This Should Be Interesting: Which Smartphone?

Keith

Moderator
I have continuously poor luck with phones, probably because I buy 2nd hand but they all seem to have a one year life and then kaput. My current favourite is an HTC 8x Windows phone which I really like but it has just developed a touch keyboard fault which results in me having to spend 10 minutes rotating the keyboard to find a section that will work on the selected text.

So, in the bin. I don't have a phone constantly on wi-fi or network as I am next to a computer all day. I only use voice calls when really necessary as I cannot always speak clearly. So, it's an emergency contact and prolific text device. I exchange long "letters" daily with my family especially my sister as she has now given up driving and lives 200 miles away. So a good touch keyboard that I can read! is really important...

So, which phone do you swear by?
 

Mike Pass

Supporter
I rather foolishly allowed the "assistant" in the shop to inflict a Sony Xperia on me. It not an Xperience that want to repeat. Apart from the battery life it is the bane of my life. I shall be returning to the comforting arms of Samsung asap. I think I will go for one of the bigger size ones as I use a lot of pics.
Cheers
Mike
 

Keith

Moderator
I find the Samsung range a bit confusing with so many different "Galaxies" etc. Let me know which one you choose and why.. :)

Having said that, I have had good experiences generally with Samsung products, especially TV's, but not so good with their phones. I also find the software a bit irritating and garish and like all Asians, the Koreans seem to love their beeps squeaks, honks and chimes..

By the way I also do not use phone contracts preferring to buy the phone independently and getting SIM only deals, but perhaps that is my downfall.
 
Gave up on smart phones, way to confusing, fragile and unsuitable for fat fingers. I have destroyed at least three and thrown in the towel on the last Samsung. Back to a fat finger phone and an Ipad which is great.


Bob
 

Brian Stewart
Supporter
Take a look at an LG G3 Keith. Big phone with a reasonable size keyboard (I have big fingers).
 

Keith

Moderator
iPhone 6 really. Not on my pension mate.....


LG I'll check that out, cheers Brian.. I've got one of their fridges. Works fine but I can't send texts on it....:)

I found an old Nokia flip phone earlier (I've kept every single phone I've ever had going back to 1995). I haven't used this for over 5 years but it sprang into life with a full battery charge!

I'm wondering if the engineers amongst us really do prefer old school phones over the shiny smart variety..?
 
I don't have a cell phone & I detest bastards who say they need to talk to me then ask if I can hang around a minute while they take a call... effin yuppy wankers! I just walk off...:)
 

Mike Pass

Supporter
Galaxy S6 is the new one but the previous one will be little different and a fair bit cheaper. I usually get a cheap contract with very little Internet use which I only switch on when needed. If you get idiots bothering you can get an app called Mr Number which is easy to use to block them.
Also on UK house phones I use the BT 8500 wireless phones with call guardian which make people who aren't in your phone book press certain buttons to get through which cuts out the automated crap. Also you can permanently block the persistent pests. They will block thousands of numbers - magic. I used to get between 5 and 8 nuisance calls a day - now none!
Cheers
Mike
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
They all suck!

My IPhone 4S (which I hated, BTW as a touch to the cheek on the screen muted the phone) took a swim on Sunday. So ALL of my contacts are gone....."Can't you pull the SIM card I asked?" "If it doesn't power up the data is gone" said the young, tech savvy slightly judgmental guy in khakis. "So what's good?" I asked. "Well this ENORMOUS phone has great screen resolution for movies and TV and it has twelve bazillion giga-megas of memory " he replied. "Gee, I have a TV at home I watch.....and I also have a radio and CD player so I don't walk around listening to my FRICKIN' PHONE for entertainment!" said I. The only music on my last phone was the U2 album that was force-fed to all although it did not have Bono's self righteous "better citizen than you" app attached. And I really don't want to carry something just slightly smaller than the Vatican as I don't look good with a European Man Bag.

So after the hard sell I walked out with a Samsung Galaxy S6......and I freekin' hate it!!!!!! It has decided to beep with every incoming email, none of which mind you I can access as it will not recognize the server my email comes on. Now it has combined my phone icon with my contacts icon into a "file" and I can't separate them so it takes an extra action to open the phone menu. And so far it seems the battery may actually last as much as three hours!

Gee.....my old Motorola "Brick" is starting to look pretty good! The clue may be "if your phone is smarter than you, you may be a Luddite!

Rick, president of the "Luddites are too technical" society
 

Ian Anderson

Lifetime Supporter
Nokia 3210
Best phone I ever had, could phone or text ( what I need a phone for!)
Battery lasted 7 days between charges
Did not come with all the other crap that the current ones have

Currently have an I5 and it does ok but
I prefer to use a proper camera
I do not listen to music on it
The maps app sucks and gets you lost in sunny Surrey
Internet on3g is so slow it is not worth using
Charge it every second day, I do not use it much!
 

Keith

Moderator
They all suck!

My IPhone 4S (which I hated, BTW as a touch to the cheek on the screen muted the phone) took a swim on Sunday. So ALL of my contacts are gone....."Can't you pull the SIM card I asked?" "If it doesn't power up the data is gone" said the young, tech savvy slightly judgmental guy in khakis. "So what's good?" I asked. "Well this ENORMOUS phone has great screen resolution for movies and TV and it has twelve bazillion giga-megas of memory " he replied. "Gee, I have a TV at home I watch.....and I also have a radio and CD player so I don't walk around listening to my FRICKIN' PHONE for entertainment!" said I. The only music on my last phone was the U2 album that was force-fed to all although it did not have Bono's self righteous "better citizen than you" app attached. And I really don't want to carry something just slightly smaller than the Vatican as I don't look good with a European Man Bag.

So after the hard sell I walked out with a Samsung Galaxy S6......and I freekin' hate it!!!!!! It has decided to beep with every incoming email, none of which mind you I can access as it will not recognize the server my email comes on. Now it has combined my phone icon with my contacts icon into a "file" and I can't separate them so it takes an extra action to open the phone menu. And so far it seems the battery may actually last as much as three hours!

Gee.....my old Motorola "Brick" is starting to look pretty good! The clue may be "if your phone is smarter than you, you may be a Luddite!

Rick, president of the "Luddites are too technical" society

That was a very very good rant Rick...in fact, I think it wins the prize as the best Paddock rant, ever..:thumbsup:
 

Keith

Moderator
Nokia 3210
Best phone I ever had, could phone or text ( what I need a phone for!)
Battery lasted 7 days between charges
Did not come with all the other crap that the current ones have

Currently have an I5 and it does ok but
I prefer to use a proper camera
I do not listen to music on it
The maps app sucks and gets you lost in sunny Surrey
Internet on3g is so slow it is not worth using
Charge it every second day, I do not use it much!

Completely agree on 3210. I still have mine and I'll bet the battery is still charged!
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
That was a very very good rant Rick...in fact, I think it wins the prize as the best Paddock rant, ever..:thumbsup:

So my prize will be in the post?

I do love the condescending looks and tone the salespeople at the phone store take. Of course they are pitching the "latest and greatest" as they get them free every two weeks and have all day to learn the features while they stand around waiting for the line of customers to grow to biblical proportions. "Do you know you can control your Tesla's HVAC system from Iceland with this phone!?" they ask with earnest glee. "And you can play multi player Dungeons and Dragons from low earth orbit" they proudly exclaim. Yes, all useful features I have been salivating to have!

Gee, I just want to make phone calls and occasionally text (actually learned how to do that so I can communicate with with sons) as well as light email when not around the notebook. And yes, I do use the camera once in while, usually when wife says "gee, the grandkids are doing X or Y and it's cute, too bad we didn't bring the camera" "Camera, camera.........I seem to recall this thing in my pocket has some sort of Kodak Brownie function."

Those "big button, old people" flip phones in the back of the AARP magazine are starting to look good.............................

I guess I am just sort of a curmudgeon, perhaps I will grow out my eyebrows and apply for Andy Rooney's job (so long as they give me his one-owner Sunbeam Tiger!)
 

Keith

Moderator
You get 10 juicy Paddock Points Rick, plus an engraved velvet WOGG Codpiece to wear with pride at your car events...:thumbsup:
 

flatchat(Chris)

Supporter
FWIW --I got a Apple 5c - its a tool( like its owner) for me , does everything (in communications) I need it to do ---
Great camera, calculator, ( for hard sums) a level/compass for doing wheel alignments and checking angles, a clock / lap timer, calendar , maps (so I can find me way home from the Pub), messaging, emails, face book, forums, need to know something whilst on the job - Google it,
weather station etc etc plenty cool apps - like the race track one- where you can mount the phone take the movie and it records your efforts - track position G forces speeds braking points etc etc

Some irritating features are tap the screen, swipe the screen press the button that only nerds with no life skills would only understand.
eg tap the screen to get a radio button to wipe the page then it asks are you sure -a couple times for things that aren't important and things that are important -well they just vanish etc etc
Aand the bloody PITA battery needs to be charged daily
It can do heaps more that I can't be bothered to figure out yet also

--They're not tradie proof either as the fragile glass screen cracks/breaks -right when you don't want it to
Also that PITA battery goes into melt down -right when you don't want it to, ie screen goes black --let it rest for a few hours then plug in the charger and from zero to 100% is then good as new
 
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