Anyone collecting smartphones?

[pianowizard]

The thread Anyone still collecting ThinkPads? got me to realize that I haven't been interested in collecting laptops for a while. Instead, I have been paying increasing attention to smartphones. These are the smartphones I have had since Nov 2007:

Palm Centro for Sprint, 2.25" 320x320 (primary phone Nov 2007 - Apr 2010)
HTC Touch Pro2 for Sprint, 3.6" 480x800 (primary phone Apr 2010 - Sep 2014)
HTC Arrive for Sprint, 3.6" 480x800 (just for fun, not activated)
LG Marquee for Sprint, 4.0" 480x800 (just for fun, not activated)
Samsung Galaxy Note for T-Mobile, 5.3" 800x1280 (primary phone Sep 2014 - Jun 2015)
Nokia Lumia 521 for MetroPCS, 4.0" 480x800 (just for fun, not activated)
Motorola Photon Q for Kroger i-wireless, 4.3" 540x960 (just for fun, not activated)
BLU Studio 7.0 for any GSM carrier, 7.0" 600x1024 (primary phone Jun 2015 - Oct 2015)
LG G Flex for T-Mobile, 6.0" 720x1280 (secondary phone Jun 2015 - Dec 2016)
Samsung Tab S (SM-T705) for any GSM carrier, 8.4" 1600x2560 (primary phone Oct 2015 - Apr 2016)
ZTE Maven for AT&T GoPhone, 4.5" 480x854 (just for fun, not activated)
Sharp Aquos Crystal for Sprint, 5.0" 720x1280 (just for fun, not activated)
Samsung Galaxy Mega for Sprint, 6.3" 720x1280 (used with FreedomPop Feb 2016 - present)
Microsoft Lumia 640 for AT&T GoPhone, 5.0" 720x1280 (just for fun, not activated)
Huawei Honor X2 for any GSM carrier, 7.0" 1200x1920 (primary phone Apr 2016 - present)
Xiaomi Mi Max for any GSM carrier, 6.44" 1080,1920 (secondary phone Nov 2016 - present)


I bet there are at least a few smartphone collectors on this forum.

[kony]

Still a decent collection. I've only had 4 mobile phones in my life and only one of them is a smartphone (i've bought it in 2012). It's HTC Desire with Android 2.3. I don't feel any need to change it so far, it will serve me another year at least.

[MisterB]

Smartphones are pretty recent and not really to my liking but I do have a nice collection of Palm Pilots I've accumulated over the last ten years. It includes a Palm OS Treo and Centro, both generic unlocked versions, but I stored them away somewhere and can't find them. The rest of my Pilots that I've kept sit on a shelf above the Thinkpad I'm typing this on. My favorite is the TX. Amazing battery life. It's 9 years old and the battery still holds a charge for weeks if it's not used and days if it is.

After using a couple of Android phones, I went back to dumb phones. The smart phone was just too intrusive. I found I didn't like getting notified of every email that came into my inbox the moment it arrived.

[rkawakami]

The only smartphones I'm "collecting" are the ones that my family has been going through. Every two years when my younger daughter's contract is up and AT&T says she can upgrade the phone, it's another one that goes on the pile. The latest is a Samsung Galaxy S5. Before that was two LG Optimus G (original that failed and a replacement), a Motorola Atrix 4G and something else whose model escapes my memory at the moment. The wife and older daughter have been through several iPhone updates as well. Me, I'm still chugging along with my W810i.

[ZaZ]

I don't know if two qualifies as a collection, but I've got my main Lumia 1520 and I recently picked up a Lumia 530 as a back up.

[Saucey]

Once I retire my Samsung S4, I will not sell it.
I'll keep it as a music/media player backup or as a camera...

The market for the original iPhone is becoming something
Might get one of those someday.

[pianowizard]

Still a decent collection.

Well, only 3 of the 7 that I listed are still in my possession. I am holding on to the Palm Centro because of its special status as my first smartphone, and because it's so beat up that I couldn't sell it for more than 5 bucks anyway, not even back in 2010 when I stopped using it.

I bought the Motorola Photon Q only a month ago. Since then, I have been keeping my Samsung Note in my pants' left pocket and the Motorola in the right pocket. The best thing about the Motorola is that it has a mechanical keyboard. Again, it's not activated, so it's without mobile data, and I also can't make/receive phone calls or send/receive SMS. I use it as a GPS, flashlight, camera, and video player. When there is Wi-Fi signal, I get online on it instead of on my Samsung Note to conserve the 1GB 4G mobile data that the Note has each month.

[gnawzie]

I have had only two smartphones, an HTC Desire and a Samsung Galaxy S3, and the S3 will not be getting replaced until it is totally broken. I see no real reason to get any new ones as the improvements don't seem to be worth spending $599 on for incremental performance. Also, even if it breaks, if I can fix it, it's still not getting replaced until either the screen breaks or something on the board burns out and it can't be replaced cheaply. They're too new in my opinion to really collect seriously but its better than turning them into e-waste. Nice collection though, but they won't be worth much anytime soon.

[jedisurfer1]

I've had probably 10+ personal ones and a few work ones.

Almost all the flagship android phones as I like playing and configuring new ROMs on them. It's a very bad habit as I also have had a large collection of baseball cards, computers/laptops, bikes, golf clubs, watersport equipment. Almost anything I've got into I liked buying and trying to make it better. OK when single but getting married and the future wife doesn't like that I have so much stuff so I'd had to start selling things.

[kony]

I wanted to replace my HTC Desire with a new phone, because HTC Desire is quite out of date with its single core CPU and only 0.5 GB of RAM, so I bought Sony Xperia Z3... a flagship of Sony. It's a very expensive phone, so I expected it to be truly great, and it's a piece of turd instead. The whole case is made of very fragile parts (the back of the phone is made out of... glass), and the phone overheats a lot. You can only be taking photographs with this phone for about a minute, because afterwards the phone overheats and either the camera software crashes (with stock software) or constantly loses focus (with custom software). Terrible waste of money, even my 4 years old Desire is leagues better than Xperia. What's the point of such powerful hardware when it overheats after a while?

[Omineca]

This is a bit of a late response.

I have a small collection. Some of them are listed in my signature.

I prefer keyboarded phones, and have rebuilt a BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Q10 (new screens, keyboard, housings). I also have an HTC Tilt2, Nokia Lumia 520, HP Pre 3, a couple of rebuilt iPhones (which seem to rotate out a lot as spares for the extended family), and two 'smart' flip phones. They're all in great shape, all are unlocked and GSM (or HSDPA/LTE), and I keep a supply of SIM card adapters around so that I can use any of them. Usually, though, I stick to the Q10 or 9900.

After I started rebuilding my own phones, I ended up serving as 'iPhone repair central' for the family and inlaws (usually after drops, and often requiring LCD and/or housing replacements).

Working on the phones is a different experience than working on a ThinkPad. They're generally a bit simpler than a laptop, but the parts are so small that they require fine dexterity, ridiculous levels of patience, and a willingness to try to get the same little screw into its place a thousand times. Of course, some phones are much easier to work on than others. Since there are usually no HMMs, I usually go to ifixit to decide whether a rebuild is worthwhile. Many of the newer phones have too many components that are taped or glued together, and I just can't be bothered with that kind of thing.

In general, fixing a ThinkPad is much more fun, but I rarely have the need to do it...

[pianowizard]

After putting up with my Samsung Galaxy Note's reception issues for half a year, I finally decided to get a new phone. This time I wanted something big enough to function as a tablet, so I looked around for 6.3" or larger phones. I also required Android, a camera with flash, a microSD reader, and at least 4G speed in the U.S. PhoneArena.com's excellent search engine showed only several currently available phones that satisfied these requirements. I opted for the BLU Studio 7.0 because it seemed the most appealing. I like it so far.

[Omineca]

Okay, this smartphone collecting business is just getting silly. I just bought a BlackBerry Storm 2, because I wanted to see what the SurePress screen was like to type on.... it intrigues me, and I didn't own a smartphone back then.

How's that Blu Studio working out for you, pianowizard? I saw that Blu is also making a phone (the Blu Studio Energy) with a 5000 mAh battery. It's tempting....

[pianowizard]

How's that Blu Studio working out for you, pianowizard? I saw that Blu is also making a phone (the Blu Studio Energy) with a 5000 mAh battery. It's tempting....

It's been working fine. It refuses to turn on once every 10 days or so, but that's easy to get around: just press the reset pinhole using a paper clip. All my previous main phones (Centro, Touch Pro2 and Note) also had occasional problems similar to this, so it's not a big deal. But as you can see from the reviews on amazon.com, lots of users freak out over this.

Shortly after getting the BLU Studio 7.0, I also picked up the LG G Flex (1st gen) as a secondary phone. I have only one SIM card, which I move back and forth between the G Flex and the BLU Studio.

[Temetka]

Wow, I looked up the specs on that Blu phone.

Weaksauce.

5MP camera? really? Dual core? Lolz.

If I were to go bigger than my Note4 I'd be looking at the Xperia Z Ultra or better.

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_z_ultra-5540.php

6.4" LCD
Snapdragon 800
8MP Camera
2GB RAM
3050Mah Battery
Waterproof

That being said, I hope you're happy with you phone. May it serve you well.

[pianowizard]

Wow, I looked up the specs on that Blu phone. Weaksauce.

It is about as snappy as my LG G Flex (2GB RAM, Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400), probably because the BLU contains only essential apps and features. Many phones, Samsung ones in particular, are bogged down by bloatware.

If I were to go bigger than my Note4 I'd be looking at the Xperia Z Ultra or better.

Trust me, I did more research into >6" phones than anyone you know. I ruled out the Z Ultra for a variety of reasons.

7.0" is actually still a bit too small for me, and I will upgrade to something bigger in a year or so. I will probably hold on to the 6.0" G Flex though, because sometimes I want a phone that's small enough to operate with one hand. The G FLex is actually the biggest T-Mobile-branded phone (which means it supports WiFi calling), but I consider it the smallest size that's still useful!

[pianowizard]

7.0" is actually still a bit too small for me, and I will upgrade to something bigger in a year or so.

This has happened much sooner than expected! I just upgraded from the 7.0" BLU Studio 7.0 to the 8.4" Samsung Tab S. Unlike the North American versions which work strictly as tablets, this international version (SM-T705) doubles as a phone. It's too big to use on a daily basis though, so I plan to use it mainly when traveling. Here's a photo of it next to my first smartphone, the Palm Centro:

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa13 ... c4r07n.jpg

I will probably hold on to the 6.0" G Flex though, because sometimes I want a phone that's small enough to operate with one hand.

Indeed, I am holding on to it, as my primary phone.

[Temetka]

I am still on my Note 4 which is running just fine with a custom ROM.

I recently picked up an iPad Mini4 on T-Mobile and am loving it. It's the perfect size in a tablet for me.

My plan is to pay off the Note 4, unlock it and keep it as a backup / secondary phone. I am debating between 3 phones for my next primary phone:

Lumia 950XL
iPhone 6s+
iPhone 6s

I plan on picking up a Lumia 1520 to tinker around with. Maybe a Blackberry Passport as well because the formfactor is very intriging.

[pianowizard]

I recently picked up an iPad Mini4 on T-Mobile and am loving it. It's the perfect size in a tablet for me.

For a couple years I had tablets in addition to phones, but carrying two devices was a drag. I have been using the 8.4" Samsung Tab S phone tablet (too big to be called a "phablet") for almost two weeks now and actually find it okay to use as my daily phone. Some of my pants' pockets are too small for it, though most are just big enough. Surfing the web on the 8.4" 2560x1600 screen is a joy, so at home I no longer use my computers to get on the internet.

I am keeping my 6" LG G Flex as my secondary phone though, because sometimes I need a phone small enough for one-hand operation (e.g. while driving), and being T-Mobile-branded, this G Flex also supports Wi-Fi calling which comes in handy now and then.

I am debating between 3 phones for my next primary phone:

Lumia 950XL
iPhone 6s+
iPhone 6s

I plan on picking up a Lumia 1520 to tinker around with.

I too have been looking into Windows 10 phones, because they are supposed to be able to turn into full computers. The Lumia 950XL is too expensive and small (only 5.7"), so if I do buy a Windows phone it would have to be the 6" Lumia 1520, which is the biggest Windows phone to date. Unfortunately it's still unclear whether it will get the Windows 10 upgrade.

Maybe a Blackberry Passport as well because the formfactor is very intriging.

Have you considered the BlackBerry Priv? If I ever want a keyboard-equipped phone again, this would be the one. But since I can probably type much faster on my Tab S's super-sized virtual keyboard than on any mechanical keyboard, I doubt I will ever buy a keyboard phone again. I loved my HTC Touch Pro2's slide-out keyboard, but times have changed.

BTW, Lenovo finally has a reasonably interesting phablet, the 6.8" Lenovo Phab Plus. It pales in comparison with Huawei's competing model, the P8max (also 6.8" FHD), but the Lenovo Phab Plus is a couple hundred dollars cheaper, making it the better deal between the two.

[RealBlackStuff]

I am keeping my 6" LG G Flex as my secondary phone though, because sometimes I need a phone small enough for one-hand operation (e.g. while driving)...

They should lock you up!

[pianowizard]

They should lock you up!

I do it only when absolutely necessary, and when I do so, I am usually using the phone as a GPS. Thus, it's not much different than people looking up directions on a regular GPS.

[MrMaguire]

I have an original Apple iPhone as a collector's item. It's not in great condition, but I'm happy to have it anyway, especially since it came with its original box. It's an 8GB model that I won on eBay for ~£50 3 years ago. I thought I was getting a UK model locked to o2, but it turned out to be a US model that was original locked to AT&T and subsequently unlocked. Its serial number puts its manufacture date around September of 2007, so I'm betting that somebody in the UK just couldn't wait to have an iPhone, and decided to import one.

The seller did a factory restore of iOS through iTunes, and when I received the phone, I did the same thing, just because. But when it came time to activate the phone, the o2 SIM card I had wasn't doing the job! As soon as I discovered it was a US model, I went hunting for an AT&T SIM card, and thankfully a local phone repair shop had one, and it was activated then and there.

Since I already have an iPhone 3G S, I haven't used the iPhone "2G" as an actual phone, but it does work on our GSM network. I do use it however as an iPod. I suspect that it has the same audio DAC as the 5/5.5th generation iPod Video. It sounds very good.

Unfortunately it has developed a slight issue with the Wi-Fi antenna. I need to remove the plastic back and re-seat the antenna wires, but I haven't looked too much into doing that yet.

[FluffyBunny]

*Comes out of lurking mode*

Not really...maybe sorta kinda...I have my very first SmartPhone that I find I'm kind of attached to. my Nexus One. It's still used daily...as a music/radio player & alarm clock. Still in excellent shape, and I'm still amazed at how well it was made, and that it still is kicking after all this time.