POLL - The "best" Android Phone

Best "Android" Phone

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Warrior said:
I have to ask, what did you use to take the picture of the DSLR? :)
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My other DSLR :p

I used my old D40x to take that picture of my D90. Because all of my good lenses rely on in-body focus motors and the D40x doesn't have one, I was stuck in manual focus for that shot.
 
Godmachine said:
It's really not even fair to compare any smartphone camera as such to even a low end DSLR. We all know that it's the sensor and glass that makes the camera not the megapixel count.
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Agreed, it's not a fair comparison, but if we bring it up, maybe at least phone designers will give it an honest try, with more space dedicated to the camera. It doesn't have to be full on DSLR level, that would be horribly inconvenient. But something in between, with a little bit more attention given to the camera than current designs, would be nice.

If Leica can make a digital compact camera that challenges even the top DSLR's in a very compact format, we should be able to get something that at least reaches the level of a standard digital point and shoot in a cellphone without any real size or image quality sacrifices.

Granted, some phone companies have tried. There was the Galaxy S4 Zoom, and the Nokia N8 a while back, but phones like these just never reached mainstream outlets, and were still too bulky. Innovation ere would be great.
 
Phones that have tried to sell based on camera, like the Lumia's with 40mp camera, didn't sell. It's safe to say for most people cellphone camera's are more than adequate and the incremental improvements happening are good enough. A very small %age would base their decision based on the camera, its just not something any oem is going to focus on.
 
MrCrispy said:
Phones that have tried to sell based on camera, like the Lumia's with 40mp camera, didn't sell. It's safe to say for most people cellphone camera's are more than adequate and the incremental improvements happening are good enough. A very small %age would base their decision based on the camera, its just not something any oem is going to focus on.
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Well said. I'm sure most major cell phone manufacturers have invested millions in figuring out exactly what people value most in their phones. Better more expensive camera components just aren't one of them. The Nokia 1020 is a prime example of this.
 
The best camera is the one you've got on you. In that way a good phone camera is far superior to a DSLR for most of your time out of the house.
 
oblib__ said:
The best camera is the one you've got on you. In that way a good phone camera is far superior to a DSLR for most of your time out of the house.
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And in many cases speed matters. Even if I have both, its far faster to take out the cellphone, unlock and go to camera in a single gesture and shoot something quickly, compared to opening up camera case, taking off cover, turning it on etc.
 
oblib__ said:
The best camera is the one you've got on you. In that way a good phone camera is far superior to a DSLR for most of your time out of the house.
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Yup. These days I spend a lot of time with family and my nephew and I thought about getting a DSLR but carrying one around and actually being read to take a funny moment with my nephew is near impossible with one. So for my next smartphone I am looking to get one with an amazing camera. The Z2 and Nokia Lumia's but I dont quite like WP yet. I hope the Note 4 and iPhone 6 pack something amazing as well. The Z2 I will definitely be getting if they come out with a AT&T LTE compatible version whether I have to import it or not.
 
MrCrispy said:
And in many cases speed matters. Even if I have both, its far faster to take out the cellphone, unlock and go to camera in a single gesture and shoot something quickly, compared to opening up camera case, taking off cover, turning it on etc.
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Yup, the only thing I want out of a camera on a phone is ease of use, the quality is already there.
 
didactandnarpet said:
Well said. I'm sure most major cell phone manufacturers have invested millions in figuring out exactly what people value most in their phones. Better more expensive camera components just aren't one of them. The Nokia 1020 is a prime example of this.
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When you consider how many people buy iPhones and Android phones versus Windows phones there was already little chance even a 41 megapixel camera was going to persuade someone to ditch their ecosystem just for an incredibly good camera. If that 41 megapixel camera was on some kind of android phone it would done far better since the android ecosystem dwarfs the Windows phone ecosystem by a large factor.
 
Tie between the Note and the Nexus 5. I have a Note 2 and a Nexus 5 and carry the Note 2 daily (aokp rom). My wife uses the Nexus 5 and has been pretty happy with it. I much prefer amoled displays. The SD card slot is nice, but I've never taken the card out. If all phones came with more internal storage standard it would be a non-issue. The HTC One feels great, and with the google play edition rom flashed ties with the Nexus 5 IMO. The same goes for the S4 with the google play edition rom. Honestly none of the cameras are great with stock android or aosp roms, but it's a tradeoff I'm willing to take for better usability at this point in time.
 
-Sn1PeR- said:
Tie between the Note and the Nexus 5. .
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Calling the Nexus 5 the best phone (when the G2 and other better phones are options) is like saying a Corolla is a better car than the Lexus IS. (Funny I should use that comparison, since I wouldn't touch either car)
 
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dandragonrage said:
Calling the Nexus 5 the best phone (when the G2 and other better phones are options) is like saying a Corolla is a better car than the Lexus IS.
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Regarding the nexus 5 as an inferior phone just because it's priced cheaper is so fucking stupid. There's nothing budget about it besides the price...
 
Disposed said:
Regarding the nexus 5 as an inferior phone just because it's priced cheaper is so fucking stupid. There's nothing budget about it besides the price...
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When it's based on the G2, yet is worse than the G2, it doesn't even belong in the poll as an option, let alone one that most people are selecting. It's not a "best value" or "what do you use" or "what can you afford" poll... Otherwise companies like Behringer make the "best" audio gear, my X-Star DP2710 is the "best" monitor (actually maybe even worse but cheaper monitors win that), etc.

The N5 is a good phone and a great value, but it is not the "best Android phone," regardless of how many people may select that option.
 
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oblib__ said:
That's the funny thing about opinions: they are all wrong except mine!
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Ah, but it's not opinion that makes the G2 better than the N5. The G2 is better - that is a fact. The opinion comes in when deciding which is the better choice for yourself. But that's not what the poll is about. N5 is the only answer in the list that is absolutely wrong. It is my opinion that the G2 is the best phone in the list (as there are actual tradeoffs compared to some of the other phones, rather than the G2 just being better in every way like it is when comparing it to the N5), but the N5 is the only one that's just wrong. Well, that and maybe the S4 ;)

Also, that's a rather black-or-white view of the world. Not all opinions have equal value.

People just love to answer "best" polls as "what did you buy"
 
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Disposed said:
Regarding the nexus 5 as an inferior phone just because it's priced cheaper is so fucking stupid. There's nothing budget about it besides the price...
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I was a big Nexus phone fan, having owned all four in a row, expect the new Nexus 5, and I am pissed they held out on the same 3,000mAh battery from the G2, which the N5 is based off. There was just no reason to leave such an important feature out. How much more would the large battery have added to the N5 cost ? Not much, and even if it was $50 more, which it's not, then charge us for that. If the 32GB Nexus 5, with 3,000mAh battery was $450 it would be the best smartphone in history, and still a bargain.

The G2 has some amazing battery life, on par if not better than the almighty Note 3. Where as the Nexus 5 sucks balls for battery life, ok it doesn't suck, but still doesn't get even close to the G2, that can get 6h On Screen time, and last a solid 24 hour day with heavy use. The N5 can not do that.
 
dandragonrage said:
When it's based on the G2, yet is worse than the G2, it doesn't even belong in the poll as an option, let alone one that most people are selecting. It's not a "best value" or "what do you use" or "what can you afford" poll... Otherwise companies like Behringer make the "best" audio gear, my X-Star DP2710 is the "best" monitor (actually maybe even worse but cheaper monitors win that), etc.

The N5 is a good phone and a great value, but it is not the "best Android phone," regardless of how many people may select that option.
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The G2 and Nexus 5 are much much different. The only thing similar is CPU/RAM/Manufactuer. Its the cheapest top of the line phone you can own right now and its pure android!
 
Domini said:
The G2 and Nexus 5 are much much different. The only thing similar is CPU/RAM/Manufactuer. Its the cheapest top of the line phone you can own right now and its pure android!
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Cheapest is not a variable being asked about in this poll. That would be "best value" which is NOT the same thing as "best." Again, a Corolla is never "better" than a Lexus IS, but it is a better value. The phones can be directly compared in more ways than you've listed. G2 wins in battery life, camera quality, audio quality and more. How about listing the things that can't be compared? Not gonna be much there.

Pure Android, which is a POS that hasn't had much in the way of software improvements for years. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. And in any case, the G2 hardware is so much better that it's worth the effort to root and modify if you really want AOSP. But better than that would be a custom ROM. If you're not willing to do any work on the phone, you're not likely to prefer AOSP to begin with. Yes, there will be a few exceptions on this site, but not many. And I have the feeling that those that think they prefer AOSP simply haven't used the really good Android ROMs. AOSP is seriously lacking these days.

Again, the N5 is a good phone with excellent value. But it is not the answer to this poll.
 
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oblib__ said:
That's the funny thing about opinions: they are all wrong except mine!
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While "best" is relative, the poll is for the "best" Android phone, not the "best" phone for the money.
As such, it stands that the G2 is a superior phone than the Nexus 5. This is pretty much fact both on paper and relatively.

As someone else said, if the battery was 3000mAh, (and it had a better camera), it likely would be one of the best phones ever released, but alas it does not, and as such, it is not the "best" phone.
 
AMD T-type said:
While "best" is relative, the poll is for the "best" Android phone, not the "best" phone for the money.
As such, it stands that the G2 is a superior phone than the Nexus 5. This is pretty much fact both on paper and relatively.

As someone else said, if the battery was 3000mAh, (and it had a better camera), it likely would be one of the best phones ever released, but alas it does not, and as such, it is not the "best" phone.
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I don't think the G2 is uniformly superior to the Nexus 5 -- they each have their advantages.

The N5 you get because you want a lightweight interface, timely OS updates over a long period and a high-end phone that doesn't cost a lot off-contract. The G2 has a great battery, a better overall camera and a larger screen (which isn't automatically better). Pick what you value most and go with that!
 
Godmachine said:
When you consider how many people buy iPhones and Android phones versus Windows phones there was already little chance even a 41 megapixel camera was going to persuade someone to ditch their ecosystem just for an incredibly good camera. If that 41 megapixel camera was on some kind of android phone it would done far better since the android ecosystem dwarfs the Windows phone ecosystem by a large factor.
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Not sure if the Galaxy S4 Zoom would favor my argument or yours, however I'll throw it out there for discussion.
 
didactandnarpet said:
Not sure if the Galaxy S4 Zoom would favor my argument or yours, however I'll throw it out there for discussion.
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Well, the problem with the GS4 Zoom is that it's just not a very good phone, crazy rear camera notwithstanding. The Lumia 1020 represents a great overall design, not just a camera with a phone attached... the catch is that the OS hasn't caught on as-is, whether it's due to features or just being late to the party.
 
dandragonrage said:
Cheapest is not a variable being asked about in this poll. That would be "best value" which is NOT the same thing as "best." Again, a Corolla is never "better" than a Lexus IS, but it is a better value. The phones can be directly compared in more ways than you've listed. G2 wins in battery life, camera quality, audio quality and more. How about listing the things that can't be compared? Not gonna be much there.

Pure Android, which is a POS that hasn't had much in the way of software improvements for years. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. And in any case, the G2 hardware is so much better that it's worth the effort to root and modify if you really want AOSP. But better than that would be a custom ROM. If you're not willing to do any work on the phone, you're not likely to prefer AOSP to begin with. Yes, there will be a few exceptions on this site, but not many. And I have the feeling that those that think they prefer AOSP simply haven't used the really good Android ROMs. AOSP is seriously lacking these days.

Again, the N5 is a good phone with excellent value. But it is not the answer to this poll.
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What defines "best" to you? Every phone is going to have some sort of drawback. Ive yet to see a phone that is perfection. My Xperia Z1S would be perfection if the only change was to an IPS LCD display.
 
G2 superior hardware vs N5 superior software, updates, cheaper price

By no means is there is a clear winner. For a lot of people the N5 is a superior phone because in the end, software matter much more than hardware. Its why the Moto X is a such a good phone even with last year specs.
 
BTW, guys, after a year of phones, the GSMA just named HTC One the Phone of the Year at MWC 2014.
 
AMD T-type said:
While "best" is relative, the poll is for the "best" Android phone, not the "best" phone for the money.
As such, it stands that the G2 is a superior phone than the Nexus 5. This is pretty much fact both on paper and relatively.

As someone else said, if the battery was 3000mAh, (and it had a better camera), it likely would be one of the best phones ever released, but alas it does not, and as such, it is not the "best" phone.
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Google the word best. You clearly do not understand the meaning. I'll give you a hint, looking better on a spec sheet does not automatically make it the "best". It's fucking subjective for starters...

There are so many factors involved like i said before anyone that jumps in and claims one particular phone is the best and tries to prove it as a fact then argues peoples opinions is a fucking fanboy idiot.
 
Enilder said:
Nexus 5 without a second thought...
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QFT- I got the phone 5 days ago and have been blown away at the speed and cleanliness of the stock OS. Kit Kat is very nice,fast, and feature rich. Just like the hardware :D
CHANG3D said:
My main problem with the Nexus 5 is using the darn thing as a phone...

People often cannot hear me due to the piss poor location of the microphone.

I have to hold it like a walkie-talkie/speaker phone with the bottom of the phone pointed at my face.

The smartphone sure is well-designed in terms of "smart," but its "phone" part is idiotic.

My HTC One is a good smartphone in just about every way. It may not be the best in terms of the "stock" experience, but it's not terrible. Not even close to being terrible., it's fast and smooth. And it's phone part is superior. No one was complaining about my voice quality. I don't even need to talk about the audio experience of it cause enough has probably been said about it.
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As far as I know the only gripe about the phone has been the camera, which seems to be a software issue and not do much the hardware itself. I was very happy and surprised to see how fast they fixed and payed attention. http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5175568/fixing-the-nexus-5-android-4-4-1-improves-camera

As for call quality TBH it has some of the best call quality I have personaly experienced on a phone. Droid > HTC G2 > Samsung GS2 > Samsung GS Relay > Samsung GS4 > Nexus 5 Just to kind of give and idea of my upgrade path. I'm not sure about where you have heard about the call quality being an issue, the speaker layout is fine. Nexus 5 call quality

We'll keep this section brief, because this has more to do with your carrier than the device itself. Most smartphones these days sound great when you're on the phone, and the Nexus 5 is no exception.

"We used T-Mobile's network in the San Francisco Bay Area, and for the most part call quality sounded excellent. Our friends reported that we sounded loud and clear, and we can say the same for them" http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews...oogle-nexus-5-1194974/review/5#articleContent So when you used a nexus 5 who was the carrier? I use T-mob here in Eugene and it's great.
 
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ITSTHINKING said:
QFT- I got the phone 5 days ago and have been blown away at the speed and cleanliness of the stock OS. Kit Kat is very nice,fast, and feature rich. Just like the hardware:D
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was your previous phone a samsung or an older HTC? LOL

Coming from an HTC One, my Nexus 5 was pretty "meh"
 
CHANG3D said:
was your previous phone a samsung or an older HTC? LOL

Coming from an HTC One, my Nexus 5 was pretty "meh"
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No dude, he bought the Nexus 5, so clearly it's the BEST phone. I mean, he bought it after all. Nevermind that AOSP apps are outdated crap (I love open-source too, but AOSP apps have been neglected for ages, and I'm not going to just pretend that AOSP is better just because I'd like it to be) and the N5 hardware is inferior to other options. I doubt these people have even used a G2, but they're still sure the cheap knockoff is better.

Sometimes I buy "value" things myself, but I don't then go around telling people those things are "the best." Yeah, guys, you like your N5s. If you seriously think they are the best phone, you haven't actually thought about it.
 
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Godmachine said:
True. But LG doesn't have a great history of top end phones.
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True, but they also have a history of forgetting about them within 6 months after launch as well. I think the Optimus G, a phone that the Nexus 4 is based on, is still on 4.1.2, lol. It may be on 4.2, Google is showing multiple things for it since there's so many variants of it.

The G2 getting 4.4 recently is a good sign of improvement though. Hopefully that isn't the first and last update it gets.
 
dandragonrage said:
No dude, he bought the Nexus 5, so clearly it's the BEST phone. I mean, he bought it after all. Nevermind that AOSP apps are outdated crap and the N5 hardware is inferior to other options. I doubt these people have even used a G2, but they're still sure the cheap knockoff is better.
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Oh wow. Just wow.
 
Disposed said:
There are so many factors involved like i said before anyone that jumps in and claims one particular phone is the best and tries to prove it as a fact then argues peoples opinions is a fucking fanboy idiot.
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Lets make it black and white. The Nexus 5 has a smaller screen, smaller battery, shittier camera, but it's AOSP and gets updates quicker.

So... pick what you want, AOSP with more updates, or a phone that lasts 30%+ longer, has a better camera, and a bigger screen. The screen size is subjective sure, but with the Note 3 tied for first in this poll that pretty much makes the screen size being too big a moot point.

If someone decides that they would prefer having AOSP and updates over having better hardware in a device that is used on a daily basis, that is their choice, and good for them.

Anyone that says the G2's software is shitty just flat out hasn't used it. It's not slow or bogged down by bloat at all, and has tons of features that SHOULD be in AOSP in the first place.
And besides, this is [H], the vast majority of people root and rom their phones anyways, which just makes the software point even more moot.
 
MrCrispy said:
G2 superior hardware vs N5 superior software, updates, cheaper price

By no means is there is a clear winner. For a lot of people the N5 is a superior phone because in the end, software matter much more than hardware. Its why the Moto X is a such a good phone even with last year specs.
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Considering how easy it is to root a phone and install the likes of Cyanogenmod these days, the software benefit of nexus devices is really rather moot, unless you are too lazy to do it yourself :p

Now that there is a monthly snapshot out of CM11 for the G2, I'm putting it on mine shortly, for all that KitKat goodness on a phone with killer high end hardware, and an amazing screen that goes right out to the edges and wastes no space.
 
ITSTHINKING said:
QFT- I got the phone 5 days ago and have been blown away at the speed and cleanliness of the stock OS. Kit Kat is very nice,fast, and feature rich. Just like the hardware :D


As far as I know the only gripe about the phone has been the camera, which seems to be a software issue and not do much the hardware itself. I was very happy and surprised to see how fast they fixed and payed attention. http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5175568/fixing-the-nexus-5-android-4-4-1-improves-camera

As for call quality TBH it has some of the best call quality I have personaly experienced on a phone. Droid > HTC G2 > Samsung GS2 > Samsung GS Relay > Samsung GS4 > Nexus 5 Just to kind of give and idea of my upgrade path. I'm not sure about where you have heard about the call quality being an issue, the speaker layout is fine. Nexus 5 call quality

We'll keep this section brief, because this has more to do with your carrier than the device itself. Most smartphones these days sound great when you're on the phone, and the Nexus 5 is no exception.

"We used T-Mobile's network in the San Francisco Bay Area, and for the most part call quality sounded excellent. Our friends reported that we sounded loud and clear, and we can say the same for them" http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews...oogle-nexus-5-1194974/review/5#articleContent So when you used a nexus 5 who was the carrier? I use T-mob here in Eugene and it's great.
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it's not call quality when the microphone can receive it. It's the location on the microphone making it hard to hold without blocking the mic and having to point the bottom toward my face. Yes, you can say I'm holding it wrong, but I have never had another phone that I had to hold it a certain way to make calls.
 
No idea how the N5 gets top spot. Horrible battery which just kills it. G2 is, on paper, the same thing, but slimmer and with a huge battery.
 
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