cell phone fav, not spending $$$

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letank
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cell phone fav, not spending $$$

Post by letank »

my Samsung cell has been acting up... 3 years ago it took a bath, but survived... the microphone seems to be acting up... solved with the accessory plug. So, I am entertaining a new phone...

Yes I have been checking some sites... but it seems that in these days a $1000 for a phone is normal... it is in sync with a $7 coffee... or $800 to change 4 spark plugs on the latter Honda CRZ - a friend ask me if I could do it, did a search, does not seem hard, may be a bit more involved than a 360... because one of the coil pack is tough to get to.

What are your fav or the one you would not recommend?
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tgreese
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Re: cell phone fav, not spending $$$

Post by tgreese »

I had a couple of Android phones, and now have an iPhone 6. Bought used on Amazon. The iPhone software does work well. After about 6 months of use, short battery life with the used battery forced me to replace the battery. I bought a kit with tools and detailed on-line video instructions on how to change it. Here's the kit I bought (and recommend) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B4 ... UTF8&psc=1

The battery is held in with very tenacious glue strips, and it took a lot of heat, force, and prying to get it out. My old battery was bent like a potato chip after removal. And the cables and plugs are small and require precise manipulation. Not easy, but I'm sure you could do it.

I spend a lot of time online at my desktop systems, thus I mostly use my phone as a phone. Even with such limited use, the functionality of the iPhone beats the Android phones. And used iPhones are a bargain IMO.
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Stuka
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Re: cell phone fav, not spending $$$

Post by Stuka »

The only phones that are $1000 are high end phones.

You can get a brand new iPhone SE for $399 (current generation, looks like an iPhone 11), which is a great phone.

Or there are androids if you prefer that for a similar price.

Or if you literally just want to talk, you can get a $50 flip phone :)
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Renodemona
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Re: cell phone fav, not spending $$$

Post by Renodemona »

I, too, have an older Samsung (s8) and I still really like it. My parents both got S9s. I think the price depends pretty heavily on getting through the phone carrier monthly or just buying it. $30 a month vs 700-800 bucks. I really don't know which is better. I hate financing things so my gut says buy outright. I dislike apple products as a rule, I've never found their premium price point to be worth any extra performance.
So I guess I'd say look at some mid tier Android products, Verizon has better than most low end stuff, but their phone plans are a little pricier at least around here. Good luck!
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Topic author
letank
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Re: cell phone fav, not spending $$$

Post by letank »

Thank you for all your suggestions. Wally World has a bunch of options, so are the other wholesale platforms.

Yes I have a simple phone for overseas trip, it is quite nice to slip the clamshell in one's pocket.
I was an apple enthusiast from the early days, ca. 1985, but when the iphone2 could not be updated, rendering it a useless brick... it was time to move away.
This is the major issues with any platform, the upgrades will only be available for 3 years... what a waste or what a scam... Imagine buying a vehicle and after 3 years you may not get parts to repair it... I'll pass on the movement Right to Repair for one's purchase, being a phone or a combine. I guess this is why I still drive a FSJ, it can be upgraded without dealer interface...

Trolling the web, I discovered that the charging port and the microphone are part of the same "card", $10 for the card, description is on line either a video or a detailed series of picts
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Stuka
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Re: cell phone fav, not spending $$$

Post by Stuka »

letank wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:51 am Thank you for all your suggestions. Wally World has a bunch of options, so are the other wholesale platforms.

Yes I have a simple phone for overseas trip, it is quite nice to slip the clamshell in one's pocket.
I was an apple enthusiast from the early days, ca. 1985, but when the iphone2 could not be updated, rendering it a useless brick... it was time to move away.
This is the major issues with any platform, the upgrades will only be available for 3 years... what a waste or what a scam... Imagine buying a vehicle and after 3 years you may not get parts to repair it... I'll pass on the movement Right to Repair for one's purchase, being a phone or a combine. I guess this is why I still drive a FSJ, it can be upgraded without dealer interface...

Trolling the web, I discovered that the charging port and the microphone are part of the same "card", $10 for the card, description is on line either a video or a detailed series of picts
Apple has been pretty solid on 5 years of OS updates for quite some time now. iOS 14 (latest version) supports all the way back to the iPhone 6s that came out in 2015, and it actually still runs pretty good on it. But in the early days (like with the iPhone 3G) the hardware was changing so fast that the OS could not be made compatible for as long as it can be now.

Most androids might give you a years worth of updates, Samsung is one of the few that gives 3 years, but that's only going forward with newer devices. Unless you are ok with deploying Android base images to your device, then you can eek out more.

And yes, newer iPhones (7 and newer) do not have an old style Headphone port. Way back when I got my 7 I thought this would annoy me, but only once was it ever an issue. The phone comes with the little adapter that I just keep plugged into my head phones. Or you can always use bluetooth heaphones.

Samsung also no longer has headphone jacks, and other phones are doing the same. The main drivers for this are dust and water resistance, as well as device thickness.
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Topic author
letank
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Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:16 pm
Location: SF bay area

Re: cell phone fav, not spending $$$

Post by letank »

Update... bought the parts to swap the microphone/power supply plug board for $15, which entails to total phone dismemberment... the phone freaked out... and has been fine... almost until yesterday when the battery depleted in 6 hours... and again today... no problems I have a spare battery!
Michel
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85 Gwag (229 Kmiles... the running test lab)
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