Best value smartphone (looking for recs other than Moto G)

[glenn1]

Looking for a personal phone to backstop my work issued iPhone 6. My wife had problems with her Moto Razr MAXX a couple years ago, so I'm done with the crap Motorola produces. I'm not a power user, just want something reliable on the Android platform. Would be fine getting another S3 Galaxy since that did me very well for 2.5 years but seems like they still go for $100+ on swappa.

tl;dr looking for a value-priced GSM mobile phone (preferably on the Android platform) that isn't a Motorola. Ideally looking to spend under $150 and certainly below $300. Reliability and durability more important than raw performance, I want to "set and forget" this phone for the next 3 years or so. I have a work-issued iPhone6 I can use for some routine calls and surfing so long as I don't abuse the privilege.

 

[Artdeco]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-G-Flex2-...atest-Model-/171838677560?hash=item2802622238

 

[glenn1]

Wife's LG G2 that she bought used off Swappa is still going strong.

I know the Moto G gets good comments here, any other recommendations that would be a comparable peer I could consider? In addition to the LG Flex 2 mentioned in the last post, looking on Swappa some likely candidates include:

Samsung S5 Active ($195+)
LG G3 ($170+)
Galaxy S4 ($140+)
Moto X 2014 ($185+)
HTC One M7 ($105+)

 

[poofyhairguy]

Samsung S5 Active ($195+)
LG G3 ($170+)
Galaxy S4 ($140+)
Moto X 2014 ($185+)
HTC One M7 ($105+)

Ug, all of those are terrible values except maybe the S5.

The best value in Android smartphones period right now is the red Zenphone 2 on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...20010&cm_re=zenphone_2-_-75-220-010-_-Product

If you can use the $20 giftcard then that is $280 for a phone that just BLOWS AWAY $220 Moto G with 2GB of RAM (which is the only Moto G anyone but a child should own). I would take the Zenphone 2 over that LG Flex 2 and its evil first gen 810 SoC anyday as well.

If we are just talking sub-$200 Swappa phones the Oneplus One is a clear winner for me, I would rather it over the Galaxy S5 personally just for the battery alone.

 

[mnewsham]

build quality on the Zenphone leaves much to be desired, at least if you're coming from a flagship type device.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Just purchased a Samsung Galaxy S6! At one point some retail carriers were price the 128GB model over $1,200. So when I say it at $600; I just had to buy it! Bargain shopper! Reflex action and all! Plus I never ever owned an Android phone before.

 

[Crono]

Hmmm, for some reason I thought Moto made the Nexus 5 but it appears it was LG. But my wife's LG G2 that she bought used off Swappa is still going strong whereas the LG made Nexus 5 I bought new-in-box at the same time is becoming a brick.

I know the Moto G gets good comments here, any other recommendations that would be a comparable peer I could consider? In addition to the LG Flex 2 mentioned in the last post, looking on Swappa some likely candidates include:

Samsung S5 Active ($195+)
LG G3 ($170+)
Galaxy S4 ($140+)
Moto X 2014 ($185+)
HTC One M7 ($105+)

Get the M8, not the M7. Better battery life and while the camera wasn't better than the M7, it at least didn't have any of the purple/blue haze issue in low light from the camera module overheating that some of the M7s did (mine did after a few months of use ). The M8 is excellent, still one of my favorite phones. The camera is very average now versus the current crop of phones (it's not as bad as some people make it out to be, unless you absolutely suck at picture taking), but build quality, speakers, design and responsiveness of the UI, etc are all very good.

The Moto X 2014 is also very nice and a good option if you prefer close to stock Android without having to flash a custom ROM. But ff camera matters more, I'd get the G3, though I'm not a huge fan of LG's UI versus HTC Sense or vanilla Android.

 

[Raduque]

Blu's latest 2015 phones are pretty nice at your price point. You can get a Life One LTE on Amazon for $150, or a Life One XL LTE at Best Buy for $200. Both only come with 8gb internal storage and are shipped with 4.4 KK, but have uSD slots and should have an update to 5.0 by now. The One LTE is a 5" display the XL is 5.5" Both are sadly 720p displays but should give great battery life and performance.

 

[lopri]

iPhone 5c? Should be around $150 on eBay for 8GB/16GB.

Edit: Sorry I was not paying attention earlier.