More on picking a cell phone

Picking a cell phone is just terrible.  My Samsung S5 Active has been dying for 6 months now and I can't seem to decide on what to get.  Today, the display only works if you whack it on a table so I gotta choose.

Needs:
-Not huge.  I keep it in my pocket and I hate big phones
-Unlocked and does all possible networks because I switch depending on the moon phase/pricing
-Long battery life
-Android
-Very good camera
-Decent RAM.  I currently have 2gb and its not enough.  4gb would be nice
-Big storage isn't much of an issue as long as it has a slot for an SD card.  I keep most of my photos on a cloud and when the card gets full I just drag and drop them to my laptop.

Wants:
-Dual SIM.  I spend the summers in Canada and have a prepaid SIM card for up there.  I normally just keep my old phone and stuff the Canadian sim card into it, but since my old phone is dying I don't think I'll have that option.  I can be convinced to get a a single-sim phone and then buy a cheapy phone for up there, but it seems like dual-sim is pretty common these days.
-decent aftermarket support; cases, etc.

Price is to be considered, but if I find the phone I want I'm willing to spend $400+ on it.

I had found the OnePlus 5, but it hit the market last summer while I was in Canada, it was $600, and then by the time the prices started coming down, it went into backorder status and now it seems that you can't get it at all.  In the entirety of the US I have found one used one for sale.

I have been looking at the Asus phones, but they list CDMA, not GSM.  Are they Verizon family only?  Currently on AT&T.

I recently faced the same conundrum and ended up with a Pixel 2. I've been very happy with it so far.

Have you thought about going project Fi?

International capable in 150+ countries, domestically it's on sprint t mobile and us cellular networks, WiFi calling and messaging, pay as you go data could be a help or hindrance, but they've started bill protection so after 6gb of data in a particular month, it becomes unlimited. 

Only down side is limited on phone choice, pixel 2 or motto x4. X4 is a nice size,and great battery life, but meh camera software from the factory. Pixel 2 is a bit large but I have no first-hand experience with it. 

RevRico said:

Have you thought about going project Fi?

International capable in 150+ countries, domestically it's on sprint t mobile and us cellular networks, WiFi calling and messaging, pay as you go data could be a help or hindrance, but they've started bill protection so after 6gb of data in a particular month, it becomes unlimited. 

Only down side is limited on phone choice, pixel 2 or motto x4. X4 is a nice size,and great battery life, but meh camera software from the factory. Pixel 2 is a bit large but I have no first-hand experience with it. 

Thought about project fi, yes, but wifi is non-existent nearly everywhere I travel.

I had looked at the Pixel.  It offers nearly everything I want, but its $650 and the battery is LESS than what I have now.  Even at its best, my S5 could only muster about 7 hours with as much as I use it.  I'm trying to get away from owning 6 chargers so that I can plug in everywhere I am: work, baltimore girl's house, home, car... it gets really old, fast.

The Asus Zen3 Zoom has all I could ever want, including twice the battery capacity of the Pixel, but it appears to be GSM-only, and even at that it lacks some of the channels (like #12) which makes it not a very good thing for me.

Moto G5 seems to check most of your boxes, though I'm not sure about the dual SIM thing.  Or, to step up somewhat, there's the Moto X4.

There's a bunch of One Plus 5T listed on Swappa. I bought an HTC One on there last summer and it was a pleasant experience. Phone works perfectly. 

clutchsmoke said:

There's a bunch of One Plus 5T listed on Swappa. I bought an HTC One on there last summer and it was a pleasant experience. Phone works perfectly. 

The 5 is already almost too big for my taste.  The 5T is just massive.

I have already conceded to jump to a 5.5" display and I'm not happy about it.  The 6" screen on the 5T won't be something I can keep in my pocket.

Tom_Spangler said:

Moto G5 seems to check most of your boxes, though I'm not sure about the dual SIM thing.  Or, to step up somewhat, there's the Moto X4.

I too am a fan (and user) of Moto.. 

I was very happy with my Moto.  My android progression goes like this:

Droid X
Galaxy S3 (geez I loved that phone and still have it)
Galaxy S5 active
[insert new phone here]

You might look at jumping to T-Mobile. I used mine on a trip to Canada and it worked flawlessly all the way around Lake Superior. I even had 4G in most places. I don't remember there being any additional charger either. I want to say they cover the US, Canada and Mexico. 

Yep, T-Mobile advertises unlimited call/text/data in Canada and Mexico as well as the US.

Moto X Pure (2016) for me which though not called the X3 but was the 3rd X Model and basically evolved to be the X4. 

I'm still very happy with it.  

BoxheadCougarTim said:

Yep, T-Mobile advertises unlimited call/text/data in Canada and Mexico as well as the US.

Thought about it, but other coverage is pretty slim.  (unless they have upped their coverage since I was on it.)  I remember when I lived in L.A. on Verizon, I made several trips cross country and never (and I mean never) dropped coverage.  The last year I was on Tmobile and only had service in metro areas on that same trip.

I'm currently with family on AT&T, which is brilliant because I pay $41 a month for unlimited everything.  Verizon lets me do calling for free in Canada, but nearly triple that cost since I would be breaking free and going on my own.

https://www.motorola.com/us/compare-smartphones

I would probably go with Moto 5Gs because it uses the traditional micro USB charger (not the newer usb-c.) I have lots of regular USB chargers so that means continued compatibility. 

I would upgrade to the 64gb on board because that also moves the ram from 3gb to 4gb . 

Sadly, no nfc if your into "pay with phone" services 

They've been massively increasing their coverage. Yes, at least out here in the West it's still spotty in places, but much better than it was even just a few years ago.

For now I've added a Moto X4 to my shopping cart.  Not that I would get it from Amazon, but its a good research and organization tool to narrow it down.  Keep the suggestions coming.

They don't do oversized "bump" battery packs anymore??   I had one on my android before I went to iphone and teh capacity was great.   It looked kind of like a big cowl induction hood. 

That could option you back the pixel or other models without enough standard capacity. 

I still think you might want to look at Fi again since they've been changing things up these past few months, but that's not about a phone. The rest of this post is. 

I have the Android One version of the Moto X4. I've had it since late October. I was not happy when I got it originally as it's a sealed battery unit, but this battery has surprised me. I regularly get 10-14 hours of heavy use, meaning going back and forth from web browser to graphically intense games from a charge. My average screen on time is 10 hours a day. But even if it does die 15 minutes on the juice and it's back up to 80%. Just plugging in in the car between stops keeps it full all day. 

I mentioned the camera as a negative earlier, and it is. It's gotten better with updates, but I use a different app most of the time now. The hardware itself is pretty decent. Not up to LG G5 standards, but good enough outside or in bright areas. Manual mode is a nice touch, but there's still a fairly long delay between pushing the button and it actually taking the picture that makes spontaneous pictures really annoying to take. 

When I bought the phone there wasn't an otter box available for it. I'm rather partial to them, but plan on buying a decent case or putting some sort of texture on the back. The slick glass back is very slick, plus the camera bezel sticks out, so it slides berkeleying everywhere when you set it down on anything. I got a cheap case on Amazon for $5 after I cracked the glass that makes the back sit flush on a surface, and has some texture. Not super strong, but it's been good enough so far, and really didn't change the footprint of the phone.

It does have support for external sd card, and even had an o ring in it's place to keep it water tight. The front fingerprint scanner is pretty nice and convenient too, and can store up to 10 fingers. 

I really haven't had any problems with it, the only negatives for me are the slow camera, which has plenty of alternatives, and the super slick back before it got a case. If there's anything specific you're interested in about the phone I'll be happy to answer any questions.

8valve said:

They don't do oversized "bump" battery packs anymore??   I had one on my android before I went to iphone and teh capacity was great.   It looked kind of like a big cowl induction hood. 

That could option you back the pixel or other models without enough standard capacity. 

Yes, although it is a bit of a conundrum.  You either buy a more expensive high-capacity battery phone, or spend less on the phone and pony up for the battery cover.  You end up paying almost as much for the combo with extra battery case and end up with a massive and heavy phone instead of a smaller phone with a good battery already in it.

One of my biggest needs is a phone that isn't huge.  Strap-on batteries doesn't help that any.

My suggestion is the Moto G5 Plus, or G5 S Plus. Get the bigger storage, and you get 4GB RAM too. If you can wait a couple of months, there will be a G6 lineup. It seems to be plenty fast for me. The camera is good enough and it takes nice videos. It also works on all networks.

I use mine on a stupidly cheap T-Mobile business line. The only place I've had service issues so far was at a ski condo in the middle of nowhere where only Sprint worked. I had Fi last year and it worked great in the same place, but with the antics of that weekend its probably better that it didn't work!

I have a strange obsession with cheap phone service deals. 

T-mobile: Teltik (i have a promo code if you'd like); BetterSIM; MintSim (if you don't mind deprioritization)

Verizon: Check out PagePlus and StraightTalk

ATT: Cricket seems to be the place.

I have a Huawei and I love it. 

I also have the Moto G5+ on t-mobile.  The US version is only 1 sim, but it's not that hard to swap.  Biggest drawback I found is that otterbox doesn't make a case for it.  It does have excellent battery life and the camera takes decent pictures (about 4-5mb).    It seems to only really have an issue with Facebook.  My Facebook constantly restarts and the marketplace doesn't work right all the time.  It does come with a "turbo" charger that charges it fully within 4 hours.   

I did prefer my Samsung S6 though.  It had the notification LED (G5 does not) better speaker for music, more and better cases available.  I would have kept it, but my screen was starting to get a pink tint in chrome.

Curtis said:

clutchsmoke said:

There's a bunch of One Plus 5T listed on Swappa. I bought an HTC One on there last summer and it was a pleasant experience. Phone works perfectly. 

The 5 is already almost too big for my taste.  The 5T is just massive.

I have already conceded to jump to a 5.5" display and I'm not happy about it.  The 6" screen on the 5T won't be something I can keep in my pocket.

You've got some wrong info. The 5T is almost exactly the same physical dimensions of the 5 (1-2mm different wdxht). Less bezel on the face is how.  I'm typing this on a 5T and have been happy with it so far (got it at launch). Battery has lived up to my hopes coming from a Droid turbo w/ the big battery. That was one of the hardest things in finding a replacement I found. Just fyi.

I also have a motor z force I tried and didn't love. I ended up getting a factory replacement after the first one died, and need to sell it. If you're interested, let me know and I'll make you a fair deal to save some selling hassle.

Another phone that came to mind after I re-read the thread (if you can forego the dual sim requirement) would be an Essential Phone. Granted, they are not cheap but they have a great screen size vs overall size ratio. Plus it's bone stock Android and not carrier locked.

bluej said:

Curtis said:

clutchsmoke said:

There's a bunch of One Plus 5T listed on Swappa. I bought an HTC One on there last summer and it was a pleasant experience. Phone works perfectly. 

The 5 is already almost too big for my taste.  The 5T is just massive.

I have already conceded to jump to a 5.5" display and I'm not happy about it.  The 6" screen on the 5T won't be something I can keep in my pocket.

You've got some wrong info. The 5T is almost exactly the same physical dimensions of the 5 (1-2mm different wdxht). Less bezel on the face is how.  I'm typing this on a 5T and have been happy with it so far (got it at launch). Battery has lived up to my hopes coming from a Droid turbo w/ the big battery. That was one of the hardest things in finding a replacement I found. Just fyi.

I also have a motor z force I tried and didn't love. I ended up getting a factory replacement after the first one died, and need to sell it. If you're interested, let me know and I'll make you a fair deal to save some selling hassle.

that is quite possible.  The 6" display (and how it looks in pictures) makes it seem like it is advertised as a big phone.  Some websites technically call it a Phablet.