Phones - Anything but Apple

Author
Discussion

KarlMac

Original Poster:

4,457 posts

140 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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My upgrade is due in March, I've had a 4,4S,5 & 5S with each one progressively worse than the last. I don't like the iOS and they don't seem as slick as it used to be. My 5s crashes constantly and battery is down to about 8 hours.

I really liked my Galaxy S2 when I had that, so I was going to go with the S5 but wondered if theres something else I should be looking at? Don't know anything about HTC/Sony so welcome any suggestions.

Not windows phone though. Have a company one and its not for me.

LordGrover

33,531 posts

211 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Nexus 5 is getting on a bit now but still available I think. Great phone with unspoilt android, only let down by so-so camera.

Lord Pikey

3,257 posts

214 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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If you can cope with 5.5" then the Oneplus One is great value at 269gbp. Iv had mine 6 months now and have absolutely no complaints.


Blaster72

10,772 posts

196 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Galaxy S6 is out in April, might be worth waiting to see if thats any good or not.

The Nexus 6 is pretty good but far too big in my opinion.

The Android phone I'd choose is the Sony Xperia Z3. Superb battery life, great screen and features and nice to hold and use.

http://www.sonymobile.com/gb/products/phones/xperi...

Only downside is there may be a Z4 released later in the year with some better features.

AClownsPocket

899 posts

158 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Have a look at Jolla and the sailfish OS. It will run Android apps. It was put together by the guys who worked on Meego at Nokia before Microsoft bundled in and Windified everything. I had one on demo for a week and loved it.

https://jolla.com

KarlMac

Original Poster:

4,457 posts

140 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
Blaster72 said:
Galaxy S6 is out in April, might be worth waiting to see if thats any good or not.

The Nexus 6 is pretty good but far too big in my opinion.

The Android phone I'd choose is the Sony Xperia Z3. Superb battery life, great screen and features and nice to hold and use.

http://www.sonymobile.com/gb/products/phones/xperi...

Only downside is there may be a Z4 released later in the year with some better features.
Sony Z3 did catch my eye, mainly due to compatibility / gimmicks with my ps4. Is there a comparison anywhere with my 5S (its been a long time since I've looked at ram etc...)

LordGrover

33,531 posts

211 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
AClownsPocket said:
Have a look at Jolla and the sailfish OS. It will run Android apps. It was put together by the guys who worked on Meego at Nokia before Microsoft bundled in and Windified everything. I had one on demo for a week and loved it.

https://jolla.com
That looks interesting... may have a punt on one of those myself. scratchchin

Blaster72

10,772 posts

196 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Here's a little comparison of the main features Karl

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/sony-xperia-z3-1940-vs-app...

FourWheelDrift

88,381 posts

283 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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If battery life is important how about an Android phone with a monster 5000 mAh battery (iP6+ is only 2915mAh)

THL 5000 - http://www.androidauthority.com/review-of-thl-5000...

PH thread - http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Price on Amazon (but you could get it elsewhere at simialr prices) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LQTIW9A/ref=wl_it_dp...

Display 5 inch, full HD (1920x1080), Corning Gorilla Glass IPS, OGS
Processor 2.0GHz, MediaTek MTK6592T octa-core
RAM 2GB
Storage 16GB, microSD card slot, up to 32GB
Camera 5 Megapixel Front-Facing Camera + 13 Megapixel Rear Camera
Battery 5000 mAh
Connectivity GPS, microUSB 2.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
Networks 2G: GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz. 3G: WCDMA 850, 2100MHz
Software Android 4.4 with Google Play
Dimensions 145 x 73 x 8.9 mm, 170g.
Colors Black or White
SIM slots Dual-sim

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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LG-G3, after much research I plumped for one; it has won loads of "best phone of 2014 awards".

Great quad HD 5.5 screen, however the bezels are almost non existent so it is a good size, very slick and uncluttered design as the buttons are on the back, removeable battery and has an SD card slot, good battery life, fantastic camera in daylight; not so good in low light though.

As it isn't on anyones radar and it isn't marketed to death; like Samsung, you can pick up a new one for under £300, or on a contract they are around £28 per month.

One of the online mac magazines gave it a draw against the iPhone 6, however due to being half the price they said it was the better buy.

Go and check one out.

Blaster72

10,772 posts

196 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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LG G3 is a good shout but I'm put off by the back mounted buttons.

How do you get on with them?

IanMorewood

4,309 posts

247 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Windoze?? I'm quite liking my lumia 1020.

S5PJV

891 posts

171 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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I just bought a ZTE Blade 6 for my son £162
Gets a good write up, but too soon to report on it myself

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Blaster72 said:
LG G3 is a good shout but I'm put off by the back mounted buttons.

How do you get on with them?
Really well as they are in an ideal place for your index finger and you can still grip the phone securely when using the buttons.

What I also like about it is; I like a dedicated and physical camera button for when the phone is asleep; press and hold the bottom part of the rocker switch and the camera springs into life, release and press again and it activates the shutter and once the camera is on then you can either tap the camera icon to take photos or use the rocker switch again.

Blaster72

10,772 posts

196 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
Sounds handy, the G3 is on my list with the Z3 as a replacement for my Galaxy S4 this year.

I'm tempted with the S6 edge although most reviews so far are saying its not very nice to hold with sharp uncomfortable edges. It'll be good year for phones now most of them have the right amount of power and decent software.

Silver940

3,961 posts

226 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Was waiting to see the arrival of the new HTC M9 but the G3 is on my radar. It seems way better value than the equivalent HTC/Sony/Samsung ones. Liked the look of the Z3 Compact but it's quite pricey in comparison.

There's some monster batteries available for it too, makes it thick and heavy but useful for some occasions I would think.

My current Nexus 4 does pretty much everything I want, the camera isn't great and it feels like it's always on charge! New and shiny is calling..

swd

81 posts

181 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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My Nexus 5 creaks something chronic after 12 months. The structural build quality just isn't there. Very nippy internals though, and one of the first phones to get android updates. I'm going to offload it on ebay and keep the Nexus 4 as my backup phone.

Moto X is superb - customisable from the factory. Superb build quality. I got mine with a leather back and honestly, it's one of the best looking (and feeling) phones out there. Very nippy, and has a near-pure andriod experience with a few nice-to-have additions from Motorola like a migration assistant that don't get in the way. The voice control is the first I've found useful - it's an enhanced layer over the usual Google one. It's always on: I say 'ok moto' and away it goes. It looks like it will be well looked after with regards to android updates.

IMO the Sony Z3 is a soulless lump. Great build, great camera and battery life, but I found no joy using it. Sony takes android, puts their on style on it, and the phone is worse for it.

Whatever you go for, buy the handset outright.

Edited by swd on Monday 2nd March 16:05

welshjon81

631 posts

140 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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I've recently purchased the Xperia Z3 and I have to say that its a fantastic phone. I also went down this route as I have a PS4 and like to stream games to it so I can play when the mrs is watching some rubbish on TV. IMO if your after a high end phone you can't go wrong.

Jon

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
quotequote all
swd said:
Moto X is superb - customisable from the factory. Superb build quality. I got mine with a leather back and honestly, it's one of the best looking (and feeling) phones out there. Very nippy, and has a near-pure andriod experience with a few nice-to-have additions from Motorola like a migration assistant that don't get in the way. The voice control is the first I've found useful - it's an enhanced layer over the usual Google one. It's always on: I say 'ok moto' and away it goes. It looks like it will be well looked after with regards to android updates.
It was between the G3; which I ended up with and the Moto X, what swayed me towards the G3 was the camera on the X had pretty poor reviews and I do like a good camera on my phone, I came from a Lumia 920 which had a superb camera for its time.

Couldn't find a Moto X anywhere to try either.

Fastra

4,277 posts

208 months

Monday 2nd March 2015
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Got a Motorola Moto G (2nd gen) at Christmas as a replacment for a Galaxy S2 - I have a sim only contract from Virgin.
Just upgraded to Lolipop and it flys - much better than the S2, very pleased with it


£140 from Tesco:
http://www.tesco.com/direct/motorola-moto-g-4g-bla...

smile

Edited by Fastra on Monday 2nd March 18:17