Need a new small phone - recommendations please

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fe31nz

571 posts

Ultimate Geek

#232142 31-Mar-2018 21:23

I used to have a Samsung Galaxy S2, but unfortunately a couple of days ago it met a horrible fate - it spent a couple of minutes in the washing machine. I have managed to resurrect it as much as possible with its spare battery (the wet one is dead), but its touch keypad is not working and the camera has visible water in it. I have managed to get a backup of it using some software I found that will run its keyboard via adb from my PC, so I am very glad I had it all set up for adb.

But now I need to find a replacement. I have a good tablet, so what I am looking for is a phone that will still fit comfortably in my jeans pocket, and will not be crushed or cracked when I am bicycling. The S2 was very good for that - 4.3" screen (125 x 66 mm). So I need something that is not much taller, although it can be a bit wider. I would also want it to be at least as good as the S2, and preferably also do 4G/LTE and maybe NFC if I can get it. The SD card from the S2 still works, so it would be nice to have an SD slot. And, considering the S2's fate, maybe I should be looking for something waterproof. I am with Skinny at present, but would prefer a phone that has support for all NZ networks.

But good small size phones seem few and far between. The only ones I have come across so far are:

Samsung Galaxy A3 2017

Sony Xperia X Compact

Are there any others that anyone would recommend? And are there any places in New Zealand that actually have stock of these?

1eStar

1595 posts

Uber Geek

#1986592 31-Mar-2018 22:10

If you could handle something 17mm taller... I love my s7

fe31nz

571 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1986611 31-Mar-2018 23:42

The S7 is quite a bit smaller than current models, but still a bit bigger than I would like. I think I would have to be able to try one to see if it fits properly before I could commit to buying one. But it would be nice if it did fit. Thanks for the suggestion.

Andib

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#1986657 1-Apr-2018 08:17

an iPhone SE? (New Model rumored to be due in the near future).

They have modern (ish) specs and are still small but no sd card.

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#1986660 1-Apr-2018 08:20

My iphone SE battery can last a Whole week! But maybe i don't use it enough

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

dafman

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#1986682 1-Apr-2018 10:44

fe31nz:

The S7 is quite a bit smaller than current models, but still a bit bigger than I would like. I think I would have to be able to try one to see if it fits properly before I could commit to buying one. But it would be nice if it did fit. Thanks for the suggestion.

I went from a S2, to a Xperia Z2, to a Nexus 5, to an S7.

The Z2 was a great phone but was a bit too large for my liking. The S7 sits in-between the Z2 and my other phones and is now my 'sweet spot' for size. It works fine with jeans etc. I am looking for a replacement phone at the moment but cannot find anything with the specs I want in a similar size. The S8 & 9 are a little taller, but also narrower than the S7, so may be the next best option (but there are things I don't like about the latest S-series, mainly the vertical edge distortion along the curved screen).

One thing about the S7 (and pretty much every new phone that comes out now) is that it has a glass back and does not bounce as well as the S2, so a case may be required, and this adds to the phone bulk.

A Samsung J5 has the same dimensions as the S7. it's a newer phone, but not as well spec'ed, but would still be a great step up from the S2.

fe31nz

571 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1986781 1-Apr-2018 13:58

Andib:

an iPhone SE? (New Model rumored to be due in the near future).

They have modern (ish) specs and are still small but no sd card.

I am not really considering Apple at all - I have an iPad 1, but I had to jailbreak it before I was able to make it work as I wanted, not as Apple wanted. And then just when it was working well, Apple abandonded it completely and there was no way to load new apps any more as they were all incompatible. It still works, but I had to get an Android tablet to replace it (Samsung Galaxy Tab S2). With Android, I root my devices, and Android does not go out of its way to prevent that as Apple do. Which is all rather a pity because it looks like the iPhone SE is exactly the right size and has decent specs.