Buying a smartphone (trying again!)

seeker

Mon, May 23 2016, 8:24 pm

OK. I posted previously about looking for a smartphone but discovered new limitations and had to figure out a different strategy. Now the plan is to buy an unlocked/prepaid phone that will work on the Verizon network and use it with my old plan, no data but have an updated phone that hopefully doesn't turn off at random times, make phantom phone calls at embarrassing times, sound like it's projecting from inside a well, and can at least be used on wifi.

So my budget is "how low can you go?" but from what I'm seeing, it's around $40. Could stretch up a bit if there were a really good reason to, say $50 if it would be a major qualitative improvement.

There seem to be a few ways to go about this:
a) buy a current phone that is cheap + on sale, which is sure to be decent but won't be the best of anything. Example: Motorola Moto E currently $35 at Best Buy. Reviews seem to say it's decent but not the greatest screen or camera.

b) buy an ebay phone that is from the previous generation but was a better phone in the first place. Example: A Samsung which in its day would have been at the top of its class but is no longer current technology. I'm seeing "Illusion" and "Galaxy Legend" in the $30 range on ebay. Have not had a chance to look up reviews yet (first asking whether it's worth buying an old phone in the first place) but Samsung is known as a better brand.

c) wait for a sale on a slightly less cheap current phone - the top of the line is never going to be affordable for me but maybe something better will go on sale. Example: Best Buy also had a Samsung (Galaxy J1?) for $80. If I wait it will probably go on sale, possibly hitting my budget range. It will definitely be the bottom of the Galaxy line but is a bottom Galaxy better than a middling something-else?

Another mom

Mon, May 23 2016, 10:01 pm

I do't need the greatest ( let's be humble...) If a year ago people were happy with it, so am I. Why waste money? Also we're a better example to teenagers when we shop like this.

seeker

Mon, May 23 2016, 10:55 pm

Year old is still considered current and generally priced as such. The ones that are cheap because they're old are older than that. I don't know enough about the smartphone scene to know if current apps will work well on old phones.

I also would love to know how camera quality matured. Last time I was shopping for an actual dedicated camera, what was considered great quality before was still inferior to the mediocre quality at the time. Wondering how phones compare - would an old phone with a 3mp great camera (with the "great" rating being 3-5 years old) be a better camera than a current phone with a 5mp camera that gets poor ratings? True I'm shopping for a phone and not a camera but if I'm going to upgrade to a smartphone anyway it would be disappointing to not be able to use it as a camera much. You don't always have a camera with you. My old dumbphone camera has made some decent impromptu memories, considering how old and dumb it is. It's OK if I don't get an upgrade but I definitely don't want a DOWNgrade on that, so I'm a little confused whether a bad camera rating on a current smartphone is better or worse than a decent old dumbphone camera. Specifically on the Moto E which is cheap and seems to get all-around good ratings but consistently rotten camera reviews.

seeker

Mon, May 23 2016, 10:59 pm

And you are so right about being a good example! Luckily, my kids are little and fast asleep as I do this, but I am gradually learning to be more chilled out for their sake Very Happy

doctorima

Tue, May 24 2016, 7:42 am

The way you phrased your poll my answer would be the middle choice, a once great phone that's now a little out of date. But once I read your OP and saw that your budget is $40-$50, honestly for that price you're not going to be able to get a phone that was ever top of the line. You could get an older iPhone or something like an LG G2 or G3, which were truly flagship phones when they came out, but it's going to cost you at least $100-$150.

Yes, Samsung has a good name, but the models you mentioned were never anywhere near their high-end phones even in their primes. So definitely do your homework on the specific model you're thinking of getting and don't just assume it's great because it says Samsung or Galaxy on it.

Also realize that if you get it used or refurbished, the battery life will be completely unknown and you may need to buy a new battery.

seeker

Tue, May 24 2016, 12:28 pm

Thanks.
So you're saying it's basically a toss-up between the medium of the medium and the low of the high?
I wonder if it's worth stretching the budget to get something really good, or if I should just go with cheap and stop being so ambitious. I mean, if I spend $100 now but have a better quality phone for the next 2 years or more, that could be a good investment... but is an aging iphone or equivalent-quality android going to be better quality with today's apps and networks?

BTW I'd be using only wifi at least for now. No data needs. But I do want it to work well when wifi is available. Not slow clunky ancient processors that can't handle current internet.

I think I'm going to buy DH the cheap-but-solid Moto E, and play with it to see if I like it before choosing for myself. The store didn't have working display models to play with. Any idea if there is a store where you can try these things more hands-on? That's what I really want, because all this browsing through internet reviews never gets one anywhere.

pointyshoes

Tue, May 24 2016, 12:49 pm

DH has moto e and he loves it- he's really happy with it besides for the front camera which isn't great

Stars

Tue, May 24 2016, 1:29 pm

I had the Samsung illusion. It lasted me about a year. Also keep in mind it's 3g

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, May 24 2016, 2:49 pm

I got a Galaxy Mini S3 last year on eBay in almost perfect condition, I think it was around $60 shipped. I changed providers and just sold it locally for $50. I had no problems at all. I do think it's possible to get a slightly older phone that would be very usable. I go for used and not refurbished. The most important thing regarding age is the version of Android it runs.

doctorima

Tue, May 24 2016, 3:35 pm

Moto E is on sale at Best Buy for $30; there's a good chance they'll have one in store that you can play around with.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/at.....00INT

seeker

Tue, May 24 2016, 5:00 pm

Pointyshoes, how's the rear camera?

HashemYaazor, what's the oldest version of android that's worthwhile? Galaxy S3 is quite a few generations back, they're on 7 now! What do you think might be the sweet spot between good phone/not too old/not too expensive?

DoctorIma, I was in Best Buy and they only had working models of the expensive phones. Dummies of the Moto E and some others, and some cheap phones didn't even have any display model at all. I wandered into a verizon store today and they also had only the expensive ones on display. I guess you're not supposed to think this hard about a $30 phone! ($35 on Verizon, whatever)

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, May 24 2016, 5:21 pm

I am comfortable with Android OS 4.3+

seeker

Tue, May 24 2016, 5:33 pm

Thanks. I am so clueless about these things it's like a joke. A bad joke. I know iOS from iPad and from most of the universe using it but even an old used iPhone I am pretty sure would incur a fee increase on my Verizon plan. (In case it doesn't, which I can ask about soon, does anyone know what is the oldest iphone that would still be worth having? Is 4 still meaningful?)

How long has Android 4.3 been around? Will look at phones within that time frame for starters.

ez-pass

Tue, May 24 2016, 6:43 pm

seeker wrote:

I had the s3 for a good few years. I am on the s7 now. I personally don't find major differences in phones. They both were fine for me.

seeker

Tue, May 24 2016, 6:56 pm

Cool. Just goes to show how overrated phone updates are!

Raisin

Wed, May 25 2016, 2:11 am

seeker wrote:

If you can buy a relatively new iphone 4 or 4s it might be good. (I see you can get a 4 for about $40) But I would try for an iphone 5 at least if you can. Do not get an iphone 5c - it breaks very easily if dropped.

youngishbear

Wed, May 25 2016, 5:37 am

ez-pass wrote:

I had the s3 for a good few years. I am on the s7 now. I personally don't find major differences in phones. They both were fine for me.

I drooled over the 7 last week.

It's totally the "new pencil smell on the first day of school" syndrome, nothing more. LOL

seeker

Wed, May 25 2016, 7:08 am

hasty morning google run reveals that iphone 5 tends to run upward of $120 even with screen scratches. So nevermind...

I'm pretty much sold on the $35 moto E, unless I can find a not-too-old-to-be-useful Samsung Galaxy S- or equivalent within the $50-60ish range.

Mevater

Wed, May 25 2016, 8:12 am

For your information:

http://cellphones.procon.org/v.....03054

20 Highest and Lowest Radiation Cell Phones

Source: HealthMad, "Highest Radiation Cell Phones," www.healthmad.com,
Jan. 18, 2012On Aug. 7, 1996, the FCC created guidelines on cell phone radiation (RF) exposure with input from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The guidelines created a measure of the rate that body tissue absorbs radiation energy during cell phone use called the specific absorption rate (SAR). The SAR for cell phone radiation was set at a maximum of 1.6 watts of energy absorbed per kilogram of body weight. The limit was set due to the thermal effects of cell phone radiation (all RF radiation can heat human body tissue at high enough levels) - it was not set to mitigate other biological effects cell phone radiation might have such as DNA damage or cancer.
The FCC SAR limit is based upon a cell phone call that averages 30 minutes when the cell phone is held at the ear. SAR levels for cell phones sold in the US range from a low of 0.18 to the maximum of 1.54. Holding a phone away from the body or using a wired earpiece lowers the amount of radiation absorbed, and text messaging rather than talking, further lowers that amount.
The following two charts list the top 20 highest and lowest SAR levels for cell phones sold in the United States. The list provides the maximum possible SAR level from the phone (many phones have differing SAR levels depending on where and how the phone is used). If your phone is not on either list, you can find the SAR level for your specific phone by checking the online FCC database.
Top 20 Highest Radiation Cell Phones
(maximum possible SAR level from phone)
Cell phone brand and type SAR level Carrier
1. Motorola Droid Maxx 1.54 Verizon
1a. Motorola Droid Ultra 1.54 Verizon
3. Alcatel One Touch Evolve 1.49 T-Mobile
3a. Huawei Vitria 1.49 Metro PCS
5. Kyocera Hydro Edge 1.48 Sprint
6. Kyocera Kona 1.45 Sprint
7. Kyocera Hydro XTRM 1.44 Metro PCS
8. BlackBerry Z10 1.42 Verizon
9. BlackBerry Z30 1.41 Verizon
9a. ZTE Source 1.41 Cricket
9b. ZTE Warp 4G 1.41 Boost
12. Nokia Lumia 925 1.4 T-Mobile
12a. Nokia Lumia 928 1.4 Verizon
14. Sonim XP Strike 1.39 Sprint
14a. Kyocera Hydro Elite 1.39 Verizon
16. T-Mobile Prism 2 1.385 T-Mobile
17. Virgin Mobile Supreme 1.38 Virgin
17a. Sprint Vital 1.38 Sprint
19. Sprint Force 1.37 Sprint
20. Huawei Pal 1.33 Metro PCS

Top 20 Lowest Radiation Cell Phones
(maximum possible SAR level from phone)
Cell phone brand and type SAR level Carrier
1. Verkool Vortext RS90 0.18 Unlocked
2. Samsung Galaxy Note 0.19 T-Mobile
3. ZTE Nubia 5 0.225 Unlocked
4. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 0.28 Verizon
5. Samsung Galaxy Mega 0.321 AT&T
6. Kyocera Dura XT 0.328 Sprint
7. Pantech Discover 0.35 AT&T
8. Samsung Galaxy Beam 0.36 Unlocked
9. Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II 0.37 Verizon
10. Pantech Swift 0.386 AT&T
11. Samsung Jitterbug Plus 0.4 Great Call
11a. Jitterbug Plus 0.4 Great Call
13. LG Exalt 0.43 Verizon
13a. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 0.43 Sprint
15. HTC One V 0.455 US Cellular
16. LG Optimus Vu 0.462 Unlocked
17. Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G 0.47 T-Mobile
17a. Samsung Rugby 3 0.47 AT&T
19. HTC One Max 0.5 Sprint
20. LG G2 0.51 T-Mobile

Source: Lynn La and Kent German, "Cell Phone Radiation Levels," www.reviews.cnet.com, Jan. 16, 2014

Given their popularity, we have also provided the SAR levels for the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S.

Model SAR Level Model SAR level Model SAR level
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 1.16 Apple iPhone 4S 1.19 Samsung Galaxy S6 1.25
Apple iPhone 6 1.14 Apple iPhone 4 (GSM) 1.11 Samsung Galaxy S5 1.47
Apple iPhone 5 1.18 Apple iPhone 4 (CDMA) 0.87 Samsung Galaxy S4 1.18
Apple iPhone 5c 1.18 Apple iPhone 3GS 0.67 Samsung Galaxy S3 0.82
Sources:

Apple.com, "RF Exposure," apple.com (accessed July 24, 2015)
Samsung.com, "SAR Information," samsung.com (accessed July 24, 2015)

Find Your Phone: FCC Database on cell phone radiation (SAR) levels
The FCC maintains a database that includes the SAR - radiation absorption - levels for every certified cell phone sold in the United States.
You can find the SAR for your individual cell phone by typing the FCC ID number of your cell phone into the FCC database available here: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid
From the FCC website: "The FCC ID number is usually shown somewhere on the case of the phone or device. In many cases, you will have to remove the battery pack to find the number. Once you have the number proceed as follows. Go to the following Web address: www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid. Once you are there... Enter the FCC ID number (in two parts as indicated: 'Grantee Code' is comprised of the first three characters, the 'Equipment Product Code' is the remainder of the FCC ID). Then click on 'Start Search.' The grant of equipment authorization for this particular ID number should appear. The highest SAR values reported in the equipment certification test data are usually included in the comments section of the grant of equipment certification."[b]

seeker

Wed, May 25 2016, 12:22 pm

Well thank you for that totally overlooked bunch of info! Alas it turns out the Moto E has a very high SAR rating. The Samsungs do WAY better but also push my budget limits. Hmmmmm. Wait for sale? Waffle longer? Try used?