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Looking for smartphone
tomos:
I was considering the Pixel 4a for a long time, mainly because of the good camera (+ related software), but instead of getting cheaper it got more expensive: the €320 intro offer went up to 350 eventually... The 4a 5G OTOH came down from €499 to 399. So I got the 4a 5G, delivered today (I just setting it up now).
Extra over the 4a is:
a wide angle camera / a better processor / larger battery / larger screen / 5G, possibly other bits and bobs.
For €50 more, it seems fair enough.
I would have liked the recycled aluminium back and the gorilla 6 screen, and the waterproofing of the Pixel 5 -- but to have to pay €230 for those features wasn't that attractive.
tomos:
The 4a 5G OTOH came down from €499 to 399. So I got the 4a 5G, delivered today (I just setting it up now).
-tomos (February 08, 2021, 04:21 PM)
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Some random thoughts. I haven't even really tested this much, but can say the camera is miles ahead (that wasn't intentional @Miles :-)) of my last phone the Moto G6. Fwiw I always thought the G6 camera was good until I printed out a bunch of pictures lately (over sharpened, too much noise reduction, really did not look good).
The pixel camera is so much better -- a much better dynamic range, colours are fairly good, is great at night in town, good in low light. But I still feel kind of disappointed. They've had the same camera sensor and software for years. At 12 megapixel, it's fine -- you could print quite large if you wanted to. But as there's no real zoom, zooming in means cropping at best (or resizing at worst). They missed an opportunity to keep ahead of (or keep up with) the pack here -- even 16 or 18 MP would have given users much more freedom to crop.
Otherwise: screen is lovely, I find I'm using the phone instead of my tablet to watch videos/TV. Android 11 is nice, lots of dark. A few bugs, but that's life I guess. I'm happy with the purchase, don't know would I have been if I paid more (it's currently 50€ more than I paid for it).
tomos:
^ two and a bit years later:
Considering the Pixel 6a which is very similar to my last, the Pixel 4a 5g.
The 6a just about still available new here for €340.
I suspect I could get something similar even cheaper. Would be willing to pay more for a better camera though.
# I'm not a gamer, so don't really care much about the processor being high end
# I like the older pixel camera/ software combo -- I wouldn't want a worse camera at any rate
# I like the OLED screen
# also like that it's stock android
I'm not in touch with what's on offer these days -- if anyone suggests any alternatives I'd be happy 😁
tomos:
Some thoughts about lower-to-mid-range phones if anyone considering:
Considering the Pixel 6a which is very similar to my last, the Pixel 4a 5g.
[...]
I suspect I could get something similar even cheaper. Would be willing to pay more for a better camera though.
-tomos (June 30, 2023, 06:27 AM)
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I couldnt find anything under €/$ 500 with a better camera, so ordered the 6a.
Its main con for me is only available with 128GB and no SD expansion.
The 7a has a better processor, better refresh rate, its camera has more megapixels -- but doesnt seem to make much better images (so not worth the extra €100 to me).
If you're not such a fussy beggar re the camera, there's probably lots of good options out there. One that looked very interesting to me was the Samsung A53. Didnt take eSIM though and I wasnt convinced enough to go order a new SIM card.
MilesAhead:
Some thoughts about lower-to-mid-range phones if anyone considering:
Considering the Pixel 6a which is very similar to my last, the Pixel 4a 5g.
[...]
I suspect I could get something similar even cheaper. Would be willing to pay more for a better camera though.
-tomos (June 30, 2023, 06:27 AM)
--- End quote ---
I couldnt find anything under €/$ 500 with a better camera, so ordered the 6a.
Its main con for me is only available with 128GB and no SD expansion.
The 7a has a better processor, better refresh rate, its camera has more megapixels -- but doesnt seem to make much better images (so not worth the extra €100 to me).
If you're not such a fussy beggar re the camera, there's probably lots of good options out there. One that looked very interesting to me was the Samsung A53. Didnt take eSIM though and I wasnt convinced enough to go order a new SIM card.
-tomos (July 03, 2023, 05:29 AM)
--- End quote ---
Hey. I had a OnePlus Nord N10 5G phone. I was hoping for an upgrade with faster charging, more Ram etc.. The first attempt by OnePlus was a phone with 65W charger but less Ram and not as much storage, plus it cost $100 more than the N10. I held out and the end of June they released the Nord N30 5G. It was an enhanced N10 5G basically. It comes with a 50W charger instead of 33W. 8 GB Ram instead of 6 GB. The same 128 GB storage and the same open spot in the Sim tray for a micro sdcard. Plus the Qualcom processor is a bit better. The screen refresh rate is 120 FPS instead of 90. The cameras are improved but I don't really know much about them. I am not into photography. The main disappointment was the fingerprint unlock got uncoorperative after only 3 days. But that was kind of a blessing in disguise because it provoked me to try face unlock. Turns out it is much smoother than using the fingerprint. With "lift to wake" setting enabled I just lift the phone and look at the screen and the padlock shows unlocked. Then swipe up to go to home screen.
I think it is a good buy for $270 USD. The main drawback getting phones from Metro by T-Mobile is they seal them. You need to be a phone tech to change the battery. But that aside I especially love the charging. The N10 could take 15 minutes to go from 99% to 100%. This N30 goes from 72% to 100% in about 20 minutes. And the charger still fits in my cargo pocket. Another thing I like is it is Android 13 and works well with Hyperion Launcher. The main feature of Hyperion is it will save and restore home screen layouts. Saves unscrambling a botched home screen by hand.
So far I have to say I like the phone. But I haven't watched much streaming yet. I got a Lenovo Laptop with 2.5K res so I try to watch vids with that.
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