Need some honest opinions on what phone to get.

[Justin Pearson]

I am going to be traveling for a bit so I am getting a new phone for taking pictures and skyping with the family when I have wifi. I do not want to get a separate camera cause I will be backpacking and want to try to save space.
This year I have a good number of choices. I do have the 950xl preordered. But I am getting it for two reasons. That may be dumb? First i can't stand the icon layout of IOS and android. I've always found it boring. Windows mobile is just gorgeous. Second, I like the direction windows seems to be going in and I want to support them. The app gap don't really effect me to much....other then MAYBE Pokemon go...will see how that turns out.

Chances are I wont have time to try the 950 and other phones for a fair amount of time before I leave. So asking on forums to people who may have had the chance, or a big enough tech head to own a few devices, on what my best options may be.
Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

 

[gpobernardo]

Your decision to get the Lumia 950XL is sound. It should cover your two requirements (taking photos, Skype) very easily. Since most phones can perform Skype anyway, let's focus on the camera.

I've got a Lumia 1020, which is essentially a camera with a smart phone installed in it. Recent reviews imply that the Lumia 950XL takes even better photos than the L1020, especially for in-the-moment shots where you need to quickly deploy your phone and shoot, as well as low-light environments. Although the Lumia 950XL won't come close to the Lumia 1020 when it comes to digital zoom and level of detail, the color fidelity and over-all quality of the photos are slightly better in the Lumia 950XL.

Precaution: As a precaution (redundancy), you may want to get a power bank to accompany your phone just in case you will be taking a lot of photos/videos and making a lot of Skype calls. Users have reported that the battery life in the Lumia 950XL is not really the best.

I'm not getting a Lumia 950XL if you'll ask me - but that's just because I'm not going below 41MP in my next device. But for your situation, getting the Lumia 950XL is a good decision.

 

[ven07]

If you're going for the 950xl; the 1520 is the closest one in power and size. The 640xl is also an option; cheaper, but less powerful.

If you're going for camera, the 1520 is hard to beat... well the 950xl probably beats it, but for now... you know xd

 

[RumoredNow]

I'm going to say get a 1520 if you can find a nice one at a good price.

Tried and true.

In August of 2014 I purchased a 1520 to use as a travel tool on an extended trip overseas, October 2014. It worked great. I used it again for an extended trip in October 2015.

Windows Phone 8.1 vs 10: The 8.1 platform is mature. You won't be waiting for hotfixes and won't likely be forced to reset your device mid-trip. Avoid Insider for that very reason as well. I ran official both trips and was not sorry once for the choice.

Battery Life: Battery life on 1520 is widely acclaimed. On both my trips I used the device hard ever day. I rarely had to resort to my power bank. Still take one to be smart, however, the 950 and 950 XL are not reporting the most stellar battery life at this stage. I used my phone all day long on both trips: navigation, translator, web search, photos, video, logistics, etc. The 1520 sucked it all up and just kept going day after day. In 2014 I used my power bank perhaps 3 days out of 32. In 2015 I never touched it on a 35 day run, although to be fair I was often charging in the car while driving which I could not do in 2014 as we had no private transport.

Camera: The 1520 has a 20MP shooter and is fantastic. The algorithms may not be as recently slaved over as the 950/XL and the aperture may not be as low light tolerant, but the 1520 takes great pictures, has Rich Capture and DNG. It shoots 4k video. Check my "best of" 2015 vacation pics starting here - http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-1520/250141-37.htm#post3234724 I was checking in and posting throughout. Check out the rest of the thread if you have time. So many 1520 users are posting outstanding pics and the variety of subject matter gives a great feel for what the 1520 camera can do.

If we were a couple months further down the road with the new 950/XL I would say jump on one. It's too soon for something that is going to be your life line and go to while you travel.


One thing I did that made a huge difference and can be done with any phone... Use Here maps on PC or tablet and set up everything you might possibly want to see/do/go to in Collections. They sync to your phone and you just tap on them and go.

Take time to build a comprehensive notebook in OneNote. I had hotel info with addresses/phone numbers/confirmation numbers/etc., points of interest with embedded PDFs, screen shots, maps and web links, everything I could possible want to have ready. That syncs to the phone as well.

If it helps, watch travel videos or comb review sites extensively to get as much potential logged as possible.

Then each night on the trip it is sooooo easy to organize the next day. Work ahead to enjoy the moment more when traveling.

[/my two cents]


Have a great trip.


P.S.: Welcome to the board. I expect a travel report with pics.

 

[Justin Pearson]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. With luck ill have time to try the 950xl and if that does not do it for me with the few weeks I'll have it may look into getting the 1520. Or...a android or iPhone....shudder.

 

[elindalyne]

One of the nice things about the XL is that they are dual sim, so they should be excellent for travel. The XL's battery life is actually fairly ok if you check and see what apps you're allowing the the background. By default every app gets installed to allow usage in the background... This is something you obviously don't need. Turn off a few and set your email to poll every 15 minutes and you're looking at 13-15 hours under heavy use.

The camera on the the XL is phenomenal. I've gotten tons of compliments on the Thanksgiving photos I took this year. Honestly it's comparable to some DSLRs.

One thing you could do if you're really worried about battery is pick up a cheap 640 somewhere and get it unlocked as a backup. IIRC the radio should support whatever bands in whatever region your looking to travel in.

 

[Justin Pearson]

Decided to also order a Nexus 6P. With the extended return time to Jan 22nd. Just to try out next to the Lumia 950xl. Seeing as I already have a project fi sim chip might as well check that out too.

 

[cracgor]

LG V10 is a good option too. Better camera than 6p and maybe the 950xl. The Android OS is lots buggy than WM10, football will probably save you some headaches. Also has the ability to install Skype plus the benefits of removable battery, SD card, and has ability to wirelessly charge for about $6 in costs. I honestly think WM has lost its way and may get better in the coming months our years...

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