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Thread: A GOOD smart phone ? Which one ?

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    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    Default A GOOD smart phone ? Which one ?

    I got my very first cell phone 5 years ago @ 62 years of age. I had never felt the need prior to that. I was fascinated by the Droid Razr and bought one. What could be more appropriate for a straight razor user than a phone named Razr ? Meanwhile I 'knew' that I would never give up my land line, but within 3 months I shut that down and went solely with the cell phone to this day. The Razr was good but the battery was insufficient. After a year I was able to upgrade I went with the RazrMaxHD and have been happily using that for the past few years.

    Now, the screen is cracked, the shell is half way coming apart, the microphone quit and you have to have it on speaker to hear. So though I hate to spend the $, I'm looking at another smart phone. What to choose ? Some praise the I-phone, others Samsung, there are so many variables. If anyone has the inclination post the good, the bad, and the ugly about your smart phones.
    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

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    Senior Member blabbermouth Leatherstockiings's Avatar
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    I really like my iphone 6s. Some of the pluses are the screen clarity and camera.
    The main gripe I have with it is the rounded sides. It is really prone to slipping off a chair arm, being dropped, etc. I had the iphone 4 and hardly ever dropped it. I drop the 6 about once a week. That being said it's pretty durable. I haven't broke the phone or cracked it and have owned it over a year. It also was submerged in a creek and worked after drying out in a bag of rice for 48 hours.
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    Senior Member dinnermint's Avatar
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    It sounds like you are as rough on your phone as construction workers are on boots. Although it could just be the build quality of the Razr, I do not know anyone that has one. My family has been a Samsung fan since I bought one to replace my 10" VCR combo TV some 14 years ago. I have a friend that is a bartender and quite hard on his phones. He purchased a waterproof/drop resistant smart phone, I think it is Samsung. Since you have had issues with build quality/you are possibly tough on phones, I think this should be a route to look into, regardless of the manufacturer. OR you could spring for a really nice case, Ballistic is the brand I was given when I received my phone and it seems capable... I cannot endorse/complain about windows phones, but that might be an avenue to look into if you own other windows devices. I think the Win10 is supposed to be easier to maintain sync across devices...

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    Thread derailment specialist. Wullie's Avatar
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    Wife has a SAMSUNG S6. Takes amazing pictures and videos. She uses it for all kinds of non phone related stuff. Had a few other "smart" phones before this one. THey all took a dump in one way or another.

    I'm still using my Samsung Rugby flip phone. It's a phone, I don't text or play on the net with it. I don't need or want a comm center in my pocket.
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    Member Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club, participant SE Asia War Games 1972-1973. The oath I swore has no statute of limitation.

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    illegitimum non carborundum Utopian's Avatar
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    In 2011, I had to get an iPhone 4 to be connected to my new lab's monitoring system. It was my first cell phone, while my wife probably had gone through at least 4 by then. Prior to that I carried a pager to be connected to previous monitoring systems, so my wife or friends could page me and I could call them back. I was fine with that. I felt no need for a cell phone. I still think they are overused. I'm already being mocked by friends telling me I have to upgrade my iPhone 4. I don't see any need. As long as it works, it will be fine with me.

    Then again, I'd still be fine with this...

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    Actually, I finally threw away my last one a couple years ago.

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    rhensley rhensley's Avatar
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    I carry a dumb phone. I flip it open and make a call the flip it closed. Now this may sound too old fashioned for most but it's lightening speed compared to the first phone i used that hung on the wall and had a crank on the side.
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    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Utopian View Post
    Then again, I'd still be fine with this...

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    Actually, I finally threw away my last one a couple years ago.
    Selling for $500 on ebay now ...........
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    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

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    Senior Member blabbermouth Hirlau's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings View Post
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, It also was submerged in a creek and worked after drying out in a bag of rice for 48 hours.

    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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    Senior Member blabbermouth Hirlau's Avatar
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    iPhone 6 for me.

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    The original Skolor and Gentileman. gugi's Avatar
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    It's like a new guy asking which razor to get.

    On the high end are apple and samsung, a little below them are companies like lg and motorola and then you have dozens if not hundreds of others. Apple makes 2-3 models and updates them roughly every year. The others do the same for their flagship model in 2-3 variants, but have many more models at lower price points.

    Start by deciding on your budget, then go to your provider's website and see what current phones fit in that budget. You can go to their store to see them in person too.

    For the flagship phones it doesn't matter which provider - they make them for every one (which in usa are really four: verizion/sprint/at&t/t-mobile), and these days you can even use the same phone on different providers by simply swapping the sim card (not exactly the same as using the correct phone as some frequencies can be missing, but would function). The other providers like tracfone, h2o, etc. are using the infrastructure of the big one and just repackage the services in a different way.

    You probably have realized it already, but one new thing with a smart phone would be a larger monthly bill because you'll have to pay not only for phone calls and text messages, but also for the internet on your phone (you select the data limit on your plan when you sign up). You don't have an option to have just phone calls and not pay for internet/data if you are going to use a smart phone - for that you need to stay with a dumb phone.

    You can also complicate things further if you decide to switch providers (you can keep your phone number) but that depends on the coverage they have where you live - the only way to know if it's good is to ask people with different providers about their experience in the places you spend your time. If you're happy with the coverage you get with your current provider the easiest is to just stick with it for now.

    Lastly I think most if not all of them ditched the 1- and 2-year contracts, or at least have the option of doing month-to-month service. I think all offer installment payments on the phone itself over 12-30 months, if you're credit worthy, and if you leave them early you have to pay the remaining balance, but no penalty for early contract termination.

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