I've had a few smartphones over the last years. My first Android was an HTC Tattoo. That was a revelation after my previous Windows phone that didn't even have a touchscreen. The Tattoo seems tiny today and there is a trend for phones to get bigger. Here's my newish G5 alongside the Nexus 4 that preceded it and the Huawei Ascend G300 I had before the Nexus. You can see they get bigger each time and I can't say I really wanted them to, but that's what is available.
What I want from a new phone is an up-to-date operating system, a reasonable camera and enough memory for the apps I need. I don't need masses of data space as I don't carry that much music and video with me. The G5 does have a Micro SD slot, so you can expand it. The Nexus lacked that, but I got by. The Nexus also did not have a removable battery. I think there is another version of the G5 that can take 2 SIMs and has more RAM, but this is adequate for me.
All these phones look pretty much the same from the front. The rear of the G5 just has the camera. The fingerprint sensor is under the screen and can act as home button as well as handling swipes for back and to show running apps.
I've had this phone for a couple of months and it's been great. I did buy a cover and a glass screen protector. The latter makes the fingerprint sensor a little recessed, but it's still usable. I do love unlocking with this. So much easier than a code. It's great for unlocking various apps such as Lastpass. I appreciate the security is not perfect, but it's enough for most of us. As well as protecting it the cover also makes it safer to hold. I found it very slippery without. I wish phones could come with at least a swappable back that offers better grip and protection.
The screen is high enough resolution for me not to worry about it. It's 1080p and do we need more on something this size? The camera is quick and takes decent shots.
I prefer an Android phone that does not have too many modifications to the operating system and this is pretty much stock. There's a Motorola app to set up a couple of things. One of these is actions. You can get the camera or the light just by moving the phone in a certain way. These work well.
So what are the down sides? Unlike the Nexus it lacks NFC, which I didn't use, and wireless charging, which I did. The latter is very handy and saves wear on the socket. It's not waterproof, which is a more common feature these days.
I was never going to buy a 'flagship' phone. I don't really want something that expensive in my pocket and I don't care what others think of my phone. This phone cost me £139. I would have paid with my Bitwala card (funded by Steem), but Giffgaff where I bought it didn't seem to accept that card. I compensated by using the Bitwala card to pay for other things.
Steem on!
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