What phone did you come from and why?

[Aflaaaak]

The Journey to my first Smartphone...

Never really needed a Smart phone before, always had flip phones. All I really needed was a good phone that made clear, reliable calls. Nowadays, it's difficult to find a good one, because manufacturers put all the R & D into higher margin Smartphones. They all seem to be cheapo afterthoughts.The one decent looking one I found was a Samsung Convoy 3. It seemed to be higher quality than the other, bargain basement looking phones, but after I had it a while, the voice quality was seriously lacking. Battery life was great, lasting 1 1/2 weeks on a charge (I am a light to moderate user and always turn it off at night), and the 3 MP camera was surprisingly decent in good light.

I started having more and more "if I had a Smartphone, I could ..." moments, and wished I had my Canon P & S camera with me many times when my Samsung's wouldn't work, which is anytime other than good lighting.

I never really looked seriously at Smartphones before because I thought they would be too big to carry comfortably in my front jeans pocket, but my nephew told me it wasn't bad, and gave me his Nexux 6 to try out. I was surprised at how un-annoying it was to walk around with. Scratch that reason for not getting a Smartphone!

I started my usual over-researching phones back in April. We have an iPad, so am somewhat used to iOS, but don't like the way you can't do certain things it seems like you should be able to. Plus I am a bit of an anti-Apple person on principle, so didn't really look at the iPhone 6. Besides, Apple is going to release the next iPhone soon and didn't want to look at last year's model anyways. I looked at the Droid Turbo and liked the quality, size and feeling in hand, but didn't like the reviewer comments about the camera and screen outdoors. I really liked he LG G3, but seemed like it needed just a little "work". About this time, rumors on the upcoming G4, Samsung S6 and HTC M9, started coming out, so put everything on hold until the models came out. I thought about waiting for the new Moto X, but didn't know if I could wait that long, as we were going on vacation at the end of July and wanted something to take along.

I was initially turned off by the iPhone-wanna-be look of the S6, as well as no SD card or removable battery. Also, something about Samsung bugs me...can't quite put my finger on it. Really impressed by the camera though.

The HTC sounded like a great phone, but not the camera. After reading how mediocre the M8's camera was I was surprised HTC didn't do a better job with the M9.

The LG seemed to be the only one standing. Loved the big, clear screen...I figure if I'm going to have a screen bigger than my Convoy flip phone, I might as well go big (HATE my old iPod Touch's tiny screen!). Back buttons sounded brilliant, as I am always accidentally pushing my Samsung's side buttons when adjusting my grip. Liked the idea of a removable battery/SD card for all the obvious reasons. Having improved the G3's already decent camera was one of the final reasons to take the plunge, and so far, I'm glad I did! Last night, my wife (another flip phone user who I gave my Convoy to) commented "Wow, you can really do a lot with your phone!", which is a really positive statement since we had always made fun of the way people are constantly staring into their phones and missing the world around them.

There is so much I still need to learn about my G4...I don't even know what I don't know . I really need to customize where everything is located, and learn what to keep and what to get rid of or turn off, and learn which apps to download. So far I haven't had the problems others have had, like overheating or lag. Voice quality has been from average to great, depending on where I am, battery life is around two full days, turning it off at night (and I'm not a heavy SoT user).

 

[GrooveRite]

, Never really needed a Smart phone before, always had flip phones. All I really needed was a good phone that made clear calls reliably. Last one was difficult to find because manufacturers put all the R & D into higher margin Smartphones. The one I found was a Samsung Convoy 3, which was decent, but the voice quality was seriously lacking. Battery life was great, lasting 1 1/2 weeks on a charge (I am a light to moderate user and always turn it off at night), and the 3 MP camera was surprisingly decent in good light.

Started having more and more times when I thought to myself "if I had a Smartphone, I could ...". I also wished I had my camera with at times when my Samsung's wouldn't work, which is anytime other than good lighting.

Another reason I never really looked at Smartphones was I thought they would be too big to carry comfortably in my front jeans pocket, but my nephew told me it wasn't bad, and gave me his Nexux 6 to try out. I was surprised at how un-annoying it was to walk around with. Scratch that reason for not getting a Smartphone!

I started my usual over-researching phones back in April. We have an iPad, so am somewhat used to iOS, but don't like the way you can't do certain things it seems like you should be able to. Plus I am a bit of an anti-Apple person on principle, so no iPhone for me. Besides, Apple is going to release the next iPhone soon and didn't want to look at last year's model anyways. I looked at the Droid Turbo and likes the size and feeling in hand, but didn't like the reviewer comments about the camera and screen outdoors. I really liked he LG G3, but seemed like it needed just a little "work". About this time, rumors on the upcoming G4, Samsung S6 and HTC M9, started coming out, so put everything on hold until the models came out. I thought about waiting for the new Moto X, but didn't know if I could wait that long, as we were going on vacation at the end of July and wanted something to take along.

I was initially turned off by the iPhone-wanna-be look of the S6, as well as no SD card or removable battery. Also, something about Samsung bugs me...can't quite put my finger on it. Really impressed by the camera though.

The HTC sounded like a great phone, but not the camera. After reading how mediocre the M8's camera was I was surprised HTC didn't do a better job with the M9.

The LG seemed to be the only one standing. Loved the big, clear screen...I figure if I'm going to have a screen bigger than my Convoy flip phone, I might as well go big (HATE my old iPod Touch's tiny screen!). Back buttons sounded brilliant, as I am always accidentally pushing my Samsung's side buttons when adjusting my grip. Liked the idea of a removable battery/SD card for all the obvious reasons. Having improved the G3's already decent camera was one of the final reasons to take the plunge, and so far, I'm glad I did!

There is so much I still need to learn about my G4...I don't even know what I don't know . I really need to customize where everything is located, and learn what to keep and what to get rid of or turn off, and learn which apps to download. So far I haven't had the problems others have had, like overheating or lag. Voice quality has been from average to great, depending on where I am, battery life is around two full days, turning it off at night (and I'm not a heavy screentime user).

I want to applaud you for your researching skills/ability! You, my friend, are a TRUE Android user! What you said about Apple devices, "don't like the way you can't do certain things it seems like you should be able to", is spot on for me as well! Enjoy your G4 and please keep sharing your experience with us here on the forums!

 

[BCWARE]

Came from the LG G3...mainly because I realized how much I missed stock Android. That...and because I am self diagnosed with Technology ADD, so when the Nexus 6 came out....bang.....and...when the new one hits...I suspect I will be turning this bad boy in for it....lol.

 

[daboy]

I came from a Nexus 5...I wanted decent battery life (it was just terrible) and decent photos (it was just terrible). Only two things bad about that phone.

I am a current Nexus 5 user. How is the ear bud volume on the G4 if I may ask? The Nexus 5 ear bud volume is so low my lawn mower drowns it out! LOL

 

[erwaso]

I made it official last night. I have now come from the iPhone 6 Plus.

welcome aboard!

 

[Jonneh]

I am a current Nexus 5 user. How is the ear bud volume on the G4 if I may ask? The Nexus 5 ear bud volume is so low my lawn mower drowns it out! LOL

The volume when listening to headphones is great. LG software does implement an irritating protective hearing thing where, when you plug in the headphones, it automatically lowers the volume first. But it raises right back up if you raise it.

 

[Almeuit]

The volume when listening to headphones is great. LG software does implement an irritating protective hearing thing where, when you plug in the headphones, it automatically lowers the volume first. But it raises right back up if you raise it.

Interesting -- I didn't know this. I always use BT for my audio needs and it keeps the volume where ever I last left it.

 

[donovan1983]

Moved from an iPhone 6 a couple of weeks ago. Had issues with (in no particular order) storage utilization, battery life, touch sensitivity, lag, reception, and camera quality, among other things. The G4 is so far an improvement on all those things, in some cases a notable one.

 

[alexsd123]

The volume when listening to headphones is great. LG software does implement an irritating protective hearing thing where, when you plug in the headphones, it automatically lowers the volume first. But it raises right back up if you raise it.

I always wondered that. I also get warnings for raising the volume high, saying it could hurt my ears. Pretty sure it even stopped me from increasing the volume without accepting the warning. I figured it was some law enacted but I guess it's just LG? Interesting.

 

[GrooveRite]

The volume when listening to headphones is great. LG software does implement an irritating protective hearing thing where, when you plug in the headphones, it automatically lowers the volume first. But it raises right back up if you raise it.

Interesting -- I didn't know this. I always use BT for my audio needs and it keeps the volume where ever I last left it.

I always wondered that. I also get warnings for raising the volume high, saying it could hurt my ears. Pretty sure it even stopped me from increasing the volume without accepting the warning. I figured it was some law enacted but I guess it's just LG? Interesting.

Be glad its there for your protection! I have Tinnitus and you def don't want your ears ringing for the rest of your life. It sucks...trust me!

 

[Almeuit]

Be glad its there for your protection! I have Tinnitus and you def don't want your ears ringing for the rest of your life. It sucks...trust me!

I bet haha. I don't listen to stuff loud. I only crank my volume to almost full when watching twitch.tv ... some streams are "quieter" and full bar is pretty normal volume. It does suck when I stop watching twitch, forget that I had it turned up, and turn on Google Play Music ... That hurts! .

 

[TJCap]

I came from the S6 Edge. It's a cool phone at first, but the overheating and the incredible lag and overall slowness of the device was too much for me. Which was too bad because I really liked the size, form and design. I've had the G4 for a month now and it's just as fast as the day I got it. I wish it was a tad smaller but other than that I love it.

 

[Blazer]

Came from LG G3... wanted brighter daylight screen, more durability and longer battery life... got that with the S6 Active.

 

[RedOctobyr]

On headphone volume, Samsung does this too, or at least my Galaxy S3 did the same thing.

My car has an audio-input jack, but it's pretty quiet. So I always have to max out the phone's volume first, then also turn up the car's volume. I really wish you could disable the high-volume warning, as I get it rather frequently. I think it only happens once per bootup, though. As in, dismiss it once, and you won't see it again until the next time you reboot and crank the headphones volume.

 

[dungoyle]

The Journey to my first Smartphone...

Never really needed a Smart phone before, always had flip phones. All I really needed was a good phone that made clear, reliable calls. Nowadays, it's difficult to find a good one, because manufacturers put all the R & D into higher margin Smartphones. They all seem to be cheapo afterthoughts.The one decent looking one I found was a Samsung Convoy 3. It seemed to be higher quality than the other, bargain basement looking phones, but after I had it a while, the voice quality was seriously lacking. Battery life was great, lasting 1 1/2 weeks on a charge (I am a light to moderate user and always turn it off at night), and the 3 MP camera was surprisingly decent in good light.

I started having more and more "if I had a Smartphone, I could ..." moments, and wished I had my Canon P & S camera with me many times when my Samsung's wouldn't work, which is anytime other than good lighting.

I never really looked seriously at Smartphones before because I thought they would be too big to carry comfortably in my front jeans pocket, but my nephew told me it wasn't bad, and gave me his Nexux 6 to try out. I was surprised at how un-annoying it was to walk around with. Scratch that reason for not getting a Smartphone!

I started my usual over-researching phones back in April. We have an iPad, so am somewhat used to iOS, but don't like the way you can't do certain things it seems like you should be able to. Plus I am a bit of an anti-Apple person on principle, so didn't really look at the iPhone 6. Besides, Apple is going to release the next iPhone soon and didn't want to look at last year's model anyways. I looked at the Droid Turbo and liked the quality, size and feeling in hand, but didn't like the reviewer comments about the camera and screen outdoors. I really liked he LG G3, but seemed like it needed just a little "work". About this time, rumors on the upcoming G4, Samsung S6 and HTC M9, started coming out, so put everything on hold until the models came out. I thought about waiting for the new Moto X, but didn't know if I could wait that long, as we were going on vacation at the end of July and wanted something to take along.

I was initially turned off by the iPhone-wanna-be look of the S6, as well as no SD card or removable battery. Also, something about Samsung bugs me...can't quite put my finger on it. Really impressed by the camera though.

The HTC sounded like a great phone, but not the camera. After reading how mediocre the M8's camera was I was surprised HTC didn't do a better job with the M9.

The LG seemed to be the only one standing. Loved the big, clear screen...I figure if I'm going to have a screen bigger than my Convoy flip phone, I might as well go big (HATE my old iPod Touch's tiny screen!). Back buttons sounded brilliant, as I am always accidentally pushing my Samsung's side buttons when adjusting my grip. Liked the idea of a removable battery/SD card for all the obvious reasons. Having improved the G3's already decent camera was one of the final reasons to take the plunge, and so far, I'm glad I did! Last night, my wife (another flip phone user who I gave my Convoy to) commented "Wow, you can really do a lot with your phone!", which is a really positive statement since we had always made fun of the way people are constantly staring into their phones and missing the world around them.

There is so much I still need to learn about my G4...I don't even know what I don't know . I really need to customize where everything is located, and learn what to keep and what to get rid of or turn off, and learn which apps to download. So far I haven't had the problems others have had, like overheating or lag. Voice quality has been from average to great, depending on where I am, battery life is around two full days, turning it off at night (and I'm not a heavy SoT user).

A very insightful post; I truly enjoyed sharing the experience of your "journey of discovery" into the smartphone world in general, and your decision making process that eventually led you to your specific choice.

 

[trac3rbull3t]

The note 4 has a terrible gps thats for sure... Or is it just mine?

 

[missouriexile]

Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Went to LG G4 to retain removable battery and SD card. Extremely happy with the screen quality and camera. Not a big gamer but very happy with snappy processing speed. Not looking back.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[pantlesspenguin]

The note 4 has a terrible gps thats for sure... Or is it just mine?

I came from a Note 4 and had a HORRIBLE time with GPS. I did several warranty replacements and they never worked. My G4 is like a breath of fresh air in that regard! I feel so confident I'll be using it on a road trip next week!

 

[ljfong]

I came from BlackBerry Z30 after getting really tired with the Android player, general lack of apps, lack of the direction of BlackBerry the company and BlackBerry 10 OS simply is going nowhere, well, it's time to move away. Been a BlackBerry user since the days of Bold 9000, alas. I am simply nowhere as hardcore as those guys who stick with BlackBerry no matter what on CB forums.

The Nexus 6 64 GB is my very first Android phone and then I realize this is what a modern smartphone should work and feel like, today.

 

[dungoyle]

Motorola Droid Turbo 64G Ballistic Nylon. Loved the phone, but hated Verizon. Mostly, I just wanted to escape VZW, and Sprint was offering to pay the penalty fees for doing so. So now, instead of a 10GB cap on data, I have unlimited data that's actually about 3 times faster than what I was getting with VZW, plus a monthly bill that's a third cheaper. I only miss the battery life on the Turbo. I like that the G4 is noticeably lighter in hand and that I've gained a little more screen real estate, without sacrificing hold comfort. I've not had the opportunity to test photo quality, but I've heard almost unanimous positives on that, so I'm not worried on the point.