I need a new phone, suggestions please

[mclld]

My ZTE Zmax Pro was dropped in water and it is acting crazy, I really like this phone other than the camera(it is horrible). I never buy new so I am looking at used phones/prices and I really dont want to spend over 300. So far the top two on my list are the Moto Z Play due to amazing battery life and a galaxy S7 Edge due to great battery, water proof and camera. I know the Edge would be more than 300, I have seen them used in the ballpark of 350-400. I would probably spend 325 or so if I could come across one for that price, I dont want to spend more since price will drop soon.


I dont mind spending less, battery life is the number one on my list of what I care about in a phone. I also need it to be at least 5.5" and I dont care about build materials. I also do not care about a finger print scanner as I dont lock my phones. The camera isnt a top concern but I wouldnt mind one that it is decent.

 

[elf69]

I recently bought a cubot max 6" screen and 10 hour video playback battery.

twin sim plus upto 128GB SD slot but has 32GB built in.

only £127 in UK

camera is not so great though, it interpolated
it ok at best indoors, better outside though.

 

[mclld]

I should also say I dont mind buying phones that I would have to import either as long as it would work on my carrier


I see that phone is 167 on gearbest.com
http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_424831.html



I wonder if the camera is as bad at the Zmax Pro's

 

[elf69]

cubot unlocked worldwide.

cubot of course is china phone

 

[jamezr]

You didn't say who your carrier was...so I did a search on Swappa for unlocked Android phones...

https://swappa.com/buy/devices/unlocked?type=phone&platform=android

 

[MRU]

If you can get the S7e for 350 second hand it would seem to fit all your requirements.

 

[mclld]

One of my kids has an s7 edge with a cracked screen, not bad. I offered him 200 and he wouldnt take it!

 

[ozaz]

Don't know what international availability of Lenovo P2 is like, but it looks like it might be of interest to you due to exceptional battery life
http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_p2-review-1557p3.php

 

[mclld]

I heard about that phone last week on a podcast, it sounds good but I didbt see it on amazon or ebay when I looked

 

[zohaali146]

Go for iPhone 7

 

[mclld]

No way

I ended up getting a mint ZTE Blade V8 Pro with a case off swappa for 170 today

 

[MRU]

No way

I ended up getting a mint ZTE Blade V8 Pro with a case off swappa for 170 today

Post your impressions

 

[mclld]

I have been using the Blade V8 today for my first full, normal use day and I really like it. I am not sure if I am keeping it or keeping my Axon 7, I can tell that the battery life on the Blade is really good. At 75% I was already at 2 hours and 26 minutes sot. In good light the camera is pretty respectable for a cheap phone, I would definelty recommend this phone to someone who didnt want to spend a lot but get good features for the money. It has a fingerprint scanner, dual rear 13 mp cameras, 3 gigs ram, an sd slot or dual sim and a lightly skinned version of android

 

[Michael Goff]

What do you do with your phone?

 

[mclld]

Calls, four email accounts, Google Voice, texting, Chrome, Letgo, Offerup and some gaming

 

[Michael Goff]

Calls, four email accounts, Google Voice, texting, Chrome, Letgo, Offerup and some gaming

Then I would have suggested the OnePlus 3T. It might not have the greatest camera, but it is likely the one that will run the best over time. Not to mention the extra RAM will help with how Android runs.

 

[mclld]

This was 170, does all I need. I routinely use lower end and mid range phones

 

[Michael Goff]

That makes perfect sense. I have the weird mentality of never having used a mid range phone other than the Galaxy Nexus. I probably could get away with a mid range phone for what I do.

 

[MRU]

That makes perfect sense. I have the weird mentality of never having used a mid range phone other than the Galaxy Nexus. I probably could get away with a mid range phone for what I do.

Essentially if you were relatively happy by 2015's flagships performance wise, with like the S6 or the Nexus 6P, then these cheaper devices (the OP3T is actually classified midrange and yet is close to between 50% more or double the price still) then you will be surprisingly happy with the quality of these $250 type phones with 3gb ram, decent screens and processors matching Snapdragon 810 in day to day performance.

It's why with Samsung, Apple and Google rumoured to be now looking closer to $900-1,000 in 2017 and even LG & HTC breaking the $700-800 barrier, it's becoming increasingly hard to justify.

Whilst yes these 2017 $250 aren't as good technically, they aren't so below those devices to often warrant 300-400% price increase.

For vast majority of normal users they are more than capable, and that is only going to increase as pattern of usage hasn't dramatically changed over years, for most using smartphones that we need these $1,000 over the functionality the $250 device offers.

IOS used to get away with being able to charge a premium because at the end of the day if you want iOS you can't actually get that from anything other than Apple.

However the likes of Huawei with EMUI get surprisingly close to offering a similar iOS feel with their android skin.

On Android front the competition has NEVER been stronger. And that will prove to be a problem for most the bigger established OEM's as people tire of the premium pricing, and aren't necessarily seeing that 300-400% definable increase in quality over these technically premium low range devices,

It's why Samsung has to spend so much on marketing and massive carrier incentives (BOGO offers and other Freebies) to try and persuade purchasers to justify the premiums.

Eventually the bribing of users will give way as users discover what value for money these $250 devices offer and we will see the sales figures from all the big name OEM's erode year on year whilst likes of ZTE, HONOR, HUAWEI begin to really impact market share ....

2016 was year of premium mid-range $400-450 devices ..

2017 looks set to be similarly a year of the high-end entry level premium devices ...

And that for consumers is a good thing ... but for older OEM brands, it will inevitably chip away at their margins and we may see casualties like HTC or similar struggle to regain a foothold.

 

[mclld]

Well said

 

[mclld]

This is from today

 

[mclld]

My last battery update, I decide to leave it off the charger last night so this was from yesterday morning when i took it off the charger

 

[Tarzanman]

I would have suggested the Axon 7