Phone suggestions

[Trenzalore]

Oyea! I know I should be quite sad that my phone is falling apart, and I sorta am... But phone shopping is just too darned fun

I will spare you the story of how I used my phone as a...ninja star, insulted it, and how it's trying to commit suicide and/or retaliating (apparently). Long story short, I'm in the market for a new phone.

I'm not super picky. I'm thrilled to finally have a chance to experience a 64-bit SoC, though. (I want to have an MT67**, too! hehe) Quad or Octa core -- not that big a deal. Higher numbers are always nice to have, but either count will do fine. I'm a snob when it comes to base versions of SoCs though hehehe -- if price diff is not huge, I'd forego the 'M's.
It's always a plus to have smooth transitioning among apps, so RAM size preference of 2GB. ROM size 16GB, but 8GB will be perfectly fine.

I've been making do with 2G service while in N America, it's fine most of the time, but when trying to navigate in an unfamiliar place while trying to catch buses, speed becomes an issue. So I'm looking for a quad/tri band wcdma phone 850/1900 for use here and 900/2100 for back home.

Good primary camera. MP count is not an issue, it's more of picture quality. Front camera is not used very much, so it's not a necessity to have a really good one. So long as the image is discernible for video chatting, it's fine.

Good speakers if possible!

I currently have a 5.0 inch phone, and am perfectly satisfied with it. I'm afraid 5.5 inch phones will be larger than my face, but I'm not ruling them out. 5.0 is just another preference. 720p would be perfect for either screen size.

An important criterion is removable battery, and I'm shying away from 2000mAH-small batteries -- they're a nightmare. -_-
Lastly, I've a long way to go on my little trip, so I'm keeping budget <= $180 (can possibly be swayed)

Summary:
- 64-bit SoC (4- or 8-core)
- 2GB/16GB preferred
- 3G bands 850/900/1900/2100 (minimum of 3 out of 4)
- removable battery (>2000mAH)
- good GPS
- good speakers if possible
- good rear camera, acceptable front
- 5.0 inch screen preferred but 5.5 is not a problem
- 720p resolution is perfect

So far, I've considered the Lenovo K3 based on Giz' review. Points of consideration are as mentioned in the review -- battery bug(?) and the apps falling out of memory, but the latter is a minor one. I was drooling over the Doogee F5, but I don't wanna wait a month. Does the UMi Iron have a removable batt? I'm almost convinced on the K3, but I want to hear suggestions from you guys.

Side-tracking to the 2G 3G story -- turns out Mobileuncle tools is not super reliable. The 850 and 1900 bands are ticked but don't actually work. pfft.

[Cleopatra]

Hi Trenzalore !

Consider that the latest generation of SoCs MTK (67**) has still some problems to solve ... for example MTK Droid Tools doesn't works, third part softwares (to backup and similar features) don't work and sometimes (this is not valid for all devices) there are overheating problems.
I advise you to carefully consider the opinions of the people (on many forums) who have purchased a specific device.

:-)

[Trenzalore]

Thanks, Cleopatra!
Yeah, unfortunately, those little tricks will go out the window with the newer SoCs. I'm being optimistic work-arounds will soon turn up, though. In the meantime, I'm just keeping easy access to stock ROMs a criterion, and readily available custom recoveries a plus.
Overheating for the MT67**s? I hadn't heard much on that. Thanks for the heads up!

[cookiedough]

They're not getting any hotter than the previous generation IMHO. Yes, depends on the phone.

Most popular mobiles have TWRP or CWM if you really need to root, as well as stock ROMs available as backups.

Mobile uncle is just a quick link to engineering mode, which only shows software, not hardware band support.

Umi Iron is enclosed battery.

If not worried about moderate-heavy multitasking, Lenovo K3 Note is a very good choice. Also consider Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro, which is great all around.

[GizBeat]

I can 2nd suggestions of Redmi 2 and Lenovo K3 Note. Both very good choices.

[Trenzalore]

Thanks. Considering the redmi 2 pro as well. I came across some user testimonies regarding heating issue with the K3. Did you experience that at some point?

Also, thoughts on the Be Touch 2, anyone?

[GizBeat]

Thanks. Considering the redmi 2 pro as well. I came across some user testimonies regarding heating issue with the K3. Did you experience that at some point?

Also, thoughts on the Be Touch 2, anyone?

MT6752 is a very powerful SoC. I expect them to get hot. Same with people complaining about Snapdragon 801 and 810. They are putting out a huge amount of energy. I only consider heat an issue if its extreme, or if the phone is throttling because of it.

Be Touch 2 will likely be getting a thumbs down from Gizbeat. Need to test further, but as of now, my first impressions aren't good. Will get into it more next week.

[Trenzalore]

Yep, the complaints mention throttling. I'm no stranger to phones getting hot when multitasking but adverse effects of it is certainly a concern.

Hehe noted on the be touch 2. I did read a lot of hateful and frustrated messages regarding it. Off the list. Thanks!

[GizBeat]

I only noticed throttling when reaching 15% battery (reduces to about <50% power always). I'm in 35+c ambient temps and Antutu hitting 45k with K3 when battery above 15%. So, just saying I haven't experienced throttling in regards to phone temps with K3.

You might also consider Redmi 2 Note if Redmi 2 is too small for you. Helio.

[WuddaWaste]

I wish I had worthwhile contributions for this thread. It's a bummer that the Be Touch 2 didn't blow minds. I had such high hopes!

It sounds that if you've already settled on a size, you've pretty much cemented in your choice. If you had to choose between going bigger and smaller, I'd nudge you in the direction of bigger. My experience is that people adjust to bigger screens much easier and faster than they do the other direction.

Also, I want to point out that not all 16GB storage schema are created equal. Having unified storage can help substantially in making sure you have space without having to juggle things around. I've noticed it becomes an issue if you keep your phone for a substantial period of time where you tend to accumulate some apps. Of course, there are methods to repartition, but if it's "no fuss" out of the gates it's obviously preferred.

In any case, good luck! Can't wait to see what you get!