simmode1

Ok guys, time for a cheap upgrade. I'm looking to ditch this HTC Evo 4G for something better & I'm dying to get back to Galaxy.

Which would you pick between the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S5?

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"Simplicity is the key to brilliance." - Bruce Lee

heychris

Been on my Note3 for 2 years now...No root needed...Hands down best phone I've ever owned..Still stupid fast..removable card...fantastic camera...FTW

Ch

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future

I'm still on my note 2 and best phone i ever had! I've beat it up so bad and still gives me no problems. Just waiting for the Note 5 so i can upgrade finally

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simmode1

Thanks guys, I'm gonna grab the Note 3 over the 5S.

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"Simplicity is the key to brilliance." - Bruce Lee

simmode1

Holy shit, nearly 2 years ago to the date! haha!

Been rocking my ancient Note3 ever since I made that last post but I've got the itch to update to something new, so I need your advice, guys!

I'm interested in going off the beaten path & leave Samsung for some of these other Android phones hitting the market. I'm trying to find the absolute best value that I can get from a new or lightly used phone in the $300 range.

I've had my eye on the Essential PH1 for a long time now and I'm hearing that the Android 9/Pie update has really made it into the phone it should have been at launch. Amazon has it right now for $309 but there's speculation that the price might get dropped again for a quick fire sale to move the remaining units fast. I'm a little hesitant because it seems like the Essential company is getting out of the phone business. What do you think?

I'm also hearing a crazy amount of buzz about this Xioami brand with their Pocophone F1 device... should I wait for that? Do these phone even work right in the US?

TBH, the phone I think I REALLY want is the OnePlus 5T, but it's a bit more than I want to spend at the moment. These China/India/Korea phones are looking crazy, but shit's confusing...lol

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"Simplicity is the key to brilliance." - Bruce Lee

Future240

Long term iphone user here (My first one was a 3GS). The no headphone jack has me peeved. Been looking at droid phones to upgrade to once my 6s+ no longer cuts the mustard with battery life.


My issue with droid phones is it seems the os has issues. The wife has had multiple Samsung Galaxies. I have had to work on all of them to fix issues.


While IOS has issues too, it seems fixing them is a lot simpler than what I had to do with the droid phone.


That being said been looking at the Note 9 since the pixel does not have a headphone jack either.


Thoughts? Recommendations? I wanted the google pixel 3 xl until I found out no headphone jack.

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jumpman2334

odd you are having issues with the OS, with my droids its always been battery life until the battery just shits the bed (which my s5 is starting to do). are the droids you are having issues with unlocked?

my s5 galaxy is just about dead (battery wise), I was looking at getting the new galaxy or the note. although I am open to other droids with a removable battery, expandable storage, and a headphone jack (crazy that they are making phones without these). im on ATT and have an upgrade available to me. what other brands meet my criteria? google and LG?


I am also not sure if ATT is still doing the 2 year commitment with buying the phone upfront at a discounted price; but I really don't want to pay that extra 20-30 a month over a 24 month period. if you do the math you realize pretty quickly its not a good deal. hopefully that is still an option.

SimpleS14

If you're considering the OnePlus 5T, then there's no reason for you to be hesitant on the Essential PH-1. Both are solid phones at a good price, even if they are slightly dated. Also the Essential phone could be had for a cheap price. There was a one-day fire sale on Amazon where it was going for $224 shipped. I wouldn't be surprised it if happens again.

I strongly believe the Xiaomi phone will never be sold in the US. Given the U.S. government's stance on ZTE & Huaweii, there's just no chance another Chinese company will try to risk it in the US market. Would the phone work in US? MAYBE, but most likely not on all the cellular bands available in the US. I wouldn't go through the effort to get it.



If a headphone jack is a must, consider the Samsung S9/S9+ or OnePlus 6. The latter is getting an update soon with the OnePlus 6T.

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L.H.O.O.Q.

S14DB

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tb13

I've owned a OnePlus 5T and currently have a OnePlus 6. Both have been absolutely fantastic. Neither have had the slow down fatigue of older android phones I've owned and the battery life of both, thanks to the basically "stock android", is incredible.

OnePlus 5T's are cheap second hand, find someone like me that got the itch to upgrade and you should be able to snag one for around $300-350.

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e30gangsta

Currently typing from my 5t I've had it since it came out. It's absolutely phenomenal. One plus don't over think it. They're awesome.

simmode1

I think my hesitance about the Essential phone is that since they're getting out of the phone biz, they won't be offering updates on it for much longer. I read somewhere that they committed to 2 years of updates for it and the phone is already about a year old. Other than that, I'm about ready to pull the trigger just as soon as I see another sale for it. But maybe I shouldn't be bitching about updates. My Note 3 is still running Android 5...

Thanks for explaining the Xiaomi thing too... I keep seeing all these US review videos going crazy over these devices but no one talking about whether the device will actually work over here. All they talk about is specs.

Ahhh man, thanks for reminding me! I've been looking at brand new prices for these phones, but I have ZERO problem buying a little used... let me go check 5T used prices real quick...

Edit: Cheapest I see is $389 used shipping out of China. I'll pass on that one.

Looking more & more like I'm getting new PH1 soon. I don't think I have enough patience to wait for the 5T to drop to the price range I want.
Maybe in 2 more years, I'll come in here again asking about the Oneplus 6T. I'm always about a year and a half+ behind the times, it seems...

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"Simplicity is the key to brilliance." - Bruce Lee

simmode1

Ok. New question.

So I went ahead and bought that Essential PH1 for $309 on Amazon. Its been sitting on my kitchen counter unopened for 2 days now, because, frankly, ain't a damn thing wrong with my Note3...lol...

I've been interested for a while about Android's ability to be customized. So I recently started reading up on and watching Youtube videos talking about how a custom Rom like Lineage OS can make my Note 3 think it's a Note 8, run Android 9/Pie and then overclock it to run faster, even with it's old 3gb of Ram running the old Qualcomm Snagdragon 800 from 4 years ago. Hell, I heard you can even run an Apple OS on it with the right Rom...haha

My question is... is this stuff worth it? Anyone got experience with this stuff? I'm a real newbie at this stuff, so I'm still trying to make sense of it all. If it's worth doing, maybe I'll just return the Essential. What do you guys think? Will this even be comparable?

Edit: Yeah guys... I am just finding out that I have not even scratched the surface of what my Note3 can do. It's a 32gb version, but I'm considering throwing a 128gb SD card in it and running some custom ROM to get Pie. Just saw a video only showing that the Snapdragon 800 is still plenty capable of running some decent 2018 games even.

Talk me out of it... I figure, if I brick my phone, I can always crack open that Essential, I guess...lol
If I can jailbreak a Firestick and install Kodi on it, this can't be much more difficult, right?

__________________
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S14DB

Easy to learn. Hard to master.

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SimpleS14

If your Note 3 is in good shape (i.e. no cracked screen, decent battery), go ahead and try to modify it to run Pie. As long as you have patience and the right tools, it's not too bad to tackle. XDA forums is a good source for helpful information too. Once you get that up and running, use it for a week. If it's doable, then return the Essential phone.

__________________
Goals are dreams with a deadline.
L.H.O.O.Q.

simmode1

Yeah, my Note3 is in great condition considering its age. The battery life is kinda garbage, but I hear the Pie update actually improves that.

Ok, I just checked Amazon. I have between now and 8/27 to return that Essential PH1 for a full refund. I'm gonna try the update on my Note3 and see how it goes.

I have no idea what tools are needed. I got some homework this weekend, I see. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

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S14DB

You mean 9/27?

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simmode1

Lol... yeah Sept 27.

I'm pretty excited about this. One of my first jobs as a kid in high school was doing helpdesk work, remotely reinstalling and updating operating systems. Of course, that was way back in the late 90's and all in DOS... This might be a fun little experiment.

My wife was a die hard Apple lover and then I got her a Galaxy S7 last year. I think she still has mixed feelings about it. I'm already looking into putting iOS 11 on it for her. Well see it this goes anywhere. I'm kinda the king of not following through with things...

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"Simplicity is the key to brilliance." - Bruce Lee