I am window shopping at this point, and have a few other expenses I need to take care of first, but I am thinking of deviating from my normal path of buying a smartphone
without the phone and getting a smartphone
with a phone. Just so you know, I don't plan on using that much data, and sync things wirelessly from home as much as I can. I don't talk or text that much either, I am currently using a Net10 dumb Java phone for $15 for 200 minutes every month. So I am a bit of a cheapskate so I will try to use a non-contract plan if at all possible. I am looking at Android phones only, and trying to find the exact right one for my needs, that isn't too expensive to pick up as a non-contract phone. I am in the United States.
(Updating requirements slightly from original post.)
Requirements (for Phase 2 phone, see update at bottom)
- Something I can pick up on, say, ebay or swappa for about $150-200 (this is probably the most difficult requirement)
- Replaceable Battery (learned my lesson with iPod Touch)
- 802.11n wi-fi (not just g)
- GPS
- Camera (I'm not too picky)
- No QWERTY hard keys
- At least 10 hours of battery life
- People can hear me on the other end of the "line" (not sure how to determine this without trying it)
- AMOLED or Super AMOLED or anything where I can read it outside in daylight. The phone will be an e-book reader among other things
-
REVISED: Born with Android 4 (ICS):
capable (
rooting OK -- my current rule of thumb is 1Ghz or higher processor Now I have read too many stories about GPS breaking when flashed with ICS)
- At least 3.5" screen, preferable closer to 4"
- Decent RAM (learned my lesson with iPod Touch generation 2 -- seems like Windows Mobile 5 was smarter about virtual memory, not sure how Android rolls)
-
Quad band GSM (maybe I will get a chance to use as a world phone although I am too much of a homebody currently)- Vibrate notification capable (I mention this because my iPod Touch 2 unexpectedly did not have this)
-
REVISED: 2G 900,1800, HSPA+ 1700 and 2100 (This takes care of 3G in U.S. (T-Mobile) and India. Also want quad band 2G.
But wait, there's more:
in 2013, T-Mobile will push their HSPA+ band to 1900 to make way for LTE, so I need some flavor of HSPA at 1900 too!
-
NEW: Speakerphone (to remind myself to check. Samsung Dart (Android 2.2) doesn't have)
-
NEW: 32GB storage internal or upgradable to such using a card - (had this in my head but forgot to mention earlier)
-
NEW: Supports a carrier which provides a combined voice and data plan of between $30-35 per month (T-Mobile or Virgin Mobile -- however Virgin Mobile doesn't seem to be able meet the multiband requirement, they are U.S. only as far as I can determine)
Negotiable- Scratch resistant glass
-
NEW:8 MP camera
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In spite of the required quad band GSM support, I would like it to be either Verizon 3G network capable (if I go with Page Plus prepaid 3G plans, which use the Verizon network) or Sprint network capable, in which case I go with PlatinumTel. (obsolete section - see above band requirements)
So far the Motorola Photon 4G looks pretty good, and they seem to have good battery life, something that rules out a lot of otherwise solid contenders. Some of those are available used at close to my $200 limit. (swappa link). Any thoughts here?
UPDATED: As time went on, I had a thought to wait until later to buy a phone that meets all the requirements. That brought to mind that I should by a cheaper phone, which I called a Phase 1 phone, to use in the interim (I do in fact need a new phone, two things about my current one are not working, although it makes calls OK)
For Phase 1, the following requirements become optional
- Usable outside the USA
- Android 4.0 (still preferred, but there is a way to get Devanagari script on older versions, so I can try that)
- Replaceable battery
A requirement for Phase 1 is that the cost should be around $100 or less.
off topic
Man those list tags went crazy on me. Replaced them with hyphens
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Now that I have your attention --