New to Smartphones, read a lot of scanned PDFs (Text to Speech?) and need GPS

Ban Bot

Senior member
Jun 1, 2010
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I am in search of a smartphone. Trouble is I have never owned one as I have always been at home with the family or at work. We had (past tense) a cheap basic emergency phone in our glove box which satisfied the rare occasion I needed a phone on the road. Unfortunately, my mother has fallen ill and I foresee myself traveling regularly to see her over the next 3-6 months. As it is 90 minutes from home and 60 minutes from work I will need ways to keep in contact with my wife and children and my mother while I am on the road.

The long of that short is: I don’t know what I need or should want. I know I can get a basic phone but I would like GPS and wouldn’t mind a device.

Budget: $100-$300 ($300 is pushing it but if it scratches the itch I would bite the bullet to avoid upgrading for features I want in a year)

Network: AT&T (cheap add-on to my parents’ account and they roll over shared data every month and have over 20GB unused)

Location: Seattle

Computers: 3 PCs in the house, all Windows 7 (kid's), 8 (wife's), or 10 (mine)

Absolute Needs: Talk & Text

Almost Needs: Email & GPS

Thoughts on other features:

Camera. A solid camera for getting pics of the kids and my mother would be fantastic, especially indoors (poor lighting) and outdoors (harsh lighting). My wife does a cooking blog and her Point and Shoot is long in tooth so something that would do well there (e.g. macro shots) would be a HUGE perk. I hate cameras with long startup / long focus times. A very good “point and shoot” quality camera phone would justify a budget over $199.

Video Recording. Getting some videos of my mom with the kids would be great (same variable lighting conditions) and of our 18 month old. A perk is our disc golf partner likes to take videos and slow motion ones to check out our form.

Screen. I would like something that is usable outdoors in the sun. Seems I shouldn’t go below 1080p.

Size. I work in slacks and often use cargo shorts at home. I have never sized out these devices but fitting in a pocket is a need.

PDFs. I do a lot of academic research in my spare time and have a lot of my library scanned to PDF (but not OCR’d). Being able to load a 200MB PDF and read it would be an excellent plus (I use a 10” Windows tablet right now for this).

PDF Text-to-Speech. I just started playing with this feature a month ago. Wow! If I could use a phone on the go during commutes to “read” my books to me that would be pretty awesome.

Battery Life & Charging. I would love wireless charging as I am horrible about plugging stuff in & making space on my desk for cables. But with the fast charging this is less of an issue. Something that will last all day with 2-3 hours of calls, 1hr of pdf reading (200MB documents), 2 hours of audio would be a basic expectation.

Video. We have Amazon Prime, but don’t use it much. We do stream some video from our NAS. Being able to store a couple videos from our library would be nice (just saw Amazon Prime allows the use of SD cards now on Android).

Audio. Syncing with a Bluetooth ear bud seamlessly so when I take my hour walk at lunch I can listen to lectures and audiobooks that would be great.

Fingerprint Scanner. Sounds like a nice perk if fast enough.

Remote PowerPoint Control. I do teaching presentations once a week. I use a wireless clicker. If I could use a mobile phone—especially with the Power Point viewable on the phone—to sync with a PC to remotely push slides through that would be fantastic.

Apps. The only thing I know I will pick up is The Olive Tree Bible app.

Btw, I don’t have a Facebook, Twitter, or participate in other social media activity. I am pretty boring and spend my time with the wife and kids.
Thanks for suggestions and advice. I am sure there are things I will learn I would have LIKED once I get a phone so I am sure people can tell me about features & apps I may want.

Btw, decent computing power is a want—I don’t want a slow phone. Our emergency phone was an ancient Android where everything but talk and text was a horribly slow experience ($50 phone 5 years ago off contract, so a bad device). So enough storage (or expansion), RAM, and processing power so that in 12 months I am not bemoaning my device is important.
 
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Ban Bot

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Jun 1, 2010
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Never heard of swappa, will take a look!

Thanks guys, the quick posts are appreciated :)
 

Artdeco

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2015
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F9N5QXI

Another basic phone from Amazon, like the inexpensive Kindles, it has lockscreen ads, I have a kindle and flipped some G4's with the lockscreen, didn't find them obtrusive at all and if you're handy, the folks at xda have some tweaks to get rid of it too.
 

Ban Bot

Senior member
Jun 1, 2010
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Your link had me looking at the LG G3 seriously.

Is a brand new G3 for $170 a "good deal" by today's standards? @ $170 it would be new and the D850 model (AT&T GSM) whereas the Slickdeal is a "new-return" D851 (TMobile GSM). Sounds like they both should work with the AT&T plan but maybe less headache with the D850 model?


I see I can get a Nexus 5x for $200.

The only big draw back I see on the LG G3 is battery which, if a problem, can be resolved with a larger battery (at cost of thickness) or a charging power brick (keep in the car). The removable battery and micro SD card look to be good features the Nexus lacks.
 
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poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
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Your link had me looking at the LG G3 seriously.

Is a brand new G3 for $170 a "good deal" by today's standards? @ $170 it would be new and the D850 model (AT&T GSM) whereas the Slickdeal is a "new-return" D851 (TMobile GSM). Sounds like they both should work with the AT&T plan but maybe less headache with the D850 model?


I see I can get a Nexus 5x for $200.

The only big draw back I see on the LG G3 is battery which, if a problem, can be resolved with a larger battery (at cost of thickness) or a charging power brick (keep in the car). The removable battery and micro SD card look to be good features the Nexus lacks.

The "draw back" with the G3 isn't the hardware, it's the fact that its will soon be more than two years old. As someone new to smartphones I have to regretfully inform you that software support pretty much has to be a consideration if that is something you care about.

Unlike a Windows PC (or I will be honest an iOS device) you aren't guaranteed to get all the new updates on every phone. Most phones older than two years won't get anymore OS updates, so an old phone like a G3 will be stuck with the OS you buy it with forever probably. Meanwhile the Nexus 5X will get updates probably into 2017, meaning that it has a while to go before it gets cut off.

Maybe that isn't a concern to you, or shouldn't be, as the G3 should have Android 6.0 which is probably good enough for "most" people. Just wanted to be clear incase you wanted to turn into an "Android Enthusiast" who follows the Android news headlines going forward, in which case a non-Nexus phone will be a buzzkill in the fall when the new Android release hits.
 

Ban Bot

Senior member
Jun 1, 2010
796
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Thanks for those pointers. Right now I am not sure I would be using much beyond stock features, but yeah, I have heard upgrades are pretty poor on the mobile platforms, especially Android. So many trade offs with the phones with SD card slots, replaceable batteries, OS version, etc.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
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Thanks for those pointers. Right now I am not sure I would be using much beyond stock features, but yeah, I have heard upgrades are pretty poor on the mobile platforms, especially Android. So many trade offs with the phones with SD card slots, replaceable batteries, OS version, etc.

...screen size, SoCs, waterproofing, fingerprint readers, camera quality, screen quality (OLED or not), and I could keep going.

It is easy to be paralyzed by choice just researching online, so make sure to go to a store like Bestbuy if you can and look at some devices in person. Maybe something will "feel right." Then go buy it for cheap on swappa.
 
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Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
21,899
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Thanks for those pointers. Right now I am not sure I would be using much beyond stock features, but yeah, I have heard upgrades are pretty poor on the mobile platforms, especially Android. So many trade offs with the phones with SD card slots, replaceable batteries, OS version, etc.

You're kidding right? The beauty of Android is choices. Unlike the fruit company where you are only offered big or small.
 

Ban Bot

Senior member
Jun 1, 2010
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Opinions on the Moto G4 Plus $250 and the Nexus 5X $270...

The Moto has 4GB memory and 64GB storage plus optional SD expansion. Have read they plan to support Android N and O.

The Nexus 5X is 2GB memory and 32GB storage and no SD expansion. But faster processor.

Comparing the Moto 4G Plus, Nexus 5X, and LG G3 side by side... the LG heat and battery, and lack of manufacturer warranty and being older are big negatives, but $70 cheaper and has a pretty solid camera... has nice perks like easily replaced battery and $10 for Qi charging but think I will be removing it from consideration. Moto 4G Plus looks to strike a nice balance and is future looking for support.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
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I would pick the Moto personally. 4GB vs 2GB of RAM leads to a huge difference in Android performance.
 

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
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Opinions on the Moto G4 Plus $250 and the Nexus 5X $270...

The Moto has 4GB memory and 64GB storage plus optional SD expansion. Have read they plan to support Android N and O.

The Nexus 5X is 2GB memory and 32GB storage and no SD expansion. But faster processor.

Comparing the Moto 4G Plus, Nexus 5X, and LG G3 side by side... the LG heat and battery, and lack of manufacturer warranty and being older are big negatives, but $70 cheaper and has a pretty solid camera... has nice perks like easily replaced battery and $10 for Qi charging but think I will be removing it from consideration. Moto 4G Plus looks to strike a nice balance and is future looking for support.

Personally I would pick the Moto G 4 Plus (4GB/64GB) but keep in mind it does not have NFC.

FYI - that eBay LG G3 will probably be gone in a few hours:
eBay.com said:
More than 96% sold
 

Artdeco

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2015
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Ban Bot

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Jun 1, 2010
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Thanks for everyone's feedback.

I am a Prime Member. After reading a number of reviews I went with the Moto G4 Plus. Getting more RAM (4GB vs. 2GB) and more storage out of the box (64GB vs. 16/32GB) and slightly better camera seemed a good value. Especially as I wasn't keen on the lock screen ads.

Phone was $300 but came with a $50 gift card, so $250 at the end of the day as I am a regular Amazon user.

The reviews are uniformly very positive on the G4 Plus, seems like a good "mid-range" smartphone for the money. Lenovo has "committed" to bringing Android N and O to the platform, so that was a plus.
 

Ban Bot

Senior member
Jun 1, 2010
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Yeah, the reviews were pretty positive.

I was tempted by the Nexus 5X but the Moto G4 Plus having the ability to expand memory and more RAM & storage were in it's favor. It was also cheaper, and getting a 32GB model through Google Fi for $280 would be some hoop jumping + a month of service ($30). The Nexus 5X has a lot better processor, is slightly smaller, and has a better camera. But I *hate* that my tablet has 32GB of storage so more native storage and expansion are a big 'plus' in my book.

The G4 Plus lacks wireless charging (but has quick charging), no USB-C, no NFC or Android Pay, no optical stabilization, etc. It isn't perfect. But it also doesn't have bloat ware.

I probably should have spent more time looking at the Huawei Honor 5X as it is $50 cheaper. In this segment it seems there is an arguably better phone in every tier and a better one being released every month. :colbert:

TechRadar -- 4/5

Engadget -- 86/100

Android Police -- Still the best budget phone you can buy

Trusted Reviews -- 5/5 " the Moto G4 Plus is outstanding and adds some high-end flair to a budget champion."

TechAdvisor / PCAdvisor -- One of the best phones under £200

Digital Trends -- "the Moto G4 Plus is a budget phone you'll actually want to own"

Phone Arena -- 7/10

CNET -- 8.0/10 "The Moto G4 and G4 Plus, by comparison, are fantastic values at their respective prices, with the standard G4 being the ultimate budget champ." Editors Choice Jul'16 for G4

Gizmag -- "Paying a premium for a flagship is getting harder to justify" compared to the G4 Plus features at $250

Android Central -- "Over the years, being the lucky fellow I am, I've rarely been happy transitioning from the inevitably powerful flagship in my pocket to testing a mid-range or entry-level device. The Moto G has consistently been the exception."

Gadgets 360 -- 8/10

Greenbot -- "If you’re looking for a budget device that you can use unlocked on all four major carriers in the U.S. and overseas, the Moto G4 is a solid choice."

Toms -- 8/10

Android Authority - 8.3 "One of the best bang for your buck smartphones in 2016"

GSM Arena -- Overview & user reviews
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
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You did well. The 5X is kinda cursed, you did the right thing to avoid it IMHO.

Congrats on the new smartphone! Let us know what you think when you get it!
 

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
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Never heard of swappa, will take a look!

Swappa is probably the best thing that ever happened to smartphones. It is so easy to use and provides an extremely liquid market. A Galaxy Note 5 is trending towards your $300 price target and will no doubt pass under it when the new Note launches.
 

Ban Bot

Senior member
Jun 1, 2010
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Accessories...

Case. Any brand or style I should be looking for? The Moto G4/Plus has a lot of options. A slim soft TPU case, a number of 2-piece TPU and Polycarbonate case, thicker ones with kick stands, etc. Also glass screen protectors. I am thinking something very minimal like my first link. I don't keep my keys in my pocket. I had considered a case for carrying my CC, business card, and a couple bills but most of those seem bulky and don't fold back for quality use while talking?

Screen Protectors. Should I bother?

Ear buds/piece. I am deaf in my left ear. I walk for an hour every day. I had looked at some minimalistic single ear piece but they only hold a ~ 3 hour charge. Ouch. I am thinking a MONO corded earbud would be fine for walks. Maybe not quite as ideal while driving if taking a call. Any advice and specific recommendations?

Car Mount for GPS. Something simple to "mount" the device. I drive an Uplander minivan. Thoughts? Sounds like a vent mount (Magnetic) like this works well? I do worry about a magnet so close to the phone, but there are a lot on the market even from companies like Logitek and Garmin so they must be ok.
 

Artdeco

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2015
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Case-the industry joke is they sell everyone 3 cases, just buy something cheap to start

Phone mount-I like the iOttie mounts, best I've found

Screen protector-don't bother

Ear buds-infinity & beyond, try something cheap to start.