Time for a new phone. <Whiney, *****y thread>

[Sarra]

So... Get some cheese, I'm about to whine.

I got an iPhone 4s 2 years ago. It's a pos. I dislike apple iOS. Thankfully, after putting 3 new batteries in it, it's now out of contract. So, I've been looking at new phones.

I hate iOS. I hate android. I hate... Well, everything. But, I marginally hate Windows 8.1 and BlackBerry less than iOS or Android. Which really sucks, because I want a phone with an awesome camera, modern guts, a huge ass screen, and storage (for pr0n, mostly plant pr0n). Oh, and I'm on an account with a huge corporate discount through AT&T. So, switching isn't gonna happen, since I'd pay 33% more for a phone and monthly data/etc through Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile.

I looked at the Lumias. They have good cameras, and run Windows. But... They're about to start selling a 'brand new' Lumia (the 640 XL) that literally has the same guts as 'good' phones had 4 years ago. Sorry, a dual core 1GHZ CPU... I have a Dell server with dual 1GHZ CPU's and 2 GB of RAM (it's ECC Registered, to boot!). If I bought that, I'd feel like I was walking around with a 15 year old chunk of technology in my pocket. The only 'good' Lumia phones for AT&T were the 1020 and 1520. Both are no longer available.

So, I sighed, there was lots of emo/crying/wearing black (not really, but it's a sad mental picture, anyway) and started looking at Android phones.

As much as I hate Android, I hate Samsung more (loooong history, older than that 15 year old server in storage that STILL chugs along like a champ!), but grudgingly, I looked at what they offered.

I read reviews, looked at working displays in stores, prayed to the Ethereal Bor for guidance, and eventually, looked up the specs of each phone and wrote them out myself into a very easy to read document (wordpad ftw bitches) and printed it out, then colored on it with pastels.

I listed CPU, RAM, graphics, battery, camera, screen size, internal storage, external storage (a couple phones still have MicroSD ports inside), price, and started to just compare them.

My options were pretty simple. I looked at Motorola phones, IE, the Moto X 2nd gen, the Nexus 6, and the Moto G. I looked at Samsung phones, the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, and the Note 4. And just for giggles, I tossed in two phones from HTC, the two currently available HTC One phones (the M8 for Windows, and the M9 for Android).

It pretty quickly turned into a 3 way, between the Nexus 6, the Samsung Galaxy S6, and the Note 4.

Since Photography, youtube, and reading the news are about all I do with my phone (oh, I ignore, um... EVERYONE that calls me, as well), I went on goggles (images.google.com) and looked at unedited pics people took with the two phones (as much as I like the Note 4, it is unfortunately quite a bit more expensive than the other two. How much? It's $300 with a 2 year contract. Next, it's $9/month more expensive) I was considering.

Then, I looked at reviews that specifically compared the screens, and the guts.

So, they are pretty close, though the CPU is apples/oranges, due to different manufacturers of the CPU.

Apps is pretty much a non-starter, they both run Android, so I'm pretty well guaranteed to get a CNN, BBC, PC News, NPR news, Fox News, etc. apps. I did look at baggage. Specifically, what comes pre-loaded on the phones.

After comparing the screens, photos, and the baggage, I decided to get a Nexus 6.

The second to last thing I did was compare the Nexus 6 to the iPhone 6 plus. Mostly I used reviews for this. I can't afford the 6 Plus, but it was an interesting benchmark.

The last thing I did was compare it to my iPhone 4S. I'm not talking about guts, here, but ergonomics. I found a working display model, and the store guy (who was about as bored as they come) was kind enough to disengage the anti-theft thing and let me actually experience the demo phone.

I have small hands. But, 99% of the time, when I use my phone, I'm sitting down, and killing time. I'm not one of 'those people' who are constantly glued to their phones, while walking, driving, sex, eating, sleeping, freebasing draino, etc. 99% of the time, I'm using both hands on my iphone 4S. So, a 5.9" screen isn't an issue for me. I also have a dedicated spot to put the thing, and it's not a back pocket (I actually don't use my back pockets. Except... I used a Decoy wallet while in Orlando, but that's another story.) So, I'm not worried about destroying it (I've had phones for 4 years now and never once broken a screen. Just absolutely destroyed batteries, but I'm not going to be driving across Texas ever again, forget in the middle of the summer with my phone on my dash.)

So, is there any reason I shouldn't actually get the Nexus 6? It's got Android, and the processor isn't anywhere near my current gaming rig, but it's also actually more powerful (well, so is the dual core 1 GHZ CPU in the 'ancient' Lumias, but that's mostly due to 64 bit, newer registries, specific application, etc.) than the server I have in my storage unit...

My last little thought... I didn't charge my iPhone 4S last night. Battery was at 40% this morning... It rapidly drained down until it was displaying 1%. It then stayed at 1% for 4 more hours, while I used it. o.x wtfbbq

 

[BUBBA069]

Step 1: Stop comparing the CPU in a phone to the CPU in a PC. Not even close to the same architecture. For that matter, stop paying attention to Ghz all together. 3.6Ghz Pentium will get its ass handed to it by a Core i3 running at 3.5 Ghz. Look up a CPU benchmark and see how a particular CPU handles a particular task. Outside of that, any smartphone has enough power to do the task you want if all you are doing is taking pics and surfing the net. Hell they put people on the moon with less CPU horsepower.

As for the phone...

The Nexus will receive updates before any other phone, as it is a Google made phone and it will get them as they are released. Plus its a unmolested version of Android. Samsung, HTC, etc.. will take the update, tweak it to fit their stuff (like Samsung putting Touchwiz over Android) then test, then hand off to the carrier for the carrier to mess with (bloatware) then release it. My next phone will most likely be a Nexus because of this.

As for killing batteries in phones, leaving the phone in the hot car or anywhere in direct sun for long periods of time will kill it, doesn't matter the make of the phone.

I have a Note 3. If its not in my front pocket (only pocket it fits in) its on my desk or in a cup holder when I'm driving.

I like phones with replaceable batteries, but sadly, since the super thin phone race is on the replaceable batteries are going to the wayside and so is the external SD card slot...

 

[ROLANDROCKSHOP]

I just recently upgraded from a htc inspire to a samsung 5s.
Wrapped it in a Pelican case..Awesome!

Freaking awesome pictures! 16mp,HD video.

went from these pics..HTC

to these..

I do alot of social media..so pics and video was a #1 priority.

Its plenty fast..

Tons of nice features...im really digging the Health app.
Keeps track of your steps,heart rate,water intake,caffeine,stress levels..etc

I like my music without buying it thru Itunes.
The S5 has Beats audio as well.

I cant stand Iphones....just never have been an apple fan.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

I love my note 3. Its too bad I ran over my note 2 three weeks before the note 4 was released for my carrier. :lol:

 

[Sarra]

Step 1: Stop comparing the CPU in a phone to the CPU in a PC. Not even close to the same architecture. For that matter, stop paying attention to Ghz all together. 3.6Ghz Pentium will get its ass handed to it by a Core i3 running at 3.5 Ghz. Look up a CPU benchmark and see how a particular CPU handles a particular task. Outside of that, any smartphone has enough power to do the task you want if all you are doing is taking pics and surfing the net. Hell they put people on the moon with less CPU horsepower.

As for the phone...

The Nexus will receive updates before any other phone, as it is a Google made phone and it will get them as they are released. Plus its a unmolested version of Android. Samsung, HTC, etc.. will take the update, tweak it to fit their stuff (like Samsung putting Touchwiz over Android) then test, then hand off to the carrier for the carrier to mess with (bloatware) then release it. My next phone will most likely be a Nexus because of this.

As for killing batteries in phones, leaving the phone in the hot car or anywhere in direct sun for long periods of time will kill it, doesn't matter the make of the phone.

I have a Note 3. If its not in my front pocket (only pocket it fits in) its on my desk or in a cup holder when I'm driving.

I like phones with replaceable batteries, but sadly, since the super thin phone race is on the replaceable batteries are going to the wayside and so is the external SD card slot...

lol Yeah. Mostly I was just comparing the Snapdragon 805 to the 801, the 805 being in the Nexus 6, the 801 being in the Galaxy S5. Benchmarks showed that the 805 outperformed the 801 (big shock), so yes, I did do 'apples to apples' with that. I think it also has to do with 3GB of RAM vs 2GB of RAM (3 for the Nexus, 2 for the Galaxy S5).

I actually have an i5 rig right now. I had a C2Q before. Both CPU's were 3.0 GHZ quad core. The i5 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay faster than the C2Q. I'm pretty sure you can't run windows on a Snapdragon 400 series CPU (or Linux... Well, embedded linux, but not a full up server linux distro), so yeah, it was a bit silly to compare a dual CPU 1GHZ server to a dual core 1 GHZ phone.

I actually had to use the poor little 4S for a GPS going from Utah to Louisiana. Coming back, I drove only at night. My MAIN problem is, I killed a battery by cooking it in the sun. The other two batteries never have been overheated, and they both died in fairly light usage. The current huge problem I'm having is crashing (the phone, not my car). Just a few days ago, my 4S started randomly crashing apps. It started with just one App, but now, even the built in phone app started crashing. I'd dial a call, it would start ringing, the automated touchtone menu BS would start, and poof, the phone call would just stop, and the phone app was crashed. I've powered the phone off and on repeatedly, reset it, just about everything short of a total wipe (nuke 'n pave), and... I got it to stop crashing apps by... :evil: Turning the WiFi off. With WiFi on, even not connected, things randomly crash. With it off, the crashing is much more infrequent. The phone app doesn't crash, period, with WiFi off, but... There are a few apps that are still crashing with it off. I've tried reinstalling them, using different apps that do the same thing, etc., no change.

I don't really care that much about the battery. But, the removable storage is sort of a... meh issue. I had seriously considered phones just on this, S6 has a MicroSD slot I think, but... I like the screen, size, and camera on the Nexus 6 better...

And screen size is one of those issues I've had with the 4S. My fingers are short, but they're thick (that's what SHE said). I play cello, bass, and clarinet, so my fingers are pretty 'built'. Typing a text on my 4S, I have to keep fixing 'fat finger' mistakes. Want to press 'I', but I hit 'O' instead. I, as you can see, tend to take the time and care to spell, punctuate, grammar, properly, if I can. I have autocorrect turned off on my phone (I got frustrated with it. I like to use technical, medical, etc., words that aren't in the phone's dictionary, and forcing it to not correct them was too much of a pain), so I gotta manually go back and change anything that isn't correct. A 5" screen, while bigger, doesn't seem much different, but the 6" screen is big enough that the nuclear danger zone under my finger tips actually hits the key I wanted to hit, instead of a letter two spaces away.

So... Gonna go down in about an hour and get the Nexus 6.

One thing I'm actually unsure about is a case. My iPhone 4S has had two cases, a full up case and a bumper case, but neither felt good to me, so I've run it naked for close to 2 years. I'm not sure if I even want a case on the Nexus 6. My 4S is in good condition, other than the internal issues. I've dropped it a whopping single time, and it just put a little dent in the aluminum next to the power button (this happened the week I got it, go figure). So, I'm not overly worried about dropping the Nexus... Maybe I can get the back off and paint it with automotive wheel paint. That takes me back to the old days, when I modded an original XBox controller to work on my PC, including painting it...

I'll get some pics for comparison later. :3 I'll be keeping the 4S for now, so I can do some side by side pics on both for comparison. Assuming the camera app isn't as crash happy as the other apps are (which is ironic, it's the only app so far that hasn't crashed on me yet, not even once).

 

[BUBBA069]

I have run Otterbox Commuter cases on my last 3 phones. Doesn't add to much to the phone thickness and still slips in a pocket easy. They have a lifetime warranty too.

 

[Sarra]

I have run Otterbox Commuter cases on my last 3 phones. Doesn't add to much to the phone thickness and still slips in a pocket easy. They have a lifetime warranty too.

Yeah. I'm looking into getting one, actually. Right now, I do have a glass screen protector on the Nexus 6 (which I just got home with), it came with a lifetime warranty, so I felt it justified the $45 I dropped on it (the screen protector).

Otterbox is the next thing i'm looking into. I absolutely love this phone, though.

 

[fr8cture]

Thank god you are going android. I'm 99% sure you would have hated windows phone....junk.

 

[BigSki]

I use the Otterbox Defender on my Galaxy S4, it has saved the phone numerous times.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

Ballistic cases are the best I've used. I've dropped phones from the cab of my semi several times with no damage. It wasn't until my note 2 landed face down in hard packed gravel and 7 axles of my loaded truck drove over it. :lol: The case survived perfectly though. :lmao:

 

[Sarra]

Thank god you are going android. I'm 99% sure you would have hated windows phone....junk.

Eh, Android is growing on me.

Thing with Windows Phone is, I can make programs for them. Plus, they're gonna have some neat features in the next iteration of it... But you need new hardware. Not a 4-5 year old processor, 1GB of RAM, and basically nothing new under the case... THAT is what kept me from getting a windows phone. >_>

 

[fr8cture]

Windows phone is a pita to develop for that's why they have no support. I'm sure the port feature will liven up the app store but I still don't find the layout very functional. Except live tiles.

 

[Sarra]

I've grown to like Win 8.1 (actually, I never disliked it) on my PC. I would like to have more phone - PC cross functionality, though... I can run Android apps in Chrome (I actually hate the crap out of Chrome).

Eh. This thing works fine, and I've got it for 2 years, so I'll just deal with it. So far, though, I'm enjoying it.