Unusual fetishes

[IreMinMon]

So, one would think finding yourself a good android phone should be easy these days, but really, it's not.

I'm the kind of a person who has very unusual preferences when it comes to phones. First rule of buying a phone for me is that a phone should never get in my way. Would you help my find one that could suit me well? My wishes are:

1. Fully functional for single-handed use.
I prefer my phones small, so that I can type with single hand or basically do anything with single hand. Preferred size 4" to 4.5".

 

2. Rugged.
I don't have the time to take care of my phone. Single-handed use comes with doing two things at once, should it be either using a motorsaw with one hand and a phone in the other (yes I'd done that) or holding a beer with one hand while typing with the other. I spend a lot of time outdoors, my phones had to go through dust, water, they need to be able to take alot of hits.

3. Proper software, control over my own software.
I hate what's being done to modern phones. I want control over my own software, I want to be able to flash different operating systems, I like custom permission managers, I want the root permission, I want unlocked bootloaders, preferrably open-source bootloaders, a cool, custom recovery is nice. I'd like to try either CyanogenMod or Ubunutu touch.

4. Small bezels
If we could have a rugged phone with small bezels, that would be pretty cool.

5. Phone cases.
I DO NOT USE PHONE CASES, THEY GET IN MY WAY OF ACCESSING SIDE BUTTONS, COMPROMISING RULE #1.

Current state.
a) So I'm able to get Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 for free. Now I like this phone as in hardware, but what I don't like about this phone is just how bloated it is, while there is no support for it at all at CyanogenMod community. I can't flash the damn thing, also, dual-cores are kinda slow.
b) Always thought about buying something like OUKITEL K4000, phone seems cool, nice 100€ price, big battery, tough screen, possibly enough water resistance, but the display is 5", which is ridiculously large and there is also no support for it from the CyanogenMod community, alternatives in software are very limited.
c) Motorola Moto G was another alternative for me, sounds cool, but it's 200€ and I don't know where to buy one, there's still the ridiculous 5" display and I don't really trust in the "toughness" of the display. Software support is okay though.

Please, feel free to leave comments on better alternatives, I'm pretty sure I don't know all the phones, or maybe just comment on which one of the lot would you rather take.

[Aytex]

z5 compact?

[henkka_scorpio]

LG Optimus G E975, I don't know if you can get them from anywhere anymore, I've had mine for almost 4 years and it has served me well. Still going strong . Its tough and not too big, it looks nice too.

[Rammix]

The elusive perfect phone...

 

It's a bit like trying to find a woman as described here..

 

 

[IreMinMon]

1 minute ago, Aytex said:

z5 compact?

The Z5 compact really isn't too cheap, but there's other issues, the main being glass back. I've seen people break their glass cover on both front and rear sides of the phone. I prefer polycarbonate, also sealed in battery is kind of an issue (forogot to mention that in the main comment). If I was really a fan of Sony phones, I'd get a Z1 Compact (you can get a new one form Aliexpress for 160€). The grip the phone (Z1 compact) provides is great BTW, because of the rubber sides, and  the screen size is ideal!

[porina]

I think my Nexus 4 ticks most of those boxes, but it is really old now. I've dropped it onto hard surfaces a lot thanks to its slippery back which means it slides off any non-level surface. It has taken damage but keeps on going. I keep debating going to the Nexus 5 but it is the next size up... I don't think it'll be too big still.

[Aytex]

Just now, IreMinMon said:

The Z5 compact really isn't too cheap, but there's other issues, the main being glass back. I've seen people break their glass cover on both front and rear sides of the phone. I prefer polycarbonate, also sealed in battery is kind of an issue (forogot to mention that in the main comment). If I was really a fan of Sony phones, I'd get a Z1 Compact (you can get a new one form Aliexpress for 160€). The grip the phone (Z1 compact) provides is great BTW, because of the rubber sides, and  the screen size is ideal!

Well you never really stated your budget?

[IreMinMon]

1 minute ago, Aytex said:

Well you never really stated your budget?

I like to spend sub 250€ on my phone. As stated above, OUKITEL K4000 costs 100€, I'm not going to spend over 200€ for a phone unless it's pretty close to perfect =)

But if there was somehow a way to find a perfect phone, I'd probably pay as much as 500€.

[IreMinMon]

5 minutes ago, henkka_scorpio said:

LG Optimus G E975, I don't know if you can get them from anywhere anymore, I've had mine for almost 4 years and it has served me well. Still going strong . Its tough and not too big, it looks nice too.

Interesting, I'm afraid though I don't quite see "how" or "why", these phones should be more durable than anything else. It seems like a simple LG with Gorilla glass 2.

[IreMinMon]

6 minutes ago, porina said:

I think my Nexus 4 ticks most of those boxes, but it is really old now. I've dropped it onto hard surfaces a lot thanks to its slippery back which means it slides off any non-level surface. It has taken damage but keeps on going. I keep debating going to the Nexus 5 but it is the next size up... I don't think it'll be too big still.

Nexus 4 actually really does tick most of the boxes, it even is the first android phone to provide Ubuntu Touch support ever! I just always fear that these Nexuses can't really follow my lifestyle. If only there was something more rugged...

[henkka_scorpio]

2 minutes ago, IreMinMon said:

Interesting, I'm afraid though I don't quite see "how" or "why", these phones should be more durable than anything else. It seems like a simple LG with Gorilla glass 2.

I dont know why but I've dropped it from 2nd floor balcony and accidentally even in the toilet   It has dropped from my pocket to the street a few times including when i was playing baskeball

[IreMinMon]

1 minute ago, henkka_scorpio said:

I dont know why but I've dropped it from 2nd floor balcony and accidentally even in the toilet   It has dropped from my pocket to the street a few times including when i was playing baskeball

And it survived all that?  Jesus, maybe I should really give it a try.

[henkka_scorpio]

1 minute ago, IreMinMon said:

And it survived all that?  Jesus, maybe I should really give it a try.

Yeah its a legend, not like nokia 3310 level legend but more like modern times legend and I still dont  have a screen protector on it, i cant see any scratches tho

[IreMinMon]

1 minute ago, henkka_scorpio said:

Yeah its a legend, not like nokia 3310 level legend but more like modern times legend and I still dont  have a screen protector on it, i cant see any scratches tho

Cool!

[soup]

38 minutes ago, IreMinMon said:

Ia motorsaw with one hand and a phone in the other (yes I'd done that)
 

I have no reccomendation about which phone you should get .

  But seriously using a phone and a saw at the one time?

 

Do you really need to stay in touch/on line that much that you can't put down, and ignore, the phone while you are using power tools?

[L00bs4n00bs]

2 hours ago, Aytex said:

z5 compact?

Just went from z3 compact to z5, the compact is a fucking decent phone

[IreMinMon]

1 hour ago, soup said:

I have no reccomendation about which phone you should get .

  But seriously using a phone and a saw at the one time?

 

Do you really need to stay in touch/on line that much that you can't put down, and ignore, the phone while you are using power tools?

99% is people bothering me with text messages to which I gotta reply "yes" or "no" or "sure" or "call you later" or "6PM" or the 15 most obvious replies you rather make in real time. When you're trying to get 10 people down to the village basketball court to have a game, you gotta send about 50 text messages that are 10 characters long on average. I don't bother to stop doing whatever I'm doing in order to write such a message.

[Mew]

Well, the best phone in the world, imo, is the iPhone SE and it happens to be 4", on the Android side it's really hard to find a high end smartphone that has a reasonable screen size. 

[Suika]

4 hours ago, henkka_scorpio said:

LG Optimus G E975

Dirt cheap on the used market, though. Even if it's not fully resistant, you can buy a couple spares with the main one.

 

I liked mine while I had it but I seriously won't recommend such an old device lmao.