3 $99.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/lg/g3.html#sku=sku7280270

Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB $129.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s6.html#sku=sku7520249

Apple iPhone 5s 32GB $149.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/iphone/iphone-5s.html#sku=sku6880888

I may need to see if I can actually get some hands-on experience with some of these phones before making a choice.

Prices keep changing, last week the LG G3 was Free and the Samsung Galaxy S5 was $129.99.

Click to expand...

LG G3.
Just got mine last Saturday. Love it. Snappy and fast and one can root it in one click

Grab an otterbox defender and TechArmour ballistic glass for the screen. You can read hokiealumnus's review on it here. He also did a review on the Supcase Unicorn Beetle too.

It's just a good phone overall.

Tech Tweaker said:

Choices, Choices

Samsung Galaxy S5 FREE +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s-5.html#sku=sku7120234

LG G3 $99.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/lg/g3.html#sku=sku7280270

Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB $129.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s6.html#sku=sku7520249

Apple iPhone 5s 32GB $149.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/iphone/iphone-5s.html#sku=sku6880888

I may need to see if I can actually get some hands-on experience with some of these phones before making a choice.

Prices keep changing, last week the LG G3 was Free and the Samsung Galaxy S5 was $129.99.

Click to expand...

Personally, I'd wait for the G3 to drop back down again.

If you can't wait, there's nothing wrong with the Galaxy S5 unless you're wanting lots of ROM options to flash. There are options, just maybe not as much as a flash addict would like. Safestrap/Odin is just...yuck.

That seems awfully expensive for the iPhone 5s. That form factor is also quite small compared to what else you're considering. The iPhone 6 is a great phone though. I took my mother in law to buy one and can absolutely see the iAppeal. You won't catch me with one (see: flash addict), but at the same time you won't hear me bad mouthing them either. They are very pretty, smooth, well designed devices with well designed software. Not for me, but I'd never begrudge someone else for wanting it either. The 6s should be announced soon and iPhone 6 prices should drop near where the 5s is right now.

You might also want to consider the pay-per-month options. I did the math for my mother in law and it was cheaper for her to do that than pay the $200 up front for an iPhone 6. Where they get you are the per-line fees...those are cheaper for the per-month plans. So the monthly bill may be a couple bucks more when paying for the phone like that, but in the long run after two years it'll be less overall than paying up front plus the monthly plan.

Tech Tweaker said:

Choices, Choices

Samsung Galaxy S5 FREE +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s-5.html#sku=sku7120234

LG G3 $99.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/lg/g3.html#sku=sku7280270

Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB $129.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s6.html#sku=sku7520249

Apple iPhone 5s 32GB $149.99 +upgrade fee https://www.att.com/cellphones/iphone/iphone-5s.html#sku=sku6880888

I may need to see if I can actually get some hands-on experience with some of these phones before making a choice.

Prices keep changing, last week the LG G3 was Free and the Samsung Galaxy S5 was $129.99.

Click to expand...

the galaxy s6 active is 129.99 too

I'd wait for the 2GB Moto G since they'll be little more than $200 for a good phone, or maybe one of the new-gen MotoX's personally. My last two phones have been motorolas and I can't complain about them at all as they've been stable and close to stock android. The Lenovo buy-out's made me a little wary for the future but their current devices are great. I couldn't be dragged back to a phone without active display at this point. So nice when you can unlock your phone or respond to texts without having to ever touch the power button.

I can't stand touchwhiz (so no Samsungs), since the stock software is ugly and performance-intensive, they use up alot of the built-in storage with their useless apps, and they tend to drop support of their phones fairly quickly. LG likes to rip off of Samsung and everyone I know who has an LG has their phones falling apart, even recent models.

Samsung also just did this thing:
http://phandroid.com/2015/08/21/smasung-push-notification-ads-just-like-htc-and-sony/

Iphones are easy to use and reliable so that would also be a good choice though more expensive.

You're best off going with a Motorola, or one of the good Chinese brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi, Meizu, etc.

I wouldn't go anywhere near a Samsung, HTC, LG, or most of the major brands as their software is usually dreadful. While those gimmicks are fun for a while, the software tends to be so bloated and horrible to live with on a day to day basis.

I'm loving my OnePlus one. The stock CM or OxygenOS isn't that bad, although I'm currently on CM nightlies.

You could also look into the Nexus devices. Both the older Nexus 5 (still a great phone, usually not far from $200 USD used and fully unlocked) and the Nexus 6 support all of ATT's current bands. Additionally, with either of these phones purchased outright, you can possible save a bit on your monthly bill with ATT's BYOD plans. I think I saw a Nexus 6 on sale on amazon for 350ish