4 ms·

$250/32 is barely competitive. however, you cannot buy an android phone this small that isn't complete garbage

navidr 8y ago
I've been using SE for the past 2 years and it is perfect for its price and I have a plan to at least use it for another year too. Its fluid animation and acceptable performance make it way superior to most Android phones. I switched from Nexus 5 and I am not going to buy any Android phone until Google guarantees I am going to get OS+Security updates for at least 4 years.
- dingaling 8y ago
  The only security feature I really want is a preinstalled user-configurable firewall. Keeps your system firewalled and your apps sandboxed and there's less of a need for constant OS patches. But it's notable that even 'privacy first' Apple doesn't ship a firewall because that would interfere with the market for ad-supported apps.
  - javagram 8y ago
    Configuring a firewall sounds like the opposite of the ease of use Apple wants to be associated with the App Store. Doubt that will ever be preinstalled. I believe you could theoretically install one on iOS using the VPN functionality available... a quick google only finds “guardian mobile firewall” which is still in beta though.
nkozyra 8y ago
Motorola has a few that are good, clean and in that range
- dklsafhjskljfl 8y ago
  All of them are a full inch larger in screen and most even larger in bezel.
  - twblalock 8y ago
    Some people will never be pleased. When Lenovo came out with that throwback laptop the HN thread was full of curmudgeons nitpicking every little detail they thought was wrong about the retro laptop they always said they wanted Lenovo to make. The same thing would happen if somebody made a new small premium phone. Such people are impossible to please and there isn’t much point trying.
    - Karunamon 8y ago
      The main problem with that throwback laptop was the horrible battery life. 3 hours rated life might have been acceptable in the early 2000s, but nowadays, that's weak. Combine that with the price ($1900 MSRP) and you have a device that comes off as a cynical, overpriced money-grab directed at the retro aesthetic crowd, especially considering that it's basically a slight upgrade of the T470. It wasn't a bad machine. In fact, it got above-average reviews. Still, something really burns about being so close to perfection and making unforced errors that keep them under the line.
      - happycube 8y ago
        It was also retro in the wrong ways - 7th gen dual-core "i7" when the 8th gen with 15W real ones was out (or at most around the corner), and an underpowered last-gen CPU. People wanted something that wasn't just retro, but a true classic in other respects as well.
    - javagram 8y ago
      > Some people will never be pleased. If the main ask is that the phone be small, the phone being over an inch larger than specification hardly seems unreasonable to complain about.
droithomme 8y ago
$250 isn't a good price. The SE/32 was advertised and sold for $79 at WalMart on Black Friday 2018 and was advertised and sold for $99 at WalMart on Black Friday 2017. Both times no-contract.
- drb91 8y ago
  How much does it sell for at walmart now?
- dklsafhjskljfl 8y ago
  Those are door buster sales. Anyways, I looked it up - they were also carrier locked to walmart mobile, a mvno in which the price of the phone is subsidized.
  - droithomme 8y ago
    > Those are door buster sales. Not correct at all and why do you have to make a fake new account to post your false troll? WalMart for several years has been maintaining sufficient stock for advertised black friday items. They had sufficient stock for everyone that wanted one, and they also were selling it online as well on Black Friday with free shipping. I bought FOUR and gave them to friends and family. I use mine as a camera, mp3 player, and portable web browser and have never paid an additional cent for it.
    - dklsafhjskljfl 8y ago
      I googled it. Maybe the results were misleading. So, you're saying that the phone you bought you didn't use as a phone? Hmmm.... Also, this isn't a fake account. I don't think anything I've posted was intended to troll.
williamdclt 8y ago
Using a Motorola G3 since something like 4 years (maybe 5? not sure). I paid less than 200 euros for it (150 iirc) and with a factory reset just today, it runs great. It is acceptably small (5") and seems unbreakable: never had a cover and drop it sometimes like a normal person, yet not a sign of a crack on the screen. So yes, you can buy an android that isn't garbage. Some are, definitely, but with just a bit of research you'll find good phones.

I've been using SE for the past 2 years and it is perfect for its price and I have a plan to at least use it for another year too. Its fluid animation and acceptable performance make it way superior to most Android phones. I switched from Nexus 5 and I am not going to buy any Android phone until Google guarantees I am going to get OS+Security updates for at least 4 years.

dingaling 8y ago
The only security feature I really want is a preinstalled user-configurable firewall. Keeps your system firewalled and your apps sandboxed and there's less of a need for constant OS patches. But it's notable that even 'privacy first' Apple doesn't ship a firewall because that would interfere with the market for ad-supported apps.
- javagram 8y ago
  Configuring a firewall sounds like the opposite of the ease of use Apple wants to be associated with the App Store. Doubt that will ever be preinstalled. I believe you could theoretically install one on iOS using the VPN functionality available... a quick google only finds “guardian mobile firewall” which is still in beta though.

nkozyra 8y ago

Motorola has a few that are good, clean and in that range

dklsafhjskljfl 8y ago
All of them are a full inch larger in screen and most even larger in bezel.
- twblalock 8y ago
  Some people will never be pleased. When Lenovo came out with that throwback laptop the HN thread was full of curmudgeons nitpicking every little detail they thought was wrong about the retro laptop they always said they wanted Lenovo to make. The same thing would happen if somebody made a new small premium phone. Such people are impossible to please and there isn’t much point trying.
  - Karunamon 8y ago
    The main problem with that throwback laptop was the horrible battery life. 3 hours rated life might have been acceptable in the early 2000s, but nowadays, that's weak. Combine that with the price ($1900 MSRP) and you have a device that comes off as a cynical, overpriced money-grab directed at the retro aesthetic crowd, especially considering that it's basically a slight upgrade of the T470. It wasn't a bad machine. In fact, it got above-average reviews. Still, something really burns about being so close to perfection and making unforced errors that keep them under the line.
    - happycube 8y ago
      It was also retro in the wrong ways - 7th gen dual-core "i7" when the 8th gen with 15W real ones was out (or at most around the corner), and an underpowered last-gen CPU. People wanted something that wasn't just retro, but a true classic in other respects as well.
  - javagram 8y ago
    > Some people will never be pleased. If the main ask is that the phone be small, the phone being over an inch larger than specification hardly seems unreasonable to complain about.

droithomme 8y ago

$250 isn't a good price. The SE/32 was advertised and sold for $79 at WalMart on Black Friday 2018 and was advertised and sold for $99 at WalMart on Black Friday 2017. Both times no-contract.

drb91 8y ago
How much does it sell for at walmart now?
dklsafhjskljfl 8y ago
Those are door buster sales. Anyways, I looked it up - they were also carrier locked to walmart mobile, a mvno in which the price of the phone is subsidized.
- droithomme 8y ago
  > Those are door buster sales. Not correct at all and why do you have to make a fake new account to post your false troll? WalMart for several years has been maintaining sufficient stock for advertised black friday items. They had sufficient stock for everyone that wanted one, and they also were selling it online as well on Black Friday with free shipping. I bought FOUR and gave them to friends and family. I use mine as a camera, mp3 player, and portable web browser and have never paid an additional cent for it.
  - dklsafhjskljfl 8y ago
    I googled it. Maybe the results were misleading. So, you're saying that the phone you bought you didn't use as a phone? Hmmm.... Also, this isn't a fake account. I don't think anything I've posted was intended to troll.

williamdclt 8y ago

Using a Motorola G3 since something like 4 years (maybe 5? not sure). I paid less than 200 euros for it (150 iirc) and with a factory reset just today, it runs great. It is acceptably small (5") and seems unbreakable: never had a cover and drop it sometimes like a normal person, yet not a sign of a crack on the screen. So yes, you can buy an android that isn't garbage. Some are, definitely, but with just a bit of research you'll find good phones.