Help a noob pick a new phone

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Ok, I have a S3 right now, but it seems to be crapping out, reboots at random and happening more and more, slow to open apps etc etc.

First off, I DO NOT game on my phone, and if I do it is very rare and is something I could do without anyway. I need it to be android, lots of apps I use for work I need, and battery life, even if that means buying a extended battery pack.

What is out there that is reliable? The new S5 looks pretty nice, and I should probably do some research on it, last I was hearing was a non-removable battery, which I did not like, but that was just rumor at the time.
 
S5 or Note3. Both w/ user replaceable batteries.

S5 - power saving mode
Note3 - large battery

HTC One M8 doesn't seem to have a user replaceable battery but would otherwise been a decent choice.
 
Just get any newer Samsung phone with a ZeroLemon battery, which is normally 3x the capacity of the stock battery. The ZeroLemon Note 3 battery is 10,000 mAh and gets you around 28 hours of screen-on time or almost a week of moderate usage. ;)

S5s have a removable battery too, BTW. May be best to wait until they're out and get a ZeroLemon for it if you want the latest and greatest. Though the Note 3 is pretty much the same specs as the S5, but with an extra GB (3 GB total) RAM.
 
Does it have to be a Samsung phone? I feel they are way overpriced for what you get, the s4 was $600 for a 16GB. I have an xperia z1s 32gb for $528 and it had a hell of a lot better specs.
 
Only needs to be android, does not matter brand, and does not need to be the latest/greatest, as I said, I don't game, so a faster CPU/GPU is not going to help me type texts faster or send e-mails etc etc.

The only down side is most places tend to only make good extended batteries for the newer or high end phones.
 
You never did mention the carrier which matters when picking a phone
 
If you don't need gaming and just want a more useful phone, get a Moto X.
 
The new S5 is really great, and I was not even interested in it one bit when Samsung officially announced it last month. At first it just seemed like a ho-hum minor updated S4.

Nope, this thing is a beast. The S5 was recently rated as having the #1 best smartphone screen ever, and also the brightest smartphone screen ever tested. The 2800mAh battery + Snapdragon 801 give it significantly better battery life over the S4. And to top it off, the S5 is waterproof and 100% dust proof.

Plus Touchwiz, which used to be really ugly and outdated looking for years, has finally had a decent looking update on the S5, with a more flat look, and new menu layout, TW is certainly not beautiful quite yet, but looks much much better now.
 
Domini said:
You never did mention the carrier which matters when picking a phone
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I am on att, however, I am not due for an upgrade etc and as such will be paying out of pocket, so it does not matter as I will be buying an unlocked phone, and most of the major phones that I would be looking at support all the US carriers.

CHANG3D said:
If you don't need gaming and just want a more useful phone, get a Moto X.
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I had looked at this, but saw mixed reviews and am not sure it would be any better from the S3?

Zorachus said:
The new S5 is really great, and I was not even interested in it one bit when Samsung officially announced it last month. At first it just seemed like a ho-hum minor updated S4.

Nope, this thing is a beast. The S5 was recently rated as having the #1 best smartphone screen ever, and also the brightest smartphone screen ever tested. The 2800mAh battery + Snapdragon 801 give it significantly better battery life over the S4. And to top it off, the S5 is waterproof and 100% dust proof.

Plus Touchwiz, which used to be really ugly and outdated looking for years, has finally had a decent looking update on the S5, with a more flat look, and new menu layout, TW is certainly not beautiful quite yet, but looks much much better now.
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The only thing from all that would matter is the less power draw, which might mean better run times, the rest means little to me and how "updated" the UI is also matters little, and if I thought it was outdated and it bothered me, I could just reskin.
 
IMO get the SGS5. Seriously can't go wrong with all the new hardware specs and the best smartphone display according to DisplayMate.

Also battery life on the SGS5 is claimed to be the best compared to competing products. This is because Samsung vastly improved the power efficiency of their Super AMOLED displays, while at the same time increasing brightness levels (DisplayMate says it's the brightest smartphone display which is a huge achievement).
 
Why do we still have these threads? Get the new Galaxy or the new iPhone. /thread
 
T4rd said:
Did you miss my post above..?
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No, I have an extended (zerolemon) battery for my S3, and even thought about getting another S3, but prices don't seem to be much lower for new S3, than newer phones. And just can't see spending the money on older tech, also, the plastic frame did not hold up well and started cracking a short time into it's life.
 
BlueFireIce said:
No, I have an extended (zerolemon) battery for my S3, and even thought about getting another S3, but prices don't seem to be much lower for new S3, than newer phones. And just can't see spending the money on older tech, also, the plastic frame did not hold up well and started cracking a short time into it's life.
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Then why not just get a newer Samsung phone (GS4, Note 3, imminent GS5) with another Zero Lemon battery? They're the only decent phones available with a replaceable battery and you're not going to find another device that comes close to that battery capacity. If productivity is your goal, it's not going to get much better than a Note 3 or S5 w/ a ~10,000 mAh battery that you can also switch out if needed.
 
T4rd said:
Then why not just get a newer Samsung phone (GS4, Note 3, imminent GS5) with another Zero Lemon battery? They're the only decent phones available with a replaceable battery and you're not going to find another device that comes close to that battery capacity. If productivity is your goal, it's not going to get much better than a Note 3 or S5 w/ a ~10,000 mAh battery that you can also switch out if needed.
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WTF would you need a 10,000mAh battery in the Note 3 for ? The stock Note 3 gets insane battery life already, with like 6h to 7h On Screen time, and lasting a full day with heavy use.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Why pay for hardware I am never going to make use of?
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Because you have no choice. Let me give you the illusion that you have a choice: Pick between another S3, Note variant, S4, S5, iPhone5 or iPhone5c. You can't go wrong with any of those phones, plenty of people still have S3s that still function smoothly. This really isn't even a hard decision, pick the one you have money for, why are you worrying about where the money goes if this thread will pop up in another 1.5-2 years when whatever you have will start showing the same symptoms as the phone you have now is showing.
 
Arizonian7 said:
Did you even read the OP?

The OP wants extended battery life.

Xperia does not offer that.

The OP's best and most logical choice would be the Galaxy S5 with an extended battery pack.

And yes, the Galaxy S5 does have a removable battery AND is waterproof AND dustproof (IP67).
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3,000-3,200mah batteries aren't "Extended battery life"?? It makes no sense to pay out the ass for a phone with all that horsepower when its not going to be used
 
Domini said:
3,000-3,200mah batteries aren't "Extended battery life"?? It makes no sense to pay out the ass for a phone with all that horsepower when its not going to be used
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No, not when compared to a ~10,000 mAh extended battery. I guarantee that the S3 he's using with the 7,000 mAh battery right now gets better battery life than a Z1 or Z2. So that would be a downgrade in battery life if he got any other phone with a sealed battery. He's looking for maximum battery life possible even with an extended battery. No stock phone will touch what Zero Lemon offers for phones with a removable battery. It just so happens that Samsung offers the only (decent) phone available anymore that you can put an extended battery into, or else I would suggest something else. Given that, I'm not sure how that makes me biased toward Samsung whatsoever.

Zorachus said:
WTF would you need a 10,000mAh battery in the Note 3 for ? The stock Note 3 gets insane battery life already, with like 6h to 7h On Screen time, and lasting a full day with heavy use.
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Eh, not really, esp. after the 4.4 update from what I've heard. Maybe 5-6 hours screen-on time at best. Which is decent, but not enough to last all day still with heavy usage, which seems like what OP is doing.
 
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Ever consider downgrading to a feature phone and get a data-enabled Android tablet? The phone will last like forever compared to most smartphones.
 
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T4rd said:
No, not when compared to a ~10,000 mAh extended battery. I guarantee that the S3 he's using with the 7,000 mAh battery right now gets better battery life than a Z1 or Z2. So that would be a downgrade in battery life if he got any other phone with a sealed battery. He's looking for maximum battery life possible even with an extended battery. No stock phone will touch what Zero Lemon offers for phones with a removable battery. It just so happens that Samsung offers the only (decent) phone available anymore that you can put an extended battery into, or else I would suggest something else. Given that, I'm not sure how that makes me biased toward Samsung whatsoever.



Eh, not really, esp. after the 4.4 update from what I've heard. Maybe 5-6 hours screen-on time at best. Which is decent, but not enough to last all day still with heavy usage, which seems like what OP is doing.
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The Note 3 with Kit Kat only gets 5h to 6h On Screen time now ? That sucks for a Note class phone. I used to own a ATT Note 2, running a popular Touchwiz 4.1 ROM, and that beast gave me almost 7h to 8h On Screen time consistently, I could hammer on that phone hard all day long; GPS, voice calls, tons of texts, web surfing, XDA, YouTube, all day long, and would still have a little juice left at bed time. I guess the Note 3 isn't as good ?
 
Alchemic said:
Because you have no choice. Let me give you the illusion that you have a choice: Pick between another S3, Note variant, S4, S5, iPhone5 or iPhone5c. You can't go wrong with any of those phones, plenty of people still have S3s that still function smoothly. This really isn't even a hard decision, pick the one you have money for, why are you worrying about where the money goes if this thread will pop up in another 1.5-2 years when whatever you have will start showing the same symptoms as the phone you have now is showing.
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Because why pay 2-300 more for a phone I wont make full use of when as you say, in the same amount of time will have the same problems? And yes, many people do have S3s going strong, but mine did not last so long and I have done my best to take care of it and baby it and even then the main frame is cracked in 4 places (never dropped either). Which makes me question the build quality for something that is going to cost me $650. It is sad if these really are the only options for a phone that can have long run times.

T4rd said:
No, not when compared to a ~10,000 mAh extended battery. I guarantee that the S3 he's using with the 7,000 mAh battery right now gets better battery life than a Z1 or Z2. So that would be a downgrade in battery life if he got any other phone with a sealed battery. He's looking for maximum battery life possible even with an extended battery. No stock phone will touch what Zero Lemon offers for phones with a removable battery. It just so happens that Samsung offers the only (decent) phone available anymore that you can put an extended battery into, or else I would suggest something else. Given that, I'm not sure how that makes me biased toward Samsung whatsoever.



Eh, not really, esp. after the 4.4 update from what I've heard. Maybe 5-6 hours screen-on time at best. Which is decent, but not enough to last all day still with heavy usage, which seems like what OP is doing.
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If the phone has a good run time and could be upgraded to a 4500-5000mAh battery, I could probably live with that. However, I am out in the field most of the time, and as such means full screen brightness, sending texts and emails, taking photos etc all the time. I get about 2 days of heavy use out of it, which is more than enough, I really only need a full (24 hour) day out of it, as most of the time I am in very remote locations often times not even close enough to my truck to be able to charge and might stay that way for 18+ hours at a time.

CHANG3D said:
Ever consider downgrading to a feature phone and get a data-enabled Android tablet? The phone will last like forever compared to most smartphones.
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I am out in the field most of the time for work, no way am I going to get a phone and a tablet, and then add data to the tablet, and also the very short battery life most of them have etc etc, I also would not be able to text customers or my boss...List goes on why this would not work or be impractical for me.


From the looks of it and what people suggest I am pigeon holed into buying a phone with HW I will never make use of, because everything else either has a sealed battery or is not popular enough for someone to make a good extended battery for.
 
BlueFireIce said:
I am out in the field most of the time for work, no way am I going to get a phone and a tablet, and then add data to the tablet, and also the very short battery life most of them have etc etc, I also would not be able to text customers or my boss...List goes on why this would not work or be impractical for me.

From the looks of it and what people suggest I am pigeon holed into buying a phone with HW I will never make use of, because everything else either has a sealed battery or is not popular enough for someone to make a good extended battery for.
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Well, on AT&T, without subsidy, the Nokia Lumia 1520 for under $500. It has a web browsing benchmark of 12:40h, more than 3h more than Note 3. That's a pretty good indicator of a real world usage test; would you be using a phone 12 hrs a day? Other things that would reduce battery power HW-wise are the antennae. Maybe the locations you work has bad signals no matter how great the antennae, but Nokia and Motorola are known for their top notch patented antenna design that allows them to get better signals than the others. For example, last year, the flagships that had the strongest signal strength is Motorola's followed by Nokia's.

Power saving tips might be a good forum topic. For example, turning off data syncing, leaving on only the essentials cellular, sms, and some emails syncing/notifications. There are multiple way of syncing or getting specific email notifications. I have a NFC button to do just that. (Nexus 5 blows on battery life.)
 
CHANG3D said:
There are multiple way of syncing or getting specific email notifications.
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Such as? If I take 5mins to reply to an email or text from my boss or client, I have both of them up my ass.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Such as? If I take 5mins to reply to an email or text from my boss or client, I have both of them up my ass.
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You are essentially stuck with Samsung, you could grab an external battery for charging but it is a bit cumbersome and doesn't charge very fast.

I use my external for emergencies only.
 
Asking for a tough, reliable, productive phone with exemplary battery life? 5 years ago your answer would've been blackberry bold. Too bad there aren't any manufacturers that care about what you care about.
 
Alchemic said:
Asking for a tough, reliable, productive phone with exemplary battery life? 5 years ago your answer would've been blackberry bold. Too bad there aren't any manufacturers that care about what you care about.
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Blackberry still makes one... the Z30. Friend has one... goes two days on a charge, it's tough as nails and has UNREAL reception.

You know what? For the fact that it can run Android Apps, the Z30 actually might be a good phone for OP??
 
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