Help a Dinosaur! Suggest a Phone Please!!

Forums › Mobile handsets › Help a Dinosaur! Suggest a Phone Please!!

PetAT

232 posts

Master Geek

# 201531 22-Aug-2016 21:26

Hello fellow Geekzoners, I love checking in every now and then to this forum, have been for a long time now and always love it.

Background:

Now being a Dinosaur that I am, I am after a new phone, I have used for many years a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, I absolutely loved the phone for what it was, solid, reliable, simple, Large Battery Life and a really good music playback capability that I have used with headsets when hiking and running or other sports. It had been my work horse, but its a phone not without its flaws, average camera and slow interface, messages stored not very well. One of the reasons I upgraded a year or so ago to a Nokia N8.. I know I know.."Upgraded" ha.. I got it for a few dollars really and have tried the n9 which I didn't like as I wasn't ready to go fully to a "new age" phone, and the N8 had a really nice camera and music player I also liked the Free GPS! So I kept using the n8 a lot till a few days ago when it broke. The Digitizer has died for the second time and I wont replace it this time. What a paint it was without any buttons as the thing would not respond, even The USB port was also going bad but I with the help of a USB Mouse and adapter on the port managed to operate the n8 and save all my messages and contacts and then my music and stuff and gone back to using my indestructible 5800. Which after so long and having been through water damaged (submerged in water!) still works GREAT! (but only 20 sent messages can be stored at the archive for whatever reason)...

What I want: Now coming from the Nokia 5800 and N8 I am a man after the simpler luxuries in a phone, I dont use it for Youtube or Play Games really.

I need it to have long battery life, imagine outdoors man, frequent mover. (My N8 wont last a day even if left on standby with a new battery!)While the 5800 went on for a week without a charge and with some use!

I need it to be Solid & Reliable. Something that has a Rigged build akin to the 5800 and known to go through.

I want it to have a camera as good as the n8 or better (which I guess most phones do today).

I want it to have a good music play back capability.

Should work in Europe or anywhere in the world really.

TXT, Calls as usual, and a GPS(Free) would be really nice.

I will probably prefer something thats been out on the market for a year or more, likely pick one up in used condition off trademe! have looked at the M8 and the reviewes said its got horrible battery and other things, Not sure if I would want a iphone tho and the windows phones also look weird.. :o

THANK YOU for taking your time to read my long post, Please help me!

Sam91

603 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1616091 22-Aug-2016 23:00

It probably won't meet all your criteria, but have a look at the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6. There's a big Geekzone thread about the phone.

Someone is selling a brand new one for $150 on Geekzone at the moment.

PetAT

232 posts

Master Geek

# 1616093 22-Aug-2016 23:14

Sam91:

It probably won't meet all your criteria, but have a look at the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6. There's a big Geekzone thread about the phone.

Someone is selling a brand new one for $150 on Geekzone at the moment.

thanks sam, I like the android (is it) lolipop os thats using. saw a review, but still seems a bit short, really liked it for what it was.

something like that I guess, a bit smaller, a bit more overall with great battery life and music playback? dont need too many of the fancy web/video features,

How are those Lumia phones?? looks scary with all those sqare colored boxes and all.

keep them coming fellow geeks,

I'll likely be sticking to this phone for years to come.

Sam91

603 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1616095 22-Aug-2016 23:35

• 500 hours battery life
• FM Radio
• GPS
• Camera
• looks rigid
• Designed for dinosaurs ; )
• probably a bit too big though

Technofreak

3207 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1673168 17-Nov-2016 21:28

Pity you didn't persevere with the N9. I have one, it's still the best phone I've owned. I rate it above any of the Lumia's and a better OS than Android.

Prior to the N9 I had a XM5800 which for it's time was very good, then I had an E7 (basically the N8 without the 12 Meg camera, but with a 4" screen and a flip out physical keyboard). I've also had a Lumia 920 and for a short while a HTC M8.

I think you can fix the memory issue on the XM5800 by doing a reset. I did it on mine. Those devices suffered from memory leakage. You could delete a whole pile of files but there was still stuff you couldn't see hogging the memory. If you Google you'll find instructions on what to do.

Give the N9 another go. I think you'll get to like it.

Sony Xperia X running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Nokia N1
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

Batman

Mad Scientist
20658 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1673185 17-Nov-2016 21:44

if you don't use headphones, iphone 7. if you don't mind big and heavy, 7 plus

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Batman

Mad Scientist
20658 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1673186 17-Nov-2016 21:46

they have

- easy to use

- no chinese spyware, even FBI can't get in

- no battery drain, you can standby for weeks

- big one as bigger battery

- rugged, my colleague drops his 6s plus from 1m height once a week for the last 12 months

- front speaker

- good camera - 7 plus has 2 decent cameras [note not best in class but decent]

- cooks dinner (well almost)

- good battery life - has quad core - 2 low power core for basic computation, 2 ultra fast cores for driving the big stuff

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Batman

Mad Scientist
20658 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

# 1673189 17-Nov-2016 21:52

ah didn't see you write 1 year old ... in that case the ip7 won't suit they cost a bomb

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Technofreak

3207 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1673197 17-Nov-2016 22:02

I assume your post was tongue in cheek to some extent

Quote:

they have

- easy to use : Smartphones for dummies

- no chinese spyware, even FBI can't get in : True

- no battery drain, you can standby for weeks : Months if you turn it off

- big one as bigger battery : You would hope so

- rugged, my colleague drops his 6s plus from 1m height once a week for the last 12 months : That is impressive unless he's dropping it on the Axminster

- front speaker : Not that uncommon

- good camera - 7 plus has 2 decent cameras [note not best in class but decent] : Haven't seen any indecent cameras recently

- cooks dinner (well almost) : Now, that I'd like to see

- good battery life - has quad core - 2 low power core for basic computation, 2 ultra fast cores for driving the big stuff : See point three above.

Sorry couldn't help but add the comments.

Sony Xperia X running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Nokia N1
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

PetAT

232 posts

Master Geek

# 1673238 17-Nov-2016 23:36

Technofreak:

Pity you didn't persevere with the N9. I have one, it's still the best phone I've owned. I rate it above any of the Lumia's and a better OS than Android.

Prior to the N9 I had a XM5800 which for it's time was very good, then I had an E7 (basically the N8 without the 12 Meg camera, but with a 4" screen and a flip out physical keyboard). I've also had a Lumia 920 and for a short while a HTC M8.

I think you can fix the memory issue on the XM5800 by doing a reset. I did it on mine. Those devices suffered from memory leakage. You could delete a whole pile of files but there was still stuff you couldn't see hogging the memory. If you Google you'll find instructions on what to do.

Give the N9 another go. I think you'll get to like it.

finally someone who understands me! well I found another nokia xm5800 I had around the house, I never managed to fix my one. wont even detect in pc or turn on..darn it..such a reliable phone..

Next I repaired my nokia n8 (belle delight) put a $5 ebay digitizer and its all good! however I broke the micro usb (bloody shady things micro usb I hate em) I took to a repair shop, local so called repair guys took 3 tries, ones soldered it upside down then screwed up so much that I desoldered it fully and now i cant transfer files using usb anymore. hack jobs..so I installed dukto on my phone and pc so files can be transferred using wifi. also bought some anker mico usb cables of ebay.

now I am looking to buy another n8, see them on trademe, some with issues which I know I can fix them, a few went by, one went quite cheap, but most of them are around $50 which is nice but has 100 other guys who bid on them and really take off the desire to bid on them. looked far and wide for n9's. cant seem to find any? the phone camera and music capabilities and usability is what I want most. i have been thinking on buying a used nokia 920 tho, I hate the tiles windows phone architecture..but if its something I must upgrade to I will.. I want to stick to nokia tho, (hate windows / MS phones as much as I dislike apple phones. I just want a phone you know. dont think I want the HTC M8..but wonder how the 920 may be?

PetAT

232 posts

Master Geek

# 1673240 17-Nov-2016 23:41

joker97:

they have

- easy to use

- no chinese spyware, even FBI can't get in

- no battery drain, you can standby for weeks

- big one as bigger battery

- rugged, my colleague drops his 6s plus from 1m height once a week for the last 12 months

- front speaker

- good camera - 7 plus has 2 decent cameras [note not best in class but decent]

- cooks dinner (well almost)

- good battery life - has quad core - 2 low power core for basic computation, 2 ultra fast cores for driving the big stuff

they all sound nice and dandy but dont know, I am afraid of apple. its just call me a applephobe or I just dont want a iphone or anything too big and too..you know..too smartphoneish.. I equally dislike windows phones, now I hear the lumia stuff is really rally unreliable? these phones need to last with me where ever I go in the world, I hear stories of lumia phones just shutting down and having all kinds of bugs.. (no wonder they have such low market shares now) anyhow..so I want phones that will go through the various climates, specially eastern and norther european snow. out door stuff you know..and all rounder, not a glassy flashy thing limited to city folk, i can see the older nokias living up to it fine but dont know about the new stuff..

PetAT

232 posts

Master Geek

# 1673248 17-Nov-2016 23:55

PS: I seem to have found a few Nokia N8's Brand new from China on ebay.. For maybe $100 NZD Shipped. I wonder if I should take them?

Technofreak

3207 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1673276 18-Nov-2016 06:53

My wife has an N8 kicking around. It's no longer used and in very good condition, I'll ask if she wants to part with it

Sony Xperia X running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Nokia N1
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

PetAT

232 posts

Master Geek

# 1673436 18-Nov-2016 10:53

Technofreak: My wife has an N8 kicking around. It's no longer used and in very good condition, I'll ask if she wants to part with it

i'll take it, will pay no worries

Technofreak

3207 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1673899 18-Nov-2016 22:31

It's yours if you want it. Have the charger and USB cable but not sure about the head phones, they're probably here somewhere. Original box is in a cupboard so there might be stuff in that.

Can send pics if you want.

What do you consider a fair price?

Sony Xperia X running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Nokia N1
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

PetAT

232 posts

Master Geek

# 1674334 19-Nov-2016 21:59

Technofreak:

It's yours if you want it. Have the charger and USB cable but not sure about the head phones, they're probably here somewhere. Original box is in a cupboard so there might be stuff in that.

Can send pics if you want.

What do you consider a fair price?

thumbs up to you!

sending you a message.