Which phone to get? - Nexus 5, Z3, S5, Note 3, HTC ONE?

arleitiss · 10-09-2014 1:05pm #1

Hey, used to have: Samsung Galaxy Ace -> Xperia U -> Xperia Z -> Galaxy Y now, so I am kinda android guy.
Had to get rid of Xperia Z since it had this flaw with back plate glueing off when it heats up making it not waterproof.

Anyway, I decided to get new phone, looking to spend up to 800 Euro on it.

Never been really fan of Samsung since I see it's design and GUI kind of plain and nothing impressive (except eye tracking thing).

What I need:

*Fastest hardware avaialble (preferably).
*Huge, and I mean absolutely huge-ass screen (I am android developer, so it matters to me).
*Durable.
*Have unique features.
*Be KitKat OS, and support nearest future OS updates (e.g - Android L)
*Decent camera and sound recording.

What I see about phones in title:

Nexus 5:
Only PRO I see: instant OS updates.

Z3:
Only CON I am afraid of: Back plate unglueing when/if it heats up.
PRO: I really like the Sony/Playstation feel of their modified OS.

S5:
Other than ****ty GUI modifications by Samsung, I don't know any cons or pros.

Note 3:
Same as above for S5.

HTC ONE:
Never had an HTC.

Anyone can recommend anything of those kinds?

Also side question:

Anyone ever bought phone from Amazon? I mean not 2nd hand or anything but from say sellers like HTC, Sony, Samsung?

Most of them are in UK but do they deliver to Ireland? I can't be bothered buying phone in shops in Dublin then paying extra 20 Euro and waiting 3 days to get it unlocked.

kingtiger · 10-09-2014 3:34pm

wait for the Note 4 or Nexus X

if you have to buy a phone now, get the LG G3

StaticNoise · 10-09-2014 8:40pm

Don't disregard the Google Play Edition for the Samsung.
LG have really upped their game in the recent past.

However, Note 4 shall be shiite hot.

arleitiss · 10-09-2014 10:48pm

StaticNoise wrote: »

Don't disregard the Google Play Edition for the Samsung.
LG have really upped their game in the recent past.

However, Note 4 shall be shiite hot.

Wow didn't know about Google Play Edition, where would I buy one though that's unlocked?

Pangea · 11-09-2014 4:37pm

Where do you buy the HTC one? I don't see an option to buy it directly from motorolla website

srsly78 · 11-09-2014 4:39pm

arleitiss wrote: »

*Huge, and I mean absolutely huge-ass screen (I am android developer, so it matters to me).

Have you ever considering doing your android development on a desktop?

Chance The Fapper · 11-09-2014 4:41pm

Lg g2 is unreal, I'd say g3 is even better

Francie Barrett · 11-09-2014 8:48pm

arleitiss wrote: »

What I need:

*Fastest hardware avaialble (preferably).
*Huge, and I mean absolutely huge-ass screen (I am android developer, so it matters to me).
*Durable.
*Have unique features.
*Be KitKat OS, and support nearest future OS updates (e.g - Android L)
*Decent camera and sound recording.

If these are the requirements, then you'd be best off waiting for the Samsung Note 4. It'll be released in a few weeks and it should beat just about every other phone out there by your benchmarks.

sebastianlieken · 12-09-2014 9:25am

another vote for LG G2 or G3 from me. absolute animals of phones.

twam2008 · 12-09-2014 9:29am

I'd go for the G3 as well. Hoping to get one soon on contract. I currently have a Oneplus one, running CyanogenMod, love it, and will also update regularly unlike most Androids.

advertsfox · 12-09-2014 9:36am

Up to €800 is a nuts to be spending on a phone, the only mainstream phone you couldn't buy with that money is an iPhone 6 Plus.

Get the Z3, it suits your needs perfectly and has no backplate issues (the Xperia Z was released Feb 2013, issue has well been addressed for their flagship).

Phone is available now on Amazon for £529.95 / €666.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Xperia-Z3-SIM-Free-Smartphone-Black/dp/B00N8N4854/

Francie Barrett · 12-09-2014 1:26pm

advertsfox wrote: »

Up to €800 is a nuts to be spending on a phone, the only mainstream phone you couldn't buy with that money is an iPhone 6 Plus.

Get the Z3, it suits your needs perfectly and has no backplate issues (the Xperia Z was released Feb 2013, issue has well been addressed for their flagship).

Phone is available now on Amazon for £529.95 / €666.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Xperia-Z3-SIM-Free-Smartphone-Black/dp/B00N8N4854/

In all the criteria the OP listed, the Note 4 will be better than anything else out there.

advertsfox · 12-09-2014 1:39pm

Francie Barrett wrote: »

In all the criteria the OP listed, the Note 4 will be better than anything else out there.

Only for screen size, Z3 is natively bootloader unlockable for development and he likes the GUI - he also said more than once about Samsung:

Never been really fan of Samsung since I see it's design and GUI kind of plain and nothing impressive...
S5: Other than ****ty GUI modifications by Samsung, I don't know any cons or pros.
Note 3: Same as above for S5.

arleitiss · 12-09-2014 3:51pm

srsly78 wrote: »

Have you ever considering doing your android development on a desktop?

I use PC for coding and designing but I test apps on phone, I am not fan of running emulator to test app.

arleitiss · 12-09-2014 3:52pm

advertsfox wrote: »

Only for screen size, Z3 is natively bootloader unlockable for development and he likes the GUI - he also said more than once about Samsung:

Over past few days I was looking at phones, noticed that somehow Z2 camera is kind of crap compared to say Nexus 5. Is this any better in Z3? I know it has higher megapixels, but in the end of the day MP is not what matters.

Francie Barrett · 13-09-2014 8:51am

Again, I go back to the OP's criteria.

arleitiss wrote: »

What I need:

*Fastest hardware avaialble (preferably).

The Note 4 has the fastest hardware, this is completely indisputable. The Snapdragon 805 and the Adreno 440 processor will smoke everything else mentioned on this thread.

arleitiss wrote: »

*Huge, and I mean absolutely huge-ass screen (I am android developer, so it matters to me).

The Note 4 will have a 5.7 AMOLED screen with 515ppi, you will not get a better AMOLED screen than that and Samsung screens are always excellent.

arleitiss wrote: »

*Durable.

This is subjective, but Samsung phone are generally regarded as being more durable than competitors.

arleitiss wrote: »

*Have unique features.

IR blaster, SD card slot, removable battery, stylus, there's a few here.

arleitiss wrote: »

*Be KitKat OS, and support nearest future OS updates (e.g - Android L)

It will arrive on Kit Kat, it will definitely get Android L, Samsung are decent at getting updates in fairly quick order especially with flagships as this is.

arleitiss wrote: »

*Decent camera and sound recording.

This can be subjective, but most people would regard the S5 as having the best camera on an Android phone. The Note 4 will have the same camera.

Thecageyone · 19-09-2014 11:41pm

I'll be shot down probably, for being a noob here, but why spend that much on a phone?? Are you not on a contract with any provider? Surely you can get a better deal? If you have that kind of money to spend on a good phone, you're probably on a high end bill pay system no?

I spent a little over that on my laptop about 2yrs back, still using it, and it's been great! But ... a phone! I understand you will benefit from it more than most, but I don't get why people spend that much on them.

arleitiss · 20-09-2014 2:42pm

Thecageyone wrote: »

I'll be shot down probably, for being a noob here, but why spend that much on a phone?? Are you not on a contract with any provider? Surely you can get a better deal? If you have that kind of money to spend on a good phone, you're probably on a high end bill pay system no?

I spent a little over that on my laptop about 2yrs back, still using it, and it's been great! But ... a phone! I understand you will benefit from it more than most, but I don't get why people spend that much on them.

I never understood this bill system, you sign a contract for next few years and end up overpaying for phone, as far as I am aware only way to get phone cheap from bill pay is fraud which I am not a fan of really. By the time you pay out the bill new models will be out.

Just checked.

HTC One: 99 Euro for phone then 35 euro for 24 Months.
That's: 939 Euro with Billpay.
Amazon: 467.61 Euro, unlocked straight from manufacturer.
Pretty decent difference, plus you might get stuck with crap provider, while with unlocked and prepaid phone you can go to any provider you want.

Am I missing something special about Billpay?

LaGlisse · 22-09-2014 1:43pm

arleitiss wrote: »

I never understood this bill system, you sign a contract for next few years and end up overpaying for phone, as far as I am aware only way to get phone cheap from bill pay is fraud which I am not a fan of really. By the time you pay out the bill new models will be out.

Just checked.

HTC One: 99 Euro for phone then 35 euro for 24 Months.
That's: 939 Euro with Billpay.
Amazon: 467.61 Euro, unlocked straight from manufacturer. + at least 480on credit over 2 years anyway
Pretty decent difference, plus you might get stuck with crap provider, while with unlocked and prepaid phone you can go to any provider you want.

Am I missing something special about Billpay?

You forgot to add in the phone credit youll need to buy to pay for calls and data.
I wish it were otherwise. Coming out of contract in november, currently on 35E a month with vodafone. I never go over this, but never use all my minutes and texts either. Howerver dont know what id pay if i go to pay as you go, as currently i get all calls to other vodafone numbers for free, which is a big amount of my calls.
I want to get a smartphone, thinking of going with a samsung S5 as I can pay vodafone 150 then 35 a month after. It isnt that much more expensive then shelling out say E400 for a nexus, then paying at least 20E a month pay as you go for the 2 years anyway. Only advantage i can see with that is you are not tied to an operator.
id love for someone to prove me wrong as I'd love to save money

arleitiss · 22-09-2014 7:22pm

LaGlisse wrote: »

You forgot to add in the phone credit youll need to buy to pay for calls and data.
I wish it were otherwise. Coming out of contract in november, currently on 35E a month with vodafone. I never go over this, but never use all my minutes and texts either. Howerver dont know what id pay if i go to pay as you go, as currently i get all calls to other vodafone numbers for free, which is a big amount of my calls.
I want to get a smartphone, thinking of going with a samsung S5 as I can pay vodafone 150 then 35 a month after. It isnt that much more expensive then shelling out say E400 for a nexus, then paying at least 20E a month pay as you go for the 2 years anyway. Only advantage i can see with that is you are not tied to an operator.
id love for someone to prove me wrong as I'd love to save money

Well I am on 48, 20 euro a month for unlimited calls and texts to any networks + 5 gb data.

And unfortunately if I decide to go with Bill Pay - Irish shops are pretty crap with top flaghship phones.
I mean yeah there is S5, but that's as far as it goes.
I checked shops and there is no: Motorola G, LG G3, Nexus or others of that type.

LaGlisse · 22-09-2014 10:18pm

arleitiss wrote: »

Well I am on 48, 20 euro a month for unlimited calls and texts to any networks + 5 gb .

Just checked their website and you have to be between 18 and 22. How is that legal?

harney · 22-09-2014 10:28pm

The one+ is working nicely for me at around £270 unlocked. Cyanogen are modding the OS and they are promising Android L within 3 months.

The pre-order system kicks in next month, I think, however you could butter up somebody with a spare invite.

There are faster out there but it is still fairly rocking, with a massive screen.

http://oneplus.net/uk

arleitiss · 22-09-2014 10:30pm

LaGlisse wrote: »

Just checked their website and you have to be between 18 and 22. How is that legal?

I am 21, but let's just say I have friends who are way over 22 and just keep using it, every 4 years they just get new number and done.

arleitiss · 22-09-2014 10:31pm

harney wrote: »

The one+ is working nicely for me at around £270 unlocked. Cyanogen are modding the OS and they are promising Android L within 3 months.

The pre-order system kicks in next month, I think, however you could butter up somebody with a spare invite.

There are faster out there but it is still fairly rocking, with a massive screen.

http://oneplus.net/uk

I've been considering that. I am buying phone in October 20th and if by then Nexus 6 isn't announced I will get either Nexus 5 or OnePlus

Thecageyone · 23-09-2014 10:00am

arleitiss wrote: »

I never understood this bill system, you sign a contract for next few years and end up overpaying for phone, as far as I am aware only way to get phone cheap from bill pay is fraud which I am not a fan of really. By the time you pay out the bill new models will be out.

Just checked.

HTC One: 99 Euro for phone then 35 euro for 24 Months.
That's: 939 Euro with Billpay.
Amazon: 467.61 Euro, unlocked straight from manufacturer.
Pretty decent difference, plus you might get stuck with crap provider, while with unlocked and prepaid phone you can go to any provider you want.

Am I missing something special about Billpay?

It doesn't work out anything like that. You get a bunch of free calls and texts and net data useage ... if you're buying credit weekly you'll end up spending even more, at least that's how I used to find it.

I got the HTC for 119, and I'm only paying €25 a month - I'd spend more than that on credit, the phone would cost me triple the amount and knowing me, I'd also run out of credit at vital times, when I need it most!

arleitiss · 26-09-2014 1:51am

God damn it, Nexus X rumors keep floating around that it's coming out soon.
Rumors that make me wanna wait:
Snapdragon 805,
4k Video Camera,
Android L,
5.9" Screen,
Something like 565 PPI,

Also knowing it's Nexus, I assume it's price is not gonna fly up sky-high to over 600 EUR.

Makes me really want to wait another month and use my ****ty Galaxy Y for now.

arleitiss · 12-10-2014 1:17am

Just an update:
It's been a month since this post, I did A LOT of research on phones.
I ended up buying OnePlus One 64gb. That seems to be best option.

Which phone to get? - Nexus 5, Z3, S5, Note 3, HTC ONE?

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