Finally some proper thinking.

[Specmaster]

At last some common sense is being applied to electronic equipment with regard to replacing batteries rather than creating yet more landfill, pollution and spending far more than you need to get a workable device again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn-R39-dtc0

[mnementh]

Sadly, that won't stop fApple from gluing phones together; they'll just start making them fatter to allow for a separate chamber for the battery, and you'll all lose the waterproof feature-set. On your side of the pond.

And, at least according to Chris, fApple outnumbers all other brands put together on your little isle, so that's going to mean a lot of fugly fApple fones.

mnem
It's a fucking phone, not a investment.

[MED6753]

I think it's a great idea and should also be mandated here. Regardless of battery technology they have a finite life and with reasonable care the device will outlast it. Why should I replace the device if it still functions but the battery took a shit?

Paul, maybe you don't think a $900 or more for an IPhone isn't an investment but I do and I'll be damned if I ever spend that kind greenbacks on a stupid smart phone. My $150 Moto Android does everything I need.

[Zenith]

I saw this with autodark welding helmets a few years back. The electronics take very little current and when the arc is started, solar cells provide all the power they need, but it takes a short time for that to happen. So they need battery power to react and darken the filter within a fraction of a millisecond of the arc starting. They often used lithium cells, which last a few years, as they do in PCs.

Some expensive and well-regarded helmets had the cells sealed in, which meant that when they died, as they eventually will, you had either to throw away the helmet, or cut open the housing, replace the battery, which may have spot welded tabs, and bodge the housing back together. Of course, the surgery carried a risk of damage. It would have been little more trouble to have a battery compartment, as a lot of other makes did.

If you are in the market for an autodark welding helmet, it's well worth checking whether the batteries are replaceable, before buying.

[Specmaster]

I think it's a great idea and should also be mandated here. Regardless of battery technology they have a finite life and with reasonable care the device will outlast it. Why should I replace the device if it still functions but the battery took a shit?

Paul, maybe you don't think a $900 or more for an IPhone isn't an investment but I do and I'll be damned if I ever spend that kind greenbacks on a stupid smart phone. My $150 Moto Android does everything I need.

Totally agree, I'm the only member of my family who refuses to shell out for a ridiculously expensive iPhone, my wife and 3 sons have between them shelled out around £2,500 for phones. I currently have 2019 Android powered phone which is now beginning to show its age a little bit as it can sometimes get a bit slow, still has its original battery which still lasts a full day if I don't use it that much, otherwise needs topping up if used as a mobile hotspot as one son, despite owning a recent iPhone and spending a lot on it, will not get a decent service provider for a low monthly fee, instead favouring a pay as you go provider and using my data when we go out anywhere.

[tggzzz]

I think it's a great idea and should also be mandated here. Regardless of battery technology they have a finite life and with reasonable care the device will outlast it. Why should I replace the device if it still functions but the battery took a shit?

Paul, maybe you don't think a $900 or more for an IPhone isn't an investment but I do and I'll be damned if I ever spend that kind greenbacks on a stupid smart phone. My $150 Moto Android does everything I need.

Totally agree, I'm the only member of my family who refuses to shell out for a ridiculously expensive iPhone, my wife and 3 sons have between them shelled out around £2,500 for phones. I currently have 2019 Android powered phone which is now beginning to show its age a little bit as it can sometimes get a bit slow, still has its original battery which still lasts a full day if I don't use it that much, otherwise needs topping up if used as a mobile hotspot as one son, despite owning a recent iPhone and spending a lot on it, will not get a decent service provider for a low monthly fee, instead favouring a pay as you go provider and using my data when we go out anywhere.

Do they do clamshell phones, so that I can put it in my trouser pocket without damaging the screen.

(Or drop it off the roof onto concrete, for that matter!)

[Specmaster]

It would appear that they do still make and sell some clam shell mobile phones, but I think they are just basic phones, but the upside is that they are also cheap to purchase, look on the Amazon website for a decent selection.

[tggzzz]

It would appear that they do still make and sell some clam shell mobile phones, but I think they are just basic phones, but the upside is that they are also cheap to purchase, look on the Amazon website for a decent selection.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that clamshells don't exist, only that smartphones don't exist in clamshell format. Mind you, what's the status of smartphones with screens that fold (in summer, not winter)?

Went to the newly opened chinese takeway a couple of hundred yards away. Couldn't see a printed menu, so asked. They showed me a QR code, so I asked what should I do with that. "Point your phone at it" was the response. I asked them to show me how. They were baffled, and to all intents and purposes said fuck off. Which I duly did.

[mnementh]

I think it's a great idea and should also be mandated here. Regardless of battery technology they have a finite life and with reasonable care the device will outlast it. Why should I replace the device if it still functions but the battery took a shit?

Paul, maybe you don't think a $900 or more for an IPhone isn't an investment but I do and I'll be damned if I ever spend that kind greenbacks on a stupid smart phone. My $150 Moto Android does everything I need.

That is exactly the point I was making. If you treat your smartPwn as a investment, you're fucking yourself. The only time something that expensive makes sense is if you're using it to save your own time, which is the one resource a human being has that no amount of money can replace.

Even then, though, it's not a investment... it's just a tool. An expensive one, but still a tool nonetheless.

I have been one of those people who needed the "throw money at the problem, make it go away" solution that iPwns provide. I am not one anymore, so a cheap Android smartPwn serves me perfectly well. For now.

mnem
I am a tool-user, not a tool.

[mnementh]

I saw this with autodark welding helmets a few years back. The electronics take very little current and when the arc is started, solar cells provide all the power they need, but it takes a short time for that to happen. So they need battery power to react and darken the filter within a fraction of a millisecond of the arc starting. They often used lithium cells, which last a few years, as they do in PCs.

Some expensive and well-regarded helmets had the cells sealed in, which meant that when they died, as they eventually will, you had either to throw away the helmet, or cut open the housing, replace the battery, which may have spot welded tabs, and bodge the housing back together. Of course, the surgery carried a risk of damage. It would have been little more trouble to have a battery compartment, as a lot of other makes did.

If you are in the market for an autodark welding helmet, it's well worth checking whether the batteries are replaceable, before buying.

Yeah; the whole concept of rechargeables in a auto-dark helmet is just wrong. The life-cycle of a Li-Ion cell in that application is essentially no longer than that of a CR2032, so the correct solution is to make the thing with a coin-cell slot.

Or at least assemble the fucking thing with screws so it could be serviced.

mnem
Just say "No, thank you."

[Peter_O]

I just went from an 2018 Nok 7 plus to an Google Pxl 7a just because there are no more patches for the 7plus for over a year now.

+ 5G is somewhat faster, OK.

But:
- Akku run time of the new is the same as with the 5 year old akku of the old one. You can go one day but not two.
- Size is the same, but the new one is 2mm thicker.
- In rooms the screen contrast and colors of the new OLED are - sorry to say - just the same as the 5 year old TFT.

I consider the price to be a SW license fee.
The Nokia was Androind One, The Ggl is totally uncluttered Android with 5 years support.

[AVGresponding]

There's moves in the UK to ban disposable vapes, and for the first time they mentioned the Li-ion batteries and the fire risk etc, rather than just banging on about how they are marketed at children. Naturally the scumbags that make the things are happily defending their indefensible position.

[tggzzz]

There's moves in the UK to ban disposable vapes, and for the first time they mentioned the Li-ion batteries and the fire risk etc, rather than just banging on about how they are marketed at children. Naturally the scumbags that make the things are happily defending their indefensible position.

"The industry is taking steps to address the issues" and ""lithium batteries are recyclable"

I think they were spouting about this topic, but the words are so damn generic that it could be something else.

Some jobs deserve to be replaced by ChatGPT.

[AVGresponding]

Some jobs deserve to be replaced by ChatGPT.

[bd139]

I think it's a great idea and should also be mandated here. Regardless of battery technology they have a finite life and with reasonable care the device will outlast it. Why should I replace the device if it still functions but the battery took a shit?

Paul, maybe you don't think a $900 or more for an IPhone isn't an investment but I do and I'll be damned if I ever spend that kind greenbacks on a stupid smart phone. My $150 Moto Android does everything I need.

Totally agree, I'm the only member of my family who refuses to shell out for a ridiculously expensive iPhone, my wife and 3 sons have between them shelled out around £2,500 for phones. I currently have 2019 Android powered phone which is now beginning to show its age a little bit as it can sometimes get a bit slow, still has its original battery which still lasts a full day if I don't use it that much, otherwise needs topping up if used as a mobile hotspot as one son, despite owning a recent iPhone and spending a lot on it, will not get a decent service provider for a low monthly fee, instead favouring a pay as you go provider and using my data when we go out anywhere.

An iPhone is a quality item. As in a really high quality item. I have a 2015 iPhone 6s that is still functional. The hardware is absolutely second to none.

The service is another thing though. It has gone to shit. My iPhone fucked out the other day, just a victim of the failure curve, and I am entitled to and have paid for next day replacement/repair. Apple can't replace it due to supply problems so I'm sitting here on a Google Pixel 6A because that arrives next day. Apple have refunded the full insurance value and are doing a repair which will take 3 weeks. After that I will dispose of it.

But I've got to say when it comes to replacing the battery the iPhone is far far far better. You have to dismantle the entire damn thing right down to most of the component parts and dig through glue and adhesives galore to get to the fucking battery.

The whole user battery replacement idea is however stupid. I mean what every 2 years or so you need to swap it out? Take it to someone, pay the price, sorted. If it was a car no one would blink an eye about taking it in for a service but because it's tiny and a lot less expensive everyone cries about user replaceable battery. Morons.

[mnementh]

Yeah; Yugo drivers don't know they're slumming.

You and I do, but at this stage in the game we know in fine detail the difference, and I'm quite okay with slumming.

mnem
fuck that most personal of personal confusers...

[Specmaster]

I also don't mind slumming it, that's why I own an Android phone and drive a Skoda, I believe in getting VFM over style any day.

SWMBO's iPad has had to replaced due a faulty home button, her latest one now needs constant charging as the battery if getting knackered. My eldest son has had numerous issues with his iPhones over the years and is die hard Apple fan who has to have the latest iPhone even if it means getting into debt for it. My middle son has a 3 year old iPhone and the battery is already crap on it and is always running out of juice and its not used much at all, my youngest son has had microphone issues on his iPhone. So in all not a very good user experience in my family but they continue in the Apple theme because that is what most people seem to do and they don't want to be seen to be different.

Me, on the other hand, was the first person in the family to have a mobile phone, it was Cleartone CTN2000 supplied by a shop called Peoples Phone
and it was like a brick, this back in the 1990's and then since then I progressed onto Android devices and have never had any issues with them, they have been, Nokia's, HTC, Samsung and now Huawei and I even had a few Blackberries along the way, with zero problems.

Yesterday, my middle son and I went to Fairford for the 2013 RIAT and we both charged our phones up before going and he had to take SWMBO's power bank to top it during the day, I with my 4 year old Huawei, setup as mobile hotspot so he can use my data, and my phone at the end of the day was on 40% battery still, and I was using it to check emails etc as well. Oh and for the record, Fairford struck again, the heavens opened up and we got soaked right though, again.

I'm looking to replace my phone now for something more modern and I'm thinking about another Huawei but I'm dubious about it now that they can't access Goggle any longer as the USA has banned them doing business them, so I might have to go back to Samsung again, looking at the A14 price range, I'm not splashing out on Apple products nor on other makes premium models, which will last any longer than a budget model.

Yeah I know I'm a cheapskate, and I'm proud of it, I was taught that a fool and his money are easily parted, and that peer pressure was a very big part of it. I'm old enough to remember people having their iPhones and iPods snatched while using them in the street, such was the degree of hype surrounding them that others were flocking to get their hands on them, one way or another.

[bd139]

Debt is a stupid thing to get into for a thing unless you need it. As a parent I hammered that into mine.

Buy a Pixel. That's the only "close to stock android" experience you're going to get at least in the UK with a decent support lifecycle. Samsung service here is dire. Absolutely the worst. I know so many people who had horror stories.

I'm not overly satisfied with this Pixel 6A compared to the iPhone. But it is 19% of the price. It has some problems:

1. The camera bump makes all the cases difficult or large.
2. It gets really hot when thinking about things.
3. The NFC / Google Pay is absolutely shite compared to iOS. I can't trust it so I've gone back to debit cards (that might be a good thing anyway).
4. The speakers are shite.
5. The battery life is ok - it'll last a full day but not more.
6. The camera is hmmmmm.

Better:

1. USB-C is ok
2. In display finger print reader is quite good. I prefer it to FaceID
3. The MS office apps work better on it than iOS
4. If I smash it I don't give a shit.

Worth noting that your Samsung A14 has a shitty CPU, shitty screen and is not waterproof.

[mnementh]

There is another option... you can buy a cheap Chinesium phone from a reputable vendor for their service and spend the 20-30 quid on the SquareTrade, etc. The BLU phones I buy are cheap to begin with, and go crazy cheap when they're aboot to disco the model. I just got this one to upgrade mine since the boi killed his (as in, to the point I felt it was BER), which was one of my old ones, then passed my similar 2 years older older model (G90 Pro) down to him.

When he kills that one, either I or wifey will upgrade again and he'll get the older one of the two phones. Hopefully, that continues to be a ~2 year cycle, which is pretty good for a teenage boy. Wifey and I have been doing this for a while, and our life cycle on the phones is approx 3-4 years total.

The dead/killed ones? they get remote-wiped and sold on eBay; last one actually almost paid for this phone here at $140 with taxes, delivered. I'm debating over whether to actually get the Asurion package or not...

mnem
Engage Somebody Else's Problem field generator... NOW!

[Specmaster]

Debt is a stupid thing to get into for a thing unless you need it. As a parent I hammered that into mine.

Buy a Pixel. That's the only "close to stock android" experience you're going to get at least in the UK with a decent support lifecycle. Samsung service here is dire. Absolutely the worst. I know so many people who had horror stories.

I'm not overly satisfied with this Pixel 6A compared to the iPhone. But it is 19% of the price. It has some problems:

1. The camera bump makes all the cases difficult or large.
2. It gets really hot when thinking about things.
3. The NFC / Google Pay is absolutely shite compared to iOS. I can't trust it so I've gone back to debit cards (that might be a good thing anyway).
4. The speakers are shite.
5. The battery life is ok - it'll last a full day but not more.
6. The camera is hmmmmm.

Better:

1. USB-C is ok
2. In display finger print reader is quite good. I prefer it to FaceID
3. The MS office apps work better on it than iOS
4. If I smash it I don't give a shit.

Worth noting that your Samsung A14 has a shitty CPU, shitty screen and is not waterproof.

Agreed, it is not worth getting into debt for a phone, but millions did and still do just to get the latest that Apple produce because of the marketing hype that surrounds their products. Keep repeating things long enough and people will buy into it, as we now by things that have happened here in the UK over the last few years, enough said.

The Pixel 6A is one has crept into my sights for no other reason other then it is most likely to have the longest support seeing as it is a Google device, but on the other hand, is the waterproofing a major benefit for me, not ever lost a phone to water damage yet. The speakers not being all that great, is not an issue, who in their right mind would chose a phone to listen to audio? Fast charge, is another not fussed item, it is well documented that fast charging batteries also shortens their life. Good it has a better screen than the A14, and a better CPU, but it does not the ability to increase memory beyond its built-in 128G, but it does more RAM as standard, is that worth and extra £100? Don't know, still thinking about it if I should even upgrade for a while yet. It does however have 5G support, but is that also worth the extra cost, given that 5G is not fully supported across the country yet?

1. The camera bump makes all the cases difficult or large., Not sure exactly what you mean here.
2. It gets really hot when thinking about things. Yes, heat is also a problem with my current phone if pushing it a bit.
3. The NFC / Google Pay is absolutely shite compared to iOS. I can't trust it so I've gone back to debit cards (that might be a good thing anyway). I don't use this feature anyway, much prefer to use cards, lose your phone and you lose the ability to buy things for a while.
4. The speakers are shite. Agreed, phone speakers are shite even when compared to the crappiest BT speakers.
5. The battery life is ok - it'll last a full day but not more. This all depends on the amount of usage of the phone, and what it is being used for, I don't tend to use for web browsing etc, have far better device for that already.
6. The camera is hmmmmm. Hmm yeah, camera is probably much the same as my current phone, good enough for photos for the forum etc, but for serious photos, nope, drag out my SLR for those.

Better:

1. USB-C is ok. Yes, this would have been an issue, but have invested in some more leads with interchangeable plugs, so USB Micro, USB C or Apple Lightening is not an issue more.
2. In display finger print reader is quite good. I prefer it to FaceID. Agreed, current phone is set to fingerprint.
3. The MS office apps work better on it than iOS. I don't need that, I don't use a phone for work.
4. If I smash it I don't give a shit. I do give a shit on this one.

So will I get a Pixel 6A, lets wait and see, but I'm glad that you're liking yours, especially as you was one of the most ardent Apple fan boys I've come across.

[mnementh]

You're not getting it...

The reason he doesn't have one is the same as the reason I don't. I don't have a job where I need the difference in quality all that money buys you. I have needed it... I might need it again... but I don't right now.

Apple products in general are not overpriced for what they are. They are a Bugatti/Rolls Royce/Ferrari product, and there is a similar difference in the quality of the devices, almost without exception.

The question really is:

Do I have:

A) the money to spend on this product?

2) a need for the quality of hardware and "throw money at the problem and somebody else handles it" level of ass-kissing and concierge service that comes with it?

The argument that they aren't worth that money is outright BS; pure "sour grapes" from those who cannot/will not spend the money.

mnem
Been dere, dunnat, burned da shirt.

[Specmaster]

Nope, I have to disagree, I'm just not seeing that quality aspect from my own family perspective alone. Maybe if businesses were dishing out iPhones to their sales and technical staff I might think differently. But when I think of the companies I have worked for, I have always more often than not, had Android phones, a brief flirtation with Blackberry and then Windows phones because of the Microsoft suite of programs on both laptops and phones, talking to each other. After a year of using the windows phone, which I loved, they were replaced after just 12 months back to Android again (Samsung).

I can say with complete sincerity that I never came across other companies who issued iPhones to their staff. Plenty of people elected to have an iPhone for their own personal use, sure.

As to the level of ass-kissing and concierge service that comes with it, as a company phone user, if anyone had any issues with a phone or lost a phone etc, then the provider of the phones to the company would send another replacement phone to that user and within 24hours the new phone would be in their hands.

[mnementh]

Yeah... you're a "will not".

mnem
me too. right now.

[mansaxel]

I can say with complete sincerity that I never came across other companies who issued iPhones to their staff. Plenty of people elected to have an iPhone for their own personal use, sure.

Android being the security nightmare it is, iPhone is the only phone issued at my present employer. The same goes for our military; they approved Windows Phone and iPhones, and Windows Phone is a dodo now. Was then, honestly. But the point still stands.

[Specmaster]

I can say with complete sincerity that I never came across other companies who issued iPhones to their staff. Plenty of people elected to have an iPhone for their own personal use, sure.

Android being the security nightmare it is, iPhone is the only phone issued at my present employer. The same goes for our military; they approved Windows Phone and iPhones, and Windows Phone is a dodo now. Was then, honestly. But the point still stands.

The same thing might apply here with our military, I'm not sure but it is most certainly Android appears to be the phone of choice by companies.