phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply

which phone

5s 16gb
7
28%
5s 32gb
6
24%
5s 64gb
1
4%
samsung note 3
1
4%
google nexus (when announced
7
28%
something else (please specify)
3
12%
 
Total votes: 25

Topic Author
A_C_E
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:22 pm

phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by A_C_E »

I currently use an old (5 years old, no experience with smart phone whatsoever) phone and would like to upgrade to a smart phone- Primarily to capture some family moments with my wife and kid.
Currently considering the galaxy note 3 vs 5s vs google nexus (yet to be announced). Don't particularly like technology but don't mind it either.
Inclined towards 5s (more as a memory of Jobs- I am a big fan of his) and wondering if I should consider a 16 or 32 or 64 gb version. I rarely buy anything expensive (most of my paycheck goes to Vanguard) but am considering a decent smartphone for pics/ videos.
Any thoughts on what I should buy? (Read the popular reviews but I am a firm believer of this forums opinions)
thebogledude
Posts: 420
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 12:40 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by thebogledude »

I purchased the 4s last year. I was surprised Apple decided to keep it in their lineup when they announded the 5s. I don't have any complaints about it, it does everything it's suppose to do. I plan to keep it for a while mainly because it was so expensive. I never used android or galaxy for that matter but the 5s has been selling like hotcakes.
User avatar
in_reality
Posts: 4529
Joined: Fri Jul 12, 2013 6:13 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by in_reality »

#1) 16 GB should be sufficient for pictures. I couldn't ever see needing more. Of course, since they are valuable photos, you'll want to back them up (to your pc/mac or external HD -- you can do iCloud, or gdrive but over 5GB and you have to pay which quickly adds up to more than an external drive).

#2) I'd personally go with a phone that you can update. I have an Android handset that the carrier doesn't update (which is ok ... but...I'll use the same handset till it breaks so kinda feel pangs sometimes when some software related feature is released) and my wife has a iPhone5 which we just updated to ios7 (which she likes).

#3) for sharing photos, I like Apple's iCloud. I shoot with my iPad and select photos that become available to my wife. I know I can email them or otherwise transfer but it's easy for them to appear in her photos. Android may have a similar thing.

In any case, I'd just go for a decent handset and then whether it's android or apple isn't all that different. A cheap android handset with low memory and a weak cpu is really really annoying imho though. I've also personally had really bad experiences with HTC (Nexus One) that forced me to abandon it...
nordlead
Posts: 739
Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2013 9:09 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by nordlead »

If all you really want is a camera, then buy a camera. You'll get better quality and they do come in a small size you can stick in your pocket. My ~8-year old camera still takes better pictures than my phone. New cameras even have Wifi for easy file sharing.

If you want a camera that also happens to be a phone you could get a lumia 1020.

If I were to avoid those two options, I'd go with the 5S, the Moto X, or the next Nexus phone if it has a decent camera. It doesn't really matter. OS preference would matter more.

16GB is plenty, all your photos should be copied off of the phone anyways, since those are prone to being broken/lost/stolen.
YttriumNitrate
Posts: 1093
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:13 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by YttriumNitrate »

The cost of the actual smart phone is generally fairly small compared to the multi-year voice/data plan that often goes along with the phone. I'd recommend first choosing the carrier/plan and then finding a phone that is compatible with the carrier. I'm a cheap S.O.B., so I recently went with Ting as a carrier. That necessitated getting a phone compatible with Sprint's cell network so I went with an older HTC EVO 4G.
eddiejov55
Posts: 117
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:01 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by eddiejov55 »

Go with the iPhone 5 or 5s. I would also go with the 32g. I've found that newbies really enjoy the video feature and that can take up some gigs, so might as well buffer yourself a bit. The picture quality is fantastic and rivals some very nice cameras on the market. Many people are ditching traditional cameras for the quality and ease of an iPhone. Plus, iPhones are meant for tech savvy people so the integration between photos and social media is seamless with an iPhone.

In short: get the 32g so you have plenty of space.
Topic Author
A_C_E
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:22 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by A_C_E »

Thank you for the responses.
I currently have the t-mobile unlimited voice & text for a total of 3 lines which happens to include 500mb data/ month high speed+ unlimited data (90ish+ taxes for 3 lines). so, I would not be paying anything more for the data itself. I have an option to purchase the phone over 2 yrs at 0% APR. Not sure if this should affect my choices but thought I'd mention the responses.
Guess I'll start looking for a 32gb 5s then:)
emoore
Posts: 676
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2013 7:16 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by emoore »

If you are happy with your t-mobile service then stick with that. If you are getting an iPhone I would suggest either the 5c or 5s. They both have LTE which is much much faster than 3G. Plus you would be able to keep your phone a year or two longer over a 4s since it will be supported longer.
gerrym51
Posts: 1679
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 1:44 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by gerrym51 »

go with the 5S. it has the A7 chip. i will not extol the virtues of A7 chip but if you google it you will see for yourself :mrgreen:



i on the other hand have a cheap no feature tracphone. however if i was going to buy a smartphone-which i'm not-it would be iphone 5s with the biggest storage capacity :mrgreen:

the reason for the biggest storage is apple iphones do not allow memory expansions.
Cash
Posts: 1572
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:52 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by Cash »

If you envision taking lots of photos AND storing lots of music (or video), then go with 32gb. I have lots of photos but don't try to put my entire music collection on my phone, so 16gb is plenty for me. My wife, on the other hand, likes to take pics AND keep as many songs as possible on her phone. She is almost out of space on her 16gb.

Until recently, I would have said an iPhone hands down for a newbie. But I bought an android tablet a few weeks ago and now really like the operating system, so I am now indifferent between the two (might lean Android b/c of the ability to customize). The iPhone is a very good looking phone and will certainly do the things you are looking for and do them well. On the other hand, the Nexus will probably be a better value proposition.
User avatar
slow n steady
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:54 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by slow n steady »

Note 3. This isn't out yet but it will be a spectacular phone. As far as I'm concerned the bigger screen the better. I currently have a Samsung galaxy s3 and my wife's iPhone 5 screen feels tiny.
mlipps
Posts: 1099
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:35 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by mlipps »

in_reality wrote:#1) 16 GB should be sufficient for pictures. I couldn't ever see needing more. Of course, since they are valuable photos, you'll want to back them up (to your pc/mac or external HD -- you can do iCloud, or gdrive but over 5GB and you have to pay which quickly adds up to more than an external drive).
I have a 16gb iPhone and after about 18 months, it ran out of space because of photos. But, I have the Dropbox app & have automatic syncing turned on, so my pictures get uploaded to the cloud every time I connect to wifi, so I just deleted the oldest ones to clear space. It was super easy, I wouldn't pay extra for more space. That being said, I'm not impressed with the 5s. The 6 will come out early next year, maybe it will be more of a game changer, but the 5s seems to mainly be resting on the laurels of the iPhones that came before it. My next phone will be an Android, personally.

And no offense, but loving Steve Jobs is about the dumbest reason to get an iPhone that I've ever heard.
User avatar
walkabout
Posts: 891
Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 8:28 am
Location: Northern Alabama

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by walkabout »

mlipps wrote:
I have a 16gb iPhone and after about 18 months, it ran out of space because of photos. But, I have the Dropbox app & have automatic syncing turned on, so my pictures get uploaded to the cloud every time I connect to wifi, so I just deleted the oldest ones to clear space. It was super easy, I wouldn't pay extra for more space. That being said, I'm not impressed with the 5s. The 6 will come out early next year, maybe it will be more of a game changer, but the 5s seems to mainly be resting on the laurels of the iPhones that came before it. My next phone will be an Android, personally.

And no offense, but loving Steve Jobs is about the dumbest reason to get an iPhone that I've ever heard.
.

Just out of curiosity, why do you have Dropbox syncing turned on for your photos? Why not just PhotoStream?

BTW I completely agree about 32GB. When I went from 4s to 5 I also went from 16GB to 32GB and am very satisfied. I have lots of photos, audio books, and podcasts. Also, text messages take up a surprising amount of space over time (especially if there are a good number of photos in the messages).
User avatar
magellan
Posts: 3489
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:12 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by magellan »

in_reality wrote:#2) I'd personally go with a phone that you can update. I have an Android handset that the carrier doesn't update (which is ok ... but...I'll use the same handset till it breaks so kinda feel pangs sometimes when some software related feature is released) and my wife has a iPhone5 which we just updated to ios7 (which she likes).
While it's true that Apple generally offers upgrade support for longer than Android based manufacturers, Android users probably have more options in the end, as long as they don't mind getting their hands a little dirty.

I recently upgraded my 3 year old HTC MyTouch smartphone from Android 2.x to the very latest Android (JellyBean 4.3). A quick google search led me to a very clear step-by-step guide and I had the job done in under 30 minutes. Prior to this effort, I had never even rooted an Android device.

Jim
mlipps
Posts: 1099
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:35 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by mlipps »

wageoghe wrote:
mlipps wrote:
I have a 16gb iPhone and after about 18 months, it ran out of space because of photos. But, I have the Dropbox app & have automatic syncing turned on, so my pictures get uploaded to the cloud every time I connect to wifi, so I just deleted the oldest ones to clear space. It was super easy, I wouldn't pay extra for more space. That being said, I'm not impressed with the 5s. The 6 will come out early next year, maybe it will be more of a game changer, but the 5s seems to mainly be resting on the laurels of the iPhones that came before it. My next phone will be an Android, personally.

And no offense, but loving Steve Jobs is about the dumbest reason to get an iPhone that I've ever heard.
.

Just out of curiosity, why do you have Dropbox syncing turned on for your photos? Why not just PhotoStream?

BTW I completely agree about 32GB. When I went from 4s to 5 I also went from 16GB to 32GB and am very satisfied. I have lots of photos, audio books, and podcasts. Also, text messages take up a surprising amount of space over time (especially if there are a good number of photos in the messages).
I don't have Apple anything except my phone, so I don't even really know how to access photostream (though obviously I could figure it out if I wanted to...). I already use Dropbox so its already on my computer at home & at work, so my photos are always at my fingertips.
Topic Author
A_C_E
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:22 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by A_C_E »

is the iphone carrier specific? i.e. if I bought one with t mobile, can I use it with other networks? Is buying an "unlocked phone" better?
Also any idea on whether I should buy it from t mobile or directly from apple?
Cash
Posts: 1572
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:52 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by Cash »

magellan wrote:
in_reality wrote:#2) I'd personally go with a phone that you can update. I have an Android handset that the carrier doesn't update (which is ok ... but...I'll use the same handset till it breaks so kinda feel pangs sometimes when some software related feature is released) and my wife has a iPhone5 which we just updated to ios7 (which she likes).
While it's true that Apple generally offers upgrade support for longer than Android based manufacturers, Android users probably have more options in the end, as long as they don't mind getting their hands a little dirty.

I recently upgraded my 3 year old HTC MyTouch smartphone from Android 2.x to the very latest Android (JellyBean 4.3). A quick google search led me to a very clear step-by-step guide and I had the job done in under 30 minutes. Prior to this effort, I had never even rooted an Android device.

Jim
Also note that some phones come only with stock android, not the customized carrier skins, and are updated whenever Android is updated. Google's own Nexus line is the best example of this, but see also the Google Play edition of various phones (such as the HTC One).
Cash
Posts: 1572
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:52 am

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by Cash »

A_C_E wrote:is the iphone carrier specific? i.e. if I bought one with t mobile, can I use it with other networks? Is buying an "unlocked phone" better?
Also any idea on whether I should buy it from t mobile or directly from apple?
No, all iPhones are not created equally. For instance, the ATT iPhones will not work on Verizon and vice versa because the carriers each use different wireless technology and there is not, to my knowledge, an iPhone that works across all carriers.

If you want an unlocked iPhone, get it from Apple. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter. I think studies have shown that buying a phone outright costs less in the long run, but doesn't T Mobile have some sort of new option to buy the phone that is better than the typical contract?
User avatar
mike143
Posts: 1332
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:55 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by mike143 »

I would first figure out the carrier then figure out the phone, you may have limited options based on the carrier you chose. For instance I have my wife on Page Plus Cellular (Verizon network). They are a prepaid provider that offers 1200 minutes, 3000 sms/mms, 500mb data all for $30 a month. She was formerly on and I currently on Virgin Moible (Sprint newtwork). They are a prepaid provider that offers 300 minutes and unlimited sms/mms/data for $35 a month, I am still grandfathered in at $25 though. Virgin Mobile also offers the same plan for $30 a month if you get an iPhone and use their auto pay. I am carrying a $300 balance with Virgin Mobile and when it runs out I will move over to Page Plus also.

The wife and I both have Androida phones, me a Motorola Triumph, her a Motorola Droid Razr Maxx.

So many people go to AT&T get an iPhone and proceed to pay them $100+ a month. There are so many options out there.
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
The Wizard
Posts: 13356
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:45 pm
Location: Reading, MA

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by The Wizard »

I'm waiting for the upgraded edition of the Nexus 4 to come out in a month or so.
I'll buy it outright and get a cheap plan for it somewhere, T-mobile perhaps.
It's a GSM phone so should work in most other countries with a proper SIM card...
Attempted new signature...
User avatar
mike143
Posts: 1332
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:55 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by mike143 »

I always stay a generation behind. When everyone has to have latest and greatest, yesterday latest and greatest can be had for much less, whether new or used.
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
User avatar
bertie wooster
Posts: 764
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:14 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by bertie wooster »

The nexus 4 was by far the best deal around when it came out. It's still a great deal - fantastic phone. The camera is not as good as an iphone camera though. If you can spare the money, the google version of the HTC One would be excellent (available on google play store).
User avatar
mike143
Posts: 1332
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:55 pm

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by mike143 »

I bought my wife the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx and a week later they dropped the price on the Nexus 4.
Nothing is free, someone pays...You can't spend your way to financial freedom.
The Wizard
Posts: 13356
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:45 pm
Location: Reading, MA

Re: phone upgrade- 1st smart phone

Post by The Wizard »

mike143 wrote:I bought my wife the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx and a week later they dropped the price on the Nexus 4.
Yes, but that's only because they're trying to sell them out before the new improved version comes out.
They succeeded...
Attempted new signature...
Post Reply