Phone upgrade time...suggestions please?

[RogerM]

I've got a Oneplus One and have been really pleased with it. About 1/3rd the price of an iPhone. My son is a software developer and it was good enough for him. I bought mine s/h in San Francisco for $150, but would still be good value new, especially as now superseded by the Oneplus Two.

 

[Graham Orm]

I've got a Oneplus One and have been really pleased with it. About 1/3rd the price of an iPhone. My son is a software developer and it was good enough for him. I bought mine s/h in San Francisco for $150, but would still be good value new, especially as now superseded by the Oneplus Two.

Free rucksack?

 

[petermillard]

My current BB and the classic are both only 4 7/8 (120mm) tip to tip.

EDIT I tell a lie, even the new BB is half an inch bigger than my old one.

Something 6" in length would undoubtedly get bent and break the first week. Adding a case would compound the problem

Well, I've had an over 6" tall phone for well over a year that hasn't snapped yet - though I don't keep it in my front pocket; don't keep it in the 'phone pocket of my work trousers either as they seem to have been made for a Nokia 6110... TBH it sounds like you'll be getting a bigger phone wether you stick with Blackberry or not, lol!

The slightly older iPhone 5s is 124mm tall, and slimmer/thinner/lighter than a BB Q10. Screen sizes are always quoted as a diagonal, btw - the specs of a product should always tell you the length, width, thickness & weight. FWIW I use a screen protector and silicone cases that add almost nothing to the size of the phone - works for me.

Hope you can find something that suits your needs - I know it is a particular challenge for people who prefer smaller phones but still want a decent spec, so do let us know what you end up with.

Cheers Peter

 

[Graham Orm]

My current BB and the classic are both only 4 7/8 (120mm) tip to tip.

EDIT I tell a lie, even the new BB is half an inch bigger than my old one.

Something 6" in length would undoubtedly get bent and break the first week. Adding a case would compound the problem

Well, I've had an over 6" tall phone for well over a year that hasn't snapped yet - though I don't keep it in my front pocket; don't keep it in the 'phone pocket of my work trousers either as they seem to have been made for a Nokia 6110... TBH it sounds like you'll be getting a bigger phone wether you stick with Blackberry or not, lol!

The slightly older iPhone 5s is 124mm tall, and slimmer/thinner/lighter than a BB Q10. Screen sizes are always quoted as a diagonal, btw - the specs of a product should always tell you the length, width, thickness & weight. FWIW I use a screen protector and silicone cases that add almost nothing to the size of the phone - works for me.

Hope you can find something that suits your needs - I know it is a particular challenge for people who prefer smaller phones but still want a decent spec, so do let us know what you end up with.

Cheers Peter

Thanks for the input Peter.

 

[morfa]

You need to look for a phone with a 4" or 4.3" screen. A couple of obvious choice would be the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. Which is not as wide, but 5mm taller. You should be able to find this in the shops easily enough. It's cheap as well, mainly cause it's old.

Height: 124.6 mm
Width: 61.3 mm
Depth: 8.94 mm

Or the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, which is a bit taller but again not as wide as your blackberry.

Height: 127 mm
Width: 65 mm
Depth: 8.9 mm

All the above phones will do what you want. They may not be the newest, but both should be fine.

A little bit bigger (ok 141mm high) but nice'n'cheap is the Wileyfox Swift. https://www.wileyfox.com/swift/

 

[Graham Orm]

You need to look for a phone with a 4" or 4.3" screen. A couple of obvious choice would be the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. Which is not as wide, but 5mm taller. You should be able to find this in the shops easily enough. It's cheap as well, mainly cause it's old.

Height: 124.6 mm
Width: 61.3 mm
Depth: 8.94 mm

Or the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, which is a bit taller but again not as wide as your blackberry.

Height: 127 mm
Width: 65 mm
Depth: 8.9 mm

All the above phones will do what you want. They may not be the newest, but both should be fine.

A little bit bigger (ok 141mm high) but nice'n'cheap is the Wileyfox Swift. https://www.wileyfox.com/swift/

Brilliant, thanks Morfa, I'll have a look at them.

 

[RogerM]

I resisted upgrading to a "smartphone" for ages, but when my wife's ancient Nokia mobile packed up, I got her a Moto E4G which seemed fine, although with only 8GB of memory it needed an additional 32GB memory card. It was a great success, and on the back of that I bought the Oneplus One for myself, although I had misgivings about the size, which is mid way between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

We had some trouble with the Moto, and the shop lent us a basic LG smartphone whilst the Moto was away for repair under warranty, and that drove it home to us that size does matter! We both found the small size much more difficult to use, and she couldn't wait to get back her Moto. She also tried my Oneplus One and found that much easier, and faster, to use. Now I wouldn't want to trade down to anything smaller as I find that I am using it all the time as a mobile computer, sat nav and camera, from which I very occasionally make a phone call, and the size really isn't an issue for mobility at all.

 

[Graham Orm]

I resisted upgrading to a "smartphone" for ages, but when my wife's ancient Nokia mobile packed up, I got her a Moto E4G which seemed fine, although with only 8GB of memory it needed an additional 32GB memory card. It was a great success, and on the back of that I bought the Oneplus One for myself, although I had misgivings about the size, which is mid way between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

We had some trouble with the Moto, and the shop lent us a basic LG smartphone whilst the Moto was away for repair under warranty, and that drove it home to us that size does matter! We both found the small size much more difficult to use, and she couldn't wait to get back her Moto. She also tried my Oneplus One and found that much easier, and faster, to use. Now I wouldn't want to trade down to anything smaller as I find that I am using it all the time as a mobile computer, sat nav and camera, from which I very occasionally make a phone call, and the size really isn't an issue for mobility at all.

Horses for courses Roger. I'm on the phone, sending texts or emails all the time, and I'm a tradesman and need it on me whilst climbing about doing jobs.

 

[Water-Mark]

I recently went from a galaxy s4 to iPhone 6.
It's like going back to a galaxy s2, i'm sure it's great for social media and stuff but as a phone for business it's useless.

Going back to the galaxy and giving the 6 to the other half.
I wish I'd just given it to her for christmas when it was new.

 

[DiscoStu]

The iPhone is perfect for business! I changed our entire company to iPhone. Reduced support calls to almost zero. However it does depend on your requirements. I liked the vpn connectivity, the Microsoft office suite works well and email is straightforward and links perfectly. No issues with sound quality or anything like that. The only downside I have is that for heavy users the battery struggles to last all day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bm101]

Might have a look at Samsung Graham. I had an s4 mini and dropped it about 7 floors. It didn't survive but it prompted me to get an s5 neo. It's not the newest model so I got a much better deal. I ended up paying a tenner less a month and getting 4gb data. (Ee) free calls texts etc
I understand while people like Apple but it's not for me. I dislike the fact they retain ownership of everything you put on your phone. Android all day long for me. I'll take the benefits of open source software and all its choices everyday over Apples philosophy.
Phone works fine. Good processor etc. Browsing the Internet is a doddle and viable. Worth a look at least.

 

[Graham Orm]

Might have a look at Samsung Graham. I had an s4 mini and dropped it about 7 floors. It didn't survive but it prompted me to get an s5 neo. It's not the newest model so I got a much better deal. I ended up paying a tenner less a month and getting 4gb data. (Ee) free calls texts etc
I understand while people like Apple but it's not for me. I dislike the fact they retain ownership of everything you put on your phone. Android all day long for me. I'll take the benefits of open source software and all its choices everyday over Apples philosophy.
Phone works fine. Good processor etc. Browsing the Internet is a doddle and viable. Worth a look at least.

Thanks,I'll have a look, but at first glance it's one of the dinner plate versions. I'm looking for something small.

 

[Bm101]

No worries. Mines 14 x 7.5 cm. Not one of the bigger ones if that helps. Not tiny but goes in the pocket ok.

 

[Harbo]

Buy a 5S a Which Best Buy

Rod

 

[RogerS]

I've got the S4 mini, Graham and it's cracking phone although I have great difficulty in taking sharp pictures...but that could be down to me.

The one thing that people who moan about Apple's philosophy are, IMO, missing out on one key thing. Security. I'd quite happily run banking apps etc on an iPhone but no way would I entrust those to the Wild West Android app-sphere.

 

[Graham Orm]

I've got the S4 mini, Graham and it's cracking phone although I have great difficulty in taking sharp pictures...but that could be down to me.

The one thing that people who moan about Apple's philosophy are, IMO, missing out on one key thing. Security. I'd quite happily run banking apps etc on an iPhone but no way would I entrust those to the Wild West Android app-sphere.

Thanks Roger. I'll have a look.

 

[sitefive]

can't understand people obsessed with the sam$hits, just terrible terrible quality phones whatever way they sugarcoat them in ads

 

[RogerS]

..... I ended up paying a tenner less a month and getting 4gb data. (Ee) free calls texts etc
.....

Do you have a link to that deal? I've also started a first trawl through what's available as my current contract ends soon and i've not seen anything to match that deal.

 

[Bm101]

Roger I just went into an EE shop in need of a phone.As I say I dropped my s4 mini out my pocket 7 floors up. I was in Aldershot of all places. You have to be a little canny but go into the shop. I got a slightly older phone model but 4 gb per month and all calls/texts included. From memory I pay 28 quid a month. My point being that data charges are far cheaper now than 3/4 years ago. Go to the shop, hold your cool against the little spotty lad in the shitearse suit and you could be onto a better deal than you'll get on the net. feel free to pm me and I'll look up the details.

 

[Mark A]

Our Samsung S4 and S4 Mini have performed faultlessly over the last 30 months, though the battery life isn't how it once was (often left on charge overnight).

Regarding contracts, I'd personally suggest going for a sim-only price plan and sourcing the phone yourself, unless you're after one of the latest smartphones.

My bill went down from £35 to £15 by going on a sim-only price plan
when the 24 month contract ended.