What new smartphone to buy?

[Captor]

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.

Um... hopefully they will make some android phones as well soon.

Anyone here who has a Nokia windows phone??

[Captor]

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.

They don´t produce the Nokia N8 anymore, unfortunately.

[Captor]

I believe one has to find the phone with best microphone? But how to find that?

[lomatopo]

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

OK, so your GF had a Nokia N8 which seemed to provide superior audio quality for you, on the far-end. Which mobile network did she use with the N8? Then, for some unknown reason, the N8 was replaced with a Samsung Galaxy S4? Maybe she is still on the same network? Does she call you, do you call her? Do either of you use low-cost routing via IP?

The SGS4 has a much larger physical format, with the microphone and speaker much farther apart than on the N8. So unless your GF has an unusually large physique, not unheard of here in Thailand, her mouth is farther away from the microphone. Does she work in a noisy environment? I assume you sound fine to her? Maybe she could use a separate bluetooth or wired microphone/speaker (earphone) to see if that makes her seem like she is in the next room?

[Captor]

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

OK, so your GF had a Nokia N8 which seemed to provide superior audio quality for you, on the far-end. Which mobile network did she use with the N8? Then, for some unknown reason, the N8 was replaced with a Samsung Galaxy S4? Maybe she is still on the same network? Does she call you, do you call her? Do either of you use low-cost routing via IP?

The SGS4 has a much larger physical format, with the microphone and speaker much farther apart than on the N8. So unless your GF has an unusually large physique, not unheard of here in Thailand, her mouth is farther away from the microphone. Does she work in a noisy environment? I assume you sound fine to her? Maybe she could use a separate bluetooth or wired microphone/speaker (earphone) to see if that makes her seem like she is in the next room?

She is using AIS and I am using Telia (both landline and mobile) No sheap ip telephone.The reason for replacement is simply that is did not work properly anymore.

Everything is same as before except the S4.

Most of the time we are calling when she is at home and there is it not noisy. The S4 is bigger yes, but it is thinner. I believe thicker microphones produce better sound. Yes, I sound fine to her. the loudspeaker seams to be fine.

About the bluetoth arrangement you are talking about that is a good idea to check out.

[schietkop]

Here you can read some tips to consider when looking for a smartphone: Smartphone Buying Tips

Edited September 12, 2013 by schietkop