I am planning on buying my first smartphone---most likely the Galaxy Note 3. I am just waiting for the Note 4's to appear and the price on the Note 3 to drop.
For the past 9-10 years I have had the same Motorola flip phone and, frankly, I've been perfectly happy with it. I replaced the battery four times and it has just kept going. I'm ready, though, to step up to something more. I customized my flip phone, with shortcuts and a custom menu---even on a fairly vanilla "dumb" phone---and that is why I knew I would want to go with an Android phone that can be customized so completely.
Here's my concern: It seems like the majority of people move on to a new phone as soon as their 2-year contract expires or as soon as the next new round of smartphones appears. That isn't me---I would really like to get a good phone and keep it for as many years as possible. I am, however, concerned when I read of the anguish that many people go through each time the phone is updated with a newer version of Android OS. I would like to avoid that as much as possible and just get the phone set up the way I like and leave it that way. (Sorry, I know that many of you would consider that boring or not using the phone to its full potential, but it makes sense to me.)
So is there a way to accomplish this and keep a smartphone for what most people would consider many years past its prime? Can I avoid future updates? What if some of the apps are updated and then don't work well on my phone? Can I go back to an earlier version of the app to keep it working on my phone?
I would appreciate it if you would be specific in recommendations (with instructions) for how I can accomplish this---remember, I'm a newby and I'm not even sure how to back up the phone properly, much less avoid or cope with updates of apps and OS. If you were purchasing a smartphone like the Note 3 that is already past its prime, what would you do to try to ensure longevity with the phone?
One last note: I have some very specific ideas regarding how I would like to customize my phone, but none of it involves rooting and I really don't want to consider rooting the phone at this time (and likely not in the future, either).
Thanks for any ideas you have to offer.
For the past 9-10 years I have had the same Motorola flip phone and, frankly, I've been perfectly happy with it. I replaced the battery four times and it has just kept going. I'm ready, though, to step up to something more. I customized my flip phone, with shortcuts and a custom menu---even on a fairly vanilla "dumb" phone---and that is why I knew I would want to go with an Android phone that can be customized so completely.
Here's my concern: It seems like the majority of people move on to a new phone as soon as their 2-year contract expires or as soon as the next new round of smartphones appears. That isn't me---I would really like to get a good phone and keep it for as many years as possible. I am, however, concerned when I read of the anguish that many people go through each time the phone is updated with a newer version of Android OS. I would like to avoid that as much as possible and just get the phone set up the way I like and leave it that way. (Sorry, I know that many of you would consider that boring or not using the phone to its full potential, but it makes sense to me.)
So is there a way to accomplish this and keep a smartphone for what most people would consider many years past its prime? Can I avoid future updates? What if some of the apps are updated and then don't work well on my phone? Can I go back to an earlier version of the app to keep it working on my phone?
I would appreciate it if you would be specific in recommendations (with instructions) for how I can accomplish this---remember, I'm a newby and I'm not even sure how to back up the phone properly, much less avoid or cope with updates of apps and OS. If you were purchasing a smartphone like the Note 3 that is already past its prime, what would you do to try to ensure longevity with the phone?
One last note: I have some very specific ideas regarding how I would like to customize my phone, but none of it involves rooting and I really don't want to consider rooting the phone at this time (and likely not in the future, either).
Thanks for any ideas you have to offer.