Features - QOTW: Which smartphone will you buy next?

[MrRockliffe]

You underestimate the general public. People have been forced to switch to Android due to the cost of Apple iPhone - people won't want to switch again to another OS. People have become accustomed to using android and/or ios (still many people that don't know windows phone exists) - they won't want to switch to something they've never heard of. My father is a good example. He went with a Panasonic TV even though there are other brands that offer as capable (or better) TVs than them, such as finlux however since he's never heard of them, refused to buy one. The same reason people don't use Linux. It may be better, but people don't like trying new technology, yet.*

*I'm not saying Linux is new, just a general point.

[eugenius]

The iphone 6 was very disappointing. Small battery, small screen to body ratio, camera bump and 16GB starter version with no microsd. Need I say more?

The Xperia Z3 compact stands out from the recent crop of phones.

[Noxvayl]

Androids biggest problem is updates. Android users don't update as often or often the updates aren't released to them. Over 80% of Ios users will be on the latest version.

I wouldn't boast about being an Apple "technician"... There's about as much technical knowledge there as that possessed by my labrador. Glad you didn't decide to stay on.

Not boasting... it was an experience that informs my opinion of Apple software so it was included as background information. Same as your security background informs your opinion of mobile OS security.

Looking at the last 3 versions of iOS and Android tells a different story to what you have painted with regards to software crashes; "Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, and KitKat, which have crash rates of 0.7%" is an extremely low number of crashes for an OS that crashes more often than iOS... iOS on the other hand has more than double that crash rate, "The best-performing version of iOS is the most recent, iOS 7.1, which has a crash rate of 1.6%. It offers improved performance over iOS 7.0 (2.1%)". So while I accept your point about security, that has little to do with the experience a user has with the phone in terms of it failing to do what they want it to when apps crash. Older OS releases from 2012 and before show the same stats, iOS is just as bad, sometimes worse, than Android when it comes to users experiencing downtime with their apps.

I accept that your experience in security may well give you some inside knowledge of security holes in software we use, but that has little to do with software crashes from what I have learnt about software development and the information I have read on the respective OSes crash rates. Sure, updates make a significant difference to software security but the stats don't give the same trend with regards to software crashes. Sometimes a new OS release will crash more because apps have not found all the incompatibilities in their code yet, or the OS itself has some issues from new features.

Having the newest OS does help with security, on the whole, so I agree with you there. I completely disagree that iOS is a more stable OS compared to Android though, that comes from experience and studies done that I have found.

I agree with MrRockliffe about the general public and their unwillingness to change. I don't know many people above the age of forty that are still willing to learn and adapt to new things, especially when it comes to technology. It is rare to find people from that generation who are willing to have a flexible point of view, of course this forum is an exception (just incase Saracen appears in a puff of smoke). Fixed mindsets are more likely the older you become, humans are creatures of habit; as habits show themselves to be useful we tend to guard those habits and resist change, that is true of using technology as well.

I have a cousin in law that has yet to use a smartphone because he sees no point in doing so, his computer does everything he needs it to. He hasn't gotten to 40 yet and is already in a fixed mindset with regards to mobile technology. I am set in my ways as well, I have routines I like to keep. No-one is immune from it, but I think your mobile phone is a case where people are most likely to want to keep things familiar; once you have gotten used to one way of doing things the loss of your familiarity becomes a significant negative point against trying something else.

[D-T]

Are you buying the phone outright D-T?

I got my Z1c for £260 (one off business user sale) and MrRockliffe suggested a site he knew to get it for £270 which is a hell of a bargain for the hardware you are getting. The only comparable option with regards to price and performance that I can think of, outside of the Nokia Windows phone already suggested, would be the OnePlus1. I can get you an invite for that if you are interested in it.

We know you need the MicroSD slot, but what are your other preferences with regards to the phone specifications?

It's possible but more likely as part of a contract deal, to be honest. The company policy at work is due to be renewed soon and (I'm hoping) there could be an upgrade on the cards.

Thanks for the offer but I think the OnePlus1 is a bit big for what I need; I quite often find myself precariously balanced at work trying to take photos over a ledge of some sort and prefer something small I can get a good grip on with one hand (whilst still being able to take the photo).

If the hopes for an upgrade fall through I might have to look into that deal, cheers for the suggestion!

Other than MicroSD, I'd like:

Decent performance/hardware (particularly SoC & RAM)
Good flash & exposure setting on the camera
High resolution display
Dual-Sim
Nice design

Any other features as a bonus. Motorola's Active Display is a nice touch. I like that the Xperias are waterproof too.

[kalniel]

I have a cousin in law that has yet to use a smartphone because he sees no point in doing so, his computer does everything he needs it to. He hasn't gotten to 40 yet and is already in a fixed mindset with regards to mobile technology. I am set in my ways as well, I have routines I like to keep. No-one is immune from it, but I think your mobile phone is a case where people are most likely to want to keep things familiar; once you have gotten used to one way of doing things the loss of your familiarity becomes a significant negative point against trying something else.

*shrugs* I still don't have a smart phone - I'm not against considering one obviously, and have my eye on the Z3c. But I have managed until now without one so there is always the question of whether it's worth it. I do have an old ipod touch which was far cheaper than a phone and I've found wifi to be prevalent enough for my current needs. So I guess I'm not actually coming at it from a 'used to X' stand point (unless you consider iOS, which I'd be quite happy to move away from). I quite like the windows phone OS to be honest, probably my favourite. Just need the hardware to match.

ooh yes, a Z3c with windows please. Not that Sony & MS would ever get in bed, but I can dream.

[adidan]

I don't know many people above the age of forty that are still willing to learn and adapt to new things

It's not that we don't adapt it's that we're not immediately removed of our money as soon as the next shiny, shiny comes along like you young whippersnappers.

Some of it isn't down to adpating to new things, it can be down to not adapting when there is no need. The whole upgrading things every year or two is wasteful of both resources, money and sense if what you currently have serves the purpose you need.

[MrRockliffe]

It's possible but more likely as part of a contract deal, to be honest. The company policy at work is due to be renewed soon and (I'm hoping) there could be an upgrade on the cards.

Thanks for the offer but I think the OnePlus1 is a bit big for what I need; I quite often find myself precariously balanced at work trying to take photos over a ledge of some sort and prefer something small I can get a good grip on with one hand (whilst still being able to take the photo).

If the hopes for an upgrade fall through I might have to look into that deal, cheers for the suggestion!

Other than MicroSD, I'd like:

Decent performance/hardware (particularly SoC & RAM)
Good flash & exposure setting on the camera
High resolution display
Dual-Sim
Nice design

Any other features as a bonus. Motorola's Active Display is a nice touch. I like that the Xperias are waterproof too.

HTC one e8 is an interesting phone, not sure if it's too big, however. It's a lighter version of the One M8 with a better camera and dual sim capability (at least the Chinese version, I believe). It's not often you can find frankenstein phone such as this on contract. For that reason you'll most likely have to buy one from the Internet.

[walibe]

You underestimate the general public. People have been forced to switch to Android due to the cost of Apple iPhone - people won't want to switch again to another OS. People have become accustomed to using android and/or ios (still many people that don't know windows phone exists) - they won't want to switch to something they've never heard of. My father is a good example. He went with a Panasonic TV even though there are other brands that offer as capable (or better) TVs than them, such as finlux however since he's never heard of them, refused to buy one. The same reason people don't use Linux. It may be better, but people don't like trying new technology, yet.*

*I'm not saying Linux is new, just a general point.

Linux was never a main stream product and it's has never been advertised or sold as such. It's close cousins in the form of ios and android show that it is possible to draw users away from windows based products.

Brand loyalty - users in the older age group will not necessarily realise they are using an ios or android product. Their brand loyalty will be to the hardware manufacture such as samsung or apple with non apple products the brand loyalty is low,the users are looking for different things and as pointed out, cost is probably one of the bigger ones.

As said I said, the phone other than the recent 6 plus I'm I tested in is the oneplusone. Samsung has been desperate to go after apple but in reality it's these low cost high value manufactures which will and have taken samungs market and as has already been seen, their profits.

For the price, right now there is no better phone than the oneplusone. It's also not crashing as often as some of the other android phones I've used, it's pretty damned reliable. For android users I'd recommend it. Windows phones however are really starting to improve and it will be really interesting to see what Microsofts first 100% microsoft produced phones yield. If the surface pro 3 is anything to go by, they could be very good indeed.

[MrRockliffe]

You can state whether a phone is best based on your opinion and facts alone. To many people on here, the screen is too big - this may mean that it's worthless to some, no matter the cost : performance.

Older people do know the difference - at least people I've come into contact with. They're aware it's android because of advertising and marketing, as well as the fact it says is many places (on the box for the phone, description on website etc). Once people become familiar with an OS they tend to stick with it. This causes a problem for Android due to the many skins manufacturers have.

Linux isn't a main stream product because it couldn't be. It doesn't have app support for what people know.

[adidan]

Brand loyalty - users in the older age group will not necessarily realise they are using an ios or android product.

Ok I'll bite, what exactly is 'older' in this context?

Seriously, older people may not realise if they're using android or ios? What a load of crap, some of us know the difference between those more than some of the young whippersnappers know there's a difference between their arse and their elbow.

Now, where's my nurse, I need the toilet.

[Noxvayl]

@ kalniel

Not everyone has that sort of mindset though, and of course I was generalising so would not be accurate on a person by person basis. The point of people having inflexible attitudes to certain things is still something I find with regards to people I know and it comes, mostly, from the culture people are brought up in (the 90s is a different culture to now for example) and how school helped develop people at an impressionable age.

The example of my cousin-in-law is something I brought up because in many other respects he would happily try something new, but with regards to phones his mind has already been made up and he will no longer reconsider that choice. It is set in stone so to speak, decision made, which is a way of thinking that I find is very common in past generations (growing up, 6+ years old, in the 80s or before); to me, the mindset is a key part of whether people will consider better things as beneficial or not because we can place too much importance on not changing the status quo.

@MrRockliffe & @walibe

You can only talk about phones as a subjective piece of equipment, despite a device having the same specifications people will value them differently and thus have different outcomes based on analysing the same information. A key example of the subjective nature of phones is how some people value bigger screens more than battery life, it baffles me because it doesn't matter how nice a screen is when it is off so battery life is more important than anything else on a phone for me. What isn't subjective though is how stable the respective OSes are or how secure they are because those are things we can remove the human subjective preference from, everyone prefers a phone that doesn't crash and one that is less likely to be hacked (screen size doesn't have the same level of agreement on what is better); with everyone in agreement over what is beneficial we can then use objective measures to find out if one OS is better than another through the stats of using the respective OSes.

Based on experience and studies I find walibe to be wrong in his assertion that iOS is more stable than Android. With regards to security I am reluctant to comment because I haven't read as much, it matters little to me in comparison to stability. I try to make sure that my idea of stability isn't influenced by security though, they aren't interdependent things; I like to point out the difference and also make sure people saying something about Apple products I find to be misleading are not left unchallenged, hence my post about iOS not being more stable.

The OnePlus1 is a good example of how a different approach to the market is yielding some interesting results. I don't like the different skins manufacturers put onto Android, I much prefer it as skin free as possible to help make the experience consistent. At the moment your experience on HTC is different from Samsung and different again on Sony. That is a major reason I am hoping Ubuntu Phone works out well and why I want to try cyanogenmod because both those options should be more consistent in their experiences regardless of phone manufacturer.

[crossy]

Samsung has been desperate to go after apple but in reality it's these low cost high value manufactures which will and have taken samungs market and as has already been seen, their profits.

As an ex-Samsung owner I'm going to disagree with this statement vehemently. Yes, sure, excellent devices like the Moto G have (rightly imho) sucked market share away from the sub-GalaxyS lines. But to say that a Moto G is taking chunks out of the GalaxyS' market share is something I'd need some convincing. More correct perhaps to say that other high end devices have hit Samsung, after they got complacent (copying Apple again). And maybe I'd even include the vapourware OnePlus1 in that group (vapourware as far as I'm concerned because of it's flip/flop attitude to sales).

Small point in closing. At the time when Samsung announced major fall in mobile profits, LG announced that they'd made a substantial profit increase for the first time in a while (previously done at a loss). I know of at least one case where someone's eschewed going to the latest GalaxyS and switched to an LG "G" phone instead.

Ok I'll bite, what exactly is 'older' in this context? Seriously, older people may not realise if they're using android or ios? What a load of crap, some of us know the difference between those more than some of the young whippersnappers know there's a difference between their arse and their elbow.
Now, where's my nurse, I need the toilet.

+1 on this. Actually I've heard, and had, conversations where a phone has been chosen purely because "can I snapchat* on this?" - so totally ignoring any "religious" considerations of iOS v's Android v's Windows. And I remember hearing one teener choosing her Samsung phone because there were "nicer" cases available for it rather than iPhone5.


(* substitute app du jour as needed)

[Noxvayl]

+1 on this. Actually I've heard, and had, conversations where a phone has been chosen purely because "can I snapchat* on this?" - so totally ignoring any "religious" considerations of iOS v's Android v's Windows. And I remember hearing one teener choosing her Samsung phone because there were "nicer" cases available for it rather than iPhone5.


(* substitute app du jour as needed)

Well, we can't all make decisions with the same preferences, although I agree with your wallbash

The initial reason for buying something is often ignored when the next item doing the same thing is purchased, either because you have new preferences after using the phone or because loosing the functionality provided by that particular manufacturer becomes a hindrance to your use of the phone. Your examples sound like initial choices that would likely become more in depth (even if that is to add apps and case options together) when the next phone is purchased.

We can't ignore the "cool" factor when purchasing something. Lots of people think the things you own help you become cool, which I find crazy. It happens though and marketing makes a massive difference to sales, mainly due to product perception in my view. I'd be surprised if the majority of Android users understood the difference between it and iOS, other than the store and how they look which are obvious.

[genkifd]

seems like since the death of Jobs Apple is just playing a catch up game. Only Apple fans would be waiting to purchase a year old tech today. yes they have good products but very restrictive especially connectivity with non Apple devices is little or none existence. iOS come on still mainly based with icon is so 2010 you need more widgets.

Im for one would never line up to purchase a gadget let alone days for a phone.

[016ive]

I hope I'll be able to afford the upcoming Nexus device otherwise I'll go with a mid ranged HTC Desire 820/EYE

[D-T]

Been looking into streaming options for my PC (for games), home NAS & server project (for films & music) and phone (for convenience) this last week; I've come away with Intel WiDi or, more likely, Miracast streaming support added onto the feature wishlist for my next phone. It staggers me how little we're seeing in the way of video output - physical or wireless - on today's smartphones, especially given that we're seeing native display resolutions of 1080p and the ability to take photos and video at up to 4K.

I thought I was pretty much settled on the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact at this point but now that I've seen reports that Miracast streaming prohibits any other simultaneous use of the WiFi, it looks like it's back to the drawing board.