New phone who dis?

PostNew phone who dis? by **OrangeRKN** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 12:02 am

Hoping for some phone advice if anyone has any

Currently have a Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, it's had a good run but the data pins in the usb port are broken, the SD card frequently fails to read, picture quality is awful because I think the ccd is degraded, the battery doesn't hold charge particularly well, a few weeks ago some dead pixels appeared on the screen, and earlier today I had to soft reset after it froze up entirely with the screen failing to turn on - in summary, new phone needed!

I want to buy a new handset outright and carry on with sim only contract, where are the best places to buy from to get a good deal?

I also don't really know what phone to get. I'm hoping to spend a few hundred at most. I'd much prefer a smaller phone similar to the z5 compact, so <5 inch screen, but this kind of practical pocket size seems not so popular. Probably sticking to android as iphones cost too much of a premium afaik. Don't want a google phone either because using android is google-centric enough (but hey I would like important apps to be supported so got to roll with it as an OS). Aesthetically I want it in black/grey, I like bezels around screens, and I like straight edges and right angles rather than curves - probably not on trend unfortunately so I'm prepared to not get those, but it'd be nice to be surprised. I would prefer the front facing camera not to cut in to the screen. I would like a headphone jack, and the longer the battery life the better. Wireless charging would be cool unless that ends up being expensive and cumbersome with charging stations as I'm used to just throwing a charging cable in a bag when I'm travelling around, I don't really know much about the tech.

Tried searching around a little but for smaller phones all I'm really finding are iphones being recommended, which come with the unjustified price tag. Can anyone up on their phones offer any advice?

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **RichardUK** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 12:29 am

I don’t know anything about android phones but I just had a look through Argos and they all do seem to large for what you wanted, the Motorola Defy has the other things you said but it’s 6.5

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **OrangeRKN** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 12:36 am

Just looking at a review summary of that (thanks for taking a look!) and I realise there is one other thing I missed: "No cover for USB port"

I really want a cover for the usb port, the reason the data pins broke on my current phone is that I had to keep cleaning lint/dust out of the usb port and ended up scratching them!

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Green Gecko** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 1:16 am

You can probably find a cover that will provide that such as otterbox commuter, yes it's a good idea for device life.

Sizes wise it's all gone up but sim only route such as giffgaff you can find some very good unlocked phones as old new stock on eBay. I really like my huawei FIG LX-1 which was £75 with an eBay voucher, it does what I need without any bloat. It's evocative of sony's android in this respect, I used a Z1 compact for a while. That's the last phone Huawei produced before they got locked out of the Play store however. Older phones are still basically stock android.

The screen size is too big for one hand but it is very thin and only just about too big. The 16:9 aspect (actually might be wider) is much easier on the eyes for reading at that size. The pixel density is very good, I think HTC one was the best in this respect as I also wanted a phone I could hold properly. Build qualify is really great for the price I paid.

Speaker is crap though. Nothing will beat the DSP and stereo front grill speakers on the HTC one though, such a great phone. Sadly the battery and the power button went insane, might repair it some day.

If you prefer smaller more minimalist, metal chassis phones like the Sony it is worth looking at the Chinese brands. If you're worried about back doors etc just root and flash them, after all it's android.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Moggy** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 7:23 am

What about this?

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Rex Kramer** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 8:05 am

OrangeRKN wrote:Just looking at a review summary of that (thanks for taking a look!) and I realise there is one other thing I missed: "No cover for USB port"

I really want a cover for the usb port, the reason the data pins broke on my current phone is that I had to keep cleaning lint/dust out of the usb port and ended up scratching them!

You can buy USB and headphone socket covers from Amazon.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Drumstick** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 8:24 am

Heard lots of positives about OPPO phones and they are in your budget.

Is there any particular reason you wanted a smaller phone? I know that a few years ago there were lots of different options, but hardly anyone does a sub-6" model these days, and with good reason to be honest. With everything your phone does these days, a larger screen size is essential. You'll get used to it quickly.

In my opinion the best phone in the mid-range bracket currently is the RealMe GT Master Edition. Available in black or grey!

https://buy.realme.com/uk/goods/181

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Vermilion** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:12 am

Moggy wrote:What about this?

It'll serve him well when it needs to be sneaked into prison.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **OrangeRKN** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:50 am

more heat than light wrote:Is there any particular reason you wanted a smaller phone? I know that a few years ago there were lots of different options, but hardly anyone does a sub-6" model these days, and with good reason to be honest. With everything your phone does these days, a larger screen size is essential. You'll get used to it quickly.

I want a phone that easily fits in any pocket and is easily used one handed. I don't need a bigger screen - I use my phone for messaging (text/whatsapp/telegram/signal), for calls, as a camera, for 2 factor auth, for taking notes, and occasionally for checking maps or train times (or whatever) when I'm out. I don't watch videos or play games on it and don't really want to, so a bigger screen would be more cumbersome for not much benefit.

I've not even heard of RealMe before so thanks for the recommendation (and OPPO too, I was only vaguely familiar of the brand) - it's useful to know which lesser brands are considered decent!

Moggy wrote:What about this?

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Prototype** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:54 am

I'm on iOS but if I was looking for a budget android phone I'd trust Tech Spurt. He posted this a couple of weeks ago... Any of these phones should fit the criteria.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **rinks** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:57 am

I would still recommend looking at the iPhone SE (£389). It's a fantastic phone for the price, and it's not crazy money like the main range.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **rinks** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:59 am

Moggy wrote:What about this?

I love that. If I was still moshpit age, I'd get one of those as a gig phone.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **massimo** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:00 am

rinks wrote:I would still recommend looking at the iPhone SE (£389). It's a fantastic phone for the price, and it's not crazy money like the main range.

Yeah was just about to recommend that myself. Great value for money.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **OrangeRKN** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:09 am

This has prompted me to relook into the iPhone SE, it's a potentially better option than I assumed!

Also as an aside (because I know I can't be this picky unfortunately!) am I really in such a minority for thinking curved edges look ugly? Not just on the phone frame where a little curve isn't too bad, but the screen itself I absolutely hate it not being perfectly rectangular. Yet all those budget phones look almost identical and all seem to have screens with curved corners.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Kezzer** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:13 am

Have a look on here, you can plug in all the specs you want and it will throw out some suggestions:

https://www.gsmarena.com/search.php3

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Johnny Ryall** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:30 am

Please don't get the iPhone SE, it has atrocious battery life. You'd be better with an iPhone 8.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by KK » Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:38 am

There's a new iPhone SE on the way within the next few months, is there not?

For what it's worth, T3 Magazine's top 3 cheap Android phones are:

OnePlus Nord 2 (£399)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE with 5G (£699)
Xiaomi M1 10T Lite with 5G (£249)

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Drumstick** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:52 am

iPhones are too locked down for my liking.

PostRe: New phone who dis? by **Rocsteady** » Thu Feb 03, 2022 11:16 am

KK wrote:There's a new iPhone SE on the way within the next few months, is there not?

For what it's worth, T3 Magazine's top 3 cheap Android phones are:

OnePlus Nord 2 (£399)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE with 5G (£699)
Xiaomi M1 10T Lite with 5G (£249)

That Samsung really stretches the definition of cheap

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