Low/mid range smartphone -- Galaxy S3 vs Moto G vs Sony Experia M2

Squilliam

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I just want a reliable and semi robust phone that can take OK pictures when I need whilst not being too laggy. I had a Moto G that broke, and the only thing I didn't like about it was the camera quality.

Suggestions?
 
There is a Galaxy S3 Mini. My brother had one and it was good. I don't like huge smartphones.
 
If you are not afraid of using custom ROM I would include the Sony Xperia SP as a serious contender.

There are a lot of low/mid range phone based on those snap dragon 400, they all offer more or less great battery life. That includes:
LG G2 mini
Moto G LTE
Galazy S4 mini
Xperia M2
And more

They all seem to have trade off, the xperia SP is great but it offer lesser battery life (+5 hours)
It also won't get kitkat from Sony, but there are mods if you are willing to go through that.

EDIT
As I'm also researching phones, as I do I've just found that custom ROM for the XPeria SP are still not "there".
It is really bad that SOny did not support that 1.5 year old phone.
 
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What about the midrange Nokias? Worldwide cellphone pricing is rather wonky so I don't know if that's even a theoretical option for you, but apart from the super low end they have rather good cameras for their respective class (630, 730/735, 830 etc.).
And WP is arguably the snappiest OS on the market.
 
Hum as I also dig a lot of info for my self (though I'm more in search of a cheap phablet) the whole thing reminds me about why I chose the Moto G for my wife last year: you can't trust manufacturers for a single F**K.

So with that said I would still go for a moto G either the LTE or 5" version (lesser battery, better camera, possibly lesser build quality).
It will get Android L within a month or two. If early result on the Nexus 5 are any clue the lesser battery life of the 5" could be ;made less of an issue (not too mention it is still pretty acceptable).
 
What about the midrange Nokias? Worldwide cellphone pricing is rather wonky so I don't know if that's even a theoretical option for you, but apart from the super low end they have rather good cameras for their respective class (630, 730/735, 830 etc.).
And WP is arguably the snappiest OS on the market.
Imo it is a dead OS, MSFT will either kill it or... "soft" kill it :(

No apps.
 
If you are willing to add an extra ~100$ I would go with either of those:
LG G2: great overall performances and battery life, should get (if I remember LG statement properly) Android L
Motorola Moto X: lesser performance and battery than the G2, real support from Motorola.

It seems that in the US some vendors are trying to clear the Moto X 2013 inventory I found it at 250$ off contract on amazon.com

EDIT
Another benefit of the Moto x is that it is the same size as the moto G (2013) in fact just a tad tinier.

EDIT2
Against the Xperia M2
 
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In France I can find the Asus padfone 2 ~200 Euros, quite a good at that price.
Bonus the phone received the kitkat update.
 
What about the midrange Nokias? Worldwide cellphone pricing is rather wonky so I don't know if that's even a theoretical option for you, but apart from the super low end they have rather good cameras for their respective class (630, 730/735, 830 etc.).
And WP is arguably the snappiest OS on the market.

I had an old windows phone, but it doesn't have the apps I need otherwise I would have gone with them. Getting a solid Windows phone for a low price is easy because the OS is so smooth.

If you are not afraid of using custom ROM I would include the Sony Xperia SP as a serious contender.

There are a lot of low/mid range phone based on those snap dragon 400, they all offer more or less great battery life. That includes:
LG G2 mini
Moto G LTE
Galazy S4 mini
Xperia M2
And more

They all seem to have trade off, the xperia SP is great but it offer lesser battery life (+5 hours)
It also won't get kitkat from Sony, but there are mods if you are willing to go through that.

EDIT
As I'm also researching phones, as I do I've just found that custom ROM for the XPeria SP are still not "there".
It is really bad that SOny did not support that 1.5 year old phone.

Thanks for your help! :)
 
One thing to consider is do you care for OS support? In any case my belief is that kitkat is mandatory. Really few phones are going to get Android L.

Screen size, there are a lot of good deals, in france and I suspect in your country.
just an example the Galaxy Note 3 neo (5.5" + exacore + 2GB of RAM) sells just below 300 Euros now (from a safe vendor), that is a hell of a phone at that price. That is actually cheaper than the Moto X 2013 though much bigger.

Hunt for deals ;)

phonearena.com is useful.
 
Yeah Snapdragon 800 based Android phones can be purchased really cheaply nowadays. LG G2 goes for under 300€ over here as are Galaxy S4 (it also has a model with S800), Nexus 5 and these don't really lose much against the newer models. I got the G2 a little while ago and I've been very happy with it.
 
Squilliam, you might just say what your price limit is, because "low/midrange" is a very ambiguous statement.

For example, you might be able to find a ZTE Nubia Z7 Mini for as little as $299. That's a smartphone with a Snapdragon 801, a 1080p 5" screen, LTE, Dual-SIM and a 13MPix camera module from Sony (IMX214, the one from Galaxy S4 IIRC).
For a device that is very similar to the Moto G with a substantially better camera, you could get a Xiaomi Redmi 1S for as little as $130.

In between these two devices, you can get all sorts of smartphones from moderately good chinese brands with a rather fast MT6592 SoC, 2GB RAM and the same Sony 13MPix sensor.
 
Yeah Snapdragon 800 based Android phones can be purchased really cheaply nowadays. LG G2 goes for under 300€ over here as are Galaxy S4 (it also has a model with S800), Nexus 5 and these don't really lose much against the newer models. I got the G2 a little while ago and I've been very happy with it.
The G2 is really interesting and it is likely to get Android L though late in 2015 if iirc and what I read was correct. Better late than never.

I've yet to see it under 300Euro (in France or from vendors I would trust), though it gets close. Same with the S4.

But with Christmas coming :) and one has to keep an eye on those flash sale (for the ref the rebate on the note 3 neo is gone and now I wonder if I should have gone for it).

The Nexus 5 is getting expensive imho, I can't find it under 300 euros and it is usually more expensive than the two aforementioned phones. Battery life ain't that great.
Overall I would favor the Moto X (old one) to it: better battery life, the AMOLED screen looks better, and performance are good enough.

Edit
Somebody tried the Xperia Z? (~300 too, 5", good camera, kitkat).
And some fool that tried the Z ultra?
 
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OT
but I'm actually super tempted by the Sony Xperia Z ultra. I want a phablet, I use my phone more as a tablet as anything else, the thing is available a 290 euro shipping including from amazon (not some scary vendors), it still has great specs, battery life is OK (not great), and It should get Android L one way or another as there was GPE version of the phone.
/OT
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up getting an Asus Zenfone 5" with 'Intel inside'. It had a great screen, and is quite responsive and I liked the UI a little better than the stock Android from the Moto G. It cost me $285 in local currency vs $250 for the Moto G. It was the best phone I could get for the lowest price that wasn't crap. If I could have used a Windows Phone I would have been better off as they have far better 'low end' phones than are available on Android in my experience as I hate 'laggy UI's'.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up getting an Asus Zenfone 5" with 'Intel inside'. It had a great screen, and is quite responsive and I liked the UI a little better than the stock Android from the Moto G. It cost me $285 in local currency vs $250 for the Moto G. It was the best phone I could get for the lowest price that wasn't crap. If I could have used a Windows Phone I would have been better off as they have far better 'low end' phones than are available on Android in my experience as I hate 'laggy UI's'.

Let us know how it works (especially battery life and screen on time) ;)

Other than that:
http://www.androidpure.com/asus-zenfone-5-kitkat-update-and-android-l-confirmed/

THere could be a performance boost around the corner.
 
The G2 is really interesting and it is likely to get Android L though late in 2015 if iirc and what I read was correct. Better late than never.

I've yet to see it under 300Euro (in France or from vendors I would trust), though it gets close. Same with the S4.


The Nexus 5 is getting expensive imho, I can't find it under 300 euros and it is usually more expensive

You need to come to Finland mon ami :)

http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/list/products/35981-35983-27351-27310

16GB for 299€ and 32GB for 329€, not bad. I did pay 349€ for it, but I've had it for a while already.
 
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