Hello TekSyndicate forums (I also posted this on LinusTechTips. Man, these communities are so tight).
I'm looking for smartphone advice.
[spoiler=Background]I'm not huge into phones, so I'm sort of at a loss when it comes to shopping for a new one. I had a Motorola CRZR for like six years, and didn't get a smart phone until my senior year of high-school, when our family got Samsung Galaxy Ss with our contract or whatever.
So, after like three years with that phone, it's showing its age. It feels slow, it gets bogged down, it takes forever to load stuff, it glitches during media playback, and the battery lasts six-eight hours at most even when I'm not using it (ie, phone is sleeping in my pocket, not being used to check the time or make calls or browse the web or whatever). Also, the low battery alert wakes the phone, and the screen remains turned on until I hit a prompt, which I usually never do seeing as how my phone is in my pocket and I can't see the screen. I don't know if that's just because of this specific phone/OS, or if that's a ridiculously stupid design flaw that all smartphones have, but it is an annoyance.
Basically, seeing as how T-Mobile apparently no longer offers customers discounts on new phones with contracts (or contracts, for that matter), I'm sort of stuck with it. I don't want to pay $400 for a marginal upgrade, and I don't want to pay $600 for the latest and greatest (unless it's actually worth it; I have no idea).[/spoiler]
I was wondering if you guys could offer some advice as to what I should try shopping for. With what I'm doing now, my budget is flexible, but let's say that I'd prefer something under $300, with a tentative budget-cap around $400 (unless, like I said, the $500 super LG HTC Sony mega Life Phone 4S 1 Cosmos or whatever is like, life-changingly good, in which case, you know, I guess I'd like to know about it).
So, I guess the most important features to me would be storage space and media playback. I have my PS Vita (and a 3DS for backup if the Vita is unavailable) so I don't really need a powerful phone to play games or anything on the train. I primarily use my phone to make phone calls, send texts, and listen to music. I mainly use apps like Amazon's Cloud Player and Soundcloud, which I also sometimes use to capture riffs and melodies when I don't have something else to write them on at the time.
So, anything with good media playback would be ideal. I don't really know what that means. I guess, something which has better media players available with graphic EQs and the like. None of that Beats Audio crap, you know? Good, solid, clean, transparent playback, with a sturdy output jack (my friend has a - well, it's either a Galaxy S4 or 5 - and the headphone jack is screwed up, with the stereo connection not making contact with the plug).
A decent camera would be convenient but isn't completely necessary. Anything that can take a clear picture with a quick focus, possibly with the ability to zoom at least a little bit without becoming a blurry mess would work, but again, isn't totally necessary.
The one non-text-or-music app that I use is MangaWatcher, and so while a nice, big, 1080p screen would be convenient, it isn't totally necessary. As long as it's crisp and clear, with good contrast (though with the articles in question being 90% black-and-white, it's not like there are many screens that couldn't pull it off), it should be enough.
I don't really mind the physical size as long as it fits in my pocket (I sometimes carry a Vita in my pocket, so I can't really imagine what kind of phone might be big enough to bother me), and I generally take good care of my devices, so durability isn't a huge issue. If it's strong enough to be repeatedly put down and picked up without breaking, and resistant enough to withstand a scratch from a fingernail, it should do fine. I tend not to drop my electronics into toilets (I never understood how some people do that so much), or lakes, or boiling pots of water, or waterfalls, or kiddie pools, so being waterproof is also not a big deal. As long as it won't short from being in my sweaty pocket on a hot day, it's fine.
I'm sure all of that was totally sort of unnecessary since I've probably already limited my options pretty thoroughly through my budget alone, and most of my other stipulations can be met by most smartphones, but I figured I'd include it all, anyway.
If that was all totally unnecessary, well, sorry to have wasted your time.
TLDR; looking into possibly getting a new phone if I can find a big enough upgrade for a small enough price (up to $400). I listen to a lot of music, so the phone should do that. I don't break my phones or dip them in water, so it doesn't need to be super-strong or super-waterproof. Go~!