Should I Trade my iPhone 4S for a Moto G?

[eriley1987]

Hello All,

I currently have a 2.5 year old iPhone 4s that I got when they first came out in October 2011. I like my iPhone, but feel that eventually I will be forced to upgrade. When I got the iPhone, I was really big on having a phone contract and upgrading my phone every 2 years. Before this phone, I had the 3G. My frugality has grown over the last year and I no longer want a contract that I pay $85+/month for phone service. Right now, I am using my iPhone 4s on the AT&T Go Phone plan for $66.06/month. I am even becoming a little tired of that because I never use my 2 GB of data. I have wifi at work, home, and school. So I really only use other data when I am out and about. In the past 6 months, the most data I have used on my 4G for the month is 0.5 GB (it really averages more to about 0.2-0.3 GB). I am thinking of moving over to Aio Wireless because they are the AT&T Prepaid subsidary (so coverage should be the same) and I can get the unlimited calling/texting with 500 MB of data at HSPA speeds (and then throttled to 2G if I go over that) for $35/month. I highly doubt that I will go over the 500 MB cap and even if I do, I don't think the way I use data will really be a problem.

Here is why I am posting to this forum. Aio currently has a deal where you get can a Moto G for $99 when you buy a plan with them. I am absolutely never going to spend $300 + on a phone again if I can help it. I don't think that it makes sense for me and what I need. I use my phone to talk, text, Facebook, games (Candy Crush, WWF, Matching with Friends), email, some light web browsing, and a few other apps like My Fitness Pal, etc. I really like the idea of getting a $99 phone without a contract and I have an Android tablet, so I know I like the Android OS. I don't really use the camera much on my iPhone, so I don't think the downgrade on the Moto G camera will bother me much either. Also, my iPhone now does not have LTE so it's not like I even know how fast LTE is... plus Aio caps you out to 8 mpbs on LTE and 4 mbps on HSPA. Again, not foreseeing this as an issue unless you guys know something I do not.

I guess I am just a litty weary of purchasing a phone that I have never used and the price point does make me a tad nervous about how long the phone will hold up. I have the 16 GB iPhone and I am only using 4.2 GB of space. The Aio Moto G is the 8 GB one, which I've read leaves about 5 GB after OS and everything... so do you guys think the pone would function okay with that seeing as how I am below 5 GB right now? I've done some research and it just looks like the Moto G is really the best value phone that you get right now considering the price. I will have to eventually upgrade my iPhone and I am wondering if I should do it now when I can still get ~$100ish for the iPhone. Opinions? Suggestions?

Thanks,
-E

 

[nessinhaw]

well...as a Moto G owner for 3 months now i can say i'm really happy with the phone! awesome screen, smooth performance, after Kitkat camera had some significant improvement and i have an average 1day of battery on moderate use!

i just would think about the 8Gb version...it has like 5.4Gb available (from what i remember) and even tho you use 4Gb on your iPhone, all the apps and games you use are on those 4Gb right? still, it might be tight on the 8Gb version, considering cache and other stuff...and if you decide to have more apps/games or add music, you won't rly have space...

i'd say strecth the budget a lil bit and get the 16Gb! unless you are RLY safe you won't use more than 5Gb, then go for the 8Gb! 99d?lars is rly a bargain lol

sent from my Moto G

 

[jec11718]

I was really impressed with the moto g. It's well worth the $99. Buy it and you'll see!!!

sent from my Nos M7 DNA

 

[eriley1987]

i just would think about the 8Gb version...it has like 5.4Gb available (from what i remember) and even tho you use 4Gb on your iPhone, all the apps and games you use are on those 4Gb right? still, it might be tight on the 8Gb version, considering cache and other stuff...and if you decide to have more apps/games or add music, you won't rly have space...

i'd say strecth the budget a lil bit and get the 16Gb! unless you are RLY safe you won't use more than 5Gb, then go for the 8Gb! 99d?lars is rly a bargain lol

sent from my Moto G

Thanks for the reply! I am glad that you still like your Moto G. I was looking at my space and what I have... and some stuff on here is "Apple stuff"... like Mail, Messages, Safari, Sounds, etc. Not sure if it would end up being about the same on the Moto G. The thought of having extra space makes me feel better (just because I had an 8 GB 3G that got really laggy... but it was also after the big yearly Apple update in 2011, so maybe that's why). However, $99 for a smartphone is exactly up my ally and I've heard such good reviews about the Moto G.

Eeeek! I don't know what to do! If it had expandable memory then there would not even be any question.

 

[nessinhaw]

Thanks for the reply! I am glad that you still like your Moto G. I was looking at my space and what I have... and some stuff on here is "Apple stuff"... like Mail, Messages, Safari, Sounds, etc. Not sure if it would end up being about the same on the Moto G. The thought of having extra space makes me feel better (just because I had an 8 GB 3G that got really laggy... but it was also after the big yearly Apple update in 2011, so maybe that's why). However, $99 for a smartphone is exactly up my ally and I've heard such good reviews about the Moto G.

Eeeek! I don't know what to do! If it had expandable memory then there would not even be any question.

well...if that helps, you can use pendrives thru OTG! there are a lot of cheap adapters or you can just buy an OTG pendrive!

ofc you can't stuff apps on it i believe but for media it's amazing!

just curious...is there any deal on the 16Gb version?

sent from my Moto G <3

 

[eriley1987]

well...if that helps, you can use pendrives thru OTG! there are a lot of cheap adapters or you can just buy an OTG pendrive!

ofc you can't stuff apps on it i believe but for media it's amazing!

just curious...is there any deal on the 16Gb version?

sent from my Moto G <3

Not sure what pendrives thru OTG is...

There is not a deal on the 16 GB one which sucks, because I would gladly pay $129.99 or something for it. :-(

 

[nessinhaw]

Not sure what pendrives thru OTG is...

There is not a deal on the 16 GB one which sucks, because I would gladly pay $129.99 or something for it. :-(

it simply means you'll be able to use a pendrive on your smartphone...

here - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go

wikipedia explains well what is usb otg!

 

[draconianchaos]

USB otg only works with media. Photos won't be an issue as g+ handles that music can be had through Google play. You should look into the storage space of the cross platform components of your 4s.
In all if you're going to sell the 4s. I just checked swappa and 16gb 4s is going for ~$200 even locked to AT&T (unlocked is going for ~$300) if you can get the 4s unlocked spring for the security and get the 16gb Moto G. As it's $199 direct from Moto gsm unlocked.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[eriley1987]

I realized that the Facebook app was taking up a lot of space and I guess it was cacheing. So I deleted it and reinstalled it and now I am using 3.8 GB of space. Everything I have on my iPhone right now (app wise) is what I would want on the Moto G. I don't want to store movies or music on it. I have Pandora for music and I don't watch movies or TV shows on it. As for pictures, I have the Dropbox app synced on my phone, so I can upload pics to that which is what I prefer to do. I think I am just going to take the plunge because $99 is a great deal!

 

[eriley1987]

USB otg only works with media. Photos won't be an issue as g+ handles that music can be had through Google play. You should look into the storage space of the cross platform components of your 4s.
In all if you're going to sell the 4s. I just checked swappa and 16gb 4s is going for ~$200 even locked to AT&T (unlocked is going for ~$300) if you can get the 4s unlocked spring for the security and get the 16gb Moto G. As it's $199 direct from Moto gsm unlocked.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I did not see your post when I was posting. So you really think I need the 16 GB one? That just feels so wasteful considering that I have the 16 GB iPhone and am only using 3.8 GB.

:-(

 

[draconianchaos]

Do a bit of reading on low memory woes of Android phones of old. You'll only have 8gb with the $99 phone. What do you plan to do with the 4s out of curiosity?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[eriley1987]

I want to sell it. I was thinking I would trade it on Amazon since I know I can get a set amount for it and I trust them. But they would only give me $117 for it. I have not researched any other avenues at this point of how to go about selling it.

Also, I just got the unlock email from AT&T this afternoon, so if unlocking it increases the price then I will do that.

 

[sdc1]

The Moto G is all kinds of awesome, I still can't believe what a bargain it is. It will be money will spent.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[eriley1987]

Just thought I would give you guys an update on my decision. So, I read all of these really great reviews about the Moto G and several of them stated that if you were even thinking of buying a Moto G, to just go ahead and do it. I really wanted the $99 one... so I took the 8GB plunge and decided to do it (nervously).

I got my phone yesterday and it has taken me some time to get it customized the way I want and get all the apps set up that I had on my iPhone. I downloaded all the apps I wanted (had on my iPhone) and a couple of extras to allow me to customize my phone (for instance an app to allow me to customize how my text messages look) etc. These are my results for storage, which I am quite excited about. Let me know what you think. Overall, I think I made a really good decision to trade iOS in for Android. Hopefully, the 8 GB decision works out well, too.

 

[spackmanstephen]

Yes!

the big print giveth, the small print taketh

 

[saxon21]

eriley, since the phone came from them did you have to change any APN settings? Or was it ready to go? Also did the sim card ship with the phone and was it extra? Sorry I'm a complete newb and I'm looking to buy my 1st smart phone. How do you like AIO so far?

 

[nessinhaw]

Just thought I would give you guys an update on my decision. So, I read all of these really great reviews about the Moto G and several of them stated that if you were even thinking of buying a Moto G, to just go ahead and do it. I really wanted the $99 one... so I took the 8GB plunge and decided to do it (nervously).

I got my phone yesterday and it has taken me some time to get it customized the way I want and get all the apps set up that I had on my iPhone. I downloaded all the apps I wanted (had on my iPhone) and a couple of extras to allow me to customize my phone (for instance an app to allow me to customize how my text messages look) etc. These are my results for storage, which I am quite excited about. Let me know what you think. Overall, I think I made a really good decision to trade iOS in for Android. Hopefully, the 8 GB decision works out well, too.

View attachment 108012

wow that's really great! so you installed FB and all the stuff you had on iOS and still has 4Gb free? thats indeed awesome XD

but to have an idea, from the 13Gb available on my Moto G, only 4.3Gb are taken and i have FB, FB Messenger, Whatsapp, Apex Launcher, 2 icon packs, Cronus, Pinterest, Press, Tapatalk, Minions Rush, Wallbase and Opera Mini lol

eriley, since the phone came from them did you have to change any APN settings? Or was it ready to go? Also did the sim card ship with the phone and was it extra? Sorry I'm a complete newb and I'm looking to buy my 1st smart phone. How do you like AIO so far?

i believe the Moto G is an amazing first smartphone! stock android and smooth performance will give you a great 1st impression of Android!

and i guess you don't need to set APN...at least for me, on wi-fi and 3G, just connect (type pass on wi-fi case) and done lol

sent from my Moto G

 

[eriley1987]

eriley, since the phone came from them did you have to change any APN settings? Or was it ready to go? Also did the sim card ship with the phone and was it extra? Sorry I'm a complete newb and I'm looking to buy my 1st smart phone. How do you like AIO so far?

Hey saxon21,

I did not have to change or mess with any APN settings on my phone. I don't even know how, quite honestly. It was totally ready to go. All I had to do was follow the instructions that came with it... activate it online and put the SIM card in the phone. It took a few minutes to do a few updates and it was ready to go.

I will add one thing that did not work correctly right away that I did not realize at first. My friends who had iPhones had been messaging me via iMessage and we did not receive each others text messages for a few days after the switch... I just didn't know it. But I guess it took a few days to reset or something because no problems now.

 

[eriley1987]

Oh, also wanted to add that I sold my iPhone and all the accessories to a girl at work. She got the iPhone in the original box with original paperwork (looked basically brand new because I took really good care of it), original charger, extra charger, car charger, and 4 cases. She paid $140 and I came out even on the price of the Moto G + $40/month plan (for the 1st month). Yay!