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Comparison/Decision Time


echo4papa

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Hey guys, love the wealth of knowledge and great opinions here.  I need some help.

 

My wife is due for a new phone at the first of the year.  I'm adding my brother to my plan at the same time.  I'm due for a new phone 4 weeks later.

 

I'm hoping for some personal experiences, advice, opinions etc.

 

Wife:  Current phone is the Galaxy S2.  She likes it.  Uses it mostly for talking and streaming music (on WiFi).  Leaning toward the S4.

 

Brother:  Currently using an LG phone that he hates and is on some cheap plan.  Gets no reception on it at work.  Uses his phone mostly for talking (business - he's in sales), texting, decent amount of data as well.  Call quality/reception is a key concern.  Considering the HTC One of the Nexus 5.

 

Me:  Currently using the HTC 4G LTE.  Hate the Samsung overlay, love the HTC overlay.  Some calls, mostly text/data.  Considering the One or the Nexus 5.

 

Thoughts?  Advice?  Other things we should consider?

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The LG G2 is free right now with Sprint with port in credit. Excellent signal reception and awesome phone. The Nexus 5 is also one of the best phones hands down as far as hardware and reception. I've heard mixed things about the HTC One with regards to LTE, but my mom has one on Verizon and she really likes it. Sense is a pretty decent overlay, as well.

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Wife, hold out for S5 which should arrive within 4 months if not sooner.

 

Brother, Nexus 5.

 

You, Nexus 5 off contract, wait for the next big thing.

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What/when is the next big thing?  

 

I don't mind waiting a little, but I wouldn't pay an off contract price for the Nexus while I'm still enjoying my HTC.

 

I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you, this is the year of Tri-Band, so there are going to be great devices launched 2nd quarter some the likes of Samsung and maybe even HTC. The reason why I say to buy the Nexus 5 off contract is because it will give you some of the latest features out. It will do that for only $150 additional than buying a Premium Newly released device on Contract ($149-$199). Buying off contract allows you to keep your upgrade discount to buy a newly released premium device when that time comes.

 

I'm pretty sure, even though this is just guessing, that 95% of Nexus 5 owners here, purchased the device off contract to allow them to buy a future device on discount.

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I appreciate the input, thanks!  I'm not going to drop that much cash on something to tide me over a few months though, I still like my HTC enough that it should get me through, plus with wife has been out of work for a while, so money is a little tight.

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Amazon has the S4 and the One for free as an upgrade, and the Nexus 5 for $20, so price isn't really a factor.  I see a lot of Nexus 5 love, and I almost skipped it completely.  What makes it stand out?

The nexus 5 is all about lte connectivity.  There isn't any other device on sprint right now that can come close to the n5 when it comes to lte connectivity plus it very inexpensive and worth every penny if you buy it off contract or get it for a few dollars on contract.

What/when is the next big thing?  

 

I don't mind waiting a little, but I wouldn't pay an off contract price for the Nexus while I'm still enjoying my HTC.

If you really like htc and sense, then you will probably enjoy the latest versions of sense.  Sense 5/5.5 on the one/one max is very streamlined and overall performance is just as fast even when compared to the nexus 5 which has better hardware and is bloat free.  If you don't mind waiting though then I say just wait a few more months for the latest version of the One to be released which should be around spring at the absolute latest.  In the end you really have to look at whats is important to you.

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If you don't need simultaneous voice and LTE data, then there's little reason not to use your upgrades on a tri-band device- it will provide greater data speed and coverage than a single-band device like the HTC One.

 

If you wife enjoys having a removable battery and expandable storage, as well as other features unique to the Galaxy S line, then the Galaxy S4 "Spark edition" (SPH-L720T) is an easy choice.

 

Otherwise, and for everyone else, the Nexus 5 is a great phone, with great cross-network compatibility and strong reception. However, I wouldn't pay what Sprint is asking for it. They should be selling the 16GB for free on contract, as even at that price they'd be making money. On average, they subsidize about $400 of the cost of a smartphone, which amortized over the 20 months until you can upgrade again comes to about $20/mo. Since you have to pay the subsidy regardless, may as well use it. So here's what I'd do:

 

1.) Use upgrade(s) on iPhone 5S. Get the gold version and try to get it international-unlocked to maximize resale value.

2.) Sell the iPhone and purchase Nexus 5 from Google Play.

3.) Save the difference and put it towards future Sprint bills.

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Okay, what is the "spark" edition, and outside of the model number, how can I tell the difference?

 

This must be what my mom feels like when I start helping her to buy a computer, lol.  I just haven't kept up with cell tech since I got my last phone.

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Okay, what is the "spark" edition, and outside of the model number, how can I tell the difference?

 

This must be what my mom feels like when I start helping her to buy a computer, lol.  I just haven't kept up with cell tech since I got my last phone.

 

Spark is just Sprint's fancy marketing name for tri-band (Band 25/26/41), rather than just single-band (B25) LTE. The phone is identical to the current Sprint Galaxy S4 (SPH-L720) except for the omission of SVLTE and the addition of radios for 800 MHz & 2600 MHz LTE. It will slowly replace existing S4 inventory, and should be widely available by next month.

 

A couple of months ago, S4GRU was one of the first to discover this variant. There is an ongoing thread discussing it here.

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I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you, this is the year of Tri-Band, so there are going to be great devices launched 2nd quarter some the likes of Samsung and maybe even HTC. The reason why I say to buy the Nexus 5 off contract is because it will give you some of the latest features out. It will do that for only $150 additional than buying a Premium Newly released device on Contract ($149-$199). Buying off contract allows you to keep your upgrade discount to buy a newly released premium device when that time comes.

 

I'm pretty sure, even though this is just guessing, that 95% of Nexus 5 owners here, purchased the device off contract to allow them to buy a future device on discount.

 

I been eligible sinnce Feb 2013 but decided it was better to buy Nexus 5 off contract plus i could get the 32GB version

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I been eligible sinnce Feb 2013 but decided it was better to buy Nexus 5 off contract plus i could get the 32GB version

 

How difficult was it to get the 32GB from Google added to Sprint? I don't know if they ended up adding to the system automatically or what.

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How difficult was it to get the 32GB from Google added to Sprint? I don't know if they ended up adding to the system automatically or what.

Its pretty easy. I normally use sprint.com, but when I switch to or from my Nexus 5 I have to use the chat option when on Sprint.com. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you don't need simultaneous voice and LTE data, then there's little reason not to use your upgrades on a tri-band device- it will provide greater data speed and coverage than a single-band device like the HTC One.

 

 

 

Okay, I glossed over this initially, and I'm catching up on the tri-band info here, slowly but surely, but are you telling me that tri-band phones will not allow simultaneous voice and LTE data usage?

 

So, for instance, I can't talk on the phone and watch... adult themed videos?  lol  (I was going to go with talk and use navi, but this sounds better).

 

Can I do that with a single-band device like the One?

 

 

Edit:  Also, if I wanted to ask questions about Sprint plans to make sure my analysis is correct, where would I post it?

Edited by echo4papa
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Okay, I glossed over this initially, and I'm catching up on the tri-band info here, slowly but surely, but are you telling me that tri-band phones will not allow simultaneous voice and LTE data usage?

 

So, for instance, I can't talk on the phone and watch... adult themed videos? lol (I was going to go with talk and use navi, but this sounds better).

 

Can I do that with a single-band device like the One?

 

 

Edit: Also, if I wanted to ask questions about Sprint plans to make sure my analysis is correct, where would I post it?

You are correct. Triband devices cannot do simultaneous voice and LTE data. They can only do simultaneous voice and data on WiFi. This true of AT&T and Tmo LTE devices also. They just have the ability to fallback to WCDMA.

 

Sprint plan questions should be posted in General Topics.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

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