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Mobile Phone Recommendations.


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31 minutes ago, Phil Read said:

My wife and I have always had Samsung. My present one is a duel sim which I used when working overseas its around 7 years old and the battery is still good. My daughter recently bought a cheap Huawei and its brilliant.

Be careful with Huawei. I bought a cheap Huawei tablet from a PC World store during December as I'd got 'stranded' somewhere without IT (another long story!). Soon realised that due to the US govt sanctions Huawei devices can't access the full 'Google Play' range of apps. That might not sound a big deal but meant I couldn't download Google Maps, Netflix, Prime etc apps. It got put back in box and donated to a school so at least someone is able to use it I hope, but I won't go near Huawei again in a hurry, quite possibly hackable to get the full functionality but even if you can, no way worth the bother IMO.

Nigel

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16 hours ago, ntc said:

Never had iMac just pc both work together fine you only have to look at car makers most are going to apple car play and that will replace usb sat navigation etc 

 

You're on the button there 

Most seem to be going Apple, still, it won't persuade me to use "i"

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16 hours ago, Ian Vincent said:

The beauty of Apple gear is it all works together. Yes it’s more expensive but at the end of the day it works and my wife knows how to work it. 

Rgds Ian

 

14 hours ago, SuzanneH said:

So do I. I have HP laptop, I-pad and I-phone they are all interchangeable and connected, I can read my e-mails, this forums and all my Ancestry stuff on all three. I don’t use apps for any of these just chrome or safari browsers ( others are available).

The apps are useful for maps, weather, tracker etc.

 

Firstly, let me say that I have no problem with the quality or useability of 'i', just the limitations.

The iPhone won't talk to an LG, or Sony or Samsung TV

It won't talk to my wifes phone

My phone links and talks to my laptop, my wifes phone, both out tablets, both our TV's, it talks to my sons phone, his TV, his partners phone,  my daughters phone and the phones of our grandsons.

I can download music, films, TV from any source I choose

Try using BeeTV on iPhone.

Many different brands of product, but, all link and work together, I can read my emails, the forums and all I want to see, on any of them.

 

My point is, android offers flexibilty and the freedom to do as I choose, without the constraints of having to go through (is it Apple store?)

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5 minutes ago, wjgco said:

 

 

Firstly, let me say that I have no problem with the quality or useability of 'i', just the limitations.

The iPhone won't talk to an LG, or Sony or Samsung TV

It won't talk to my wifes phone

My phone links and talks to my laptop, my wifes phone, both out tablets, both our TV's, it talks to my sons phone, his TV, his partners phone,  my daughters phone and the phones of our grandsons.

I can download music, films, TV from any source I choose

Try using BeeTV on iPhone.

Many different brands of product, but, all link and work together, I can read my emails, the forums and all I want to see, on any of them.

 

My point is, android offers flexibilty and the freedom to do as I choose, without the constraints of having to go through (is it Apple store?)

Just slide the iPhone screen up and mirror Samsung tv dead easy 

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47 minutes ago, wjgco said:

My point is, android offers flexibilty and the freedom to do as I choose, without the constraints of having to go through (is it Apple store?)

 There is always a price for convenience. The downside of Android is that all your activity on the web is transmitted to and stored/analysed by Google for commercial purposes.

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I got seriously tired of the complications and fiddly bits of Android and its apps. A fortunate drowning of a Samsung S3 was an opportunity to try out an Iphone with persuasion from my daughters, since then I have stuck with them through at least one further drowning ( I sail a lot!) and then last year an « accident » sent me back to the market where I discovered what is called an Iphone SE which is a simpler version of the fancy expensive ones available for youth with well lined pockets. Cost about 450€ I think and I’m well pleased with it.

james

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2 hours ago, wjgco said:

You're on the button there 

Most seem to be going Apple, still, it won't persuade me to use "i"

I think in fact many (most?) of the latest car models have both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Certainly the Toyota that I've got in order has both. The manufacturers would be a bit bonkers to just go with one or the other, the UK mobile phone market for example is roughly 50:50 Apple/Android.

Nigel

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12 minutes ago, stillp said:

Are Apple any different?

Yes they are. They have no requirement to track you as they are not in the business of selling adverts, which is how Google makes money - in fact Safari is increasingly being modified to prevent tracking.  Of course if you use Chrome as a browser and Google as your search engine and watch YouTube that lets Google right back in again whatever OS you are using.  

Call me paranoid but I use Safari and Firefox browsers with Adblock and Ghostery plug-ins and DuckDuckGo as the search engine. I also use  user-agent spoofing on YT. On the few occasions I have to use Google or watch YT I immediately strip out all the cookies afterwards. 

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Each of the major suppliers do their best to constrain your future choices to their products both hardware and software. There are no significant differences between Apple and Google. The both want as much personal data as they can get to leverage it to make money. Include Amazon and Microsoft in that as well. 

For me, I stick with Samsung/Android and Google as I am in bed with them already so might as well enjoy it. Just a lot a re-learning to do if I switched beds now. Are the services on offer and different? No, not according to Which? 

Mick

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49 minutes ago, RobH said:

Call me paranoid but I use Safari and Firefox browsers with Adblock and Ghostery plug-ins and DuckDuckGo as the search engine.

If you haven't already got one, a VPN (or virtual private network) is another effective way to increase safety and data security online.

Plenty of options out there, but 'Express VPN' is rated as one of the best on the market globally, with 24hr customer service.

Certainly worth a look.

Deggers

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1 hour ago, james christie said:

I have stuck with them through at least one further drowning ( I sail a lot!)

Somewhere, languishing in the depths of Lake Como, is a fancy looking smartphone with my name on it.

There's another just outside the entrance to Dartmouth harbour.

An expensive habit  . . .  but one I am hoping to quit.  :D

 

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Cheers, Deggers

Edited by Deggers
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Wife & I both have Samsung A21S @ about £170 each.- beware similar Samsung phone over £1,000 -ouch!

Great cameras, reasonable size, good clear screen. volume / speaker can be set rather loud for clarity!

Very, very long battery life & rapid charger. Little downside to this product - Argos as good as anywhere to buy it.

Alan

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John. Don’t be frightened of being able to master Android or iPhone. Both are just different and not difficult (accepting that as we get older it does take a bit more getting used to) and in the main the systems of both are reasonably intuitive. You master being a coordinator of the TRR forum, so will be able to master a phone.

As you can see you ask a question and get various views about the numerous options. A bit like saying “what are the best spark plug?”

It does however sound like you need to get up to speed with a modern device. Keep an open mind and you will be amazed how good today’s phone really are (or should I say phone/camera/pc)

Mike

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On 2/12/2021 at 1:51 PM, Bleednipple said:

Currently have a Samsung (distress purchase while travelling - long story) but previously have had a string of Motorola's Moto G series phones which are robust, reliable and very reasonably priced. They do all you need them to do for under 200 quid. Nothing not to like really.

iPhones are not that much better than Android (well there are pros and cons) but in a completely different price bracket ie starting at £400 ish.

Nigel

+1 for the motorola  I'm on my second. Hated I phone had a preset life built in i believe and the cost, for what???. I also have a works samsung thats not as good as the motorola

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I think that this is a bit like recommending cameras a few years ago and basically everybody recommends the one that they have. We all make a choice for whatever reason and get used to it and probably don’t want to go through that process again so end up thinking our purchase was a good one and therefore recommend it.

Tim

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The problem with Johns question is that there are as many opinions as there are people.

 

The lesson here is to read, inwardly digest and go with the advice of those you know and trust.

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Bit off topic.

I'm no IT geek but have used IT for 20 years. In that time I've burned through 6 windows lap tops and 3 PC's all of which due to the hard drives failing and lost valuable data as result long before separate hard drives or cloud storage was available. This is as opposed to one Mac Book (still work but rather slow) and the one I use now. Plus an ancient Apple Performa 400 desk top still works!

Point is (touch wood) Apple products are better made and seem to last, well at least for me. So yes you pay more but they last longer so cost less in the long run. Only niggle is that after 5 years or so they don't provide updates for their iPhones and is generally when I change mine. Once set up they work.

Wife's Samsung phones have always been problematic but she won't change as she can't be bothered to learn how to use the Apple. 

Andy

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An extract of an article from Which? called "Most reliable mobile phone brands"

 

Brand Estimated average lifespan (years)

Apple 6

BlackBerry 4

Google 4

HTC 5

Huawei 6

LG 5

Microsoft 4

Motorola 5

Nokia 5

Samsung 6

Sony 5

The above data is based on a survey of Which? members in July 2020 covering 12,611 smartphones.

Sadly, no phone brands seemed to last substantially longer than others, all too short to my mind. My 2016 Samsung A3 still does everything I need. I have been told many times that I should bin it and upgrade, why?

Mick

Edited by Mick Forey
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Average device lifespans don't tell you much, most upgrades are a choice because people fancy a new phone or it comes as an upgrade option on their contract. But also a big driver of switching six or so years ago was the roll out of 4G and from here on people will be upgrading to 5G devices.

I buy lowish cost phones (ie sub £200) and accept that I'll probably want to chop them in for a new one in three or four years if I don't break/lose it meanwhile. Even if I don't want/need the absolute latest features, tech moves on. 

Remember that smartphones (ie pocket sized personal computers, which is what they really are) are only 12 years old as a category. They will continue to evolve fairly quickly for the coming decade or so, as will the comms standards they work with - 6G will be with us before we know it and will make us want to do things with our personal devices that we can't even envisage right now.

Nigel

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I believe that the ultimate deciding factor is weather you find a phones logic intuitive. There is no point buying one that you do not find intuitive as it will always feel difficult to use..

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