Best Smartphone for 2014

[pete6032]

How are G3 and S5 considered mid range phones? What's above those?

 

[s44]

I absolutely love the design of the G3. Reminds me of the coolest-looking Samsung (Captivate), which they haven't replicated since.

Every time I see one in the wild, I'm both envious and sad that LG screwed up the speccing so badly.

 

[rcpratt]

Should have just gotten the Note 4 next week.

 

[Patre]

How are G3 and S5 considered mid range phones? What's above those?

Where does it say those two are mid range? (my OP says otherwise)

I absolutely love the design of the G3. Reminds me of the coolest-looking Samsung (Captivate), which they haven't replicated since.

Every time I see one in the wild, I'm both envious and sad that LG screwed up the speccing so badly.

Why do you say LG screwed up on speccing?

Should have just gotten the Note 4 next week.

Yeah, I could've-should've waited and get the latest greatest, but then a month down the line, there'd be another one coming out.....:\

I'm very happy (so far) with the G3 and the screen/useage is just fantastic.....the clarity/detail is just amazing on this.

A big + on getting this at Costco is (from Oct 8 -14th) you get a $125 rebate/cash card......which really sweetens the deal, but a great phone nonetheless!!

Now if I can only figure out where the Alarm is located on this thing??? lol...

 

[poofyhairguy]

Congrats on the new phone! Those are really nice.

I do think that the Note 4 is about to be "the best phone period" in a way we haven't seen since the 3GS.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

How are G3 and S5 considered mid range phones? What's above those?

Note 4. G3 and S5 are high end, and the Note 4 is a superphone.

 

[s44]

Why do you say LG screwed up on speccing?

The 2K screen. Unlike AMOLED, LCD at that resolution is poor at power efficiency, brightness, and contrast. This makes the phone actually worse on battery life than the G2. Also, a lot of the advantages of the resolution are negated by apparently non-tweakable oversharpening.

Finally, the Snapdragon 801 GPU isn't powerful enough to maintain the gaming performance of late 2013+ devices given the doubled pixel count. The 805 in the Note 4 is.

 

[maxi007]

Xperia Z3

 

[WelshBloke]

Note 4. G3 and S5 are high end, and the Note 4 is a phablet.

FTFY.

The Note 4 is going to be awesome but its definitely in phablet territory.

 

[shortylickens]

Z3 Compact.

But I'm biased because I just bought one.

 

[Phokus]

Along with the Z3/Z3C and Note 4, the Droid Turbo and Nexus X still have yet to come out, so they could be contenders.

If the Droid Turbo has a good camera, that will hands down be the best phone, given the fact that it has wireless charging and an insane battery.

 

[rcpratt]

FTFY.

The Note 4 is going to be awesome but its definitely in phablet territory.

As is the G3.

 

[jacktesterson]

Who seriously games on a phone?

 

[Commodus]

Who seriously games on a phone?

Lots of people do! It's typically the biggest app category on Android, iOS and Windows Phone alike. Gotta have something to do when you're waiting for the bus, or when someone is using computer/TV.

I'd honestly point people to iPhones for gaming phones. They're big, the CPU doesn't throttle over significant periods (like on many high-end Android devices) and iOS tends to both get games first and carry more platform exclusives.

Among Android devices... I'd probably spring for an HTC One M8, because it's both fast and packs dual speakers that are good for gaming sans headphones.

 

[WelshBloke]

As is the G3.

I suppose.

Win for the S5!

 

[lopri]

I am not sure what to make of the Note 4. I did not like its design at all. The metal portion looks better on its own compared to the fake metal on the 3 but the phone as a whole looks stupid to me because that metal side band looks out of place. The phone definitely feel more substantial than the predecessor but that means it is also heavier, which is not necessarily a tradeoff I'd make considering how strong the Note 3's construction is.

The screen is easier on the eyes on the Note 4 than on the Note 3 in a very subtle way, which is an appreciable progress, but on its own, it is probably not big of a merit for an upgrade or switch. I was not excited at the curved glass around the edges, either. IMO it makes the screen reflective and the phone look more plasticky. Maybe it is something that takes time to getting used to? I felt the same when I saw the iPhone's curved screen edges. Overly reflective plastic.. Maybe it's just me.

 

[Bman123]

We wanted to go to Verizon this year but I don't think anything was worth getting at this time. Especially with android L about to come out. I'd rather give android another year before signing a 2 year contract. I ended up going with a off contract note 3, I'll wait til the note 5 or 2015 to sign a deal

 

[Roland00Address]

Lowest price snapdragon 800 or higher phone you can get. Sure there are some phones that are marginally better than the other, but the amount of price extra you have to pay is often outrageous for what marginal benefits you get.

And if you can get a moto x 2013, s4, or one m7 for cheap even one of those though the newer phones often have better battery life..

 

[shortylickens]

Who seriously games on a phone?

Not on phones, but I play FF4 on my tablet.

 

[TreVader]

The 6 is probably the best smartphone out there, followed by the 5s and 6 plus.


I think android starts to compete in earnest at about iphone 5C levels of performance. If I were given the choice between a 5C and a One M8 I think I might go HTC.


It's not looking good for Google right now, they are hemorrhaging users bad now that the phablet isn't a lock in for android. Basically, Google needs to offer something like Google glass to consumers or people are just gonna stop caring about 700 PPI QHD screens and SD cards. SD cards are hilariously impractical and also very old tech. Why no android manufacturer can manage to put more than 32GB in a phone as base storage is beyond me. Apple has been 32GB since 2010 and the iphone 4 lol. And don't get me started on 64GB Samsung aka unicorn phones.

 

[dawheat]

IMO the most interesting phone for most users this year should be the Z3 Compact. High quality construction, top quality internals, IP certified, 3 day battery life. It's hard for me to imagine a phone you can use heavily and not need to charge nightly. People using it "lightly" are getting ridiculous usage - like dumbphone life.

The multi-tasking features and screen of the Note 4 make it a very interesting choice as well, though a phablet isn't going to be for most people. It's the first phone I think has multi-tasking built into it so deeply that it's actually useful on a daily basis.

 

[swilli89]

The 6 is probably the best smartphone out there, followed by the 5s and 6 plus.


I think android starts to compete in earnest at about iphone 5C levels of performance. If I were given the choice between a 5C and a One M8 I think I might go HTC.


It's not looking good for Google right now, they are hemorrhaging users bad now that the phablet isn't a lock in for android. Basically, Google needs to offer something like Google glass to consumers or people are just gonna stop caring about 700 PPI QHD screens and SD cards. SD cards are hilariously impractical and also very old tech. Why no android manufacturer can manage to put more than 32GB in a phone as base storage is beyond me. Apple has been 32GB since 2010 and the iphone 4 lol. And don't get me started on 64GB Samsung aka unicorn phones.

Why is this guy allowed to troll?

 

[swilli89]

Z3 Compact.

But I'm biased because I just bought one.

Oh how do you like it? I really really want one on T-Mobile

 

[TreVader]

Why is this guy allowed to troll?

Why are you allowed to troll me?


Seriously it's sad you guys have zero argument so you spit out "troll". Your post is junk and you Should try to come up with something, anything that isn't so *yawn*

 

[richierich1212]

The G3 is awesome. Good pick.