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After my old Xperia Z1's battery finally bought the farm yesterday after a few weeks of looking peaky, I'm left looking for a replacement.

The things I liked about the Z1:
Size - It was big, and I like having large screens. Fitted in my pockets securely, found it easy to use even one-handed, and felt more substantial for it.
Display - Not having a smartphone to compare it to, I thought it was a good display for watching videos and viewing photos.
Camera - Again, lacking a comparison, I found it good at the back, although the front was rather wanting. Perhaps a little too good, as I found most of the time that I was getting huge file sizes for qualities I really wasn't taking advantage of.
Waterproof - In case I dropped it in the toilet, and also for casual use--answering calls or playing music--in the shower.
SD slot - Self-explanatory.
Android - Because I have an irrational loathing of Apple. Would willingly kick Granny Smith in her Pink Lady at a Royal Gala for no reason other than that she was there.

So looking ahead, I'd prefer a phone that shares most, if not all those features, however, what I didn't like about the Z1:
Overheating - This thing could power a thermal station capable of providing electricity to most of Russia without trouble under even the most mundane conditions.
Battery - The issues with the Z1's battery are, as I now know, common and well documented, and the fact that it is non-removable makes it incredible difficult to replace. That the battery was the cause of failure in mine, and greatly limited its use during the closing stages of its life, makes me wary about using a phone for which I can't simply carry around a spare battery. It also didn't last tremendously long, even in a state of almost perpetual power-saving.
Flaps - The waterproofing required flaps over the USB port, the SIM port, and the SD port. The USB flap was used so much that the eventually the rubber bit around the inside simply snapped and meant that closing the flap was only a temporary measure, as it would soon unhinge of its own accord. It also meant that trimming my fingernails usually forced me to spend upwards of a minute trying to get any of the flaps open.

Currently, I've narrowed down the--by no means definitive--list to:

Xperia Z3/5 - Similar size, I'm already familiar with the device, and they share all the pros of their forerunner. The downsides are that the Z5 runs Octa-core Snapdragon 810, which has been rather demonised for allegedly being the cause of overheating in many devices--in spite of the manufacturer denying the claims--and the fact that after the overheating issues of the Z1, as well as its battery problems, I'm somewhat hesitant to go for either of them. The Z3 would likely suit my purposes just as much as the far pricier Z5, but the chance that it'd come with similar issues as its predecessor worries me.

LG G3/4 - Similar size to, if not bigger than, the Z1. Comes with a removable battery, good cameras, good battery life and a Quad-HD display. Main downsides are the lack of waterproofing on either of them, which considering the Z-series' drawbacks is largely superficial. I won't be taking it deep-sea diving any time soon, and I'm sure I can avoid splashing it in the shower, but I fear the dreaded day I drop it somewhere aquatic and very likely full of urine. My personal choice going ahead, if no others can convince me. Despite the good price--and potential leather backing, HNNNNGH--of the G4, I'll probably plump for the G3 unless the G4 is really a useful upgrade. With neither of them being water or dust-proof, and the graphical quality only being a minor upgrade from the G3, I'd prefer the lower price.

Samsung Galaxy S# - From what I've heard, you could pretty much stick any number after that 'S' and you'd get the same phone. Seen largely as being the flagship of Android phones, I'm naturally interested in what it can offer. I'm wary of the S6 with its lack of SD slot, though. I'd rather have some form of removable storage device I can access in case the device goes breasts skyward and I can't access its built-in storage, as has happened with my Z1, but I suppose the One-Drive storage would work in a pinch. Reading up on it, though, it seems to be a bit... lacking. It's got a hefty price tag and nothing that looks to warrant it at first glance. To me, it seems like a phone that's resting on its laurels a bit.

HTC One - Like the Samsung, I'm not altogether sure what puts this above others its usually considered better than. Carrying an equally large price-tag, its offerings seem little different than something like the Xperia Z-range, which is a little cheaper.

What I'm mainly looking at in the Samsung and HTC is an Xperia phone without the hardware or build-quality issues. Like I said, what's stopping me getting another Xperia is my past experience with Sony's phones, not that they don't exactly offer something another phone does. The LG is a bit of a wildcard, and seemingly does everything I could want it to except for the waterproofing, which would be a deal-maker.

Does anyone have any experience with the phones above, especially the Xperia and LG ones? Or suggestions to consider? A friend suggested the Moto G, which seems more of a budget choice, and being not really knowledgeable about mobiles, I've no real way of knowing if that is a downside or not. I buy better things for my PC because I know I can use them and will be to do so in years to come; with phones I have no idea what is an actual upgrade, and what is simply progress for the sake of progress--like the LG's Quad-HD; I've no idea how much use I'll get out of it, or even if I'll really see an improvement using it as opposed to something simply full HD.

I had a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for a few days until I threw it on the floor in anger, but when I did have it, I thought it was very good.

 Avatar 720 wrote:


Samsung Galaxy S# - From what I've heard, you could pretty much stick any number after that 'S' and you'd get the same phone. Seen largely as being the flagship of Android phones, I'm naturally interested in what it can offer. I'm wary of the S6 with its lack of SD slot, though. I'd rather have some form of removable storage device I can access in case the device goes breasts skyward and I can't access its built-in storage, as has happened with my Z1, but I suppose the One-Drive storage would work in a pinch. Reading up on it, though, it seems to be a bit... lacking. It's got a hefty price tag and nothing that looks to warrant it at first glance. To me, it seems like a phone that's resting on its laurels a bit.

Ive had an S5 for the last year plus some and had pretty much no issues with it. The only time I've ever had any heating issues was when i was playing phone games for prolonged periods of time.

I will say though, your comments about the storage are relevant. I don't use cloud storage or anything similar, so I've had to, on a few occasions had to go through and delete programs or photos, etc. to clear up space.

HTC One has a crappy camera...the reds are horrible. So if taking pictures with your phone is important, I'd choose another product.

Ohh.... and the camera on the S5 (dunno about other galaxies) is sometimes a bit finnicky... I've used it quite a bit for some pictures, and occasionally for getting pics of 40k minis.... It's with the minis that it becomes finnicky, not wanting to focus on the thing right in front of it, even with messing with zoom.


On larger scale, it has taken excellent photos of my kids at the ball park under a variety of light conditions, so I think it depends on what your shooting, if your needing it for the camera

KaptinBadrukk wrote:I had a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for a few days until I threw it on the floor in anger, but when I did have it, I thought it was very good.

Looking at the specs, it seems a bit on the small side, and being 800x400 apparently makes things blocky and hard to read at times. Looking at it, the Vodafone SU 6 might be a better buy for only a little more cost.

Ensis Ferrae wrote:Ive had an S5 for the last year plus some and had pretty much no issues with it. The only time I've ever had any heating issues was when i was playing phone games for prolonged periods of time.

I will say though, your comments about the storage are relevant. I don't use cloud storage or anything similar, so I've had to, on a few occasions had to go through and delete programs or photos, etc. to clear up space.

Ohh.... and the camera on the S5 (dunno about other galaxies) is sometimes a bit finnicky... I've used it quite a bit for some pictures, and occasionally for getting pics of 40k minis.... It's with the minis that it becomes finnicky, not wanting to focus on the thing right in front of it, even with messing with zoom.


On larger scale, it has taken excellent photos of my kids at the ball park under a variety of light conditions, so I think it depends on what your shooting, if your needing it for the camera

What's it like battery-life and heat-wise? They're going to be my core issues with most options, but the camera one is a little troubling. Most photos will be of FoW models, so struggling to take close-ups of 28mm will likely mean even greater trouble trying to take photos of 15mm scale.

jasper76 wrote:HTC One has a crappy camera...the reds are horrible. So if taking pictures with your phone is important, I'd choose another product.

As above, camera-issues might also be a deal-breaker. There shouldn't be many reds, but a bad camera overall would probably kill the HTC's appeal for me.

 Avatar 720 wrote:

KaptinBadrukk wrote:I had a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for a few days until I threw it on the floor in anger, but when I did have it, I thought it was very good.

Looking at the specs, it seems a bit on the small side, and being 800x400 apparently makes things blocky and hard to read at times. Looking at it, the Vodafone SU 6 might be a better buy for only a little more cost.

takes pretty good pictures though.

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:

 Avatar 720 wrote:

KaptinBadrukk wrote:I had a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for a few days until I threw it on the floor in anger, but when I did have it, I thought it was very good.

Looking at the specs, it seems a bit on the small side, and being 800x400 apparently makes things blocky and hard to read at times. Looking at it, the Vodafone SU 6 might be a better buy for only a little more cost.

takes pretty good pictures though.

The Vodafone looks to take them better, though; but the Core Prime can swap batteries, which the Smart Ultra cannot, so still a consideration.

 Avatar 720 wrote:

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:

 Avatar 720 wrote:

KaptinBadrukk wrote:I had a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for a few days until I threw it on the floor in anger, but when I did have it, I thought it was very good.

Looking at the specs, it seems a bit on the small side, and being 800x400 apparently makes things blocky and hard to read at times. Looking at it, the Vodafone SU 6 might be a better buy for only a little more cost.

takes pretty good pictures though.

The Vodafone looks to take them better, though; but the Core Prime can swap batteries, which the Smart Ultra cannot, so still a consideration.

Okay. Let me know what you get.

I think currently it's a fight between the Smart Ultra 6, G3/4, and Xperia 3/5, though the Xperia's lagging a little because of price and lack of wanting to give Sony another expensive chance.

 Avatar 720 wrote:


What's it like battery-life and heat-wise? They're going to be my core issues with most options, but the camera one is a little troubling. Most photos will be of FoW models, so struggling to take close-ups of 28mm will likely mean even greater trouble trying to take photos of 15mm scale.

To be fair, my lighting is usually less than optimal for small detailed photographs, so that could help me in getting better photos.


As for battery life it varies a pretty good deal:

If it's in my pocket and used strictly as a phone, as in I don't constantly check things on it, it can use about 20-30% in a day.

If I'm constantly playing things like Fallout Shelter, Family Guy, or Drop Assault, those kinds of games/programs chew through power like crazy. As in, I need to plug in after like 5 hours

And that constant game play is, like I said, the ONLY time I've ever had any sort of heat issues, and even then the heat issues are basically a, "huh... my hand is getting a tad warm" It's not been severe enough to need to shut down the device or anything like that, it's just that it's a bit warmer than its resting state

After much deliberation with several other people I know, as well as painstakingly comparing devices and prices, I finally found the LG G4 for £289 including VAT, which I felt to be a good enough price to go for. Sure, it's still more than double that of the SU6, but it's superior in pretty much every aspect.

Had I been unable to find it for less than £300, I may have just gone for the SU6, and then traded it in when the G4 had gone down in price further. Compared to the G3/4, the SU6 isn't as well-rounded and has no removable battery, but for £115 I could've lived with it until the G4 fell in price.

For anyone wanting a cheaper alternative to the more expensive Androids like the Sony Xperias, Samsung S#s, and HTC Ones, the LG G series is good shout, with the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 being an incredible competitor for someone looking for a 'budget' smartphone that is good at a lot of things, and doesn't need it to be great or spectacular at anything.