What is the best "small-ish" phone?

[Paisley]

I know very frustrating man. I hate iPhone and I'm seriously looking at buying one just cause it's 4.7"...the only other option is that Sony z3 compact.

Except I'm pretty Sprint's not getting that phone. Only the z3 jumbo. Can't say for sure though. If they do, I'll be buying that shizz as soon as my upgrade hits. But it's pretty much a pipe dream. : (. Sorry.

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[Francis Dunphy]

Lgg2 is a perfect size phone. I have small hands and have no problems holding it.

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[imurrx]

Moto X 1st gen will get 5.1 at some point. It is rolling out internationally now.

It is still a good buy.

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[dishe]

Hate to revive this thread 6 months later, but I find myself in this position as well. I even replaced my EVO LTE with an LG F3 because I wanted to go back to a smaller form factor.
Turns out the F3 is adorable but horrible performance. Its really bugging me lately. The thing is limited to 4GB internal storage, which is really more like 1 available after the OS.
I did a whole memory-swap thing to use the SD card as app storage, and that's been good enough to hold me over for a while. But lately it has been bugging me- it still just feels slow and laggy and I find myself looking for another phone rather than tweak/overclock/newrom/etc this one. But where to go from here?

There's the S4 mini, but even that one is more than a generation old already. Is the Moto X still something to consider in this day and age? I hated the HTC Evo LTE's form, but I held a friend's moto and it didn't seem too bad. Is there anything else on the lineup or coming soon to look out for? Or are those without ginormous pockets and small hands out of luck?

 

[flychinook]

There's the HTC One A9, not much taller than the iPhone 6, and about the same width. It's a good bit larger than the S4 mini, and taller than the G2 (skinnier than the G2, though).

 

[Paisley]

I still love my moto x 13

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[dishe]

I'd rather something smaller than the G2. I remember when the G2 came out, I held one in the store and my wife and I poked fun at how ridiculous it felt and looked to hold it up to our heads (we both felt like we should yell, like the other party was far away- LOL).
I guess times have changed and now that's considered a normal sized device to hold up to our heads, but back then it seemed rediculous to us and I can't even express how much of a sellout I'd feel like getting a device that size or larger right now. This whole thing bothers me so much, the whole beauty of Android IMO was that you had OPTIONS! You like a keyboard? Sure, we got that. Want a slick thin all-touch device? Sure. Want a big screen? Pick one. Small screen? NO. NO SMALL SCREEN. NO PHONE FOR YOU!!!
Like WTH man. Even keyboards are all but gone. We don't all want different versions of the SAME phone, what happened to variety, and finding a phone that fit YOU instead of what everyone else wants like a lowest common denominator (*cough* iPhone *cough*).
/end rant.

I'm looking up the original 1st gen Moto X, specs are still pretty decent for an older handset. Better than the S4 mini without being significantly bigger. But... that sealed battery is a killer on a used device. If I get one and the previous owner abused his battery for 2 years, I might be getting a phone that barely lasts between charges. And unlike the Samsung, I can't just swap out a fresh battery. I just looked up some youtube videos of dismantling a Moto X to swap the battery, and that alone might be enough to make me settle for the Samsung instead.

ARE YOU LISTENING, SPRINT? There's a huge gap missing in your lineup!

 

[dishe]

I keep reading S4 Mini Reviews, and they almost all compare it to the Moto X, saying for a bit more money its a much more powerful device for not-too-much-larger.

So I keep going back and forth with this. Is the non-replaceable battery going to be a problem for me? My current phone (LG F3) has killer battery life and can easily go all day off the charger. If I buy a Moto X now, 2 years after release, will the battery likely be shot??

 

[craigrn16]

The A9 or Z5 compact

 

[dishe]

I wish the Z5 compact were available on Sprint!

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: What is the best "small-ish" phone?

Why not a nice used or refurbished Nexus 5? Nice size, still a very capable phone and still supported by Google. Getting pure, unmolested Marshmallow 6.0 OTA now. My son has my old Nexus 5 and vows to use it until it falls apart, which might be quite a while. Nothing flashy about it, just simple and solid.

Or, to get even smaller get a Nexus 4. I have one running stock Marshmallow 6.0, rooted, firewalled, with the latest TWRP recovery and all kinds of stuff loaded. It runs 6.0 very well, fast and smooth. It's my testing device, but sometimes I use it just for the hecjkuv it. I just still like using it. I'm typing this on it now. I haven't done it, but you can even flash LTE radios on it. Really nice build quality, has a premium feel.

And a Nexus 4 or 5 would have a Nice Price...

 

[dishe]

Re: What is the best "small-ish" phone?

Why not a nice used or refurbished Nexus 5? Nice size, still a very capable phone and still supported by Google. Getting pure, unmolested Marshmallow 6.0 OTA now. My son has my old Nexus 5 and vows to use it until it falls apart, which might be quite a while. Nothing flashy about it, just simple and solid.

Or, to get even smaller get a Nexus 4. I have one running stock Marshmallow 6.0, rooted, firewalled, with the latest TWRP recovery and all kinds of stuff loaded. It runs 6.0 very well, fast and smooth. It's my testing device, but sometimes I use it just for the hecjkuv it. I just still like using it. I'm typing this on it now. I haven't done it, but you can even flash LTE radios on it. Really nice build quality, has a premium feel.

And a Nexus 4 or 5 would have a Nice Price...

I actually have an old Nexus 4 someone gave me for my kids because the screen is cracked. Its on the big side for me, to be honest. We use it like a mini tablet. I guess I could live with it as a phone, but they don't make one that is compatible with Sprint's network. The Nexus 5 does, but its even bigger. Not to mention I have the same problem with the irremovable battery: A device that is 2+ years old with a battery I can't easily change sounds like I'll be spending a lot of time looking for an available outlet.

It looks like the S4 mini might be my best option, even though the specs sort of pale in comparison.

 

[dishe]

I know battery tech has gotten a little bit better over the last 15 years, but does anyone remember the original iPaq Pocket PCs? I owned one of the original Compaq ones (before HP bought them) back in 2002, and it was the first sealed battery device I had even seen.

I used to use it a lot, charging at my desk, in the car, etc. After 2 years, the thing could barely last a matter of hours off the charger. I bought a replacement battery from china and took it apart to attempt a replacement, and decided to ditch the whole thing and buy one of the new HP models since I could easily swap the battery. After that, I sort of have an aversion to buying anything used with a sealed battery.

In short: Every current model phone seems comically ginormous. I don't mind a used phone to get one the right size, but anything over a year old *MUST* have a removeable battery or I'll feel like I'm throwing my money away.

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: What is the best "small-ish" phone?

I actually have an old Nexus 4 someone gave me for my kids because the screen is cracked. Its on the big side for me, to be honest. We use it like a mini tablet. I guess I could live with it as a phone, but they don't make one that is compatible with Sprint's network. The Nexus 5 does, but its even bigger.

Whoa! You really DO want something small. The Nexus 4 slips right into pockets and the Nexus 5 isn't much bigger and it's thinner. Now, my Nexus 6 - that's a mini tablet.

Not to mention I have the same problem with the irremovable battery: A device that is 2+ years old with a battery I can't easily change sounds like I'll be spending a lot of time looking for an available outlet.

That N4 has the original battery, charged almost every day for 3 years and going strong. 2 years for the N5. I don't worry about batteries anymore. If one ever needs replacement I can do it or repair shops do it while you wait for about $50-80 parts and labor.

 

[dishe]

Re: What is the best "small-ish" phone?

Whoa! You really DO want something small. The Nexus 4 slips right into pockets and the Nexus 5 isn't much bigger and it's thinner. Now, my Nexus 6 - that's a mini tablet.

Dude. My current phone is an LG F3 with a 4" display. I hate the low end CPU and storage (4GB leaves me with barely 1GB after OS for apps), but this thing is the perfect size for me. Goes in my pocket with other things and never leaves me. I had an HTC One X for a while and found that I took it out of my pocket when I sit down (since I couldn't easily fish it in and out of my pocket when sitting and I was constantly aware of it when wearing jeans), and would randomly leave it places by accident like my car or desk at work. I know big screens are cool for watching videos, but what's the point of a mobile device that you never actually have on you? I'm looking at an S4 mini, which is 4.3", which is close enough to the F3 that I'm OK with with it, but once we start approaching 5" I lose my enthusiasm. My goodness, what I wouldn't give for a high end phone the size of an F3.
Or heck, even one the size of the OG EVO. I'd even settle for an F3 that just had a quadcore CPU and more memory. But alas, the big names in phone manufacturing are all vying for the same demographic. I guess there aren't enough of us who think the big phones are silly.

That N4 has the original battery, charged almost every day for 3 years and going strong. 2 years for the N5. I don't worry about batteries anymore. If one ever needs replacement I can do it or repair shops do it while you wait for about $50-80 parts and labor.

I don't want to have to do that, though. I could probably do it myself too, but it really makes it hard to get excited about something like that. Especially when some of these handsets don't even cost much more than that in the first place!

The S4 mini has a normal battery door, and despite somewhat aging hardware, I can pick up some cheap batteries for probably 10-20 if I ever need to and actually have spares in the care or home to swap out. It really seems like my best option right now, but I know I'm investing in older hardware which doesn't make me feel good about that either. I'm just going to sit here with my frustratingly under powered F3 until I can figure out my thoughts on the matter. :/
Thanks for all the helpful replies and for letting me vent!

 

[Puzzlegal]

I have an early Moto X 2013, and I'm sure I've abused the battery, and it's not a lot worse than when I bought it. And I think you can get Moto to replace the battery, but I'm not sure about that. I keep doing for a new phone, and have bought two, but keep coming back to this one.

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: What is the best "small-ish" phone?

It's too bad the Nexus 4 won't work on Sprint for you, really a shame. Because it's just barely bigger than the S4 Mini. And I mean just barely bigger. If you stacked them up you would hardly be able to tell the difference. But for an itty-bitty bit bigger device you get a bigger, much better screen, double the internal storage, bigger battery, wireless charging, far better specs in every respect - CPU, GPU, RAM etc, better build quality, no friggin' Touchwiz and with the N4 you can load vanilla Marshmallow 6.0 and enable LTE. It's really no contest.

My daughter had an S4 Mini. It was not a good experience. Just my opinion, but I never have and never will own a Samsung phone. They make some good products - I used a Samsung SSD drive when I built the computer I'm typing this on and it's excellent. But not phones. And to put it kindly, let's just say that software is not their strong point.