Help me find a new smart phone!

[UncleRJ]

I need some help from the Vaping Underground Peanut Gallery this weekend.

Since my old cell phone was on its last legs after 4 years of faithful service, Mrs. Uncle took me to the Verizon Phone Store so I could join the rest of the family in this century and get a smart phone.

I decided on the Apple Iphone 5S as I really liked the smaller size.

It sucks.

Battery life not so good but I can kinda live with that if I needed to.

The one thing you need to know about my cell phone habit, is that I am basically a Luddite.

And when I am at home or in my office, I generally have it on my desk or on a table in my living room.

So if I don't hear the stupid thing ring, the caller goes to Voicemail and leaves a message.

And my phone only makes the sound reminding me that I have a voicemail one time only.

So if I am not in the room when the alert goes off, I miss it only to find it hour(s) later when I look at the damn thing.

So here is what I am looking for.

A smaller sized phone with decent battery life.

Multiple Alerts to nag the hell out of me until I pick up the phone to see what is going on.

Voice Commands

Voice to Text

Email and access to the Interweb.

Easy for a Luddite to use.

Lots of apps available.

The Android OS sounds pretty good to me but what do I know!

HELP!!!!

 

[SMOKIE]

I need some help from the Vaping Underground Peanut Gallery this weekend.

Since my old cell phone was on its last legs after 4 years of faithful service, Mrs. Uncle took me to the Verizon Phone Store so I could join the rest of the family in this century and get a smart phone.

I decided on the Apple Iphone 5S as I really liked the smaller size.

It sucks.

Battery life not so good but I can kinda live with that if I needed to.

The one thing you need to know about my cell phone habit, is that I am basically a Luddite.

And when I am at home or in my office, I generally have it on my desk or on a table in my living room.

So if I don't hear the stupid thing ring, the caller goes to Voicemail and leaves a message.

And my phone only makes the sound reminding me that I have a voicemail one time only.

So if I am not in the room when the alert goes off, I miss it only to find it hour(s) later when I look at the damn thing.

So here is what I am looking for.

A smaller sized phone with decent battery life.

Multiple Alerts to nag the hell out of me until I pick up the phone to see what is going on.

Voice Commands

Voice to Text

Email and access to the Interweb.

Easy for a Luddite to use.

Lots of apps available.

The Android OS sounds pretty good to me but what do I know!

HELP!!!!

Loving my Galaxy S6 I am always on Skype with it, using it on here without using the tap talk app. You can multi task with opening 2 windows at one time. Camera is the best of any phone, and the Google GPS blows away the iPhone GPS. Phone has quick charge. Loads of free apps.

 

[Huckleberried]

I have a Galaxy GS5. Best Buy was running one of their specials and we both got new phones for $1. Not kidding I upgraded from an iPhone 4. Blows that phone away!! Battery life is awesome, charges fast, I can set my notifications to anything already loaded in the phone, or add my own sounds. I can't say it's as small, but I've gotten used to it and the other was so hard to see!!. I love my phone. And it's LOUD. I need a loud phone. Had to do my research on the part, but it had all the ratings I was looking for.

 

[smacksy]

I need some help from the Vaping Underground Peanut Gallery this weekend.

Since my old cell phone was on its last legs after 4 years of faithful service, Mrs. Uncle took me to the Verizon Phone Store so I could join the rest of the family in this century and get a smart phone.

I decided on the Apple Iphone 5S as I really liked the smaller size.

It sucks.

Battery life not so good but I can kinda live with that if I needed to.

The one thing you need to know about my cell phone habit, is that I am basically a Luddite.

And when I am at home or in my office, I generally have it on my desk or on a table in my living room.

So if I don't hear the stupid thing ring, the caller goes to Voicemail and leaves a message.

And my phone only makes the sound reminding me that I have a voicemail one time only.

So if I am not in the room when the alert goes off, I miss it only to find it hour(s) later when I look at the damn thing.

So here is what I am looking for.

A smaller sized phone with decent battery life.

Multiple Alerts to nag the hell out of me until I pick up the phone to see what is going on.

Voice Commands

Voice to Text

Email and access to the Interweb.

Easy for a Luddite to use.

Lots of apps available.

The Android OS sounds pretty good to me but what do I know!

HELP!!!!

Well I really like this Droid Maxx..
Big 3500 mAh batt goes for 48 hrs sometimes on one charge. 16G memory, 5" screen and super fast processor makes for one of the best phones I've used to date..
Got it about 3 mos ago..from Verizon

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[kwtony]

Everything you just listed is WHY your iphone 5s has poor battery life.

I did this for 6 + years before the iphone repair industry ever took and and had a few stores in KW...

Good luck with your search. But you really need to go in your settings and pretty much turn everything off...including all the push notifications.

 

[zaroba]

I recently upgraded my 5 year old not-so-smart phone to an LG G3 and so far am loving it.

 

[MercuryVaper]

My two year old LG e980 gives me flashing alerts on the home button. Very nice for when I miss a text, or call or email. I can set up different colors of flash for different people in my contacts. I'd try to find a phone that has that feature if you miss calls or text. Really handy. I love this phone.

 

[freemind]

I would also toss my vote for an S5 or S6 Samsung.

I use a Note 3, and like a bigger phone with the S pen.

 

[Mattp169]

check out an amazon fire phone

 

[UncleRJ]

all the smart phones have crappy battery life ,until you get a battery saver app,which shuts down all those stupid apps that are constantly running in the background

no idea if they are available in your area ?? look into the "Lenevo" phones .

At the moment, I am leaning towards the Droid Max.

When I got into the smartphone market, I was mostly looking for a phone that would make and get calls and have Voicemail and have the phone set to nag me with audio alerts until I picked up the phone from where I left it and listened to the message.

The other stuff is what I see myself needing in the next 6 to 8 months and don't need them up and running right this instant.

Can you send me the link so I can download the battery saver app?

And I understand the the Droid operating sytem has an app that I can install so I can get the super NAGGING you got a VM dumbass and I will not stop beeping until you listen to the sucker!

 

[smacksy]

At the moment, I am leaning towards the Droid Max.

When I got into the smartphone market, I was mostly looking for a phone that would make and get calls and have Voicemail and have the phone set to nag me with audio alerts until I picked up the phone from where I left it and listened to the message.

The other stuff is what I see myself needing in the next 6 to 8 months and don't need them up and running right this instant.

Can you send me the link so I can download the battery saver app?

And I understand the the Droid operating sytem has an app that I can install so I can get the super NAGGING you got a VM dumbass and I will not stop beeping until you listen to the sucker!

My Droid Maxx has a installed batt saver app already...simply turn it on in batt settings...I've been using this phone hard all day and still have about 39% left....
I do have ALOT of apps that run in the background and have a live wallpaper installed too...
This screenshot shows batt info including the batt saver at the top of the screen..

I'm sold on Android too..KiKat is fast and easy... I'm really liking my Maxx...I'm sure you would too..

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[UncleRJ]

My Droid Maxx has a installed batt saver app already...simply turn it on in batt settings...I've been using this phone hard all day and still have about 39% left....
I do have ALOT of apps that run in the background and have a live wallpaper installed too...
This screenshot shows batt info including the batt saver at the top of the screen..

I'm sold on Android too..KiKat is fast and easy... I'm really liking my Maxx...I'm sure you would too..

sent from my XT1080 via Tapatalk

You almost have me sold my vaping brother!

But can I set it to keep making noises every couple of minutes and wont stop until it knows I have looked at my messages?

 

[smacksy]

You almost have me sold my vaping brother!

But can I set it to keep making noises every couple of minutes and wont stop until it knows I have looked at my messages?

This phone has a active display..no blinking lights..when a text or email comes in a notification will appear in the screen..and will stay coming in every few minutes until you answer it...you can also set a one-time sound notification too if you choose.. I really like the active display...saves batt by lighting just a few pixels instead of a notification light that just keeps blinking away, wasting the batt..I think its pretty cool..


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[UncleRJ]

This phone has a active display..no blinking lights..when a text or email comes in a notification will appear in the screen..and will stay coming in every few minutes until you answer it...you can also set a one-time sound notification too if you choose.. I really like the active display...saves batt by lighting just a few pixels instead of a notification light that just keeps blinking away, wasting the batt..I think its pretty cool..


sent from my XT1080 via Tapatalk

Sadly, I need the audio prompts.

Like I said, for the most part, I don't clutch the thing to my chest and I leave it laying around a lot.

I need Audio Alerts!

Actually, it really saddens me to see how people are so freaking attached to something that I just consider a tool.

Mrs. Uncle has hers in her hand from Dawn to Dusk.

Example, we went to a 4th of July party at a friends house.

We park and I get out of the car.

After a minute or so, she gets out.

I phone in hand and she is texting someone or something.

Took me 60 seconds to get to the front door.

Took her 5 FREAKING minutes (I timed her) to make the same trip because her freaking phone was more important than the real life stuff going on around her.

IMHO, this is just so wrong!

 

[smacksy]

Sadly, I need the audio prompts.

Like I said, for the most part, I don't clutch the thing to my chest and I leave it laying around a lot.

I need Audio Alerts!

Copy that Uncle ... I leave it laying around too but look at it often..
I really don't know a smart phone that will give multiple audio alerts until its answered, or I'd probly get one for my 79 yr old Dad.. He's hard of hearing...lol
But seriously, I do wish you good luck and let us know what you wind up with..

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[PuffPuffPass]

I would also toss my vote for an S5 or S6 Samsung.

I use a Note 3, and like a bigger phone with the S pen.

I miss my Note I just upgraded, and went back to the IPhone. Reason? The new Note has the wrapped screen. Which is absolutely useless in my work environment. Unless I use it without a protective case.

Ever drop a note from 15 ft? I have, multiple times. I miss my note

 

[UncleRJ]

At the moment I am leaning towards the Droid Turbo.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/droid-turbo/#reviews

I just measured and it looks like it will fit in my pocket.

 

[Whiskey]

Loving my Galaxy S6 I am always on Skype with it, using it on here without using the tap talk app. You can multi task with opening 2 windows at one time. Camera is the best of any phone, and the Google GPS blows away the iPhone GPS. Phone has quick charge. Loads of free apps.

Hubby has this one and loves it, last year I settled for the Motorola Turbo, I HATE HATE HATE it, now waiting for contract to end , to get back into the Galaxy series

 

[Mike H.]

I like my Samsung Galaxy S4 Active.

 

[smacksy]

Hubby has this one and loves it, last year I settled for the Motorola Turbo, I HATE HATE HATE it, now waiting for contract to end , to get back into the Galaxy series

Just curious, what don't you like about the Turbo ? and what DO you like about a Samsung phone that makes it better?
I ask this because my sister hated her Galaxy and got the Turbo on the Verizon Edge plan (upgrade) last year...she really likes the big batt going 2 days on a single charge.. Her galaxy was lucky if it lasted 8 hrs, and she complained to the whole family about it, lol

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[Whiskey]

The Turbo screen is ultra sensitive, It goes places I don't even ask it to go, speed dial can't be de-activated , you can't scroll contacts to call who you want because it ends up calling someone you didn't want to call, The samsung doesn't have the trigger touch screen. It says it has the longest lasting battery, that is just BS, if you have more than a couple things running in the back ground it will suck the battery down rapidly. Those are just a few things I HATE about it that the Galaxy doesn't do

 

[smacksy]

The Turbo screen is ultra sensitive, It goes places I don't even ask it to go, speed dial can't be de-activated , you can't scroll contacts to call who you want because it ends up calling someone you didn't want to call, The samsung doesn't have the trigger touch screen. It says it has the longest lasting battery, that is just BS, if you have more than a couple things running in the back ground it will suck the battery down rapidly. Those are just a few things I HATE about it that the Galaxy doesn't do

To each his own girl, but glad your getting a phone that works for you..
I don't have the Turbo.. But I do love my my Maxx... 3500 mAh batt truly goes a long time on one charge, and I've got ALOT of apps running in the background, even live wall paper too...and that's no BS, lol

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[smacksy]

Number one reason (out of a dozen or more) is the display quality.
Turbo uses an LC screen and the Samsungs use Super Amoled. ('Samoled', a Samsung invention they have so far refused to license to other companies)

I know this is not a Android forum but I disagree with your statenent of the Turbo using a LC display, or screen as you put it.
I didn't post the whole link but this screenshot of Turbo specs says it uses a Super Amoled display..not Liquid Crystal .. (or LC like you put it)

I do wish people would know what they're talking about before posting wrong info to the public...

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[Whiskey]

Maybe that is why it is so touchy?? Super Amoled display.
I'm in a techno bubble folks....LOL

 

[smacksy]

Maybe that is why it is so touchy?? Super Amoled display.
I'm in a techno bubble folks....LOL

Could be ..but my Maxx has the same
Super Amoled display too..and its not touchy at all..
Don't figure, does it? Lol

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[smacksy]

You are right on the display.
I'm sorry I hurt your feelings.

Didn't hurt my feelings at all, but it did make you look like a dumb-ass...lol

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[Whiskey]

I always look like a dumb ass, I laugh at myself every day,

 

[smacksy]

Here... fill this out. You'll feel better.

Lol, I feel fine so don't worry it...this thread isn't about you telling people how you THINK they feel... and I'm not gonna waste anymore of my time reading your sarcastic remarks... I had enough of that on ECF. .its all good, so lets let it go at that...

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[f1r3b1rd]

Don't wanna stir a pot and be weird or nothin; but I've had every apple up until the 6, and then took a galaxy s5 for a spin. The s5 died and then I got a Nokia Lumia windows phone. I switched to the windows platform so that everything would sync together (surface, laptop and phone).
The battery life is great, I find it to be more intuitive than Snapple or Android. The build quality is more durable than the others but nor quite as polished. The pictures this thing takes are stunning for a phone. The downside is the windows appstore is like a big lots compared to Apple and Droid.
Plenty of professional/business aps but terrible for anything fun. Overall though, this phone has held up much better than anything else

 

[Whiskey]

LOL, no baking this week, I can't find anything around here right now

 

[Huckleberried]

the windows appstore is like a big lots compared to Apple and Droid.

BEST COMPARISON EVER!!!! LOLOLOL!!!

 

[smacksy]

Estrogen? That's funny, as I'm a 6'2" 225lb OTR truck driver.. Lol

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[UncleRJ]

Thanks to all of you for your help, advice and opinions and they were all appreciated!

And I looked that the specs for each and every phone mentioned here.

Anyway, I packed up the Iturd and returned it to the Verizon store this afternoon.

Had a polite but still severe chat with the manager.

He swapped the Iturd and the optical glass screen protector for the Motorola Droid Turbo with its own optical glass screen protector straight up even though the Droid would normally have been $50 more and waived the standard $35 charge for swapping phones.

Meanwhile, it seems that the Iturd had updated the OS last night and as a parting shot deleted ALL of my contacts.

Fortunately, I have always backed up my phone with Verizon and they were able to retrieve them and install on the new phone.

So far, so good even if I still need to spend time with the new phone and learn the in's and out's of the beast.

I was a bit worried about the comments that Whiskey had made about the screen being to sensitive but they let me play with the store demo before I purchased it and I did not have any problems in that regard with the demo as well as the phone I walked out with.

Still a bit larger than I would prefer but it is still small enough to share a pocket with my Sigelei 30 watt mini.

 

[f1r3b1rd]

Congrats Unc!!!!

 

[Huckleberried]

 

[smacksy]

Thanks to all of you for your help, advice and opinions and they were all appreciated!

And I looked that the specs for each and every phone mentioned here.

Anyway, I packed up the Iturd and returned it to the Verizon store this afternoon.

Had a polite but still severe chat with the manager.

He swapped the Iturd and the optical glass screen protector for the Motorola Droid Turbo with its own optical glass screen protector straight up even though the Droid would normally have been $50 more and waived the standard $35 charge for swapping phones.

Meanwhile, it seems that the Iturd had updated the OS last night and as a parting shot deleted ALL of my contacts.

Fortunately, I have always backed up my phone with Verizon and they were able to retrieve them and install on the new phone.

So far, so good even if I still need to spend time with the new phone and learn the in's and out's of the beast.

I was a bit worried about the comments that Whiskey had made about the screen being to sensitive but they let me play with the store demo before I purchased it and I did not have any problems in that regard with the demo as well as the phone I walked out with.

Still a bit larger than I would prefer but it is still small enough to share a pocket with my Sigelei 30 watt mini.

That's great! I'm glad it all worked out for you!
BTW if you need any help learning more about your turbo I would take a look at Android Forums...its s great place to discover the tips and tricks of any Android phone...they even have a dedicated sub forum just for your turbo, as well as any Android phone or tablet..
Folks over there are very helpful answering any question you may have, just like how most people here help us learn more about vaping..
Anyway, congrats and was glad to help...

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Tapatalk

 

[Joshua Iles]

Rj I don't use an app for such purposes but I know there is one to annoy the shit out of u to tell you that you have vmail/text etc. If you have trouble finding one don't hesitate to ask or any other questions you have. Me personally the only real notification app I have on mine is one that will always ring me if the wife or someone else important calls me even when my phone is on silent, which is where it stays cuz I work nights and we still have the occasional bill collectors and such who call me like 10 after I just fell asleep, but I always want my wife to be able to get ahold of me so that was my solution. I think you'll like the Android way better than apple, IMHO so many more options for settings and ease of use.

 

[Huckleberried]

Friend of mine had one downloaded, when he got mail, his phone went off... "Mail motherfucker! You got mail!" REPEATEDLY til he unlocked his phone.

 

[Joshua Iles]

Friend of mine had one downloaded, when he got mail, his phone went off... "Mail motherfucker! You got mail!" REPEATEDLY til he unlocked his phone.

I hope it was the Samuel l Jackson voice one and not the minion voice sounding one lol.

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[head_jt]

There's always a combination of 2 loves. Get that iPhone 5 (ugh I can't believe I'm endorsing an iPhone) and the vape case to match! You'll never miss a notification again!

 

[Whiskey]

Haaaaaaaaa cool!!!

 

[Huckleberried]

I have one of those, but no longer have the phone that fits it. It's a little powerhouse, seriously.

 

[head_jt]

I have one of those, but no longer have the phone that fits it. It's a little powerhouse, seriously.

Problem solved. PIF to uncle and he'll be forced to get the phone.

 

[Huckleberried]

That's the phone he got rid of, LOL.

 

[head_jt]

Well that's what I get for skimming and not actually reading eh?

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[Neunerball]

No matter what kind of smart phone you've got, they aren't so smart after all. You still have to "tell" them what to do.

 

[UncleRJ]

No matter what kind of smart phone you've got, they aren't so smart after all. You still have to "tell" them what to do.

I think they call them smartphones because they make you feel stupid trying to figure out how to make them work!

Perfect example.

When my old "Dumbass" phone rang,, it showed the name of the person calling if they were in my contact list or the number of the caller.

And I could decide to answer it or not.

The Droid wants me to pick between two Icons. Accept or Reject.

Took me a couple of calls to realize what was expected of me and where to place my thumb.

Still beats the heck out of the Iturd.

 

[f1r3b1rd]

IPhone is the blackberry of phones

 

[CurlyxCracker]

The lg3 and lg4 are the bees knees

 

[Bacong]

I really love my 6 plus, I've had it since last release day.

I really love android as an OS, but I haven't been happy with the experience I've gotten on most of the android phones I've had, except for the Moto X and Nexus 5, and both of them had drawbacks, too.

Nexus 5 glass smudged to hell all the time, and the camera and battery sucked, but I liked the handfeel of the device and android ran fantastically on it. loved it without a case and that might be my perfect device if the camera and battery were good, it really just felt great to hold. my 6+ is too big, really.

Moto X I had the same camera and battery problems with, but I LOVED active notifications and, again, the handfeel. It's almost insultingly thick by 2015's (ridiculous) standards, technologically I see the worth in making devices thinner but it doesn't do much for the consumer. Ergonomics are more important than having a 6.9mm thin device, and I'd much rather hold a Moto X for 2 hours than an iPhone 6.

iOS has some exclusive apps that I can't abandon, and if Android had functionally equal (or superior) replacement apps I'd definitely switch, because why not tinker if you can? There's so many more things you can do with an android.

iOS just consistently nails ease of use and champions user experience, so that's what I'm happy with for now. Excited to see changes, though.

but for you Uncle, if you want to try android there are plenty of inexpensive choices for you to make that give you an honest representation of what android can be, like the excellent Moto G/E phones. stock android, decent hardware, focusing on the user experience. Motorola gets it. There's also the OnePlus phones, powerhouses at cheap price points, but those are hard to get. If you go searching online, there's plenty of android phones with good specs you can get online for less than 300 bucks, some of them 200. There's a lot of options.