Smartphone Thunderdome (Samsung vs. Apple vs. Google etc.)

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Mark

A co-worker has 3 Windows phones and loves them. Everyone I talk to that has them (very few and far between) loves them. The phone companies are barely selling them as I think the Lumia's are in the middle of ending the current lineup and introducing the new lineup. We're thinking about the Lumia 830. Does anybody have extended experience with that model? I'm just curious how it holds up and your thoughts about it since there aren't many out there.

I used a Windows phone for over a year and when I switched to Android it felt like I had fallen behind two years using the Windows phone. It had a couple things that I liked, but overall Android and iOS are superior by a wide margin IMO. Lack of apps was a big problem, while it had most of the major ones, it never had new ones. You'll hear about a new app or game and go the app store on the Windows phone and the chance of it being there will be slim to none. You may say that doesn't matter to you, but why not have the flexibility of a platform that most developers are making things for? Unless there is some specific must have feature that windows phone has that Android or iOS doesn't have, I wouldn't recommend it. For reference I used a Lumia 920.

IMO the biggest downside of iOS is the cost of the latest phone models can be quite a bit. If you are concerned about bloatware then buy a Nexus branded phone and I have heard good things about the Moto X Play phone. Although I don't think bloatware is much of an issue.

[Mark]

The replaceable battery and expandable RAM on the Lumia 830 are selling features to me since I hope my phone would last long enough to make those features worthwhile. As for the apps, there is always talk of Microsoft being able to port over Android and iOS apps.

[FlamingInfinity]

Originally Posted by Mark

The replaceable battery and expandable RAM on the Lumia 830 are selling features to me since I hope my phone would last long enough to make those features worthwhile. As for the apps, there is always talk of Microsoft being able to port over Android and iOS apps.

The 830 is still kicking around, and there should be a whole bunch of new Windows Phone OEM's coming out soon once Windows 10 launches. Acer is launching a phone called the Jade Primo, and whether or not it's launched here I have yet to hear about. Microsoft's 640 and 640XL are pretty solid mid-range phones, and I know that Stephen Alvarez of National Geographic uses a 640XL for shooting in the wild. I myself have a Lumia 1520 that was imported from Hong Kong. The 640XL goes for around $338 unlocked, and works on all providers here, so it's a pretty solid deal IMO.

Personally I like the Windows environment, and while they were a late to the phone party Windows 8.1 and soon Windows 10 should help them come closer to what Samsung and iPhone offer. I like the customization and live tiles that Windows has incorporated, as well as Glance. Being able to glance at your screen to find out the time/emails/messages without using any power is wonderful. Additionally, it offers a bit more customization with the 3 and soon to be 4 sizes of live tiles, as well as tile art app. As ken0042 mentioned, talk to the reps at Microsoft store, and they have a bunch of demo units there for you to play with.

The nice thing is that Project Islandwood(?) and Project Astoria will allow dev's to port their apps over to the Windows environment fairly easily. The biggest gripe has been the lack of apps, which can go back to the lack of flagships in around a year or so. Kind of a chicken/egg problem. Rudy Huyn has helped though, with his 3rd party apps for Tinder, Vine, Instagram, and before they removed/banned it, Snapchat.

If you want something a bit higher end, look to the 950/950XL which should be releasing in late Nov/Dec as rumours suggest.

Let me know if you have any other questions about Windows phones via PM and I'll do my best to help.

[Ozy_Flame]

Just moved from Lumia 1020 to a One Plus Two, I get it next week . . . I was going to get the Lumia 950XL but the price point is just too high. I decided to go for a mid-budget Android phone, and I'm told I won't be disappointed with it.

[FlamingInfinity]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Just moved from Lumia 1020 to a One Plus Two, I get it next week . . . I was going to get the Lumia 950XL but the price point is just too high. I decided to go for a mid-budget Android phone, and I'm told I won't be disappointed with it.

I concour, it's a bit high, and the Canadian exchange doesn't help. But it is also an unlocked phone. Hopefully some carriers will carry it and allow customers to subsidize it on a plan like any other phone. On the plus side, it's comparable to lots of the Android counterparts that are coming out.

[Mazrim]

If you're trying to avoid bloat on a new phone, steer clear of Asus phones. They're preloaded with a boatload of useless apps. The general trend is moving to less and less apps preloaded on phone now though, with Samsung, LG and HTC all minimizing their apps in their newest phones. I believe Sony has as well but don't remember off the top of my head. Motorola releases phones that are essentially stock android with a few extra apps that are all complimentary to android, not duplicating existing efforts. They're all useful, unobtrusive and light on memory and battery usage.

I've always been switching phone makers every time I buy a new phone ever since I started buying cell phones in 2004 - Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Blackberry, Apple, and Motorola - before buying the Moto X Play last week to make it 2 Moto phones in a row, so my biased recommendation would be to check out one of the Moto E, G, X (2014), X Play, or X Style.

[Thor]

I really want to get the Gear VR from Samsung, am I stuck having to buy Note 5 or Galaxy 6 to use it?

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by FlamingInfinity

I concour, it's a bit high, and the Canadian exchange doesn't help. But it is also an unlocked phone. Hopefully some carriers will carry it and allow customers to subsidize it on a plan like any other phone. On the plus side, it's comparable to lots of the Android counterparts that are coming out.

Unfortunately the big three are not carrying the Lumia phones, which is mind-boggling consider they would probably sell better than some of their lesser-quality Android phones. Also that the Windows 10 Mobile apps have been opened up to porting from Android and Objective C (Apple), it is a missed opportunity IMO. You can, however, buy it unlocked as you said.

I suspect public pressure will make at least one of the behemoths decide to carry them in 2016.

It's too bad no one is talking about the Lumia 550, which is the lower-end model of the 950 for all intents and purposes. That is in the $500 range unlocked, and would be more palpable for the average user wary of investing in a Windows Phone.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Unfortunately the big three are not carrying the Lumia phones, which is mind-boggling consider they would probably sell better than some of their lesser-quality Android phones. Also that the Windows 10 Mobile apps have been opened up to porting from Android and Objective C (Apple), it is a missed opportunity IMO. You can, however, buy it unlocked as you said.

I suspect public pressure will make at least one of the behemoths decide to carry them in 2016.

It's too bad no one is talking about the Lumia 550, which is the lower-end model of the 950 for all intents and purposes. That is in the $500 range unlocked, and would be more palpable for the average user wary of investing in a Windows Phone.

It's probably because of how they were burned from the older 7/8/900 series. Why order 10k units of Windows phones you MIGHT sell all of, versus another 30k of the high end S6, i6S and get minimal quantities of low end Android devices which majority will be sold through online or to those interested in the $0 price tag and the power of brand name. Wouldn't be surprised Bell or Telus pick one up again relatively soon but with very little investment.

[TorqueDog]

Ozy_Flame et al. who are on WinPhone, the latest Insider Fast build of Windows 10 Mobile is, IMO, at the point where you could happily use it on your daily driver device.

This is from running it on a Lumia 920, Lumia 830, and Lumia Icon.

[Kybosh]

If anyone gets a OnePlus X invite they don't need or aren't interested in, I'd love to grab it. I'm interested in trying something new for my next device. I signed up with several email addresses, but I'm not sure how fast they'll be rolling out invites.

Cheers

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by Mark

My wife and I are ready to get our first smart phones (mostly due to our 6 and 12 year old phones are starting to glitch out). We don't care much for apps and I strongly dislike iPhones with their lack of o/s flexibility. So many people I know really don't like their iPhone. Which leads me to Android. The most common complaint I hear is bloatware. My wife wants a good camera and I just want something reliable and durable (I realize I probably won't be getting 12 years out of a phone anymore).

A co-worker has 3 Windows phones and loves them. Everyone I talk to that has them (very few and far between) loves them. The phone companies are barely selling them as I think the Lumia's are in the middle of ending the current lineup and introducing the new lineup. We're thinking about the Lumia 830. Does anybody have extended experience with that model? I'm just curious how it holds up and your thoughts about it since there aren't many out there.

You might want to go to cell repair shops, or a similar store, and see if you can get a Lumia 1020 in good condition. I got a virtually new one for under $250.00 a few months ago, to replace a former 1020 that broke.

It's solid, should be able to run Windows 10, and still has the best camera available for any smartphone, combining the massive 41 mega pixel sensor with the Lumia Photo software.

[InglewoodFan]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Ozy_Flame et al. who are on WinPhone, the latest Insider Fast build of Windows 10 Mobile is, IMO, at the point where you could happily use it on your daily driver device.

This is from running it on a Lumia 920, Lumia 830, and Lumia Icon.

Good to hear. I bought an unlocked Lumia 640 XL on Friday night and am digging it. But playing with the 950 in the Microsoft store definitely has me looking forward to going to Windows 10 Phone.

It's replaced my iPhone 4s (and sometimes Nexus 4). Loving the big screen, the snappiness, and the battery life so far. Three phones, three different OSes. All have their pros and cons. But I'm a big Surface Pro fan, so the MS phone feels pretty familiar. And the price was unbeatable. $500-ish less than the 950 or an unlocked iPhone 6s. Would one of those be better? Probably, but not $500 better.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by InglewoodFan

Good to hear. I bought an unlocked Lumia 640 XL on Friday night and am digging it. But playing with the 950 in the Microsoft store definitely has me looking forward to going to Windows 10 Phone.

It's replaced my iPhone 4s (and sometimes Nexus 4). Loving the big screen, the snappiness, and the battery life so far. Three phones, three different OSes. All have their pros and cons. But I'm a big Surface Pro fan, so the MS phone feels pretty familiar. And the price was unbeatable. $500-ish less than the 950 or an unlocked iPhone 6s. Would one of those be better? Probably, but not $500 better.

I have the 950XL, and the camera is just daaaaamn good. Windows Hello is slick (and pretty fast after a couple early updates to the OS) and Continuum has some very interesting implications for enterprise, especially when you look at the adoption of thin clients.

There are still early bugs that need squishing, still polish needed, but thankfully the accelerated delivery cadence for phone updates (that no longer rely on carrier approval - woohoo!) will address that. And my new Mozo case, when it arrives, will address the aesthetic which isn't terribly groundbreaking.

[KidCanada]

Bump -
I am looking to (finally) upgrade from my iPhone 4s. It's been a while since i looked at any smartphones. I am inclined towards a new iPhone or samsung galaxy phone.
It's been a while since i compared smartphones, does anyone have any thoughts on either the new iphone 6s or samsung s7? Do I need one of these, or should i get the prior model to these versions?
I dont use my phone for a whole lot right now as it tends to be slow, but i suppose camera and performance are key. What are the advantages of either phone?

[spuzzum]

Originally Posted by KidCanada

Bump -
I am looking to (finally) upgrade from my iPhone 4s. It's been a while since i looked at any smartphones. I am inclined towards a new iPhone or samsung galaxy phone.
It's been a while since i compared smartphones, does anyone have any thoughts on either the new iphone 6s or samsung s7? Do I need one of these, or should i get the prior model to these versions?
I dont use my phone for a whole lot right now as it tends to be slow, but i suppose camera and performance are key. What are the advantages of either phone?

Huge difference between the new iPhone 6s and upcoming S6/7 is modifying the internal memory and changing the battery. If you use a lot of video, photos, and apps, having the ability to use micro-SD is a big reason to select Samsung.

[Azure]

The HTC M9 is a beast of a phone. The Snapdragon 810 is pretty nice considering you can pick one up for $300 these days. Its the same processor as the Nexus 6P.

[Galakanokis]

Just picked up the 6P, it's a beaut! Loving it so far. Love the size, super quick and a great camera to boot.

Lots of great phones out there these days, really can't go wrong with any of them.

[Fuzz]

Uh, so Apple's new feature...
http://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/09/...s-live-photos/
Live Photos. It's a marketing bizzaro! Apple has invented...short movies without sound! But no, it's a "live photo". How that differs from a video(or Vine) only makes sense in the world of Apple, I guess. Are they just getting desperate for ideas? Could you imagine the guy pitching this...

"Ok, I've got an idea. We will record a series of pictures, and call it... Live Photos!"
"Uh, isn't that a video?"
"No, because get this! We'll do it without sound!"
"uh, so a gif?"
"No, it'll be full quality!"
"So an HD video without sound then, that lasts 1.5 seconds?"
"Now you are getting it!"
"...and people will record these huge live photos on their 16GB iPhone?"
"That's the brilliant part, we can either sell them the 64GB version for $130 more, or sell them extra storage on their iCloud account! No one ever wants to delete anything, so we just fill it up and take more money!"
"It's free money from the suckers! Woohooo!"
"Someone give Derrick a raise!"

And so on...

[Wormius]

Hmm. New feature? They introduced that during the 6s launch. It is kind of neat in some respects, I mean not ground breaking in any way, but that it does it automatically is nice so you see what happened in the time before/after you took the snapshot.