New phone - Honor, Huawei, Motorola or Samsung?

So, having given in, through gritted teeth, to the 21st century, I need a decent but sensibly priced phone.

Thinking currently is, for a £200-ish budget

Mainstream

Motorola G8 Power
Samsung A40

Chinese, but not grey imports

Huawei P30 Lite
Honor 9x


I'm averse to Chinese phonex on principle .... but you do get more spec per pound. Also, I'm aware of the issues witj Gpogle, Play store, etc going forward. That inclines me a bit towards Samsung or Motorola.

Anybody gpt anything firmly plus or minus for these?


Oh, two things. Budget can go up a bit if there is a really good reason.

And, minimum effort on my paft is key. I don't want to muck about changing OS, sideloading apps, etc. I want a straight-from-box experience.

Comments? Other than shock that I'm even asking about it. :D

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Originally Posted by Saracen999

Comments? Other than shock that I'm even asking about it. :D

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Come on, you need to give us some time to process here. Where's that paper bag to breath into? ;) :D

To some degree it depends on exactly what you want to do with the phone and just home much you want to embrace the digital world. I have a Moto G5, an upgrade from an old Moto G and was considering the G8 power as well as I've been happy with the G5. I believe the G8 is still missing NFC but I can live with that, I don't know whether it has a compass now which my G5 lacks but tbh that generally isn't an issue (things like star gazing apps and TV antenna alignment apps aren't an everyday use for me). Going usually two days between bothering to charge the phone is really nice though.

Samsung are good, but you do pay a premium for the badge.

Will you use the camera much?

Who are you using as a carrier? If they are competitively priced, buy your phone from them as only the carrier can enable voice over 4G (VoLTE) which can help in iffy signal areas. That isn't a biggie, my current phone is retail as Three pay as you go is by far the best value for me and they didn't have the phone I wanted. My son's Samsung we got on contract as Three did have it, there was a good offer on and it spread the payment as well as costing less overall.

My immediate need .... sit down now, and don't laugh .... is to set up two new Amazon Echo devices (1x Echo 3rd gen, 1x Echo Dot 3rd gen) because, believe it or not neither of my Samsung tablets nor my Sony Xperia are "compatible", and I can't find a way to set them up from my W10 laptop.

ARGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

Sorry. I feel better for getting that out.


But .... I'm not looking at buying a £200 phone to set up £140 of Echos. Even I'm not that stupid. Quiet back there in the cheap seats. ;)

What will I do with it?

That is a damn good question

I've been playing with a friends redundant Xperia and am using a few things. Most obviously .... phoning people. Also WhatsApp for overseas family and a few similar things.

However, as you know, I've boycotted smartphones for years on privacy grounds but recently, conceded (prompted by some changed circumstances) that it's getting less and less practical to maintain that.


So .... if I'm going to concede (Echo's, W10 laptop etc) then I might as well give in and get the benefits and conveniences of a smartphone.

So .... your question about what I'll do with it? Truth is, having given in, I'm really only just finding out what I can do with it, 'cos I've pretty much ignored anything smartphone related until now.

Which is a fancy way of saying I don't know what I want it for. Or more accurately, will want in the near future.

So I want a phone that holds most of my options open and gives decent performance, without spending "silly" money. And silly = £400+.

I might be coaxed into a Samxung A71 at £400-ish, and have been looking at it, but it's going to require a clear justification. I'm trying to work out how far to go in spec, to avoid finding myself restricted in 6 months, without going way over the top now.

As for camera, I'm a photographer and am pretty fussy. Was a Photoshop user going back to PS3, and Micrografx Picture Publisher before that. Part of me says I won't much use the camera functions because I have good cameras. The other half says those cameras won't always be with me, but the phone will. Time will tell.

I switched to Samsung this year after a few years of Chinese phones. I do like how the "it just works" factor is so improved. And other small things like the screen auto-dim is so much more reliable. I haven't had to manually change the brightness at any point since I bought it.

Key things for me are usually big battery, because I hate how quickly they drain, and having a MicroSD slot, because storage is often very overpriced and I like the option to take media with me and remove the card etc.

Personally I went for the A50 rather than the A40, because the battery is a third larger (see https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php...&idPhone2=9642)

I still need to check out the A50, having jumped A40 to A71. I shall go spec-check right now.

I've had an A40 for around 6 weeks as a work phone. The biggest pro is the screen, I've never had an AMOLED before and the difference really is quite noticeable. Best screen on any phone I've ever owned having also never spent more than £200 on a phone.

For me the biggest negative probably won't impact you so much: their overlay is different to stock android. Most noticeably by default the back button is on the right rather than the left. However this is an easy fix in the settings menu and as you've never owned an Android phone you probably don't have years of muscle memory to overcome anyway.

I can't tell if the camera is any better than my personal phone (Nokia 8.1) or if the AMOLED just displays them better so no help there. For photography nothing I've owned has got close to my Lumia 820 Windows Phone sadly. Not struggled with the battery but then it doesn't get touched before 9 or after 5 so...

The thing with the back buttin is weird. I've been using a Sony Xperia, but the wife has an A10 for a work phone. But you're rigjt.,It won't bug me.

Saracen what issues with Google play store going forward? You mean with huaweii?

I'd just go Android, pixel 3a is excellent. Don't think they've replaced it yet

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Originally Posted by ik9000

Saracen what issues with Google play store going forward? You mean with huaweii?

I'd just go Android, pixel 3a is excellent. Don't think they've replaced it yet

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Yes, the dispute over access to Huawei to non-OpenSource bits of Android, and Google not licensing their apps, ncluding Play store, to Huawei. It doesn't, as I understand it, affect current models likd P30 Lite (not sure about P40) but some emerging models (like some Honor models) don't have buiilt-in Google Play, meaning buyers either are restricted to Huawei's Store, or have to side-lozd the Google one, whivh Google have issued wsrnings about. Also, IIRC, Huawei blocked side-loading.

So... buying a P30 now gets me Google app store, but what will happen if I upgrade Android in a year?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saracen999

Yes, the dispute over access to Huawei to non-OpenSource bits of Android, and Google not licensing their apps, ncluding Play store, to Huawei. It doesn't, as I understand it, affect current models likd P30 Lite (not sure about P40) but some emerging models (like some Honor models) don't have buiilt-in Google Play, meaning buyers either are restricted to Huawei's Store, or have to side-lozd the Google one, whivh Google have issued wsrnings about. Also, IIRC, Huawei blocked side-loading.

So... buying a P30 now gets me Google app store, but what will happen if I upgrade Android in a year?

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exactly. Avoid Huaweii. Not worth it IMO.

I think I agree. It's just getting it al straight in my head. It feels like jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool, and deciding to learn to swim while airborne. ;D

https://www.bluestacks.com

How about give blue stacks a try and see if that will allow you to be able to set up the echo you have.

A friend is visiting briefly this PM and he has the legit app installed. Once seg up and running I've got time to sort out a long-term solution ... like a new phone.

Thanks for the idea, though.

Edit -I presume Bluestacks is an Android emulation for PC? Or rather, virtual android maybe, rather than emulation?

The best phone I ever owned was a Huawei P9 Lite and not because of anything obvious. It was the fact even though it wasn't an expensive phone,the cooling system was very well engineered. Went somewhere very warm on holidays,had Google maps and Ingress(a game which hammers GPS too),and the phone didn't throttle or overheat.

However,I wouldn't buy a Huawei/Honor(same company) phone now,as any of the newer devices past the P30 series won't have access to the Google integrated services such as the Play store,which is a shame,as they are some of the best phones out there. Also,I am unaware if Huawei still locks bootloaders still,as thre are open source Android variants such as LineageOS.

Motorola is a company I used for years,but ever since Lenovo bought them up,they have been far more hit and miss in regards to reliability IMHO,but they make solid options. Samsung I think is very overpriced for the money,so I tend to avoid them.

The "new" Nokia,makes some very nice feeling phones - the ones I handled seemed quite solid.

Xiaomi make excellent value phones - MIUI isn't perfect,but something like a Mii Mix 5G is £235:
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xia...efresh-3463991

The specs are ridiculous for the price,but it's a sliding phone. There is a LineageOS port for the phone,so you can always install that if MIUI bugs you.A review:
https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_m...iew-1876p5.php

The camera is decentish.

Personally though,I would really look at a Pixel 3A - they are solid phones,and have a decent camera too. You can get one for £265:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113749198102

A review of the Pixel 3A XL which is the same phone but with a bigger screen:
https://www.gsmarena.com/google_pixe...iew-1928p5.php

Another review:
https://www.androidauthority.com/goo...review-986460/

The only problem is the lack of upgradeable strorage. However the Android is stock - if you want to look for stock Android on other companies,phones - look for Android One phones. A current list is here:
https://www.android.com/one/

Stock Android and guaranteed software updates for a minimum period.

Both my kids have xiaomi phones. Mostly for price. The younger one has a 6" screen one with no sim as a tablet replacement - specs are so much better than any £120 tablet. We'll get him a sim card when he needs a phone. They're quite a lot better than my moto g rev. 1.

The OS is pretty clunky. Tbh my kids have not tried optimising it, I only fix things for them when I have too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saracen999

I'm trying to work out how far to go in spec, to avoid finding myself restricted in 6 months, without going way over the top now.

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Most of the phones I have had have eventually gone stuttery from lack of RAM. It seems that as devices generally get more resources apps all start to consume more, and as apps are updated devices get less free ram over time. My old Nvidia Shield tablet is at that stage, it usually works great but sometimes you go to open an app and it just seems to go into some sort of unresponsive swapping frenzy as it "only" has 2GB of ram. My Moto G5 has 3GB of ram and is just fine. It that's where the boundary is atm, I wouldn't want to get an Android device with less than 4GB of ram.

Flash capacity is another one. Most phones allow you to add an SD card, but that is slower and never quite integrates fully so it isn't the same as internal storage. My current phone has 16GB of internal storage which is quite a squeeze, whereas I think my son's Samsung (A70 I think, he's had it for a year and still likes it) has 128GB which seems to be more than he knows what to do with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix

Flash capacity is another one. Most phones allow you to add an SD card, but that is slower and never quite integrates fully so it isn't the same as internal storage. My current phone has 16GB of internal storage which is quite a squeeze, whereas I think my son's Samsung (A70 I think, he's had it for a year and still likes it) has 128GB which seems to be more than he knows what to do with.

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Depends if the internal storage is eMMC or something better. The eMMC based storage isn't realistically much faster than a decent microSD card for example.

How about something like the Nokia 4.2

32Gb Storage, decent enough camera, costs around £130 & decent battery life. Another plus is that out the box it is running Android One (stock Android system so no clutter) so you will get updates quickly.

https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_gb/nokia-4-2

Kicker at the moment is that you can't get hands on with something to get a feel for it. An alternative to the Nokia I have mentioned is the Motorola G7 Play which you can get at Argos for around £100 and is a bit snappier when using it

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8835...la%20g7:1:56:1

as Cat says Pixel 3A <£300 is a good deal. The storage is a bit meagre these days at just 64GB but otherwise a very very solid phone.

Hey guys. I'm currently considering a Huawei P20 pro as an upgrade to my ageing Samsung S7, which I've found great tbf, but wouldn't mind a camera upgrade, alongside a new battery.

I imagine the P20 won't have any issues re android?

An offer of £23 per m. on EE 4gb Inc no upfront cost is grabbing my attention.

Alternatives? Camera priority for me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eric F

Hey guys. I'm currently considering a Huawei P20 pro as an upgrade to my ageing Samsung S7, which I've found great tbf, but wouldn't mind a camera upgrade, alongside a new battery.

I imagine the P20 won't have any issues re android?

An offer of £23 per m. on EE 4gb Inc no upfront cost is grabbing my attention.

Alternatives? Camera priority for me.

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Start your own thread please or we'll all get confused and talk at cross purposes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

Depends if the internal storage is eMMC or something better. The eMMC based storage isn't realistically much faster than a decent microSD card for example.

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Whilst theoretically true given they both use MMC protocols, internal storage does impact phone benchmarks and the manufacturer knows the precise spec and can make sure their Linux kernel in the phone is negotiating at the highest possible rate with that device.

As for actually using an SD card, some phones are better than others at that. The Sony I had was pretty good at sweeping stuff over, some are good at keeping photos and videos on the card, but usually I just put my music collection on a card and hope that's enough.

Motorola since Lenovos buyout essentially don't update the phones at all post launch, so if any big android security holes are discovered you're out of luck. Good phones for the price though.

I got a Nokia because at the time it was the cheapest available Android One handset with a USB C port. It does everything I ask of it which admittedly isn't too much as I don't game or otherwise stretch the CPU.

I bought it last summer with Android 9 out of the box, it updated to Android 10 around Xmas and both before and after it gets the monthly security patches fairly regularly. It's currently on the April 2020 security update.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jim

Key things for me are usually big battery, because I hate how quickly they drain, and having a MicroSD slot, because storage is often very overpriced and I like the option to take media with me and remove the card etc.

Personally I went for the A50 rather than the A40, because the battery is a third larger (see https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php...&idPhone2=9642)

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Have to say that battery life and being able to use MicroSD are also amongst my top priorities.
Of the Samsungs I'd add the M30s into the mix:
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php...&idPhone3=9818
The big 6,000mAh battery lasts really long despite the big AMOLED screen.
Not sure what the story is with Samsung's A versus M, but the A50 and the M30s (which was recently updated to the M31 with improved camera and Android 10 vs 9) seem fairly similar.
Compared to similar budget phones, Samsung A's and M's tend to have slow processors though.
Of the hungry Chinese budget brands, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S is pretty good value:
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php...idPhone3=10079
Although if lack of expandable memory is not a deal-breaker (I'm stubborn that way and while I'm resigned to no more user-replaceable batteries, the anti-consumer lack of SD card slots automatically rules out Google Pixels etc.), the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G at around £270 is pretty good value: AMOLED, Snapdragon 855, reasonable battery, etc.

Based on info on the net (hence potentially wrong) is that the M-series is a budget version (in build quality, and some features like in-screen fingerprint sensors, designed for direct sale not via stores and, initially at least, in India only. Being online-only meant aggressive priced ss no middlemen cuts were involved.

Most hardware specs seem to be directly comparable, with some M models having slighly later variants, due probably to being more recent launches.

HOWEVER .... they always see to have chunky batteries (like 6000 mAh as opposed to A-series more like 4000-ish mAh).

But from what i can see, kompucare, you're dead right that they deserve to be in the mix.

@ spacein ....

Looked at the Nokia 9. It looks good, except that (unless I misread it) no external card slot. That is a deal-killer for me. And (IMHO) inexcusable at £350.

If you want any guarantee of updates,Android One is realistically the best way forward,otherwise you are relying on manufacturer support.. A lot of the skins also add bloat to the devices,slowing them down. Samsung cameras tend to a bit average unless you go to the S series ranges,and they can bundle slow SOCs,so look carefully at the ARM cores types they bundle in the SOC compared to competitors.

Currently .... tempted by Sammy A-71.

So much for me NEVER spending anything like that on a phone.

So before some of you Hexus old-timers soil your underwear in uncontrollable laughter at the amount of u-turns I'm currently doing as Hexus' long-standing dinosaur discovers the modern world (and I admit to starting to feel dizzy) .... I would point out I never said I wouldn't spend several hundrrd quid on a tablet. And my Sammy Tab4 7" is both showing it's age, and playing up.

So .... the A71 might be my tablet replacement, y'see.

And by a strange coincidence, it has a built-in phone. I'm shocked.

So I havent u-turned and am not considering £400 on a phone. ;)

I hope you're all impressed by my dazzling logic. Next, I'm going to cover how many angels can dance (simultanously) on the pointy end of a pin.


PS. If anyone bougnt that, please PM me for some special offers on genuine fake Rolexes that would be perfect for you. Great ptices too. Honest.

No takers? Damn. ;) :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saracen999

@ spacein ....

Looked at the Nokia 9. It looks good, except that (unless I misread it) no external card slot. That is a deal-killer for me. And (IMHO) inexcusable at £350.

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Not familiar with that model, mine is a bit older now, Nokia 7.1 which does have one.

A good place to check phone specifications (ignore the pricing they list though, tends to stay as the original MRRP) is https://www.gsmarena.com/

It'll let you select multiple models and run a comparision too.

Honestly if you are spending £400+ on a A71,you might as well look for a deal on Samsung S10e,which has gone below £500. The Redmi K30 is around half the price of the A71 for similar specifications!

Just realised,the list on the Android website,didn't have any of the Xiaomi phones. The Mi A3 is stock Android,and is an Android One,so none of the MIUI on top.

Starts about £200ish IIRC,although not the highest resolution screen.

Depend what "looking" involves, Cat. I'm still highly traditional in where I order from, and that means sellers I know and trust to not be hassle if anything goes wrong. e.g. Amazon themselves, yes, but Marketplace? Only for low value transactions. Ebay> Not for about 10 years. I even avoid PcWorld / Carphone watehuse if I can.

It's about hassle avoidance and even peace of mind.

A71 now ordered. From John Lewis. ;)

Can I thank everybody for their generosity with their time, answering questions and nudging me along. Every suggestion expanded my knowledge, even if only to rule things out.

Carriers often do deals,ie,O2 shop and places such as Laptopsdirect(excellent reviews on Trustpilot). Amazon also. Because the Galaxy S20 is out,the previous generation gets dropped in price,especially with 5G being the newest standard,slightly older flagships get dropped in price. I think the cheapest I saw about two weeks ago was around £450 new for an S10e,and £300 from Argos,but the latter was "refurbished",so probably new warranty replacement stock in a brown box.

Honor 10. Good value at budget end. £140 from John Lewis.

Thanks, PP, but as per post 31,


"A71 now ordered. From John Lewis" ;)

Nerver mind.

How are you getting on with the Samsung A71 ? - Its a brilliant Phone, -Did you consider the lower models like the a50. Also Buying it from the Samsung website works out cheaper in most cases, they do discounts or freebies if you look out every 2 months.

Pretty good, so far, Jace. Lovely screen, I have to say.

Some annoyances like trying to get rid of Bixby.

Also, and not directly A71-related, I needed a new SIM. Argos really annoyed me, over that. I knew what I wanted, ordered it having been told on the order page it'll be ready to collect at Sainsbury by 10:00 the next day.

Then the order confirmation arrives and is it next day? Hell no, it's five flipping days away. FIVE DAYS!!!!!

It only had to travel about 2 miles. I could have walked that myself in not much more than an hour,, there and back.

So the A71 sat here in it's box for nearly a week. I was spitting nails. Got a lovely new toy and couldn't use it.

My only criticism so far, aside from Bixby, is that the charging lead is rather short, but that isn't hard to fix. That said, I don't have much smartphone experience to compare it to.

If not already asked before; why not a Nokia >?

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Originally Posted by Apex

If not already asked before; why not a Nokia >?

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Nothing decent in price range compared to the oposition I would imagine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Apex

If not already asked before; why not a Nokia >?

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Before asking here, I narrowed it down to either Chinese or not, and a couple of options within each. In the "not" camp, I'd long been tempted by Motorola if I ever got a smartphone, and for Samsung, I'd recently been able to have a quick play with a friend's, with a brother that has one (A90, IIRC) and with the wife's work phone.

Ultimately, I've got to narrow it down somehow. The first narrowing was dismiss Chinese models, in part because of potential Android problems. That left mainstream brands and, having quite liked the Samsung, anything else had to 'beat' that, on some combination of price, features and general "appeal". Nothing did.

Cool, Glad your liking it mate, IFfyou haven't turned off Bixby this might help https://www.samsung.com/in/support/m...urn-off-bixby/ - There are loads of help guides on the Samsung website buts its a bugger to find at times. Also check out that Youtube link I posted on the other Samsung post for loads of top tips to help you get the most out of the phone. I agree the Charging is way too short not sure why they do that, that said Motorola G7 is'nt that long either. I guess they want ppl to purchase longer cables for more money. You should be able to find a decent cable on amazon.

I think I managed to strangle Bixby. Irritatingly, it asked on initial power-up if I wanted Bixby, and I said NO.

So, naturally, I ended up with the damn tthing anyway. Still have the extreme left desktop screen dedicated to it. My pet hate with computers, is manufacturers (or Google) putting all sorts of rubbish on without permission, topped only by the tthem making it hard or impossible to get rid of.

Grrrr.!!!!


And thanks for the links.

I'd go with Samsung. Huawei a lot of bad press recently.

As a new phone I would choose now Samsung S20 or One plus 8 Pro, no other phone could replace my Huawei mate 20 pro...

I will certainly go for the Mii Mix 5G at +- £235. Great phone and Xiaomi software is butter smooth these days. the 5G makes phone future proof as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saracen999

Before asking here, I narrowed it down to either Chinese or not, and a couple of options within each. In the "not" camp, I'd long been tempted by Motorola if I ever got a smartphone, and for Samsung, I'd recently been able to have a quick play with a friend's, with a brother that has one (A90, IIRC) and with the wife's work phone.

Ultimately, I've got to narrow it down somehow. The first narrowing was dismiss Chinese models, in part because of potential Android problems. That left mainstream brands and, having quite liked the Samsung, anything else had to 'beat' that, on some combination of price, features and general "appeal". Nothing did.

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Fair enough. I am now a happy X20 user having upgraded from the Nokia 8 from 3yrs ago; my only gripe with this so far is because its part of the android one program the default launcher won't let me get rid of the google search box and some other google widget (up and coming i think its called) i have had to resort to using a 3rd party home launcher called Nova to banish it (like it so much paid the 3quid for the prime version)

Samsung never gelled for me no matter how many times i have had chance to use them (and having a works phone that is a Samsung) there's just something and i can not quiet put my finger on why i don't like them.

Had a quick look on Nokia.com (out of curiosity, this being an old thread, of course) and it looks like a nice phone. In reality, it would have no doubt done for my needs. Probably, pretty much anything would.

I think I mentioned earlier in this thread that I wasn't a smartphone fan, but was "giving in", and wanted something that was a cross between powerful enough to be useful, without being "silly" expensive. That is, of course, "silly" my my needs and standards,and would include anything premium, like S20, top iPhones, but doesn't mean I think it's silly for anyone that does want or need those. I just felt I didn't.

It turns out I was right. I'm now about 16 months into the Samsung A71 and so far it has done everything I needed, except I suppose for supporting Wifi6, but to be fair to it, I didn't have anything Wifi6 when i bought it so it wasn't even on my radar.

But I'm still not a smartphone fan. I still detest Google, as much as I ever have and so I don't use it much. I keep things like location services permanently off, and while I take it with me almost every where I go, a lot of the time, the phone itself is turned off. There's a very short list of people that have my number (immediate family, and a couple of close friends). For the vast majority of the huge number of people that seem to want it (mostly, commercial organisations) I officially still "don't have a molbile phone". The reality, f course, is that as far as they are concerned, I don't, because I don't want them using it under any circumstances, and certainly don't want them selling it on.

Why be so .... restrictive? I like my peace and quiet. Few things wind me up more than being out doing something, and getting pestered on the (mobile) phone by non-urgent matters. It can wait 'til I'm home). Those that do have that number (close family and a few friends) know it's not for run of the mill use but urgent or emergency needs.

That illustrates my mindset on mobile phones. For me, they're still about 10% useful, 40% necessary evil, and 50% pain in the butt.

In the 16 months I've had it, I've sent about half a dozen texts, received about 20 (that weren't spam or scam) and made/received maybe a dozen calls.

What I do use it for is a convenient and very portable wifi tablet, a Signal connection to family abroad (having ditched WhatsApp, partly because I'm as fond of Facebook as I am Google .... or less fond, actually, since Google does at least provide some useful services for their price in data acquisition).

I also use it as a controller for those Echo devices I mentioned at the start of the thread, a music player (sourced either from my own files or Amazon Music) and most recently, a screen on the controller for my DJI drone.

So back to my earlier point about what I "need" .... probably not even the A71. Something much cheaper, so far at least, would have done. But do I regret getting it? Not really. It is pretty good for the DJI screen (albeit getting the DJI software installed was a pain as it isn't in the Play Store for that phone). But I certainly don't stretch its capabilities in any way. It's akin to buying a Ferrari (or at least, a mid-range Beemer) and never driving it out of first gear.

As for never having jell'd with Samsung, I get it. A couple of decades ago, I had to choose between Canon and Nikon for a DSLR. I was in the unusual position of being able to ring both (and Minolta, for that matter) and borrow a high-end model of each (about £15k worth in total, plus a chunk more for loan lenses) to try. I prefer Canon over Nikon, but I'd struggle to explain why. It's certainly not a criticism of Nikon (though an aspect of it would be Canon's macro lens options, mainly the MP-E65). I also still have a venerable old Minolta E20 system which is a cracking camera, with some great glass. but the resolution is now a smidge low). I prefer the Milnolta "UI" to Nikon too, but again, would struggle to explain why.

So I get it, over Nokia. Do I love the ammy UI? Nope. It does the job, though, and given my still pretty minimal usage and 'ask' of it, I guess either Sammy or Nokia would do fine for me. If I was buying that first smartphone back then knowing what I know now, would I have bought the A71? Doubtful. But a cheaper Samsing? Probably. My only real criticism (having eventually managed to strangle that junk called Bixby) is that it was overkill for me, but that's my fault, not the phones.

Beyond that, I guess on the UI, it's not a matter of right or wrong, or even better/worse, but what clicks with each of us. I've been through the same with NAS UIs recently, and Synology v. QNAP. I prefer QNAP, but I get why lots don't.

I didn't even see the date stamp when I posted that.... (looks at my time stamp, that might be why I didn't notice :D )

Your opinion on phones feels very much like mine, they are very much something I wish we could do without.

I am very weary of giving out the number and like you will start to say I don't have one and if they insist I will often give out their office number (they don't check....) you have my other contact details {which include a vanity email address} another aspect of this is sim swap attacks; with so many banks wanting your mobile to send one time use codes etc, your phone number is now very very valuable anything you can do to lower the visibility of that number the better.

I would still use my gps unit, but garmin no longer update it and the UI is not friendly like maps/here maps, so that location tracking they get me on but only while i use maps/here (its off the rest of the time)

I do miss the smallness of my Nokia 8 (and the Compact's Z1 Z2 Z3 and Z5 i had before) this is a chungus :D

Blackview are ok.

My lad has one and he likes it, good battery, plays loads of games on it so it's quck enough.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackview-A.../dp/B081T4KBV3
£127


The Huawei /Honor google play store thing in a pain in the bum....... and sadly.. it kills them for me now. My Honor 10 lite is ok, and the wife's P30 lite is ok, but the next upgrade... cant do it

I strongly advise a phone with 4gig of ram.
3 is too little and 2gig is a nightmare

its JUST like a PC fited with insufficient ram.

I ended up with a Samsung S20FE 5G refurb for around £300ish myself recently. The fact that it will have another 3 years of Android security updates and 2 years of version updates swung it for me. There were some great deals on OnePlus,Oppo and Xiaomi phones,but the update timeline isn't very great for many of the models I looked at. I would have been inclined to get a Huawei phone again,but lack of Play store access was an issue.