Recommendations for high end NON SAMSUNG Android phone?

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#964666 10-Jan-2014 15:48

Out of interest, what are you using it for that needs a large amount of storage?

There really aren't that many good options out there that fit the bill, reckon they've all been mentioned in this thread already.

You're probably going to have similarly unhelpful experiences regardless of brand should you actually need to avail yourself of them for anything. My next phone will be a non-Samsung for various reasons. I can understand getting pissed off with them because of a particularly bad experience however. The joys of multinational corporations.

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#964670 10-Jan-2014 15:52

stevenz: Out of interest, what are you using it for that needs a large amount of storage?

There really aren't that many good options out there that fit the bill, reckon they've all been mentioned in this thread already.

You're probably going to have similarly unhelpful experiences regardless of brand should you actually need to avail yourself of them for anything. My next phone will be a non-Samsung for various reasons. I can understand getting pissed off with them because of a particularly bad experience however. The joys of multinational corporations.

I use my phone for music in the car, at parties, on planes etc... I want to carry around all my music with me, considering the following constraints.

- I don't want to stream it for multiple reasons (data plan size, not always in wifi area, not even always in coverage)
- I don't want to re-encode it for my phone
- I don't want to plug in an external USB stick through OTG
- I do want to use my phone for this, not another device like an ipod

With a large enough memory card I can store all my music and the collection is not growing that fast anymore. 64GB will be fine for a year or 2 at least.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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#964671 10-Jan-2014 15:53

What do you put on your phone that requires the SD Slot?

I was in the same boat as you, had the S4, wanted to change to something newer, but demanded an SD Slot. Couldn't find one so cut my losses and went with the LG G2 32GB version. Have never found an issue with storage shortage. I have 100GB of drop box (thanks samsung) so sync my photos and videos to upload automatically and delete from my internal storage. Music was the big concern for me as I stored it all on my device, so needed the SD card, however with play Music I don't have that need, everything in the cloud and no issues.

What else do you put on your phone that requires so much space?

The LG G2 has a great screen, amazing battery, is lightening quick. It's camera (though you state isn't a high priority) does take amazing photos.

Kopkiwi

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#964676 10-Jan-2014 15:56

dam it, you replied while I was typing.

Can get 3.25GB of data through Vodafone for $89 a month. MORE than enough to stream music from Play Music.

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#964679 10-Jan-2014 15:57

Kopkiwi: dam it, you replied while I was typing.

Can get 3.25GB of data through Vodafone for $89 a month. MORE than enough to stream music from Play Music.

But as he said, he isn't always in coverage.

Talkiet

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#964685 10-Jan-2014 16:00

networkn:
Kopkiwi: dam it, you replied while I was typing.

Can get 3.25GB of data through Vodafone for $89 a month. MORE than enough to stream music from Play Music.

But as he said, he isn't always in coverage.

Definitely, and I work at Telecom...

But mostly, It's because it's what I prefer to do.

If I interpreted requirements this badly at work I wouldn't have a job :-)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

networkn

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#964694 10-Jan-2014 16:05

I predict this will be the largest thread in 2014 at this rate. It will eclipse the new Galaxy S5 Owners Thread.

Personally I think you have over-reacted to the Samsung Support situation. Your retailer is end on end responsible for your issue, Samsung NZ aren't structured to supply end user support, and what you lose by switching to an inferior phone, would easily be offset by the minor cost of BUYING a new battery, and waiting till the supplier had stock again, with the added advantage of having a spare battery.

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Talkiet

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#964710 10-Jan-2014 16:13

networkn: I predict this will be the largest thread in 2014 at this rate. It will eclipse the new Galaxy S5 Owners Thread.

Personally I think you have over-reacted to the Samsung Support situation. Your retailer is end on end responsible for your issue, Samsung NZ aren't structured to supply end user support, and what you lose by switching to an inferior phone, would easily be offset by the minor cost of BUYING a new battery, and waiting till the supplier had stock again, with the added advantage of having a spare battery.

You're probably right. This isn't about getting a better phone or jumping to a manufacturer with great support. This is about the principle of not wanting to give my custom to a company that has recently done a very bad job in dealing with a situation that could and should have been dealt with in a far more customer focussed way.

I intensely dislike just whinging about things, and always advise people to vote with their wallet, so that's what I want to do here. I KNOW it won't make a difference to Samsung. I don't care. It makes a difference to me.

I may actually end up with the S5 despite this, because I am not going to go with an inferior option just to spite Samsung, BUT if I can identify an option that's as good, then I'll DEFINITELY avoid Samsung.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

NikT

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#964713 10-Jan-2014 16:19

I'll throw another vote in the ring for the Z1, or perhaps even the upcoming Z1 Compact, as the regular flavour Z1 does have an awful lot of surface area, & the Compact finally has an IPS display. I reviewed the regular flavour Z1 in October, & would be using one right now if the Note 3 wasn't what it is (But then, I am a phablet person).

Hear you completely on the SD slot point, I would not purchase a phone without one either. Streaming be damned, it's about user choice & modularity - I don't want to have to get an entirely different piece of hardware just to upgrade the storage (And more to the point, I change phones often enough for both work & personal reasons that popping in the SD saves a LOT of time & music syncing).

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jeffnz

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#964797 10-Jan-2014 17:42

Talkiet:

I intensely dislike just whinging about things,

not intentionally trolling but given your header and the other thread isn't that exactly what you are doing or is that subjective, from my perspective there was no real reason to add Samsung to the header other than having a go at Samsung which to me is whinging, opinion only

back to topic, I agree with the ext SD I keep getting told I can use online storage but it costs and isn't always there otherwise I would and its my personal preference. I have 8gb left on my 32gb micro SD and my next phone will have one as well and a removable battery as I buy 2 so if it runs down I have the other. I use the S4 on my bike to record distance etc and the battery doesn't always last the ride.

To date the offerings are usually Samsung or inferior so hence I do Samsung and have had no issues with the S1,2,3 or 4 but have seen the problems others have had so if you want to change go ahead its your prerogative.

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#964799 10-Jan-2014 17:45

I don't see an issue with someone wanting to exclude a particular brand from a search

Talkiet

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#964801 10-Jan-2014 17:46

jeffnz:
Talkiet:

I intensely dislike just whinging about things,

not intentionally trolling but given your header and the other thread isn't that exactly what you are doing or is that subjective, from my perspective there was no real reason to add Samsung to the header other than having a go at Samsung which to me is whinging, opinion only

back to topic, I agree with the ext SD I keep getting told I can use online storage but it costs and isn't always there otherwise I would and its my personal preference. I have 8gb left on my 32gb micro SD and my next phone will have one as well and a removable battery as I buy 2 so if it runs down I have the other. I use the S4 on my bike to record distance etc and the battery doesn't always last the ride.

To date the offerings are usually Samsung or inferior so hence I do Samsung and have had no issues with the S1,2,3 or 4 but have seen the problems others have had so if you want to change go ahead its your prerogative.

Did you see the 'just' in there? :-) I never claimed that I wasn't whinging - only that I wasn't JUST whinging :-)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

jeffnz

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#964814 10-Jan-2014 17:53

Talkiet:
jeffnz:
Talkiet:

I intensely dislike just whinging about things,

not intentionally trolling but given your header and the other thread isn't that exactly what you are doing or is that subjective, from my perspective there was no real reason to add Samsung to the header other than having a go at Samsung which to me is whinging, opinion only

back to topic, I agree with the ext SD I keep getting told I can use online storage but it costs and isn't always there otherwise I would and its my personal preference. I have 8gb left on my 32gb micro SD and my next phone will have one as well and a removable battery as I buy 2 so if it runs down I have the other. I use the S4 on my bike to record distance etc and the battery doesn't always last the ride.

To date the offerings are usually Samsung or inferior so hence I do Samsung and have had no issues with the S1,2,3 or 4 but have seen the problems others have had so if you want to change go ahead its your prerogative.

Did you see the 'just' in there? :-) I never claimed that I wasn't whinging - only that I wasn't JUST whinging :-)

Cheers - N

oopps put that down to bad attitude and eye sight

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jeffnz

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#964815 10-Jan-2014 17:54

KiwiNZ: I don't see an issue with someone wanting to exclude a particular brand from a search

nor do I but it seemed unnecessary and more of a protest that anything else but that has been explained now

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dafman

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#965602 12-Jan-2014 18:32

Talkiet:
jeffnz: is this just a go at Samsung given your annoyance or do you genuinely want advice on a phone, just curious :)

edit: oops spelling

Genuine.. I've always been happy with Samsung phones before so progressed through the S3 and S4, and was happily planning on getting an S5 when available - but I really hope there's an alternative from another brand that's just as good because dealing with Samsung "support" again would end me.

Cheers- N

Several years ago I had significant problems getting any support from Samsung NZ for a lemon phone. In the end, Noel Leeming gave up on Samsung and replaced the phone themselves.

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