Vaclav
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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Smartphones
- Thread starter Denamian
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Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!
Go here and give us your nominations!Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
Joeboo
Molten Core Raider
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Crone
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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It's right that most people don't even care or know what the technology is behind what makes their phone works. But this could be said of nearly any technology that people use.
It's dis-heartening because the carriers will continue to gouge us for their billions in revenue and massive profits. Heaven forbid you drop your rates down a bit, and make a fewer millions of dollars.
This hits home, because I just added 2 more lines to my family plan through Verizon. I think our bill is creeping up over $260 a month now.
3 smartphones, 2 dumb phones.
It's dis-heartening because the carriers will continue to gouge us for their billions in revenue and massive profits. Heaven forbid you drop your rates down a bit, and make a fewer millions of dollars.
This hits home, because I just added 2 more lines to my family plan through Verizon. I think our bill is creeping up over $260 a month now.
Vaclav
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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Verizon is the worst offender of the bunch. And from the quoted amounts there and my glances at VZW, pretty sure those data rates are assuming you're buying the biggest packages - its worse if you take small ones or you have an overage I'm 99% sure.
Crone
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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I'm on the old plan, before they switched to just charging for Data.
So $80 for 700 minutes, with unlimited text
Then $10 per line, +$30 for 2gb data for the 3 smartphones.
So $220 for data + minutes. Then all the taxes and fee's per line bump it past $260.
The new plan, would be similar.. $80 for a pool of data, but the dumb phones instead of just $10 per line, the dumb phones jump to $30 per line.
Because of that, the new plan ends up being more expensive.
Old plan I think is called Nationwide something, which is what I'm on where they charge for minutes, not data.
So $80 for 700 minutes, with unlimited text
Then $10 per line, +$30 for 2gb data for the 3 smartphones.
So $220 for data + minutes. Then all the taxes and fee's per line bump it past $260.
The new plan, would be similar.. $80 for a pool of data, but the dumb phones instead of just $10 per line, the dumb phones jump to $30 per line.
Because of that, the new plan ends up being more expensive.
Old plan I think is called Nationwide something, which is what I'm on where they charge for minutes, not data.
Big Phoenix
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Natural monopolies, whatcha gonna do? Doesnt help the average consumer is a braindead fucking moron who only cares about whats "popular". The fact carriers charge for text messaging, something which literally doesnt cost them a penny should tell you everything you need to know.It's right that most people don't even care or know what the technology is behind what makes their phone works. But this could be said of nearly any technology that people use.
It's dis-heartening because the carriers will continue to gouge us for their billions in revenue and massive profits. Heaven forbid you drop your rates down a bit, and make a fewer millions of dollars.
This hits home, because I just added 2 more lines to my family plan through Verizon. I think our bill is creeping up over $260 a month now.3 smartphones, 2 dumb phones.
- 5,623
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I went with Republic Wireless not too long ago and got my first bill the other day - after tax it was like 29 bucks. I really don't see why I needed Verizon. Sure, my net is 3G, but I only use that out in the field, which there's barely shit to even use the net for anyway. My cable internet has a deal with some of the other carriers to share wi-fi networks, so I can use those sometimes. I use my phone more at home, where it runs off my internet there.
My bill with Verizon was like 90 bucks a month before, and looking back it doesn't seem like I lost too much in the transition (heck, I paid for text messages before). Hopefully it continues to go well.
My bill with Verizon was like 90 bucks a month before, and looking back it doesn't seem like I lost too much in the transition (heck, I paid for text messages before). Hopefully it continues to go well.
jeydax
Death and Taxes
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My S3 is starting to shit the bed and would greatly like to hear your guys' opinions of what phone I should get along with a few questions.
Here's what I'm looking for:
- I'm currently under contract with Verizon through November. I like their coverage/speed/service and would like to stay with their network. I don't care if I go with Verizon or a MVNO through their network.
- Battery life is rather important to me. I bought a larger battery for my S3 because I was frustrated with the stock one.
- I would prefer an Android phone. I will not buy an iPhone. I could be convinced to get a Windows Phone but sell me on how their app store has improved. I know Nokia's phones have excellent battery life.
- I don't care how big the phone is.
- I want something fast.
- I need 4G.
- I currently have 2 GB of data but probably need more like 3 minimum.
What phone should I buy? And should I stick with Verizon or go through an MVNO? If so which one? Any other thoughts?
Thanks fellas!
Here's what I'm looking for:
- I'm currently under contract with Verizon through November. I like their coverage/speed/service and would like to stay with their network. I don't care if I go with Verizon or a MVNO through their network.
- Battery life is rather important to me. I bought a larger battery for my S3 because I was frustrated with the stock one.
- I would prefer an Android phone. I will not buy an iPhone. I could be convinced to get a Windows Phone but sell me on how their app store has improved. I know Nokia's phones have excellent battery life.
- I don't care how big the phone is.
- I want something fast.
- I need 4G.
- I currently have 2 GB of data but probably need more like 3 minimum.
What phone should I buy? And should I stick with Verizon or go through an MVNO? If so which one? Any other thoughts?
Thanks fellas!
Abefroman
Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
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I would go with the S4, HTC One M8 or Note 3. 3 different priced phones all good with battery life fast and good reviews. The Note 3 being the best but you should go to a store to see if the size will bother you.
Joeboo
Molten Core Raider
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I'd say the top 3 Android phones currently are probably
HTC One(M8)
Samsung Galaxy S5
LG G2
All have outstanding battery life, the LG is probably the cheapest of the bunch, it's been out for a good 6-7 months now. The S5 is kinda nice because it is water resistant, so that keeps you safe from one of the biggest perils that kills cell phones. The S5 also has a better camera(according to various reviews). The design of the M8 is damn sharp though, it's probably the most aesthetically pleasing Android phone out there. All 3 of the abovementioned phones would be massive upgrades with better battery life, better screens, better cameras, and faster processors than your old S3. My wife just upgraded from an S3 to the LG G2 and she loves it. Never comes close to having to charge her phone during the day, we just charge our phones at night when we sleep and that is plenty(I have a Note 3)
HTC One(M8)
Samsung Galaxy S5
LG G2
All have outstanding battery life, the LG is probably the cheapest of the bunch, it's been out for a good 6-7 months now. The S5 is kinda nice because it is water resistant, so that keeps you safe from one of the biggest perils that kills cell phones. The S5 also has a better camera(according to various reviews). The design of the M8 is damn sharp though, it's probably the most aesthetically pleasing Android phone out there. All 3 of the abovementioned phones would be massive upgrades with better battery life, better screens, better cameras, and faster processors than your old S3. My wife just upgraded from an S3 to the LG G2 and she loves it. Never comes close to having to charge her phone during the day, we just charge our phones at night when we sleep and that is plenty(I have a Note 3)
Intrinsic
Person of Whiteness
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On Verizon and I finally received my HTC One (m8) on Wednesday and have 1.5 days or so of experience to chime it. It is probably the best "out of the box" experience I've had with a phone.
Initial impressions are very high. The screen is incredible, the responsiveness, and BlinkFeed isn't complete trash although I probably won't use it outside of the occasional glance. The sound is VERY LOUD if that is important to you. I'm on conference calls constantly and it is nice to lay the phone down and have it be loud and clear enough to walk around the room. For playing back audio the same would apply, but there is seriously 0 bass, what do you expect. I charged initially to 100% and went a full day and a half and still had 14% or so left. Mostly used for internet browsing, Spotify streaming through Bluetooth while driving, and work calls. It is a little larger, but the motion launch stuff works somewhat reliably. Double tap to turn on, double tap up / down / left to launch apps, makes not having to reach the top button more manageable.
More important to me though is how it holds up. It is hard to not have a great first impression unless the phone is just horrible. Inevitably though the battery life tanks, apps start to crash, things slow down. It is just a guess to see how long that will take. If the experience can remain consistent for the 1st year I'll consider it a win.
If you have any other specific questions I'll try to give feedback. I'm not a big camera user so all the new shit with it is kind of tertiary to my experience (but the refocus stuff is kind of neat and works well), and also not a big app user so not a lot of things are currently installed.
*edit: oh I also moved from an S3, got away from Samsung this go round because of their insistence of a physical button. My experience across Android devices needs to be consistent and screw them for keeping it
Initial impressions are very high. The screen is incredible, the responsiveness, and BlinkFeed isn't complete trash although I probably won't use it outside of the occasional glance. The sound is VERY LOUD if that is important to you. I'm on conference calls constantly and it is nice to lay the phone down and have it be loud and clear enough to walk around the room. For playing back audio the same would apply, but there is seriously 0 bass, what do you expect. I charged initially to 100% and went a full day and a half and still had 14% or so left. Mostly used for internet browsing, Spotify streaming through Bluetooth while driving, and work calls. It is a little larger, but the motion launch stuff works somewhat reliably. Double tap to turn on, double tap up / down / left to launch apps, makes not having to reach the top button more manageable.
More important to me though is how it holds up. It is hard to not have a great first impression unless the phone is just horrible. Inevitably though the battery life tanks, apps start to crash, things slow down. It is just a guess to see how long that will take. If the experience can remain consistent for the 1st year I'll consider it a win.
If you have any other specific questions I'll try to give feedback. I'm not a big camera user so all the new shit with it is kind of tertiary to my experience (but the refocus stuff is kind of neat and works well), and also not a big app user so not a lot of things are currently installed.
*edit: oh I also moved from an S3, got away from Samsung this go round because of their insistence of a physical button. My experience across Android devices needs to be consistent and screw them for keeping it
jeydax
Death and Taxes
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I don't really mind the physical buttons. The M8 really intrigues me, seems like the best phone out there right now. I would likely buy it direct from HTC with an unlocked boot loader. I like me some custom roms (currently running Clean Rom on my S3 which I fucking love).
Vaclav
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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Buying today? It would come down to the S5 or M8. [My feeling is this will carry on towards the future too - but we'll see on that, obviously]
I lean towards the M8, but there's definitely substantial differences to them that can lean you one direction or the other:
Durability: S5 is certified as waterproof and relatively damage resistant, M8 however has done amazing in quite a few dunk tests (not certified as waterproof though, and only low submersion in the tests I've seen) and is the biggest winner at resisting fall damage this generation. [Took a 10 foot fall to KIA it versus 6 ft for it's next best competitor] - It's a relative wash depending on your circumstances, I only worry about standard drops myself so M8 wins for me here, but could see people going the other way.
Speakers: Slam dunk here for the M8, the speakers on the M8 are ridiculous - there's no discussion.
Camera: Front facing on the M8 is a huge winner, although narrow in application - the rear camera that most use, if you're going to use the phone to take photos you intend to zoom and such with are going to be drastically better with the S5 (13 MP vs 4 MP) - however if you're doing alot of "Facebook" style photos that you won't be cropping down the M8 can be adequate and it does do very well in low-light situations, which will vary in importance based on what you do. [Mostly a win for S5 here, but note the caveats]
Battery life on both is pretty damn long - usually mine uses a little less than 10% battery per hour of active use with the screen on (with brightness on about 80%), and if I don't use it much over the day (i.e. just checking emails and not playing with it as a toy at all) I'll usually end the day with 70% power after a full charge in the morning, even running Pandora over bluetooth with the screen mostly off was only draining 2% or so an hour when I messed with it the other night [And only tweak is using "Power Savings Mode" that I've done for power purposes, rest is default] - M8 I've read is slightly more aggressive with how much it gets out of it's battery even without using the "Extreme Power Savings" mode (which restricts the phone to a handful of functions but does give it a shitload of life on almost no battery) - however, since M8 doesn't have a removable battery or backplate - it's actually an option to have a spare battery for a S5 and just switch out batteries, if that's your thing.
Aesthetic: M8 is a gorgeous hunk of aluminum, honestly the best looking phone in the world right now IMO. S5 just looks like a generic phone to me, personally. On their screens some people prefer one screen or the other (I really can't tell any substantial difference personally) - on that subject if it matters, I'd evaluate them in person since aesthetic value is variable, person to person.
I'm obviously partial to the M8, but again if you're buying today, there's only two real choices. (Well, three if you're considering the price advantages to Moto X or Nexus 5 - but you didn't mention price concerns and I'm honestly not that familiar with them for comparing)
[And for point of comparison - since Intrinisic posted his "couple days" impression with his M8 - I was a day 1 adopter the minute they showed up at Sprint [literally first my store sold] - so I'm on Week 5-6)
I lean towards the M8, but there's definitely substantial differences to them that can lean you one direction or the other:
Durability: S5 is certified as waterproof and relatively damage resistant, M8 however has done amazing in quite a few dunk tests (not certified as waterproof though, and only low submersion in the tests I've seen) and is the biggest winner at resisting fall damage this generation. [Took a 10 foot fall to KIA it versus 6 ft for it's next best competitor] - It's a relative wash depending on your circumstances, I only worry about standard drops myself so M8 wins for me here, but could see people going the other way.
Speakers: Slam dunk here for the M8, the speakers on the M8 are ridiculous - there's no discussion.
Camera: Front facing on the M8 is a huge winner, although narrow in application - the rear camera that most use, if you're going to use the phone to take photos you intend to zoom and such with are going to be drastically better with the S5 (13 MP vs 4 MP) - however if you're doing alot of "Facebook" style photos that you won't be cropping down the M8 can be adequate and it does do very well in low-light situations, which will vary in importance based on what you do. [Mostly a win for S5 here, but note the caveats]
Battery life on both is pretty damn long - usually mine uses a little less than 10% battery per hour of active use with the screen on (with brightness on about 80%), and if I don't use it much over the day (i.e. just checking emails and not playing with it as a toy at all) I'll usually end the day with 70% power after a full charge in the morning, even running Pandora over bluetooth with the screen mostly off was only draining 2% or so an hour when I messed with it the other night [And only tweak is using "Power Savings Mode" that I've done for power purposes, rest is default] - M8 I've read is slightly more aggressive with how much it gets out of it's battery even without using the "Extreme Power Savings" mode (which restricts the phone to a handful of functions but does give it a shitload of life on almost no battery) - however, since M8 doesn't have a removable battery or backplate - it's actually an option to have a spare battery for a S5 and just switch out batteries, if that's your thing.
Aesthetic: M8 is a gorgeous hunk of aluminum, honestly the best looking phone in the world right now IMO. S5 just looks like a generic phone to me, personally. On their screens some people prefer one screen or the other (I really can't tell any substantial difference personally) - on that subject if it matters, I'd evaluate them in person since aesthetic value is variable, person to person.
I'm obviously partial to the M8, but again if you're buying today, there's only two real choices. (Well, three if you're considering the price advantages to Moto X or Nexus 5 - but you didn't mention price concerns and I'm honestly not that familiar with them for comparing)
[And for point of comparison - since Intrinisic posted his "couple days" impression with his M8 - I was a day 1 adopter the minute they showed up at Sprint [literally first my store sold] - so I'm on Week 5-6)
Intrinsic
Person of Whiteness
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oh I forgot the biggest feature that makes me most happy. The M8 connects to my car Bluetooth like 1,000x faster than the S3. I thought they both used 4.0 but whatever the difference it is huge. Also the M8 will send Spotify and Podcast info to the car whereas the S3 just showed Unknown Album / Artist / Song unless I was using the Pandora specific car application. I put in a lot of windshield time so things like that make me happy.
On the negative side, whatever is still going on with micro USB shennanigans needs to die in a fire. Half my chargers in the house (+ my car charger) won't charge the damn thing.
On the negative side, whatever is still going on with micro USB shennanigans needs to die in a fire. Half my chargers in the house (+ my car charger) won't charge the damn thing.
jeydax
Death and Taxes
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I'd probably get the Nexus 5 or wait for the 6 if it'd work on Verizon. I am in remote areas pretty often and T-Mobile/AT&T/Sprint to my experience can't even come remotely (pardon the pun) close to Verizon's range/service coverage. Price isn't a big concern. This is my last little toy gift to myself before I start throwing more cash at our wedding.
Do any of you guys run custom roms? I've become very savvy with rooting/unlocking/roming/firmware upgrading/modems etc lately on my S3 and could certainly figure it out on the M8 if I go that route.
Do any of you guys run custom roms? I've become very savvy with rooting/unlocking/roming/firmware upgrading/modems etc lately on my S3 and could certainly figure it out on the M8 if I go that route.
Vaclav
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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Oh, forgot that Nexus and Verizon don't work. My bad.
And M8 actually has instructions from HTC themselves on how to unlock the phone should you want to - they're actually the most open I've seen any phone maker about how to root and such.
I'm not rooting mine, but I've got a wonderful experience with running dual launchers between Blinkfeed and Google Now Launcher both running so that I can flip between them at a whim, no reboot necessary.
And M8 actually has instructions from HTC themselves on how to unlock the phone should you want to - they're actually the most open I've seen any phone maker about how to root and such.
I'm not rooting mine, but I've got a wonderful experience with running dual launchers between Blinkfeed and Google Now Launcher both running so that I can flip between them at a whim, no reboot necessary.
Joeboo
Molten Core Raider
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Definitely go to a store and look at the actual phones though, don't buy sight-unseen. Last year I was all set on buying the original HTC One over a Samsung S4 from just reading reviews. Once I got into a Sprint store and looked at both side by side, the Samsung screen was just so much brighter and bolder and larger that I couldn't get the HTC. It was a night and day difference seeing them both side by side.
Intrinsic
Person of Whiteness
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The only customizations I'm looking for at the moment with the M8 and Sense are UI related and could probably be accomplished with just a launcher upgrade. And I think I have paid versions of most of the popular launchers that exist.
- Notification customization; I don't care that I'm now connected to XXXX Wireless Network nor do I want to tap for customizations.
- Vibrate notification; again, don't care
- Alarm clock; don't care I manage this through the clock
- Icon labels; want to remove, I know that the Facebook icon is for Facebook and don't need the reminder
Shit like that. I'm more minimalist with my experience, but honestly getting too old and busy these days to do anything about it.
- Notification customization; I don't care that I'm now connected to XXXX Wireless Network nor do I want to tap for customizations.
- Vibrate notification; again, don't care
- Alarm clock; don't care I manage this through the clock
- Icon labels; want to remove, I know that the Facebook icon is for Facebook and don't need the reminder
Shit like that. I'm more minimalist with my experience, but honestly getting too old and busy these days to do anything about it.
jeydax
Death and Taxes
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There's a 3rd party Verizon store right down the street from me with some good peeps there, I'll check them out. I'll be looking at the M8, S5, and Note 3. Any others? Not going to get the LG G2 when the G3 is coming up so soon. Not a fan of LG either.