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Sorry for the non bike topic but I figure you lot will know about this. (It's mostly non bike related anyway - I do use maverick maps and very occasionally st... the app that shall not be named).
My first smartphone (samsung galaxy ace plus) is due for a replacement. For most of its life it has been very good at randomly dropping the network, taking 2 minutes to connect a call, and crashing swype so you can't type texts without rebooting. Yes, I have applied all the software updates! If only it did what it said on the tin it would be great, no need to replace.
So I'd like another android phone - simple requirements - not too enormous, reliable for calls, reliable texts with swype, reasonable (8MP+) camera, but otherwise cheap as possible.
Can anyone recommend one please?
Alternatively can anyone point me at a website that rates phones based on user feedback on reliability rather than all the crap none of us care about? 😀
1. Root your existing phone and put SlimKat on it - a quick search suggests it's available for that phone (though I could be mistaken...). This is very easy, and will transform your existing phone.
2. GSMArena.
Have had an S4 mini for a couple of months now and that's fairly decent - battery life isn't great with everything I have on it though.
From the problems you had it sounds like you need something with a reasonable spec to keep it running smoothly - or install fewer things. Have you done all the things to see what's causing it to run slowly (as that'll be what causes the crashes).
In the usual vein of saying your own phone, I'm not.
But, my Sony Xperia Z1 is flippin brilliant. So good that the wife got a Z1 Compact which seems to be exactly the same but littleler.
Wouldn't hesitate in getting another Sony.
Don't get a Samsung S4 on my second one now and it's just been away for repair. Also on my third battery for it as well.
I like my Sony Xperia Z2. Mostly chosen as it's the most robust of the non-ruggedised ones - I am highly cak-handed, but it works well.
Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like I should give that slimkat a go before reaching for the credit card!
On that basis, I've just checked a bit more closely and it seems my quick google yesterday was misleading and you won't get SlimKat on that phone, or Cyanogenmod as far as I can see. There may be other custom ROMs that would improve it, but it may be more risky and fruitless than it's probably worth.
Ive had my Samsung Galaxy S3 for 2 years and its ace
Currently 99 quid at Carphone Warehouse
Although having said that, it does look like there are options...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2622857
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2689287
My wife has got the Samsung Galaxy Ace (don't think it's the plus) and it's pony. Dunno how much better the 'plus' is, but I am not surprised you are struggling with it.
She got it about 2.5yrs after I got my HTC Desire and even when it was new it was still way slower than my old HTC and didn't run as well.
How about something like the Xperia compact phones? High spec phones, just without the big screens.
I have a new Sony Compact Z something it works well enough but I'm not a phone geek, however I've dropped it a lot onto hard things and got it soaked a few times and it still works and has a glove option which sort of seems to work. The headphone output is really quiet though.
Hmm, well I have an Xperia, not a very up to date model, but the performance of it sounds like your Galaxy. It's OK for a bit after a hard reset, but there's loads of bloatwear on it as standard that I think hits the performance.
And of course seeign as this one is waterproof, It's not been near any dampness for the 18 months I've had it, unlike the Blackberry I had before which got drowned at least twice. 😡
i've had my galaxy s4 for 1 year and its been trouble free, compared to the sony xperia acr s i had gave me all sorts of problems
the wife also has an s4, she had to have the firmware repaired last christmas and then broke the screen, she got a brand new replacement form the insurers for £25 and then 2 weeks later dropped than in a pan full of oil but it kept working for a few more months until 2 weeks ago when it finally died...another excess payment of £25 has got a new replacement and hopefully she wont kill this one!!
I've just got a ZTE.
Chinese brand that are starting to sell across europe properly.
Best value I've seen, and it doesnt seem like a cheap chinese brand at all, made just as well as any sony's etc I've had.
I got the ZTE blade vec £160 on ebay. Can't beat their spec for the money.
Galaxy S4 Active
Properly waterproof
Works with normal gloves
Android Kit Kat
Swappable battery
Can add a 64gb sd card
Motorola Moto G. Quality phone for the money. No external sd card slot though, so you'll have to settle for either 8gb or 16gb internal memory.
Moto G or Nexus 5
Just gone from an S3 to a Nexus 5, it's great. Does everything I need, cheap and powerful. Can't really fault it. However best advice for strava/gps stuff is get a cheap garmin or something like that mount it on the bars and keep the phone in the bag out the way.
Nexus 5.
(although a Nexus 6 *may* be announced soon by google and existing Nexus 5 stock put on sale as happened last year with Nexus 4).
I think I read somewhere that the nexus 5 was going to be the last Google produced phone but they did own Motorola at that point.
There are different versions of the moto g, the latest has 4g and a SD card slot. Very good phone for the price.
I personally went for a moto E as my run/ride phone. I've been very impressed with it but the camera may not be good enough for your original request. It runs everything I've tried on it just as well as my note 2.
I think I read somewhere that the nexus 5 was going to be the last Google produced phone but they did own Motorola at that point.
nope, the nexus project is google partnering with various handset manufacturers and has phases; the nexus 5 was (at this point) the last LG manufactured phone, the nexus 6 is expected to be made by HTC.
Had my S4 for over 16 months now - it has never skipped a beat.