Help an indecisive man choose a new phone :)

[Deactivated] on 07/12/2014 - 00:21
Last edited 11/12/2014 - 22:54

Our much loved , but very psycho cat, Darth Mal, has stolen the mrs phone from her handbag and flung it at Ewok, the dog.. Long story short: phone misses dog, lands in his water bowl; phone in pieces , cat smirking, dog drenched, wife not happy and I'm looking for a new phone.

She doesn't need anything flashy but want to future-proof.Actually she's quite happy with my s4 (hers was an s3). so the new phone might end up being mine.It needs to last at least a day with moderate use (txting, watching youtube videos,checking mail, checking ozbargain compulsively.. I'm kind of hoping not to have to pay more than $600 as I've already blown my budget for the year :(
The list is of phones that I want but might not be in my budget brand new.Grey import or refurb is fine.Any other suggestions welcomed.
Cheers,
JJB

Edit: Quite surprised by how many people have stopped by to share their experiences and feedbacks. Thank you :) I'm kind of leaning towards the OPO. Is it ever going to go below $400 again?

Edit 2: I've decided to revise my budget to $300 for 2 reasons :
(i) the OzBargain 2014 Christmas Charity Donations. It is so hard to decide who to vote for when there are so many good causes.So the mrs and I have come up with the idea of spending half of what we originally planned on a gift and donate the other half to the recipient's favorite cause. Everyone's really excited about this,especially our kids :)
and (ii) I'm hoping that if I'm less selfish, I might get back on santa's good list ;)
I've also noticed that a few people have subscribed to this post, so please keep your suggestions coming.Ta

Poll Options

  • 9
    HTC One M8
  • 10
    Samsung Galaxy S5
  • 2
    Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  • 18
    Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  • 47
    One Plus One
  • 86
    other android
Mobile

Comments

  • turbo77 on 08/12/2014 - 23:07

    I wanted a Z3 but end up getting a E3 for 200 on fleabay. Camera not so hot but feels more premium then my telstra ZTE t81 lol.

  • mmd on 09/12/2014 - 02:22
    +1

    When you decide which phone you are going buy, please buy a phone cover to protect it from damage.

  • cycleri3 on 09/12/2014 - 07:08
    +2

    Killer battery life
    - OnePlus One or Z3/Z3c

    Large screen
    - OnePlus One or Note 4

    Compact design
    - Z3c

    Great camera
    - iPhone 6 / 6+ or Sony Z3/Z3c

    Beautiful premium design
    - HTC One M8 or iPhone

    Great speakers
    - HTC One M8

  • Lucky13 on 09/12/2014 - 12:47

    I bought the Samsung Galaxy S5 and love it, definitely recommend it. Only problem is it doesnt do washing/drying and vacuuming the house, but it does everything else :)

  • edgar28 on 09/12/2014 - 16:59

    Huawei Y550 4G quad core kitkat 4.4.4

  • Forfiet on 09/12/2014 - 17:39
    +1

    2 cans and a piece of string…..

    • PVA on 10/12/2014 - 19:59
      +1

      I find it hard to read texts on it.

  • x d on 09/12/2014 - 18:51
    +1

    Looked at your top poll choices and I wondered if I should post this given you are into Androids. But at your budget of $400, maybe you should look at this

    http://www.harveynorman.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=1520

    Available again at $436, it is approx $15 dollars more expensive than recent bargain posts but I have just ordered a black one to replace my 1 yr old 820. Thought about androids (just bought a galaxy grand 2 LTE for my wife and an international S5 duos for a friend) but the more I use WP8.1, the more I like it. OPO looks good but reading about the quality issues for some, I have avoided it.

    Check out the battery life of this phone, it is even better rated than the Z3 which seems to be raved about - as tested by GSMArena.

    http://www.gsmarena.com/battery-test.php3

    http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_lumia_1520-review-1024.php

    It seems to be online only as stores have very little stock of this. Probably too big for some but if you have listed the note 3 and note 4, this is only slightly bigger than those.

    Cheers.

    • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2014 - 19:44

      Thanks X d .The lumia is a good phone with decent specs but the fact that it runs on windows is a bit of a no-go for me:( I will miss my fave android apps too much and Bing sucks

      • x d on 09/12/2014 - 20:21
        +1

        Hi Jar Jar. Fair enough. I never use Bing as you can change the default search engine to Google (who would have thought that an option exist in a windows phone settings), which makes the Bing search button redundant.

        I wonder if you can replace your android apps with equivalents in the Windows store.

        BTW the S5 Duos was bought for a friend who was heavily into iOS. Recently he ended up with 2 phones for work and private purposes. He was carrying 2 IPhone 5S everywhere!!! I told him to consider a dual sim phone and believe me he was too anxious to change. Not that he wasn't capable of changing (he's a top surgeon and loves learning new things in his line of work).

        When he did give in, he initially complained about how hard it was to use. I told him all you need is google any function and apps you need and now he is happy as larry (though he still prefers the speaker quality of his iPhones over the S5, and it was quite a task to shift his address book over - still haven't completed it as I don't get much time with him).

        Cheers.

        • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2014 - 20:55

          From the developer of my favourite:

          hi JJB, there is such a huge amount of resource that goes into developing the app for iPhone and Android, and our research shows the majority of our users have these devices. So it is unlikely that we will be developing a windows one anytime soon.

          That kind of sum it up.

        • x d on 09/12/2014 - 21:31
          +1

          @Jar Jar Binks:

          Too bad then. In that case, out of that list I'd probably vote for the Note 4 though value for money the OPO would obviously be better.

          Cheers.

        • x d on 11/12/2014 - 20:25
          +1

          @x d:

          Actually you would have seen this one?

          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/174310

          Another consideration.

          Cheers.

  • Bappy on 10/12/2014 - 11:05

    If you like/follow the famous MKBHD - check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6pPIG3EvAs
    As per him - HTC M8 is the best phone of 2014

    Edit: I'm currently using OPO - loving it very much except the "too sensitive" touch screen.
    It meant to be fixed by the last software update but it didn't (at least for me)
    Fingers crossed - it will be fixed by the next update (which is more likely the Lollipop update)

  • superm86 on 10/12/2014 - 13:11
    +2

    I just looked at the Z3Compact, and was amazed. I feel you should give it serious consideration!
    Z3compact seems good options from Sony. May be next year, I will be back to Sony. Currently on Nexus 5 - only issue is battery!

    Last time I used sony (K750i, years back), I was really impressed with image and sound quality of that - it was really hard to move on to next phone (Nokia 5800), but after 3-4 years it's hardware was really irritating.

  • morgs640 on 10/12/2014 - 14:25
    +2

    Sony Xperia Z3 compact great phone great specs and not the size of a dvd case like most phones these days.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/12/2014 - 16:45
      +1

      Agree:) It is by far the best small android smartphone currently on the market.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/12/2014 - 17:06
    +1

    For those wondering how big the OPO is: linky

    • morgs640 on 12/12/2014 - 14:00

      Shows up much smaller than real size on my 19" monitor.

  • shaybisc on 10/12/2014 - 19:09

    "moderate use (txting, watching youtube videos,checking mail, checking ozbargain compulsively."

    The $87 delivered THL 4000 will do all that on its ear. And it's future proof- buy the updated version in a couple of years.

    I swear you people have too much money.

  • Rorschach on 10/12/2014 - 19:45
    +2

    From the mainstream phones suggested, I would go for the Xperia Z3 (or Z3 compact) for the unmatched battery life and IP68 rating.

    Other phones you should consider:

    • One Plus One
    • Xiaomi Mi3, Mi4
    • Meizu MX4, MX4 Pro
    • ZTE Nubia Z7 Max

    Trust me, the Chinese manufacturers are easily catching up and offer more bang for buck. Plus, the missus (or you!) might prefer the fancy UI and customizations that these guys throw in.

    All the best!

    • [Deactivated] on 10/12/2014 - 19:52

      thanks

      • beaver2233 on 12/12/2014 - 11:28
        +1

        Jar Jar - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/174389

        • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2014 - 16:59
          +1

          I had a $100 coupon from ebay which was going to expire in 2 days so I only paid $320ish (also used the 2% cashback). couldn't be happier.cheers mate :)

  • ferguscan on 11/12/2014 - 11:40

    Unless you're playing high-end games, I don't think anyone needs more than the Nexus 4.

    Looks pretty, big screen, and runs the latest Android without any lag.

    And it is (was?) only $180, including DHL express delivery.

    • beaver2233 on 11/12/2014 - 11:44

      Camera is mediocre. battery life is known to be rather horrid as well. I'd recommend a Moto G over a Nexus 4 probably.

  • beaver2233 on 11/12/2014 - 11:47
    +1

    Reading the OPs edit… The OPO may start coming down in price due to OnePlus finally allowing orders without invites. By how much I have no idea. I wouldn't expect any crazy ebay sales that would apply to the OPO - unless there's maybe a new years sale? Doubt it though.

  • TurkishDelight on 26/01/2015 - 18:50

    One Puls One FTW, also nexus 5 is always a lifesaver.

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