Best big phone

[Stildawn]

Hi All

I have an S3 at the moment and the thing is great, I'll be looking at a new phone a bit later this year as my wifes is on the way out and she'll get my S3.

After having a few phones in my time I have come to the conclusion that I like big screens, the bigger the better.

So I'm just wondering what the options are out there for large screen phones, the only ones I've heard about are the Note II (which looks nice) and I read that Samsung is also going to put out a Galaxy Mega 6.8 which sounds great.

The main concern I have though is that for some reason both phones (and especially the Mega if I read correctly) seem to have less than stella hardware, so hopefully I'm missing something otherwise I find it a bit weird they cant put out a top line big phone especially with all the extra space they have in them.

Cheers for any suggestions, I will certainly look into any phone and try out, budget wise not to bothered can be any price if the phone is right.

 

[Hadron]

The Mega is not a high end phone, but the Note II is. Apart from the S4 it's the most powerful phone Samsung make. And the reason is just that their release cycles work that way - S3 was released before Note II which was released before S4, so the Note is more powerful than the S3 but less than S4.

If you want that size plus higher specs than a Note II you'll have to wait for the Note 3. There's also a rumour today that Sony are planning one, but if so it will almost certainly be on the same timescale, ie some months from now.

 

[El Presidente]

The rumoured specs of the new Sony phone are amazing, we'll just need to see if they materialize. According to the Phandroid article, the screen will be 5 inches, will that be big enough?

http://phandroid.com/2013/04/30/sony-honami-20mp-camera-5inch-smartphone/

Failing that, the Note 2 is your best bet, or wait until the Note 3 is announced.

 

[Hadron]

There are two rumoured Sonys. The smaller (5 inch) one has, as you say, some amazing specs quoted, but there's also a >6" one reported (on GSMArena: http://www.gsmarena.com/alleged_specs_and_info_leaks_about_sony_honami_and_togari-news-5940.php ).

 

[Frisco]

Hi All

I have an S3 at the moment and the thing is great, I'll be looking at a new phone a bit later this year as my wifes is on the way out and she'll get my S3.

After having a few phones in my time I have come to the conclusion that I like big screens, the bigger the better.

So I'm just wondering what the options are out there for large screen phones, the only ones I've heard about are the Note II (which looks nice) and I read that Samsung is also going to put out a Galaxy Mega 6.8 which sounds great.

The main concern I have though is that for some reason both phones (and especially the Mega if I read correctly) seem to have less than stella hardware, so hopefully I'm missing something otherwise I find it a bit weird they cant put out a top line big phone especially with all the extra space they have in them.

Cheers for any suggestions, I will certainly look into any phone and try out, budget wise not to bothered can be any price if the phone is right.

It's helpful that you have no budget constraints; that opens up all options 100%.

I came off a Motorola Droid X2, which I liked. But then I saw the Galaxy series over on the Verizon display area and played with several of them. The Note 2 won easily, and for many reasons, not the least of which was the flaming speed, and this was happening on a store demo.

I bought it on the spot along with the Tab 2 7", another speed demon.

If I were in your shoes, I'd snag the Note 2 and if the Note 3 or that new Sony causes drooling later on, heck, get one of them. The resale on the Note 2 ought to be ok in our Classifieds area here at AF: Classifieds - Android Forums if you want to go that route, or you can do as I do and just factory data reset it and give it to a shelter or mission (battered women's shelters are desperate for phones for the victims, most of whom lose their phones and other personal property to their assailant).

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Stildawn]

Hmm well thats disappointing, I was hoping some of the other manufacturers that I know nothing about would have some options.

I'll look more into the Note II then as the more I read on the Mega the less great it sounds especially the resolution etc.

The note is 5.5 correct? How big is the HTC One that everyone is saying is better than the S4?

Do any phones come with optical zoom yet? I don't really care about weight or thinness or all that, just quality and functionality.

Thanks for all your help

 

[Hadron]

The One has a 4.7" screen. To some of us that's a positive, but not what you are after.

What are you actually after that the Note II doesn't have? Just trying to understand the requirements here.

Can't think of an android with optical zoom - the Galaxy Camera I guess, but that's a niche device, basically a camera with S3 innards. Might be worth checking specs if that's important to you.

 

[Hadron]

Sorry, just checked, seems Galaxy Camera doesn't do voice, so presumably no use.

 

[Stildawn]

Well in a perfect world (though I haven't physically tried this yet) a small tablet (like a 7in) that was a fully functioning phone with the best screen/hardware. Would be great for me.

I would love to avoid having to buy a tablet/netbook and a phone, if they could be one and the same device.

My S3 while great and big, is still too small to fully replace my mobile computing needs, its still too small to easily navigate around websites, watch media, game etc.

I haven't tried any of the 7 inch tablets but they look like they would fit in my pocket haha so basically yeah the biggest possible with great screen and hardware that would fit in a pocket.

I just googled a note 3, looks like september which might be on the money when I'll be looking to buy as well. Rumors are it have a 6+ screen which sounds awesome.

 

[El Presidente]

Is Google Voice available where you are? I've heard of people doing a bit of jiggery pokery and being able to make voice calls on some of the 3G tablets.

 

[chanchan05]

I have a Samsung Tab Plus P6200 and I can make voice calls on it over my carrier's network. LOL. All Samsung 3G tablets can make voice calls. If you're looking at something more powerful, you'll want the Note 8. Its about as big as a 7inch tablet but has an 8inch screen.

 

[Stildawn]

Just did a quick google around that, doesn't seem like it has phone calls.

 

[chanchan05]

It does. My mom like's using it for calling because it has a bigger screen and nice loudspeakers. Just make sure you are using the 3G version and not the WiFi only versions.

 

[bob60626]

Not all 3g 7" Samsung tablets. USA-wise, the original AT&T Tab seems to have had it, the original TMobile Tab could do it with some compromises, and my TMobile 7.0+, at least, doesn't seem to have that function at all.

The Asus Fonepad is an option, one that I'll be following.

 

[chanchan05]

That's weird. You mean the US versions actually removed functionality? That sucks.

 

[bob60626]

My understanding is that some had it hidden, and some don't have it at all. It blows.