What phone to buy?

Deep

Deep

Deep

Soldato
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Long story short, my S3 has finally given up the ghost and I need to get a new phone.

I've bought a Moto G which I can use for a bit but I realistically want a new decent phone.

The choices are:

Samsung S5 - Not really a fan of the phone in general and I'm quite annoyed at how long the S3 has lasted me. I got a brand new one last year as my release day one broke after only 8 months.

Samsung Note 3 - I think the size would be OK but again Samsung

HTC M8 - I love the design but my issue is living without the menu button that the Samsungs have. I suppose I could live without it.

So what would you all say would be the best one to purchase?
I'm leaning towards the M8 just from pure design point but I'm not sure if they have a lot of annoying faults
 
Firstly, the Moto G is a decent phone. Secondly, what is the menu button that the Samsungs have that the M8 doesn't?
 
j224 said:
Firstly, the Moto G is a decent phone. Secondly, what is the menu button that the Samsungs have that the M8 doesn't?
Click to expand...

On the S3 there is a capacitive button on the bottom left which is the menu button, on the M8 it's an on screen button instead.

Is that not right?
 
Out of those three options I'd get the M8. You clearly don't want the S5 judging from your blurb about it and how your S3 didn't last long, the Note is just a massive galaxy.

You'll quickly get used to not having that button. :)

A phone is something you have to live with day to day, hopefully for quite some time, so I'd read & watch lots of reviews, watch some of those UI demo's on YouTube and such. :)
 
Ohhh, you didn't make it clear in the first post that you were talking about on-screen VS capacitive buttons.

How about the M7 instead? I know it lacks the dedicated menu button but a simple double tap of the home button does the same job. I personally have a M7 and wouldn't upgrade to a M8 because of the on-screen buttons taking up screen space.
 
Acme said:
Out of those three options I'd get the M8. You clearly don't want the S5 judging from your blurb about it and how your S3 didn't last long, the Note is just a massive galaxy.

You'll quickly get used to not having that button. :)

A phone is something you have to live with day to day, hopefully for quite some time, so I'd read & watch lots of reviews, watch some of those UI demo's on YouTube and such. :)
Click to expand...
Haha it does seem that way.
I'm just worried that the HTC is probably worse build quality wise.

j224 said:
Ohhh, you didn't make it clear in the first post that you were talking about on-screen VS capacitive buttons.

How about the M7 instead? I know it lacks the dedicated menu button but a simple double tap of the home button does the same job. I personally have a M7 and wouldn't upgrade to a M8 because of the on-screen buttons taking up screen space.
Click to expand...

Yeah sorry about that, it was hastily written while I was working.
I can't see myself buying an M7 purely because it's a last gen phone and I'd rather keep up to date than buy last gen. Purely because I want my phones to last 2-3 generations, buying last gen will be to small of a step up.
 
The HTC is aluminium unibody is it not? My Sensation 4G was wrapped in a one piece metal casing and it was practically bomb proof. I dropped that phone god knows how many times, onto concrete, down stairs, etc. In the end I killed it by leaving it in long wet grass in the pouring rain overnight in the camp-site at Multiplay Insomnia. It is still in good nick visually but all my apps crash and the camera no longer works :p
 
M8 out of the three for sure.
If I could add another option though the Nexus 5 is the only Android phone I have moved to from the iPhone and felt happy with.
 
Deep said:
HTC M8 - I love the design but my issue is living without the menu button that the Samsungs have. I suppose I could live without it.
Click to expand...

The S5 had replaced it's menu button with a recent apps button.

It's a stupid button anyway, Google deprecated it three years ago.
 
Rusty! said:
The S5 had replaced it's menu button with a recent apps button.

It's a stupid button anyway, Google deprecated it three years ago.
Click to expand...

I found it quite useful being able to bring up options in apps with that button. It's still there in the s5 you just have to long press it now.
 
GalaxyS4 said:
I found it quite useful being able to bring up options in apps with that button. It's still there in the s5 you just have to long press it now.
Click to expand...

It doesn't make sense thou, some apps don't have settings, or maybe settings on certain pages and you have no way of knowing that. Its not very clear, a little messy, more and more apps now just have side bars as well.
 
I thought the menu button had just been phased out from android. If you look at the s5 buttons, they are the same as your moto g but reversed.

I had an S3 and now a Moto G. Overall I prefer the Moto G. The main thing I miss from Samsung is the shininess off the cases. Moto G seems a bit dull
 
mame said:
I thought the menu button had just been phased out from android. If you look at the s5 buttons, they are the same as your moto g but reversed.

I had an S3 and now a Moto G. Overall I prefer the Moto G. The main thing I miss from Samsung is the shininess off the cases. Moto G seems a bit dull
Click to expand...

The Moto G is a great phone for the price, I had it for a few weeks, I actually like the look of it, very minimal, see I don't like Samsung phones anymore, never really liked them to begin with, they look cheap and plasticky and I don't like the shininess, but each to their own I suppose.
 
Just a little update, I decided to buy a HTC M8.

There were a few reasons that made me choose this over anything else:

  • I needed a phone with an SD card so Nexus 5 was out of the equation.
  • I prefer the style of the M8 over the S5
  • Better build quality

I'll root it tomorrow and will have a play around, here's hoping this phone lasts more than a year.
 
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