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Help Don't want my wife to get an iPhone...

J

Just Mark

Guest
Hey everyone:

Apologies in advance if this isn't the right forum to ask.

I am looking for an android phone for my wife, who insists she "needs" an iphone 6 S.

When I ask her WHY she needs an iPhone 6 S plus, she says, "Because they are easy to use and so much better than other phones."

Also, she spends a month in Thailand each year, and in Thailand they said they didn't have any SIM cards for Samsung Galaxy Note II. They (she wouldn't say who exactly) kept telling her that EVERYONE in Thailand uses an iPhone. I think that is why she wants an iPhone; all her friends back in Thailand own iphones...

There is no way I can let her spend $800 on a phone. She just is NOT a power user. she mostly uses her current phone for:

facebook
whatsapp / viber / Line
Youtube
Yahoo Mail
instagram

Occasionally she will use chrome or opera, but that is rare.

She had a Galaxy Note II. She lost the stylus within about three days of owning it. She hasn't missed it. She never actually hand writes anything.

Preferably, it would be something with a nice and big screen. It should be EASY to use. Preferably on T-Mobile.

I would really like it under $300 if possible.

Thanks in advance.
 
Actually... I'd seriously consider letting her get one....

She has no tie in to the Google eco system... she isn't particularly interested in phones as such, the note 2 is getting on a bit now and she needs a new device. She's not a 'power' user so many of the features will be lost on her

Personally I think Android is a platform that has an amazing amount of advantages... but if she's not interested in them then it doesn't matter.

(if price is an issue, you may want to consider the 5s instead...)
 
KOLIO said:
Look no further:
http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-g-stylo.html

It's also compatible with some of Thailand's cellular networks:
http://www.willmyphonework.net/
Click to expand...

Thank you, Kolio

My only concern with that particular phone is that the camera is supposed to be pretty bad and the GPS is supposed to be awful.

I know at that price point you can't expect ANY phone to be perfect. But I would really prefer for her to start taking more photos. And since she doesn't know how to use a map, I would like her to start using GPS, if possible.
 
psionandy said:
Actually... I'd seriously consider letting her get one....

She has no tie in to the Google eco system... she isn't particularly interested in phones as such, the note 2 is getting on a bit now and she needs a new device. She's not a 'power' user so many of the features will be lost on her

Personally I think Android is a platform that has an amazing amount of advantages... but if she's not interested in them then it doesn't matter.

(if price is an issue, you may want to consider the 5s instead...)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply, psionandy.

Yes, price is probably the MAIN issue. Paying $850 to watch some youtube videos, post on facebook, use messaging services like viber / whatsapp / Line, and use the incredibly horrible user interface of the yahoo mail app seems like overkill.

She isn't necessarily "tied in" to Android, but all her contacts and her messaging info is in her Galaxy Note II. I am sure they can be imported into an iphone 5 or 6, but...

Here's the other thing: I am often the one who has to do tech support for her when she messes up her phone. I'm already working with Android, Win 7, and Linux phones, tablets and desktop PCs. So part of it is that I don't want to have to go through and figure out IOS as as well.

And the Galaxy Note II was fine until the microphone started going out. Maybe sue poured water into the microphone so she would have an excuse to get an iPhone :-(

I don't know... if the iPhone is SO MUCH EASIER than an android phone, that that would be one thing. Meaning, if it was super easy to use for spreadsheets or doing some basic business tasks (she owns two small clothing boutiques and it would be great if she could take more responsibility for doing marketing and sales online for them). I just don't know if an iPhone is going to make it super easy for her to do things or not.

How are the cameras on the iphone? Can she do basic video editing on an iphone?
 
anotherusername1 said:
Thank you, Kolio

My only concern with that particular phone is that the camera is supposed to be pretty bad and the GPS is supposed to be awful.

I know at that price point you can't expect ANY phone to be perfect. But I would really prefer for her to start taking more photos. And since she doesn't know how to use a map, I would like her to start using GPS, if possible.
Click to expand...

This one has a 5.5" screen & @ $399,you'd be hard-pressed to find anything close in price to match it spec wise,especially the camera:
http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/lg-g4.html#reviews

But,if you get this,it's approaching the price of an i-Phone5S.

If it were me,you know the saying:
Happy Wife,Happy Life...................... ;)
 
If price is an issue, she could just get a 5S instead, right? I mean, it's alot cheaper now that the iPhone 6 came along.
 
how is the note 2 getting too slow?? it is 4 years old but has 2gb ram with a quadcore cortex a9 processor, the iphones JUST started getting 2gb ram last year.

also dont get a 5s, iphones start slowing down after 2 years because apple intentionally slows them down with software updates, doing that should be illegal, but these are the people who also put patents on making wedge shaped laptops.... the 4 year old note 2 should be just as snappy as the day you got it. my 4 year old nexus 4 is just as snappy as the day i got it, minus the crashing/freezing which is because of inherent problems with the way it was manufactured, not because time has aged it.

i got a 5s and it is quite sluggish on the latest version of ios...before that i had an iphone 4s, after 1 year it became so slow that safari would crash if i went to accuweather.com

but tbh considering she is a girl, maybe it's just better to let her have the iphone.
 
If your wife wants an iPhone, then let her have an iPhone.
She is a grown person so she should be able to choose what she wants.

Hell if I ever thought about saying I won't "let" my wife have something I'd be divorced lol
If you spend some time looking, you can find the 6s and 6s plus for a decent price.
 
given the apps she uses it for wouldn't something like the motorola moto g be a suitable phone, it's basic enough if she is not so tech savvy or if money is not so tight or the need for better features how about the LG G3?
 
I think Samsungs have "Simple Home" (verification needed) type feature don't they for the non tech savvy, If I remember right I think my old Z1 had it too so I assume all the Xperia range will at least, and possibly every Android, I don't know, I don't like it so I don't use it.
As long as you look at the flagships or reasonably decent spec devices you should be safe with these for the other features of decent camera etc and you are probably right in that thinking you will be paying a portion of the price to Apple. Take her into a shop and try out the simple home and see if that works with her.
Otherwise, yea, bite the bullet and get the iPhone, but as suggested above, why not one of the older models, iPhone 6 or 5s.
Also if she has her own business couldn't she open a small business account and get one on contract?
With regards to only iPhone working out there, I would say that's bull plop, AFAIK a sim card is a sim card, is a sim card. iPhones I think use nano sims which is just a sim cut smaller again, believe you can get adapters to make them bigger. The last few sims I have had have been the ooollllddd sim card size with cuts in for micro and nano sizes, you can pick and choose which size you are using as long as you don't lose the outer bits, just pop it in and out.
 
I just simply like the way Samsung uses the Home Key...
no matter where you are, click on Home and it stops what is going on, click it once more and the Home Page is in front of you.

I have the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4.
both operate precisely the same way. the Note 4 is a big beast and if she don't like big stuff, it is too much, my daughter took one look at mine and said "Dad, that thing is as big as my laptop! ugh!!"

The Galaxy S5's are now available brand new for $259 all over the web. It is a great flagship product, and like mentioned before, Android phones don't slow down just because they get older.
 
Take it from someone who has a 6s - it isn't worth it. The price is simply too much for what you get with the phone.

I also have a Nexus 6P that I use personally.

The thing is, iPhone stans do a special kind of brainwashing to people they want to switch over. Which is why so many Apple fanboys and girls can't tell you WHY the phone is better (cuz it isn't) all they can say is "it just is". What you should do, is print out a sheet of specifications, and compare two pretty decent phones with the iPhone, to let her see just how outdated they are.

As far as a phone to get.....that's tough. I'm not really well versed on what phones work well out of the country, but I can list some, and you can do your own research as to which will be ok

1.) Nexus 6p - If you want the best Android phone, look no further. Great screen, great camera, and I've just simply never had issues with it. Even while on custom ROMs with root. All of the people i know that are Apple stans admit that if they could bring themselves to leave Apple, they would without question be choosing a 6p. If it works in Thailand, this should be the only phone you even think about. $429

2.) Nexus 5x - the Nexus phones are just great to have because of the timely updates and vanilla Android experience. The 5x is a little bare bones but it will get the job done. $299


3.) Samsung S6 edge - I had this phone a while back and it was Samsung's absolute best. Though I didn't stick with it (Touchwiz just makes me itch) I appreciated the iphone-esque build quality, and it really helped bridge the gap between Android and iOS $(Installment plan available through T-Mobile. $25 a month.



Hope this helps!
 
garylgray said:
3.) Samsung S6 edge - I had this phone a while back and it was Samsung's absolute best. Though I didn't stick with it (Touchwiz just makes me itch) I appreciated the iphone-esque build quality, and it really helped bridge the gap between Android and iOS $(Installment plan available through T-Mobile. $25 a month.
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...


I got a real chuckle out of this statement. You can hide Touchwiz with Nova Prime Launcher, and oh what a difference it makes... I love Nova Prime. I put it on my wife's phone who is a klutz and she does not even know it is there... but it makes life for her so much easier.... you can lock the screens so nothing ever gets lost.
 
AZgl1500 said:
I got a real chuckle out of this statement. You can hide Touchwiz with Nova Prime Launcher, and oh what a difference it makes... I love Nova Prime. I put it on my wife's phone who is a klutz and she does not even know it is there... but it makes life for her so much easier.... you can lock the screens so nothing ever gets lost.
Click to expand...
True, I use Nova on all my phones. However, the settings, and notification shade will still be very Touchwizy. Lol. Can't do it. The recent Samsung theme engine helped a bit tho.
 
I would really love to get hold of your phone model, got a real itch to try it, but no moola to play with.
 
MLSS said:
If your wife wants an iPhone, then let her have an iPhone.
She is a grown person so she should be able to choose what she wants.

Hell if I ever thought about saying I won't "let" my wife have something I'd be divorced lol
If you spend some time looking, you can find the 6s and 6s plus for a decent price.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^
This! (FWIW, I clicked/voted "Best Answer")
I'm guessing/hoping the OP's choice of words was just off-the-cuff,not meant literally,or to be taken as such.
Not trying to speak for the OP,would be ironic given my statement.......... ;) :D
 
Personally not an Apple fan, but I agree with alot of people here: if she wants one that bad, well I think she has the right to have one, even if you think it's not suitable for her. But in my opinion, if she really wants one that badly, she could still pay for it herself. If I really want something I gotta save up money for that too, it's not that weird.
 
Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I appreciate it,

So to clarify about the SIM card issue:

Apparently she COULD get a SIM card for her Note II when she was in Thailand last time.

However, they td her without an iPhone she would have to go another store and download the memory onto a computer, and then upload it into the phone after changing the SIM card.

They told her with an iphone she didn't have to do that.

So i am guessing that possibly the benefit of an iPhone is that (maybe) once you put in a new SIM card, you can just download all your contacts and app data from the cloud???

(My wife is not particularly technical and she hates it when i try to "troubleshoot" for her, which is another reason i am trying to discourage the iPhone purchase: i would be EVEN WORSE at troubleshooting shooting an iPhone than i would be trying to troubleshoot an android phone.)
 
Regarding "REALLY WANTING" an iphone:

All the people who say, "just let her get an iPhone," you may be right.

And it would be better for me to just smile silently and move on with life.

But the thing is... she keeps asking me which one to get, and whch service provider to get and drags me along to the phone stores woth her.

This has been going on for three weeks...

If she just went out and bought one herself that would be fine.

I mean, afterall, she has bought her last two cars without even consulting me, so it's not like she is incapable of making a decision.

But it's just that when she asked me repeatedly for my opinion, and she doesn't like my opinion, it gets pretty frustrating.

I don't know... maybe i am just dumber than I thought I was...
 
Last edited:
Regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 2

The phone seems to work well, so I don't know why some people think it is too old of a phone. The only problem with it is that for her handset, the microphone is not working, or there is some other problem with the microphone or the settings. It sounds like she is under water when she is talking on that phone.

I think it is a microphone problem, because if she uses the speakerphone, her voice is much clear than if she uses the regular mic.

Does that make any sense? Does the regular microphone differ from the microphone used when you use the speakerphone? We've taken it to the T Mobile stores around our neighborhood and they said that it is probably a hardware problem and that it would either need to be fixed and the microphone replaced or just get a new phone.

I guess we could try doing a hard reset, but we will have to backup all the whatsapp, Naver line, and viber and text messaging and the other things on her phone, & I am Not really looking forward to doing that for her. Is there an easy way to back up everything including 3rd party apps like whatsapp, Naver line, and others???
 
anotherusername1 said:
Regarding "REALLY WANTING" an iphone:

All the people who say, "just let her get an iPhone," you may be right.

And it would be better for me to just smile silently and move on with life.

But the thing is... she keeps asking me which one to get, and whch service provider to get and drags me along to the phone stores woth her.

This has been going on for three weeks...

If she just went out and bought one herself that would be fine.

I mean, afterall, she has bought her last two cars without even consulting me, so it's not like she is incapable of making a decision.

But it's just that when she asked me repeatedly for my opinion, and she doesn't like my opinion, it gets pretty frustrating.

I don't know... maybe i am just dumber than I thought I was...
Click to expand...
Your not dumb, you're married....

Just nod and smile a lot. lol
 
anotherusername1 said:
Regarding "REALLY WANTING" an iphone:

All the people who say, "just let her get an iPhone," you may be right.

And it would be better for me to just smile silently and move on with life.

But the thing is... she keeps asking me which one to get, and whch service provider to get and drags me along to the phone stores woth her.

This has been going on for three weeks...

If she just went out and bought one herself that would be fine.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. :thumbsupdroid:
I'll stick with my 2nd recommendation,the LG G4.
LG is introducing the G5 Feb 21,so,keep an eye on T-Mobile for even more markdowns.
$399 new is a deal in itself,but,I'm guessing further markdowns are imminent.
If you can buy a phone outright in cash outside of T-Mobile,as someone else suggested,the Samsung Galaxy S5 can be bought for less than $300 new.

Check here for compatibility:
http://www.willmyphonework.net/
 
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