Well you know, it is only -7C outside...so it is like may/June temps...

I know there are some Android users here on the forum. I am looking for input on a new phone.
-Apple is out...can't stand the restrictions on them or the UI
-No Samsung...I am on my 2nd galaxy 4 and have had nothing but trouble
-I'm looking at the Oneplus X or 2; ZTE AXON, Nexus 5X...and LG G4 (but the UI on it is deadly so I would have to hack it)

I want something future proof (new Android versions), expandable storage (unless it comes with 64GB), and that's about it. Ideas?

Thanks! The first day was cold, but mostly for the first half. After that: less of a problem. Second day was clearly warmer, so having a sandwich on the bench was quite comfy.

I bought (through T-Mobile) a Samsung Galaxy Blaze a couple of years ago. My first smartphone (my gal thought I needed one). Full of bloatware, of course, but I cleaned it out when I rooted it. But it's got a mind of it's own. Changed languages on me once, apps start when they want, can't update the apps I have 'cuz it's only got 1gb internal memory (funny how you can't download apps to the SD card; only pics taken with the camera have that option). No updates for the OS, either. My girlfriend (again, smh) suggested I switch to an iPhone so we could Facetime (my roomie has an iPhone 4...no, thanks). TMO says I'm good for a "zero down" phone upgrade, so I looked at their somewhat limited selection...and discovered "zero down" would cost me almost 50 bucks. Did I mention I'm a tightwad? The S6 has *no removable battery*. No way. Their LG and HTC phones didn't appeal to me, either. So, I reckon I'm stuck. For the time being, anyway.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We have been busy so are taking a lazy day today to watch all the Christmas movies that we hadn't had a chance to watch yet. I was a naughty boy this year. I went to go have my tires rotated. The tread on the front tires (front wheel drive) was getting too low to get good traction and I was hoping to make it to March before doing new tires. Found out the tires couldn't be rotated - because of cupping (which I couldn't see). Odd, I thought when you had cupping, you were supposed to rotate and investigate the cause of the cupping. Whatever.... I think they thought they had a sucker to buy new tires from them. Rather than getting new tires. I just got a new car. Oops... I hate it when that happens. So I just put 800 miles on the new car going back and forth to my parents, but it was nice have cruise control for a change. The AWD was nice with the heavy rain that was falling all day. What won't be nice is making car payments again.

Thanks for the beautiful scenery and history lesson!!

I'll take a new car over new tires any day

Today was nice- archery with the hubby. But yesterday was a sad one. I had to attend the funeral for a friend's husband. He was only 59 & died accidentally. (I don't know the specifics & wasn't going to ask.). I didn't know the man; I knew his wife from my Bonsai club. But it was clear that he had been well-loved.

Well, naturally a new car would be over new tires, wouldn't it?

Well, I did get a good deal on the car. Maybe there was a reason for that...

Tires and steering wheel optional.

Just returned home to Colorado after a fantastic week with our oldest son and his love in San Francisco. Loved being with the whole family and had a most relaxing vacation. Now, to rest up for another week before school starts again after the New Year.

Left to right - oldest son, SWMBO, youngest son, middle son and oldest's girl. Great time was had by all and a few tears were shed at the airport this morning.

How are they fixed for blades?

Well, 3 out of 5 isn't too bad.

I just got a Nexus 5x and I am loving it. I used a Nexus 4 for 3 years before this. I like having the plain vanilla Android releases directly from Google without the delays from the manufacturer and the carrier.

This device has 32g of storage without any option to expand, if that is a deal breaker for you. I never had any problem with 16g on my Nexus 4, so maybe it has to do with personal style and the fact that i use cloud storage for everything.

I use Google photos for uploading and storing photos from my camera and my phone, so I never need to keep very many photos on the phone. I listen to audio books, but those are stored in the Audible cloud and I only have a copy of the one I'm currently listening to. Likewise, what little music I may have is coming from Google play music.

Good luck!

Pretty much nexus is the way to go. I have the Motorola nexus 6, 64 gb, love it, but just a bit big, but they can be had on amazon right now for $249-299... The new nexus 5x is a good phone, the size is probably more what you're looking for. I personally am wanting the new nexus 6p as soon as I can afford it, heck of a phone.

Nexus is stable, gets updates, is secure. One misconception is that updates come straight from Google, once you pop a sim card from a carrier in it, it becomes "branded" and updates come from the carrier, even for a nexus. They will still come sooner than other phones, but that's why some people get the updates before others, due to carrier roll out. It sucks, I usually end up flashing the factory images that Google releases but I like tinkering.

I can't recommend anything One Plus does, in my opinion they have a poor quality control on a decent product with a ridiculous sales strategy... And awful customer support.

LG G4 is a great deal right now but like you said the ui leaves a lot to be desired and it may not get much more updates.

Others like zte, Asus, Alcatel, you never know if they'll continue supporting their phones with updates.


Good luck

Welp, it looks like 2 of the 5 are morally opposed. Hmm, what's a dad to do? Darn hipsters!

I'm starting to use the cloud for everything. I usually used the internal sd for whatever photos/music I had on it and the external sd for all my roms/root files...etc. So only one storage I'd really strange to me... But if it's big enough it shouldn't be an issue. I just know that 16gb is not enough. can you tell me your opinion on the buttons? I have read they are the only bad thing with the phone do to feeling cheap? Any input?

Thanks. I tend to hack ally androids because the bloat drives me crazy. The one food thing about the new Nexus phonrs are they are future proof. My first Android didn't get anything past gingerbread, but thanks to xda I was running jellybean on it...not stable by any means...but way better than gingerbread.

I'm heading out this morning to check more phones out. The 6P looks great...I just don't know about the size...it seems really tall. The 5X seems perfect, but I have read about lots of disappointed people when it comes to the buttons (seeming cheap).

Thanks for the input guys! Now I need to see how the cameras perform..

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Leif had a blast opening presents. Happy shaving folks.

So far as the 5x buttons, the thing I have to get used to is the volume rocker on the right below the power button. On the Nexus 4 the volume was on the left side. Do the buttons seem cheap? Well, that's really a YMMV thing. This phone is nice, but it is not the luxury top of the line phone like the Nexus 6p or the iPhone 6 plus. Pretty metal costs more. The buttons on the 5x are black satin metal that matches the black satin of the plastic body of my black phone.

I thought about the Nexus 6p, but the size turned me off. It is identical to the iPhone 6 plus. I tried one of those and it was bigger than I want to carry.

So, the 5x is a great phone, good quality for a budget price. No, it is not a thing of metal perfection like the iPhone.

I am very happy with my choice.