Alternatives to the V²

[SymbianRefugee]

Sharp crystal Aquos Xx seems like it might be good, due out July. So I guess for me the race is on Saygus vs Sharp who will release first?

Aquos Crystal Xx runs Android 5.0 Lollipop. Inside are four Cortex-A57 and four A53 cores, connected to 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 430 GPU. You get 32GB of internal storage to which you can add 128GB more with a microSD card.

The 13MP camera on the back of the phone has been certified by Ricoh. There's also a 2MP selfie camera. There's basic waterproofing.

5.7" bezeless and 1080 resolution, more than enough for a phone.

 

[No1VIPER]

The Honor 6 may be a reasonably good alternative.

- Octa Core
- 3gb ram
- 3100 mAh battery
- 1080p 5" screen
- 13mp camera
- Micro SD slot

http://m.gsmarena.com/huawei_honor_6-6461.php

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[SymbianRefugee]

go to android dot com they have a quick android phone web app that you can now use to search by criteria for phone models you might find suitable

 

[Cullenator]

go to android dot com they have a quick android phone web app that you can now use to search by criteria for phone models you might find suitable

Here's the link for that: https://www.android.com/phones/whichphone I personally would rather something a bit more technically-oriented, but that tool was kind of useful.

gsmarena's phone finder tool is how I found mine. I wish they had an option for filtering out certain chipsets *cough*810*cough*.

 

[Sam K]

The Honor 6 may be a reasonably good alternative.

- Octa Core
- 3gb ram
- 3100 mAh battery
- 1080p 5" screen
- 13mp camera
- Micro SD slot

http://m.gsmarena.com/huawei_honor_6-6461.php

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I searched around and it seems like this phone only supports LTE bands 1 and 3. If you're with T-Mobile in the U.S. like me then you want your phone to supprt LTE bands 2, 4 and 12 and if you're with AT&T then you want your phone to support LTE bands 2, 4 and 17.

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[SymbianRefugee]

Here's the link for that: https://www.android.com/phones/whichphone I personally would rather something a bit more technically-oriented, but that tool was kind of useful.

gsmarena's phone finder tool is how I found mine. I wish they had an option for filtering out certain chipsets *cough*810*cough*.

Much better, Thankyou. The S5+ looks almost the same as Saygus on paper, but it's out now, and Samsung have good camera software. Hmmmm....

I'm thinking about this.

 

[No1VIPER]

The Desire Eye seems to be a really good alternative. One which I'm seriously considering.

- IPX7 certified - dust proof and water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes.
- 13 MP, 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash. (On both front and back).
- Front Facing Stereo Speakers.
- Fast battery charging: 60% in 30 min.
- 2gb ram
- 1080p 5.2" screen
- Micro SD slot

http://m.gsmarena.com/htc_desire_eye-6715.php

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[Sam K]

The Desire Eye seems to be a really good alternative. One which I'm seriously considering.

- IPX7 certified - dust proof and water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes.
- 13 MP, 4208 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash. (On both front and back).
- Front Facing Stereo Speakers.
- Fast battery charging: 60% in 30 min.
- 2gb ram
- 1080p 5.2" screen
- Micro SD slot

http://m.gsmarena.com/htc_desire_eye-6715.php

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Yeah that's not bad and it's sold by AT&T so it supports all the LTE bands for AT&T. The only negatives are the lack of optical image stabilization in the back camera and the 2400mAh built in battery which probably won't give great battery life.

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[vertigo_2_20]

Yeah that's not bad and it's sold by AT&T so it supports all the LTE bands for AT&T. The only negatives are the lack of optical image stabilization in the back camera and the 2400mAh built in battery which probably won't give great battery life.

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I would add that 16GB internal memory is a negative. I won't pay >$250-300 for a phone with less than 32GB, and even then only hesitatingly. 32GB needs to be the new standard, as with a 16GB phone you only have a few gigs left for personal use.

 

[No1VIPER]

Yeah that's not bad and it's sold by AT&T so it supports all the LTE bands for AT&T. The only negatives are the lack of optical image stabilization in the back camera and the 2400mAh built in battery which probably won't give great battery life.

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After doing some more research I've found the HTC One M8s. Which seems to solve the problems you raised.

- 2840mAh battery
- 13 mega pixel (optical image stabilization, autofocus, dual-LED )

The only other difference between the M8s and the M8, is that the M8s has 64bit octa-core Snapdragon 615.

http://m.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m8s-7165.php

I would add that 16GB internal memory is a negative. I won't pay >$250-300 for a phone with less than 32GB, and even then only hesitatingly. 32GB needs to be the new standard, as with a 16GB phone you only have a few gigs left for personal use.

16gb is fine. I've currently got a Galaxy S4 which has 16gb internal memory. I have 124 apps installed and use a 32gb micro sd for all my music, pictures, videos etc. I'm left with plenty of space in internal storage for more.

Also there are apps such as Foldermount which a very useful.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...mount&pcampaignid=APPU_1_21V8VY2kJMP7UsuqgJAC

I use it on one of tablets which has only 8gb of internal memory. So as you can imagine you run of space for apps quite quickly when adding high quality games.

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[Sam K]

I would add that 16GB internal memory is a negative. I won't pay >$250-300 for a phone with less than 32GB, and even then only hesitatingly. 32GB needs to be the new standard, as with a 16GB phone you only have a few gigs left for personal use.

Agreed. I've learned that lesson when I got a cheap LG Optimus F6 with only 4gb of internal memory when I first switched to T-Mobile with the intention of getting the 32gb version of the Galaxy S5 but none of the US carriers ever released it. I couldn't install many apps on the phone because there was only 1.2gb available and the Google apps couldn't be moved to the microSD card. I had to root the phone and set it up to think that part of the microSD card was internal memory. Then I got the Samsung Galaxy Avant which has 16gb of internal memory but I paid only $96 + tax for it through T-Mobile's customer retention department with the intention of getting the Galaxy S6 but we know what happened there with the removal of 3 important features to me: microSD slot, removable battery and water resistance.

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[Sam K]

After doing some more research I've found the HTC One M8s. Which seems to solve the problems you raised.

- 2840mAh battery
- 13 mega pixel (optical image stabilization, autofocus, dual-LED )

The only other difference between the M8s and the M8, is that the M8s has 64bit octa-core Snapdragon 615.

http://m.gsmarena.com/htc_one_m8s-7165.php

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That might be a good option except depending on if it supports LTE bands 2, 4 and 12 since I'm with T-Mobile. Also, I read that the 64 bit Snapdragon 615 actually performs worse than the 32 bit Snapdragon 801. The Snapdragon 615 doesn't support 4k recording which the 801 does if that's important to you. Lastly the specs are very similar to the Alcatel One Touch Idol 3 so if it's price is much higher than the Idol 3's price of $250 then you need to decide if the smaller screen and optical image stabilization in the One M8S are worth it. Also I don't believe the HTC One M8S is water resistant.

It's so annoying that there’s not another phone out there without compromises other than the Saygus V².

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[No1VIPER]

That might be a good option except depending on if it supports LTE bands 2, 4 and 12 since I'm with T-Mobile. Also, I read that the 64 bit Snapdragon 615 actually performs worse than the 32 bit Snapdragon 801. The Snapdragon 615 doesn't support 4k recording which the 801 does if that's important to you. Lastly the specs are very similar to the Alcatel One Touch Idol 3 so if it's price is much higher than the Idol 3's price of $250 then you need to decide if the smaller screen and optical image stabilization in the One M8S are worth it. Also I don't believe the HTC One M8S is water resistant.

It's so annoying that there’s not another phone out there without compromises other than the Saygus V².

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I'm not really bothered about 4k, or it being water resistant. As for the Snapdragon 615 not performing as well as the 801.... I'll have to do some more research. If the difference in performance isn't too much, then I feel that the gains you will get in terms of battery life may well be worth it. As a side note, the main reason I'm looking at HTC devices is the Boomsound speakers.

Update:

I've done some more research on the Snapdragon 615, in relation to performance when it comes gaming especially. From what I've found it seems to be able to handle graphically intense games without much noticeable lag. However it does heat up quite a bit after prolonged gaming sessions (like almost all phones). I've not managed to find to a video of the M8S gaming, but I have found a video of the Xiaomi Mi 4i, which has basically identical specs. For those who are interested here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euTgjub2GEA

 

[SymbianRefugee]

It's so annoying that there’s not another phone out there without compromises other than the Saygus V².

And yet Saygus have hit us with another delay.....

This is why I was upset when Nokia sold to M$. Even though M$ are making good entry level phones there is nothing that has it all.

N70, N95, N8, N9, N808 all were the very best available technology all in the one phone.

If LG waterproofed the G4 I'd be very happy.

 

[Sam K]

As a side note, the main reason I'm looking at HTC devices is the Boomsound speakers.

As an FYI, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 has "dual front-facing speakers from JBL audio, including Clari-Fi technology by Harman" so they may be comparable to the Boomsound speakers in the HTC. And if having a more pure Android OS like a Nexus device without HTC Sense then the Alcatel might be a good option to consider.

http://www.alcatelonetouch.us/ALCATEL-ONETOUCH-IDOL-SMARTPHONE-Unlocked/dp/B00V3U6FFK

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[No1VIPER]

As an FYI, the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 has "dual front-facing speakers from JBL audio, including Clari-Fi technology by Harman" so they may be comparable to the Boomsound speakers in the HTC. And if having a more pure Android OS like a Nexus device without HTC Sense then the Alcatel might be a good option to consider.

http://www.alcatelonetouch.us/ALCATEL-ONETOUCH-IDOL-SMARTPHONE-Unlocked/dp/B00V3U6FFK

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I didn't realise it had front facing speakers. That's make it more appealing.

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[Sam K]

I didn't realise it had front facing speakers. That's make it more appealing.

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There are several videos on YouTube showing the Idol 3 front facing speakers in action and here's one comparing it to the HTC One M9.

https://youtu.be/ir8Jn13Hra0

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[No1VIPER]

There are several videos on YouTube showing the Idol 3 front facing speakers in action and here's one comparing it to the HTC One M9.

https://youtu.be/ir8Jn13Hra0

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Sounds really good. I've just found this video which shows the performance when playing graphically intensive games:

https://youtu.be/O_-Pl16VPOU

They all seem to play smoothly, except Nova 3, which I did notice had some lag.

Also here is a real world battery life test video:

https://youtu.be/S1reD6Cswjs

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[Sam K]

As I learrn more and more about the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 it seems like a great value at $250. I know there are cheaper phones with good specs out there from Asus, Blu, etc but none of them support all the LTE bands for both AT&T and T-Mobile.

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[No1VIPER]

As I learrn more and more about the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 it seems like a great value at $250. I know there are cheaper phones with good specs out there from Asus, Blu, etc but none of them support all the LTE bands for both AT&T and T-Mobile.

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I thought the exact same thing. I'm almost ready to pull the trigger and order the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3. Just need to find a decent site/price in the UK.

Update:
Just been on to Amazon and found that its not due to be released until July 13 in UK