Thinking about a new cell phone and mobile work

From a recent email exchange with someone much more informed than I am who is generous with his help:

Hey man. I’m sorry about taking a while to respond back. I mean, I’m sorry about forgetting to reply at all. Thank you for the bump.

• You have nothing to apologize for, ever!

The list of ones isn’t too hard to take care of. I’m sorry about the problems you’ve had in the past. The way does a partitioned storage in those older phones coupled with the inherent flaws were in KitKat makes it hard to look forward to normal phones without worrying about space limitations. As for me, I believe that anything with 16 gigabytes or more space should be sufficient.

• This is just good advice. I need to shell out for something that has some storage and quit being such a whiner about this, or trying to find a $100 phone that will act like a $300 phone.

32 gigs is pretty much going for the gold. I demand this to be internal storage. All of the previous phones had external storage capabilities, but installing apps to external storage is admittedly clunky even with the current operating systems. It’s doable, but not something that I ever look forward to doing. I guess what I’m trying to say is not to get overly enamored with the thought of external storage saving the day. It’s a nice bonus to store pictures on and it might be useful to install some apps on but it’s by no means replacement for adequate on board storage. Especially in light of our frustrations with the previous phones.

• What I’m confused about is that I thought that Android Marshmallow, when it arrives on the relatively cheap Chinese phones around August, will allow me to read my external storage as if it were internal storage.

Additionally, I think it might be overly optimistic to assume that all the latest Android operating systems come to all of the phones with time. It’s just a fact that most phones get abandoned at some point or another when nobody is willing to support it. It’s the nature of capitalism. Why spend money working on software for an old phone when you can sell new phones?

• Agreed. I am hoping that Marshmallow will come to a new, affordable phone in the next four months.

What is your actual budget?

• That is a good question. Really, I could sell a pile of old electronics and some unplayed boardgames and probably scrape up $200. Or should I use that money to get the family a flat screen tv?
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I honestly think the best deals to be had right now, are the older Nexus 6 phones. Especially for what you’re looking for. There consistently selling for around 250 new online since they’re the old stock. This anomaly has caused a lot of disruption in the used market as well. It’s not very hard to pick up a very gently used Nexus 6 from KSL for about 180 or less.

• This is very, very tempting.

I was also formerly a fan of the old Asus zenfone 2 series. I still think that there a hell of a bang for the buck, but it is often hard to tell one model from another. Be forewarned that AT&T released an Asus zenfone 2e that is absolute garbage. It has nothing to do with the rest of the zenfone series. Don’t buy one on accident.

• Formerly? I will have to look into this.

As far as Chinese phones go, Xiaomi just came out with a phone that sells for about $150, has a big battery, and seems practical for most. I understand that having a big battery is something that I value whereas others might not. My view is tainted.

• The big battery makes a difference. My glorious dream is this: I download 58 student papers onto my phone. I hop on my recumbent bike and head up the canyon with my lunch. I then read the papers, and record my responses while taking pictures of the beautiful outdoors. I then descend back into the valley while listening to something amazing on my phone, then upload my responses to the course website. Having a big battery makes this more do-able.
• My other plan is to dethrone the king of snapchat

 
I am out of town right now, but I can help you find a new phone when I get back. Again, if it were me and I were you I would look for a very gently used Nexus 6, presuming that is in your price range. It’s also a cool anomaly because it was too big for most people. Google has admitted this. I personally don’t mind the size. I don’t think you will either.

• I really appreciate you taking the time to write this note. I hope you’re traveling somewhere interesting and enjoying the trip. I think I’m going to talk myself into the Nexus 6. If I use it for work I won’t feel too guilty about dropping the cash.

I hope that you and your family are well. I send my very best to you all. Be excellent to each other.
Cheers,
Mark’s Phone Guru