Help me choose my 1st smart phone? (Mostly for efficiency/productivity)

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DaRuSsIaMaN

[H]ard|Gawd
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Apr 22, 2007
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Firstly, I probably want to stick with Verizon. I have great reception here in Boston with my LG chocolate 3 -- I can't even remember anymore how many years I've had this thing -- and I'm on a family plan, so I don't think I want to mess around and experiment with new carriers. I am willing to consider other carriers if there's some compelling reason, though.

Anyway, my primary reason for wanting a smart phone finally is that I want to be able to use time more efficiently. So, when I'm on the bus or the "T" (trolley/subway system) I want to be able to dig through my emails instead of simply staring out the window. Commuting is kind of a waste of time but with a smart phone I could make use of that time.

Probably the second biggest reason is for navigation: being able to look up a map when I'm walking around trying to find things.

So, my priorities are:
- efficient email reading, maybe writing (typing emails is less of a priority than just reading)
- phone fundamentals: good reception, etc.
- dimensions: I want it to be small and as thin as possible. I don't care about a big screen for watching videos or playing shitty phone games. Just big enough screen for reading.
- build quality: durability, etc.
- battery life

Any suggestions? Thanks
 
Droid Maxx, Moto X, or Iphone 5S. Optionally a Droid Mini or Iphone 5/C if you want to save money on the phone cost, depends on how much you value ~$100.

I would definitely go into a corporate store and check these models out plus any other that catch your eye while you're there, then buy online with the verizon30 code which will give you a 30% discount on the up front phone cost (I am of course assuming your line on the family plan currently isn't on contract due to the age of your current phone).
 
Define "just big enough for reading". Bigger phones=easier to read from further away and less tendency to end up "screen sighted" as a recent H News item put it.

There's a reason you see all the cool iPhone kids with their phone 3 inches away from their face hunched over pecking away...because you can't see shit on the screen at a more comfortable viewing distance.

Also, "As small and thin as possible" and "durability" are mutually exclusive concepts in touchscreen smartphones.
 
Skripka said:
Define "just big enough for reading". Bigger phones=easier to read from further away and less tendency to end up "screen sighted" as a recent H News item put it.

There's a reason you see all the cool iPhone kids with their phone 3 inches away from their face hunched over pecking away...because you can't see shit on the screen at a more comfortable viewing distance.
Click to expand...

Hmm, well I guess it's hard for me to define those things, never having experienced a smart phone. I anticipate that I'll just resort to using zoom-in quite a bit to make reading more manageable/healthy. I think the iphone 5 dimensions look reasonable to me. Maybe a little larger is alright. Is the iphone 5 pretty much the smallest it gets?

Skripka said:
Also, "As small and thin as possible" and "durability" are mutually exclusive concepts in touchscreen smartphones.
Click to expand...

Really? Didn't know that. Well, in that case I guess smaller size takes precedence.
 
DaRuSsIaMaN said:
Hmm, well I guess it's hard for me to define those things, never having experienced a smart phone. I anticipate that I'll just resort to using zoom-in quite a bit to make reading more manageable/healthy. I think the iphone 5 dimensions look reasonable to me. Maybe a little larger is alright. Is the iphone 5 pretty much the smallest it gets?



Really? Didn't know that. Well, in that case I guess smaller size takes precedence.
Click to expand...

Honestly, the best thing to do is talk to your work pals with smartphones and play with them and feel what seems best. Zooming in and out to read anything gets cumbersome and annoying. Readability is a function not only of the screen diagonal but of the system fontset, and how non-adjustable the font size/weight is....with Android if you're rooted you can also adjust the software DPI giving you another tool to make device use more comfortable. Lots of people laugh and go "OMG" when they see me with my Note 2 at work...and promptly quit laughing when they see I don't need the damn thing 3" away from my face to read and I don't need to constantly pinch-zoom.

But size is a personal thing. About the smallest most phones are these days are the iPhones, and even there there's rumors of the next iPhones finally moving to a slightly larger platform.

Put it this way. Without some kind of case, any accidental dropping of a smartphone regardless of size (except onto soft carpet) will probably land you with a shattered or cracked screen unless you're insanely lucky. And even a case can still cause you to crack a screen at the corner if it lands just wrong.
 
Droid Maxx. It has battery life that is amazing and by far the best of any phone on the market.

All the little things that Motorola has added to the Moto X, Ultra, and Maxx are pretty sweet. The natural language processor that is always listening for commands, the tech that turns on just the little spot on the screen needed for active notifications, the camera UI, it all adds up to a great Android experience. The Android UI is barebones stock Android. There is none of the Sense or Touchwiz bs on these phones.

Also, built in inductive charging is a great feature. Just set your phone on the qi pad and it charges.
 
Sounds like you want to look at the iPhone 5c or Moto X. They don't have extreme battery life, but they'll last through a typical day if you're not pushing them to their limits -- and you won't with your current needs! Of the two, the iPhone will be superior for most media tasks (photography, music playback), frequent OS updates and getting the cooler apps first; the Moto X has a bigger screen and clever tricks like hands-free voice control, although it sadly won't read your emails for you that way.

Don't go for the Droid Maxx -- it's going to be noticeably bigger. Not sure the extreme battery life is worth the tradeoff in your case.
 
DaRuSsIaMaN said:
Hmm, well I guess it's hard for me to define those things, never having experienced a smart phone. I anticipate that I'll just resort to using zoom-in quite a bit to make reading more manageable/healthy. I think the iphone 5 dimensions look reasonable to me. Maybe a little larger is alright. Is the iphone 5 pretty much the smallest it gets?
Click to expand...

You should try to actually test as many as you can in person in this case.

Do not go with how a phone is on paper.
 
limitedaccess said:
You should try to actually test as many as you can in person in this case.

Do not go with how a phone is on paper.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^^ this.

You can see a lot in videos, but even spending 48hrs looking at a device you won't know how you really like it until you see it / touch it.

you want a small phone? a family member has a droid mini, its pretty small, has the same performance as the moto X which is good, is almost stock android, and lasts for 2 days on very light usage.
 
Note 3 has everything you want except the dimensions. I forgot I could load up email on my pc, I was literally reading my email from my phone while sitting at my computer today.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I agree I should definitely play around with some phones in a store. I'm just so catastrophically short on time...

But anyway, what about the BlackBerry Z10? It has basically the same dimensions as the Moto X except slightly thinner. From what I understand, BB business model is at least supposed to be the kind of stuff (I think) I want from a smartphone: a focus on "business"/productivity.
 
DaRuSsIaMaN said:
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I agree I should definitely play around with some phones in a store. I'm just so catastrophically short on time...

But anyway, what about the BlackBerry Z10? It has basically the same dimensions as the Moto X except slightly thinner. From what I understand, BB business model is at least supposed to be the kind of stuff (I think) I want from a smartphone: a focus on "business"/productivity.
Click to expand...
BB has left the consumer market. Don't think I'd buy a phone from a zombie company.
 
I just upgraded from an s2 to an s4 and it is so much easier on the eyes. I do a lot of e-mail and read news on my phone.
 
Trimlock said:
Note 3 has everything you want except the dimensions. I forgot I could load up email on my pc, I was literally reading my email from my phone while sitting at my computer today.
Click to expand...

^^^ This.
I went from an iPhone 4 to a Note 3, and now I feel weird holding my fiance's iPhone 5.
As noted above, size can be a problem, but movies, youtube, e-books, and reading email looks amazing.
Only problem i'm having with it is that its size doesn't fit well in my shorts pocket when i'm at the gym. I could remedy this with a Bluetooth headset, but I haven't found one I like yet.
 
DaRuSsIaMaN said:
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I agree I should definitely play around with some phones in a store. I'm just so catastrophically short on time...

But anyway, what about the BlackBerry Z10? It has basically the same dimensions as the Moto X except slightly thinner. From what I understand, BB business model is at least supposed to be the kind of stuff (I think) I want from a smartphone: a focus on "business"/productivity.
Click to expand...

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't go with the BlackBerry Z10 after using it for a few weeks. It does a few things very well, such as the keyboard (outstanding), multitasking and durability. However, it doesn't actually feel more efficient to me -- it's harder to mass-select email (for deleting or marking as read, for example) than it is on iOS or Android. And I hate to be pessimistic, but BlackBerry has the combination of a relatively small BB10 app base and an uncertain future... it's not the wisest gamble.

I'll reiterate my earlier suggestions: since you want a smaller device, look at the iPhone 5c (or 5s, for that matter) and Moto X. Apple and Motorola seem to be the only two major phone makers that fit truly good hardware into smaller devices.
 
Size is a very subjective thing. It is very easy to go from 'that phone is too big' to using it for a few days and think 'how did I ever live with a smaller screen'.

Like everyone else has said, try out the iPhone 5s/c. Moto X, and also the S4/G2/HTC One/Lumia just to get a feel of how a slightly larger phone feels like. Think of your typical uses (emails, reading news) and how the screen will affect that.

Also as a new smartphone user you might find you want to start using other types of apps as well, do some multitasking, and find other uses for your phone.
 
If you're going to be spending quite a bit of time looking at the screen I would definitely try to go for something with a larger screen or with a phone that someone says is easy on the eyes. If I spent too long looking at the screen on my droid incredible I would literally have trouble focusing my eyes for distance for like half an hour after I stopped staring at my device. On slightly larger screens I don't get that same problem.
 
I have a Lumia 928 and I love it. Had a Galaxy Nexus before that and I do not miss Android one bit.

But yes, go use them and see what you like. Screen size is important if you really want to work with it. typing on the Dept iPhone 5 duty phones is MADDENING after having 4+" devices for years.
 
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