Bad things happen when you go window shopping

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Hi all.

I find myself staring down the barrel of some some unplanned spending and thought you might be able give me some food for thought.

While I was killing time window shopping, I dropped my phone on a hard concrete floor and the screen/digitizer is stuffed. I am well aware that if I had been parked up on the grass enjoying the outdoors that I wouldn't be in this mess. Karma right.

Now since then I find myself wavering between blowing big bucks on the latest and greatest, or going cheap on a new smart phone. I prefer Android so am looking at a few options, and wondered if some of the folks here might have some experience with the balance of cost and features.

I use my phone for email, calls, messages, maps/navigation, taking photos, tapatalk, banking, reading e-books, watching movies on budget flights and as a calculator. I don't really play games or do anything particularly creative on it. 

Options I have looked at from the cheapest up:

Nokia 520- can get a 2nd hand one for sub $100. new one for $140. No front camera for skyping while travelling but will do most things even with its limited app library.

Fix my old one myself: $180 for the parts and some time to disassemble and reassemble. There is a risk that the fix will not work.

Buy Motorolla Moto G new: $380 Does most things but not well based on the reviews i have read.

Buy my old phone new galaxy s3 I9300: $400

Buy the current Nexus $480 – has 4G and a generally more capable phone with less bloat by all accounts.

Buy the galaxy S5: $740 has some good new features (battery extend mode and IP67 which should make it more robust)


Thoughts? Opinions? Face Punches?

[swiper]

No face punch, shit happens. When I discount work, I use my smart phone much more than desktop/laptop so I find it pretty indispensable. Moto G is good, but I'd go with nexus 5 (pure android, no bloat), or if you are more forgiving that "OnePlus One" phone looks pretty sweet for low $.

[Grid]

Motorola Moto G new with Republic Wireless is $150:  https://republicwireless.com/#shop.  Mine works great for what I use it for, but I haven't tried reading e-books or watching any videos on it.  If you do buy, hop over to the referral thread to get $20 off for you and $20 off for someone else.  Shipping is an outlandish $10, so I consider it really only $10 off for you.

[AH013]

Buy a used unlocked S3.  ICS (4.0) will handle pretty much anything developers will throw at it for the next 3 years (unless you really want to drop $20 on a mobile phone game), and S3s can be had for ~$100-125.

A side bonus: Now is about the time retailers will be selling S3 cases for pennies on the original MSRP dollar, so you can buy a darned Otterbox or similar for $5-$10 so you never break your phone again.

[okashira]

Used nexus 5 for $250

[legacyoneup]

It is better to buy a good phone that will last and that you will not get frustrated over time when using it. Get an otterbox for sure.
I've had a Galaxy Note 2 for almost 2 years and expect to be using it for several more!

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Resolved this.  Fixed my s3. Seemed like a whole lot of phone for nearly the least money. 

Thanks for the input.

[MrsPete]

It's not fair to blame the loss of your phone on window shopping.

About two years ago I was walking out of my workplace, and I dropped my phone on the concrete -- with the same result as yours:  Even with a case, the phone was a total loss.  Accidents are just going to happen, no matter where you are. 

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ha. yeah.... I don't know. At the time if felt a lot like karma giving me a punch in the face saying "you don't need new ski boots".

Seriously though, I know accidents do happen and it's just a bit of a hassle. It has turned into an interesting little learning experience though. The supply of replacement parts is endless. One of the repair guys I spoke to put me on to SW-box for good cheap OEM and replacement parts. For any mid-high end smartphone repair is very straightforward to replace the modules and even if you did want to upgrade, fixing and selling the reconditioned unit is a good way to reclaim some value. I have another old phone from my last accident that I will do the repair on myself so that I can finally clear the photos off it and then sell it.