Getting a new phone

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:19 pm

I'm replacing an old Iphone - been looking at the various options from AT&T -

Galaxy S4, MotoX, Iphone 5s.

The old Iphone has been decent, but the battery's shot and it's like 5 years old and getting flaky.

I have poor close up eyesight, so bigger the better. I really don't use my phone all that much mostly looking for reliability. I don't think there is any 4g or whatever nearby. I'm not planning on running a lot of apps, we have very limited data plan.

I read through the stuff here on the MotoX and S4 and they both seem decent.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:46 pm

I still like my S4 and I like its size (I can see stuff on it.....with my glasses as I can't see much of anything close up these days w/o them). Has a great camera too, so good that I haven't used my digital camera since.

I have no experience with the MotoX so I have no opinions on that.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:46 pm

I'm a huge fan of the Samsung S series.

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:56 pm

my S4 is still going strong. IMO, it has the largest screen for practical use, at least as far as putting in a pants pocket, etc. anything bigger and it would get awkward. if you don't care about that, samsung has multiple larger screen options now. the last time i looked, there were 5, 7, 8, 9" options. those are pretty huge.

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:06 pm

thx everyone

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:11 pm

I have a Moto-X and I love it.

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 8:44 pm

Must be getting old...forgot to give wife unlock code...no phone for me this week. Been reading up a little bit, and may go with the S4 because of the display and camera, but also saw where S5 is coming out soon. Moto x looks good as well. I really need to go to the store and look at it. I left my Iphone in the car then night it go -5 up here and the battery started holding a charge again. go figure.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 11:46 pm

Performance is the same between S4 & Moto-X but the S4 is loaded down with a ton of crapware. The Moto-X is pure android with just a couple of Motorola services running. Moto-X also gets better battery life. Downside to the Moto is no SDCard slot but that hasn't been any problem for me at all.

I actually had to work on someone's S4 the other day and the menus are so non-android standard (for no good reason) that it was very hard to find the configuration settings I was looking for.

Only way I'd buy an S4 is if it was the Google special edition version running pure Android. I'll never own a phone again that's not running pure Android.

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:23 am

Thanks FP! I know simpler is better, but I sometimes get drawn to things that are "shiny."

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 8:09 pm

If torn between the 2, read reviews and online info as there's tons of it out there now.

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 5:46 pm

I went by the ATT place to see how they felt in the hand. The MotoX felt more comfortable - even though it's going into an otterbox. Couldn't believe how hard the guy was up selling me on the S4. I think that the MotoX has plenty of horsepower for the limited things that I do.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:15 pm

Moto-X does feel good in your hand and it's just the right size. The S4 is a bit too tall to fit in a jeans pocket.

All I have on it is a thin plastic skin case. Otterbox is too bulky for my taste.

I also don't use (have never used) screen protectors. Modern gorilla glass is pretty tough stuff and I don't want anything between me and the touch sensors.

ZYFER · Post by **ZYFER** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 5:29 am

I like the screen protectors mostly because even though gorilla glass is tough, it is still easy enough to scratch screens. There different options for screen protector types too. I don't like most cases for phones though. They tend to make it difficult to plug in most headphones.

One thing that makes things somewhat simple is the little addon devices too, like the Samsung watch. So you can answer phone calls with a smaller screen and know who is calling without ever having to take your phone out of your pocket. Ofcourse Bluetooth earpieces almost seem like a must in this day and age. I think many go too nuts with their phone. a mid range model has plenty of power and storage space.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:52 am

One thing that makes things somewhat simple is the little addon devices too, like the Samsung watch. So you can answer phone calls with a smaller screen and know who is calling without ever having to take your phone out of your pocket.

Did you buy one? Those things are $300, huge and not stand alone (need to have phone with you).
If it was smaller and under $100, it might then be more worthwhile IMO.

ZYFER · Post by **ZYFER** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 9:02 am

Agreed. I personally couldn't make a good enough use of it to justify the cost, but I have messed with them. People who take frequent calls could fine it quite a convenience. I suppose it is more of the "techie" gizmo type who like to be flashy.

To be honest though, that thing costs more than my phone lol
But miniaturization only gets us so far. When stuff is smaller but still needs to receive signals, it makes things harder. The smaller it is, the smaller its antenna. So unless carriers could improve the signal overall, stuff that small standalone would hardly be feasible.