Smartphones
- Thread starter Denamian
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To demonstrate my ultimate answer: my personal opinion is to stop giving VZW money and go with a different company or even do prepaid. You can get a N5 that way.
Cell phones and service contract are way too subjective for people to give helpful answers. Where do you live(coverage)? How much do you download in a month(data package)? How big are your hands(phablet)? It goes on and on.
The G2 and Note 3 are both capable phones, hardware wise, but I would still recommend going in and trying them. The Note 3 is huge, especially compared to your OG Droid. The G2 has weird button placement. They(volume and power) are actually in the back where VZW usually puts there display unit protection devices, so no idea how they're handling the G2.
If you're going to stay on contract, the engineer in me recommends the HTC One. Machined from one piece of aluminum without fucking up the radio antennae is pretty fucking cool.
Gravel
Mr. Poopybutthole
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LG G2 seems good. I'm not dropping $500+ on a fucking phone to keep my unlimited though. And where I live I'm basically stuck with Verizon (hopefully in ~2 years I'll move to San Diego).
I can get a 2 year LG G2 for $99, but I'd lose my unlimited data.
Any opinions on the Moto X? Saw that they're apparently offering it for $349 on Monday.
I can get a 2 year LG G2 for $99, but I'd lose my unlimited data.
Any opinions on the Moto X? Saw that they're apparently offering it for $349 on Monday.
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ATT isn't good where you are? Their coverage is usually equal to VZW, they just get a bad rap quality wise due to being the sole iphone service for a while.
Moto X has a few nice features. I specifically like the active notification via the AMOLED screen. I was hoping the N5 would copy that. But, what they're selling the Moto X for on contract and off contract is somewhat insulting. The internals do not in any way match those price points. Even at $350, compare the hardware to the N5, it's kinda stupid. I'm going prepaid in the near future and I would have considered the Moto X if it was at a lower price point. Maybe the N5 is distorting that market. I think it's the other way around, most (unlocked)phones cost way too much. Why is an unlocked Galaxy S2 still $299 today? Cell phone contracts are doing a great job at obfuscating true cell phone price and thus allowing huge margins on phones.
Moto X has a few nice features. I specifically like the active notification via the AMOLED screen. I was hoping the N5 would copy that. But, what they're selling the Moto X for on contract and off contract is somewhat insulting. The internals do not in any way match those price points. Even at $350, compare the hardware to the N5, it's kinda stupid. I'm going prepaid in the near future and I would have considered the Moto X if it was at a lower price point. Maybe the N5 is distorting that market. I think it's the other way around, most (unlocked)phones cost way too much. Why is an unlocked Galaxy S2 still $299 today? Cell phone contracts are doing a great job at obfuscating true cell phone price and thus allowing huge margins on phones.
Gravel
Mr. Poopybutthole
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I'm in the Mojave. I want to say I asked my coworkers and they said it's awful here. But that might have been T-Mobile when I was looking at the N5. I dunno, maybe I'll consider ditching the wife and going AT&T. I'll ask around work for opinions.
BrutulTM
Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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The reviews are great on the Moto X. The people who are down on it are the stat nerds that will point out that it has a "midrange" processor in it. Personally I have yet to hear a significant argument that there will be any noticeable difference between it and the top phones stat-wise but it is less powerful. The reviews say it is snappy and has great battery life.
My contract is up next month so I am looking at Verizon phones as well. I said I wasn't going to get another Samsung because my Galaxy Nexus has been such a piece of junk but the Note 3 is still in my head, especially seeing what people are saying about the battery life here. Battery life is hands down my biggest issue right now and being able to get through the day with 100% reliability would be pretty big. I'm also tempted by the Moto X but I am sort of hoping something cool comes out between now and then. Seems like HTC might be due for something new before long? I'm sure there will be a phone or two announced at CES so maybe I will try to hold out for that.
My contract is up next month so I am looking at Verizon phones as well. I said I wasn't going to get another Samsung because my Galaxy Nexus has been such a piece of junk but the Note 3 is still in my head, especially seeing what people are saying about the battery life here. Battery life is hands down my biggest issue right now and being able to get through the day with 100% reliability would be pretty big. I'm also tempted by the Moto X but I am sort of hoping something cool comes out between now and then. Seems like HTC might be due for something new before long? I'm sure there will be a phone or two announced at CES so maybe I will try to hold out for that.
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It also has a smaller, lower res screen, for whatever that's worth. The point is not that it should be slower, it's that it should be cheaper. I don't know what it's selling for now, but at release, the Moto X was selling for $200 on contract, $600 off, which is brand new top of the line phone prices. That's the stupid part. I also think a lot of people were disappointed that it didn't receive the same unlocked pricing that the N4 and N5 got since Google owns Motorola. The more reasonably priced unlocked phones, the better the consumer can stick it to cell phone companies.
Gravel
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Blech, I'm almost just thinking to say fuck my unlimited data. Since the original Droid is so old, there's no SIM card. It looks like basically all the methods for retaining unlimited data are basically swapping SIM cards (or using another line, which isn't an option for me). Fucking hate phone companies.
BrutulTM
Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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Which is exactly why they are expensive. If tablet prices are any indication, these things should cost $2-300 off contract max, but thanks to the lack of competition the cell phone companies can charge what they want. Motorola isn't going to piss off their biggest customer (Verizon) even if Google does own them now.
McQueen
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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I took my Nexus 5 back today and got a Note 3, and it feels so much better. I think I like the stock Android better, but that might just be going back to 4.3 from having 4.4 on the Nexus 10. Everything else feels better on the Note 3. Any case recommendations for the Note?
McQueen
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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The battery is much better, and the Micro SD slot is a nice touch. I dig the bigger screen more than I thought I would, and you really do forget that it's a huge phone while using it. I only keep a pocket knife clipped in my front pocket, so the extra size isn't noticeable at all.
Joeboo
Molten Core Raider
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Yeah, there is no issue with the Note 3 fitting in my pockets. It is a little awkward if you are sitting down with it in your pocket when wearing tighter fitting stuff like jeans(as opposed to looser fitting khakis or whatever), but if I'm sitting that usually means I'm at a desk or driving so its out of my pocket anyway in those scenarios.
Keep an eye on Amazon. They were having the Moto X upgrade for Verizon customers at $.01 a few weeks ago. I believe the LG G2 was also at the same price for a Verizon upgrade.
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Those sales are the biggest tease because they essentially have to line up with your contract renewal date.
Somewhat related: Motorola is doing some sort of sale on the Moto X today on every version except dev, which is not the same as unlocked. You get $150 off but their servers got so bogged down the last time they did this that you have to reserve a spot just to get the sale. $150 off unlocked Moto X is still more than Nexus 5 through Google Play, so pass. But if you're on contract, might be a good deal.
So I just switched to the $30/mth 100min talk unlimited data/text that tmobile has to offer. Gotta say atleast for my area its great and making calls on wifi to not eat up the minutes made it a no brainer for us and the first 5gb at 4g speed was pretty surprising as most carriers allow 2gb and then throttle. We were going to pick up a couple of Moto G's, but it seemed like it did not support 4g. So at tax time I am going to pick us up the new note 3 and gonna get her the watch thing too. For the time being I picked her up the tmobile Nokia Lumia 512, gotta say after messing around with it, Windows 8 mobile is pretty slick and the phone overall is probably one of the best for such a price ($80). I picked me up this new brand they are carrying called the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce, pretty damn solid phone with a quad-core but its pretty mid range with all the other specs, only cost $100 at the local best buy though, so its hard to complain with that price. Overall I am happy I cut the cell phone bill down to $60 total, I highly recommend anyone with good tmobile coverage to look into this.