[GTALUG] Looking for cell phone... which brand?

D. Hugh Redelmeier hugh at mimosa.com
Wed Jun 17 13:28:07 UTC 2015


| From: William Park <opengeometry at yahoo.ca>

| My BlackBerry is dying.  So, I'm looking to buy a cheap cell phone out
| right for Rogers network.  I don't care about locked, unlocked, Android,
| Windows, etc, because my usage is 95% text and 5% voice.
| 
| Which brand do you recommend?  CanadaComputers has BLU phones (Android).
| Microsoft Stores has them too.  Any feedback on these BLU phones?

You are a quirky case.  Not meant as an insult -- I'm a quirky case
too.  That probably means you should pay attention to why folks are
making recommendations and not what the actual phone model they
recommend.

As I understand it (and I've not been shopping), all phones sold
through Microsoft Stores are running Windows Phone OS.  Including BLU
models.  If you truly don't care about the OS (and things that go with
it), the Microsoft Store often has very good prices.  And they are
always unlocked (a bonus even if you don't care now).  I care about
the OS and Windows Phone would not be my first choice.

Do you care about a physical keyboard?  BB would seem to be the only game 
in town (probably not strictly true).  And with BB's challenged business, 
my impression is that you can find them at a fairly good price.  You 
probably want to try a keyboard before you buy a phone.

I like the idea of a Nexus 5 but it isn't clear that its strengths
match your desires.  I've been happy with my Nexus 4.

I hate the idea of being tied to a contract in return for a cheap handset 
up front.  So much so that I'm probably blind to the rare cases where it 
is a win.

Random relevant things that I noticed.  I have not looked into them:
<http://forums.redflagdeals.com/lava-hot-bbz30-199-tx-bbq5-99-tax-free-ship-bb-employee-pricing-rfd-family-1720391/>
<http://forums.redflagdeals.com/blackberry-better-physical-buttons-touchscreen-1749141/>
<http://forums.redflagdeals.com/store-shopblackberry-com-bb-classic-326-leap-254-a-1753571/>
<http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msca/en_CA/pdp/Microsoft-Lumia-640XL/productID.318146100>
<http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msca/en_CA/pdp/Yezz-Billy-4.7--Unlocked/productID.308157600>


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