Mobile phones: The official thread

I can't stand typing in portrait mode. Even with BB10's awesome autocorrect/predictive entry it's bollocks.

eBay has plenty of covers/cases. If you don't mind spending some extra cash and want the ultimate protection, look into an OtterBox. They add some bulk but are hands down the best protection you can get and could be worth the investment, especially if you want to keep your Lumia for a long time.

Otherwise, you can just grab a screen protector for a few bucks. They can be a pain to put on, though. Glass ones are better and offer an extra layer of protection and saved my near 300$ Xiaomi from completely shattering one time. I usually take OCD-level good care of my phones, but shit does happen, and this 12 bucks piece of glass saved the day and my Xiaomi lives on, unscathed.

I've bought a cover at a local store. Mostly to protect the screen but the extra layer can't possibly hurt.

I assume you've got a wallet-style case? That's fair enough even though I find this kind of case clunky.

I'll prolly be getting a new battery and case for my Z10 soon. Might as well invest a bit for a phone I bloody love.

Edit: Done, got a 2850mAh battery which should last much longer than the stock one and it's the same brand as my Bold 9000 battery. Also got an Aussie flag case. Under $30 for both, good deal.

A wallet case made of fake leather with some microfibres to protect the screen. The alternative didn't suit me, I don't want a rigid case.

Fair enough. I almost got a charger case but meh, almost 3000mAh should be a very nice shot of juice to extend my Z10's battery life. I got through two days of moderately-heavy use with my 635 and as great as BB10 is I get a day-ish out of my Z10.

I chose a hard case from Head Case. I have a Scotland flag case for my 635 so I know those are pretty good quality. I take OCD level of good care of my phones so I am okay with having the screen as is, most of my phones have pristine screens.

I can see the appeal of wallet-style cases even though I personally find them clunky and unnecessary.

I tend to move around quite a bit so having a cover to protect the screen is nice especially considering its size but I think I get what you're saying.

A longtime friend of mine which operates a small mobile phone shop showed me something called Liquid Armor. From what I understand it is kind of liquid glass, which further reinforces the screen. I volunteered my Z10 for a field test, and he also gave me a few extra samples to try out.

I decided to test this stuff out, so I dug out my Storm, which has a screen notorious for being easy to scratch. I applied the Liquid Armor, and let the phone dry for 24 hours, as instructed, and curiosity got the best of me, so I put the Storm through a torture test -- rubbing with keys, coins, cards, hell even with a bloody knife -- and to my absolute surprise, it survived unscathed.

Now I am not mental enough to willingly torture my Z10 but this stuff looks pretty effective, according to my Storm torture test. Along with the hard case, this should be some fairly good protection. I've got a few left over, I'll be doing my Xiaomi and Dagger tomorrow as well.

Sounds like fun!

Well, I had to put Liquid Armour through the torture test to report to my friend on how good it actually is. I went mental and did a mild torture test on my Z10 and Xiaomi, and both shrugged it off unscathed. I put the Storm through the paces one more time, and again, zero damage.

This stuff looks pretty useful, and negating the need for a case makes for an even sweeter deal. I applied it to my mother's tablet, even though she takes good care of it it has been banged up through the years.

The Win10 mobile rollout has begun so your 640 should be eligible. Download the Upgrade Advisor application and you'll get the update OTA, Cara.

And because I have the 512MB RAM version, I am not getting it. I bloody well hope my sodding ATIV S Neo will get it because I will rage pretty hard at MS if not.

I forgot to say I got a new handset!
Went to the shop and told the guy there that the one I had was a piece of shit and I hated it. Started listing some of the problems and he just said 'Let me guess, it's a Samsung Ace 4' (or something like that, can't remember the name).
Anyway, they had spent the first few months that the range came out heartily recommending the phones to everyone and then realised that, after a few months of use, the damn things were the pits and just had fault after fault. Samsung have completely pulled the line as a result. He did say that if I'd have brought it back they would have tried to get at least some of the issues sorted but wouldn't have been able to get it 100%.
So...I explained that I know bugger all about phones but want something on Android as I know how to work it, not Samsung as they've royally pissed me off, with a decent camera (always handy when you have kids), and that has a loud ring and speech volume.
He went away and came back with an LG G5. It's one of those where you can pull the bottom off it and add more memory or an extra hard-drive or a control panel to the mothership or some shit like that. I've only had it a few weeks but I'm loving the damn thing. Seriously the best phone I've ever had. I mean, obviously I'm no expert, but for a complete layman it's a cracking little thing!

Make sure to get a case for it, love -- the finish on the back is extremely scratch-prone. The modules -- "Friends", IIRC were kind of bloody expensive though and they dropped the concept entirely for the G6 which is to be unveiled next week, I think.

LG used to be trash back in the dumbphone days but they stepped up their game, big time. IMHO, Motorola remains the best hardware and quality-wise, but LG is leagues above Shitesung. Though, to be fair, the higher-end Samsungs like the Note series are pretty bloody good, well, except for the Note7 that is.

Still, it was a wise pick. I am personally quite content with Windows Phone 10 but I have used Android 6 (the version you're quite probably running) and it is leagues above the old versions.

I'll take your word for it It's just nice to have a phone that I can hear without having to put on loudspeaker. My work one is specifically designed for people who are hard of hearing so it's REALLY loud. It has the option to put 2 sim cards in it so I could have just used that but the temptation would always have been to 'just have a quick check' of my work email when I was off.
My communication support worker thinks it's hilarious because you can flip it from android to an ease of use mode - it's very popular with elderly people - and it has an SOS button on the back! I think it's called a Doro?

What brand is your work mobile? I know some Motorola models that are dual-SIM, but usually outside of Chinese Androids dual-SIM mobiles tend to be pretty rare. Hell, before Chinese brands made the switch to Android, some of their old dumbphones were triple-SIM and even quad-SIM, which is absolutely ridiculous. But yeah, wise choice not using your work mobile -- sometimes it's good to completely disconnect from everything especially when working the kind of hours you do, darling.

I've seen those Doro phones a few times before, IIRC one of my local mobile operators has them for sale. They are entry-level to put it mildly, which makes sense as I don't think old people need all the whizbang gizmos on top of the line phones, though Jitterbug in Yankland seems to cater to that market -- they've got an Alcatel phone with a large, HD screen, decent camera, support for memory cards, decent processor/memory, though 150$ for a 2014-spec phone is, well, a ripoff.

Oh yeah, and about the switchable modules on the G5 -- now that LG has pulled the switch on those, you might be able to find some on eBay for a decent price. Most of them were pretty useless whizbang though the extended battery might be worth a look if you find it at a decent price.

At any rate, good to hear you're enjoying the G5, love. The G6 is also looking to be a pretty bloody good phone, from what I've seen and heard. I'm waiting for Nokia's presentation at MWC 2017, they are supposed to introduce a modern day version of the old Nokia 3310, retaining the design of the original but obviously bigger to accomodate a touch screen. If what I heard is right, I'm definitively going to buy this one.

Thanks, I don't think I'd bother with the add ons anyway but it's good to know that they're out there!

My works one is a Powetel M9500 (I think). To be honest I see so many different types at the deaf centre that it's hard to keep track of which is which!

Well, Nokia once again misses a great opportunity.

This new 3310 is,well, a color screen version with a slightly tweaked design and the old S40 dumbphone OS. It doesn't even have 3G -- it only supports the old 2G network, which, in Canuckland's case, supposedly gets the axe next year.

I know they had some other mobiles to show off, but this redesign is just lazy and uninspired and a massive missed opportunity. Why just make a cheapass nostalgic piece of toot when it could have been so much more, like, say the Android mockup I posted. A modern smartphone with a classic look, the best of both worlds, really. The lack of 3G in 2017 is ridiculous.

LG G6 looks great, though. So does the BlackBerry Mercury.

Here's the article aboot the G6

Clicky

And here's the Blackberry Mercury aka KEYone (stupid bloody name). I registered for preorder -- I don't care for Android but 4.5" screen and a physical keyboard mixed with some Passport design, fuck yeah, I like it.

Spoiler: