Looking for a new phone in the $300-$400 range, have a few thoughts?

[lemon40]

Looking for a new phone in the $300-$400 range, have a few thoughts

So my current phone is about 5 years old. Time for a new one since most web pages don't even work any more and pretty much anything I do on the phone leads to the 'internal memory is full' error.
I'm on T-mobile now and they've been good to the wife and I, so we have no reason to find a new carrier.
I want this new phone to last me another 5 years because I'm cheap like that. Based on this requirement, I'm thinking I need something that will get updates for as long as possible. I know after 3 years or so, it probably won't get anymore updates, but if it's still working and the apps work and such, then great.
Also, my current phone has a slide out keyboard which I've pretty much accepted is going away with the new phone (not gonna pay $800 for the new blackberry). So I'm thinking at least a 5" screen. I've checked and it seems all of those will fit in my pocket which is another requirement.
I really don't play any fancy games, most of what I'll be doing is email and webrowsing, and playing freecell while in the bathroom LOL
I'm thinking something with at least 3gb RAM and pretty much anything quad core would still be pretty zippy even five years from now.

So based on this, I'm leaning a bit towards the Motorola Nexus 6 because it's Google and likely to continue getting the latest updates for a while.
Others I'm considering are the Asus Zenfone 2 and the Blu Pure XL. Should I be considering something else? Out of the 3, what do you think is the best value? Are there other things I'm missing that I should consider as well?

Oh, one other thing, I'd like a replaceable battery. It seems the trend now is towards integrated battery. How tough are these to change and how expensive is it if I were to have it done by a professional?

Thanks for reading!

-d

 

[Mooncatt]

Re: Looking for a new phone in the $300-$400 range, have a few thoughts

Oh, one other thing, I'd like a replaceable battery. It seems the trend now is towards integrated battery. How tough are these to change and how expensive is it if I were to have it done by a professional?

I recently had the integrated battery on my M8 replaced at a local shop, and it was about $70 parts and labor. I'll never go that route again because the USB port was also bad, meaning there was no way to charge it. At least with a replaceable battery, I'd have the option of getting a second battery and charging cradle to swap as needed. I've also learned that when it comes to warranty roulette, integrated batteries are just another point of failure.

I don't have much to say about your phone suggestions. In general, I'd say if you plan to keep it that long, then buy top of the line now. Mobile technology is moving so fast that I wouldn't be surprised if even the expensive flagship phones out today have trouble running a few years down the line.