My friend is getting a new phone and is tossing up between nexus 4 and a couple of others. What is the best option for that approximate price range?
What is the best phone for around $400?
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Depends if your friend can live with only 16Gb in the Nexus. (remember that 16Gb is actually only about 12Gb of user space)
If so, then it's still pretty much the best bang for buck hardware available with the added bonus of long term software support.
Most people will fill 16Gb pretty easily with apps, photos and some music.The Galaxy S3 is very decent kit at that price and has an external SD card to expand storage.
Galaxy S3 w/ CM (or other ROM) — might not always have the latest Android, but due to number of SGS3 sold & the amount of community support, you'll eventually get the latest version.
dh gate or a happy deal sell some fantastic phones for around the 200 mark.
By far the best phone is the Nokia Lumia 920. No other phone will come close in any way (currently).
http://www.mobicity.com.au/nokia-lumia-920.html
http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/nokia-lumia-920-32gb-black-unloc…Easily the best camera, best looking and simplest to use operating system (Windows Phone 8).
i have 820 sold and move to android. win 8 is newbies, just like when android first came out. few bugs still. when copying songs to sd card it get duplicated.
no flexible at all. no root or jailbreak which is a NO NO for me.
and for 820, it get hot very easy.Never had heat issues with the 920. Its a much more reliable phone compared to the 820 (based on user reviews). With 32GB built into the 920 vs 8GB with the 820, I don't need to go anywhere near an SD card. Photos and songs are stored in the cloud if required (Skydrive to share photos with others).
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Lumia-920-Black-AT/dp/B00A2V7BA4
What "bugs" have you encountered with Windows Phone?
Sounds like you didn't do your research and bought a phone (820) which didn't suit your circumstances.
The question is, why do you want to root or jailbreak your phone? What are your intentions?
best looking and simplest to use operating system (Windows Phone 8)
Windows Store has a lot less apps, especially Google apps.
Imo the Nexus 4 looks better.
Android is very easy to use. Similar to the iphone apart from the fact that it has an app drawer. Nexus 4 with the better cpu and gpu(and more games) can play more resource/graphic intensive games.I'll take quality over quantity.
Regardless of the quantity, Windows Phone has most of the apps people require (or alternatives). Ultimately it comes down to how much you like mucking around with your phone. I don't install a lot of apps as Windows Phone has most of the things I need built into it. The Nokia selection of apps are the best I've ever used on any phone. Incredible quality.Aesthetics are only one component of a phone's overall quality and are personal taste. The 920 is VERY durable. I've had mine for a year now and it still looks like new. I have NEVER put it in a case or any other type of protective cover.
Yes the Nexus 4 might look better when playing games but unless the OP plays a lot of games, then that extra CPU and GPU power is wasted money (sitting there unused). There's only so many racer, flying and fighting games you're going to install, try out and delete. Phone games are a novelty, not a requirement (unless you like sitting on public transport, totally absorbed, craning your neck, squinting into a tiny screen enjoying ground-breaking "phone graphics").
Anyway, good luck OP, hope you find what you're looking for.
Not so sure what quality apps that WP8 has.
Ultimately it comes down to how much you like mucking around with your phone. I don't install a lot of apps as Windows Phone has most of the things I need built into it.
I'd say the same about most of the Google apps I use and I'm pretty sure iOS, android, and blackberry also have the basic apps built into it.
Phone games are a novelty, not a requirement
I agree, I rarely play games on my phone yet millions of people do.
"Not so sure what quality apps that WP8 has."
Have you used a Nokia Windows Phone for an extended period? If you haven't then of course you wouldn't be sure. I'm not going to list them here for you, you'll have to try them to see which ones you like.
"I'd say the same about most of the Google apps I use and I'm pretty sure iOS, android, and blackberry also have the basic apps built into it."
The point is, Windows Phones have much more than the basic apps built into it and have always had more than iOS and Android. Only recently has iOS and Android caught up with out of the box apps. A Nokia Windows Phone had built-in, voice navigated GPS built into in (at no extra cost) almost 2 years ago. iOS didn't and Android were nowhere near close to that stage (out of the box).
"I agree, I rarely play games on my phone yet millions of people do."
Yes millions have, but my point was cutting edge HD graphics are a novelty for a phone screen. Its not only impractical, a lot of the phones resources (CPU and GPU) are wasted or not used at all. Once you've had your taste of a few games and realised how gimmicky the "full HD" games are, chances are you'll revert back to basic but still fun games which definitely DO NOT need a "Quad-core CPU" or latest GPU. Most people pay for high-specced hardware on an Android phone and barely know how to optimize its memory usage or push its CPU/GPU capabilities because of the Operating Systems requirement that you know how to tweak and/or customise the user interface to get the most out of it. I.e. what I do on my desktop PC. The last time I tried a full HD game that made use of the phone's accelerometer I almost elbowed a small child on a bus trying to change direction quickly in a flying game.
I've compared low-light camera photos taken on my Lumia 920 to my friend's iPhone 5's and Android phones and nothing they take comes close to the quality I can achieve on my phone. In fact they specifically ask to have photos they want taken on my phone. With the release of the Lumia 1020 (41 Megapixels), every other phone's camera will look ancient in comparison.
Only reason to get this over the Nexus 4 is the 64GB compared to 16GB. Nexus 4 has much better cpu, gpu and 2x the ram, later version of android, and faster updates.
hero 2000. around $180. excellent specs for the price. running smooth and slick now for a year. unlocked
huawei y201 + 10 slabs of beer
note 2, ebay, be patient $420-440
galaxy s3, also ebay $330-350