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Are we All Suckers for Using Expensive Phones When a Cheap $40 Will Work Fine?

Are we All Suckers for Using Expensive Phones When a Cheap $40 Will Work Fine?

Old Oct 27, 2017, 1:09 pm
  #91  
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The main problem is security updates - if you have a super old smartphone it can be difficult/impossible to update the phone.

If it's a dumbphone I'd be less worried about such things.
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Old Oct 30, 2017, 5:27 pm
  #92  
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Originally Posted by greggarious
The main problem is security updates - if you have a super old smartphone it can be difficult/impossible to update the phone.
For some of us on the more technical side LineageOS (and previously Cyanogen) and similar community software distributions can be a lifesaver for extending the life of an abandoned phone.

For a large majority of users, it won't be worth the bother. OTOH, for an extreme example if you're buying a $40 phone you can buy one every other month and still spend less than the cost of entry-level flagship annually, or a high-end flagship semi-annually.

And the $40 phone is probably still worth $20 after two months
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Old Oct 30, 2017, 5:32 pm
  #93  
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The $40 Moto E4 that I was talking about when I started this thread - has the September 1, 2017 Android security patch.


Originally Posted by nkedel
For some of us on the more technical side LineageOS (and previously Cyanogen) and similar community software distributions can be a lifesaver for extending the life of an abandoned phone.

For a large majority of users, it won't be worth the bother. OTOH, for an extreme example if you're buying a $40 phone you can buy one every other month and still spend less than the cost of entry-level flagship annually, or a high-end flagship semi-annually.

And the $40 phone is probably still worth $20 after two months
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Old Oct 30, 2017, 10:59 pm
  #94  
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Originally Posted by BigFlyer
The $40 Moto E4 that I was talking about when I started this thread - has the September 1, 2017 Android security patch.
Can't do better than that. Moto has remained very good about that, even with the divestment to Lenovo.

Not perfect; my wife's Moto X Pure is frozen at 12/1/2016.
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Old Oct 31, 2017, 8:39 am
  #95  
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Old Nov 4, 2017, 7:01 am
  #96  
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I like my 7 Plus 256GB. Its my primary camera, GPS, mobile computing device, phone, entertainment device, etc.

Being able to manage my bills and everything else on the road saves me tons of energy in aggravation if I was dealing with it all on a lesser phone. Plus with KeyChain, dont have to think about remembering my passwords.
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Old Nov 4, 2017, 12:39 pm
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Originally Posted by BigFlyer
I've been a Nexus/Pixel user.

I just sold my Pixel, and started using a $40 phone for a while (at least until the new Pixel comes out.) I bought this prepaid Verizon E4:

OK, the camera doesn't hold a candle to a flagship phone. And, the screen is not as good as a flagship, but very nice and readable.

I may well buy another flagship for the camera. But, an Iphone certainly does not have 17.5 times the functionality of this phone, but it does cost 17.5 times as much for the base model.
I'm using an iPhone 6s Plus and quite happy with it for two years, in fact I have two. The first one was subsidized by AT&T, the second bought on ebay for use on T-Mobile. I no longer have AT&T.

Some good deals on 6s and 6s Plus as well as 7 and 7 Plus. This is better value IMO than a $40 phone. I imagine you can find similar deals with Androids, Nexus and Pixels 1st gen.
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Old Nov 4, 2017, 6:44 pm
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Originally Posted by BigFlyer
...

I don't need a case - if I drop it and break the screen, I can get a new phone for $40, less than the deductible for Applecare.

I may well buy another flagship for the camera. But, an Iphone certainly does not have 17.5 times the functionality of this phone, but it does cost 17.5 times as much for the base model.
Are we all suckers for using expensive phones? Probably depends on how we use them. My cheapest smartphone was the iPhone 4 with a cost of about 120$/year (over 6 years) which makes it even cheaper than the original iPhone (only 2 years of usage) bought at the subsidised price (but jailbreaked). Both were absolutely destroyed when I stopped using them.

Friends start to stretch their phones over longer periods as well if their phone isn't broken. Some three years between new phones. Others 4 or 5 years. It's not a matter of can't afford but rather a matter of "the incremental progress does not justify spending yet again hundreds of $".
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Old Nov 5, 2017, 1:28 am
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Last edited by 1flyer; Dec 11, 2018 at 1:50 am
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Old Nov 5, 2017, 11:02 am
  #100  
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I very nearly ordered a U11 Life from T-Mobile, and looked at getting the Axiom 7 Mini (whichever one is $200 at Best Buy.)

I am really hating this iPhone. Seriously one of the worst I've had.
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Old Nov 5, 2017, 1:53 pm
  #101  
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$58 smartphone tested

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Old Nov 5, 2017, 4:50 pm
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I have been using an iPhone 6 when purchased I received a $300 gift card and no activation fee. Sam's Club will have a 1 day promotion with $250 gift card and no activation fee ($40) for any iPhone upgrade. Tempting to upgrade to the iPhone 7 since I can list the iPhone 6 for $200 + on a neighborhood site.
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Old Nov 7, 2017, 9:07 pm
  #103  
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Originally Posted by BigFlyer
I've been a Nexus/Pixel user.

I just sold my Pixel, and started using a $40 phone for a while (at least until the new Pixel comes out.) I bought this prepaid Verizon E4:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Verizon-M...paid/953073971

No Walmart near me, so I price-matched the $40 price at Target. Once I got the phone, I paid $2 for an unlock code on Ebay, and popped in my T-mobile postpaid SIM.

OK, the camera doesn't hold a candle to a flagship phone. But, it has 16 GB built in memory, space for an SD card, and a battery that pops out. And, the screen is not as good as a flagship, but very nice and readable. Videos are very watachable. There was some Verizon crapware but I disabled those apps in settings and they are no longer visible.

I don't need a case - if I drop it and break the screen, I can get a new phone for $40, less than the deductible for Applecare.

I may well buy another flagship for the camera. But, an Iphone certainly does not have 17.5 times the functionality of this phone, but it does cost 17.5 times as much for the base model.
I had (well still have) the Moto G4 Play.

Only thing I hated was that I couldn't root it , but thats the price you pay for Verizon phones.

I reccomend anyone interested in the Moto G4 Play to check out the Moto E4 ($39.99 at Walmart on Verizon) or E4 Plus ($129.99 but has 13MP camera, 5000 mah battery and the Walmart one includes a case), its a new version of the phone with newer software.
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Old Nov 9, 2017, 3:00 pm
  #104  
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Originally Posted by nkedel
Can't do better than that. Moto has remained very good about that, even with the divestment to Lenovo.

Not perfect; my wife's Moto X Pure is frozen at 12/1/2016.
Well I am not sure whether I am impressed or not. My Moto G5 is on Jan 1 2017 security update and it is vague as to when/if it will go to Android 8.

That said, this gives some info: Say Hello to Android Oreo
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Old Nov 11, 2017, 1:51 am
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I'm still using a Note 4. User-replaceable SD card, user-replaceable battery, wireless charging, good camera. Until someone decides to make a phone that has these features, or comes out with something earth-shattering, it's what I plan on using for the foreseeable future. I even have a spare Note 4 I picked up from the office in case this one dies.

It was starting to feel laggy/sluggish, so this week I backed up everything, did a factory reset, put a brand new 64GB SD card in it, restored everything and it's running like a new phone again. Night-and-day difference. Having 8,000+ photos on there probably wasn't helping things either.
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