Phone upgrade

[SeekaX]

I use my 2TB WD My Cloud (NAS) for extra storage if I need it, get the app on your phone and enjoy 1-3TB of NAS.

iPhone is a 100% no from me due to too many reasons so I won't get in to it.

Samsung Galaxy S5 is a no from me due to the sheer ugliness of the thing.

Sony Xperia Z2 is very well specced but it is plastic, WTF, definite no, feels cheap as hell!

HTC One or the HTC One M8. The HTC One M8 is doesn't look as well as the HTC One but the One M8 5.0" display over the 4.7" on the One, better GPU, camera, glass, slightly less pixels on the screen but not noticeable, both 1080p, the One M8 has 2gb DDR3, the One has 2GB DDR2.

HTC One - "HTC One wins the Global Mobile Award for Best Smartphone at Mobile World Congress"

The HTC One M8 is far superior than the One, but the corners are now more rounded, quite rounded in fact, I heard somewhere that the shell was designed by Apple. Anyway, the full metal jacket makes the phone feel strong and nice to hold. Aluminium casing makes up 90% of the frame.

Also, love this case...

I agree on Samsung and Apple, i don't know about the Z2, didn't consider it, but the Z1 compact has a metal and glass body.
The one m8 is far too expensive, 660 euros aren't acceptable for those specs. Also a larger screen is a downside for me.

 

[SeekaX]

I just can't stop, can i. Well, it's still 9 days till my birthday and 2 weeks till i can order something, so i probably am bound to change my mind every day or two.
This time it's the money. Even though i can afford the 430 euros for the Z1 compact there are better things to spend my money on, especially since i am not much of a smartphone person anyways.
So today i found the Galaxy S4 for 330 euros at my retailer of choice.
+100 euros cheaper than the Z1 compact
+same memory capacity
+pretty much equal CPU/GPU
+1080p
+AMOLED
+equal amount of RAM
+removable battery
+wireless charging (it says market dependent)
+infrared

-display size 5"
-battery life
-bloatware
-plastic body
-Radio

 

[Excalabur50]

The S4 is not a bad unit one of my mates has one and he loves it and it's his first smart phone and you can't really complain about what you are getting for the price as the S5 isn't that much different ATM and much more expensive so the S4 is a pretty good buy

 

[FoodStampz]

I would really consider the icon (930). The WP 8.1 update makes a huge difference. I'm using it now on my 1020 and its filled a lot of the missing holes.

 

[SeekaX]

I would really consider the icon (930). The WP 8.1 update makes a huge difference. I'm using it now on my 1020 and its filled a lot of the missing holes.

Very expensive and very stupid OS. It starts at 600 euros.

 

[FoodStampz]

Very expensive and very stupid OS. It starts at 600 euros.

How can a os be stupid? However, based on this reply its apparent you haven't used WP 8 and dismiss it. That's kind of sad tbh.

 

[SeekaX]

How can a os be stupid? However, based on this reply its apparent you haven't used WP 8 and dismiss it. That's kind of sad tbh.

I tested it, i watched a couple of reviews, it seems to be utter chaos to me. It's full with clutter and it's trying so hard to reinvent the wheel, it just looks like a nightmare to use.

 

[barnsley]

I tested it, i watched a couple of reviews, it seems to be utter chaos to me. It's full with clutter and it's trying so hard to reinvent the wheel, it just looks like a nightmare to use.

Its not thaaaaaaaaaat bad. It just takes time to get your head around it.
-edit- Microsoft are really pushing the "same interface for everything" now so it might be a chance to get used to tiles.
:^)

 

[SeekaX]

Its not thaaaaaaaaaat bad. It just takes time to get your head around it.
-edit- Microsoft are really pushing the "same interface for everything" now so it might be a chance to get used to tiles.
:^)

That is what windows phone looks like to me.

 

[Feronix]

That is what windows phone looks like to me.

It's honestly not that bad. This is what mine looks like:

And if you don't want everything on your homescreen, swipe to the left to go to a full list of apps:

If you still can't find what you're looking for, tap any of the letters to jump to all apps starting with that letter:

Or use the search function, with which you can search your installed apps, as well as the store at the same time:

In WP8.1 there's also a notifcation centre when you swipe down from the top and all that. The OS itself is really not that bad. I think I actually prefer it over Android by now. If it's not your cup of tea, fair enough but don't say it's a bad OS

Oh and I have a mate with a Galaxy S4 and he's already sick of it. The bloatware seems to be holding back the hardware by quite a bit and will slow down the entire phone.

Would you be willing to root your device or do you want the out-of-the-box experience? If the latter, I'd probably go Nexus 5 or Moto X. Yes, the Moto X is only a dual core, but it is a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro SOC iirc and if you're not using your phones for games.... it really doesn't matter that much.

Do finally have a full review video of the Find 7a for ya, if you can get over the 5.5" screen. Probably not, but that's up to you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QahWCPNALDA

You could also have a look at the somewhat older Sony Xperia Z1, which meets pretty much all your requirements (except for running on Android 4.3) and can be found relatively cheap these days.

 

[SeekaX]

It's honestly not that bad. This is what mine looks like:

Yep, that's the image i linked, just with tiles instead of icons. Pretty chaotic.

Oh and I have a mate with a Galaxy S4 and he's already sick of it. The bloatware seems to be holding back the hardware by quite a bit and will slow down the entire phone.

Would you be willing to root your device or do you want the out-of-the-box experience? If the latter, I'd probably go Nexus 5 or Moto X. Yes, the Moto X is only a dual core, but it is a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro SOC iirc and if you're not using your phones for games.... it really doesn't matter that much.

I'd be willing to do what is needed to get rid of the bloatware. I also cannot imagine that it slows down the phone by a whole lot.
Both the Nexus 5 and the Moto X miss a card slot which is very high on my priority list. There aren't a whole lot of options which offer both decent hardware, a card slot and an acceptable price.

Do finally have a full review video of the Find 7a for ya, if you can get over the 5.5" screen. Probably not, but that's up to you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QahWCPNALDA

That one is indeed a great option, but unfortunately sold out till kingdom come.

You could also have a look at the somewhat older Sony Xperia Z1, which meets pretty much all your requirements (except for running on Android 4.3) and can be found relatively cheap these days.

The Z1 is even more expensive than the Z1 compact, which i'd rather opt for if i'd be willing to pay 400+ euros.

 

[Feronix]

Personally, I think the uniform tiles look a lot better than something like this, but that's fair enough :lol:

Well it's not the bloatware itself, but the combination of that and other apps and whatnot. In my experience Samsung devices have always tended to become slower within the first year, I don't know why. I would recommend rooting it and putting stock Android on there, maybe Cyanogenmod or something, although then you'd pretty much have a Nexus 5

I think the Oppo devices just sold out immensely quickly. When I checked last week they were available. It's either a waiting game or pick something else. Or chuck them an email and ask.

Do keep in mind that Quad core =/= Quad core. There's a lot of difference between the Snapdragon 801, 800, 600, 400 and 200 SOCs, let alone the MediaTek chips used in most Chinaphones (like Huawei). I'd much rather have a dual core Snapdragon S4 Pro/Plus than a quad core Snapdragon 200 or 400.

Oh, I checked webshops in the Netherlands and the Z1 and Z1 Compact are both €435,- over here.

 

[barnsley]

Woo, Huawei. Is it just me or are they super suspicious?

 

[Cru]

Personally, I think the uniform tiles look a lot better than something like this, but that's fair enough :lol:

doesn't have to look like that

not sure about the wallpaper choice right now

 

[Feronix]

doesn't have to look like that
not sure about the wallpaper choice right now

That was the point. It depends on what the user makes of it,and that's the same for both platforms.

But let's not turn this into an OS war as OP is looking for Android and that's that

I do like that wallpaper btw.

 

[SeekaX]

Personally, I think the uniform tiles look a lot better than something like this, but that's fair enough :lol:

This would allow me to order things in different categories, i think that's a heck of a lot better than having everything on one screen.

Well it's not the bloatware itself, but the combination of that and other apps and whatnot. In my experience Samsung devices have always tended to become slower within the first year, I don't know why. I would recommend rooting it and putting stock Android on there, maybe Cyanogenmod or something, although then you'd pretty much have a Nexus 5

Having a Nexus 5 with a card slot doesn't sound bad to me.

I think the Oppo devices just sold out immensely quickly. When I checked last week they were available. It's either a waiting game or pick something else. Or chuck them an email and ask.

Yep they did. If it's possible to get one in 2 weeks i will consider it for sure. I can't wait months for it to get available again though.

Do keep in mind that Quad core =/= Quad core. There's a lot of difference between the Snapdragon 801, 800, 600, 400 and 200 SOCs, let alone the MediaTek chips used in most Chinaphones (like Huawei). I'd much rather have a dual core Snapdragon S4 Pro/Plus than a quad core Snapdragon 200 or 400.

Oh, I checked webshops in the Netherlands and the Z1 and Z1 Compact are both €435,- over here.

I see that the 800 is a lot faster than the 600, but the price difference is quite big as well and i am not the type who plays games on his phone.

 

[Feronix]

Hmmm, today the Oneplus (company) One (phone) is being unveiled. Everyone's calling the Nexus 5 killer and apparently the 64GB version costs as less as $350. No idea about an SD card slot though, you'll have to look it up later today when all the tech/news sites have an article on it.

Seem pretty promising though. Oneplus was started by an ex Oppo employee who also worked closely with Cyanogenmod when he was with Oppo, working on the N1.

https://twitter.com/oneplus

Edit;
- Snapdragon 801 SOC
- 3GB RAM
- 5.5" 1080p ltps-screen
- Sony IMX214 Camera module with 720p slow-motion in 120 fps

 

[SeekaX]

Hmmm, today the Oneplus (company) One (phone) is being unveiled. Everyone's calling the Nexus 5 killer and apparently the 64GB version costs as less as $350. No idea about an SD card slot though, you'll have to look it up later today when all the tech/news sites have an article on it.

Seem pretty promising though. Oneplus was started by an ex Oppo employee who also worked closely with Cyanogenmod when he was with Oppo, working on the N1.

https://twitter.com/oneplus

Edit;
- Snapdragon 801 SOC
- 3GB RAM
- 5.5" 1080p ltps-screen
- Sony IMX214 Camera module with 720p slow-motion in 120 fps

Pretty darn impressive, this just took the top spot despite the size and maybe the lack of an SD slot. The 64GB version is only 299 euros, which is less than the S4 but with far better specs.

/edit
Oh god it's pretty much as big as a Note 3, also i'd need an invite to be able to buy one, who knows when that will happen.

 

[theDTP]

Pretty darn impressive, this just took the top spot despite the size and maybe the lack of an SD slot. The 64GB version is only 299 euros, which is less than the S4 but with far better specs.

/edit
Oh god it's pretty much as big as a Note 3, also i'd need an invite to be able to buy one, who knows when that will happen.

An invite? Whut? I have the cash set aside for one... This is my kind of phone.

 

[SeekaX]

An invite? Whut? I have the cash set aside for one... This is my kind of phone.

Yep, you will have to get an invite first.

http://forums.oneplus.net/threads/the-oneplus-invite-system.1150/

This is really putting me off.