That's it...I'm done. Help me pick a new phone.

[anon(50597)]

I pay ~13.50 USD dollars per month pre-pay for 1 gig data, unlimited texts and 200 minutes of calling. I mostly use data around the home though, via wifi. But sometimes 500mb would do. I don't live in the US.
I always do unlocked, and avoid contracts but...

If you get 4gb that seems reasonable to me, given data is generally expensive. And if it doesn't cost much to unlike, and your on their only a few months, that doesn't seem to bad.

But now that someone has mentioned cheaper prices somewhere else in the world, is got me wondering where its cheaper, and how cheap....

In the SE, its a curious beast. It was released later than the 950, but here, retails generally lower. But if you know where to buy it, it can be had for around the same price as the discounted 950, 200 bucks.

I guess perhaps this is because its smaller, and it can't do ios 11. Not really sure, not being an apple person why the SE is comparatively "cheap".

The ram is okay, for ios. The screen seems pretty decent. Camera shots look quite good actually in daylight at least. Only question for me would be internal storage. Apple phones don't come with microsd do they?

16gb would be far too little. Without microSD, for me even 64 would be to small. 128 gb would do it though.

I'm already reaching the limits of my phones storage. I'm considering getting a 128 gb sd card, and I've already got a 128gb usb for my continuum dock (for a portable media collection) 64gb microSD and 32hn of internal storage. Did not think I'd ever use so much space on a phone!
But once you've got a decent music collection, videos, pictures, apps, games....it all fills up pretty fast.

All countries see to have different prices, that's just the way it goes I guess. You have to shop for the best deal.

BTW, the SE is upgradeable to iOS 11. Its on the official list. Anything 5s and newer will work.

As far as storage, I have the 32gb version which is plenty for me. I have lots of music and pics on it with room left over. Everything else is on OneDrive. MS (everyone really) seems to be pushing the cloud so I wonder if their "new" devices, whenever they show up, will be cloud based or have sd cards. It will be interesting to see.

Anyway, though I had used an iPhone in the past, I want exactly a big fan. But I have to tell you, for $200, this is a nice little device that will hold me over while we wait to see what MS produces.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[DJCBS]

OK, this if fun. ??????

I am not on contract and can leave Cricket tomorrow if I wish and take the phone with me. Though its locked to their network for a few months everyone knows how to get a phone unlocked, correct?
So if I leave and take the phone, how will they get this mysterious amount of money you talk about from me? That only works if you are on a contract which Cricket doesn't have. They have about the lowest prices in the country so......$35 per month instead of $80 which I was paying AT$T a couple of years ago. $199 for a phone instead of $399 from Apple (we all know the phones don't really cost the retail price). That's a savings of $200 for the phone and $45 per month for service. That seems like a bargain to me.

What should I have done, paid full retail price from Apple?

Your turn. ??????

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

" Though its locked to their network for a few months everyone knows how to get a phone unlocked, correct?
So if I leave and take the phone, how will they get this mysterious amount of money you talk about from me?"

This is answered with ONE word: Court.

You're violating a legal contract and finding an alternative way to circumvent the conditions for sale of the device. You don't need a cellular data contract to have entered a contract with Cricket. You did so the moment you purchased the phone.

Your turn.

 

[anon(50597)]

" Though its locked to their network for a few months everyone knows how to get a phone unlocked, correct?
So if I leave and take the phone, how will they get this mysterious amount of money you talk about from me?"

This is answered with ONE word: Court.

You're violating a legal contract and finding an alternative way to circumvent the conditions for sale of the device. You don't need a cellular data contract to have entered a contract with Cricket. You did so the moment you purchased the phone.

Your turn.

Wow, now you're reaching!

Ok, I know someone who called Cricket after 1 month of owning it and they unlocked it for them. That's scenario #1 .
Next, lets say I wait the 3 months. I'm not being charged any more so I lose nothing and then get it unlocked. That's scenario #2 .
I know eventually we have to give up going back and forth but I appreciate you being good natured about it!

 

[fatclue_98]

All countries see to have different prices, that's just the way it goes I guess. You have to shop for the best deal.

BTW, the SE is upgradeable to iOS 11. Its on the official list. Anything 5s and newer will work.

As far as storage, I have the 32gb version which is plenty for me. I have lots of music and pics on it with room left over. Everything else is on OneDrive. MS (everyone really) seems to be pushing the cloud so I wonder if their "new" devices, whenever they show up, will be cloud based or have sd cards. It will be interesting to see.

Anyway, though I had used an iPhone in the past, I want exactly a big fan. But I have to tell you, for $200, this is a nice little device that will hold me over while we wait to see what MS produces.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

The SE is a great little device. For my eyes, that's the problem.

 

[anon(50597)]

The SE is a great little device. For my eyes, that's the problem.

Well it looks like you wear glasses like me so I understand.

 

[DJCBS]

In the SE, its a curious beast. It was released later than the 950, but here, retails generally lower. But if you know where to buy it, it can be had for around the same price as the discounted 950, 200 bucks.

I guess perhaps this is because its smaller, and it can't do ios 11. Not really sure, not being an apple person why the SE is comparatively "cheap".

The ram is okay, for ios. The screen seems pretty decent. Camera shots look quite good actually in daylight at least. Only question for me would be internal storage. Apple phones don't come with microsd do they?

16gb would be far too little. Without microSD, for me even 64 would be to small. 128 gb would do it though.

I'm already reaching the limits of my phones storage. I'm considering getting a 128 gb sd card, and I've already got a 128gb usb for my continuum dock (for a portable media collection) 64gb microSD and 32hn of internal storage. Did not think I'd ever use so much space on a phone!
But once you've got a decent music collection, videos, pictures, apps, games....it all fills up pretty fast.

Well, it has to do with demand. As demand increases, prices tend to drop. No one wanted the 950 so its price was only lowered when Microsoft started getting rid of stock. Retailers, however, do whatever they please. They probably forgot to discount the 950 lol


If we're being honest here I can tell you the iPhone SE is the ONLY iPhone I EVER considered buying. And that's because of its size. I hate phablets and this trend of phones with screens over 5".
The performance is good and the camera is nice. It's not great (lacks OIS) but hey, it's better than the one many Android flagships brings (I'm looking at you, Sony).
Internal storage depends on your use. Apple has offered the SE in four configurations: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

The 16 and 64GB were the configurations offered in 2016 when the phone was released. The 32 and 128GB are the configurations of the 2017 refresh. But you can still find all the options on the market (just not directly from Apple).
I don't advise anyone to go with 16GB. Ever.
As for the 32GB, depends on your use of the phone. One of the many flaws of the iPhone is the lack of support for SD cards. So unless you're absolutely certain you won't need the space or you won't be using the phone as a daily driver, I say go for 64GB or 128GB.

In your case, I honestly say: stay away from the iPhone. You clearly need a lot more storage than Apple offers and you'd be going back to Nokia 920 days where you'd constantly have to be worrying about "Storage Sense" and taking things out of the phone.

 

[libra89]

Wow, now you're reaching!

Ok, I know someone who called Cricket after 1 month of owning it and they unlocked it for them. That's scenario #1 .
Next, lets say I wait the 3 months. I'm not being charged any more so I lose nothing and then get it unlocked. That's scenario #2 .
I know eventually we have to give up going back and forth but I appreciate you being good natured about it!

Consider me an example of number 1. I newly opened a line with a Cricket and I was able to get my SE unlocked after 3 weeks. It took 2 days for it to actually happen but it's all good.

 

[anon(50597)]

Consider me an example of number 1. I newly opened a line with a Cricket and I was able to get my SE unlocked after 3 weeks. It took 2 days for it to actually happen but it's all good.

Thank you. Gives my point more credence.

 

[Drael646464]

All countries see to have different prices, that's just the way it goes I guess. You have to shop for the best deal.

BTW, the SE is upgradeable to iOS 11. Its on the official list. Anything 5s and newer will work.

As far as storage, I have the 32gb version which is plenty for me. I have lots of music and pics on it with room left over. Everything else is on OneDrive. MS (everyone really) seems to be pushing the cloud so I wonder if their "new" devices, whenever they show up, will be cloud based or have sd cards. It will be interesting to see.

Anyway, though I had used an iPhone in the past, I want exactly a big fan. But I have to tell you, for $200, this is a nice little device that will hold me over while we wait to see what MS produces.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

That I didn't know. Seems like the SE got in, and the 5 missed out.

I've 32 gb of music alone (all mp3, not even flac, and that's a tiny portion of my overall collection, only the new stuff - on my PC I have 135gb of music, 456 gb of video).

About 15gb of apps and games. 20gb of video. Then there's pictures. I'm literally about 10gb short of running out of space on my 96 gb.

I'm probably quite atypical, but the cloud has never been fast enough/high enough quality for me. I just don't really stream, apart from the odd bit here and there. when I use Netflix I download. When I use groove, I download.

I think I have streamed once in the last year. I use onedrive mainly for important documents, like receipts, office files, picture backups - the sort of thing where speed and latency don't matter.

If wireless networking were ever as fast as fibre, I might consider going all cloud. Or at least, roughly around the speed of 5ghz wifi for flac and video streaming.
But until then its, for me, for itty bitty files. As an audiophile I consider streaming music to be similar to radio - a convenience that sacrifices quality. I have quite a large collection of HD audio, and some metal cone custom speakers. I'd actually like us all to move one day into lossless video - I'd rather that than 4k. Again, not exactly typical. I don't think of myself as a snob though, I do use 320 kbps mp3s, and happily watch 720 video.

But I don't think I am entirely alone in storing a lot of local files either way. When it comes to SD cards, people don't even really buy 32 gb anymore. 64 is more standard. The newest iphones and galaxies come with 128gb internal.

That said, some people are real streaming/cloud fans. I know some people have dozens of streaming services, and entirely use Netflix, Spotify, Pandora, iheartradio etc. For those people, 32gb might well be plenty.

 

[Keeptechcoolandsimple]

That I didn't know. Seems like the SE got in, and the 5 missed out.

I've 32 gb of music alone (all mp3, not even flac, and that's a tiny portion of my overall collection, only the new stuff - on my PC I have 135gb of music, 456 gb of video).

About 15gb of apps and games. 20gb of video. Then there's pictures. I'm literally about 10gb short of running out of space on my 96 gb.

I'm probably quite atypical, but the cloud has never been fast enough/high enough quality for me. I just don't really stream, apart from the odd bit here and there. when I use Netflix I download. When I use groove, I download.

I think I have streamed once in the last year. I use onedrive mainly for important documents, like receipts, office files, picture backups - the sort of thing where speed and latency don't matter.

If wireless networking were ever as fast as fibre, I might consider going all cloud. Or at least, roughly around the speed of 5ghz wifi for flac and video streaming.
But until then its, for me, for itty bitty files. As an audiophile I consider streaming music to be similar to radio - a convenience that sacrifices quality. I have quite a large collection of HD audio, and some metal cone custom speakers. I'd actually like us all to move one day into lossless video - I'd rather that than 4k. Again, not exactly typical. I don't think of myself as a snob though, I do use 320 kbps mp3s, and happily watch 720 video.

But I don't think I am entirely alone in storing a lot of local files either way. When it comes to SD cards, people don't even really buy 32 gb anymore. 64 is more standard. The newest iphones and galaxies come with 128gb internal.

That said, some people are real streaming/cloud fans. I know some people have dozens of streaming services, and entirely use Netflix, Spotify, Pandora, iheartradio etc. For those people, 32gb might well be plenty.

for phones - which not only acts as a phone, but also a camera, media player, productivity tools, gaming devices, etc... - 32gb is increasingly becoming insufficient. system alone takes up a portion of the 32gb, with each update adding more to it, so not even the entire 32gb is usable. apps are becoming larger to make them "nicer" (in terms of features and looks). as cameras become nicer, and more like standalone cameras, pictures and videos take more space. so on and so forth.

i always get the most memory possible on a phone, but still inadvertently start to run low. i rely on the cloud, not because cloud services are so much better, but because it helps alleviate

 

[Drael646464]

Well, it has to do with demand. As demand increases, prices tend to drop. No one wanted the 950 so its price was only lowered when Microsoft started getting rid of stock. Retailers, however, do whatever they please. They probably forgot to discount the 950 lol


If we're being honest here I can tell you the iPhone SE is the ONLY iPhone I EVER considered buying. And that's because of its size. I hate phablets and this trend of phones with screens over 5".
The performance is good and the camera is nice. It's not great (lacks OIS) but hey, it's better than the one many Android flagships brings (I'm looking at you, Sony).
Internal storage depends on your use. Apple has offered the SE in four configurations: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

The 16 and 64GB were the configurations offered in 2016 when the phone was released. The 32 and 128GB are the configurations of the 2017 refresh. But you can still find all the options on the market (just not directly from Apple).
I don't advise anyone to go with 16GB. Ever.
As for the 32GB, depends on your use of the phone. One of the many flaws of the iPhone is the lack of support for SD cards. So unless you're absolutely certain you won't need the space or you won't be using the phone as a daily driver, I say go for 64GB or 128GB.

In your case, I honestly say: stay away from the iPhone. You clearly need a lot more storage than Apple offers and you'd be going back to Nokia 920 days where you'd constantly have to be worrying about "Storage Sense" and taking things out of the phone.

Well they probably have 128 or 256 on their iPhone 7 or 8? But I'd never spend that amount of money on a phone (I didn't even spent that much on my PC, or my TV as the iPhone 8), and I'm happy with 10m (very happy).

However I'll agree about the size of the SE for sure. I got the 950 partly for the smaller size and its still tricky to pocket, or use one handed. It is however "about right" and the nice screen and viewing makes up for it.

Most small phones are bottom tier nowadays, so its rare to find a decent phone that isn't a "cheezeblock".

 

[anon(50597)]

Well, it has to do with demand. As demand increases, prices tend to drop. No one wanted the 950 so its price was only lowered when Microsoft started getting rid of stock. Retailers, however, do whatever they please. They probably forgot to discount the 950 lol


If we're being honest here I can tell you the iPhone SE is the ONLY iPhone I EVER considered buying. And that's because of its size. I hate phablets and this trend of phones with screens over 5".
The performance is good and the camera is nice. It's not great (lacks OIS) but hey, it's better than the one many Android flagships brings (I'm looking at you, Sony).
Internal storage depends on your use. Apple has offered the SE in four configurations: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

The 16 and 64GB were the configurations offered in 2016 when the phone was released. The 32 and 128GB are the configurations of the 2017 refresh. But you can still find all the options on the market (just not directly from Apple).
I don't advise anyone to go with 16GB. Ever.
As for the 32GB, depends on your use of the phone. One of the many flaws of the iPhone is the lack of support for SD cards. So unless you're absolutely certain you won't need the space or you won't be using the phone as a daily driver, I say go for 64GB or 128GB.

In your case, I honestly say: stay away from the iPhone. You clearly need a lot more storage than Apple offers and you'd be going back to Nokia 920 days where you'd constantly have to be worrying about "Storage Sense" and taking things out of the phone.

Good points.
Storage size really is a personal thing. I don't carry around tons of data so 32gb is fine. That's still hours and hours of music, pics, files, etc. but I understand how some people want more. That's where sd cards come in handy.
I also like the smaller devices now that I've tried them. I don't want to know my "mobile" device is in my pocket.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[jeffchapik]

Two: Predictive text. WM with Cortana kicks Android's butt. With Cortana I could just about carry a complete conversation with the predicted words above the keyboard. With Android... I still have to type a couple of letters before the right word comes up above the keyboard. Even then it doesn't show the proper variants till I keep typing.

Install SwiftKey. It's as good if not better than the WM keyboard.

 

[Sedp23]

Install SwiftKey. It's as good if not better than the WM keyboard.

Using that now and it's definitely than wm keyboard

 

[Drael646464]

Using that now and it's definitely than wm keyboard

As of sometime this year, it is the WM keyboard.

MS is using swiftkey as the basis of the virtual keyboard across all of Windows. They are also using it on other platforms as the vehicle for cloud clipboard.

If you do use an android or ios device, using swiftkey and Cortana is a good way to stay somewhat in the MSFT loop.

 

[Sedp23]

As of sometime this year, it is the WM keyboard.

MS is using swiftkey as the basis of the virtual keyboard across all of Windows. They are also using it on other platforms as the vehicle for cloud clipboard.

If you do use an android or ios device, using swiftkey and Cortana is a good way to stay somewhat in the MSFT loop.

Gave Cortana a try on Android and tried out google now for the first time I like google now a little bit better

And as of right now google the keyboard on Android is ALOT better and more accurate with the Swype keyboard

 

[Drael646464]

Gave Cortana a try on Android and tried out google now for the first time I like google now a little bit better

And as of right now google the keyboard on Android is ALOT better and more accurate with the Swype keyboard

Well the reason why I mentioned this, is I figure you were a msft fan - swiftkey is MSFT owned, and according to build, will enable cloud clipboard on android and ios devices, and Cortana on android and ios, will enable Cortana "skills" and timeline. "Skills" are like alexa and amazon home - you can order and uber, buy a pizza, get news read to you, all that sort of thing. Timeline is where you can resume tasks you started on your PC or other device.

Between Cortana, swiftkey and onedrive (which enables files on demand), you get the most part of the new fall creators update features (although obviously not quite as many "skills" will work, and timeline will require compatible apps, which is easier within the MS software ecosystem)

SwiftKey is also the basis for the new windows keyboard that will feature voice and stylus scripting as well as conventional shape writing.

These apps are the bridge for users on other platforms to the FCU features. They are essentially the glue that brings all the mobile OSes together under Microsoft.

You seem to hang around here at this MSFT site, because you are curious about the future of win10m. I am unaware of any other interest you have in msft. But regardless, these apps give you a way of sampling the incoming features announced at build.

But if you prefer using the google assistant chatbot, and sticking to google provided features, all good, I was just pointing these things out.

 

[jeffchapik]

I tried Cortana on Android, but she's nerfed compared to what she can do on WM. Unfortunately, Google Now isn't much better. I really miss having my text messages read aloud to me while driving and being able to respond hands free.

I think I saw it posted somewhere that there's a messaging app that will do this, but I haven't bothered to look into it yet.

If only FB and Edge didn't suck so bad on WM, I'd go back to using my 640.

 

[RumoredNow]

I've not followed the whole thing. Too lazy right now to read that many words.

Whomever is trying to make it out that buying a $199 iPhone SE from Cricket costs you extra money down the road to make up for the subsidy is just wrong.

I used to work for Cricket. There is no contract. They do subsidize certain phones by a lot. Their internal documents will show clearly that the sale price is a loss based on what they have to purchase the phones for. It's the candy that lures users onto their network where they hope to retain them through value and customer service. For current users it is an incentive to stay vs the pressure of sign up deals with other networks. It is what is known in business terms as a loss leader. They hope to make up the loss down the line, but there is zero financial compulsion on the user to make up the shortfall. Unlike the main-line carriers in the US they have no contract. It is prepaid and the user may cancel at any time without any buy out or penalty except for the no refund on unused service policy.

In terms of getting an immediate unlock... Just follow my guide. It costs nothing if you are on the unlimited plan. If you are on a lower plan the price difference on the plan will be returned to you as a credit to apply to your next bill. https://forums.windowscentral.com/c...icket-free-ish-current-cricket-customers.html

 

[libra89]

In terms of getting an immediate unlock... Just follow my guide. It costs nothing if you are on the unlimited plan. If you are on a lower plan the price difference on the plan will be returned to you as a credit to apply to your next bill. https://forums.windowscentral.com/c...icket-free-ish-current-cricket-customers.html

+1
I followed this guide and it worked almost perfectly for iPhones, aside from a 2 to 3 day wait for an unlock code.