Smartphone Recommendation

[StetsTerhune]

I recently broke my Samsung S5 and need to buy something new (in the middle of my contract with vzw, so will be paying the retail price).
I use my phone a huge amount, for work and otherwise, though pretty much just for emailing/texting/surfing/music. I'm certainly not pinching pennies on something I use as much as my phone, but don't want to waste money on an expensive phone just for the sake of it. Any suggestions on a good value smartphone?

[Uturn]

I broke my GSIII a few weeks ago.  Found out that Gamestop sells refurbs.  $100 and back in business. 

[JLee]

I wouldn't recommend a Nexus 5 -- the power button failed on mine and that seems to be a fairly common failure.

I'm not too fluent with what's out there in the ~$100 range, but I have seen a few deals for a Nexus 6 at/under $300 new. My little brother is still using my old Nexus 4 - as far as I know it's holding up fine.

[Frs1661]

I'm not up on Verizon phones, but check out swappa.com for used phones. It's a peer to peer marketplace, and swappa checks the esn to confirm the phone isn't stolen. I've both bought and sold there and had good experiences.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Neva6]

I've had a Nexus 5 for 2 years and it has been awesome. In fact I just upgraded and am selling mine if you are interested.

Edit: Looks like Nexus 5 won't work on Verizon. :(

[humbleMouse]

iphone 5c - buy one off craigslist for between $100 - $200.  They work great and are very fast and reliable.  I love mine.

[DeltaBond]

Do you not have an old smartphone that still works that you can switch to?  Also, depending on how you damaged your phone, if its within a year sometimes you can get a replacement.

I recently switched from Verizon to Tracfone and I was able to fish out one of my old smartphones to use.  Saved me a lot of money.

[elaine amj]

Check out the other thread for a "free" phone from AT&T by applying for the AT&T credit card.

Also, look at the Motorola X Pure is only $399 and comes very, very highly rated. Reviews are very solid. I was pushing hard for that - but when we were able to get an iPhone 6S for about $300 (with the above CC deal), it was a no-brainer. I would not compare the Moto X with a premium flagship phone. Still, from all accounts, it is the best of the mid-range phones.

[Spork]

I got a new unlocked Moto E 2nd gen for $100 from ConsumerCellular.  I believe they require a 1 month commitment.

I'm a computer geek, but I can't say I'm "into" phones.  It seems to work ok, but I'm not a power user.  I don't know if you dropped form a high end Samsung to a low end Moto if you'd be happy or not.

[ketchup]

I bought an HTC Desire 626s for $129 a few months back and it's a solid phone.  I think there's a Verizon equivalent.

[elaine amj]

I don't know if this is available in the US (I imagine so), but in Canada, some companies run promos where you can get $100-$150 gift card for buying a phone and subscribing to their service.

I'm watching and waiting for a good deal. e.g. not too long ago, Koodo ran a deal where they offered a $150 gift card for buying a phone and signing up for their plan. Their plan is contract-free, so if you want to break out from the plan, you merely pay back whatever you owe on the contract. So if you get a phone that they are selling for under $150, it will cost you $150 to break the contract and you own the phone free and clear. Essentially, you would get the phone for free (or small costs). This route would only get you a low-range phone though, which may not be suitable for someone using their phone constantly.

[neo von retorch]

Coming from an S5, but wanting "relative value" in the high-end smartphone world, I think some good choices for you would be a Motorola Moto X ($299-399) or Google (LG) Nexus 5X ($379). Both have little or no customization from native Android, which lets the hardware shine. More of a value option would be a Motorola Moto G - now the 2015 Moto G has about the same hardware as a Galaxy S3, but it also has clean software which lets it run smoothly despite the older hardware. I think it's a smart bet, but I also suspect it's not going to be in consideration if you are "certainly not pinching pennies" and being "luxury adapted" to more expensive phones.

[bortman]

If you don't need it immediately, Woot periodically has Unlocked Cell Phones. This event has expired, but you could keep an eye on their site for deals.

[bortman]

www.woot.com

Today's (Sep 10, 2016) woot is a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S5 Unlocked 16GB for $129

[Choices]

I got a Samsung Galaxy s5 from eBay a few months ago and sold my iPhone on eBay as well. I LOVE that it's waterproof, though I'd get the s5 active if I needed a new one because the case is built so it has a nicer fit in my hand than the s5 with an added case.

[dang1]

consider a galaxy s4. I got mine used for around a $100 from ebay a few months ago. working good

[csprof]

Coming from an S5, but wanting "relative value" in the high-end smartphone world, I think some good choices for you would be a Motorola Moto X ($299-399) or Google (LG) Nexus 5X ($379). Both have little or no customization from native Android, which lets the hardware shine. More of a value option would be a Motorola Moto G - now the 2015 Moto G has about the same hardware as a Galaxy S3, but it also has clean software which lets it run smoothly despite the older hardware. I think it's a smart bet, but I also suspect it's not going to be in consideration if you are "certainly not pinching pennies" and being "luxury adapted" to more expensive phones.

Strongly echo the awesomeness of the nexus series in general - but the 5x is a stinker in a series that is otherwise awesome.  (I have one.)  It's perfectly functional, but it's got a bunch of annoying things about it -- battery, camera shooting time, feeling janky and slow.  One of my colleagues has a Nexus 6p and loves it, but it's quite big and more expensive than the 5x.

(Edited to add:  +1 to swappa.  I bought an iPhone there for work, and sold my old Nexus 5 and my wife's old iPhone through it.  Great experience.)

[mountains_o_mustaches]

I second the recommendation for swappa.com - I saved about $200 on a smartphone (SG5) and I liked the added layer of protection they offer.

I would not recommend signing contracts with AT&T, Verizon, etc. to get a phone credit.  Those phone companies are quite expensive - buy an unlocked phone and go to a pay-per-month service to save $$.

In terms of specific recommendations I like Samsung Galaxy phones; however, when I was shopping I set a budget and considered any decent smartphone in that budget.  If you're using it for what most people do (email, Facebook, maps, etc.) you really can't go wrong and you're just paying extra for gee-whiz features that don't matter too much in the long run.  Re-read MMM post about luxury to get you in the right mindset.  I say this after getting a fairly luxurious phone myself (it was a good deal) ;-)

[JLee]

Coming from an S5, but wanting "relative value" in the high-end smartphone world, I think some good choices for you would be a Motorola Moto X ($299-399) or Google (LG) Nexus 5X ($379). Both have little or no customization from native Android, which lets the hardware shine. More of a value option would be a Motorola Moto G - now the 2015 Moto G has about the same hardware as a Galaxy S3, but it also has clean software which lets it run smoothly despite the older hardware. I think it's a smart bet, but I also suspect it's not going to be in consideration if you are "certainly not pinching pennies" and being "luxury adapted" to more expensive phones.

Strongly echo the awesomeness of the nexus series in general - but the 5x is a stinker in a series that is otherwise awesome.  (I have one.)  It's perfectly functional, but it's got a bunch of annoying things about it -- battery, camera shooting time, feeling janky and slow.  One of my colleagues has a Nexus 6p and loves it, but it's quite big and more expensive than the 5x.

(Edited to add:  +1 to swappa.  I bought an iPhone there for work, and sold my old Nexus 5 and my wife's old iPhone through it.  Great experience.)

My roommate had a 5x and she absolutely hated it.  It was pretty terrible...I would never want one.  The 6 and 6p are fine but more expensive (and I wouldn't want to buy a 6 now that the 6p has a fingerprint sensor, which is incredibly handy).

I really quite liked my original Nexus 5. The only reason I got another phone was because mine broke (the power button died).