Buying a new smartphone

[terrabytetango]

I was srsly considering LG, but the GS6 hit the shelves sooner, plus the LGs have always had that "poddak madi" factor, when considering Samsung, HTC and OnePlus.

[vishkid]

Nexus 6P is the best bang for buck Android phone you can get your hands on right now. Marques Brownlee allegedly said he's getting it as his main phone and that's saying a lot after having reviewed all 2015 flagships. But all the 32GB models of 6P are out of stock right now and personally it's too big of a phone for me.

5X reviews so far has been a disappointment when compared to 2 year old nexus 5. The only reason you'd get 5X seems to be to get immediate stock android updates for two more years at a low cost.

[asrock]

Is there a Galaxy S6 duos?

[terrabytetango]

Is there a Galaxy S6 duos?

There is.

[Pericles]

I was srsly considering LG, but the GS6 hit the shelves sooner, plus the LGs have always had that "poddak madi" factor, when considering Samsung, HTC and OnePlus.

LG have a big advantage over Samsung and HTC. Don't have a UI overlay.

Did you consider the Moto? They were good options last year, tho I dunno what they have been upto lately.

[GayanR]

The problems with Samsung phones are for me is every where you look you see the same UI,You quickly loose the interest on it after 2,3 month of use.And looking at the sheer number of fakes and replicas that look exactly the same every where you go you definitely loose the interest factor soon.And these phones are very prone to bazel paint fading issues after some use.And the touchwiz contact/caller menu lag is insane and that middle button is a failure on it's own.I hope it's not the same with s6.I would vote for LG over samsung.

[terrabytetango]

The galaxy s6 is all metal and glass, there's no paint to peel off. And touchwiz has been improved greatly, but in any case one can always use a 3rd part launcher instead; i use Nova launcher myself.

[terrabytetango]

So I bought a backup phone today in the form of a Xiaomi MI3. For 25k, I got a Snapdragon 800, 2gb, Full HD IPS and a 3100mah battery. As a bonus, it's officially supported by Cyanogenmod. Not the slimmest phone around, but so easy to work on. I broke and repaired the SIM slot within 5 hours of buying it. Taking it apart is incredibly easy as there is no GLUE! Just pop 10 screws a bunch of tabs.

Edited December 16, 2015 by terrabytetango

[NRX]

So I bought a backup phone today in the form of a Xiaomi MI3. For 25k, I got a Snapdragon 800, 2gb, Full HD IPS and a 3100mah battery. As a bonus, it's officially supported by Cyanogenmod. Not the slimmest phone around, but so easy to work on. I broke and repaired the SIM slot within 5 hours of buying it. Taking it apart is incredibly easy as there is no GLUE! Just pop 10 screws a bunch of tabs.

Seems to be a bang for the buck

I myself bought an Asus Zenfone 2 couple of weeks back. It's got an Intel cpu ticking inside coupled with a whopping 4GB of ram.

Edited December 16, 2015 by NRX

[Davy]

So I bought a backup phone today in the form of a Xiaomi MI3. For 25k, I got a Snapdragon 800, 2gb, Full HD IPS and a 3100mah battery. As a bonus, it's officially supported by Cyanogenmod. Not the slimmest phone around, but so easy to work on. I broke and repaired the SIM slot within 5 hours of buying it. Taking it apart is incredibly easy as there is no GLUE! Just pop 10 screws a bunch of tabs.

Pretty cheap for that kind of specs. Cyanogen is pretty stable now, although I have had problems with the earlier version (v11) on my OnePlus One. All issues were solved when I updated to v12.

Their support to OnePlus seem to have suffered after OnePlus switched to their own OS (Oxygen OS). I'm waiting until a stable version is released for the OnePlus One. I got a OnePlus X for my wife recently and the OS is the best I've seen so far - apart from Nexus phones.

[terrabytetango]

Apologies for the size of the screenshot, I uploaded it via the Mi3, did not realize tinypic kept the original resolution. And yes, this thing really is quite stable, obviously some things (camera, speaker, etc) aren't going to be quite up to par with more expensive phones, but it is a solid piece of kit, and plenty powerful.

[vishkid]

Just wanted to note that Nexus 6P and 5X are at a $50 discount at google store right now and with free overnight shipping. After two months of deliberation, this finally prompted me to action and I just bought a 6P; sending it to my friend who's in US on business and will get in SL next Wednesday. Since I was shipping to California the discounts and free shipping saved me almost $75 (including taxes) and in the current exchange rate, that's considerable.

I think $449 is not too bad for what is probably the flagship android (locked with Note 5) right now. Not too sure how I will get used to the size though.

If you have friends/family coming down from US for christmas/new year, might be an option to consider.

[terrabytetango]

Nice. I'd like to see what your experiences are with it, especially on the camera and usability side. I got the Galaxy S6 because of the sick, sick camera. I mean I can't stress enough how good the camera is, especially all the point'n'shoot like features it has. And omg, the low light performance. Here's a collage of some shots straight from the gallery, no filters apart from tweaking camera settings i.e. exposure, ISO, etc.

[asrock]

I still couldn't find a reliable place to buy a S6 duos. Also the Galaxy A8 has a 16MP camera but don't know whether it has the same quality and features of the S6 cam.

[vishkid]

Nice. I'd like to see what your experiences are with it, especially on the camera and usability side. I got the Galaxy S6 because of the sick, sick camera. I mean I can't stress enough how good the camera is, especially all the point'n'shoot like features it has. And omg, the low light performance. Here's a collage of some shots straight from the gallery, no filters apart from tweaking camera settings i.e. exposure, ISO, etc.

Those pictures are awesome! I think the camera they use in the Note 5, S6 and Edge plus is the best there is right now. Coupled with the screen.

N6P camera is supposed to be really close, with the screen being virtually the same. It should be in the same league but I don't think it can trump the samsung flagship camera I will post some pics by end of next week.

[vishkid]

Just saw that MKBHD has come up with his version of smartphone awards 2015. LG and Samsung still has a relatively strong hold in the premium smartphone market in terms of tech and features, with Moto still playing their part (at least in the US).

Edited December 19, 2015 by vishkid

[fiat fan]

Hi, a friend is gonna get a Xiaomi redmi note 3... it seems to be a cool phone for the price.. any issues that it has? Also a place to buy one? thanx

Edited December 26, 2015 by fiat fan

[AbeysinghE]

Hi, a friend is gonna get a Xiaomi redmi note 3... it seems to be a cool phone for the price.. any issues that it has? Also a place to buy one? thanx

Xiaomi slowly becoming a market leader in Asia..It has already become No 01 selling smart phone in China surpassing global giant Samsung. One of my friend's recently bought Xiaomi Redmi Note Prime the latest phone launched this month. But surprisingly the android version was Kit Kat..but in fact up gradable to the latest Mash Mellow version. waiting to see his experience on this.

[asrock]

Any good place to buy a S6 duos in SL?

[gayantha789]

Hi, a friend is gonna get a Xiaomi redmi note 3... it seems to be a cool phone for the price.. any issues that it has? Also a place to buy one? thanx

http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_3-reviews-7769.php

http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=AS_20151227064953&SearchText=xiaomi+redmi+note+3

Edited December 27, 2015 by gayantha789

[Hoonigan]

Can someone recommend a reliable place to buy a S6 Edge other than Sinhagiri?

Sinhagiri has it for 117K with a 2 year warranty and can have 0% interest 12 month plan on a Sampath card. Just wondering if a better price can be had elsewhere. Checked a few deal sites but their warranty sounds a bit sketchy.

[kmeeg]

Can someone recommend a reliable place to buy a S6 Edge other than Sinhagiri?

Sinhagiri has it for 117K with a 2 year warranty and can have 0% interest 12 month plan on a Sampath card. Just wondering if a better price can be had elsewhere. Checked a few deal sites but their warranty sounds a bit sketchy.

Just a thought..

Not interest in S7 Edge? Better battery (3600mAh) and Micro SD card slot available again (S6 Edge does not have micro SD).. If they still don't have it, it should be available soon. Also S7 edge is water and dust proof. If you ask me i would go for the S7 edge vs s6 edge bcos of better battery and expandable memory.

KMeeg.

[Hoonigan]

Just a thought..

Not interest in S7 Edge? Better battery (3600mAh) and Micro SD card slot available again (S6 Edge does not have micro SD).. If they still don't have it, it should be available soon. Also S7 edge is water and dust proof. If you ask me i would go for the S7 edge vs s6 edge bcos of better battery and expandable memory.

KMeeg.

Well it's a gift for my wife and the S6 Edge was what she wanted. I wouldn't mind upgrading to the S7 if I can swallow the price difference.

We both use 3 year old Samsung Note 2s so neither of us are exactly tech savvy, so even the S6 Edge would be enough

[asrock]

I'm an IT professional and I still use a freaking Samsung Champ

Hoonigan, what about Singer or abans? Also is there a Galaxy S7 duos?

[Hoonigan]

I'm an IT professional and I still use a freaking Samsung Champ

Hoonigan, what about Singer or abans? Also is there a Galaxy S7 duos?

Singer quoted the same price, but I did forget Abans. Will call them and see.