DiMarzio on 20/1/2016 at 16:59
My 1,5 year old Samsung smart phone is a wreck. It works whenever and however it feels like. Oh yeah, and I broke the screen glass, so warranty doesn't cover anything. And this isn't the first time I've seen these pieces of junk go down within two years of buying. I really loved the early 2000's when you could buy pretty much any phone with the text "Nokia" on it (or "Samsung" a little bit later) and you'd get a fairly good phone that would last well for a few years, and after which they'd meet their midlife crisis and become a bit lagged but be still very much usable.
Are those days gone forever? I mean, what I really want is a reliable phone that does, what it promises and does it well, for years. I don't feel like spending 200€+ a year for a great phone that turns to crap the minute you touch it.
What I want to do with my phone:
* call/sms
* whatsapp
* facebook/messenger
* Deezer/Spotify
* internet, but just for quick checking of this and that or reading the news etc. I'll do all serious stuff like trolling on TTLG on my PC.
* calendar/write down notes
* camera, just good enough to take selfies etc
* some light games/apps for passing time on the bus etc
What I don't want:
* lags/crash/low battery life etc. The obvious stuff. But to remain realistic let's just say I want minimum amount of those.
* to lose my sanity every time I use it. Let this be the guideline for the amount of things mentioned above.
* to spend much time or thought with the phone. Again, I'll do my noodling/optimizing/tweaking on my PC or any other device the phone pretends to be
But the main point is: I want a reliable phone that lasts for years and does what I want it to do. I want nothing extra, nothing fancy.
The price: Doesn't matter, as long as it's money well spent. But after all, phone is just an inferior device to PC so I don't seek to invest too much in it. I'm open to suggestions to become an Apple acolyte but the initiation fees are probably too high for me.
On another note, what to do to prolong the life of this phone? I haven't yet done my googling but if you happen to know anything or have read any good guides or anything, now it's time to share :)
Nameless Voice on 20/1/2016 at 20:50
I'm not going to talk about phones themselves, but for prolonging the life I'd recommend getting a good-quality case, like an OtterBox.
Yes, it makes your phone more bulky, but it also makes it really hard to damage. I've dropped mine countless times (including onto a hard rock a few days after I bought it), and so far it still works perfectly apart from a few scratches and dents in the screen cover. The OtterBox Defender cost about €35, but that's well worth it to protect the much more expensive phone.
Inline Image:
http://media.gadgetsin.com/2013/05/otterbox_defender_series_galaxy_s4_case_3.jpgI personally don't mind the extra bulk - it makes the phone easier to hold - but if you do, there are also less extreme cases that still provide good protection.
It also comes with a convenient large belt clip for those like me who are doomed to be forever uncool.
bikerdude on 20/1/2016 at 21:53
What's the model of the phone you have atm..?
Tannar on 21/1/2016 at 10:23
I recently got a Motorola Droid 2 and I'm quite happy with it. It will do all the things you listed, and it has the longest battery life of any cell phone I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot. The battery easily lasts 5 to 6 times longer than my previous phone, a Samsung Galaxy S3. If I don't leave programs running in the background, I can go two to three days on one battery charge with moderate usage.
The only downside to the phone is that it came with a lot of bloatware, and it took me about an hour to get rid of, or disable, all the extraneous stuff. I did a quick search online for a list of what it was safe to remove or disable, and what were actually important programs for proper operation. And I've had no trouble with the phone since. But the amount of bloatware might be related to which provider you use.
It also comes with a shatter-proof glass, so that's one less worry.
Muzman on 21/1/2016 at 10:54
I'm no phone aficionado, but I just got a Xiaomi Redmi 2 enhanced (2gig RAM, 16gig storage) a few months back. It's comparable to most of the second stringer models by the other major manufacturers (although maybe not the latest latest editions) and does everything you want. Comes with a lot of handy aps too.
They have a very good reputation on power-to-price ratios.
The OS is very Apple-ish, but seems to me to take the base of Apple's good ideas and then fix all the little inconveniences that bug the hell out of you by just plain letting you do stuff and making things available. Plus it's Android and has all the buttons and things which helps.
So that is my humble experience
It remains to be seen how long it will withstand upgrades and general bloat that brings down most smartphones these days.
Nameless Voice on 21/1/2016 at 11:23
Quote Posted by Tannar
The battery easily lasts 5 to 6 times longer than my previous phone, a Samsung Galaxy S3. If I don't leave programs running in the background, I can go two to three days on one battery charge with moderate usage.
Doesn't that mean that you had to charge your S3 2-3 times
a day? That seems a little crazy. My S5 lasts roughly two days with moderate use, one day with heavy.
DiMarzio on 25/1/2016 at 15:16
Thank you all for your suggestions! I'll definitely check those.
Quote Posted by bikerdude
What's the model of the phone you have atm..?
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
Tannar on 25/1/2016 at 17:07
Quote Posted by Nameless Voice
Doesn't that mean that you had to charge your S3 2-3 times
a day? That seems a little crazy. My S5 lasts roughly two days with moderate use, one day with heavy.
Yeah, I was charging it 2 times a day!
I spent a little time paying closer attention to the new Droid 2. I've used it now for three days without charging, and the charge is currently at 43%. Admittedly, one of those days was very light use.
