Need help choosing budget phone

zeth006

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I've narrowed it down to a Nokia 521 going for $60 and a Samsung Galaxy Light going for $150 on HSN. I'm still on the fence as I really would like to know if I can somehow tether the Nokia to another revive without T-Mobile knowing as can be done with Androids. My other issue is there just aren't too many reviews for the SGL out right now as it's relatively new.

Anyone wanna shed some light on the Nokia's anonymous tethering capabilities or provide a rec of any other budget phones??

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Gekko

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Moto G by Motorola

Exceptional phone.
Exceptional price.

The sharpest 4.5" HD display in its class, all-day battery, quad-core speed, Android 4.3 with guaranteed upgrade, and colorful backs to customize your phone. Not sold yet? You get all this and more for only $179.

Moto G by Motorola - A Google Company
 

zeth006

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Moto G by Motorola

Exceptional phone.
Exceptional price.

The sharpest 4.5" HD display in its class, all-day battery, quad-core speed, Android 4.3 with guaranteed upgrade, and colorful backs to customize your phone. Not sold yet? You get all this and more for only $179.

Moto G by Motorola - A Google Company

Bah. Now we're pushing the budget. ;(

My concern is the price differential really steepens. I'm sure the moto gets awesome battery life, but the Nokia isn't a slouch either and it also gets hspa 42mbps.

The LTE and slightly lower price leaves me leaning toward the light, but I'm still curious about Nokia's tethering abilities.

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patruns

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I really would like to know if I can somehow tether the Nokia to another revive without T-Mobile knowing

I believe any advice/discussions in that area violate the forum's TOS. :)
 

Only1Z

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The Moto G is the best budget phone on the market. At $179 unlocked and contract free, it's a no brainer.

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mvsmith

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I will say if the moto g was out when I got a phone I would have.

I actually love my Alcatel one touch fierce. For it from Walmart for $150. It's even rooted. I love the nexus feel and mostly no bloatware. My moga pro hero works perfect and the majority of games work with it. Even dead trigger but that's unity engine I believe. Sonic 4 e2 is a no go though. Yes the viewing angles suck and the camera is poor. But it had an archaic feature of writing apps to SD card only supports 32 gig though. Wish more phones did that. 4g phone too and jellybean.

Even though the moto x is a tad bit more if I was in the market I'd get it. At least it gets updates from Google. This phone I have can only tether with T-Mobile the right way. But I actually like this phone better than my epic 4G touch.

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zeth006

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Tethering abilities are key. Idc about the battery being removable as long as I can replace it on my own without much hassle. SD card could be a deal breaker as I Bluetooth my phone with my car stereo. Screen size isn't a huge issue, but bigger always helps.

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stljedi

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I agree the Motorola G is the best bang for the buck at $179 direct from Motorola (but you don't get LTE).

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yfan

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Old Stoneface

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I agree the Motorola G is the best bang for the buck at $179 direct from Motorola (but you don't get LTE).
I wonder if, sometimes, there's not too much angst over the LTE thing.

Last night, on my way home, I stopped for pizza. Because I'd mis-estimated traffic, I had 20 minutes to wait. What to do... what to do...? Grabbed the smartphone--an HTC Sensation 4G. But, since I don't play games, have no movies or whatever, and hadn't selected a new book to read: That paled when I ran out of new Facebook posts. Hmmm... Had four bars of "4G." Had plenty of room left on my 500MB "4G" allocation. Had my laptop in the car. Tethering is free. So I turned on the hotspot, fired-up the laptop, and away I went.

Worked like a champ. TBH: Couldn't tell the difference, at least browsing web forums, between being tethered to that handset at HSPA+ speeds, and the 10mb/s fiber circuit at work or the 17mb/s cable circuit at home.

My bigger concern with the Moto G on T-Mobile is the lack of WiFi calling. Let us be honest: T-Mobile's coverage is seriously lacking outside of major metro areas. In fact: My wife's and my handsets often switch to WiFi calling mode in our own home. (Coverage maps say we should be good, but they lie.) Were it not for WiFi calling: T-Mobile would be a non-starter, for us.
 

zeth006

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I wonder if, sometimes, there's not too much angst over the LTE thing.

Last night, on my way home, I stopped for pizza. Because I'd mis-estimated traffic, I had 20 minutes to wait. What to do... what to do...? Grabbed the smartphone--an HTC Sensation 4G. But, since I don't play games, have no movies or whatever, and hadn't selected a new book to read: That paled when I ran out of new Facebook posts. Hmmm... Had four bars of "4G." Had plenty of room left on my 500MB "4G" allocation. Had my laptop in the car. Tethering is free. So I turned on the hotspot, fired-up the laptop, and away I went.

Worked like a champ. TBH: Couldn't tell the difference, at least browsing web forums, between being tethered to that handset at HSPA+ speeds, and the 10mb/s fiber circuit at work or the 17mb/s cable circuit at home.

My bigger concern with the Moto G on T-Mobile is the lack of WiFi calling. Let us be honest: T-Mobile's coverage is seriously lacking outside of major metro areas. In fact: My wife's and my handsets often switch to WiFi calling mode in our own home. (Coverage maps say we should be good, but they lie.) Were it not for WiFi calling: T-Mobile would be a non-starter, for us.

Excellent point. I haven't needed wifi calling. I guess my big gripe is the lack of LTE. But a potential dealbreaker for getting the Light is whether it has envelope tracking.
 

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