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Comment by jcadam | Hacker News Reader

Smartphones are close to achieving 'commodity' status as far as I'm concerned.

I just paid $60 (no commitment/contract) for a Lumia 640 (it was a gophone, which works fine on my regular AT&T plan). It's a reasonably fast, decently built phone, and I must say the Windows phone UI is starting to grow on me (and I HATE windows 8/10 on the desktop).

Besides voice calls, I use a smartphone mostly for texting, email, web browsing, maps, music, and the occasional (netflix) streaming video.

A $60 phone can now handle all of these things easily, so I would be stupid to spend more (vanity? status symbol?). If I drop it onto the sidewalk and it shatters, I'll merely sigh, mumble something obscene, and go buy another one. My reaction to dropping a $600 phone would be a bit more... extreme (mostly because I can't afford to replace a $600 phone on the spot).

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For me they have been a commodity for quite a while. My main concern is size, it's become rather difficult to find reasonably spec-ed "smaller" phones. Many are advertised as small phones but really aren't (HTC does this over and over). Samsung's Galaxy Mini is getting bigger and bigger with each release. I've never been an iPhone user but before they released their big phones I always saw their small iPhone, their flagship phone no less, as a shining light of reason in a field full of crazy-sized phablets.

I don't mind the phablets, what bothers me is that they're forgetting that some people want a phone that they can use with just one hand. Apparently there aren't that many consumers committed to buying only those kind of phones.

Something in a similar vain that bothers me is the obsession with slimming down phones. I've never owned a phone that was too thick since flip phones and those were still bearable. I don't care if my phone is thin, but I do care that battery life has hardly improved since my original iPhone. Give me a brick that lasts for 3 days

The Moto G 4G was the only sensibly-sized, sanely-priced phone I could find 12 months ago. The camera's awful but otherwise it's a good phone.

Unfortunately, I don't think the original Moto G and Moto G 4G are getting security updates anymore, and all the newer phones are much bigger.

The original Moto G (1st gen, 2013) is still getting updates. Not even just security patches, but even full OS version upgrades. I just got an OTA upgrade to Android 5.1 a few months ago.

That is the last update for the 1st gen which seriously screws 4G owners because M will be released less than two years since that phone's introduction.

I agree on all points, just the worst camera imaginable.

One hand usage and fits nicely in the jeans pocket.

Yes, they're such a commodity I've moved on from features to looking at other factors, such as conflict free metals and worker rights.

e.g. Look at Fairphone http://fairphone.com/

I don't know if it’s on par with Fairphone yet, but Apple have also been helping make some good improvements in their supply chain.

http://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/progress-report...

IMO, I use a smartphone enough that minor improvements are worth a fair amount. On its own a low light camera and longer battery life might not be worth much. But, add in larger and better screen, faster CPU, etc. and it's worth it.

PS: Then again, I am on a legacy plan 60$/month unlimited data + lots of rollover minutes, so signing a 2 year contract for a large discount seems more reasonable.

This is why my interests have moved to smartwatches and why I'm happy to see the new LG watch having its own 3G/4G modem. I hope the next generation replaces phones all together. I don't need a huge gaming/selfie machine in my pocket for casual communication. Being able to hold up my watch to my ear and have a conversation and texting/emailing via voice is pretty much all I need 95% of the time.

I'm incredibly torn on this subject. I had a $60 phone which was very much "good enough". I lent it to a friend and bought a $600 phone.

I pick up the old phone and wonder why I bought the new phone. Then as I am using it I remember how slow it is. How bad the camera is. How I struggled to keep good battery life. How it was abandoned for updates.

One can absolutely get by fine with a cheap phone. But they are not quite "just as good", in a mildly pernicious fashion.

I do miss the small size though.

> if I drop into the sidewalk and it shatters..

It most likely won't :) it's (was) a Nokia.

You might have to pay for a new sidewalk though.

Also with everything sync to cloud, your new Windows Phone will be exactly same as old, including settings, sms, phonebook, photos, passwords. Bad for privacy, but awesome convenience.

The only thing holding me into the iPhone is the relative camera quality (not megapixel count, quality) of the meaningfully cheaper Androids. As someone with a mild interest in artsy photography but not enough to carry a DSLR, that's indispensable. Sure the Nexus camera is fine for posed group photos for Facebook, but having had a Nexus 6 for a while, I'd feel a need to carry a dedicated camera.

Is that the standard price in the US? They're £120+ here in the UK...

I bought mine directly from Microsoft. It does appear to be locked to AT&T's network, however. That is not an issue for me since I'm an AT&T subscriber.

Most phones in US are tied and branded to a single carrier. You can find an unlocked WP the cheapest being 49.99 and but a more decent spec ones from 99.99 USD. AT&T is the most WP friendly carrier and T-Mobile is a distant second. Verizon and Sprint, are most often not on board since they are CDMA. Hopefully VoLTE will change that.

Most phones in the UK are locked to a carrier, but we don't have anti-unlocking laws like DMCA. There are little shops on the high street that offer unlocking services.

(This is just carrier locking. Anything that changes IMEI is illegal with a maximum 5 year prison sentence)

FYI I use Ting, which allows GSM or CDMA devices (they contract with Sprint and TMobile)

They arn't the cheapest carrier you can get, but seems a good tradeoff for device interchangeability and price.

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