Phone upgrade

[SeekaX]

Good night my sweet prince. It's time for my good ol' Nokia xpressmusic 5800 to go. Since it started running out of memory when just opening a web browser i suppose it is time for me to upgrade.
I am not really in touch with the portable side of things, i never used my phone for much more than texting, music and googling.
Even though i am not really the type who needs it, i won't cheap out on my next phone. It's also supposed to last for a good while, so once in 4-5 years i can spend a bit more.
I'll just write down a list of priorities:
Rather small size (4" - 4.5")
Wireless charging
FTP support (i guess every android phone can do that)
Android 4.4
Quad Core CPU (no idea why they put these things into phones, but it's supposed to last)
Memory extension slot
Shouldn't be out of juice after 4 hours
720p/1080p display
Up to 450 euros

So far i've been looking at the most popular contenders, i.e. the Nexus 5 and the Moto G, but neither of those have a memory extension slot, 16GB or even 32GB are quickly filled. Also i think the Moto G is pretty ugly. They are both rather large, but from what i've heard the size of the Nexus 5 is still acceptable.
Today i found the Sony Xperia Z1 compact, it pretty much has the same specs as the Nexus 5, but it has a lower res screen because it is considerably smaller. It also has a memory extension slot.
I am in no hurry to upgrade, so i am open to a lot of suggestions, the only thing that isn't on the table is a different OS, i found Windows Phone to be pretty annoying and apple is disgusting.

 

[Excalabur50]

The Galaxy S5 is due soon they may do a mini of it and that could be worth the wait for, I myself now use the Sony Xperia Z and it's a good phone it works really well in poor reception areas and better than the Samsung does anyway and the Z1 mini might be a good choice for you

 

[SeekaX]

The Galaxy S5 is due soon they may do a mini of it and that could be worth the wait for, I myself now use the Sony Xperia Z and it's a good phone it works really well in poor reception areas and better than the Samsung does anyway and the Z1 mini might be a good choice for you

I don't like the looks of the S5 a whole lot. The S3 looked far better imo.
Also the S5 Mini is probably going to be either expensive or, if they keep the course they took with the S4 Mini, badly underspec'd for the price.
I am currently reading through a couple of reviews and the z1 compact seems to be a champ, it beats the Nexus 5 in quite a few benchmarks, it's rigid and the battery's endurance seems to be good as well.

 

[remember300]

if portable space is an issue look at portable wifi drives like seagate and corsair make. that way you can carry 1tb in your back pack

 

[SeekaX]

if portable space is an issue look at portable wifi drives like seagate and corsair make. that way you can carry 1tb in your back pack

Those are pretty expensive and i've already got enough to carry

 

[MrKambo]

If you want something that will last, invest in the Note 3, S5 or the HTC M8

i know they are bigger than what you wanted, but they are top spec and will be good for a couple of years!

 

[SeekaX]

If you want something that will last, invest in the Note 3, S5 or the HTC M8

i know they are bigger than what you wanted, but they are top spec and will be good for a couple of years!

The Note 3 is faaaaaar too large, the S5 doesn't really appeal to me, the HTC M8 is interesting, but i don't know what they are charging 650 euros for. It's basically a Nexus 5 with a memory card slot. The Z1 pretty much has the same hardware but for far less money and in a smaller package.

 

[MrKambo]

The Note 3 is faaaaaar too large, the S5 doesn't really appeal to me, the HTC M8 is interesting, but i don't know what they are charging 650 euros for. It's basically a Nexus 5 with a memory card slot. The Z1 pretty much has the same hardware but for far less money and in a smaller package.

Seems like you have your decision, Z1 it is

 

[SeekaX]

Seems like you have your decision, Z1 it is

I suppose so. But it never hurts to explore all options

 

[FatBoiCorp]

I was going to suggest the galaxy s5 but seems like I was too late. haha I have the galaxy s4 and I love it but the z1 looks nice and is newer than the s4.

 

[SeekaX]

I was going to suggest the galaxy s5 but seems like I was too late. haha I have the galaxy s4 and I love it but the z1 looks nice and is newer than the s4.

The only viable Samsung phones for me would be the mini editions and they lack the grunt. Also a metal body is a heck of a lot sexier than plastic

 

[FatBoiCorp]

The only viable Samsung phones for me would be the mini editions and they lack the grunt. Also a metal body is a heck of a lot sexier than plastic

Yea that's true. I'll admit that the metal body is sexy. haha.

 

[Feronix]

Am I the only one that really dislikes Samsung phones? Everyone around me has one and at the moment of purchase they love it, but within a year there are so many problems with it that they can't wait to get a new phone. Not to mention all their shitty bloatware.

@SeekaX, you could also have a look at Oppo. They're a Chinese BluRay comapny that decided to start making phones... and they did a damn good job. Currently you can still get the Find 5 for a nice price (€300-350) or you can wait just a bit longer and get the new Find 7a (or the Find 7, but that's a bit overkill).

Find 5:
http://europe.oppostyle.com/6-find-5

Find 7:
http://europe.oppostyle.com/14-find-7

Review of the Find 5:



Find 7 first-look:





Personally, I'm a bit of an HTC fanboy and the HTC One and One M8 are definitely great phones too, albeit a tad more expensive.

If you don't want to mess around with custom ROMs or Cyanogenmod or anything similar; I'd advice against a Samsung device. There's too much bloatware for my liking.

The LG Nexus 5 and Motorola Moto X are great phones too, I believe the Nexus is a bit quicker, but I must admit that I like the voice control features on the Motorola. Only downsides; Won't do much if your phone isn't in English, aaaaand it's really awkward in public.

 

[SeekaX]

Am I the only one that really dislikes Samsung phones? Everyone around me has one and at the moment of purchase they love it, but within a year there are so many problems with it that they can't wait to get a new phone. Not to mention all their shitty bloatware.

@SeekaX, you could also have a look at Oppo. They're a Chinese BluRay comapny that decided to start making phones... and they did a damn good job. Currently you can still get the Find 5 for a nice price (€300-350) or you can wait just a bit longer and get the new Find 7a (or the Find 7, but that's a bit overkill).

Find 5:
http://europe.oppostyle.com/6-find-5

Find 7:
http://europe.oppostyle.com/14-find-7

Review of the Find 5:



Find 7 first-look:





Personally, I'm a bit of an HTC fanboy and the HTC One and One M8 are definitely great phones too, albeit a tad more expensive.

If you don't want to mess around with custom ROMs or Cyanogenmod or anything similar; I'd advice against a Samsung device. There's too much bloatware for my liking.

The LG Nexus 5 and Motorola Moto X are great phones too, I believe the Nexus is a bit quicker, but I must admit that I like the voice control features on the Motorola. Only downsides; Won't do much if your phone isn't in English, aaaaand it's really awkward in public.

I was fine with Samsung till they released the S4, it seems like they are just rushing out version after version now.

I'll have a look at the Oppo phones when i get home.

I never liked the design of HTC till the M8. But you are right, their pricing isn't justified anymore.

I run all of my devices in english anyways, but the Moto X only has a dualcore and not exactly a good one, also no memory expansion slot.

 

[kbalaz]

Ill jump on the fanboyism a bit here. Why no mention of the BB Z10 or Z30? Yes, the media has lambasted them, but the Z30 has been chosen as the favorite at pretty much an electronics show when given to reviewers and can do anything you need it to do very well. I have been a Z10 owner since they were released over a year ago, and those that take the time to actually see what it can do are impressed by it. No Bloatware, amble memory that you can expand up to 64GB hot swappable memory card, price is exceptional right now, no worries of apps running hogging memory when you close them, close an app it well, just closes. Now before all the other system fanboys jump in and say its crap because of an older model bb and not ever having tried one of the new BB10 devices, give it a try, you will be impressed.

 

[SeekaX]

Ill jump on the fanboyism a bit here. Why no mention of the BB Z10 or Z30? Yes, the media has lambasted them, but the Z30 has been chosen as the favorite at pretty much an electronics show when given to reviewers and can do anything you need it to do very well. I have been a Z10 owner since they were released over a year ago, and those that take the time to actually see what it can do are impressed by it. No Bloatware, amble memory that you can expand up to 64GB hot swappable memory card, price is exceptional right now, no worries of apps running hogging memory when you close them, close an app it well, just closes. Now before all the other system fanboys jump in and say its crap because of an older model bb and not ever having tried one of the new BB10 devices, give it a try, you will be impressed.

Blackberry OS is the main complaint. I was thinking about giving app programming a go and an OS restricted to only one manufacturer isn't the best choice there.
Also they only offer dual cores and the battery seems to not last very long.
The price on the Z30 is definitely not good. Z10 is in Moto G range.

/edit
Wot wot a 1440p display on the Find 7 and the price isn't even that bad. The problem is that Oppo is no big name in germany, you can't buy the Find 5 in germany so i am pretty sure the Find 7 won't show up either. So i'd have to import, which i am not very fond of.
Also both the Find 5 and the Find 7a are out of stock on the Oppo EU site. Welp, it's 5.5" anyways.

 

[JR23]

If you were strongly considering the Nexus 5 then you really should be looking at the LG G2. Two of my friends have Nexus's and I have the G2, they are more or less the same physical size. Having the buttons on the back is much better and if you use one for a bit you will wonder why all phones don't do it, similarly the tap to unlock feature is the nuts. The only other outstanding difference is the battery in the G2 is absolutely killer. Mine always lasts for 40+ hours (general use everything on) sometimes it gets close to 60 and even if you rape it then it still lasts well and seems to do noticeably better than the Nexus. Also screen/bezel is lush.

I am actually a HTC fanboy with a hatred of anything Samsung. When I smashed my HTC One X+ I couldn't afford a HTC One and didn't want to get it right before the M8 came out. TBH now the M8's specs are out I can say I definitely won't be switching from my G2 although I really miss the HTC build quality.

JR

 

[SPS]

Ill jump on the fanboyism a bit here. Why no mention of the BB Z10 or Z30? Yes, the media has lambasted them, but the Z30 has been chosen as the favorite at pretty much an electronics show when given to reviewers and can do anything you need it to do very well. I have been a Z10 owner since they were released over a year ago, and those that take the time to actually see what it can do are impressed by it. No Bloatware, amble memory that you can expand up to 64GB hot swappable memory card, price is exceptional right now, no worries of apps running hogging memory when you close them, close an app it well, just closes. Now before all the other system fanboys jump in and say its crap because of an older model bb and not ever having tried one of the new BB10 devices, give it a try, you will be impressed.

Having worked with BB10 hardware I'd never recommend one, they are leagues behind competitors.

 

[barnsley]

Ill jump on the fanboyism a bit here. Why no mention of the BB Z10 or Z30? Yes, the media has lambasted them, but the Z30 has been chosen as the favorite at pretty much an electronics show when given to reviewers and can do anything you need it to do very well. I have been a Z10 owner since they were released over a year ago, and those that take the time to actually see what it can do are impressed by it. No Bloatware, amble memory that you can expand up to 64GB hot swappable memory card, price is exceptional right now, no worries of apps running hogging memory when you close them, close an app it well, just closes. Now before all the other system fanboys jump in and say its crap because of an older model bb and not ever having tried one of the new BB10 devices, give it a try, you will be impressed.

Blackberry are the market leaders for expensive paperweights. I've had more issues at my work with BBs then all the other phones put together.

Honestly I think the issue here is you want android. Never got the hype with android but then again I've never really been tempted by having a phone that is easy to dick around with.
I know nokia are going to release some android phones soon and if they're anything like their windows phones they will be amazing. Well the top of the range ones will be. The current specs for the first ones coming, the x series, aren't amazeballs.

 

[kbalaz]

So those that are against BB, honest question, no trolling. Which devices are you referring to. Hardware leagues behind? Again how? QNX is probably without a doubt the most efficient OS out able to run any Android app without sideloading now and not the complicated to port over? So which specific device have you used?