Weekend Open Forum: When buying a new smartphone, what do you value most?
- Thread starter Jos
- Start date
Skidmarksdeluxe
Posts: 8,645 +3,290
Everybody else? Contrary to popular belief, most can't be bothered with that.
Skidmarksdeluxe
Posts: 8,645 +3,290
First and foremost I want good value for my money. My primary device (I use two) is always a flagship job but I would consider myself nuts to pay RRP, and to enter into a contract... then I'd better seek urgent mental medical help. I won't buy a 2nd hand device or one that is over a year old but I ALWAYS manage to wrangle myself a good, no, great deal. They can sometimes be hard to find but they're always there, if you know the right people (not shady people) and where to look (and not the ones that happen to fall off the back of a truck either).
I always seem to wind up with a Samsung device but last year I organised myself a HTC 10. Next year I'll probably go back to Samsung but that all depends on the deal. Apple naturally isn't an option, I'd rather use carrier pigeons.
All high end phones are pretty much the same and I'm not very fussy about the manufacturer.
I always seem to wind up with a Samsung device but last year I organised myself a HTC 10. Next year I'll probably go back to Samsung but that all depends on the deal. Apple naturally isn't an option, I'd rather use carrier pigeons.
All high end phones are pretty much the same and I'm not very fussy about the manufacturer.
liammac002
Posts: 46 +12
Ideally I'd have a phone with strong battery life, a 1080p display, smooth performance (doesn't have to be anything mind blowing) and good cameras on both the front and back.
soulsassassin
Posts: 147 +94
it's only your opinion man all the people I know including myself doesn't care if the battery is removable or not as much as the battery life itself , how many hard resets you do per month ? how many times you got a defect in your battery and you had to swap it ?
Removable battery, sensible price, feels comfortable to both hold during long calls and carry in jeans pocket (not too thin, 5" max screen), 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-SD slot, decent call quality, max 1080p screen.
In short, pretty much the exact opposite of the modern $900 "smart" phone sales pitch...
In short, pretty much the exact opposite of the modern $900 "smart" phone sales pitch...
namesrejected
Posts: 398 +302
Oh, do you have an iPhone? My wife's started doing that after a nasty drop that cracked the screen.
cliffordcooley
Posts: 13,141 +6,441
Maybe they would rather use the defective battery as an excuse to get a new phone. I for one would like a removable battery but will not use it as an excuse not to buy a phone.
As for a hard reset, I'm not sure why you would need to on a phone. But then I don't spend all my time on a phone. Nor do I install anything and everything.
Uncle Al
Posts: 10,176 +9,651
Removeable battery, unlocked, and NO other BS software that can't reremoved .... oh yeah, and under $200 because I'm old and cheap!
I chose my current samsung S4 mini phone (my second ever smartphone) as it had removable battery, micro SD slot (32Gb in it), 1.5GB of RAM, unlocked and had physical buttons. I've had it 3 years and no intention of replacing it. Got it in a gel case, dropped it dozens of times and works fine, not even a scratch on the screen. Took 1 photo with it, haven't used the camera since as it's crap (knew that anyway as I use cameras daily).
It's a phone and does what I bought it for, runs android 4.4, no HD screen either, shock horror! Even got 6 days use out of it with moderate ( for me ) use.
Why would I need to change it?
It's a phone and does what I bought it for, runs android 4.4, no HD screen either, shock horror! Even got 6 days use out of it with moderate ( for me ) use.
Why would I need to change it?
cartera
Posts: 379 +121
Oneplus 3 with a few less bugs(ie. ram usage & slowdowns which require a hard reset) & waterproofing would make me happy providing they don't increase the price again.
Why the fingerprint scanner hate? It's so convenient!
Rippleman
Posts: 871 +394
Some of us (I could say most of us but don't know for sure - only in my social circle) don't even put passcodes in our phones. We are old I guess and never really worry about losing our phone to worry about the code. I have had a cellphone for ~20 years now, never had one stolen or lost - hence the "no fingerprint or code worry"
p51d007
Posts: 3,930 +3,881
1. Big battery
2. Big screen
3. Good camera
My last 2 phones in the past 4 years, have had 6" or larger screens and 4,000mAH
batteries along with good cameras that take macro (with clip on lens). Other than
that, the version of OS (android) really doesn't matter, as long as it is STABLE.
2. Big screen
3. Good camera
My last 2 phones in the past 4 years, have had 6" or larger screens and 4,000mAH
batteries along with good cameras that take macro (with clip on lens). Other than
that, the version of OS (android) really doesn't matter, as long as it is STABLE.
My ideal phone would be one with a very nice 1080p screen, and powerful enough to use on a daily basis without getting hot. So I don't care for a super powerful processor, since I don't do heavy computational work on my phones.
Also, not only a removable battery, but a phone that works without the battery on, through external power, (like older phones that I have). After it's life, I can have plugged in 24/7 for other things.
Also, not only a removable battery, but a phone that works without the battery on, through external power, (like older phones that I have). After it's life, I can have plugged in 24/7 for other things.
Theinsanegamer
Posts: 5,448 +10,222
Size. I am done with phablets. The iphone SE was a breath of fresh air in it's one handed capabilities, and I am now sure I dont want a phone any larger.
Battery. the more the merrier. And if it is android, it needs to be removable. apple doesnt need to be simply because I can take it in 3 years from now, get a new battery from the apple store, and be good another 3-4 years. Cant do that with any android phone here in the states.
Hopefully they catch back on in 5 years when my SE finally wears out.
Battery. the more the merrier. And if it is android, it needs to be removable. apple doesnt need to be simply because I can take it in 3 years from now, get a new battery from the apple store, and be good another 3-4 years. Cant do that with any android phone here in the states.
Hopefully they catch back on in 5 years when my SE finally wears out.
MarkHughes
Posts: 342 +345
All day battery (And by that I mean all day under heavy use) Preferable the ability to swap the battery myself when it's dead.
1920 x 1080 5.5" screen is fine, no need for more pixels.
The ability to use any carrier and a clean android installation with no crapware.
Plenty of ram and storage.
The ability to plug in a mouse/keyboard/monitor and use it like a computer...
I notice very little talk about the phone being thinner ? is it because people don't really want that ?
1920 x 1080 5.5" screen is fine, no need for more pixels.
The ability to use any carrier and a clean android installation with no crapware.
Plenty of ram and storage.
The ability to plug in a mouse/keyboard/monitor and use it like a computer...
I notice very little talk about the phone being thinner ? is it because people don't really want that ?
J
Jibberish18
Price => Battery Life => OS => Screen Size => Others
I love my OnePlus3 and thus far its given me very little complain about but honestly it's just too big. Which isn't to say it is huge. It makes good uses of small bezels but no matter, this phone would have been heavenly at 5". This is only important to me because I do very little with my phone and that includes things that require a large beautiful screen, which I think the OP3 has.
I love my OnePlus3 and thus far its given me very little complain about but honestly it's just too big. Which isn't to say it is huge. It makes good uses of small bezels but no matter, this phone would have been heavenly at 5". This is only important to me because I do very little with my phone and that includes things that require a large beautiful screen, which I think the OP3 has.
R
Raoul Duke
I don't value them, never owned a cellphone
misor
Posts: 1,427 +326
Budget price, battery life, and software upgrade support.
I bought first gen android one from cherry mobile Philippines because google promised to support it up to 2 years. I t did not happen as my phone was 'abandoned'. it was stuck at android marshmallow 6.1.1. security patch was last September 2016, if I am not mistaken.
I also bought second gen android one from cherry mobile, stock android 5.x. it was promptly upgraded to marshmallow 6 and nougat 7. minor updates were also promptly released. It is now on version 7.1.1 with latest security patch February 2017.
I bought first gen android one from cherry mobile Philippines because google promised to support it up to 2 years. I t did not happen as my phone was 'abandoned'. it was stuck at android marshmallow 6.1.1. security patch was last September 2016, if I am not mistaken.
I also bought second gen android one from cherry mobile, stock android 5.x. it was promptly upgraded to marshmallow 6 and nougat 7. minor updates were also promptly released. It is now on version 7.1.1 with latest security patch February 2017.
tr0n09
Posts: 8 +11
1. Battery Life: something that will realistically last longer than 4-6 hours of heavy use
2. Camera: A true prosumer camera with a Wide to Mid-range zoom. Something like a 18-55, or even up to 70 or 85mm equivalent. 20Mpx and 1.8 - 3.5F.
3. Stop making phones slippery with all the gloss and glass.
2. Camera: A true prosumer camera with a Wide to Mid-range zoom. Something like a 18-55, or even up to 70 or 85mm equivalent. 20Mpx and 1.8 - 3.5F.
3. Stop making phones slippery with all the gloss and glass.
dirtyferret
Posts: 899 +1,274
1. Price - I refuse to spend over $500
2. hardware performance - doesn't need to be latest and greatest but I do want some modern tech in it
3. good camera - we have an infant and toddler, grandparents like seeing pics
4. solid battery - had to constantly charge my Moto x 2014 at home and work.
2. hardware performance - doesn't need to be latest and greatest but I do want some modern tech in it
3. good camera - we have an infant and toddler, grandparents like seeing pics
4. solid battery - had to constantly charge my Moto x 2014 at home and work.
Adhmuz
Posts: 2,343 +1,186
Battery life is easily the most important thing, you can have the toughest, sexiest, fastest phone around, but it all counts for nothing if you can't even make it the whole day on a charge.
Build quality is important too, don't want it to explode because the battery is too big to fit inside the device now do we.
Screen resolution with a good camera, the rest after that is almost irrelevant, appearance wise I can care less, I'm just putting it in a case that hides everything but the screen anyways.
Build quality is important too, don't want it to explode because the battery is too big to fit inside the device now do we.
Screen resolution with a good camera, the rest after that is almost irrelevant, appearance wise I can care less, I'm just putting it in a case that hides everything but the screen anyways.
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