[sidewinder]

Now they have discontinued the nexus 5 it's pretty hard to buy so you might have to reconsider. It was a good phone, Mrs sidewinder just tried to replace hers after breaking her screen. Don't buy one, or anything, from simplyelectronics, one of the only place selling them. despite professional looking website they are fraudsters selling reconditioned, often faulty stuff as new and then trying to avoid refunding you. We are currently in a fight with them.

[slackline]

The camera is the only weak point on  the phone for me

There in lies the quandary, better hardware == greater cost ergo in general you don't get decent cameras on cheap phones.

[Paul B]

The Sony's look like they fit the bill but look very delicate.

The way phones go I'm finding it hard to trust eBay as a reliable source for something that works fully!

[Duma]

I've had my Z1 compact for ~18 months now, not been too careful with it, and it's still fine. yrmv of course...

[chris j]

The camera is the only weak point on  the phone for me

There in lies the quandary, better hardware == greater cost ergo in general you don't get decent cameras on cheap phones.

It's not a huge point for me, I'm old fashioned so if I want good photos I tend to use an actual camera. I should qualify my previous post in that the camera on the Nexus 5 is perfectly fine in bright daylight but for me slows down and suffers a lot indoors or in dull conditions.

[slackline]

It's not a huge point for me

But camera quality and price are two factors that prompted the thread resurrection....

My better half constantly complains about the photos she gets from the Moto G (original)

...

It's pointless spending huge money here (~£150) as the phone gets taken to construction sites, left unattended a fair amount and if it's really high value I doubt it'll last too long.

[chris j]

It's not a huge point for me

But camera quality and price are two factors that prompted the thread resurrection....

This is true, which was why I commented on my experience of the camera in my first post, even though for me it wasn't a huge issue in the choice of the phone. For me the screen, having 32Gb of internal storage so not having to dick around with SD cards for app data and the price were the main drivers. But enough pointless petty pedantry...

[slackline]

This is true, which was why I commented on my experience of the camera in my first post, even though for me it wasn't a huge issue in the choice of the phone. For me the screen, having 32Gb of internal storage so not having to dick around with SD cards for app data and the price were the main drivers. But enough pointless petty pedantry...

But you're not the one looking to buy a new phone, Paul B's wife is, so what you're satisfied with in a phone is somewhat irrelevant, although I'm sure the feedback on the camera quality was useful (even though Nexus 5 are hard to buy now according to sidewinder).

But enough pointless petty pedantry...

[Paul B]

Bought a 5c (in that garish pink colour) based solely on the fact that I believe it has a good camera, I'm interested to see how Nat reacts to iOS (and it's an easy way of me dipping my toes without committing and the dodgy phone shop in Blackburn had plenty to pick from (zero Nexus 5s and the Sony's were way way too big).

Me next and then two trade-ins for old Moto Gs.

[Duma]

That's why you need the compact

[Paul B]

That's why you need the compact

Perhaps. I'll now wait and see.

[fatneck]

After a lot of research I've just got a Sony Xperia Z5 compact. Very happy with it. Great camera, micro SD card slot to boost the memory and a fantastic battery life.

[TobyD]

After a lot of research I've just got a Sony Xperia Z5 compact. Very happy with it. Great camera, micro SD card slot to boost the memory and a fantastic battery life.

Is this still going well? I'm looking for a 4G Android phone, preferably durable. I liked Nexus 5 but recently my Nexus died, and the Sonys look ok. I was looking at 31 a month on O2 for a Z5 - anyone got any other suggestions?

[psychomansam]

The other night I knocked over my bottle of water by my bed and flooded my phone case. The phone spent the night in a puddle. Then I went to work. When I got a minute, I took it out the case to dry it. It's a galaxy S5, so the phonee itself was fine. The £10 Iblason case is just to make it bombproof. Already waterproof. Typed this on it because I can't be arsed to use the laptop next to me. Use it as my main computer basically.

My other half got her brand new fucking expensive iPhone 5s wet a week into ownership. That or an overly tight pocket  is more than enough to kill one.

[rodma]

After a lot of research I've just got a Sony Xperia Z5 compact. Very happy with it. Great camera, micro SD card slot to boost the memory and a fantastic battery life.

Is this still going well? I'm looking for a 4G Android phone, preferably durable. I liked Nexus 5 but recently my Nexus died, and the Sonys look ok. I was looking at 31 a month on O2 for a Z5 - anyone got any other suggestions?

I have one of these too. It's nice to have a phone that fits in my pocket.

Obviously compared to the giant phones it feels like a compromise for Web browsing, but that's the only downside.

The battery is awesome as well, only need to charge it every day if I've been using it as a sat nav, otherwise it's every two to three days

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

[fatneck]

Yes, I'm nearly three month in and love it. Battery life is great, loads of space. Fast and efficient and the waterproofing is a real bonus!!

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

[TobyD]

cheers all: looks like some good recommendations, o2 have a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Refurb 16GB on a plan with 5GB data for £29 a month; looks pretty decent - dunno how much the Z3 differs from the Z5 though? I'll have a look...

[petejh]

iphone 4 seems quite resilient - bought this reconditioned unlocked one for £200 and have had it 2.5 years. £12 per month sim only.



Still going strong! As long as I keep it on charge at home or in the car or  it does ok. Survivor of many winter climbing trips, soakings and drops. I'll change it when it finally keels over and dies.

[TobyD]

holy shit Pete, your phone might be the only thing that gets injured more often than you!

[slackline]

cheers all: looks like some good recommendations, o2 have a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Refurb 16GB on a plan with 5GB data for £29 a month; looks pretty decent - dunno how much the Z3 differs from the Z5 though? I'll have a look...

Do you use 5Gb of data and all of the minutes/texts offered on that plan? 

How long is that contract for 12/18/24 months (equates to £348/£522/£696 over the term of the contract).

If you take out the paying for a phone and look at just getting a service then it might work out cheaper to buy a phone outright as you can get a Refurbished Z3 16Gb Compact for £229   and you can use Ofcom approved Bill Monitor to check what you use in terms of data/texts/calls over the last three months and find the 'best' deal for your usage.

Might be you can get a 12-month/rolling contract for < £119 for example I'm on Three with 1Gb/3000 text/300minues/2000minutes to other Three users which costs £10/month, so if I were to buy that phone on a 12month contract its roughly the same buying outright or on the deal (£349).  If however its an 18 or 24 month contract then its cheaper to buy the phone myself and then pay £10/month (£409 for 18 month, a saving of £113 over contract or £469 for 24 month a saving of £227 over contract).

It will vary depending on usage and which phone you want, but its not always cheapest to get phones on contracts these days (although it does help spread the cost obviously).

[petejh]

holy shit Pete, your phone might be the only thing that gets injured more often than you!

 
perhaps phones are the new dogs (resembling their owners)

And what Slackers said. Over the last 2.5 years I've paid out £560 (inc. cost of phone) for handheld mobile telecoms. An average contract of £30 per month would have cost me £900 over the same period. Of course the flipside is you have to be content sticking with the phone you buy and not upgrading every year and a half, even when it ends up resembling a half-destroyed terminator. Although if you bought a cheaper phone that didn't have a piece of fruit on it, and paid a bit of insurance, you'd be covered and still quids in.

[Duma]

I've got a Z1 compact and it's ace and still going strong. Waterproof, quick, fantastic battery life, plenty storage and expandable. Only downside for me is I'm not the biggest fan of the Sony android skin.

[slackline]

Although if you bought a cheaper phone that didn't have a piece of fruit on it, and paid a bit of insurance, you'd be covered and still quids in.

Worthing checking if your home contents insurance covers a phone, I think the dedicated insurance* for mobiles is a swindle.

[slackline]

Only downside for me is I'm not the biggest fan of the Sony android skin.

You could go with stock Android (AOSP == Android Open Source Project) using one of the many ROMs available here.

I'd advocate putting a stock ROM or CyanogenMod on any Android phone to get rid of the crap carriers (with the exception of Motorola) think their customers want and makes them stand out from the crowd, but I appreciate rooting a phone and applying updates isn't everyones bag of dried leaves soaked in hot water.

[TobyD]

Hello all ... more phone questions, looking at getting SIM free from this place: http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/contract-mobile-phones/sony-xperia-z5-compact#about-the-phone

Anyone else used the site? Seems fairly reputable, like Paul I'm slightly reluctant to get a phone from ebay.