What new smartphone to buy?

[Captor]

My gf has a Nokia N8 and it has a very good sound quality. I mean I can hear here perfectly when I call her in Thailand from Sweden.

But now it is time to buy a new phone I believe. And I would like to buy a phone with the same sound quality or even better.

Is there anyone out there who have experience in this field? What phone to buy?

The tests always talks about loudspeaker or ringsignal quality. That is not interesting. After all it is still a phone even if you sometimes

can´t believe it.

Thanks in advande

Captor

[Metapod]

If you want a smartphone with good sound quality then I suggest the HTC One.

There are a few other good options too. It just depends on what you are after?

Do you want a big or small screen?

Do you want andriod/apple/windows OS?

What do you value the most? Good camera? Good Screen? Good battery life? Waterproof/Sturdy Design? Powerful CPU/GPu for gaming?

There are a handful of top phones but none excell in every area. The obvious choices are things like the Galaxy S4, HTC One, Oppo Find 5, Xperia Z, Lumia 920, Nexus 4 etc

I'm personally waiting for the new Sony Zperia ZU to be released. It has a 6.4 inch screen and is completely waterproof. Sort of like a mix between phone and tablet. Watch youtube and browse Thaivisa in the pool.

It just comes down to finding the phone that best suits your needs.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Metapod

[Captor]

If you want a smartphone with good sound quality then I suggest the HTC One.

There are a few other good options too. It just depends on what you are after?

Do you want a big or small screen?

Do you want andriod/apple/windows OS?

What do you value the most? Good camera? Good Screen? Good battery life? Waterproof/Sturdy Design? Powerful CPU/GPu for gaming?

There are a handful of top phones but none excell in every area. The obvious choices are things like the Galaxy S4, HTC One, Oppo Find 5, Xperia Z, Lumia 920, Nexus 4 etc

I'm personally waiting for the new Sony Zperia ZU to be released. It has a 6.4 inch screen and is completely waterproof. Sort of like a mix between phone and tablet. Watch youtube and browse Thaivisa in the pool.

It just comes down to finding the phone that best suits your needs.

I want first of all a good sound quality.

Second is android and big screen. That´s all.

I was thinking myself of Samsung S4 or HTC one. The Lumia you mention has bad sound quality. That is even proved in some tests I have read. But for the rest you mention I have not found any test for just that.

I have a S3 my self and I believe it is OK in sound quality. Not like my gf´s Nokia N8 and not like older phones but OK for being a smartphone. OK, I will try to look into the HTC.

The best woulld be to make one or a few call from Thailand to Sweden. But by gf says it is not possible to do that in

a shop in Thailand? I mean if she put her simcard in the phone, so no cost for the shop. But obviously the do not have

demo´s.

So that´s why I send this post iv someone in the same situation as me can tell if they use to call to a HTC one (for example)

and can tell if the sound quality is OK or bad. Like that.

Thank you Metapod.

The new Asus Padphone is coming out soon. Wonder how that is...

The Oppo Find 5 is a new one for me. Looks very nice. And cheap! I will look closer to that as well.

[HardenedSoul]

Google "smartphone reviews" for cryin' out loud.

[SlideRiceFC]

I can't vouch for the newer phones as I'm still using my Oppo Find 3. It's a tank. But I just wanted to add that the Oppo build quality is nice. I switched after having a couple of iPhones (which I still miss) and I just couldn't bring myself to buy some of the other top brands. They all just felt like cheap plastic. I've checked out the Find 5 and it's a lot of phone for the price. I think the only drawbacks are the internal battery and no expandable memory. I'd say if money is no object then there are better options out there but if you upgrade once a year or whatever I don't think you'd be unsatisfied with it as a choice.

Also, what are phone prices like in Sweden? Prices here tend to be a bit higher as the phones are imported. Buying locally isn't better for you? And no, most of the smaller shops here have dummy phones unless buying second hand but some of the larger chains and brand stores often have working demo devices. I'm not sure what the chances of them allowing you to throw your sim into one is but the worst they can say is no.

[thrilled]

I understand the new Nokia is A good phone.The new iphone coming out soon.

[Captor]

I can't vouch for the newer phones as I'm still using my Oppo Find 3. It's a tank. But I just wanted to add that the Oppo build quality is nice. I switched after having a couple of iPhones (which I still miss) and I just couldn't bring myself to buy some of the other top brands. They all just felt like cheap plastic. I've checked out the Find 5 and it's a lot of phone for the price. I think the only drawbacks are the internal battery and no expandable memory. I'd say if money is no object then there are better options out there but if you upgrade once a year or whatever I don't think you'd be unsatisfied with it as a choice.

Also, what are phone prices like in Sweden? Prices here tend to be a bit higher as the phones are imported. Buying locally isn't better for you? And no, most of the smaller shops here have dummy phones unless buying second hand but some of the larger chains and brand stores often have working demo devices. I'm not sure what the chances of them allowing you to throw your sim into one is but the worst they can say is no.

You are right about that plastic feeling. I read that the new Asus has more metelic feeling. And I believe the Oppo 5 too.

I will for sure into that.

The phones here in Sweden are imported to. I guess that the S4 for example will cost THB 25 000.- or something like that.

That is the only one I know the price of. I will ask my girlfriend about the price in Thailand for that. Thanks.

[Captor]

I understand the new Nokia is A good phone.The new iphone coming out soon.

Really? As I have read at gsmarena the soundquality is not the best for Lumia 920. Iphone I do not like.

[wjhall]

iMobile IQX or IQ9. Both excellent reliable phones and MUCH cheaper than Samsung or Apple. I have had my IQX 6 weeks and love it

[Captor]

iMobile IQX or IQ9. Both excellent reliable phones and MUCH cheaper than Samsung or Apple. I have had my IQX 6 weeks and love it

Interesting! I don´t think we have that brand in Sweden. Looks nice on internet and youtube. We will look into that for sure, thanks!

[bubba]

One option would be to buy her an iPhone or Android phone, then install something like Skype or Vonage and do calls for free. Much better audio quality than IDD calls. But of course, she would need a wifi connection or unlimited mobile data plan for that.

You might want to consider quality, usability, and durability of cheap phones like iMobile. They are MUCH cheaper than Apple or Samsung for a reason.

[Captor]

One option would be to buy her an iPhone or Android phone, then install something like Skype or Vonage and do calls for free. Much better audio quality than IDD calls. But of course, she would need a wifi connection or unlimited mobile data plan for that.

You might want to consider quality, usability, and durability of cheap phones like iMobile. They are MUCH cheaper than Apple or Samsung for a reason.

Hi Bubba, thanks fo your advice. She has wifi at her home so that should not be any problem. We have used skype in the past but only between computers. To use it with smartphones we have never try out. But we will for sure. Thanks. Never thought about using it in that way. But of course it is logical when having a smartphone :-)

[jocko]

One option would be to buy her an iPhone or Android phone, then install something like Skype or Vonage and do calls for free. Much better audio quality than IDD calls. But of course, she would need a wifi connection or unlimited mobile data plan for that.

You might want to consider quality, usability, and durability of cheap phones like iMobile. They are MUCH cheaper than Apple or Samsung for a reason.

Hi Bubba, thanks fo your advice. She has wifi at her home so that should not be any problem. We have used skype in the past but only between computers. To use it with smartphones we have never try out. But we will for sure. Thanks. Never thought about using it in that way. But of course it is logical when having a smartphone :-)

Make sure you buy one with face camera .

[Trembly]

It is not simply a function of hardware. Older phones were optimised for older voice compression and transfer protocols, which could be why your girlfriend's N8 sounded pretty good despite using Thailand's relatively low-tech infrastructure.

Newer phones designed with western (or super-advanced South Korean) infrastructure in mind are a different matter . . . The Economist : Voice Quality

Edited July 12, 2013 by Trembly

[Captor]

One option would be to buy her an iPhone or Android phone, then install something like Skype or Vonage and do calls for free. Much better audio quality than IDD calls. But of course, she would need a wifi connection or unlimited mobile data plan for that.

You might want to consider quality, usability, and durability of cheap phones like iMobile. They are MUCH cheaper than Apple or Samsung for a reason.

Hi Bubba, thanks fo your advice. She has wifi at her home so that should not be any problem. We have used skype in the past but only between computers. To use it with smartphones we have never try out. But we will for sure. Thanks. Never thought about using it in that way. But of course it is logical when having a smartphone :-)

Make sure you buy one with face camera .

Yes, thanks.

[hegenious]

HTC one for the sound. I use it between NL and TH.

Sent from my HTC One using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Captor]

It is not simply a function of hardware. Older phones were optimised for older voice compression and transfer protocols, which could be why your girlfriend's N8 sounded pretty good despite using Thailand's relatively low-tech infrastructure.

Newer phones designed with western (or super-advanced South Korean) infrastructure in mind are a different matter . . . The Economist : Voice Quality

ii see, so whatever we buy will probably be less goo than the Nokia..

[Captor]

HTC one for the sound. I use it between NL and TH.

Sent from my HTC One using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

HTC One, thanks for the adwise. I Will try that.

[Issangeorge]

One option would be to buy her an iPhone or Android phone, then install something like Skype or Vonage and do calls for free. Much better audio quality than IDD calls. But of course, she would need a wifi connection or unlimited mobile data plan for that.

 

You might want to consider quality, usability, and durability of cheap phones like iMobile. They are MUCH cheaper than Apple or Samsung for a reason.

Yes iMobile is much cheaper because you are not paying for the name. My IQ6 is excellent qualit, very durable, and usable. I can't imagine paying twice as much for an Apple or Samsung, instead I would buy a good quality touch pad and have two for less than the price of one.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Captor]

Hi, We could not find the iMobile in Nakhorn Pathon. There was actually almost only iphones and different Samsungs.

So we bought an Samsung S4 today. The strange thing with that is that it has not 4G. That is strange for me because I know all S4 in the rest of the world has 4G?

Or am I wrong? What can the strategy be for this? I mean I know Thailand has not 4G but Is it not costly to change in the production for thai phones and build them without 4G??

[Shurup]

How do you know it isn't 4G capable?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I see the OP has bought his (or, in this case, her) phone... But he raises an interesting question.

Whenever I read mobile phone reviews, oftentimes at GSM Arena, they post comparison statistics on things like phone speaker volume, dynamic range, distortion, ringer volume, etc etc...

But I don't think any of those details/statistics alone get at the question of "call quality." And certainly, apart from the phone itself, call quality is going to be impacted by other factors such as the mobile carrier involved, what type of service, how congested it is, and what the location is on the other end of the call.

Honestly, I don't know how it would be possible to measure "call quality" for international calls on a mobile phone. Speaker volume, yes... Music reproduction, yes. But I don't know how you'd measure "call quality" relating to any particular mobile phone for international calling.

Edited August 3, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Captor]

How do you know it isn't 4G capable?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

We asked and they checked. No 4G.

And I have now found out too that the sound is far more bad then the old N8. More quite too.

That was not a good buy. So be aware of that folks. If need a phone were you want to have good sound (for very long distance calls) then don´t buy the S4.

Maybe the HTC One is a better choice but we did not fount that. It would be nice to hear more inputs from all of you who make homecalls to western coutries

or you who are ling at home still but have gf in Thailand. It can maybe help others to make a better choice than we did.

[Captor]

I see the OP has bought his (or, in this case, her) phone... But he raises an interesting question.

Whenever I read mobile phone reviews, oftentimes at GSM Arena, they post comparison statistics on things like phone speaker volume, dynamic range, distortion, ringer volume, etc etc...

But I don't think any of those details/statistics alone get at the question of "call quality." And certainly, apart from the phone itself, call quality is going to be impacted by other factors such as the mobile carrier involved, what type of service, how congested it is, and what the location is on the other end of the call.

Honestly, I don't know how it would be possible to measure "call quality" for international calls on a mobile phone. Speaker volume, yes... Music reproduction, yes. But I don't know how you'd measure "call quality" relating to any particular mobile phone for international calling.

Right! I agree in full. Also me have read a lot reviews at GSM arena. But no concrete answer to get there. So many thing they can take in consideration. For example

the thai net we are connected to when calling from Sweden, etc etc. so that is why I raised the question in the first place.

I still believe that Nokia is the best with it´s new phones. Even if they don´t get high scores at GSM arena. But in real life I think they are good.

BUT they have the windows OS and who know how long that will last? So thats why we took the S4 which obviously wasn´t a good choice for talking quality.

It is still a phone for good sake! Haven´t they forget something elementary when constructing it?

[Upnotover]

Re. 4G on a 4S I get up to 30mbps connection and "h+" indication. I understand that h+ is something between 3 and 4g. On voice calls it reverts to 3g but for my frequent calls to UK the sound quality is far better than my old iphone 4.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Captor]

Re. 4G on a 4S I get up to 30mbps connection and "h+" indication. I understand that h+ is something between 3 and 4g. On voice calls it reverts to 3g but for my frequent calls to UK the sound quality is far better than my old iphone 4.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Yes, make sense. The Apple phones are not famous for the sound quality as far as I understand. Several friends have already sold them again due to

bad sound quality.

[Shurup]

I just looked up the specs, looks like the original S4 isn't 4G (LTE) enabled, there are 2 more variants of S4 (gt-i9505 and something else) that support 4G.

Regarding the sound quality, I've experienced the same thing when upgrading my N95 to S2, but I've got used to it pretty quick. And I don't mean long distance calls (which I believe more dependent on the connection between the countries) but the local calls. I'm not saying the sound quality is bad, it's just not the same, not natural? Like I said I got used to it pretty quick and have no complains.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So thats why we took the S4 which obviously wasn´t a good choice for talking quality.

It is still a phone for good sake! Haven´t they forget something elementary when constructing it?

Yes, it still is a phone... But these days, a lot of users seem to not think about that capability when buying smartphones, and instead focus on all the other stuff unrelated to making phone calls, like screen size, version of Android app, camera quality, etc etc..

Based on all the statistics published about various smartphones with poor audio performance such as low call audio levels, it would seem many manufacturers aren't thinking foremost about phone calls when they design/build their phones.

The past Nokia (Symbian) phones I've had always were great as PHONES in terms of their audio... But I have no idea if that capacity remains today as Nokia has transitioned to the Windows OS platform. Nor would I be a Nokia/Windows smartphone buyer for the reason you mentioned above.

[lomatopo]

Just so we're clear here, all mobiles use ITU (standardized) audio codecs and the network/phone negotiate a suitable codec, probably the lowest bit-rate possible. Mobile phone communications typically occur with one or both parties in extremely dynamic audio environments. I'd submit that if your conversation sounds wonderful that you should buy a phone like that of the far-end party, rather than assuming your phone has the best noise cancellation/suppression.

[Captor]

I just looked up the specs, looks like the original S4 isn't 4G (LTE) enabled, there are 2 more variants of S4 (gt-i9505 and something else) that support 4G.

Regarding the sound quality, I've experienced the same thing when upgrading my N95 to S2, but I've got used to it pretty quick. And I don't mean long distance calls (which I believe more dependent on the connection between the countries) but the local calls. I'm not saying the sound quality is bad, it's just not the same, not natural? Like I said I got used to it pretty quick and have no complains.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

OK, I myself have the S3. And i am OK with the sound when I use that. The problem is to talk to someone who has a S4. On the other end of the connection.

It looks like the microphone is weak but the loudspeaker is fair in the S4. And S3.

In my case I am talking to my gf daily when i am in Sweden and she is in Thailand using the S4.

And in Sweden I almost always use the landline.

With the Nokia it sounded like she was in the room next to me. NOW I really can hear that she is far away. Bad sound and quite sound.