Smart phone

[Mr Fox]

I would like to know what model is the best for the following use:

A) Use as a phone, well that seem weird but some peoples don't use their smart phone as a phone.

B) Internet, Facebook, games.

The phone must be android.

[Geo Ghost]

I'd go with HTC.

Easy to use, customizable, and pretty reliable.

I stuck with Nokia for many years. Then I upgraded to a Lumia and regretted it. 5 days later I had taken the phone back requesting a replacement.
My verdict - avoid Nokia phones and Windows phones. Entirely.

[Pingaware]

New Sony smart phones are very nice. Changed from an old Samsung to a Sony Xperia SP at the start of the year - good build quality and a very comprehensive list of features (8MP camera, 4G capable, etc) for the price (£160 for unlocked handset for those interested). However, Sony are currently umming and ahhing over whether or not it'll get Android 4.4 (when I bought it, they were definitely going to), so bear that in mind.

[Ameecher]

I have a nexus 4 and it is very nice. Nexus 5 is essentially the same. It's perfect for android and is fully customisable, well as much as android allows.

[YNM]

Try to use Sony products - they seems to be the only one that stays intact from any inclusion. Oppo, although very appealing, have created it's own fork of Android (so, no android signatures when you long-press the version number). Any models of Samsung phones is actually similar, as they tend to sell so much types / models in a short period. Nexus - I won't say a word about these things ; it's a showcase of Android itself. Lenovo looks good but, well it's Chinese anyway. HTC is quite good to but I haven't heard any solid news about it's current state.

Myself ? I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 - old thing but of course I don't use it as heavily as earlier.

[Mr Fox]

I send those inof to my sister who was looking for a new one. Since we are using Public Mobile, we have to buy a new phone since they transfer to a new network and its not compatible with the old one.

The Phone they have are limited to 2 smart phone, a black berry and a basic one. Suppose to add more later, but when is later I don't know.

Telus have buy PM so the reason for new phone that YOU must buy. Or use a phone from another phone company that have chip in it, don't remember the name.

Anyway for my self I don't know what I want it for, well beside use as a phone, maybe internet, GPS, camera, music and video. So don't know what to buy. Don't want to pay more that well maybe 150$. I never use a smart phone, only basic one. I use a old smart phone from my sister and kinda like it. Better sound when playing music and well bigger screen to play video clips. I wont play games on it.

Thanks for all the info you have give and what you will give after.

[oberhümer]

I'd say go for high screen brightness (for outside viewing, the brighter the better), the largest screen you can handle (for viewing comfort) and of course check out call quality and (depending on your needs) battery life. Especially at the low end, the integrated camera won't be great, and often there isn't even a flash, so use a real camera if you care about your pictures. It seems you're not the impatient type, so it probably wouldn't be worth getting a fast phone or connection (i.e. LTE) anyway.

Another potential concern is how long it will last. And I don't mean software updates - if they really matter to you (I'd guess not), you usually can get them even after the end of manufacturer support - but hardware (further ignoring all the "nom nom build quality" nonsense). I personally would not buy a device that makes future repairs unnecessarily difficult and expensive (like this or this, for example). Also, get enough internal storage space to be reasonably sure you won't need a new phone just because you run out. I wouldn't necessarily recommend Micro-SD cards for larger-scale storage, though (speed issues).
I really don't feel comfortable quickly picking something as "good", so I'll just leave a couple more informational links:
http://www.gsmarena.com/ http://www.notebookcheck.net/ and an interesting effort here: https://www.fairphone.com/
The used phone market might also be worth a look - if you don't need today's shiny bits, you can still get yesterday's for cheap, and honestly, you won't get far with $150 up front in new phones. The Telus network is apparently UMTS 850 and 1900, so pretty much any GSM phone from around the world should be able to run on it.

[kamnet]

Work bought me a Samsung Galaxy S3, honestly the first smartphone I ever liked. Now available for $299 new, or nearly free with most carrier's two-year contracts.

[Dave]

Work bought me a Samsung Galaxy S3, honestly the first smartphone I ever liked. Now available for $299 new, or nearly free with most carrier's two-year contracts.

I have, and love, the S3. I have battered it but it's always worked. I chuck it about everywhere and there's not a scratch on it. Well, there is, but not on the screen.

The s2 was similar. The only thing that bothered me about my S2 (and is slowly doing the same to my S3, I think) is battery life and performance whilst discharging.

Very good phones,

[Nawdic]

I have a Sony Xperia SP, and is far more superior to my other Samsung Note. Battery lasts about 3 days without use and can hold so many apps. In my opinion, never buy Samsung.

I stuck with Nokia for many years. Then I upgraded to a Lumia and regretted it. 5 days later I had taken the phone back requesting a replacement.
My verdict - avoid Nokia phones and Windows phones. Entirely.

I'd like to find out why, I have a Nokia Lumia 520 (yes, I have so many working phones.....) and never had a bad moment with it. Its been knocked around and dropped accidentally multiple times and the battery doesn't fall out. Never underestimate a Nokia!

[Chris]

I have to say that I don't rate Samsung at all really. HTC are usually very good, but nothing compares with the value for money of a Nexus.

[kamnet]

Work bought me a Samsung Galaxy S3, honestly the first smartphone I ever liked. Now available for $299 new, or nearly free with most carrier's two-year contracts.

I have, and love, the S3. I have battered it but it's always worked. I chuck it about everywhere and there's not a scratch on it. Well, there is, but not on the screen.

The s2 was similar. The only thing that bothered me about my S2 (and is slowly doing the same to my S3, I think) is battery life and performance whilst discharging.

Very good phones,

Yeah, but that's the nature of phones in general. Eventually the battery is going to go flat on it. I keep a 2500mAh spare to recharge when needed. I almost pulled the trigger on a $20 deal for a 10,000 mAh that was about the same size (pack of gum) but I really couldn't justify it. I'm cheap like that.

I'd probably be happy with a Nexus phone too. Just helped a friend pick out a Nexus 7 tablet and she really likes it, and I liked it so much I just bought one for my wife's birthday. Platform seems solid. Price vs. performance, Nexus probably can't be beat.

[FooBar]

Brand isn't really important for a phone running Android. Look for three things:
- Phone size, personally I'd go for a smaller 4" screen version if you want to keep it in your pockets
- Build quality. Varies by make and model. Plastic isn't necessarily bad, but see if the phone bends at all if you twist it.
- Android version. A lot of cheaper models ship with an older version of Android. Try to see if you can get the latest version or at least the previous version. Don't expect upgrades unless you buy a Nexus.

[doktorhonig]

If I was looking for an Android phone, I'd take an official Google phone, just to get proper updates. On the other hand, "games" is the only thing which narrows down the selection significantly, since Internet and Facebook are no problem on older phones anyway.

I currently have one of the last Nokia Symbian phones that were made. I still like it, although it's slow as hell, and after 3+ years the battery life is already down by 50%, but I'm thinking about getting a non-smart phone next time.
I'm actually trying to keep internet usage of my phone to a minimum, simply because I'm fed up with all the security holes and backdoors.

[Mr Fox]

What about Skype? is there a smartphone that is better?

[FooBar]

I currently have one of the last Nokia Symbian phones that were made.

That reminds me that I still have to glue mine. The bottom part that has "no user servicable parts inside" has come off. It's held together by a piece of tape now, but that's not ideal. Other than that it still works fine as a phone and calendar and brilliantly as a camera and satnav. Nokia maps is absolutely superb on a phone. Haven't seen anything like that on Android.

What about Skype? is there a smartphone that is better?

Don't think that matters much. Sound quality is the same or better than a normal telephone conversation. Only thing you may want to look at is the quality of the front camera. If you want HD quality that needs to be 2 megapixels (not sure if Skype supports that). Given that Skype is owned by Microsoft now a Windows phone might be an advantage here, but I'm not sure what that advantage could be.

[oberhümer]

Brand isn't really important for a phone running Android.

Definitely so.

Look for three things:
- ...
- Build quality. Varies by make and model. Plastic isn't necessarily bad, but see if the phone bends at all if you twist it.

Nothing but hype in my opinion. Plastic is light and absorb force in the event of a fall (bending helps here), so I'd argue it's actually a good thing. Metal makes everything heavier and too rigid, tends to act as a RF shield (decreasing signal quality) and can dent permanently if you're unlucky. Admittedly, it's not as easily scratched, but with some kind of case (which you really should use) it doesn't make a difference. And of course, looking at the outside tells you nothing about the internal construction, which is what matters in the end - one semi-famous example: "you're holding it wrong".
My only advice regarding "build quality": Don't buy from no-name (especially oversea) vendors unless you know what you're doing, and search for known common hardware issues before buying.

- Android version. A lot of cheaper models ship with an older version of Android. Try to see if you can get the latest version or at least the previous version. Don't expect upgrades unless you buy a Nexus.

Meaningless, sometimes even counterproductive ("why does this work differently now?") for the average internet-and-Facebooker, especially now that practically everything has Android 4.x.

[SkeedR]

Always remember, with any technology, your mileage will vary.

[andel]

Love my Lumia 925 - it's Windows 8 - soon to be Windows 8.1, comes with everything you need and kicks backside. Plus it doesn't have half the problems friends blackberrys and samsung devices.

[Mr Fox]

I got a Samsung Discovery and it do the job so far. Maybe later I will get another one.

Thanks for all your responds