Cloudship

I do too, but it doesn't solve the problem. I keep my photos, media, etc. on the card. If the phone gets mistakenly wiped, or dies completely, then it is still relatively easy for me to retrieve the card and pop it into something else. My job uses Exchange Active Sync, and if I have that set up then work has the ability to wipe my phone and all data whenever they want.

You can get usb/heaphone jack converters, too. But, you then have the issue of not being able to charge the phone while listening to music.

deniah

unless you are privacy-sensitive, use a cloud service to back up the media. google provides unlimited storage for compressed photos, and dirt cheap subscriptions for uncompressed photos. same with dropbox. the management is seamless.

its also more secure than storing data on your sd card, because your phone could suffer physical damage or loss (water, fire, theft, negligence, etc) in which case all that media is poof gone forever.

nkedel

SD cards are much more survivable than phones themselves. It won't help with loss/theft, or with some extreme forms of damage (fire likely kills the card as well) but it's really hard to kill an SD card -- I've had them survive phones bricking themselves with a bad update, drops that broken the screen AND bent the frame, and being dropped in the toilet (although newer phones are much more water resistant. Even the not-technically-waterproof Nexus 6 survived my kid dropping it into the bathtub.) And I've accidentally had SD cards (and USB sticks, for that matter) go through the laundry and survive.

Network backup is good, too, but when you're away from a fast network -- or if you're taking video, which produces huge files -- having media go to an SD card is safer than keeping it on the phone's built in memory. I wouldn't rule out buying a phone without an SD card slot anymore (and haven't for a good long while) but all other things being equal that is a feature I select for.

Silver Fox

Well reading this thread and a couple of recent incidents too close to home with bricked iphones/Androids has made me sign up for Gooooooogle One for 100GB. I couldn't be bothered with looking around at anyone else, it will do.

nkedel

Google One is a pretty good deal. I'm on the 2TB plan, since I've got my phone, my wife's phone, my mother in law's phone and my kids' tablets to back up.

There's a case to be made for other cloud providers, but if you're already in the Google ecosystem, Google Drive was a good deal to begin with and the higher storage allowances and single family plan aspect of Google One made it an even clearer first choice.

linsj

I'm looking to replace my Note 4 that has served me well for four years. This phone looks like it might be a good choice and is much closer to what I want to pay. I've only found it online, so I can't physically compare it with what I have. I really like Samsungs and the screen size I have. I thought I'd use the pen far more than I do, so giving that up isn't a sacrifice. I rarely take pictures with my phone; still prefer a camera with a view finder. I haven't paid attention to phone models and prices since I bought my current phone (and thought $200 was more than I wanted to pay!), and I was shocked at how much the Note models cost now. I'm with AT&T and not interested in changing companies.

All this to ask: Do you think the A50 would be a good choice for me? Or are there other brands/models I should look at? (Not interested in an iPhone.)

nkedel

They're all going to feel rather long compared to the Note 4, but the width should be pretty comfortable; as someone who was on the Nexus 6 and then the Mate 9, the current crop of 6.2-6.4" extra-long phones all feel narrow to me.

As for the A50, the specs look pretty good. The size looks quite similar to the Galaxy A9 I have, and if you're not a heavy user, the extra 2GB of RAM won't be missed and the price is a good deal more reasonable.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compa...EG_1466973-REG
The Moto G7 seems like the obvious alternative, you trade a second SIM card slot, bit of battery life and a slightly smaller screen for a US warranty and slightly better T-mobile/AT&T band support:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compa...EG_1455102-REG

linsj

The A50 doesn't have a removable battery, which is a deal breaker for me. So I've been researching phones and visiting stores and discovered this is now the norm. I also discovered I don't like curved screens and don't care for the longer, narrower sizes. I do like the Samsung OLED display and high resolution over other types of displays.

So far LG V20 is the only viable alternative I've found to my Note 4. Any other suggestions? I don't need latest, greatest, and fastest. I'm tempted to buy another Note 4.

boerne

I did love my note 4 and LG V20. But they both died and I have moved on.

here is a list from May 2019

https://thedroidguy.com/2019/05/9-be...y-2019-1079207

linsj

Thanks for the list. I don't understand why removable batteries aren't in every phone. When I'm directing a conference, my phone gets heavy usage for 14 hrs straight without the opportunity to recharge during that period.

paperwastage

you may also want to look for phones with "proper" extended battery replacement (not just a battery case that recharges internal battery via usb)

eg:
some phones dont have that (eg: lg g5, tiny 2800mAh battery and cannot be replaced with an extended version)

der_saeufer

The reason most phones no longer have removable batteries is that a removable battery and its case take up a lot more space--the phone needs to have a 'box' and the battery needs to be in a crush-resistant enclosure. And the whole lot has to be first thing behind the rear case. Between NFC, wireless charging, and other demands on space, the manufacturers have decided that removable batteries aren't worth it anymore, especially now that most phones have fast charging either with USB-PD or Quickcharge.

You see the same thing with laptops--with better battery life and faster charging, a lot of manufacturers have decided to skip easily-removable batteries. At least with most laptops they're still relatively easy to replace when they're worn out, unlike a lot of phones where you need a hair dryer, a suction cup, a plastic prying tool and a whole lot of bad language.

cheltzel

You forgot the bandage. At least I need it. Always end up jabbing myself with anything sharp enough to break the skin and cut me

LAXlocal

I need to change the battery in my
Nexus 6 some day , but how do you find a good quality battery for a 4 year old phone ?
And are there special Nexus Band-Aids

cheltzel

On eBay they seem to be anywhere from $6 to $14

https://www.ebay.com/i/252907911062?chn=ps