Finally played with a Moto X- extremely disappointed.

[BacktoSmartPho]

I really would appreciate it for some help with ANOTHER "what phone should I get?" thread. I completely understand if you just move on, but THANKS to anyone who hears me out. I have an S3 now, have had it for years. It is a great phone to me, but it is finally wearing down. I finally played with a Moto X, and the (lack) of must-have features for me left me very disappointed. Here is what I want in an android phone.
I can live without 1 of these things, but more than that and I start getting a bit worried.

1.) a physical home button. I LOVE the tactile feedback of knowing when my thumb is over a button that will return me to a home screen

2.) being able to continuously swipe on my home page (either left or right), and eventually end up back where I started. I was very annoyed at Moto X seeing I could only swipe one way, and eventually hit a wall, on the home scren

3.) notification light. I LOVE my colored light (with Light Flow) that tells me at a quick glance if I have email, txt, etc. a simple monochrome light would also suffice.

4.) removable SD card/Battery. These are just basic. Batteries can fail, and I might want to carry a few big movies with me. Only 10 gigs were free on the ATT Moto X phone...with hardly any apps/etc installed.

5.) a MENU BUTTON. WOW. Even on the Galaxy S5 I saw...I noticed they go rid of the menu button. WHY!? I love being able, in any app (or the camera), to just push a menu button, bring up a configuration menu/setting menu. Now on new phones this button just shows all open apps? I can just do that by holding down the home button-- this is such an underused utility (mainly I do it to free up RAM or quickly jump between apps), that I hardly use it. Why are phones getting rid of it!?

So there you have it. Is there a new (or, newer than my S3) Android phone on the market with most of these features? Thank you.

 

[bjacks12]

The scrolling is easily remedied with Nova Launcher. I definitely wouldn't factor that into my phone purchase.

 

[BacktoSmartPho]

very well

 

[bjacks12]

The other items are going to be hard to find. Most OEM's are starting to follow the stock trend of some variation of Back + Home + Recents. Physical home buttons are going away, but for me, muscle memory always takes me right to the home button anyway, so it's no biggie personally.

The HTC One M8 and the LG G3 both have SD card support, but neither have removable batteries. I'm not sure there is any flagship device with a removable battery except for Samsung, which does suck.

The menu button has also largely gone away, as people become used to swiping from the left to bring out a setting bar in various apps. I still miss that button from my S1, but I don't know if I would go back to an old Samsung to get it.

My recommendation for you is going to be the S5. It doesn't have the menu button anymore, but I believe it still offers everything else on your list.

 

[kate]

Hi BacktoSmartPho, I moved your thread to the Device Comparisons forum

 

[lamboav]

I highly recommend the Nexus 5. It doesn't have removable battery, physical home button, or an SD slot but it's still an excellent phone. I've had a couple phones without removable batteries and haven't had a problem (including the Nexus 5 which I'm currently using). As to the menu button, they're onscreen buttons so you can add or remove whatever buttons you want and also arrange them however you want.

 

[dynomot]

I think to get everything you want in a phone you are limited to a Samsung. I suggest a couple of hours in a store "playing" with various models. Usually the staff are most accommodating, particularly if they smell a sale . Explain your needs and wants from a phone. I believe that two hours in a phone store is a small price to pay to get the right phone for you as you have to live and use the thing.

The S5 seems like the obvious choice for you; my sister went from an S3 to an S5 and adores it (literally).

 

[dportal2006]

The other items are going to be hard to find. Most OEM's are starting to follow the stock trend of some variation of Back + Home + Recents. Physical home buttons are going away, but for me, muscle memory always takes me right to the home button anyway, so it's no biggie personally.



The HTC One M8 and the LG G3 both have SD card support, but neither have removable batteries. I'm not sure there is any flagship device with a removable battery except for Samsung, which does suck.



The menu button has also largely gone away, as people become used to swiping from the left to bring out a setting bar in various apps. I still miss that button from my S1, but I don't know if I would go back to an old Samsung to get it.



My recommendation for you is going to be the S5. It doesn't have the menu button anymore, but I believe it still offers everything else on your list.

The LG G3 does have a removable battery.

 

[apostopare]

I have an LG Optimus G Pro. It seems to have what you want:

Physical home button.

LED light notification (glowing home button)-you can set different light colour for different incoming calls. Choose up to 9 light colours!

Removable battery and SD Card.

Endless left and right scrolling for home screens.

A menu button.

I also have LG G3. Strangely enough I do not like it being too light, LOL. What I like is the on board FM radio and it is faster than my older phone, lol. Yes LG G3 has a removable battery. I also have LG wireless charger for it, sooo convenient.