Mobile Phone thread - please include links to good deals

[ETC]

Anyone know of a good budget smartphone?.. Need to get my pan lids a new phone, can't buy one without the other so not looking to break the ?50-?60 mark, I know this wont get me a ground breaking phone, but there must be something out there?..

I think www.Argos.co.uk are selling off the old (superior) Moto E for ?69 also have the Huawei Y530 for ?67 both being sim free and a fiver off one of you spend ?50 at the mo, if you have the extra http://www.tesco.com/direct/ are selling off Moto G (1st gens 4G LTE) sim free for ?89

[chojin]

I think Argos are selling off the old (superior) Moto E for ?69 also have the Huawei Y530 for ?67 both being sim free and a fiver off one of you spend ?50 at the mo, if you have the extra tesco are selling off Moto G (1st gens 4G LTE) sim free for ?89

Good shouts there, the white moto e is cheapest, that'll do thanks

[Brad]

I'm about to get an Xperia Z3. Reasons are big screen, fast, good battery, decentish camera, external sd card support. Bonus features are waterproof, PS4 remote play. Anything else I should look at? Any reasons to avoid this phone? I considered a Note 4 but Samsung will no doubt bugger that up with a botched firmware in the future :-)

EDIT: A Galaxy S5 has all the features I want plus a replaceable battery. If it didn't look like a budget phone from 2008 I'd have considered it. That plastic chrome look rim around the ednge; wtf were they thinking!?

[VR46]

Z3 is a great phone from the reviews, with a great camera (and camera button), the only negatives I ever really saw were that it came out so quickly after the Z2 - and wasn't a massive step up spec wise.

[Brad]

Yeah I'd be happy with a z2 as well. Ee don't do it though. Three do though so maybe I'll go back to them if I can get a better deal.

[ItsThere]

Apologies in advance for this.

I dropped an iPhone 5S and now the screen is completely unresponsive.

All I want to do is get the photos from it but after about 3 hours of useless Google searching I have come up with nothing.

I will try replacing the screen but before I do that does anyone know of any way of unlocking it (I know the password obviously) when Touch ID won't work (it has been turned off so requires the password on restarting.

Trying to minimise loss of data, I need to get the password in to back up the device. Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

[chojin]

do you use a apple computer at all? you could let it sync with iphoto that way you'd get all your photos off it.

[ItsThere]

I do - was wondering whether that would work. Have to get home and try it.

I'm hoping it isn't necessary to input the passcode for that as well.

Then I need to decide whether to bother with a 6 or wait for the September upgrade but that's a much less pressing issue!

[charlesr]

Presume you don't use iCloud then?

[ItsThere]

I don't use iCloud no. May rethink that decision after this little escapade!

[ItsThere]

Update. iPhoto what's the password too. I need to get creative!

[VR46]

I must be the only person in the world without a passcode on my phone. Mainly due to reading years ago that of the x amount of lost phones in the UK each year, any honest decent people that find then can't unlock the phone to call "Mum" or anyone obvious in the phone book.

My phone is never left near anyone I don't totally trust so why the need for a passcode?

[charlesr]

Depends if you link your phone to an online service. My phone is linked to my google stuff (all my contacts, documents, photo backup, music, keep etc etc.). Without a passcode, I'd be screwed. So I encrypt my phone with a word password (not a pin).

If anyone finds my phone, the lockscreen tells them to call my wife's number (standard android text feature).

There's a chance someone grab the encryption key off it via a freeze attack, but they'd have to do it before it got turned off and if I lost it, I'd disable it remotely pretty swiftly.

[Brad]

Quick review after a few weeks of using the xPeria Z3. Excellent phone. Killer battery - 70+% at the end of the working day (my Nexus 5 would be on 40 something). As with all non-nexus Android phones though best to stick with the version of Android that came with it. The Lolipop upgrade isn't bad compared to the nightmare of a Samsung upgrade but there are still things broken or missing and frankly there is no need to upgrade. The standard Sony launcher and keyboard are both good enough that I haven't felt the need to put Nova or Swiftkey on there. The Walkman app supports gapless playback (if using OGGs, can't confirm other formats), PS4 remote play works really well too and the magnetic charging port is pretty cool; goodbye the the constant fear of the micor usb port breaking (I never trusted those things). Camera is really good too, best I've had on a phone. Being waterproof is a bonus for using it in the rain. PLenty of space with a 64Gig sd card added. Negatives are that it's a fairly dull design. I mean it looks premium I guess but it's basically just a slab! Also, despite the good battery life I do wish it had a changeable battery.

[VR46]

Great phone aren't they, my Sony is also a "slab" shame the bezels aren't a bit smaller and the corners rounded, would make a big difference.
The flap for my USB port broke last week (the seal bit inside), got a replacement from ebay for six quid and fitted it in 30 seconds works perfectly.

Charles - good point about the online stuff. Mine isn't linked.