Fucking Cell Phones

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beatbandito
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Fucking Cell Phones

Postby beatbandito » Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:43 pm

I guess this is the closest thing we have to a phone discussion going on, so I'll just make this post here and wait for the threadsplit.

I'm getting off my contract this month and want to check out some alternatives to the usual smartphones. T-mobile is my main choice of providers since coverage is barely less than the big players around where I usually am, and actually gets a bit better than in some areas. They also have DADT concerning tethering and far and away the lowest rates I can find (in part because government contract work from years ago is enough for them to keep the discount on my plan for life). I'm not stuck on them, but I would need something major to give up my $60 a month for unlimited messaging and 4g.

My main concern in a phone is battery life. I rarely use anything more advanced than internet browsers, so It doesn't necessarily have to be an android, but the Samsung Note 3 is actually getting super high battery ratings and I would love to have the notepad functionality.

Option 2 is finally giving in and getting an iphone. T-mobile is carrying the latest one, which apparently have some pretty good functionality over older models, and switching to the most common type of phone means custom cases and basically any application I hear about will finally be with-in my reach.

I was looking at some windows phones too, since they seem to be the closest thing to my original goal, something for messaging and internet without any other shiny features draining the battery or clogging up processing speed. I've yet to find a single one that seemed to have a better battery than any of the androids I was looking at. Added to the fact that apparently they want to make Cortana their version of Siri and I may actually be outright embarrassed to be seen using one of the things.

Anyone have any horror stories or personal insight? Or maybe we can get one of those AT&T separate bill family plans and really come together as a community.
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Re: Hot game deals

Postby Newbie » Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:30 pm

I have done zero research on how this compares to the alternatives in terms of coverage, quality of service, etc. under the assumption that ignorance is bliss, but I really like my HTV One V through Virgin mobile.
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Niku
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Re: Hot game deals

Postby Niku » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:00 am

I am actually pretty goddamned unhappy with the iPhone 5 by this point, which makes it the first one I've really had a lot of problems with. My battery has gone entirely to shit and my lock button works one time out of fifty, to the point where I use the software/disability button to lock my phone now and can basically never turn the thing off. Here's hoping it holds out until the next one.
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Kayma
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Re: Hot game deals

Postby Kayma » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:09 am

I'm on T-Mobile. I quite like them; cheap, and the way they approach phone plans and data is very consumer friendly. I have the HTC One S, which was a fine phone if not for the fact that it has an annoying WiFi bug, and was dropped for support by HTC in favor of the HTC One proper.

The one issue I would warn you about is one of coverage; T-Mobile works very well in almost all major metropolitan areas, but once you're outside of a city, well, watch out. WiFi calling helps to alleviate this somewhat, but it's hardly ideal. Really depends on your area and how much you travel, but this could be a deal breaker.

I plan to grab the Nexus 5 at some point because the bang to buck ratio is pretty incredible. Getting it straight from Google Play, though; the T-Mobile version is perplexingly $100 more... The HTC One is a fine phone, but having been burned before by HTC, I have to steer clear. The Samsung Galaxy series are all very solid as well.

People love iPhones, and can't really fault you for wanting one, but like a lot of Apple products, you're paying a lot for what it is. If you get one, get the newest one; older models (4S basically) technically work with T-Mobile, but it's a minefield due to spectrum differences and unlocking craziness.

T-mo has one of the Lumia's for pretty cheap, $100 or so. I think it's a revision behind. I've never used one personally, but anecdotally I know a few people who like them. I have to image that they lack apps compared to iTunes and Android, since only about 9 people worldwide own Windows phones.


Newbie, curious; does your One V have bugs with the alarm? My wife had that phone for about a year, and it seems that once the phone went to sleep, the alarm only had about a 10% chance of going off...

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Thad
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Re: Hot game deals

Postby Thad » Mon Mar 17, 2014 12:41 am

Kayma wrote:I plan to grab the Nexus 5 at some point because the bang to buck ratio is pretty incredible. Getting it straight from Google Play, though; the T-Mobile version is perplexingly $100 more...


That probably includes the cost of the SIM card and activation fee, which you'll have to pay separately if you get the phone from the Play Store. At least, that was my experience with Sprint.

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Rico
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Re: Hot game deals

Postby Rico » Mon Mar 17, 2014 2:06 am

Like my Nexus 5 a lot. Can normally get through work with moderate use at between 1/3-1/2 battery. T-mobile also has the unique and nice feature of charging you less for bringing your own phone, instead of charging you full "subsidized" monthly price.

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Re: Hot game deals

Postby Newbie » Mon Mar 17, 2014 1:12 pm

Kayma wrote:Newbie, curious; does your One V have bugs with the alarm? My wife had that phone for about a year, and it seems that once the phone went to sleep, the alarm only had about a 10% chance of going off...


Julie's sitting here next to me and just told me that apparently I switched from the HTC One V to the HTC Desire when we last upgraded, so I've been telling people I have the wrong phone for like three months now. I don't remember that phone having issues with the alarm, but I've got to admit that my alarm usage has dropped a lot over the last couple of years.
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Caithness » Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:19 am

My flip phone finally died in October, so I went to the AT&T store to get a smartphone. The Android phone most highly recommended by the clerk had an absolutely horrid default font, and it was not immediately obvious to me how to change it, so I got an iPhone 5C. I've been pretty happy with it so far, but don't have any prior experience to compare it with, so.

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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Z%rø » Tue Mar 18, 2014 2:55 pm

I'm on Sprint with a Note 3, and I can't recommend the phone enough. The battery life is pretty impressive, all in all. This phone definitely gets top marks from me, and that's someone who has had an android phone since they existed and consistently had problems. Screen is great, it's powerful, and the pen is really fun to use.

You won't get better pricing with unlimited + discount. Go with who has service in your area. Since you know T-Mobile does, stick with T-mobile I guess?
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Blossom
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Blossom » Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:19 pm

My intent is to upgrade to the Galaxy S5 soon as that hits. Unless there's reports of something terrible goes on, in which case I guess Note 3, but I can't imagine the S5 will be a lemon.
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Mothra
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Mothra » Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:04 pm

I've had the Nexus 4 for about a year now and really like it. I don't often use it for much beyond reading and browsing, but I have played GTA3, emulators, and Another World on it with no issue.

UI is nice and clean.

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Mothra
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Mothra » Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:08 pm

For T-Mobile, my little brother has the Moto X and loves it. If you had any specific questions about it, I could ask him.

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sei
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby sei » Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:38 pm

I've been fooling around with CyanogenMod on my phone. The installation process was obnoxious and Voice+ or gapps initially fucked up the Google Voice notification bar entries. Reinstalling Google Voice fixed it and it's been smooth sailing from here on out.

Main incentives to use CM: pure google experience, can stay up to date while rooted (as getting OTA firmware updates becomes hard after your phone is rooted).
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Mothra
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Mothra » Tue Mar 18, 2014 5:02 pm

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH

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ocksi
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby ocksi » Tue Mar 18, 2014 5:58 pm

that avatar is the worst thing in herstory.

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beatbandito
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby beatbandito » Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:11 pm

GREATEST THING

At this point I seem pretty sure I'm going with the Note 3. After doing some shopping T-mobile prices can't be beat. Added to the fact that their phone I was most interested in for entertainment kept showing up in top ten lists for performance and The Note 4 is coming out 'in the fall maybe' I wont feel ripped off when the newest version hits (I got my Galaxy s2 literally days before the s3 dropped.
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sei
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby sei » Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:50 am

ocksi wrote:that avatar is the worst thing in herstory.

yeah mothra wtf people dont like bugs
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Bongo Bill
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Bongo Bill » Thu Apr 10, 2014 4:17 am

Does anybody still make phones with hardware keyboards? My Droid 4 still works fine and I don't feel compelled to upgrade it yet, but when I do I'll want to pick something that I can press, because typing on a touchscreen is awful.
...but is it art?

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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Mongrel » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:33 am

Blackberry Q10
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Mothra
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Re: Fucking Cell Phones

Postby Mothra » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:37 pm

Bongo Bill wrote:Does anybody still make phones with hardware keyboards? My Droid 4 still works fine and I don't feel compelled to upgrade it yet, but when I do I'll want to pick something that I can press, because typing on a touchscreen is awful.

Alternatively, if it's an Android, I cannot say enough good things about Swiftkey. It's fucking amazing.

(jump like 20 seconds in to see it)


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