Is it better to buy a crappy 2017 phone or a good 2015 phone?

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by jobaba

Crappy wasn't the right word.

Specifically, I'm looking at ...

https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g4-6901....lg_g4-6901.php

or

https://www.gsmarena.com/asus_zenfon...554kl-8782.php

But similar phones I'm looking at too. Which will generally be better and be able to surf at a decent speed for more years, the budget phone from 2017 or the good phone from 2015?

Both are about the same price new, of course the G4 is from 2015 though.

Or from the same brand a Galaxy S6 versus a Samsung Galaxy J7.

I had a G4 and they have issues with part of the screen going dead. It was a fairly common problem, if you google it you will see.

I had a great note 3 and loved it, but it has a motherboard problem. Samsung.....charging ports 'nuff said.

I would not have a phone that does not have a removable (replaceable battery).

All things being equal, I'd buy the LG. But I wouldn't pay more than $150 for it on ebay, and I would make sure that you can return it if the screen goes wonky.

[turf3]

I'd recommend the pay as you go burner phone, myself.


I probably spend about $50 a year on cell phone service.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Uh... Microsoft.



Apple just made it more user friendly.

Nice touchscreen BlackBerry clone at best. Sorry, but not what the modern smartphone looks like. Does your Android have a button keyboard?

Samsung and the others copied Apple. Not the other way around.

[Peregrine]

The first "smartphones" were those Windows Mobile Phones.
The question, posed by you was what?
"who basically brought the modern smartphone to the world."
NOT Apple.
That Win Mobile phone could surf the internet. Play mp3s. Email & text. Play games.
Apple made the first one without a keyboard. That was their breakthrough.
And they marketed it to consumers. Very well, too.
Whereas, Microsoft marketed it to professionals.
The first of many mistakes for Microsoft.

[fastninja500]

To be accurate, Mr5150 said "modern smartphone", which in today's world are iPhones and Android based phones. The Windows Mobile phones (along with Crackberry, Nokias, etc), were the "old" smartphones. They quickly got disrupted by the better, "modern smartphones" - iPhone and Android based phones.

Let's give credit where credit is due. Much like Apple copied and improved on the personal computer interface (the Mac), and Microsoft copied them with Windows, Apple did the same with the mobile device platform. And Google "copied" iOS with Android. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Google was planning to enter the burgeoning mobile market (before the iPhone was introduced), they bought Android Inc. to compete with Microsoft, Blackberry and Symbian. But when the iPhone came out, it changed the mobile game completely. Google was smart enough to recognize that. They went back to the drawing board and changed their plans and interface accordingly.

Google didn't look at the Microsoft/Crackberry phones and say: "Hmmmm, we should copy that too." No. They knew the iPhone model was better. Even Microsoft abandoned their Windows Mobile phone customers - I was one of them. I still have my two old Microsoft CE phones. Still charging. With an activated SIM card, it actually still works for calls and texts.

Anyway back to point: Apple's breakthrough wasn't just the new interface without a keyboard. Much more than that (for better and worse):
- smooth, responsive & larger capacitive screen (because they were smart enough to get rid of the keyboard)
- multi-touch (no stylus needed)
- Responsive Internet/Web surfing. Sure, Microsoft/Crackberry/Nokia had that first. But it was painful to use. Nobody really used it for surfing the web.
- a pretty good camera, compared to what was available then. One could argue that the iPhone/Android phones disrupted the idiot camera industry as well.
- Slick MP3/MP4 interface
- probably most important - The Apps. From the Appstore. It changed the way software was created and distributed. Android copied that model too. Hundreds of companies create and sell apps now.

The bad: we have multiple adverse effects and unintended consequences due to the modern smartphone. But that's for another discussion.