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Would like some phone upgrade advice

U

Ubiquity4

Lurker
I've had an LG Optimus V for a long time now. I rooted on Day One and haven't looked back, but it's very buggy and not supported very much anymore.

I'm looking for the best upgrade that I can use on the virgin mobile network that is less than $200 (used/refurb/etc is okay)


  • I don't care about 3D or a front-facing camera one way or the other, but I'd like it to have a better than average rear-facing camera (because just about anything is better than the Optimus V's camera).
  • I'll be rooting this phone as soon as I get it. The longer it is supported (by app makers and the hombrew community) the more I want that particular phone.
  • I don't use my phone for much more than surfing interbutts, making calls/texts, and occasionally taking a picture. (Eventually I'll connect to a server I'm building to stream videos/music/etc.)
  • LTE is preferred over the all-but-dead WiMax, so I'll be able to use this phone for many years (I plan to make it an mp3 player after I upgrade from it, in a few years).
  • Don't care if I get it used/reconditioned.
  • I don't want an iPhone (don't like iOS or iTunes)
So far I've looked at:

  • HTC EVO V 4G
  • HTC One V
  • Samsung Galaxy S II 4G
  • Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G
  • Motorola Triumph
  • LG Optimus F3
I'm open to other phones, but how many more good choices fit my criteria?



What is the best place to find used/reconditioned phones, other than ebay or swappa.com?



What do you recommend for me to get?
 
You can take the the Triumph off the list right away, it's almost as old as the Optimus, and a lot of people hated it. I also would not recommend the EVO V. I had one for about 8 months or so, and did not like it at all, so switched to the Galaxy S3 as soon as it was released, but even used S3's are probably still going for more than $200. I've never used any of the others on your list, so can't really give an opinion.

For used phones, you can also try Amazon.
 
Why didn't you like the Evo V?

Triumph is off the list too, then. I don't want something THAT old.

If the Galaxy S3 will be supported for a good long while, and I like it (never played with one) then ill get it.
 
Other than that, I know 3 people with a victory and they all like it, is completely competent for a midrange phone. The others are too old and should be avoided at this point. But for less than half the price,I think the f3 is the way to go.
 
Ubiquity4 said:
Why didn't you like the Evo V?

Triumph is off the list too, then. I don't want something THAT old.

If the Galaxy S3 will be supported for a good long while, and I like it (never played with one) then ill get it.
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I came from the OpV like you would be doing. When I first got it, I loved the larger screen, but it was bulky (Especially with a case), and was heavy. It felt like a brick in my pocket, and the one thing I don't like about smartphones is the size. Pre-smartphone days, I would always buy the smallest phone possible, but that's just a personal preference. What really started to annoy me were all the little bugs & quirks it had. The most annoying one was, when it would start having issues with data connection. Sometimes I would be home, using it on my wifi, and it would just disconnect from the wifi, even though the wifi was working fine. Sometimes toggling the wifi setting on & off would work, other times I would have to reboot, and other times I would just have to wait until it decided it wanted to connect. I dont want to write a long critique, but it had other issues with both wifi & mobile. It didn't happen all the time, but it was annoying as hell. I have loved the S3, and have not had any recurring issues with it, but I am hoping the S4 comes to VM sooner rather than later. I'm pretty sure that won't happen until the middle of next year at the earliest.

BTW, the EVO is Wimax, so that should be another big strike against it.
 
If you want a decent camera I will say don't get a Kyocera Rise, not on the list. The F3 is pretty appealing at that price point. My wife really likes her EVO but it is WiMax.

The Victoy is likely to also have a good Black Friday deal somewhere as well, check it out (though it is kinda low on memory for me). Coming from the Optimus V myself that was a huge issue.

The Supreme looks really nice but might be a bit pricey, look for a black Friday deal on that maybe also.

HTC desire is rumored to be coming out on Monday this week and not sure what price it will be, nice phone though!
 
Actually I voted for the f3 without really knowing much about it, other than it's similar to the victory specs wise and it's gonna be really cheap on bf. Some reviews dog it a bit so I hope it's not too cheap.
 
mikeca said:
The Victoy is likely to also have a good Black Friday deal somewhere as well, check it out (though it is kinda low on memory for me).

The Supreme looks really nice but might be a bit pricey, look for a black Friday deal on that maybe also.
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ZTE Supreme has one root method, And it likely won't have any custom roms so it's out.

So it's come down to Galaxy S3, Victory, HTC Desire, and the LG F3. I need to do some research at this point to see what kind of custom roms are available.
 
I have a Victory and there is a fair amount of development for it so far. It's quick, good battery, and over-all solidly built. I'd love the F3, but doubt it'll get the same kind of development that we were able to get on the Victory. I heard they're doing the S3 for $299.99 on BF.
 
Virgin has the Desire for sale starting today for 279.99. For that price, I still think you are better off with the S3 for only a bit more. I'm not a huge fan of HTC as both HTC phones I have had were buggy. Doesn't the Desire have a non- removeable battery like the one? I would never buy a phone with a battery that can't be changed by the user. I think that's crazy, especially with current battery technology, where batteries usually don't even last a full day for heavy users.
 
Ubiquity4 said:
So I looked at the Black Friday Virgin Mobile deals on some website I found

Here are the phones that I'm considering, linked to their respective "all things root" forum
* Samsung Galaxy S III
* Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G
* LG Optimus F3

I'm torn because these are all different price points and all three are within my qualifications:
* Able to be rooted and unbricked (should the need arise)
* 4G capability that isn't WiMax
* Better specs than my Optimus V
* Not a Phablet
Click to expand...


I would check Amazon all throughout the holiday weekend and beyond, as they often change prices constantly, and it's not necessarily announced when something is "on sale". The best thing to do is save the direct links to the pages of the phones you are interested in. Even better, if you have an Amazon account, add all the phones you are interested in, and save them to your cart. That way, whenever you check your cart, it will tell you if the prices of the items in your cart have changed (either up or down). The S3 is 319.99 (direct from Amazon with free shipping). BTW, they have the wrong description that says WiMAx. It's been that way since the beginning, but they have never corrected it even though it's wrong.
 
If those are your options, then it's just a matter of how much you wanna spend. Originally I thought you said $200 max, which eliminates the s3, but of the 3 phones that one is definitely the best. Definitely the best camera too.

Another option for tracking prices is a site like camelcamelcamel.com, which tracks prices across several sites.
 
It seems like some of the best deals, typically better than Best Buy or other retailers, come directly from Virgin Mobile's website over that weekend/Cyber Monday. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like they typically don't advertise their weekend specials in advance.
 
The VMUSA website has a Compare feature that you can use. It lets you load up to three phone choices at a time.
 
swerver32 said:
If those are your options, then it's just a matter of how much you wanna spend. Originally I thought you said $200 max, which eliminates the s3, but of the 3 phones that one is definitely the best. Definitely the best camera too.

Another option for tracking prices is a site like camelcamelcamel.com, which tracks prices across several sites.
Click to expand...


Camelcamel is good, and there are a few similar sites. Amazon can sometimes be like the airlines, and change prices on certain items many times during the day, sometimes a few minutes apart which some of the price alert sites can miss. The best bet is to use a few different methods together so you have the best chance of getting a good price.
 
I've never done any black friday/cyber monday shopping.

Is it better to wait until monday? Or should I jump on what I want directly on BF?
 
Personally if it was a deal I didn't want to miss, I'd just get it and then on further review, possibly return. VM's deals as I recall came on Cyber Monday.
 
Ubiquity4 said:
I've never done any black friday/cyber monday shopping.

Is it better to wait until monday? Or should I jump on what I want directly on BF?
Click to expand...


I don't think there is any definitive strategy or answer, especially with online shopping. Everybody has their own little tricks. You just sort of have to know what price you are looking for, and if something seems like a really good deal, go for it. If something comes along cheaper after you make a purchase, there is always the option to return the higher priced unit, if it makes financial sense to do so (i.e. if the shipping costs you would be out eat up any price savings). That's why it's usually better to buy from a known seller, who will accept returns without a hassle or restocking fees.
 
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