Author Topic: Looking for smartphone (Read 349,206 times)

4wd · « **Reply #225 on:** February 27, 2019, 01:32 PM »

Quote from: Ath on February 27, 2019, 07:06 AM

Quote from: 4wd on February 27, 2019, 12:13 AM
if he travels outside the EU, in this case a dual SIM phone comes in handy
That's one of the features of the Nokia 6.1 ...

And the Moto G5(+), G5S(+), & G6(+) (EU/APAC versions) without sacrificing the microSD card.

app103 · « **Reply #226 on:** March 01, 2019, 03:19 AM »

Quote from: 4wd on February 27, 2019, 01:32 PM

Quote from: Ath on February 27, 2019, 07:06 AM
Quote from: 4wd on February 27, 2019, 12:13 AM
if he travels outside the EU, in this case a dual SIM phone comes in handy
That's one of the features of the Nokia 6.1 ...

And the Moto G5(+), G5S(+), & G6(+) (EU/APAC versions) without sacrificing the microSD card.

And the G7 recently released in the US, so will probably hit the EU market soon. Might want to wait a bit, if possible, to see if there will be a G7+ with dual SIM. If not, there may be a G7 Power, with longer battery life.

rgdot · « **Reply #227 on:** March 01, 2019, 04:47 AM »

I assume you meant market availability otherwise G7 and G7 plus will have versions with dual SIM

4wd · « **Reply #228 on:** March 01, 2019, 05:36 AM »

Quote from: rgdot on March 01, 2019, 04:47 AM

I assume you meant market availability otherwise G7 and G7 plus will have versions with dual SIM

Motorola usually only offer the Dual SIM Moto G versions in EU, Asia Pacific, and India - for some reason the US seems to only get the single SIM version. Like the rest of the world gets NFC but the USA get the Magnetometer instead - very strange decisions, (although it looks like the other regions might get the Magnetometer also with the G7).

Just wish they had kept the fingerprint reader on the front for the G7 where it's more convenient - something they probably could have done easily since they still have One Button Nav on the front, (like the G5(S) and G6), along with the space wasted with the Motorola printing.

rgdot · « **Reply #229 on:** March 01, 2019, 04:50 PM »

Strange decisions for sure, for Canada I always check the bands and if compatible consider buying a non region phone (not from Amazon or ebay though

). My current phone, Moto G5 Plus, was never released in Canada but works here.

tomos · « **Reply #230 on:** May 08, 2019, 09:28 AM »

Surprised: I'm just after getting Android 9 update on my Moto G6
Haven't had time to mess around with it yet, but seems to have updated okay

4wd · « **Reply #231 on:** July 01, 2020, 12:57 PM »

New phone after 2.5 years: Oppo A52, probably one of the best bang-for-buck phones currently available.

SnapDragon 665
Adreno 610
4GB/64GB
Android 10
1080x2400 LTPS IPS display
NFC
Dual 4G SIM + uSD (not hybrid tray)
Quad camera
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi
BT5.0
5000mAh battery with QC3.0
Fingerprint reader on the power button
etc

Included a pair of Oppo ENCO Free earphones free.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #232 on:** July 01, 2020, 02:44 PM »

Quote from: 4wd on July 01, 2020, 12:57 PM

New phone after 2.5 years: Oppo A52, probably one of the best bang-for-buck phones currently available.

My Moto e5 plus is 1.5 years old. 3 GB ram, 32 GB storage, 5000 mah battery for about $150 from Metro by TMobile. The main thing I find disappointing is that the new Moto phones do not seem to want to improve on 720P resolution. Such a big heavy phone should have 1080P FHD. Also I have short fingers so I have to work the touch screen using both hands.

Another less than stellar "feature" of my e5 is that any photos I take look like total crap. Streaming video isn't too bad if the WiFi has good bandwidth, but anything less than 1080P is unacceptable these days. My $100 W10 Laptop is 1920x1080 FHD for that matter.

Edit: I should also note the phone came with Android 8.0 Oreo with no upgrade path I know of. Just the occasional security update that nags incessantly until you install it.

4wd · « **Reply #233 on:** July 02, 2020, 12:44 AM »

Quote from: MilesAhead on July 01, 2020, 02:44 PM

The main thing I find disappointing is that the new Moto phones do not seem to want to improve on 720P resolution. Such a big heavy phone should have 1080P FHD.

...

Another less than stellar "feature" of my e5 is that any photos I take look like total crap. Streaming video isn't too bad if the WiFi has good bandwidth, but anything less than 1080P is unacceptable these days.

Well, it is their budget phone series, most manufacturers have a line that is 720p, ordinary camera, 2-3GB RAM, 16-32GB eMMC Flash, MTK or SD4xx SoC, etc, (eg. Samsung Galaxy A01) ... you'd need to move to their G series for better specs ... which is what they hope you do.

tomos · « **Reply #234 on:** July 02, 2020, 09:46 AM »

Quote from: 4wd on July 02, 2020, 12:44 AM

Quote from: MilesAhead on July 01, 2020, 02:44 PM
The main thing I find disappointing is that the new Moto phones do not seem to want to improve on 720P resolution. Such a big heavy phone should have 1080P FHD.

...

Another less than stellar "feature" of my e5 is that any photos I take look like total crap. Streaming video isn't too bad if the WiFi has good bandwidth, but anything less than 1080P is unacceptable these days.

Well, it is their budget phone series, most manufacturers have a line that is 720p, ordinary camera, 2-3GB RAM, 16-32GB eMMC Flash, MTK or SD4xx SoC, etc, (eg. Samsung Galaxy A01) ... you'd need to move to their G series for better specs ... which is what they hope you do.

Yeah, I paid 240€ or so two years ago for a Moto G6.
Beyond 3GB RAM and 32GB, I dont know the specifications -- it does what I want and need (I dont play games so no idea how good there), and battery lasts over a day. I should have gotten 64GB, but do have a 128GB SD card for images etc.. But the screen is nice (could be brighter in day/sunlight), and is 1080 x 2XXX. Camera is quite good for stills (and at the time for its price bracket), no idea about video beyond there being no stabilisation.
I will never buy another phone with a glass back -- was cracked within a month.

But yeah, if you want a half-decent camera and display, you will have to move up in price. I see the one 4wd got is available here (.de) for under 200€ but couldnt find it on uk amazon...
@4wd, maybe you could let us know how the screen and camera/s fare (just generally -- I'll have a look at an in depth review at some stage). I presume you'll be ripping out the OS, or have you done it already? :-)

4wd · « **Reply #235 on:** July 02, 2020, 12:55 PM »

Quote from: tomos on July 02, 2020, 09:46 AM

I see the one 4wd got is available here (.de) for under 200€ but couldnt find it on uk amazon...

I got it for AU$297, (~€183), from Amazon AU but it had a Oppo Promo and they included their ET102 ENCO Free earphones, (normally AU$149 apparently).

Quote

@4wd, maybe you could let us know how the screen and camera/s fare (just generally -- I'll have a look at an in depth review at some stage).

Screen is great compared to the G5+, (comes with a screen protector already fitted plus a TPU case), bright enough for me to use it inside/outside and very sharp.

Camera uses Omnivision sensors and the default camera app is apparently a little underwhelming, (it does have Electronic Image Stabilisation), but there is a GCam port [direct apk link] available that you can sideload that improves photos a lot.

Quote

I presume you'll be ripping out the OS, or have you done it already? :-)

Atm, I'm leaving it stock, (first Android phone I haven't rooted pretty much immediately but probably will in a couple of months when I start getting annoyed at the limitations of a non-rooted phone).
What's really annoying is some messaging apps don't provide any means of a complete chat backup, (Viber for instance, compared to Signal/WhatsApp which backup everything), which I could restore fully if I had root.

Most I'll do currently is disable some of the stock apps via ADB, (eg. GMail, some Oppo apps), otherwise their version of Android 10, ColorOs 7, is reasonably stock ... I'm probably going to miss some of the Moto Actions and I'll miss the Moto Clock because of the easy to read battery level.

Some nice things I didn't know:

You can do gestures when the screen is off to start things, V = torch, O = camera, || = play/pause track, < = previous track, > = next track, plus you can set others, (^, W, M, etc), to run apps.
A system wide Dark Mode
You can have the nav buttons autohide, (like Windows taskbar), or forego them altogether and use swipes up from the bottom, left-side = back, middle = home, swipe and hold = recent, (good for me because I always used Moto's single button nav which used the FPR for navigation).
Besides VoLTE it can also do VoWiFi, (if your provider lets you - which mine does).

A local review.

... and it doesn't crash when this image is used as the backdrop

MilesAhead · « **Reply #236 on:** July 02, 2020, 02:25 PM »

Quote from: 4wd on July 02, 2020, 12:44 AM

Quote from: MilesAhead on July 01, 2020, 02:44 PM
The main thing I find disappointing is that the new Moto phones do not seem to want to improve on 720P resolution. Such a big heavy phone should have 1080P FHD.

...

Another less than stellar "feature" of my e5 is that any photos I take look like total crap. Streaming video isn't too bad if the WiFi has good bandwidth, but anything less than 1080P is unacceptable these days.

Well, it is their budget phone series, most manufacturers have a line that is 720p, ordinary camera, 2-3GB RAM, 16-32GB eMMC Flash, MTK or SD4xx SoC, etc, (eg. Samsung Galaxy A01) ... you'd need to move to their G series for better specs ... which is what they hope you do.

I just checked out the Moto G8 Power specs. At $250 USD it does provide 1080P screen res, 4GB ram, 64GB storage. What I find inexplicable with the Moto series is the inability of the unlucky few like myself, to use the earphone jack. As incredible as it sounds if you look through the Motorola forums you will see a small percentage of reports that describe how no standard stereo set of earbuds will work. How can such old technology not work? It is totally bizarre. I have to use a blue tooth headset. Granted the sound is much better but I would like to be able to keep a set of buds in my pocket for stuff like listening to phone messages without digging out a headset. Needless to say with the volume maxed I still cannot hear my messages through the speakers.

I am sure some will think I am crazy but it seems these complaints span several years. There always seems to be a fly in the ointment with every electronic device I purchase. It is very frustrating. I tried 3 sets of bud-like blue tooth headphones thinking they would at least be easier to carry. None lasted more than two weeks. They all instantly transitioned from working fine to dead door nail.

tomos · « **Reply #237 on:** July 02, 2020, 08:28 PM »

Quote from: MilesAhead on July 02, 2020, 02:25 PM

There always seems to be a fly in the ointment with every electronic device I purchase.

I reckon that's always (nearly always?) the case. I dont use earphones, so never came across the problem. But did have other problems with connectivity (and needing to reboot to recover). In fairness that problem seems to have been resolved at some stage, but it's not that I'd particularly recommend Moto -- but I would at least consider buying again.

When looking to purchase something, I generally start by reading the Amazon one star reviews. That can get depressing though, cause there doesnt seem to be anything out there that doesnt come with problems -- maybe a lot of that is to do with the minimal quality control these days.

4wd · « **Reply #238 on:** July 03, 2020, 12:57 AM »

Quote from: MilesAhead on July 02, 2020, 02:25 PM

There always seems to be a fly in the ointment with every electronic device I purchase. It is very frustrating. I tried 3 sets of bud-like blue tooth headphones thinking they would at least be easier to carry. None lasted more than two weeks. They all instantly transitioned from working fine to dead door nail.

My experience only with the G5+, it's audio output during phone calls is loud, very loud ... easily the loudest phone I've ever had. It's like someone speaking directly into your ear at something a little louder than normal talking volume, I've never had a problem trying to hear what someone is saying no matter what environment I'm in.

Earphones, for wired I use MEE Audio M6P or the older MEE Audio M9P, (prefer the M6P's due to the memory wire retainer).

Bluetooth, (where to start):
Bluedio N2 (these were absolute rubbish, uncomfortable and low audio)
AWEI A960BL
Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Headset
QCY Q26 (both these QCY sets and the SoundPEATS are a little too "square" to be really comfortable but the audio is good from all of them)
QCY T1C
SoundPEATS TWS
Tronsmart Spunky Beat
Tronsmart Onyx Free
OPPO ENCO Free (haven't tried these yet)

Plus two BT headphones:
MEE Audio Wave
MEE Audio Air-Fi Touch

All the earphones/headphones still work fine, all except the Bluedio N2, (which I threw out after using once), have been used for months both on the phone, tablets, and computer.

The two Tronsmart sets are my current daily use earphones, one set for the tablet/phones, the other for the computer. The M6P's are used when I have to wear ear protectors so I can listen to music while I'm brush-cutting, etc.

NOTE: The above links aren't necessarily where I bought the item from.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #239 on:** July 06, 2020, 02:00 PM »

Quote from: 4wd on July 03, 2020, 12:57 AM

NOTE: The above links aren't necessarily where I bought the item from.

Thanks for the info. The earphone jack thing is kind of insidious. When buying a phone you are likely to worry if other stuff will work rather than the jack. For example I might want to make sure the fingerprint scanner works and just assume the earphone jack will since they have had so many decades to perfect it.

MilesAhead · « **Reply #240 on:** July 06, 2020, 02:05 PM »

Quote from: tomos on July 02, 2020, 08:28 PM

When looking to purchase something, I generally start by reading the Amazon one star reviews. That can get depressing though, cause there doesnt seem to be anything out there that doesnt come with problems -- maybe a lot of that is to do with the minimal quality control these days.

I know what you mean about the very negative reviews. I try to read somme positive ones to start. But I keep an eye out for minor disappointments about a feature that may be more important to me than the general user. Then I check out a couple of the "do not buy this piece of crap" reviews just in case there is a major problem that does not show up on all units.

4wd · « **Reply #241 on:** July 22, 2020, 12:32 PM »

Moto G 5G Plus is available for pre-order in the EU, specs look impressive for the price.

One of the new mid-range phones using the SD765 5G SoC.

Amazon.de

tomos · « **Reply #242 on:** September 30, 2020, 08:18 PM »

Considering:

Pixel 4a ~340€ // super (OLED) screen (some people have problems with the PWM they use to dim OLEDs, havent heard an in depth report about this model); super camera, great night-time shots; small (a pro to me)

Poco X3 ~250€ // good (LCD) screen, high refresh rate, but variable -- which causes it to stutter when speeding up; very big (this a con to me)

As you can see my main focus is on camera, and screen quality, and size. The really good low light camera makes the pixel a favourite for me atm (otoh my current phone is still working fine so, no rush).

MilesAhead · « **Reply #243 on:** October 08, 2020, 04:35 PM »

I noticed on my last two phones that the automatic system updates pushed on me really slowed booting and also made the phone act flakier than it was out of the box. Now that it is almost too late to do any good I found the slider in Developer Settings to disable automatic system updates. When I get a new phone I need to remember to look for that setting and disable it before they have a chance to foist the update on me.

I just thought I would pass it on since getting a new phone has many distractions and it is very easy to forget pitfall avoidance settings of this nature.

4wd · « **Reply #244 on:** October 09, 2020, 12:04 PM »

Quote from: MilesAhead on October 08, 2020, 04:35 PM

Now that it is almost too late to do any good I found the slider in Developer Settings to disable automatic system updates.

PSA: To get to Developer Options, go to Settings->About Phone and tap on Build number seven times

tomos · « **Reply #245 on:** February 08, 2021, 10:21 PM »

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 · « **Reply #246 on:** March 31, 2021, 10:01 PM »

Quote from: tomos on February 08, 2021, 10:21 PM

The 4a 5G OTOH came down from €499 to 399. So I got the 4a 5G, delivered today (I just setting it up now).

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 · « **Reply #247 on:** June 30, 2023, 11:27 AM »

^ 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 · « **Reply #248 on:** July 03, 2023, 10:29 AM »

Some thoughts about lower-to-mid-range phones if anyone considering:

Quote from: tomos on June 30, 2023, 11:27 AM

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.

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 · « **Reply #249 on:** July 28, 2023, 07:12 PM »

Quote from: tomos on July 03, 2023, 10:29 AM

Some thoughts about lower-to-mid-range phones if anyone considering:

Quote from: tomos on June 30, 2023, 11:27 AM
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.

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.

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.