The Android thread

I shattered the glass of my Galaxy Note 2 yesterday by stepping on it. The screen still works, but it would be pointless to deny that I will need a new Android phone soon.

I always was quite happy with the Note 2, so I'm looking into buying a Note 4. Anyone willing to talk me into buying an alternative?

EDIT:
I want to add that I did like the size of the Note 2's screen, but the new phone shouldn't be significantly taller or wider than the old one (151mm x 81mm). Also, the price of the Note 4 is at the absolute limit with 600 Euros.
 
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Well, if you liked the Note 2, upgrading to another might seem like the logical choice, but I can never recommend Samsung.
 
Some possible alternatives I found are the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and the soon-to-be-introduced LG G4. The introduction date for the G4 is 28th of April, so 8 days.

The Huawei is interesting because it's much cheaper than the Note 4 and has an even bigger screen while being similarly sized than my Note 2. The G4 is still somewhat shady in the details, but seems to be a very beautiful machine.

Am I overlooking any more alternative phablets?
 
I was on my way to York and picked my buddy up on the way. I'm sat in the car and notice the Nexus logo on the back of the phone has like a weird white grease in the letters. I use a wetwipe and now the back of the phone is all sticky and I can't do anything till I get home.

Its like when you take a sticker off a DVD case.
 
the Interceptor said:
Some possible alternatives I found are the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and the soon-to-be-introduced LG G4. The introduction date for the G4 is 28th of April, so 8 days.
Click to expand...

Question is: how long until it's available after that?
A friend of mine has a G2, which is quite a nice phone already. Having all the physical buttons on the back is kinda weird, though. I guess you get used to it fairly quickly, but somehow I think it's way easier to press those in your pocket than buttons on the side.
Also: what Ice said. I would never recommend Samsung myself (I will admit I've never owned one, but any time I grabbed one of my friends' samsungs, I always felt very much underwhelmed) :D

Aston Martin said:
Its like when you take a sticker off a DVD case.
Click to expand...

I do hope you only picked that up somewhere... And they didn't screw up the case of the phone somehow by not making it resistant enough to whatever stuff.
 
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I completely understand the criticism with Samsung devices. When handed a Note 2, I would also be underwhelmed, because it simply is a big piece of plastic. Naturally you start to wonder what you spent all your money on. But you're really judging the book by its cover there.

Think of a Samsung Galaxy as a first meet with a Volkswagen Golf. It is underwhelming at best - no design, no groundbreaking features and also no particularly attrative price. You wonder why you should pay the premium over a modern Kia. Then you get in the Golf and drive for a while, and you begin to understand. Everything just works so beautifully. It drives well, it is well build and cleverly engineered. Others are cheaper, bigger and maybe much kinder on the eye, but they all have a number of weaknesses that the Golf simply does not have. It is a machine that may not be very attractive, but it simply works beautifully.
 
I googled and people take the mirror logo letters off. I assume its the glue that holds the letters on the back...
 
the Interceptor said:
I completely understand the criticism with Samsung devices. When handed a Note 2, I would also be underwhelmed, because it simply is a big piece of plastic. Naturally you start to wonder what you spent all your money on. But you're really judging the book by its cover there.

Think of a Samsung Galaxy as a first meet with a Volkswagen Golf. It is underwhelming at best - no design, no groundbreaking features and also no particularly attrative price. You wonder why you should pay the premium over a modern Kia. Then you get in the Golf and drive for a while, and you begin to understand. Everything just works so beautifully. It drives well, it is well build and cleverly engineered. Others are cheaper, bigger and maybe much kinder on the eye, but they all have a number of weaknesses that the Golf simply does not have. It is a machine that may not be very attractive, but it simply works beautifully.
Click to expand...

Samsung software is pretty bad with a million useless gimmicks. And build quality isn't the best though is improving every generation. But my Note 3 continues to impress me with its battery life and screen.
 
Software is another justified point of criticism, but I personally find almost all manufacturer software useless and use 3rd party apps instead.
 
Aston Martin said:
I googled and people take the mirror logo letters off. I assume its the glue that holds the letters on the back...
Click to expand...

Likely. On the Nexus 5, the letter inserts are notorious for just falling off.
 
I've just cleaned it with window/glass cleaner (which I use to clean all electronics) and all is well.
 
the Interceptor said:
Software is another justified point of criticism, but I personally find almost all manufacturer software useless and use 3rd party apps instead.
Click to expand...
On this note, a Nexus would be perfect for me since I basically use a phone as an emtpy shell with raw computing power which I fill with life by myself. Unfortunately, the Nexus 6 is a tad too large and has no sd card slot. Also, it costs at least as much as a Note 4.
 
The 5 extra mm in height is putting you off?

You'd be a lot better off with build quality and software anyway.
 
IceBone said:
Looks like I'm getting the new One soon. :)
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Played with it for a bit and while it folows the M7, M8 design there's something putting me off. On the other hand I'd rather have a G Flex 2 or even an S6 Edge, the Edge is that nice of a device and I hate Samsung.
 
IceBone said:
The 5 extra mm in height is putting you off?

You'd be a lot better off with build quality and software anyway.
Click to expand...
The Note 2 already was close to the limit in terms of size, so I'm afraid a few mm more may be a dealbreaker. Also, I'm not very happy with the fixed battery and the missing sd card slot. And the camera of the Nexus is not very good, but I need the camera quite often. So for at least the same money, I don't really see the advantage of the Nexus 6.
 
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I don't mind square edges so much, total size is more relevant since the size of my trousers' pockets set the limit. And I don't use the stock launcher anyway, so I don't care about TouchWiz.

EDIT: I like the front-firing stereo speakers though.
 
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Believe me, the rounded edges make a difference in perceived size, both in hand and pocket. Adunaphel went from a much smaller xperia with sharp corners that tore his pants pockets to a huge Nexus 6 with rounded edges and I'd say he's much more comfortable using it. But you should ask him that anyway.

And if you like good speakers on a phone, look at the HTC line up. It's pretty much a given at this point that they have the best speakers of any smartphone out there.

The One M8 is 1 year old at this point, but still very fast and strong and the new M9 is more of the same with a slightly better camera (although still quite meh compared to other offerings). Internals were indeed upgraded to current flagship standards, but Android at the moment, especially in HTC's Sense form, doesn't benefit much from the added oomph and runs buttery smooth on both. Lollipop has made great strides in optimization. The screens haven't gone up in size either, remaining at a comfortable 5-ish inches and 1080p resolution (which benefits both speed and battery life, while still maintaining a pixel density high enough to be transparent). You also won't find better build quality in the Android ecosystem.
 
Ice, I completely see your point regarding front-firing speakers and build quality. However, I find build quality to be fine on all devices, even the Huawei Ascend Mate 7. I played around with it in a shop yesterday, and I was actually surprised by how solid and good it feels. I thought that it's just a looker that falls apart when you check more thoroughly, but it's actually very nice.

In the last days I've been trying to gather the things I liked and disliked about my current Note 2 to make the right decision. Here's a little overview:

Note 2 liked:
- display size
- display contrast (excellent deep black of the AMOLED screen)
- battery can be replaced
- excellent battery life
- external SD card slot
- excellent camera

Note 2 disliked:
- slippery original back cover (I replaced it with a leather style cover, much better!)
- total size is at the limit of what I can accept
- only average maximum display brightness (still readable, but below ok in bright sunlight)

A general characteristic of phablets is that they are too large to be actually held firmly in your hand when operating them, so a slippery backside can easily cost the device's life. Also, I'm not at all a fan of covers. As a result, the Huawei and all HTCs are out of the race due to their sleek aluminium backside, even if I like them in general. It's just too dangerous. One feature I would very much welcome is wireless charging. As far as I'm aware, that's not a feature of any aluminium backside phone.

So it's a race between the Nexus 6, the Note 4 and possibly the soon LG G4. The G4 actually looks quite promising. I like the Nexus for its raw computing power, but its other biggest advantage, the quick availability of system updates, is not so interesting for me. I'm perfectly ok when a system runs smoothly and without flaws, so if I have to wait for a major update I won't mind. That said, I see some more things I'm not so happy about:

- fixed battery and no SD card slot
- curved backside is impractical when operating the phone flat on the table (which I do occasionally)
- maximum display brightness is quite low
- battery life just average

The Note 4 is better in all of these details and costs the same money, I think it's better suited to my needs. But I will definitely wait for details on the LG G4. Current rumours (partly confirmed) talk about a 5,5" quadHD display, Snapdragon 808, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage (extendable by SD card), 3000mAh battery (exchangeable), excellent 16MPX camera, option of (real) leather backside.
 
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