The official tablet (and other useless electronics) thread!

[JustinG]

Nexus 6. (Rex and G have one, maybe they can chime in more)

Vanilla Android

No need for expandable storage, can get it in 32 or 64gb.

Battery life is good, and just get a portable battery pack. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Astro-Lipstick-Sized-Portable-Technology/dp/B005X1Y7I2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1435690352&sr=8-5&keywords=anker+battery+pack">http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Astro-Lipst ... ttery+pack</a><!-- m -->


Also I like my S5, and would like to get the S6 Edge (think Derecola has one), and if you avoid Verizon, Bloatware is negligible. The touchwiz skin aint bad.

[SlimKlim]

At that point the only benefit over a 32GB iphone would be the ability to use the android specific apps, not sure it'd be worth making the switch but I'll check them out. I'm not due until september so I'm not even sure if some new jank will be out by then, just starting to window shop.

[Apoc]

I always wanted expandable storage until I realized I never had more than 10 gigs of stuff on my phone... so I talked myself into an S6 edge. Now I realize, after my passwords got corrupted somehow and had to factory reset, that having expandable that doesn't get wiped is nice. Of course this is a rare use case as it never happened on my other Galaxies, but it happened nonetheless.

Replaceable battery is completely unnecessary these days as most phones make it through the day. If you're a heavy user, just keep an external in your backpack or something. It's really no different than a replaceable battery.

All that said, I'd probably look into a Nexus. I love my phone, but I've have a few frustrations that required me to wipe parts of it. Of course my wife has a non-edge S6 and has had zero problems. YMMV.

[WRXtranceformed]

I'm still rocking my second S4 and it has been solid. We get an upgrade in September so we will probably be in the same boat.

[SlimKlim]

Storage isn't a problem on my iPhone until it is, and then I have to go through and manually select all my photos to create a little backup folder on the "cloud" so I can clear space off of the phone to install an update or something. It's a pain in the dick knowing i could simply pop in another SD card.

My phone is still making it through the day, but it's usually in the single digits by the time I plug it in at night. I think having the new car and using bluetooth frequently has taken its toll, coupled with the standard decline over time.

It's not so much the convenience factor of being able to pop in another battery on the go, which would be nice, but more for that 18-month mark where all phone batteries seem to get slightly shittier, I could just toss in a brandy new one without any fuss.

I'm thinking the G4 might still be my top contender, it's the darling of all the reviews I'm reading and has the features I want, and that leather back is the same color and material as the case I'd put on it anyway. The camera has a lower aperture than my DSLR lens. (which to be fair is shitty and old, but still)

The S6 edge is pretty but I don't get it. The color-coded caller ID is cool if your phone happens to be upside down, otherwise... what's the point. I'm not gonna hold my phone sideways to read a text...

[SlimKlim]

Got the G4.

Now I got two hundo on a gift card to burn at Verizon. Moto 360 or put it towards a GoPro Hero+? Other suggestions?

[JPolen01]

I put mine towards my bill. Not the most fun option, but fuck it.

[SlimKlim]

I think I've got $100 going towards my bill (promo overall was $300), not sure if I can apply the rest of it towards it but I wouldn't mind just not paying for a few months.

Especially because I just spent 30 minutes with the stupidest verizon chat rep in the world. Had no idea why the price in the store was $149 yesterday and $199 online today for the Moto360. Kept telling me something was a "2 year price" (the fuck does 2 years have to do with a smartwatch?!), and couldn't tell me why the website didn't reflect my employer discount. I'm gonna go back into the store over lunch and see if they can order the watch at the correct price OR the leather back for the G4 and apply the rest towards my bill. If not I guess I'll go nuts on screen protectors or something...

[SlimKlim]

Re-read the fine print and it looks like I can put it towards my bill so I might just do that. Has me wondering when the other $100 statement credit is gonna kick in though...

[Evan]

my recommendation:
Wireless charging case
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessories/wireless-charging-quick-circle-folio-case-for-lg-g4-violet-black/">http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessor ... let-black/</a><!-- m -->

and wireless charger
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessories/tylt-v-and-220-wireless-charging-pad-red/">http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessor ... g-pad-red/</a><!-- m -->

[WRXtranceformed]

With Verizon don't you have to "lease" all new phones now? Like they basically amortize the costs of the phone into your monthly bill and you aren't bound by a contract?

[JPolen01]

With Verizon don't you have to "lease" all new phones now? Like they basically amortize the costs of the phone into your monthly bill and you aren't bound by a contract?

Yes. Seems like this is the way of all carriers now or in the immediate future. They are no longer subsidizing phones so you pay the full amount over X number of months. You can upgrade once you have paid off X% of the phone. They are crediting your bill a dollar amount to offset the monthly phone payment cost ($10/m in our case).

[Evan]

With Verizon don't you have to "lease" all new phones now? Like they basically amortize the costs of the phone into your monthly bill and you aren't bound by a contract?

not lease but finance. t-mobile started the trend.
Your full phone cost ($650+ for a flagship) was always subsidized by your monthly bill (hence the contract and the etf) so now everything is just a little more up front and transparent and your bill goes down when your phone is paid off. Of course, Verizon figured out a way to make your bill more expensive, where with Tmobile the bill went way down.

[BLINGMW]

No. Verizon, AT&T and Sprint (resold through many others but we happened to use Boost Mobile) also have prepaid plans. Buy a phone yourself and just pay them monthly for the plan. Currently mine through AT&T is $35/mo with very limited data and Jess' through Verizon is $45/mo with 2GB. A good way to go if you don't need to spend $500+ on the latest phone (either upfront or more through lease or contract).

[SlimKlim]

Yes I'm "financing" the phone. It's worth noting that when you do a traditional 2-year contract and pay $200 for an iPhone, the other $400 of the retail cost is hidden in your monthly fee, so with the new plan structuring they're just being a little more honest about it. You can make a down payment to reduce the monthly charge for the phone, or you can just buy the phone and pay for the data, but the financing is 0% so it just comes down to how and when you want to pay for it.

This particular phone cost $552, less the $200 discount for being a Fios customer, plus $100 on a gift card back from LG, so my net cost for the device is $252. Then I also got the $300 in account credit for switching back from AT&T.

Right now I'm on the 6GB plan because I thought I was going to add Lauren and my Mom, but Lauren is grandfathered in to unlimited data so I'll probably drop down to the 3GB plan for just Mom and I. It'll shake out to be $65/mo for 3GB, unlimited calling and texting with 2 lines, plus ~$15 for my phone (Mom is keeping her old device).

So I went to the store over lunch, they can't order the leather backs for the G4 at all, and Verizon is completely out of stock of all the Moto360s with leather bands and the black face metal band ones. However, there was a promo on the LG Urbane watch if you bought the G4 at the same time so they did some trickery to make that work since I just bought the phone last night, and they knocked another $50 off because I looked sad. After burning $200 of the account credit (the other $100 is applied after the return period for the phone is up), I got a $349 smart watch for $36 out of pocket. Not bad.

[WRXtranceformed]

So what happens when you are eligible for an upgrade but haven't "financed" a phone before? Do they just give you a credit towards or a discount off of the new phone?

[SlimKlim]

It just depends what the current discounts and promos are I reckon, this is the first time I've done it this way, all my other phones have been ~$200 up front with a 2 year commitment.

[JPolen01]

So what happens when you are eligible for an upgrade but haven't "financed" a phone before? Do they just give you a credit towards or a discount off of the new phone?

Nothing. Emily was eligible for an upgrade and the only option offered was to get in line with their new program.

[Evan]

So what happens when you are eligible for an upgrade but haven't "financed" a phone before? Do they just give you a credit towards or a discount off of the new phone?

no quotes needed. its pretty easy to understand.
your service cost go down. You can keep the same phone and pay less total, or you can get a new phone and pay about the same, depending on device.

the service and the phone are separate. its a lot more simple, and how it should be.


these plans are really going to drive mid range phones. you can now get a very capable smartphone equivalent to a flagship of a year or 2 ago for $200-$300. Pay that up front (what you were paying for a subsidized phone before) and then your total out of pocket costs go down by $20 or so a month. win win.

[Apoc]

So what happens when you are eligible for an upgrade but haven't "financed" a phone before? Do they just give you a credit towards or a discount off of the new phone?

no quotes needed. its pretty easy to understand.
your service cost go down. You can keep the same phone and pay less total, or you can get a new phone and pay about the same, depending on device.

the service and the phone are separate. its a lot more simple, and how it should be.


these plans are really going to drive mid range phones. you can now get a very capable smartphone equivalent to a flagship of a year or 2 ago for $200-$300. Pay that up front (what you were paying for a subsidized phone before) and then your total out of pocket costs go down by $20 or so a month. win win.

Unless you're on an AT&T shared data plan. There is a $25/line (?) discount that you must move to a financed phone to keep (if you want to upgrade your device). If you don't, you get the subsidized phone but your monthly service bill goes up. If you do switch, your bill goes up for the financing portion of the device. Either way your bill goes up somewhat similar amounts. I did the math and found it was cheaper to go the finance device, no service change route vs. subsidized device and lose the service discount.

If you don't want to upgrade your device there is no billing change.