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aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

need a smart phone

For a long time I was happy as a clam with my old Motorola feature phone (v635 = roughly equivalent to some Razr in a different form factor), but now some people are really bugging me to get a smartphone....

Aside from the obvious (regular phone calls) I'll mostly need it to run Viber, and probably use it as a video/audio player. It must support quadband GSM, must be unlocked, and must be able to use Wi-Fi whenever available, and must have an SD or uSD slot. It should be reasonably priced. Camera and GPS are nice to have, but not absolutely necessary; however a traditional headset or headphone connector is a must. Lastly, I plan to use it with a pre-paid SIM -- I don't want monthly bills.

First, what OS do people prefer? Windows phone or Android?
Second, any recommendation on a good phone?

TIA

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Take a look at the Google Nexus @ »www.google.com/nexus/5/

It's out of contract price, so you can use your pre-paid SIM.

SysOp
join:2001-04-18
Atlanta, GA

2 recommendations

SysOp to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
You can legally unlock cell phones so nothing is out of reach if you really like a phone for it's features.

Search Phone Finder over at gsmarena and good hunting!

»www.gsmarena.com/search.php3
sirghost
citywide
join:2005-07-23
Nashville, TN
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

sirghost to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
Lumia 635 running windows Phoenix 8.1 for 129 full price.

»www.microsoftstore.com/s ··· 04223100

Hagar
join:2004-10-31
Sunnyvale, CA

Hagar to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
Second the gsmarena link.

If you like Motorola look at the Moto G 4G/LTE

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

Thanks for the suggestions. The gsmarena search page is really good, however a significant portion of the phones that shows up after setting my search parameters only available on ebay and may not be unlocked. Since I need the phone partly for international travel, that is a non-negotiable must.

The Nexus 5 looks really good, but it doesn't have an SD card slot, and for that much $$, I want that, too

The Lumia 635s in the MS stores are either AT&T or T-Mobile -- need to ask them how to get an unlock code, or I have to get an unlocked one from eBay -- but it's one of the phones I'm considering right now.

I'm somewhat partial to Motorola phones, and currently looking at the G and E -- it would be a no brainer if the G had an SD slot. I've just read that they may announce new models such as the X+1 and maybe others very soon, so I may just wait a few weeks to see if there is something better from them. The X is a bit above my intended target price range, but the main issue is the lack of the uSD card slot.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

quote:
8 GB of built-in memory, expandable via the newly added microSD card slot
»www.gsmarena.com/moto_g_ ··· 123.php#

Hagar
join:2004-10-31
Sunnyvale, CA

Hagar to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
The Moto G 4/LTE has a sd slot, the regular Moto G does not.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

Thanks for telling me that the 4G/LTE is different from plain vanilla G. Apparently, I completely missed that.

As per »www.motorola.com/us/moto ··· features :
quote:
Capacity

Moto G
8 GB or 16GB internal storage
Two years 50 GB storage free on Google Drive

Moto G with 4G LTE
8GB of internal storage
Supports removable micoSD cards up to 32GB

freelife2014
join:2014-08-23

freelife2014 to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
So what 's the budget ?

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

The absolute maximum is around $400 - $500, but I'd expect lots of features for that, and looking at the higher end phones I don't really see why some are costing $500 - $600.

My original compromise price was about $200, but that was mostly just a guide line. Currently the Nokia 635 and the Moto G 4G/LTE are the front runners.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

Have you considered the LG Optimus G Pro (E980?)?
It seems to have come down in price recently. And has the following advantages over the Moto G 4G/LTE - thus making it perhaps as good of price/value as the Moto G 4G/LTE:

18M pixel camera
Replaceable/removable battery
5.5 inch display
etc.?

»www.amazon.com/LG-Optimu ··· us+g+pro

»www.amazon.com/optimus-E ··· e_a_smtd

Hagar
join:2004-10-31
Sunnyvale, CA

1 edit

Hagar

Member

I think 18M pixels is a typo is should be 13M pixels? Still a very nice camera.

My issues with the LG is that it only has 3 HSDPA bands, the Moto G LTE has 4 or 5 HSDPA bands.
LG has 3 LTE bands the Moto G 4 or 5 bands depending model.

The LG is not the best for US T-mobile network.

/edit typo
freelife2014
join:2014-08-23

freelife2014 to aurgathor

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to aurgathor
Xiaomi 3 or Xiaomi 4 ,costs about $300~$350
freelife2014

freelife2014 to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
now the i phone 6 has come out. Maybe you can consider it.:)

TWC_User
join:2013-07-31
Los Angeles
·AT&T U-Verse
·Time Warner Cable
(Software) pfSense
Humax BGW320-500
TP-Link EAP610

TWC_User

Member

said by freelife2014:

now the i phone 6 has come out. Maybe you can consider it.:)

One does not simple recommend an iPhone...... and you didn't probably read the posts before posting, his max budget is $400-500.
BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
Premium Member
join:2000-01-13

BlitzenZeus to aurgathor

Premium Member

to aurgathor
My personal suggestion is something like the nexus, but it has no sd. When you look at the samsung, and htc phones they are far more expensive.

If you're willing to risk a few bucks to try android out look at this prepaid phone, for $60 if half the price as on the t-mobile website, and it quite a decent smartphone for the price.
»www.bestbuy.com/site/t-m ··· =1805154

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

Unlocked and a uSD slot are non-negotiable musts.

At this point it's either the Moto G 4G/LTE, the just released new Moto G which now has a uSD slot, or the Nokia 635 if I can get it in an unlocked version.
96491817 (banned)
join:2014-09-09
america

96491817 (banned) to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
Maybe you can have a think of huawei, i'm using this phone honor 3c,cheap price and high-profile,operational processes...

Hagar
join:2004-10-31
Sunnyvale, CA

Hagar to aurgathor

Member

to aurgathor
Just got the Moto G 4G/LTE. uSD was a must for me also. LTE was more important then bigger screen the better camera was tempting but went with LTE for more accessories currently available.

Heads up, instruction said no sim adapters and I struggled to get my nano to micro adapters to work. Got one of the adapters to work but get the proper sim size if you can.

Happy with my Moto G $4G/LTE.
bbear2
Premium Member
join:2003-10-06
dot.earth

bbear2

Premium Member

Did you get an unlocked version or through a carrier? Sorry of that's that uSD means - not familiar with the term.

TWC_User
join:2013-07-31
Los Angeles
·AT&T U-Verse
·Time Warner Cable
(Software) pfSense
Humax BGW320-500
TP-Link EAP610

TWC_User

Member

said by bbear2:

Did you get an unlocked version or through a carrier? Sorry of that's that uSD means - not familiar with the term.

They are refering to microSD cards, u = micro, although it doesn't really look like the micro symbol.

Hagar
join:2004-10-31
Sunnyvale, CA

Hagar to bbear2

Member

to bbear2
I got an unlocked version.
Sorry for the uSD term should have typed it out proper.