Verizon folks, what phones do you use?

[A/V1]

So, my Samsung Galaxy S5 camera crapped out on me, so therefore, half of the apps will no longer work for it LOL. I'm literally three months out of warranty and was basically told tough shit. I have to pay for any repairs. I did a quick search for this problem, and found there has been a pretty big issue of failures with the cameras. And since we all know we buy our phones not to just use as phones, but for all the additional crap we can install on them, I'm looking for a new one

So anyway, what phones do you use, and would you buy it again? What do you like about it? What do you freakin hate about it? Are accessories easy to find for it? Does the battery last long, or does it suck?

I was going to make this a poll, but there'd be WAY too many options.

 

[SKP-4R]

So, my Samsung Galaxy S5 camera crapped out on me, so therefore, half of the apps will no longer work for it LOL. I'm literally three months out of warranty and was basically told tough shit. I have to pay for any repairs. I did a quick search for this problem, and found there has been a pretty big issue of failures with the cameras. And since we all know we buy our phones not to just use as phones, but for all the additional crap we can install on them, I'm looking for a new one

So anyway, what phones do you use, and would you buy it again? What do you like about it? What do you freakin hate about it? Are accessories easy to find for it? Does the battery last long, or does it suck?

I was going to make this a poll, but there'd be WAY too many options.

Just pre-ordered an iPhone 6s 16GB. $199 and it included a Mophie case with 100% battery pack, screen protector, 6ft charging cable, and a car charger. We have been with Verizon for over 15 years and as part of their rewards program they gave us an iPad mini 3 LTE for $30. Also included free data for the first year.

Not bad....

 

[A/V1]

Just pre-ordered an iPhone 6s 16GB. $199 and it included a Mophie case with 100% battery pack, screen protector, 6ft charging cable, and a car charger. We have been with Verizon for over 15 years and as part of their rewards program they gave us an iPad mini 3 LTE for $30. Also included free data for the first year.

Not bad....

Damn, that's not bad at all...

 

[Thai]

So, my Samsung Galaxy S5 camera crapped out on me, so therefore, half of the apps will no longer work for it LOL. I'm literally three months out of warranty and was basically told tough shit. I have to pay for any repairs. I did a quick search for this problem, and found there has been a pretty big issue of failures with the cameras. And since we all know we buy our phones not to just use as phones, but for all the additional crap we can install on them, I'm looking for a new one

So anyway, what phones do you use, and would you buy it again? What do you like about it? What do you freakin hate about it? Are accessories easy to find for it? Does the battery last long, or does it suck?

I was going to make this a poll, but there'd be WAY too many options.

Stupid question...but are you saying that there are SOME apps that still can use the camera? IF so, then this is a software issue, not hardware.

Stupid question #2...have you tried doing a FACTORY RESET (after backing up your data)? This will likely cure your SOFTWARE issue.

And yes, this is why i stick with Apple...even out of warranty, the local Apple store folks can at least help me out or point me in the right direction. With other brands, you are stuck with dealing with local carrier store which i have found to know very little about anything OR sending in your watch to manufacturer and be out of a phone x 3-4 weeks at least.

 

[NoDak]

android fan here.

anyway had a S5, and like you I didn't care for the camera that much, could never focus correctly especially trying to do mobile deposits. it would hunt constantly to focus.

waited for specs on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, didn't like the fact they lost the SD card slot AND the removable battery.

upgraded to the Note 4, happy with it. over the last few years I have used the phone less for calls and more for everything else. the bigger screen size helps a lot for doing surfing, texting, apps, etc.

wife converted from iphone 5 to a Samsung galaxy S6. biggest issue was wireless charging in her new Tacoma. iphone currently doesn't support it out of the box, so she converted. also liked the fact that she could customize the phone more to her liking.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

Damn, that's not bad at all...

If you are going to get a 6s don't waste your money on a 16gb. I'm shocked they still make a 16gb because it is so easy to fill the memory up fast, half of the storage is taken up by the software. The extra $100 is well worth it to get the 64gb model.

 

[GHARP57]

Get the Galaxy S4, best phone on the market. It was so good they brought it back after 3 years. Best perk is you can easily disassemble it to fix things (replaced screen on mine already) and should your battery die it takes 2 seconds to put a new one in. Also still has an SD Card slot

 

[Thai]

android fan here.

anyway had a S5, and like you I didn't care for the camera that much, could never focus correctly especially trying to do mobile deposits. it would hunt constantly to focus.

upgraded to the Note 4, happy with it. over the last few years I have used the phone less for calls and more for everything else. the bigger screen size helps a lot for doing surfing, texting, apps, etc.

Note series are excellent IMO. However, aren't the cameras the same b/w GS5 and Note 4?

 

[ret42]

I have an HTC One M8, looking to potentially upgrade to an M9 but I haven't decided quite yet. If you do get the M9, you get $100 in google play money. That's a lot of Gems.

But the free one time replacement is awesome, Sense is great, a lot less bloatware than Samsung, great battery life and speed. But you also have an HTC, which has been steadily going downhill for a while now. I can't really understand what they're doing wrong, because, aside from the difficulty to repair, the One has been a great line of phones.

 

[Thai]

I have an HTC One M8, looking to potentially upgrade to an M9 but I haven't decided quite yet. If you do get the M9, you get $100 in google play money. That's a lot of Gems.

But the free one time replacement is awesome, Sense is great, a lot less bloatware than Samsung, great battery life and speed. But you also have an HTC, which has been steadily going downhill for a while now. I can't really understand what they're doing wrong, because, aside from the difficulty to repair, the One has been a great line of phones.

HTC is near bankrupt. They may not be around next year! They have repeatedly fail to deliver on probably the biggest thing on phones...camera.

One time replacement or warranty or guarantee of future updates are meaningless in a company that is about to go under. In addition, HTC has failed many times in updating their software for existing customers...they lag behind Android release some 6-8 months...so, their promise of 2 year update (from date of RELEASE of device) is about one major software update...2 if you're really lucky.

This is NOT the time to get HTC phones...if you care about phone but OK with average camera, then get Nexus 6 for $300 (on Amazon I think).

 

[ic0517]

If you can stand nerds, take a look at the website Ars Technica. Or I can summarize it for you.

Android phones have a big problem, they are not getting updated to fix the bugs and security problems. Google "Stagefright" for example.

Apple phones do get updates, up to a point. Don't go buying a 4. You can keep a 4 if you have one, but don't expect Apple to support them forever. [Not sure if this paragraph is clear].

Some Android phones do get updated. Google pays companies to make phones for them. They are called Nexus, and they get the latest updates.

WRONG [It is also possible that Motorola phones bought from their website get updated. Not phones bought from Verizon, but from Motorola.

If my phone was to crap out RIGHT now, I would consider getting the Motorola G, its like $220 no-contract, you pay that money, you OWE the phone, no subsidies, no payments.]

Not sure how to buy a Nexus, but its one Google search away.

Until Google and the Android cell phone manufacturers solve this problem, I would NOT drop big $ on an Android phone.

 

[marshal]

I've always had good luck with out of warranty claims on iPhones. the apple stores are usually more than happy to replace your phone or do some warranty work on legitimate issues well out of the warranty.

I'm on ATT, but i have the iPhone 6plus and i love it. its an awesome phone, and with the new iOS 9 update, it works even faster and i got an extra hour and a half of battery life out of it.

 

[Falonious]

We are still using the Galaxy S4's. Work just fine, no reason to change.

 

[Thai]

We are still using the Galaxy S4's. Work just fine, no reason to change.

Stagefright: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-topic/204001-stagefright-android-fyi-not-fixed.html

 

[NoDak]

Note series are excellent IMO. However, aren't the cameras the same b/w GS5 and Note 4?

somewhat, but the Note 4 came out about 6-9 months after the S5.

and the camera operation is a lot better than my S5 without the constant hunting for focus.

 

[ret42]

HTC is near bankrupt. They may not be around next year! They have repeatedly fail to deliver on probably the biggest thing on phones...camera.

One time replacement or warranty or guarantee of future updates are meaningless in a company that is about to go under. In addition, HTC has failed many times in updating their software for existing customers...they lag behind Android release some 6-8 months...so, their promise of 2 year update (from date of RELEASE of device) is about one major software update...2 if you're really lucky.

This is NOT the time to get HTC phones...if you care about phone but OK with average camera, then get Nexus 6 for $300 (on Amazon I think).

I don't disagree, I was just sharing my opinion of the phones. You're absolutely right regarding the camera, but that's not really a big deal to me, so it's easy for me to overlook. I suppose it depends on what OP's priorities are, sounds like camera must be one of them.

Lag behind who? My M8 got the Lollipop update months before my wife's S4, which didn't receive it until after the S6 was released. I believe my M8 beat S5s to the software as well, but I don't remember right off.

As for HTC failing, they've been trending downward for several years now, and at this point I think they've reached the point where they're failing because they're failing. They don't make a bad product (camera aside) and their customer support is good, so I can only assume they're going bankrupt because people aren't buying their product, because the perception is that they're going out of business. A vicious cycle.

I'm not really advocating for the HTC, but I'm not a huge fan of Samsung either. I guess because of how many "features" they pack onto their phones that I could do without. Just another reason I think I should get an iPhone for my next phone.

 

[Paisano]

I don't disagree, I was just sharing my opinion of the phones. You're absolutely right regarding the camera, but that's not really a big deal to me, so it's easy for me to overlook. I suppose it depends on what OP's priorities are, sounds like camera must be one of them.

Lag behind who? My M8 got the Lollipop update months before my wife's S4, which didn't receive it until after the S6 was released. I believe my M8 beat S5s to the software as well, but I don't remember right off.

As for HTC failing, they've been trending downward for several years now, and at this point I think they've reached the point where they're failing because they're failing. They don't make a bad product (camera aside) and their customer support is good, so I can only assume they're going bankrupt because people aren't buying their product, because the perception is that they're going out of business. A vicious cycle.

I'm not really advocating for the HTC, but I'm not a huge fan of Samsung either. I guess because of how many "features" they pack onto their phones that I could do without. Just another reason I think I should get an iPhone for my next phone.

Not trying to hijack here, but speaking of Samsung phones and features.

The only reason I have a phone from Samsung Galaxy S series is for that swiping with your finger to text feature. I'm not much into tech and don't know what that's called.

Does anyone know if there are other brands with a similar feature? (without downloading an app that doesn't perform as well as the original) If there isn't another brand with a swipe to text feature on par with that one, then I'll just stick w/ Samsung.

Good luck on search for new phone OP.

 

[ret42]

Not trying to hijack here, but speaking of Samsung phones and features.

The only reason I have a phone from Samsung Galaxy S series is for that swiping with your finger to text feature. I'm not much into tech and don't know what that's called.

Does anyone know if there are other brands with a similar feature? (without downloading an app that doesn't perform as well as the original) If there isn't another brand with a swipe to text feature on par with that one, then I'll just stick w/ Samsung.

Good luck on search for new phone OP.

Swipe? I'm pretty sure all Android manufacturers have some version of it. If not, you can download similar apps in the app store such as SwiftKey, Swype, and I believe even Google keyboard.

 

[Jernik]

I have a Note 3, and the wife has the S5. Both are capable of more than we use them for. Aside from dropping it and breaking the camera lens cover, I've not had any problems with my Note 3 (was able to get the part and fix myself thanks to Amazon and Youtube for about $10).

I had an Eris a few years ago (HTC), and it was fine. Tiny compared to the Note 3! lol. Then had a Motorola Bionic. Wife had a Motorola Droid2 at the same time, and we weren't impressed with either of them. Both were glitchy and actual call connectivity and sound clarity during a call was quite bad. Samsung has not given me any real reason to dislike them. Very disappointed to hear the changes to the Note 5 in regards to the battery and SD card.

 

[cfranck1]

Not trying to hijack here, but speaking of Samsung phones and features.

The only reason I have a phone from Samsung Galaxy S series is for that swiping with your finger to text feature. I'm not much into tech and don't know what that's called.

Does anyone know if there are other brands with a similar feature? (without downloading an app that doesn't perform as well as the original) If there isn't another brand with a swipe to text feature on par with that one, then I'll just stick w/ Samsung.

Good luck on search for new phone OP.

BlackBerry has a killer predictive text and swipe up feature.
All baked into the Operating System.

Check out this for a short video It gives you an idea on how it works.