Apologies, but I would really appreciate some input here.
The first smartphone I ever really used was a Moto G 16gb.
I was very happy with it , except the camera wasn't up to much - the camera on my iPod 4th gen was much better - and I found the limited storage a bit of a problem.
So I bought an iPhone 5 64gb . I'm not particularly bowled over by it tbh. The user interface is nice and somehow 'more immediate' than that on the Moto G, but maybe thats because Im used to the apple interface after my iPod touch . Apart from that , Im not really that impressed tbh.
What I want the phone for is :
taking photos / video ..a reasonably good quality camera
recording speech / talks etc
apart from that , usual phone stuff , using it like a small tablet etc.
good battery life is really important. ideally i want something that lasts more than a day or two.
I do have a mac and an ipad, but not really bothered about having an apple phone - happy to go android as long as its idiot proof.
any suggestions please?
don't want really to spend more than 200 quid but could go more.
thanks for being patient. dave
Last edited by seikopath; 25th October 2014 at 21:30.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Maybe a LG G3 or a Nexus(built for Google by LG)? Not personally used either but they seem well regarded.
I use a iPhone 5C which functions perfectly well, but a bit "meh". Only had it since spring and have, despite a 24 month contract, been considering it's replacement for a few months. I'm wondering how to get a invite for a oneplus handset.
Dave
Last edited by dforgrieve; 26th October 2014 at 04:49.
At that price you're looking at second hand. Even then you might struggle to satisfy your needs given that you want a good camera. You get what you pay for.
I would avoid the LG G3, its a great phone but the screen is very dim and it really bugged me for the very brief time that i had it so had to move it on. When i say dim, i'm not saying i wanted it to be the burn you retina out levels of some but it was like looking at the screen through 3 layers of cling film. I'm currently using a Samsung S5 and its a great phone, screen and camera are superb and its an excellent all round phone. I went from an iPhone 5 to the Samsung and never looked back, it really dumps on the iphone (imo) in pretty much all areas. Even the latest incarnation of IOS8 which I have now on my iPad Mini is less than impressive.
Price wise, these can be had new (unwanted upgrades) for around the £275 on t'internet.
If you're not tied into Apple and can stretch to £300 used...
...I'd highly recommend the HTC One M8. Best phone around and Techradar rate it as slightly better than the IPhone 6! :)
+1 on Samsung Galaxy phones. Im still using a S3 and think it's great, no desire to upgrade. The camera is great, no need to carry a camera anymore, the userface is second nature now and if you switch off data you'll easily get 2+ days from the battery. I don't and have to charge everyday which I think is the norm. You can still find them new, one in Asda the other day, if memory is correct, it was £239. Other than that get a S4/S5 slightly used.
Samsung Galaxy S phones highly recommended by me
I have also got the HTC One M8 and love it but as others say you won't go wrong with a Samsung as they are great phones.
+1 on Samsung Galaxy phones
Getting any smart phone to last 2 days is a real challenge. I have bought a second battery for my S4 (not possible for apple phones) for under a tenner, this way I have enough power available for my longer periods between charges
Thanks for all the replies. I'm maybe just as confused, although I don't know quite what i was expecting! I think the problem is that I don't know if I will really like a phone until Ive played with it for a few days, but I really cba buying and flipping phones just to find something I'm really happy with. A phone is just a tool to me and not something I'm particularly interested in, unlike watches.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Second that. Mine smashes my iPhone 5 into the ground. Better camera, features and battery life.Originally Posted by The Hack
From your list of requirements, I'd say the Samsung Galaxy S5 is spot on (if you can find one second hand).
I use it to record the conference calls I chair so nobody can refute the minutes. These normally last an hour and the speech is clear and easy to understand in playback.
I've had the previous incarnations and the cameras were good in them all but the one in the S5 is stand-out. In fact, I don't use my standalone camera anymore.
Battery life is great.
Another vote for the Galaxy S5. I have the LTE-A variant (G901F) and it's lightening fast. I moved from a Nexus 5 and most things are improved. The camera and call quality is higher and the screen saturation is a bit more satisfying. The interface is however a bit slower despite the Snapdragon 805 under the hood.
The battery life is incredible, I can easily get 2 days with moderate usage, even when using EE double speed 4G all day. Can't recommend it enough.
I'm using a Samsung Note II now. You can get certainly get them for less than £200 (with LTE). Decent camera, battery and such. It has a nice big screen. I also like the stylus for quick notes. An aside. I'm on giffgaff and decided to try LTE this month. Zoom.
I bought a new (OEM) battery for it (battery from May 2014, rather than March 2012). It made a huge difference. Something like a day to a day and a half (depends on use, of course).
Best wishes,
Bob
PM sweepinghand, he's the mobile phone specialist,
Thanks Bob, whats LTE?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I have similar requirements for phone and I use a Sony xperia. I find that the camera is great
As others have already stated, I think you will need to either stretch your budget a bit, or go into a second hand purchase.
If you want to definitely stay under 200GBP, the Nexus 5 would be a good choice, but battery life is not great. Also LG's previous top model, the G2, would fit the bill very well and should easily be within your budget constraints.
If you can stretch your limits, the Nexus 6 is just around the corner. Should be a great phone, with fantastic specs and of course running Android 5.0 out of the box
Alex
Reluctant as I am to admit it since I have the HTC One M8, the online reviews comparing the cameras of this and the iPhone 6, the 6 has the marginally better camera. Additionally, in bright sunlight the HTC is a sod to use. You can't see the screen. No idea if the 6 is similarly affected.
Here's an evening shot as I was passing one of the pit villages through on my way home. Reduced in size 3x. It's sharper in full on my monitor.
In bright sunlight any phone screen will be harder to see but I have the the HTC One M8 and I don't have a problem at all in bright sunlight, the screen on it is so crystal clear and it is easily the best phone I have ever owned.Reluctant as I am to admit it since I have the HTC One M8, the online reviews comparing the cameras of this and the iPhone 6, the 6 has the marginally better camera. Additionally, in bright sunlight the HTC is a sod to use. You can't see the screen. No idea if the 6 is similarly affected.
Here's an evening shot as I was passing one of the pit villages through on my way home. Reduced in size 3x. It's sharper in full on my monitor.
4G.
Best wishes,
Bob
Thank you, tending towards an s5 at the moment, but am a bit bewildered by all the various models available, however it seems they do a dual sim version which would be very handy for me.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Will you be purchasing SIM free or in a contract?
I never take a contract . It's not worth it for me . I am on asda/ ee at the moment . Would go giffgaff but the O2 network coverage round me is rubbish - can't get reception in the house , even just for texts .
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Okay just curious. There are a few models of S5 with the latest being the G901F. This has LTE-A (hyper speed 4G tech due out soon) and also a Snapdragon 805 CPU. The later models are still only a little less beefy with Snapdragon 801 CPUs.
I have the 901F and it's incredible.
Where's a good place to buy the s5 new ? ie cheap with good after sales
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
'Cheap' and 'after sales service' are hard to find with phones. Beware Amazon/ebay etc. I decided not to risk it and bought my s5 from Carphone Warehouse this time. I'm glad I did, as it was faulty. If I'd bought for a £50 saving from a dodgy Amazon seller I would have had a lot of hassle and possibly an expensive bookend.
I saved hassle and a few quid by buying my M8 from a reliable SC seller...
I did exactly the same and I love my M8 :)
Have you considered the note 3? I have the iPhone 6 and 6 plus as well as the note 3, I am waiting or my note 4 to be delivered. But put of the phones, hands dan my favourite is the note. I had the HTC, but found it uncomfortable to use, so moved it on quickly also photos were bad. The iPhone and the note 3 take some amazing photos. My S5 I moved on as I found it buggy and for some reason I just did not get on with it, entirely my fault I am sure.
Apparently the new gen moto g has expandable memory and a better camera . Anyone got one ? Thoughts ?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Be interested to hear your take on the Note 4 and whether it was a worthwhile upgrade from the S5. As much as I like the S5 I do fancy a bigger screen, and there's no way I'm going back to Apple for the iPhone 6+.
I have an M8 which I prefer to my previous iPhone - I'm not totally sold on the camera but it's certainly better than Ineed! My son just bought a Sim free Moto g with the 5 inch screen, improved camera over the last version and expandable with a 32 gb sd card. Ok it's only 3g but at £144 delivered from Amazon I it makes my HTC look massively overpriced (to be honest who really uses all the features of the top end phones? I know I don't) - build quality is also great, and no doubt there will be a 4g version out soon!
Only just saw this post - see my other reply but I'm genuinely blown away by my son's new Moto at £144. I can't find anything noticeably worse than my HTC except for the gadget nonsense I never use and the absence of 4g
If I were to buy a phone right now I'd buy the moto g 2nd gen. Its 4g and has expandable memory. Seems like a bargain from amazon. It's an improvement on the first moto g which had limited internal memory but still a great phone and still available at just over £100. 2nd gen slightly dearer but with the micro card slot so its worth the extra.
I bought one of the new gen moto g's yesterday and will report back. As I said , I was very happy with my 1st gen moto g , just wanted a better camera and memory and the 2nd gen addresses both these as well as having dual sim capability .
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Oiljam , I don't think the 2nd gen moto has 4g but could be wrong .
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00K...&robot_redir=1
£140. Good spec for the price, 4g, expandable memory.
My parents have the 1st gen moto g and it easily stands up to my galaxy s3, so this trumps it
I'm confused , I bought this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00N...ref=mp_s_a_1_1
Is that a different phone ?
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Hi there
It seems you've bought the latest updated 2014 moto g. Great. With larger screen, faster processor and upgraded camera. The only thing I see is its not 4g which wouldn't be an issue for me as there's limited coverage at the moment anyway.
Should prove to be a fantastic phone, well done on a great price also.
Enjoy it, let us know how you get on with it, I'm not sure my S3 will last much longer, its getting a little grey around the edges.
The new version is not available with 4G yet - the old version launched 3G only and they added a 4G version a few months ago which also has an SD slot. About a month ago they released a larger improved 2nd gen version with 3G only and an SD slot - there's no doubt a 4G version well appear but but sure when. My son has a limited data plan so lack of 4G not an issue - with that caveat it's a great phone but confusingly a tiny bit pricier than the old 4 g version!
Phone just arrived. I'm really pleased with it. It looks really nice and is quite a bit bigger than my old moto g 1st gen. Will report more later.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Looks like a bargain, how's the screen, bright enough?
Last edited by chafer; 1st November 2014 at 15:36.
Good to hear. If you have any Android 'setup' questions I'm sure they could quickly be resolved so post away.
The phone did look good. Shame the touchscreen didnt work at all. So I've sent it back. Replacement coming tomorrow. Allegedly. Very mixed customer service from Amazon.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Aaarrgghh. Don't you just love it. Nothing runs as smooth as hoped. Better luck with the replacement
The gen 2 has a slightly larger screen than the gen 1 but with the same number of pixels, thus giving a reduced density. The reviews suggest that the difference in the perceived sharpness this causes in the display quality is discernible but not excessive.
It would be very interesting to hear your own observations on the side by side difference between the two of them.
If its of any interest the new ringke case I bought for the new one isn't a touch on the amzer case I had on the old one. I think it would offer far less protection. Both are quite snug and keep to the contours of the phone but the amzer is slightly thicker and more rubbery and has all round protection round the edge of the screen. The ringke is a lot thinner and I can't really see it giving much if the phone is dropped.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I've used a CaseMate Tough for a while now (wife also), seems to be good drop, screen protection and doesn't add too much bulk.
I've just bought two more cases for my parents gen1 moto g's and they fit great. Not sure if case mate do a gen2 one yet though.
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