what features are most important to you on a new cell phone?
- Thread starter brahmanknight
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I chose "other". I won't consider a phone with a bunch of bloatware that takes forever to get updates (looking at you samsung).
Screen quality has dropped off the list for me. Even at 5"+ going over 1080p doesn't buy you much in sharpness, but ends up unnecessarily hurting battery and UI performance IMHO. I think camera quality is getting to that level of diminishing returns too.
Screen quality has dropped off the list for me. Even at 5"+ going over 1080p doesn't buy you much in sharpness, but ends up unnecessarily hurting battery and UI performance IMHO. I think camera quality is getting to that level of diminishing returns too.
Yeah, I mostly agree. I use the cameras, but it has zero barring on my purchase.
I picked wireless charging and battery life. I'm used to wireless charging and see its benefits, but only in certain situations ( work especially, if you can have a pad at your desk ). Otherwise, the device is worthless if it is dead in six hours with moderate use.
The size isn't listed there, but I think that's very important. I hate these new phablets that are just so ridiculously large. I think that the 5S is the perfect size and I don't want one too much bigger (but I'm running out of options). I also have pretty good eyesight (thank you LASIK) so to me I don't need the extra screen space to see what's on there.
Had wireless charging on my Nexus 5 until I busted the screen and switched to a OnePlus One. I miss the wireless charging the most and it's a must have on my next phone.
I'm with ya on the size. I have a Nexus 7 mini tablet. I just don't see the appeal of carrying a 6 inch device in my pocket all day. It is likely I'm not the target demo for phablets.
I have a Nexus 7 that I used to use quite a bit, when I had a 5" phone. Going to just 5.5", I rarely use the Nexus 7 anymore.
I've been quite impressed with Sony and, now, Huawei purchased directly from them. Sony you have to go outside the US and buy an import. Huawei is now offering a few, select US models direct with full 2 year warranties. Service has been quite well respected, and better than Asus and LG with Google.
Hence why Google's next flagship won't be a LG, that's the lower device, but from Huawei.
Huawei is basically the world's new IBM (long story, some good, some bad), and has only started selling under their own brand, even though they are the ODM (Original Device Manufacturer) for basically everyone outside South Korea. They will even give you an unlock code for changing the boot loader and rooting their devices.
^^^^ This
The #1 battery suck right now in portables is GPU pushing pixels, even non-3D/gaming. At 720p, you're pushing half as much as 1080p. At 1080p you're pushing half as much as 1440p. That means a 1440p is requiring up to 4x the GPU framebuffer and resulting load-power for VRAM and logic, than 720p.
1440p is outstanding for detailed documents, but it's not that much better than 1080p.
720p is not bad at all for reading, especially with a great display, but it's not sufficient for ... say ... Google Docs.
That said ... you pair a low-power, lower-clock (1.5-1.8GHz), but quad core with a low-power, lower-clock, lower-unit GPU, and a 1080p -- let alone 720p -- and you can get 50 to as high as 150% more battery life. Huawei's $299 (typically $229) Ascend Mate 2 is the ultimate example of this -- twice the battery as an iPhone 6, 3x the longevity.
People say, "Oh, but I cannot run the latest games without quad 2.5GHz and an uber high-end GPU." Really? And how much battery life do you get when you do? 120 minutes? 90? Get a tablet for games, like the nVidia Shield Tablet ... it's worth it.
I used to carry 1080p and even 1440p phones ... from the Nexux 5 to the LG G3. I honestly got tired of plugging in or hauling a 6000mAH or so battery around. My phone I carry now is the Huawei Ascend Mate 2. It lasts 30-36 hours on my typical usage, 15+ hours of constant, LTE surfing, watching TV, etc... I then have a 64GB UHS-1 MicroSD in it with TubeMate and other things and I can run 15+ hours of video as I travel (let alone audio podcasts).
The only shortcoming in it is that it doesn't do the latest T-Mobile 700MHz band 17 they purchased from Verizon. The 6.1" 720p screen is the best I've ever seen for a 720p, easier on the eyes for movie watching than my Nexus 5, with my only vice being I don't like it for Google Docs -- like any 720p (that's really the only issue -- but battery life is unreal with 720p). But that's where my nVidia Shield Tablet comes in. I also just flip a switch on my Logitech K480 keyboard (3 devices) to change which I'm typing on, when I need such input.
I can completely run from it when necessary, like any Chromebook ... especially with 16+64GB in the Mate 2 and 32+128GB in the Shield Tablet.
You know what makes me laugh? "Low light performance" in a phone camera. Just give me a decent MP and a basic flash and that's fine. If I'm worried about "low-light," I'm going to be carrying a changeable lens system with f/1.4-1.8 lens, maybe a f/2.4-2.8 macro.
I just want a phone to take good, well lit photos. The 8-13MP these days is just fine. Otherwise I'm bringing my 24MP K-3 and various, fast lenses from f/1.4-2.8 in my slingbag. The phone is for those impromptu pictures, as well as being a WiFi hotspot for my Eye-card in the K-3.
I gave up on wireless charging because I had to buy multiple pads, and they are not always there. But I travel, and not always to the same place.
My only requirement is a good, quad-core with a decent GPU, ideally low-power, with a sizeable, +33-50% bigger battery, which results in 2-3x the longevity. High-end CPUs and GPUs with high-end displays pushing a lot of pixels just aren't worth it. If I'm going to be gaming or otherwise working on detail, I'm going to pull out a tablet. A quad-core with base GPU and a large battery allowed me to work all-day, non-stop, screen-on, without issue ... with an optional Bluetooth keyboard too.
Still waiting on that endless head feature ... eh? The Nexsex 6 ... designed for Barrister.
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I bet the Siri on your phone cries herself to sleep at night wondering if there is spiritual cleansing for cell phones.
That Nexus 7 might be my favorite device ever. And it still gets all the current Android updates before other devices ( not anymore tho ). But I only use it at home, and almost exclusively for reading Kindle and WSJ in the morning.
![[roll]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/roll.r191677.gif "roll [roll]")
Yes, I was like this as well with my Nexux 7, even the 2G Nexus 7 ... until I bought my nVidia Shield Tablet. That changed everything. I was going to wait on the Nexus 9, but when Google priced the Nexus 9 w/LTE at $599, while the Shield Tablet 4G LTE was only $399 (with a MicroSD slot, real speakers, etc...), that was that.
To me ... a Tablet is when you need real power, audio and video fidelity and performance. With a portable, detached Bluetooth keyboard, it should replace any need for a Chromebook ... while kicking the Chromebook's butt in performance at the same time, let alone battery life. It must have 4G LTE, a big MicroSD to "exceed" what most Chromebooks have, and a good resolution for detail work, along with a sizeable battery.
Again ... nVidia Shield Tablet 4G LTE 32GB + 128GB UHS-3 MicroSD does everything I need, especially when paired with a Logitech K480 which has a 3 position dial to switch between devices. I work from my Ascend Mate 2 by default, including with the keyboard when I'm typing a lot ... and pull out the Tablet when I need more, such as not just taking notes in Google Docs, but editing and finalizing Google Docs.
I also get a kick out of reverse charging iPhone 6's with my Ascend Mate 2. I get her back up to 50%, I only lose 25%. Becomes quite the conversation piece at airports from time-to-time.
I chose camera and network speed. My third would have been price. I like to take pictures of my kids and places I go but I hate spending hundreds of extra dollars for the appearance of sophistication.
Other, I'll just get a Galaxy. I'm familiar with it and haven't had any problems in the 5 or 6 years I've owned them. Although I'll probably be holding on to my S4 for quite a while since AT&T will take away my $25 mobile share value discount if I upgrade.
Until battery technology takes a leap forward, I will be looking for the best camera. My cell phone has pretty much replaced the old pocket camera, so it needs to take a good picture. One day they will find a way to make batteries last much longer.
Virtually all quad-cores, even the low-power units, can keep up with network speed. Depending on the device, and whether the carrier disables it (they might, to lock you to using more) if you have a carrier-provided phone, you can toggle "Always on Mobile Data" or not. I find I get 50% more battery life by turning off the latter. That's the only thing that affects network speed (largely app latency/push to the app).
Google also totally screwed-the-pooch with Android 5, which continues to plague battery life through the latest 5.1.1. They honestly don't know how to sustain a platform, which is the reason why I finally stopped using my 2G (let alone 1G) Nexus 7. I bought my wife the nVidia Shield Tablet to game, opting for the 4G LTE since it came with a free game controller (making it little more than the non-LTE), and I suddenly found it 10x better for regular usage.
I had already switched to using my LG G3 from the Nexus 5, not for the specs or resolution, but to get back to Android 4.4. Eventually my carrier auto-updated my unlocked LG G3 (don't get me started, long story, I opted out, still got pushed), and I was in hell until 5.1.1, and still have issues. As long as Google is still sustaining 4.4, I'll keep using it, and even consider Cynogenmod after that.
There are a lot of sub-$300 direct (no carrier, no contract) devices out there that work on AT&T or T-mobile with quad-core, good GPU, 8-13MP, etc... cameras ... let alone MicroSD slots so you're not streaming everything (it adds up ... quick). There is also the new $399 Moto X refresh that just hit, although I don't always trust anything Google (despite the recent seperation).
The best phone I ever had for battery was my Windows phone I just got rid of - Lumia 640 XL. My benchmark is 1 full day of battery life. I don't to worry about a charger until I go to bed. I don't need it to last 2 days because I always charge at night. I literally could not kill the battery in that phone. Unfortunately it was Windows Phone and had none of the apps I use, and when it did (like Facebook) it was such a bastardized version compared to Android and iOS it was basically unusable.
I picked up a Nexus 6 last week when they dropped to $349. It has been fitting the bill for me - just barely makes it until I go to bed on a full charge. I can live.
I picked up a Nexus 6 last week when they dropped to $349. It has been fitting the bill for me - just barely makes it until I go to bed on a full charge. I can live.
That reminds me of a piece I read last week.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/0...hone-is-finally-here-and-that-makes-me-happy/
The tiny tolerances and high precision necessary to make the pricey Galaxy S6 Edge+ result in a phone that almost looks fake at some angles - it is eerily perfectThis slippery glass brick is, of course, brand-new. People have only yet started to receive them, pulling them from their soft-touch cardboard packaging, examining them from edge to edge like well-practiced jewelers before carefully and surgically peeling away the logo and text-emblazoned plastic protective film, revealing the almost impossibly clean veneer of a factory-fresh smartphone. There is a certain sadness in knowing your phone will never, ever be this clean again, no matter how large your collection of microfiber wipes and various anti-bacterial goops.
"This," the proud new brick-owner thinks, "is what $800 [or more] buys you." When this initial sense of wonder passes, as it always does, a $20 plastic case ordered on Amazon a week ago in gleeful anticipation is unceremoniously snapped onto the glass brick to protect the owner's newest beloved possession (because leaving it unprotected is for "idiots"). Never really considered again is the sleek, purposeful, and thin structure all that amazing technology is precisely packed into, like some prestigious tin of fine silicon caviar. Like covering a Ferrari in black vinyl followed by a liberal coating of industrial-strength pickup truck bed-liner, it seems at once deeply practical and strangely sacrilegious.
Fast-forward 2 months. That phone falls down a flight of stairs at the end of a long night out, and despite the valiant efforts of that $20 branded plastic and silicone tomb to absorb each brutal impact, the screen develops a spidering crack along the edge of the glass after landing at exactly the wrong angle, as phones do. Such an incident is guaranteed to ruin the evening of all but the most financially fortunate among us. But more importantly, it renders the phone as ugly and socially stigmatic as a car that was clearly involved in a serious accident quite some time ago and has yet to be repaired because the owner either lacks the funds or, as we "smart consumers" quietly think to ourselves, because that person isn't careful and considerate with their possessions. No one likes to be "the cracked screen guy," and every time that fractured phone leaves your pocket, there is a brief moment of decidedly tactile dread, fleeting as it may be: "What the hell did I do to deserve this
So take a step back. What if you had bought a $300 phone instead of that $650 one? Or even a $200 one? How much would you miss that more expensive "experience"? How much more financially able would you be to deal with a loss if you opted for the cheaper device? Would you even want, let alone need a case or phone insurance?
The Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 caught many people - Alcatel competitors included - by surprise this year with its premium design and feature-set and an aggressive $250 street priceBTW, for those that haven't seen it ...
Full Review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8031/huawei-ascend-mate-2-review/2
I could really care less about specs and features. It's over a year old, and I don't think I'm going to switch until something comes close. This "battery life" in the "real world" is real issue. I cannot get 6 hours using my Nexus 5 in the exact same way I can get 15 hours out of my Mate 2.
And as I mentioned, if I really need to do some detailed documentation work, and not just note taking, I'm pulling out my nVidia Shield Tablet 4G LTE instead. If I already have the Logitech K480 out (when I was typing), it's just a quick flip on its dial to change its target.
Full Review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8031/huawei-ascend-mate-2-review/2
I could really care less about specs and features. It's over a year old, and I don't think I'm going to switch until something comes close. This "battery life" in the "real world" is real issue. I cannot get 6 hours using my Nexus 5 in the exact same way I can get 15 hours out of my Mate 2.
And as I mentioned, if I really need to do some detailed documentation work, and not just note taking, I'm pulling out my nVidia Shield Tablet 4G LTE instead. If I already have the Logitech K480 out (when I was typing), it's just a quick flip on its dial to change its target.
I haven't bought a phone since 2006. I just call the main office to send me a new one. Currently on an S5. Kinda sucks ass.
