Any people knowledgeable about current phones?

"njp1589" (njp1589)
11/05/2014 at 15:02 • Filed to: None

It's time for me to upgrade with Sprint, and of course they don't have either of the handsets I want (Nexus 5 or the new Moto X). My needs are simple, I want a not enormous phone (the closer to 5" screen the better) with STOCK ANDROID. However, my usual Google-fu is coming up with very few lists, and even fewer with phones my carrier has.

I'd ask elsewhere but I don't want to start a flame war. Anyone know what options are out there?

Here's a Ferrari for your time.

DISCUSSION (48)

Party-vi > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:25

I only came here to see the Ferrari. Sry

Manuél Ferrari > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:25

Sprint is terrible!

You should leave Sprint and get a phone that you really want. Don't settle!

njp1589 > Party-vi
11/05/2014 at 15:26

I don't blame you. The 599XX is ROWDY.

lone_liberal > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:27

I have the older Moto X (4.7" screen) and couldn't be happier with it. I too like stock Android but Verizon doesn't do Nexus phones anymore after trying it with the Galaxy Nexus. If you can take the newer version's big screen then I'd recommend that one.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:28

Your only option with Sprint will be the upcoming Nexus 6 if you want stock Android. Your options open up if you decide to jump ship and go to another network.

njp1589 > Manuél Ferrari
11/05/2014 at 15:28

Ehhh. Sprint isn't that bad for me, and the big draw is unlimited data. I'm just pissed off that a few month back they had both of those phones... and now they have neither.

njp1589 > Where have all the lightweights gone?
11/05/2014 at 15:29

That's a massive bummer.

Margin Of Error > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:30

I use a Windows phone and I enjoy every seconds of it.

kincai28 > Manuél Ferrari
11/05/2014 at 15:30

I can't tell if serious but if so, I agree. I used to have Sprint and switched to Verizon and never looked back. My friend still has Sprint and his coverage is terrible even in a larger city (Columbus, OH).

I just upgraded my Droid Razr Maxx to the Droid Turbo and I couldn't be happier. Moto X 2014 was my second choice but I needed the Turbo's bigger battery as I use my phone quite a bit at work.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:30

Do you have a link to a list of phones that your carrier offers? You could buy a Nexus 5 from Google. They come unlocked for $350 in Canada. https://play.google.com/store/devices/…

djmt1 > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:32

HTC ONE M8 Google Play edition.

Big Bubba Ray > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:33

The Nexus 5 is a good phone. I got mine about three weeks ago and I'm liking it so far. I had an iphone for about 4 years and jumped ship because I couldn't afford another one haha

The screen size is just about right. Not too big like these dumb "phablets" that are all over the damn place now. I think the screen is the same size as the iPhone 6. Battery life is decent. I can make it the whole day without a charge (8 a.m.-1 a.m. ish). It's been a pretty good phone so far. No complaints here.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:34

I have a Oneplus One. It is a bit bigger than I expected. My thumb only reaches the half of the screen...

njp1589 > djmt1
11/05/2014 at 15:36

Sprint doesn't get the Play Edition.

treesmakewater > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:37

Is the nexus 6 gsm only? Also what about the lg g3?

djmt1 > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/05/2014 at 15:39

My OnePlus One is on the boarder of being too big to use with one hand the catch being I can only do it when I take it out of it's case but at £269 I can overlook that.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:40

I have had four Galaxies in a row, S2, S3, S4, S5.

I really do like the S5. I think the S3 was about the perfect size, the S5 is bigger than I really want (more about pockets than screen size). I really prefer the Samsung Android experience to the Droid Ultra and Moto X that my crews use.

PS: Dump Sprint. We switched to Verizon, yes we pay more per month, but the data is actually 4G all the time. In the StL market, the Sprint 4G service is terrible and they have the worst 3G in the country (documented truth). That unlimited shit isn't with the spotty coverage.

njp1589 > treesmakewater
11/05/2014 at 15:41

G3 has a bunch of LG tweaks. I've gotten picky about having to deal with skins and preloaded garbage.

I think the Nexus 6 will come out on Sprint, but it's too big for me. I don't kneed a phone that's 1" smaller than my tablet.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > djmt1
11/05/2014 at 15:42

The price is great, the camera is good too. I can overlook the small glitches because it is a new brand, but my biggest problem is with the volume and lock screen button. The battery life is awesome. I hate explaining to people what phone this is. It was fun the first 2-3 times. Not anymore.

Manuél Ferrari > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:42

They are TERRIBLE where I live. I moved to T Mobile and got unlimited data and much better service. But T Mobile may not work well where you live. They are improving a lot though. Far cry from how they used to be.

djmt1 > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:42

I think LG's overlay is pretty thin so the LG G3 could be an option but if you are willing to just buy a phone outright I'd say try a OnePlus One. It is a bit big at 5.5" but at $300 it is insane value for money.

Manuél Ferrari > kincai28
11/05/2014 at 15:43

I was dead serious. I had sprint from around 2009-2014. It was good for the first 2-3 years. Then it went to shit. It became basically unusable in my part of So Cal

njp1589 > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
11/05/2014 at 15:43

Ya see, I got the S3 and I loved it... Right up until I bought a Nexus 7 and realized how much more I liked stock. I still have it and it's quite good, but there are little things that annoy me about it. I also wasn't super pleased with the build quality.

njp1589 > Manuél Ferrari
11/05/2014 at 15:46

That's my worry. I used to have T-Mobile and they were bad. I mean REALLY bad. The plans are appealing, but the potential for shitty coverage is not.

djmt1 > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/05/2014 at 15:47

I love explaining it to people and pointing out how much cheaper it is. It still hasn't got old. I pretty much exclusively use the double tap instead but I do wish that the volume buttons were on the right since virtually all cases open from right to left.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > djmt1
11/05/2014 at 15:51

When I explain it was 300 Euro, people assume it is some cheap chinese phone and that I am too cheap for a 'real' phone, like a Samsung or HTC. I don't want to give everyone the same speech about how it is comparable to the Samsung S5 and whatnot, they don't care...

Manuél Ferrari > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:52

Yeah my friend used to have them back in the day and they were awful

But I think the script flipped. Sprint went to being the worst as far as coverage goes and T Mobile improved. I just read a study the other day that put Sprint dead last when it comes to coverage

T Mobile is under new leadership now. They have invested a ton of money into improving their network. Their plan has worked as they've stolen a lot of customers from the other carriers. I think they might actually have passed AT&T as far as # of customers goes.

One huge benefit of switching to T Mobile - my battery life is better now. GSM seems to take less energy than CDMA when in low coverage areas. When I was on Sprint my battery would drain fast when the phone was hunting for better signals. GSM doesn't seem to take up as much energy when it's searching for better signals in low-coverage areas.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 15:56

Where do you? You might be better off going to another carrier and getting better service and more options for unlocked phones.

djmt1 > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
11/05/2014 at 15:57

I talk about price last. At that point there is no argument to be had since not many phones match the One before factoring in the price.

njp1589 > Manuél Ferrari
11/05/2014 at 16:01

That might be worth it. I'm studying coverage maps now.

Manuél Ferrari > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 16:02

It's always good to check to see how things have changed.

I have a work and personal line. My personal was Verizon and my work was Sprint. When I moved neither of them worked well at my house. Verizon was spotty and Sprint didn't work at all.

I switched the Sprint line to T Mobile 6 months ago and it's been great so far. I switched the Verizon line to AT&T just last night. A bit better so far.

fink stinger > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 16:11

I haven't had a phone under contract for years, so I don't know how much Sprint subsidizes. There should be a pretty good flood of used Nexus 5's hitting the market in a few weeks once the Nexus 6 gets into the waiting hands. They are already a pretty decent deal used and the market price is sure to be dropping. For the first time in quite a few Nexus releases, I am not upgrading right away since I am still very happy with my 5. Lollipop should make it even better next week.

KirkyV > djmt1
11/05/2014 at 16:11

I'm still perfectly happy with my Nexus 5 - IT'S RED, OH YEAH - but if I were in the market for a new phone, I'd be begging in the streets for a OnePlus invite right now.

I am shopping for a new tablet at the minute, but it's proving substantially harder to make a decision than I'd have thought.

KirkyV > Big Bubba Ray
11/05/2014 at 16:12

And you're due for an OS update pretty soon. Lollipop looks pretty snazzy, and I really like the sound of some of the new features.

djmt1 > KirkyV
11/05/2014 at 16:20

I think Invites are done, thankfully. You can soon pre-order it normally. If I do get anymore invites I'll send you one.

I'm also in the market for a tablet and I'm also struggling since my laptop is on its last legs and the Surface Pro 3 has become a realistic option but at £1,200 I'm not sure.

cazzyodo > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 16:24

I just picked up a moto X a couple weeks ago. Pretty slick.

Had to wait almost a month for the customized portion of it but coming from a GS3 it was a God-send. Of course the Nexus was announced days before my phone arrived but I'm not overly concerned. Screen is gorgeous and it FEELS like a quality phone in hand (unlike the plastic POS that was the GS3...I'm done with Samsung).

ACESandEIGHTS > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 16:33

Wait it out. I'm a Sprint guy and they eventually get whatever I want. I've been pleased with the s5 which fits nicely in either front or back pocket. Not an expert by any means so can't say much more, other than DO NOT SEEK THE HTC ONE M8 , as the thing is more like an iPhone than it should be (sealed battery for one).

GhostZ > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 16:41

HTC, Samsung, and LG are your friends. Look for external dimensions around what you want (not all 5" screens are created equal, some phones are wider or taller than you would expect despite the screen size).

The smallest HTC One or Samsung Galaxy is going to be your best bet.

If you want even smaller, go for an HTC One Mini 2 . It's a cut-down version of the current HTC One. Screen size is 4.5". The regular HTC One (M8) is 5".

There's a Samsung Galaxy at 5.1" and a Galaxy Mini at 4.5" also.

EDIT: Wow, neither of these are offered by Sprint. Damn.

You can get the OLDER HTC ONE, which is 4.7" screen, the newer HTC ONE at 5.0"

Or the older 5.0" galaxy.

I'd say the new M8/E8 HTC One is the way to go.

KirkyV > djmt1
11/05/2014 at 16:45

Really? That's great news! I will eventually need a replacement for my N5, and with Google charging what they are for the Nexus 6 - they're clearly going after the carrier contract market - I doubt it'll be another Nexus, sadly.

When it comes to tablets, I'm not really looking for a laptop replacement - I'm primarily a desktop guy, and while my ageing MacBook Pro's starting to feel rather slow, I reckon an SSD'll perk it back up nicely - so the Surface Pro is a little much for me. I had been angling for a Nexus 9, but they are rather pricey, and thanks to my student discount, I could get a first-gen iPad Air for a little bit less. Now, I really don't like iOS - I've had iPhones before, my current tablet's a dying iPad 2, and all Apple's arbitrary limitations annoy the crap out of me - but I know there's a dearth of large-tablet-optimised apps on Android, and I'm having to debate whether I'd rather deal with that, or iOS' bullshit.

Hahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalready > Party-vi
11/05/2014 at 16:52

Ditto.

195100003 > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 16:53

Galaxy S4 mini

Big Bubba Ray > KirkyV
11/05/2014 at 17:10

Any idea when Lollipop is rolling out? I haven't really read or heard much about it other than the fact that it should be soon!

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 17:12

DROID TURBO!!!!!!! Seriously, its the Nexus 6 but smaller, with a better camera, with a faster processor and better storage plus expandable storage

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > kincai28
11/05/2014 at 17:13

Planing on doin g the same thing, except the Moto X was my first choice until last week when the Turbo dropped, I just wish it came in white like my Razr MAxx HD did. Oh well at least it will be baller fast

KirkyV > Big Bubba Ray
11/05/2014 at 17:15

Sometime this week, hopefully? Next week at the latest.

kincai28 > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
11/05/2014 at 17:28

Its crazy fast. I got the red one which I think looks pretty cool. I wanted the 64GB but I didn't like the ballistic nylon and realistically I stream most of my music off of Soundcloud so its not a huge issue.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > kincai28
11/05/2014 at 17:32

I'm jelly, I have to wait a little while for mine, but when I get it much fun will be had, plus I want that new Moto Hint earpiece.

treesmakewater > njp1589
11/05/2014 at 18:03

well as far as I know, the moto x, and nexus 6 are the only high end vanilla android (close to it) that is going to sprint. Have you tried the lg g3? Its not as bad as say the galaxy s5 (I prefer vanilla as well)