Get an S5 now for next to nothing or wait for the Note 4 and probably pay a buttload?

[sp00ge]

Just as the topic says.

This week, my upgrade rollover just hit and I'm still using the original Note i717.  The battery is starting to fail and the thing randomly goes from 80% battery to dead in a blink.  Plus, this phone hardly runs any modern apps properly.  

This week, Best Buy has the S5 for $99 with a 2-year contract, which I plan on extending anyways thanks to my grandfathered unlimited data plan.  My old Note still gets $75 according to Best Buy's trade-in page, so the S5 would be a whole $25 + tax out of pocket.

I loved the Note when I first got it, but I never really used the S Pen.  I don't know if mine was defective, but no matter how many times I calibrated it, the pen was always a few MM off point.  That made it nearly useless for any type of drawing/art-related projects.

The Note 4 is only a few weeks away, and details of it are coming out now that have my attention.  But one of the details that leaked was the starting price of over $800 and very slim odds of there being a contract discount out of the gate.  That's where my hesitation comes in.

Once the Note 4 comes out, the value of my phone is going to bottom out, being 3 generations behind now.  If only Best Buy had a longer return policy than 14-days... 

What to do about these first-world problems...?

 

[doubledown]

Wait for the Note 4.  You will still be able to get on contract.  Probably cost you $300 w/2 year agreement.

Sell the old NOTE on eBay.  I got $200 for my Note 2 (at that was low based on some auctions).

Or just go off contract and get the OnePlus or look at the Moto X+1 or LG G3 or wait for a metal Samsung S5

 

[vic_x51]

Wait on Note 4 & it will probably be $300 with contract. If that's too much for you there's nothing wrong with the note 3. If you go the S5 route your going to miss the long battery life (when your battery was working).

 

[hotstud19us]

I think the biggest thing to factor first is the price. Since its pretty much guaranteed that the note 4 will be 300 bucks on contract.

Second the screen on the s5 isn't much smaller then the screen on the note 1. But the body is a lot smaller compared to the note 1.

What I'd do if I were you I'd go play with both the note 3 and s5. Since the note 4 screens will probably be about the same size. See which one seems better.

And the s5 battery is probably as good as the note 1's battery life when it was new.

 

[sp00ge]

Well, I ended up bringing home the S5.  My fiance, who is an iSlave, actually fell in love with the Best Buy exclusive blue S5.  She's going to try to transition to Android and if she decides she wants to give up her iPhone, I'll be giving her the S5 when her upgrade hits in November.  At that point, I'll use her upgrade to get the Note 4 for myself.  Everybody wins.

The only problem was Best Buy refused to take my old Note because of the battery.  I hadn't noticed, but it was a bit swollen and that killed the trade for them.  I just threw it up on Ebay.  Even broken AT&T i717's are still seling for $100+, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

 

[thelaughingmann]

Just as the topic says.

This week, my upgrade rollover just hit and I'm still using the original Note i717. The battery is starting to fail and the thing randomly goes from 80% battery to dead in a blink. Plus, this phone hardly runs any modern apps properly.

This week, Best Buy has the S5 for $99 with a 2-year contract, which I plan on extending anyways thanks to my grandfathered unlimited data plan. My old Note still gets $75 according to Best Buy's trade-in page, so the S5 would be a whole $25 + tax out of pocket.

I loved the Note when I first got it, but I never really used the S Pen. I don't know if mine was defective, but no matter how many times I calibrated it, the pen was always a few MM off point. That made it nearly useless for any type of drawing/art-related projects.

The Note 4 is only a few weeks away, and details of it are coming out now that have my attention. But one of the details that leaked was the starting price of over $800 and very slim odds of there being a contract discount out of the gate. That's where my hesitation comes in.

Once the Note 4 comes out, the value of my phone is going to bottom out, being 3 generations behind now. If only Best Buy had a longer return policy than 14-days...

What to do about these first-world problems...?

I heard very mixed things on the S5. I got the HTC One M8 for $100 during a half price week at my carrier. And the phone is amazing. 2.5GHz quad core CPU with a dedicated GPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage (I got a space 8GB in it right now but will increase it later), and a very nice display; the problem is the phone's battery is a 2600mAh compared to the S5's 2800mAh; this actually means nothing cause my phone has been incredible with battery optimization (I use it a fair bit, mainly for phone/text/email and to run PSX/PSP/DS emulators). With a full charge, I get about three or four days worth of use out of the battery with my regular use.

Maybe that's why the S5 is getting offered for dirt cheap.