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[Q] Concerns Before Purchasing 7 Plus

I am seriously considering getting a SGT 7 Plus. I was going to be patient and wait for the 7.7 but I fear here in the UK that it will release at a silly price. I'm thinking I should save some money and just get the 7+. I have a few concerns with buying the 7+ though. I keeping reading about the problems with the random reboots and also the poor WiFi strength. Am I right to be concerned? I have definitely narrowed my search down to a SGT, it's just a question of which one and if I have to keep waiting for the 7.7 then so be it.

Gunnzie said:
I am seriously considering getting a SGT 7 Plus. I was going to be patient and wait for the 7.7 but I fear here in the UK that it will release at a silly price. I'm thinking I should save some money and just get the 7+. I have a few concerns with buying the 7+ though. I keeping reading about the problems with the random reboots and also the poor WiFi strength. Am I right to be concerned? I have definitely narrowed my search down to a SGT, it's just a question of which one and if I have to keep waiting for the 7.7 then so be it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right to have some concern. But also consider that the 7.7 could come with its own host of little bugs too. We just haven't heard about them because its not out yet. At least the 7+ is a known quantity at this point. And fixes are being found for some of the 7+'s known issues.
As far as the two items you mentioned, I can say from my sample of two 7+ tablets (my wife has one too) that my tablet experienced occasional random reboots, whereas my wife's tablet did not. That issue went away, along with the tablet not waking up when the screen would go into sleep mode (aka Sleep of Death or SOD) when I was able to force the wifi to sleep when the screen is off. I have not noticed any issues with wifi strength with either tablet.
Ultimately the decision comes down to you. Is having the slightly faster processor and slightly larger AMOLED screen worth the extra price? Or can the 7+ do everything you need it to do within your budget and do it now?
Good luck on whichever you decide!

Thanks. Just out of interest, your post suggests there are other issues with the 7+. What are they? My worry at the moment is that Samsung price their devices at a premium without actually necessarily being a premium product. On the other hand, they provide what I am looking for (small, light, SD slot, and great battery life).
I suppose my decision would be easier if I actually knew how much the 7.7 was going to sell for here in the UK. I don't suppose anyone has any ideas?
Realistically, I need to wait for the 7+ to drop in price a bit anyway. £349 seems a lot for a device with only a 1024x600 screen when higher res tablets are now around and more powerful tablets are just starting to arrive (e.g. Tegra3 etc).

i have regular sized hands (what a way to start my post! haha). that's why a 7 inch is the best for me. Hardware wise, the GTab 7+ gives me comfort and stability. I haven't encountered any problems so far. Except that I have a P6200 and no one's currently developing anything for it. But i bet that weeks from now, our dev section would be full of Roms and Tweaks.
ALSO ICS is coming to the GTab+. 'Nuff said.
I had the same dilemma as you. I would've waited for the 7.7. But many said that Samsung would be selling it at a premium price! And I think that an upgraded screen and processor is NOT worth it.
And besides. I have "regular" sized hands. Who knows how a .7 inch would affect my comfort.

diospada11 said:
i have regular sized hands (what a way to start my post! haha). that's why a 7 inch is the best for me. Hardware wise, the GTab 7+ gives me comfort and stability. I haven't encountered any problems so far. Except that I have a P6200 and no one's currently developing anything for it. But i bet that weeks from now, our dev section would be full of Roms and Tweaks.
ALSO ICS is coming to the GTab+. 'Nuff said.
I had the same dilemma as you. I would've waited for the 7.7. But many said that Samsung would be selling it at a premium price! And I think that an upgraded screen and processor is NOT worth it.
And besides. I have "regular" sized hands. Who knows how a .7 inch would affect my comfort.
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Thanks for that. I feel the opposite though many ways. I think the extra .7 inch might be a good thing for me. I actually prefer the screen size of the 10 inch tablets by far. If it wasn't for the fact that I also want to carry it around too then I'd buy a 10 inch for definite. I thought the 8.9 inch would be a good compromise but they are ridiculously expensive in the UK and they have no SD slot built in. A 7 inch fulfills my requirements and will fit in my bag a lot easier but I do think I'll miss the screen size of a 10 inch at times. It's all about compromises I guess and what suits you best. In an idea world, I would own 2 tablets. One for on the road and one for home use.

The only other issue I have experienced is that I could not write to the external sd card unless I used the stock file manager. That was resolved by editing a permissions file. Other than that my 7+ has performed beyond my expectations.
As with any high tech device there will be some issues to contend with. None of the issues I've experienced would make me think that the Samsung tablet was less than a premium device. Considering it is a relatively new device that's been out for less than two months, the number of issues do not seem to be higher than normal for a new product, in my opinion.
Also be sure to remember that devices that are not functioning properly can usually be returned or exchanged, as long as you shop from a reputable retailer that has an exchange or replacement policy. As always, caveat emptor.

$150 for Nexus 7-like specs w/ MicroSD slot AND HDMI out

About a month ago I noticed a story about an HP 7" tablet with decent specs, but it's low resolution screen and poor build quality made it weak competitor. So, I just found out that Walmart will be selling a Tegra 3 tablet with similar specs to the Nexus 7 for $150. The kicker is that it has a microSD slot, rear-facing camera AND HDMI out.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/23/hisense-sero-7-lt-pro-tablets/#continued
I was waiting for news about the follow-up to the Nexus 7, but with nothing on the horizon I'm tempted to check out one of these tablets. The ability to hook the tablet to my TV for gaming with a Bluetooth controller outweighs the fast Android updates. Especially it if manages to get some developer support.

For $99 I might have to check one out.

ED2O9 said:
About a month ago I noticed a story about an HP 7" tablet with decent specs, but it's low resolution screen and poor build quality made it weak competitor. So, I just found out that Walmart will be selling a Tegra 3 tablet with similar specs to the Nexus 7 for $150. The kicker is that it has a microSD slot, rear-facing camera AND HDMI out.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/23/hisense-sero-7-lt-pro-tablets/#continued
I was waiting for news about the follow-up to the Nexus 7, but with nothing on the horizon I'm tempted to check out one of these tablets. The ability to hook the tablet to my TV for gaming with a Bluetooth controller outweighs the fast Android updates. Especially it if manages to get some developer support.
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Just recently heard about this and I am extremely intrigued by this tablet (Hisense Sero Pro is the one for $150).. I was considering riding it out for a new Nexus 7, have been tablet-less for a bit now, but it was not a huge priority for me as it seems that chance has slowed down. Seeing this tablet and the specs, for such a great price, seems too good to be true in a way. I am hoping some people are going to get their hands on it over the next few days and hear some reviews. That price tag and those specs are tempting me :laugh:

Few custom ROMs and unknown update frequency.

Luna_Sky said:
Just recently heard about this and I am extremely intrigued by this tablet (Hisense Sero Pro is the one for $150).. I was considering riding it out for a new Nexus 7, have been tablet-less for a bit now, but it was not a huge priority for me as it seems that chance has slowed down. Seeing this tablet and the specs, for such a great price, seems too good to be true in a way. I am hoping some people are going to get their hands on it over the next few days and hear some reviews. That price tag and those specs are tempting me :laugh:
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I too feel the temptation, however imagine how you would feel if everyone upgraded to the new Nexus 7 with a full HD screen and you were stuck with a $150 device that was on par with the N7 minus the giant user base. I think those looking to upgrade should hold on for now.

Sd card
Being able to use a TV doesn't do anything for me but having the card reader built in..
This is something Nexus will likely never have.
I think the 7 inch size is just about perfect.
Now if I just had a reason to go to Wal Mart...
If I did & could check out one of these out.. there could go next week's lunch money.

Although... the name "Hisense Sero Pro" doesn't sound nearly as awesome as the infamous Ainol Fire.

I just picked up the Pro for $150 beans but haven't opened it up yet. Wally gives you 15 days to return, so I'm gonna' see if the tab gets any XDA love. If it does, I'll still keep my N7 but give my Gtab 2 to my wife replacing an aging Nook Color.
I'm hoping that its similarity to N7 specs makes it easy to root and build roms. I don't even know if the bootloader is locked or not??? Hopefully, some people will start to buy it and we see some development feedback over the next few days. :laugh:
Looks like a pretty solid tab for the bucks and even if the current N7 comes down to about $150, if the Hisense gets any decent dev support, it will still be a good deal with the extra features that aren't available on the N7.
EDIT: In another thread, someone suggested giving motochopper a try for root. It looks like motochopper for the N7 doesn't unlock the bootloader, so you don't lose your data. But, who knows if it will work for the Hisense, maybe I'll give it a try if no other solutions materialize over the next few days. Stuff like this travels fast on the internet, so I'm optimistic.
Mike T

Looks like a very good tablet for the price, has good features would definitely pick one up if I get a chance. It would make a very good present for my girlfriend as she always wanted something like a nexus 7
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

webdroidmt said:
I just picked up the Pro for $150 beans but haven't opened it up yet. Wally gives you 15 days to return, so I'm gonna' see if the tab gets any XDA love. If it does, I'll still keep my N7 but give my Gtab 2 to my wife replacing an aging Nook Color.
I'm hoping that its similarity to N7 specs makes it easy to root and build roms. I don't even know if the bootloader in locked or not??? Hopefully, some people will start to buy it and we see some development feedback over the next few days. :laugh:
Looks like a pretty solid tab for the bucks and even if the current N7 comes down to about $150, if the Hisense gets any decent dev support, it will still be a good deal with the extra features that aren't available on the N7.
Mike T
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I am having no luck thus far finding a place locally that I could buy it.. It seems the Wally site is not even showing an option to buy it online, though it is listed on the site. If you get the chance to open it up soon and try it out, PLEASE share your thoughts with us if you are able to.

Luna_Sky said:
I am having no luck thus far finding a place locally that I could buy it.. It seems the Wally site is not even showing an option to buy it online, though it is listed on the site. If you get the chance to open it up soon and try it out, PLEASE share your thoughts with us if you are able to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned, I'm probably gonna' hold off on opening it for at least a few days. It looks like for the time being, Wally only has it available in-store. Maybe, they're waiting for more allocation from Hisense before they make it avail online. I guess I'm fortunate that I have 2 fairly large Walmart stores within a few miles of each other. Hopefully, you'll find one soon.
If you haven't already seen this, here's another XDA thread you can follow. I'm sure over the next few days, we'll see more people buying them, therefore, more info and hopefully...ROOT! :good:
EDIT: Sorry, forgot the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2284022
Mike T

Local Walmarts have them. BUT. They keep them "in the back" for some reason and had none on display. Be persistent and it might help to take along a model number and UPC. Crazy good deal so far.

TonyBigs said:
Local Walmarts have them. BUT. They keep them "in the back" for some reason and had none on display. Be persistent and it might help to take along a model number and UPC. Crazy good deal so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I mentioned in a previous post, my local Walmart had them in display cases with other tabs. I guess as usual, YMMV.
Also. forum member tharien has already managed to gain root. Those that are interested, check out link below and please click the thanks button for him. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=41803251&postcount=37
EDIT: Root and CWM recovery have been achieved!
Mike T

Nothing but the Nexus brand for me for as long as I'm with Android. Never used the HDMI on my Iconia and I only used the back camera like 5 times in 2 years. Though I think I'd get this to replace my mother's aging Nook Color. No need to spend extra money on shipping for something that she wouldn't notice.

As someone mentioned earlier - having the SD card is something that a Nexus device is extremely unlikely to ever have, so if there's at least root, I'm probably in for this one.
I'm testing an AT&T Galaxy S 4 right now (coming from my Nexus 4....) and it's a work device, so I can't root. I've actually been impressed with things I'm able to do nowadays without needing root. The only things I'm hating is the notification drawer garbage and ability to use custom lockscreen shortcuts like I have on CM10.1. Other than that, I've been able to do everything I need to get it to look pretty much like my Nexus 4 does. Oh, and being unable to remove the AT&T and Samsung crapware are a pain, too.

I bit the bullet and picked one (the PRO) up today sight unseen.
Holy Crap.
It's a SOLID build, feels good, LOOKS GOOD. Pretty much Pure Google. It does have a Sams and Walmart app on it (which can be EASILY uninstalled). stuck in a 64gb card and.. wow. Oh, incase you wonder, the extra button on the screen... screen shot button.
This is a winner. Just need to find a case for it (It's a TINY bit wider and longer than the N7)

Box UPC
In case anyone else is having trouble with their local walmart looking this up, the actual UPC on the box is: 854098003418
The "Walmart Product Code" (551515189) from Walmart.com came up in their scanner at my local store, sort of, but didn't actually tell if they had any inventory or not. The clerk was nice enough to unlock and check the cases without me needing to ask. They had 4 BTW, 3 now, in Coralville, IA.

This one was in the case, right next to the Nexus 7's and 10's (irony thy name is WalMart) about 15 of the LT and 8 or 9 PRO. Now anyone know of a case that will fit?
Additional irony, stack of Nexus 7 chargers (hi power ones, with usb cable) clearance out at $10.

Just checked it and YouTube it. Looks very nice and all. Nice specs and price (Pro one). I would buy the Pro one if I didn't already have my Nexus 7. With that HDMI, I'll be killing hard in DeadZone on my big led tv. Ty and bookmarked.

Anyone know if this will be sold in Canada? I don't think they are selling it here, at least not yet.
Sent from XDA app

HP Slate 8 pro

Just finished reading the Spec's on this thing and it looks like the perfect tablet I've been waiting for. I wish Samsung would pick up their skirt and get dirty on the galaxy tabs but until they do I'm seriously considering picking up this guy. I've been on an iPad 2 and need to get away from the apple ecosystem.
What are your impressions on this tablet and do you think there will be community support for it. I don't want something I can't root.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

ToiletDucky said:
Just finished reading the Spec's on this thing and it looks like the perfect tablet I've been waiting for. I wish Samsung would pick up their skirt and get dirty on the galaxy tabs but until they do I'm seriously considering picking up this guy. I've been on an iPad 2 and need to get away from the apple ecosystem.
What are your impressions on this tablet and do you think there will be community support for it. I don't want something I can't root.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were on an iOS ecosystem.
Then don't even think to come to android
--------------------Signature--------------------
Have Courtesy To Hit Thanks,
If I helped You!!!!
Check My Signature For More Works.
http://hmpshah.com/signature/

Zeuscluts said:
If you were on an iOS ecosystem.
Then don't even think to come to android
--------------------Signature--------------------
Have Courtesy To Hit Thanks,
If I helped You!!!!
Check My Signature For More Works.
http://hmpshah.com/signature/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone is a HTC one like I said I want to get rid of the iPad. LG Goad looks promising too
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

What specs? Other than resolution I haven't seen much.
I'm glad to see more 4x3 android tablets and am strongly considering the Slate 8 pro. I really don't like 16x10 for a tablet.

looks like you can buy one now. $329 isnt too bad, but it only has 1gb of ram. previews mentioned it would have 2gb i think

x000x said:
looks like you can buy one now. $329 isnt too bad, but it only has 1gb of ram. previews mentioned it would have 2gb i think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah what we're they thinking with 1 gig?

my guess is it was to keep the price down. something tells me they'll probably have a slate 10 pro eventually. maybe they'll put 2gb in that one instead

Anyone buy this bad boy yet? It's available at B&h and now online at Best Buy too.
Does it come with multi-year out of the box?
I picked up the Acer Iconia A1 810 at Staples for $99 and I love the 4x3 ratio. It makes me think I need to buy the Slate 8 pro as a faster, higher resolution replacement.
I'm a bit worried about the 1 gig though, particularly since I want multi-user. What does android do when it's out of ram? Kill apps? Pop up errors?

Been keeping a keen eye on this one too since its announcement - pretty much the same reason as all the above posts.
15% off from the UK's HP website for Cyber Monday (today) was just enough incentive for me to hit the "buy" button... its still £237 after the discount - ouch!! >_<
I'll report back once it arrives if any one is interested?
K.

I am interested!
kenneth2008 said:
Been keeping a keen eye on this one too since its announcement - pretty much the same reason as all the above posts.
15% off from the UK's HP website for Cyber Monday (today) was just enough incentive for me to hit the "buy" button... its still £237 after the discount - ouch!! >_<
I'll report back once it arrives if any one is interested?
K.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I picked up a slate 8 pro and it seems they still have some bugs to work out.
1) I setup two users but Android hangs when I try to switch users.
2) I can't seem to type quickly without dropping a significant number of characters. At first I thought it was my mistakes but it happens far more than on my other tablets (Note 8 and Acer Iconia A1). It might be a periodic screen freeze issue? All I know it's that I can't type quickly and accurately at all. Blocks of characters end up missing.
3) It makes weird clicking noises. I believe it's the camera lens. I don't know if it's adjusting to light or what but it's super annoying.
I was hoping the Slate 8 pro would combine the pros of my two tablets: the 4x3 aspect ratio of the Acer and the higher screen quality of the Note 8. But at this point either of the other tablets is more pleasant to use. Hrmph.
I have until Jan 15th to return it to best buy. Maybe they'll have a fix worked out by then.

Another disappointment is that the scrolling in apps like Facebook is still choppy. I was hoping some new hardware and a better GPU would make it liquid smooth. Not even close. I guess it's Android or the app itself that sucks.
The volume rocker is a bad design and is quite inconvenient to use I could live with this though.
But fast typing is impossible. If this isn't fixed it's unusable.
EDIT: it looks like the typing was related to swiftkey. I'm not having the problem with thumb-keyboard.

My first post!
Hello all,
I currently own an asus tf300 tablet, which I bought last year in 2012. Now that I am a supporter of nvidia, I decided to buy a HP Slate 8 Pro for my sister as a xmas present because of the specs and tegra 4 of course.
I highly doubt she'll do a review, but hopefully (after she opens it) I can play around with it and share my impressions on it. I look forward to what you all think of the HP Slate 8 Pro!

rumatt said:
I picked up a slate 8 pro and it seems they still have some bugs to work out.
1) I setup two users but Android hangs when I try to switch users.
2) I can't seem to type quickly without dropping a significant number of characters. At first I thought it was my mistakes but it happens far more than on my other tablets (Note 8 and Acer Iconia A1). It might be a periodic screen freeze issue? All I know it's that I can't type quickly and accurately at all. Blocks of characters end up missing.
3) It makes weird clicking noises. I believe it's the camera lens. I don't know if it's adjusting to light or what but it's super annoying.
I was hoping the Slate 8 pro would combine the pros of my two tablets: the 4x3 aspect ratio of the Acer and the higher screen quality of the Note 8. But at this point either of the other tablets is more pleasant to use. Hrmph.
I have until Jan 15th to return it to best buy. Maybe they'll have a fix worked out by then.
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what kind of bloatware, if any, does it have? or is it basically just stock android?

x000x said:
what kind of bloatware, if any, does it have? or is it basically just stock android?
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Click to collapse
heard its cool

lanzero said:
heard its cool
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Yeah its minimal which is great.
I'm also starting to appreciate the increased speed and smoothness. It is indeed much more responsive than my other tablets.

rumatt said:
Yeah its minimal which is great.
I'm also starting to appreciate the increased speed and smoothness. It is indeed much more responsive than my other tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah looks goody

rumatt said:
Yeah its minimal which is great.
I'm also starting to appreciate the increased speed and smoothness. It is indeed much more responsive than my other tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious about the display - not the resolution, but the brightness.
I picked up one of the Gpad 8.3 tablets, and it was a terrible device for me because the screen was too dim to use outdoors. I saw a review in Laptop that pegged the gpad in the 275 or so lux range, where the Nexus 2013 and the Note 8 are both close to 500 lux.
If you dial the HP up to max brightness and hold it alongside the Note 8 at max brightness, how do they compare? I'm pretty interested in the HP, except that I haven't seen any discussion of how bright the screen really is.
Thanks!

roustabout said:
I'm curious about the display - not the resolution, but the brightness.
I picked up one of the Gpad 8.3 tablets, and it was a terrible device for me because the screen was too dim to use outdoors. I saw a review in Laptop that pegged the gpad in the 275 or so lux range, where the Nexus 2013 and the Note 8 are both close to 500 lux.
If you dial the HP up to max brightness and hold it alongside the Note 8 at max brightness, how do they compare? I'm pretty interested in the HP, except that I haven't seen any discussion of how bright the screen really is.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It gets pretty darn bright. I'd say its as bright orbbrighter than the note 8.

how much can you pick these up for now?

which phone offers the most similar experiecne?

My contract is coming up for renewal in late February and I'm thinking of replacing my phone with a new Android device. I realize this might be the wrong forum section to post in, but who better to ask than my fellow Shield lovers.
I had a Galaxy Note (original) and a Galaxy S2 prior, and they weren't bad. For the time Touchwiz, and a poor email client really put me off of Android as a phone primarily for me is a communication device, but I still like to have fun with it.
I ended up going back to Blackberry and have been rocking a Z10 for a long time. But won an iphone 5s through work and have been using that for about the past year. I bought a Z30 recently as it was being sold at a stupidly low price new in box from factory and I am sick and tired of the small screens and piss poor battery life of the iphone.
I also have a first gen Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and I've been complaining about it for the past 6-10 months because of it's size and weight and now that apps are being optimized for newer OS versions it's getting really slow. So my wife bought me a Shield for Christmas and I absoltuley love it!
I love how the UI is on this tablet and now know what all the fuss is about for Andorid. Touchwiz ruins the experience in my opinion. So I'm thinking for my new phone I'm going to get a Lollipop device for sure...the question is which one?
I don't want a Nexus as I don't like the idea of non-expandable memory and my 64gb card in my Sheild is getting pretty full, no way I could survive with a device that isn't at least 64gb (my iphone is 64gb and is usually between 50-60gb loaded up with music and media.)
So which device has a UI that is as close to the Shield as possible with expandable memory and isn't the size of a house. 5" is about my max screen size. There is no need to go larger as I already have the Sheild, and I want it to be pocketable. I got rid of my Note because I just kept leaving it on my desk. I would also love to get a 16-20 hour day with heavy use. FWIW my iphone 5s is completley dead by the time 2:00pm rolls around when it comes off the charger at 5:30am. I'm usually not near a charger again until 6:30-7:00pm on average. It's going to be a lot to ask but a 5:30am to 10:00pm battery life would be fantastic...

If you want a stock OS look and MicroSD, get the HTC M8 Google Play Edition. Stock Android, front speakers, and MicroSD support just like the ST.

Not going to be a popular opinion around here but the iPhone 6 gets much much better battery life than the older ones, if you are already invested into iTunes that may be a valid option for you. For me I have the 6 plus and it is cool because I get awesome battery life and then I get completely different games then the ones that are available on my shield tab so I have pretty much the best of both worlds.
Also my reason for going to the iPhone is because I have ATT and needed a carrier subsidized phone, tried the Nexus 6 it is utter crap build quality and the Note 4 is not even rootable, there is not much else that is really modern on ATT.

As far as gaming ready devices, all Qualcomm Snapdragon devices fall into a mediocre range. None of them are really "smooth" at gaming and all of them work hard to provide perpetual fluidity. Bad video drivers and non-existent high clock efficiency mean those devices scale vey poorly, and gaming takes a monstrous drain on the battery for even simple 2D games. If you are looking for a device which can handle gaming in a manner similar to the shield (and aren't too concerned with what you might lose) then tegra phones and iPhones are your best option objectively. It's impossible to recommend a Qualcomm device as better for gaming. If you are just looking for a simple phone with light gaming, then something like the upcoming HTC M9 or a likewise lollipop based device would be fine. But if gaming is your concern (which you don't seem to mention) then my above statements hold very true.

All "stock" suggestions should definitely fly with "but shall include excessive Google bloatware that wouldn't be accepted from Samsung or any other OEM." That much said, crap like Drive Earth Docs Sheets Slides Newsstand Books Music Movies Plus Fit Now Wallet Keyboard Chrome and the ever constant location stalker CAN be disabled quite easily.
Preliminary reports say the S5 is shaping up to perform amazingly on Lollipop. A simple comparison of this tablet and the Nexus 7 and the iPad-Mini-esque Nexus 9, has shown me that it's all about the implementation of lollipop, not comparing who has the biggest version number, that is essential in determining which device is best.

Google Play Edition phones like HTC One M8 or Galaxy S4.
The Moto G and X phones also offer nearly stock OS.

Gaming is not a concern for me with a phone, thats what the Tablet is for. a Pretty stock non-bloated with manufacture crud OS is whats most important I think. Touchwiz was just annoying when I was test driving a Note 3 and on my S2 when I had it. Just didn't enjoy it. I also don't like how big the S5 and such has gotten.
I'll take a closer look at the Google Play edition phones. I wanted to get something direct from carrier to get the subsidy and save some cash... I'm on Rogers in Canada... No Moto X is avaialble, and it doesn't appear to have a micro SD. However the Sony Z3 seems to have a pretty stock version of Android... what are peoples opinions on that device?

Well I wouldn't say it's stock by any means. It's actually fairly heavy on skinning, but it does look nice. Updates will be very slow for Sony phones. But the battery life is fantastic, and the overall hardware is nice. Sony phones can be problematic, but since it's a carrier device you can always yell at Rogers.

Nintonito said:
Well I wouldn't say it's stock by any means. It's actually fairly heavy on skinning, but it does look nice. Updates will be very slow for Sony phones. But the battery life is fantastic, and the overall hardware is nice. Sony phones can be problematic, but since it's a carrier device you can always yell at Rogers.
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Yea, I'm reading more on the Z3 forums and seeing stuff I'm not overly happy with.
One thing that is ever important to me is the speed and quality of the camera, something I'm addicted to on my iphone. I'm a part-time professional photographer along with my day job. So I got a camera for manual control and taking beautiful shot. I love my iphone for the quick burst that I can do within a couple of seconds on the fly (and thats about it that I've found as a pro over Android). I don't know if there is an Android phone out there that can compete, which is very unfortunate. When I was test driving the Note 3, one of the few major reasons I returned it was due to the crappy camera speed/AF. (The others were size and touchwiz)

Moto X, Moto G, Nexus 5, Nexus 6 or the Google Play Edition phones from the play store. Thats about it. I guess the OnePlus One fits the bill also.
I can't recommend the Moto X enough. Mine is absolutely amazing and I've owned QUITE a few different phones over the past few years including Samsung, HTC, Sony, Nexus, ZTE. The Motorola lineup of the past year or so has been nothing short of phenomenal.

I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.

Nintonito said:
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
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Do you own one? Because I do. And I routinely hit 18-19 hours with 2.5-3 hours of screen time. Everyone I see complaining about battery life doesn't own one, and are just parroting FUD.

Nintonito said:
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
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icase81 said:
Do you own one? Because I do. And I routinely hit 18-19 hours with 2.5-3 hours of screen time. Everyone I see complaining about battery life doesn't own one, and are just parroting FUD.
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I'd also have to agree. I was hesitant about the phone when it was first announced because of the battery and held off buying one until the Cyber Monday coupon deal. Since then, I've added a wireless charging module (thread in the accessories sub-forum for the phone) and I couldn't be happier. Not saying you need a wireless mod, I just missed that from the Nexus 5. But even so, the battery has been above and beyond what I expected, the phone's performance is top notch, Active Display or whatever its called has no second best and Motorola's adherence to near stock Android is the cherry on top.
Like icase said, unless you have one and have something to back up your comment, you're just blowing FUD. My go to devices today are my 2014 Moto X and my Nvidia Shield Tablet.

wired335 said:
My contract is coming up for renewal in late February and I'm thinking of replacing my phone with a new Android device. I realize this might be the wrong forum section to post in, but who better to ask than my fellow Shield lovers.
I had a Galaxy Note (original) and a Galaxy S2 prior, and they weren't bad. For the time Touchwiz, and a poor email client really put me off of Android as a phone primarily for me is a communication device, but I still like to have fun with it.
I ended up going back to Blackberry and have been rocking a Z10 for a long time. But won an iphone 5s through work and have been using that for about the past year. I bought a Z30 recently as it was being sold at a stupidly low price new in box from factory and I am sick and tired of the small screens and piss poor battery life of the iphone.
I also have a first gen Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and I've been complaining about it for the past 6-10 months because of it's size and weight and now that apps are being optimized for newer OS versions it's getting really slow. So my wife bought me a Shield for Christmas and I absoltuley love it!
I love how the UI is on this tablet and now know what all the fuss is about for Andorid. Touchwiz ruins the experience in my opinion. So I'm thinking for my new phone I'm going to get a Lollipop device for sure...the question is which one?
I don't want a Nexus as I don't like the idea of non-expandable memory and my 64gb card in my Sheild is getting pretty full, no way I could survive with a device that isn't at least 64gb (my iphone is 64gb and is usually between 50-60gb loaded up with music and media.)
So which device has a UI that is as close to the Shield as possible with expandable memory and isn't the size of a house. 5" is about my max screen size. There is no need to go larger as I already have the Sheild, and I want it to be pocketable. I got rid of my Note because I just kept leaving it on my desk. I would also love to get a 16-20 hour day with heavy use. FWIW my iphone 5s is completley dead by the time 2:00pm rolls around when it comes off the charger at 5:30am. I'm usually not near a charger again until 6:30-7:00pm on average. It's going to be a lot to ask but a 5:30am to 10:00pm battery life would be fantastic...
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Hi, just my two cents, IMHO the Nvidia Shield is a great tablet but to play PC games you have to stream to Nvidia, so if I want to recommend to you a similar device, the closest phone you can get is the Sony Experia Z3, Android 5 Lollipop, battery levels are very good, beautiful design and you can connect it to a playstation and play the games wireless on your phone with the PS controller. You even get the sound from your controller by connecting the headphones to it.

I have a couple of ideas.
If you can wait, the HTC Hima promises to be a beast. A Snapdragon 810 with a 1080p screen means that it will probably crush every other phone in terms of performace, thanks to every other phone jumping on the pointless 4K train. Look it up. It looks pretty nice. *drool*
If you need something now, then....I know you want a smaller phone, but....I can't recommend the Oneplus One enough.
-It is actually thinner than and not as wide as the Note, dispite its slightly larger screen.
-Even though it has no expandable storage, 64 gigs of internal storage has actually proven more useful to me. I never have to worry about limited storage for application data.
-The battery life on this thing is nuts. I'm a heavy user and I only need to charge it every other day.
-1080p screen. This is a plus because it it uses less resources than a 4k display. And honestly, most, if not all people, cannot tell the difference.
-Snapdragon 801 with 3 gigs of RAM. This thing flies, and multitasks like a champ. I remember a time not too long ago when more than 2gb RAM was considered excessive for most DESKTOP computers. I think its more than the specs that make this thing fly, though. Something in the hardware implementation must be special, because people have been reporting some pretty unbelievable benchmarks. Oh, and Sonic Adventure 2 runs smoothly in Reicast.
-The XDA scene is HUGE for this device. Its the most popular device on the forums. There are, like, 73 billion ROMs for it and maybe 2.5 billion kernels. I've never owned such a popular device. This is my favorite feature.
Its also the one of the only devices I have right now that isn't defective in some way. I tend to have horrible luck when purchasing electronics.
I hope I've helped you reach some sort of conclusion. Good luck. :good:

thanks guys,
I went into my Rogers store and manhandled what they had on display as well as a few open box units. I also took at look at Telus, but they can't meet me on my plan so no point in switching over. But the Moto X seemed like the best device.
I found the Z3 to be the best value for me right now. As I originally mentioned I'm not looking at the phone for gaming, but to be a workhorse and get me through a very heavy use work day. Not having Touch-Wiz was a huge plus for me, and I really enjoyed some of the things they changed in the skin. The camera performed a lot better than the other phones I tried in store. the HTC M8 was a very close contender, but the camera just sucks so horribly it got kicked out of the running faster than I could blink. I honestly think that Nokia/Windows Phone has the best camera interface after playing around with phones the past week, but the Z3 does a pretty good job.
For me it was the battery power, the UI, and the pretty impressive spec sheet that (hopefuly) will not force me to upgrade in the next 18 months that caused me to go with the Z3 overall. Rogers has a pretty limited offering right now which is annoying. I almost went with the Samsung S5, but remembered how much Touch-Wiz pozioned me the first time.
If they had a Nexus 5 32gb in stock I would have probably gone with that instead...and dealt with the size limitiation...but none left for corporate customers.
So my Black Z3 is in the mail and I'm really looking forward to it. Especially since my time frame for getting a new device really escallated with an unexpected smashy smashy of my iphone (dropped it and ran it over with a stroller by complete accident. One of the only times it wasn't cased!) now I need a case for my Z3

Buying a Note 6 in late 2019

I'm looking for a cheap 100-150$ phone for my little sister (simple use cases, social/chat apps and games,) and I was recommended the Note 7; that phone is a bit too high for my budget so I thought the note 6 pro seems like the same thing with slightly older SOC. My question is does this phone still hold up and is there anything I need to know before buying it. also, the phone will probably never be tempered with and be left on base MIUI so official Support is higher than Rom support in my case.

I would say it is a good, solid phone and for normal usage it will serve most people very well.
The notch is a little bit annoying but it's okay, you'll get used to it.
I know a few people with these phones who have never changed the ROM or rooted and they are happy with the performance. I change my ROM occasionally and am also happy with it.
I would say spend the bit extra to get the 64gb but that's up to your budget

Apart from the abysmal RAM management it's a decent phone

I've used this phone for the past 11 months and I can say that it is a good phone. The only things that I dislike about it is that the display is not great quality (you can tell in sunlight) and the build of the phone is plastic which isn't as good looking as the glass/metal designs of the newer generation redmi note series. If you are looking for a phone around that price range, I would definitely recommend this phone. Besides those cons, the phone is an all round decent device. The camera is good as well.