Can I get some phone buying advice?

[AC Question]

phone buying advice

Hello, I have an old Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket I got from AT&T. I do not talk a lot, so I switched to Consumer Cellular after my contract was up. Now the phone is getting old and sometimes it resets to a weird screen and sometimes the camera comes up, but without the controls onscreen.

I want to get something newer without a contract and preferably without a ton of bloatware. AT&T put so many apps on there that I don't use and can't remove.

What do you think of rooted phones? Is it a bad idea to buy one already rooted?
I am considering an S5 refurbished direct from Samsung. Maybe it won't have as much AT&T stuff on it. I just want it to work on the AT&T network.

I hear there is an android vulnerability and if you have a google phone they get update quickly, but other makers/ phone companies may not update as fast and leave you vulnerable. What do you think of the nexus phones?

 

[srkmagnus]

Re: phone buying advice

Welcome to Android Central!

Is price a major factor?

The Moto G (2015) is a great phone - nicely priced and over-all good device. The Nexus phones are great, especially if you are able to find a good price on the Nexus 6 or Nexus 5. Give us a little more information as to the price and phone size you are looking for and we'll try and suggest other devices worth looking at.

 

[BrentMc78]

Re: phone buying advice

Sometimes I feel like a smaller phone than the S2, but big screens are nice too. I am not 100% decided. I waited years to buy a tablet and read a lot of reviews and picked the 2013 nexus7. It is a great bang-for-the-buck tablet. I would like to find something like it in a phone. That Moto G looks like a good phone.

Before I go and buy another AT&T bloatware phone. Has anyone tried MetroPCS unlimited data? I am thinking about it. Only the first gig or so, depending on your plan, is 4G LTE. I wonder how fast is it after that. Could you watch video? I thought I better think about this first because I don't know what kind of phones they use.

Also does anyone have an opinion about rooted phones?
As far as the price it would be nice to keep it under $250 without a contract, but remember I am happy to buy used or refurbished to get a better phone than one that sells new for that price.

 

[Rukbat]

Re: phone buying advice

You only need a rooted phone if you're going to run apps that need root. If you run an app that doesn't request root, it works the same, whether the phone is rooted or not. The only problem with a rooted phone is that, aside from HTC, the warranty is void.

MetroPCS is unlimited data with the first GB at 4G speed, then the rest at such a slow speed that if you can download another 1GB during the rest of the month, you're lucky. (Speeds vary, but I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't get 50kbps after the first GB.)

If you want a phone that will work on AT&T but without the AT&T bloat, and you don't want to root (if you're rooted you can remove all the bloat, although I keep their barcode reader - it works), buy an international (for Europe) version - as long as it has LTE band 17 (that's pretty much all that's in use at the present time).

As for updates, Android is written for the current Nexus, and Google is pretty quick rewriting it for older Nexus phones. Other manufacturers have to modify it for each of their model phones, then the carriers get to order their own modifications, so it takes longer. (Sometimes, like with AT&T, a LOT longer.)

 

[BrentMc78]

Re: phone buying advice

I like the looks of the Moto X Pure edition and the Nexus 6P, but I want to save money and get an older phone. I am thinking of getting an S5 on eBay. I think I can get one for $250 or less. Do you think that is the best phone I can get for that price?

 

[BrentMc78]

Re: phone buying advice

Any opinions? Is a used S5 for $250 the best phone I can get around that price?