New to Android - G3 isn't for me but not sure what to do now?

[vocalist]

Sorry this is a little long but I really need some help and have read far too many reviews and comparisons to make an unbiased choice. I have had my iPhone 4S for 3 years and have been fed up with the updates, losing music/apps, battery life, etc. so I decided to try Android. After weeks of deliberating, I picked up the G3 and there are some things I love though I immediately wanted to return it once I got home last night. I'm undecided about the overall size though I have considered the Note 4 as an option. *edit* I have tried all of the phones listed multiple times in person - as much as you can hooked up to a giant sensor...

I Love: Screen size, Camera, buttons on the back, ease of use for typing.

Dislike: Battery is horrible, Feels fragile, having a hard time hearing the person I'm speaking to on the phone - I can't get it positioned right and they sound muffled and say the same for me.

I have 2 small kids (one very active toddler); I run and use my phone for emergencies and for music; take notes; take a lot of pictures and do use the front camera for shots of me with my kids; social media, emails, read websites, FB, etc. I do use it as an actual phone and send quite a few text messages. I do use my phone for music with headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.

We're on Sprint and had considered AT&T though it's just a lot more expensive (better service, I know...) so we're pretty limited. I had looked at the M8, S5, G2 and if we switched to AT&T I had looked at the previous phones as well as the Desire Eye and Motorola X 2nd gen. I don't know what to do but I do want to get a phone and be done with this whole mess. Thank you!!!

 

[Rukbat]

1) Find out which carrier has solid coverage every place you meed coverage. The perfect cellphone with no coverage is as useful as a brick.

2) Go to the carrier you chose and play with the phones. They should have them on display and working (so you can make a call to hear the phone quality). If you take lot of notes, a Note might be what you want, but you might still be able to pick up a Note 3 at a much-reduced price. (I have my pen out about 50% of the time.)

The carrier is more important than the phone so choose that first. (I get absolutely zero Sprint signal in my daughter's house, so Sprint, at any price, is totally useless to me. And my 10 year old Motorola on AT&T still makes and takes calls and takes pictures. But it's not a smart phone, so that's about all it does. (But I still keep it, for the times I might damage or "lose" a phone - it would cost about $20 to replace.)

BTW, if you're going to be using your phone where it can get wet (spilled juice, etc.), put it into a sandwich baggie and zip it shut. A baggie is cheaper than a phone, and kids spill things.

 

[vocalist]

We've had Sprint for 3 years so coverage really isn't an issue. At the moment we need a plan that works and is the best deal for us. We've had some dropped calls but once they truly updated the network, life has been okay. I have my phone around me 90% of the day because of convenience but when I run it's in a bag in another pouch. There's just something about this phone that isn't doing it for me - especially the fact that I have to dance it around my ear to figure out where it needs to be. Guess I'll have to go play with other phones and it side by side.