[hg1027]

Hello again Forum

I picked up a galaxy s4 about this time last year for $300 with the intent of using it for a year and confirming I liked me some android. It's starting to slow down on me, and I'm ready for something new(er).

I prefer to buy used, so I can change phones again in 6-12 months, and I really need to keep it under $400.

I've been looking hard at the note 4 (will have to shop around and skip a few nights at the bar I think, for a clean one) and the LG g3. The optical image stabilization is very tempting, my hands shake a bit and I use a tripod or a mount to get decent pics. The size of the note is a little scary, as I currently jog and bike with the phone, and run around playgrounds with the kids, but I expect I'd learn to love it like a lot of people do.

I really wanted to like the Sony z3 compact, but the whole root-kills-the-camera thing turns me way off. I intend to get a t-mobile version of whatever I get and unlock it for att.

I haven't had touchwiz on the s4 since the first week, and I use root for Tasker, customshare, debloating, and a bunch of little tweaks I can't remember at the moment. Tethering, for sure.

So, considering price, camera, improvement over gs4, 6-12 months, rootable without crippling a key feature, what else should I be looking at?

[Rukbat]

I picked up a galaxy s4 about this time last year for $300 with the intent of using it for a year and confirming I liked me some android. It's starting to slow down on me

Go to Settings/General/Storage/Cache and clear the cache. Install an app like Startup Manager to control what's running in the background. (Greenify may also be of some help with that.) Then see how fast it is.

I've been looking hard at the note 4 (will have to shop around and skip a few nights at the bar I think, for a clean one) and the LG g3.

Swappa is usually your best bet.

The optical image stabilization is very tempting, my hands shake a bit and I use a tripod or a mount to get decent pics.

That's more stable than image stabilization.

The size of the note is a little scary, as I currently jog and bike with the phone, and run around playgrounds with the kids, but I expect I'd learn to love it like a lot of people do.

Invest in an Otterbox Defender for it. I've dropped mine face down onto a solid surface from a desk. It made a noise when it hit. (I also caught the charging cable from th wireless charger on my arm and catapulted the phone into a wall. That didn't even make a noise.) The Defender handled both of my goofs without a problem.

I really wanted to like the Sony z3 compact, but the whole root-kills-the-camera thing turns me way off.

Any phone can be rooted - successfully - if it's done correctly.

I intend to get a t-mobile version of whatever I get and unlock it for att.

Talk to yout AT&T store manager. Most people are using the international version - it's more likely to stay usable on AT&T (and doesn't need unlocking).

So, considering price, camera, improvement over gs4, 6-12 months, rootable without crippling a key feature, what else should I be looking at?

If you like the Note idea (the S-Pen, particularly), the Note. The G3 is a good phone. I'd go for anything fairly current that a) has a removable battery, b) has an external SD card, c) has an Otterbox Defender case available and d) didn't have a locked bootloader (which AT&T is fond of - great carrier, lousy decision).