Author Topic: Looking for smartphone (Read 170006 times)

tomos · « **Reply #200 on:** June 26, 2018, 03:30 PM »

[Moto G6]

A double twist of the wrist opens the camera app, even if the phone is locked, very quick, the app is running by the time I hold it up for a photo.
-4wd (June 25, 2018, 07:21 AM)

I had figured that out -- but not this:

Doing it while the camera is running will also swap between the front/rear camera.
-4wd (June 25, 2018, 07:21 AM)

it's not ideal for my wrist (have problems with both after years of drawing with a mouse), but doable for those occasional important moments.

I'm still undecided about the phone -- it is a lovely phone. Will have more time Friday to test it. Football is very distracting at the moment

4wd · « **Reply #201 on:** June 27, 2018, 08:06 AM »

[Moto G6]
A double twist of the wrist opens the camera app, even if the phone is locked, very quick, the app is running by the time I hold it up for a photo.
-4wd (June 25, 2018, 07:21 AM)
it's not ideal for my wrist (have problems with both after years of drawing with a mouse), but doable for those occasional important moments.
-tomos (June 26, 2018, 03:30 PM)

I don't know about the G6 but there is also another way to fast start the camera app, Settings->Display->Press power button twice for camera - unfortunately no good if you've got it locked with a PIN or Pattern, it'll ask you for it.

There's some apps on the Play Store that let you assign actions to the fingerprint reader, might be possible to use that, eg. swipe up on the reader to open the camera.

eg. Fingerprint Gestures

Other apps let you draw gestures on the screen to perform functions, one of my old phones let you draw a C on the screen to open the camera, (even when it was unlocked).

Then again, you could go high tech:
Buy a ring with RFID, use an app, (eg. Tasker), to unlock the phone and run the camera app when you grab the phone.

tomos · « **Reply #202 on:** June 28, 2018, 03:20 PM »

I don't know about the G6 but there is also another way to fast start the camera app, Settings->Display->Press power button twice for camera - unfortunately no good if you've got it locked with a PIN or Pattern, it'll ask you for it.
-4wd (June 27, 2018, 08:06 AM)

unfortunately that's not shown as an option for me here:
was wondering if options would change if I removed the PIN, but it then says it will delete my saved fingerprints. Odd. (Not looking for help there: will mess around with that when I have a bit of time).

I like the G6 a lot. Haven't yet used it much, and am still in that phase of: I've been using a different OS for 2.5 years and only notice the things that are worse in this one.
But I have decided to keep the phone and am happy about the decision. I know that Android has the advantage (over Windows phones) that there are a lot of options in terms of apps and possibilities.

Here a shot I was happy with:

Looking for smartphone

I see it's HDR -- been messing around with settings so not sure what's on or off...

4wd · « **Reply #203 on:** June 28, 2018, 06:15 PM »

The deletion of stored fingerprints when you remove the PIN is a safety feature.

ie. If the reader fails or your fingerprints change (scratches, burns, etc), how else will you unlock your phone?
The PIN is a backup.

Also, about once a week, it will ask you for the PIN to reauthorize the use of fingerprints - security feature.

HDR is on by default in the Moto camera, (HDR+ in the Google camera), you can turn it off when you're in the app.

app103 · « **Reply #204 on:** July 24, 2018, 05:24 PM »

I just bought a Moto G6, and I like it much better than the G3 or G4.

It's a bit more narrow than the G4, but doesn't seem to suffer from the most reported issue of the G4, namely the "ghost taps" which are annoying enough that I'll be shipping my G4 back for service, while it's still under warranty.

Not sure how well you can see it, but here's the G6 (left) and G4 (right), side by side, for size comparison, with almost identical protective cases. In the 3rd image, the G6 is on top of the G4, and you can see some of the G4 sticking out. It's not a huge size difference, like it was going from the G3 to G4, but if you are hoping for an even bigger screen than older models, it's not going to happen. As I stated before, the screen is actually smaller. You might perceive this as either a good thing or bad thing, depending on the size of your hands or pockets, or other factors. (one of my favorite games is ad free on the G3 and G6, because of screen size, crediting me with bonuses for viewing video ads, without actually showing the ads. You get stuck with video ads on the G4's larger screen, because the game treats it same as a tablet.)

Looking for smartphone

Looking for smartphone

Looking for smartphone

Battery life of the G6 doesn't seem as good as the G4, though, even though they are both 3000 mAh. And you'll need extra USB-C chargers, as all your existing micro-USB will be useless with it.

Sim & SD cards are inserted from the outside, into a little slide out tray on the top edge of the phone, rather than having to take the back off the phone to install them. And despite what is advertised, it does support SD cards over 128G (I have a 256G in mine). The cards seem to be located away from the battery, unlike previous models. Perhaps this will help ensure that the heat from battery, during charging, won't knock them out, which is something else I experienced frequently with the G4 and only occasionally with the G3.

It works well with thicker protective cases, and you'll probably want one of those rather than a thinner case, because the glass on the back that covers the camera sticks out far enough that if the case is too thin or you use it without a case, that glass will hit the table when you set the phone down.

I got the Amazon Prime version, so double clicking the power button activates Alexa, rather than turning the camera on. But like previous Moto G models, making a chopping motion still turns on the flash light, and twisting turns on the camera.

Would I recommend this phone? Absolutely! I still feel it's the best phone available in this price range, and affordable enough to get one, unlocked.

4wd · « **Reply #205 on:** July 24, 2018, 05:56 PM »

Battery life of the G6 doesn't seem as good as the G4, though, even though they are both 3000 mAh.
-app103 (July 24, 2018, 05:24 PM)

Apparently not available in the USA but the G6+ should be better with battery life, they use the more efficient Snapdragon 6 series SoC instead of the 4 series used in the G6 and G6 Play.

app103 · « **Reply #206 on:** July 24, 2018, 09:24 PM »

Battery life of the G6 doesn't seem as good as the G4, though, even though they are both 3000 mAh.
-app103 (July 24, 2018, 05:24 PM)

Apparently not available in the USA but the G6+ should be better with battery life, they use the more efficient Snapdragon 6 series SoC instead of the 4 series used in the G6 and G6 Play.
-4wd (July 24, 2018, 05:56 PM)

When I mentioned this to my father, he started going on about some 10K mAh phone he found listed somewhere (Oukitel K10000). When I went & looked it up, found out it takes 20 hrs to charge and doesn't work with any US carriers. (No thanks, Dad!)

tomos · « **Reply #207 on:** July 25, 2018, 03:49 PM »

I just bought a Moto G6, and I like it much better than the G3 or G4.
...
I got the Amazon Prime version, so double clicking the power button activates Alexa, rather than turning the camera on. But like previous Moto G models, making a chopping motion still turns on the flash light, and twisting turns on the camera.

Would I recommend this phone? Absolutely! I still feel it's the best phone available in this price range, and affordable enough to get one, unlocked.
-app103 (July 24, 2018, 05:24 PM)

a good review app

I can't compare it to any well known phones, but agree with the recommendation.
PS double-click power button doesn't start the camera on the G6. I do use the double-twist, or whatever it's called, to activate the camera. The double-chop for the flashlight is good too.

Haven't been using the camera a lot yet, but I'm very happy with it so far

kalos · « **Reply #208 on:** August 22, 2018, 10:11 AM »

What are the top 3-5 cheapest mobiles with NFC and >5000mah?
Any idea?

kalos · « **Reply #209 on:** September 14, 2018, 12:35 PM »

What are the top 3-5 cheapest mobiles with NFC and >5000mah?
Any idea?
-kalos (August 22, 2018, 10:11 AM)

Any suggestion for the best phone with longest battery and NFC?

rjbull · « **Reply #210 on:** September 14, 2018, 05:28 PM »

Any suggestion for the best phone with longest battery and NFC?
-kalos (September 14, 2018, 12:35 PM)

I believe you are in the UK. If so, then:

Visit your local newsagent or supermarket, and buy a copy of the latest issue of UK magazine Computer Shopper, hot off the press, Issue 369 dated Nov 18.
Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the article "Avoid the smartphone rip-off: 18 low cost phones that get you high-end specs."
Make your choice, accepting that whatever you do will be imperfect and temporary.

tomos · « **Reply #211 on:** September 15, 2018, 01:28 AM »

Make your choice, accepting that whatever you do will be imperfect and temporary.
-rjbull (September 14, 2018, 05:28 PM)

sage advice there rj

Not necessarily related to K's query: read a review/article lately comparing the Xaomi Pocophone favourably with the Samsung S9 -- Xiaomi's $300 Pocophone Vs. Samsung's $1,250 Galaxy Note 9: It's Closer Than You'd Think (Forbes)

tomos · « **Reply #212 on:** February 26, 2019, 11:50 AM »

This more commentary than anything else:

A friend asked for a phone recommendation.
I bought the Moto G6 myself a while back, I love it and would recommend it to anyone (note I dont use it for games), apart from the fact it has a glass back, that on mine is already broken in two places. In fairness I like to use minimal protection/cover and have dropped it a few times. It is still usable with a silicon cover. Next time round though I'll try get something with a metal or plastic back.

So anyways, I was looking for alternatives, am surprised how few other good recommendations I've found in that price class (say 150 to 200 euro). I'm looking for a phone for the European market, a phone whose warranty is valid in the same market, ideally a phone bought from a German seller to ease return if necessary. What really surprised me was that on German amazon (.de) there are a *lot* of phones from eastern Europe, Russia, from the US being sold without any indication that they are not for the German market; many of them have no warranty here.
More disturbing is that there seems to be a lot of B-ware (and worse) being sold as new (again no indication). I'm starting to think amazon is not the place to buy a phone... (or if so, to buy very carefully).

rgdot · « **Reply #213 on:** February 26, 2019, 01:16 PM »

Amazon and ebay are risky and some sellers are the same on both sites and put the product up for sale in both places, at least that's definitely the case in North America.
Thinking about condition/quality and location of product (ebay listing outright lying) it is best to avoid expensive tech from them. I have had no problem buying cheap tech (like hdmi cable) and other stuff like books but phones or such nope.

Ath · « **Reply #214 on:** February 26, 2019, 01:32 PM »

I've been quite happy with the Nokia 6.1 (64 GB model) I bought last year. I searched on amazon.de and found the 32 GB model here that should fit the budget. I assume you can pick a different color for a similar price, if desired.
It has a decent processor and quit fair battery life (2+ days on light use), and all modern stuff like usb-c, 3.5mm audioplug, no notch and a (fast) fingerprint scanner on the back.

tomos · « **Reply #215 on:** February 26, 2019, 02:28 PM »

thanks rgdot, I also see amazon proper getting poor review from price-comparision sites.

I've been quite happy with the Nokia 6.1 (64 GB model) I bought last year. I searched on amazon.de and found the 32 GB model here that should fit the budget. I assume you can pick a different color for a similar price, if desired.
It has a decent processor and quit fair battery life (2+ days on light use), and all modern stuff like usb-c, 3.5mm audioplug, no notch and a (fast) fingerprint scanner on the back.
-Ath (February 26, 2019, 01:32 PM)

thanks Ath, I'll pass on the recommendation.
Candidates (with rough pricing) are:**

Nokia 6.1 - 200€
Samsung A6 - 200€
Huawei P smart - 150€
Samsung J5 - 130€
Xiaomi Redmi 6A - 100€ (other Xiaomi models I found are too big)

That'll give him a range of choices.

** he was looking for something:

not too big
a reasonable camera -- cant remember the name of the model he has now but it has the worst camera I've seen in years, so anything will be better :-)
under 200€

4wd · « **Reply #216 on:** February 26, 2019, 03:09 PM »

I would check the specs on the Redmi, there are very few Xiaomi phones designed for countries other than China or India.

The ones that say "Global" usually just means they have English set as the default language and the Play Store available, no changes for the underlying hardware.

There's also the Moto G5S Plus if you don't mind the previous model and a reasonably vanilla Android:
https://www.amazon.d...prefix=moto+g5s+plus

kalos · « **Reply #217 on:** February 26, 2019, 03:21 PM »

What are the top 3-5 cheapest mobiles with NFC and >5000mah?
Any idea?
-kalos (August 22, 2018, 10:11 AM)

Any suggestion for the best phone with longest battery and NFC?
-kalos (September 14, 2018, 12:35 PM)

Any updates on the above?

tomos · « **Reply #218 on:** February 26, 2019, 03:35 PM »

I would check the specs on the Redmi, there are very few Xiaomi phones designed for countries other than China or India.

The ones that say "Global" usually just means they have English set as the default language and the Play Store available, no changes for the underlying hardware.
-4wd (February 26, 2019, 03:09 PM)

some are labeled as 'global' some as 'EU' -- it's not clear what if any difference. Most places dont give as much info as they could (some making no mention of warranty, although just found one reputable with two years warranty.)
It's for sale in at least one larger bricks and mortar shop here now. And many reputable online merchants. Only a few amazon reviews but they seem genuine and very positive...

specs from geizahls

https://geizhals.at/...b-blau-a1846828.html
OS    Android 8.1
Display    5.45", 1440x720 Pixel, 16 Mio. Farben, IPS, kapazitiver Touchscreen
Kamera hinten    13.0MP, f/2.2, Phasenvergleich-AF, LED-Blitz, Videos @1080p/30fps
Kamera vorne    5.0MP
Schnittstellen    Micro-USB-B 2.0, 3.5mm-Klinke, WLAN 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2
Sensoren    Beschleunigungssensor, Annäherungssensor, Lichtsensor, Kompass
SoC    Mediatek Helio A22, 64bit
CPU    4x 2.00GHz Cortex-A53
GPU    PowerVR GE8300
RAM    2GB
Speicher    32GB, microSD-Slot (shared, bis 256GB)
Navigation    A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
Modem    GSM (0.2Mbps/0.1Mbps), UMTS, LTE
Frequenzbänder    2G (850/900/1800/1900), 3G (B1/B2/B5/B8), 4G (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20/B38/B40)
Netzstandards    GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE-A
Akku    3000mAh, fest verbaut
SAR-Wert    0.656W/kg (Kopf), 1.523W/kg (Körper)
Gehäuseform    Barren
Gehäusematerial    Kunststoff (Rückseite)
Abmessungen    147.5x71.5x8.3mm
Gewicht    145g
SIM-Formfaktor    Nano-SIM (1x shared)
Besonderheiten    Dual-SIM, Benachrichtigungs-LED (einfarbig)
Gelistet seit    09.07.2018, 13:28

specs from Notebooksbilliger 'EU' version

https://www.notebook...u?nbbRef=forcew2evf6
Herstellernummer: MZB6347EU
EAN-Nummer: 6941059608509
Handy-Hardware
interner Speicher    32 GB
SD-Kartenformat    microSD
Arbeitsspeicher    2.000 MB
Handy-Display
Displaygröße    13,84 cm (5,45")
Displayauflösung    HD+ (1440x720 Pixel)
Besonderheiten    18:9 Format
Handy-Kamera
Hauptkamera    13 Megapixel , f/2.2
Handy-Frontkamera
Frontkamera    5 Megapixel
Handy-SIM
   Dual-SIM , Nano + Nano
Sim-Lock    nein
Betriebssystem und Merkmale
   Blau
Betriebssystem    Android 8.0 Oreo
Mobilfunknetze und Frequenzen
4G/LTE-Advanced    [ticked] (?)
3G Frequenzen    850, 900, 1.900, 2.100 MHz
2G Frequenzen (GSM)    900, 1.800, 1.900 MHz
Konnektivität und Sensoren
Ladeanschluss    Micro-B USB 2.0
Kopfhöreranschluss    3,5mm Klinkenanschluss
Bluetooth    4.2
WLAN    [ticked]
Fingerprint-Sensor    [ticked]
Gesichtserkennung    [ticked]
GPS Standortbestimmung    [ticked]
Handy-Akku
Akku-Kapazität    3.000 mAh
Handy-Lieferumfang
Lade- und Datenkabel
Garantie
Garantie    2 Jahre Gewährleistung

4wd · « **Reply #219 on:** February 26, 2019, 03:46 PM »

@tomos: The MTK SoC would be enough to cross it off any list of phones I would be considering.

After having two phones with MTK SoC's both have major problems, (one of them a Xiaomi), I'd never consider them again.
By contrast I have almost 10 year old Qualcomm based Huawei phones that still work fine.

Not saying it might not be a bad phone for someone else but it isn't one I would consider.

4wd · « **Reply #220 on:** February 26, 2019, 03:49 PM »

What are the top 3-5 cheapest mobiles with NFC and >5000mah?
Any idea?
-kalos (August 22, 2018, 10:11 AM)

Any suggestion for the best phone with longest battery and NFC?
-kalos (September 14, 2018, 12:35 PM)

Any updates on the above?
-kalos (February 26, 2019, 03:21 PM)

There probably has been, tell us what you found.

Or to put it another way:

Looking for a phone with:

NFC (objective)
Cheap (subjective)
Long battery life (subjective)

Search for phones that have a long battery life:

eliminate those that don't have a minimum that you're happy with when subjected to your usage pattern,
eliminate those that don't have NFC,
eliminate those that exceed your price limit,
take into account all the other factors of concern to yourself and deliberate on the remainder.

tomos · « **Reply #221 on:** February 26, 2019, 03:52 PM »

@tomos: The MTK SoC would be enough to cross it off any list of phones I would be considering.

After having two phones with MTK SoC's both have major problems I'd never consider them again.
By contrast I have almost 10 year old Qualcomm based Huawei phones that still work fine.

Not saying it might not be a bad phone for someone else but it isn't one I would consider.
-4wd (February 26, 2019, 03:46 PM)

thanks

4wd · « **Reply #222 on:** February 26, 2019, 06:13 PM »

@tomos: Something you might want to consider also is if he travels outside the EU, in this case a dual SIM phone comes in handy - you can keep your normal SIM in for receiving calls/SMS and pick up a cheap local SIM for data and/or calls.

My data SIM changes every month or so as cheap deals come up, (normal SIM provider isn't as good for data but they have the best national/roaming coverage).

Ath · « **Reply #223 on:** February 27, 2019, 01:06 AM »

if he travels outside the EU, in this case a dual SIM phone comes in handy
-4wd (February 26, 2019, 06:13 PM)

That's one of the features of the Nokia 6.1, and it has a Qualcomm (Snapdragon 630) soc

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #224 on:** February 27, 2019, 07:01 AM »

Granted I am not a heavy user by any stretch of the imagination, but I usually get 3-5 days out of a charge on the Pixel 3 I picked up back in December.