Android Device Research - Pros/Cons of brands etc
Submitted: Wednesday, Nov 22, 2017 at 21:07
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ExplorOz Team - Michelle
Have just been looking very carefully at the specs on some of the cheaper model Android phones and notice the following purchase traps so thought I'd warn you.
It's pretty clear that technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in the last couple of years and even a base model phone is really pretty powerful and I would suspect many retirees are looking carefully at expense on such devices. It seems almost all mid-range phones have true GPS in them these days great - so your mapping and tracking will work! Yay, but don't be fooled.
Check the specs because sometimes they omit to mention certain "missing" features that you have taken for granted.
We nearly got caught out when looking at the Oppo phones today to make a rapid purchase to replace a broken phone. These appear to represent the best value for money when looking for a low-mid range phone with surprisingly impressive specs on first glace......you can get a 32GB phone with reasonable CPU, a proper GPS, and excellent camera specs for $289 from Officeworks or JBHifi. There's even a 64GB model at under $400. But look VERY closely and you'll find that despite all the glowing features, especially the claims on superior battery efficiency, all Oppo models lack NFC (used for Android Pay, PayWave etc) PLUS due to the use of a cloned Android OS (Color3) which shuts down apps from running in the background to save battery, you won't be able to use the background tracking feature that is so useful in
ExplorOz Traveller. And yes, even if you look at the top end models in the Oppo brand such as the $600 F11 it still doesn't have a full Android OS or NFC. Buyer beware! You will want these features.
In contrast for $338 you can buy one of the cheaper Samsungs with NFC plus a true Android OS so is a much better buy than any of the available Oppos. The Samsung J5 we compared also has a lower F stop in the rear camera than most at F1.7 so better pics in low light.
About the only thing I can find that the J series phones don't have is MHL - which you probably wouldn't use anyway. It's a wired technology (Mobile High Definition Link) used to connect your phone to your TV (eg to game on a big screen).
I thought this was interesting info to share - hope it is of some help to someone.
Reply By: Dean K3 - Friday, Nov 24, 2017 at 19:09
Friday, Nov 24, 2017 at 19:09
Had idea android was purely that and as technology improved so did the software O/S and firmware updates.
Maybe I'm wrong, without gettign my head chopped off I am looking at a mid sized tablet ideally with internal GPS or ability to attach one via USB, plus have ability to run porgrams from a micro sd card or main drive .
add little bit of wicked web browsing (checking emails ) via Telstra USB dongle (i won't use free WiFi or telstra hotspot
whats best mid range priced unit be be using I know few known brands don't survive too
well (screen cracking or bleeding) when bounced around inside vehicle but some lesser known appear to do quite
well
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Follow Up By: gbc - Saturday, Nov 25, 2017 at 06:15
Saturday, Nov 25, 2017 at 06:15
It may or may not suit you but touch screen net books are in that pricerange and size now and they are so much more functional than just a tablet. We got a couple of Acer t300 chi for the kids for school and they are just as powerful/functional as my surface pro. They can still be tablets and can be more as
well. Just an idea. Don’t ask me about phones, we are Apple and happy. The kids get our hand offs. There is an old 4 around here somewhere still kicking goals. I trade online and like apples levels of protection.
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