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'.
Yup, I'm incredibly impressed by how snappy the UI is for the Nokia 521 which I got brand new for ~50 USD. Of course, at that price the camera isn't the greatest. And as for apps. Windows Store already has too many apps, IMO. Not as bad as Android or iPhone, but too much to wade through looking for something good. I still remember trying to get an App for my g/f's Android phone. 5 days of research, and that only narrowed down the choices to 5-8 apps out of way too many. Too much time, too much bother.
Hence, I still just use my computer (desktop, laptop, tablet) for everything not phone related.
dont get sony xperia SP if you need good camera and multitaskting.
it have wonderful LED stripe but it have bad screen and camera. Even the camera on Xperia M1 is better.
Spec-wise, it have 1 GB RAM, but only able to run 1-2 active user app after you installed a bunch of background user app.
*active e.g. web browser, notes
*background e.g. chat client, social media app
if you mod it to run Cyanogenmod11 kitkat (its completely stable now), the RAM management got better. i can run 3-4 apps.
basically for android, look for 2 GB RAM at minimum.
i have tried HiMax (under 200 dollar) with 2GB RAM and it can run 7+ active user app
EDIT:
ah you've got asus zenfone 5. that phone have lots of camera effects
EDIT missread your post (Orangpelupa)
I was considering SOny Xperia M2 or the new E3 (for their battery life and GPU perfs relatively to the screen resolution), I found out reading here and there that Sony encounters plenty of firmware issues, to make things worth they are still pushing out new models fast letting more and more users free to whine about their products... Too bad I like their design a lot.
Imo it is quite bad that big brands do such a bad job at supporting their phones for the (supposedly) sake of not hampering their sales... I'm in search for a low/mid range phone, at this point I might wait for Chinese manufacturers to adopt Android L.
The smartphone market has turned stupid, stupidly high resolution, stupidly high number of cores, obviously low performances cores. On the other hand RAM amount is overlooked so is storage.
Clueless costumers are getting what they are asking for and it is bad.
A couple of example, till recently Samsung and Sony used the dual core version of the Snapdragon 400 (Galaxy S4 or xperia M comes to mind).
Newer phones are powered by the A7 version of the SOC, I guess power consumption is a tad better but it is clear that the main driver behind that decision is costumers ignorance:
4 cores is better than 2 and look at those Antutu scores...
As I started researching phones a couple of weeks ago, I realize that it got to the point where actually even Qualcomm gave up on dual cores :8O:
No dual Krait 400 +Adreno 306 to be seen, alluding to dual core Krait 450 + Adreno 405 is a heresy. Meanwhile quad (or even octa...) A7 configuration that have taken over the world.
I suspect that dual cores would actually threatened Qualcomm own higher end quad-core, though they could simply put a ceiling on the clock speed dual core version of their Snapdragon can reach.
In an alternative world, less fed on on BS, Qualcomm offering could have, at some point in time, looked like that:
Snapdragon 8xx: dual core, Adreno 320 2nd gen, 28nm HPm.
Snapdragon 6xx: dual core, Adreno 320, 28nm LP.
Snapdragon 4xx: dual core + Adreno 305, 28nm LP.
Snapdragon 2x: single core + Adreno 302, 28nm LP.
Whereas those x4 A7 Snapdragon are selling like hotcake, I think that Qualcomm made it-self a disservice. Where are they now? Fighting on the 8 cores front against company with razor thin margins?
Had Qualcomm put its weight behind the dual version of those chip and managed to have it in the Moto G and we would all be in a much better place wrt to smartphones specifications.
--------------------------------------------------------------
As a gamer with a +/- 200$ budget (off contract) here is what I want:
*Snapdragon 400 with Krait 300, even the lower end version @1.4GHz
*IPS display
*4.8" <->5.2" depending on the size either FWVGA or qHD for the resolution
Yes I can live with 200ppi, it would still the sharpest screen in my house (compared to tv, laptop and computer display...)
the Adreno 305 is not enough of a GPU for a 720P display as in the Moto G
*1.5GB of RAM
*8GB of flash +micro SD slot
*Great battery life
* Sturdy with symmetrical bezel at the top and bottom of the screen.
* LTE /4G
* good OS support (18 month since the phone release is OK), or comes with Android L from scratch.
NB I'm not stuck on something Qualcomm, I use it as a ref.
SO far the closest to fitting the bill are 2 Samsung phones: the S4 mini and the galaxy mega 6.3.
The mini is too tiny the mega too big.
I've searched a lot, including Chinese brands, so far I got no luck.
I hope for a massive rebate on the LG G2 this fall north of 250euros would seal the deal.
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 $250 for the Moto G. It was the best phone I could get for the lowest price that wasn't crap. If I could have used a Windows Phone I would have been better off as they have far better 'low end' phones than are available on Android in my experience as I hate 'laggy UI's'.
EDIT missread your post (Orangpelupa)
I was considering SOny Xperia M2 or the new E3 (for their battery life and GPU perfs relatively to the screen resolution), I found out reading here and there that Sony encounters plenty of firmware issues, to make things worth they are still pushing out new models fast letting more and more users free to whine about their products... Too bad I like their design a lot.
Imo it is quite bad that big brands do such a bad job at supporting their phones for the (supposedly) sake of not hampering their sales... I'm in search for a low/mid range phone, at this point I might wait for Chinese manufacturers to adopt Android L.
I considering the "no risk" path at this point: Huawei Y550 (to be released soon).
It is pretty much an "Android One" type of device as far as specs are concerned, it is announced @129 Euro.
My phone is really too old: a T-mobile G2X (LG)
I owned that thing for 3 years it served me well but even my wife, not a tech head, is threatening to go out and to buy me a phone without my consent..
@129Euro I take no risks, and updating fast should not be an issue.
EDIT
Definitely it's going to be that cheap ass phone, Huawei is offering a 30Euros rebate till the mid of January: @99$ there is no competition.
Uodate: The screen is a lot better to view in direct sunlight than the Moto G I had before. I can even view it with my sunglasses on. The battery life is slightly weaker though, but it still lasts me a whole day whereas the Moto G would last me a day and a half. My one complaint is that the speakers are a little weak, but that is no biggie.
Uodate: The screen is a lot better to view in direct sunlight than the Moto G I had before. I can even view it with my sunglasses on. The battery life is slightly weaker though, but it still lasts me a whole day whereas the Moto G would last me a day and a half. My one complaint is that the speakers are a little weak, but that is no biggie.
pretty nice, the Moto G had great battery life (newer version LTE and the 5" versions are doing worse than the original) so it is not surprising that it does not do as well.
I should received my Huawei at the latest MOnday, I will see how it fares in this regard.
I ended going for the cheapest option, had either the Juice, Micromax, etc. Android One handset been available in France I think I would have ended buying that.
I decided that I will may refresh sooner once 64bits and 20nm chips and 2GB of RAM are more standard on the market.
I was really tempted by the upcoming LG F60, ~the same specs by more of a looker and more compact design too. I guess it was 149Euro vs 99EUro (with the rebate included), and the cheap guy inside me won... hands down
pretty nice, the Moto G had great battery life (newer version LTE and the 5" versions are doing worse than the original) so it is not surprising that it does not do as well.
I should received my Huawei at the latest MOnday, I will see how it fares in this regard.
I ended going for the cheapest option, had either the Juice, Micromax, etc. Android One handset been available in France I think I would have ended buying that.
I decided that I will may refresh sooner once 64bits and 20nm chips and 2GB of RAM are more standard on the market.
I was really tempted by the upcoming LG F60, ~the same specs by more of a looker and more compact design too. I guess it was 149Euro vs 99EUro (with the rebate included), and the cheap guy inside me won... hands down
Haha yeah I am pretty cheap too. I think the phone is pretty nifty overall, and once Intel gets their 22nm OOE finfet Atom's into the market they should be pretty competitive. It's kind of interesting having an Intel CPU phone even though it doesn't actually mean anything.
Received my Huawei Ascend Y550 in advance.
E
I actually like their UI a lot, I'm used to mostly stock Android UI but I've no issue with their EMUI 2.3 UI and the lack of app drawer.
Really few on the bloatware side, some of them are actually removable.
Screen looks fine, though low PPI is pretty obvious, view angles are ok.
Sounds quality in calls is good, and the phone seems to be pretty loud.
I suspect battery life to be really good as I toyed with it for close to one hour with the battery level going down quite slowly.
The phone looks much better in person than on pictures ( I guess most phones do), it feels good in the hands. Not a looker though but at least it is discrete.
The back plastic shell is super flimsy yet once everything is put together it feels quite solid.
I've yet to test the cameras but I can only tell that for 99euros, it is quite a winner.
Compared to my wife moto G:
Pro:
it feels better in the hand and looks less bulky
It is LTE compliant.
the front facing camera should be better.
it has a SD card port
Con:
the screen is not as sharp
One can doubt Huawei willingness to port lollipop to such a low end device.
I'm unwilling to trust the screen glass (or whatever it is) protection
for 99euros I don't think I'm going to protect it either, not that I plan to be careless but screen protectors do suck
The battery is good, I have to post a review somewhere it is really a good device for the price.
I recharged the phone up to 100% I'm 92% now after 43 minutes of "screen-on" time, downloading a couple stuff on the play store and customizing the UI. That sounds promizing.
Édit
Time for bed, so far 5 hours 21minutes since last charge, 4 hours and 15 minutes of screen-on time => 47% of the battery remains. I'm super happy with it.
Extremelyt pissed off about Huawei and/or their contractors.
I should have gotten a 30euros rebate on the phone I bought, I completed the application online, I send all the necessary papers, doubled checked with my wife and that include the bar code with the serial number cut from the card board /box.
Guess what? Received a mail stating that I provided them with wrong bill from Amazon and that the bar code was missing.
Now I no longer have the bar code (but took a picture) they can be only reach by mail or a pretty expensive phone number.
Fuck that!
Buy nothing from them, based on their rebates or not, and spread the word.
In France it concerned quite a few new models. I hope to get the money back though as I researched the issue I discovered that it is extremely common in France at least...
Extremelyt pissed off about Huawei and/or their contractors.
I should have gotten a 30euros rebate on the phone I bought, I completed the application online, I send all the necessary papers, doubled checked with my wife and that include the bar code with the serial number cut from the card board /box.
Guess what? Received a mail stating that I provided them with wrong bill from Amazon and that the bar code was missing.
Now I no longer have the bar code (but took a picture) they can be only reach by mail or a pretty expensive phone number.
Fuck that!
Buy nothing from them, based on their rebates or not, and spread the word.
That's the problem with "fake money", you have no guarantee of seeing the color of it. I had a "gift card" fuck up on a web site (most "money" on it was removed though the buy failed due to item out of stock), then it was my fuck up, not showing up in a physical store (related to the gift card and the website but not directly to the vendor, ebay style) - but to tell them the story without accessing my mail accounts, I would have had to print mails and screen caps costing me time and money. So it's my fault but plugging a USB drive behind the tower, walking to the print shop, waiting printing and paying, walking to the big store and finding who knows who is about the same shit as sending a snail mail.
Mail-in rebates and gift cards are "fake money" just like "points" are or even Steam account balance (so avoid gift cards). A promise for money is not the same as money. One is governed by strict laws that evolved over the centuries and the other by Terms of Service. I'm a bit disappointed that we're seeing mail-in-rebates in France or Europe.
To put it sort of back on topic, I tried to use my gift card to buy a phone (cheaper that 30 euros), it's a dumb phone I love except that its SD card support is rendered pretty useless by its USB 1.1 support (it was awesome to boot my PC off it, but the desktop never showed up). First time I've seen a mail-in rebate on the web was recently, late september I think, for the ZTE Open C phone.
I have a Galaxy s5 Mini that I found on sale. I'm really happy with it so far -- takes nice pictures, easy to use, good size... I would also trust the earlier versions if you want a bargain.
And as for apps. Windows Store already has too many apps, IMO. Not as bad as Android or iPhone, but too much to wade through looking for something good. I still remember trying to get an App for my g/f's Android phone. 5 days of research, and that only narrowed down the choices to 5-8 apps out of way too many. Too much time, too much bother.
