Broke the screen on my phone... (the HORROR)

[Obice]

Hey,

A few days ago just before getting Public Mobile I broke the screen on my phone and I'm wondering whether I should spend the $50 on eBay for a replacement screen and fix it myself, buy another of the same phone for cheap or just suck it up and buy another phone that's newer.

The local repair shop would want $280 before taxes, I know from past inquiries. I paid $200 for the phone.

This is a Galaxy Note 3 and it's my phone of choice and has been for years just because I cherish its functionality and reliability very much. I've never been more pleased with a phone than it so it's sad to part with it - if I have to. It might seem weird to have made some sort of emotional bond with it but I don't think that's so much the case as it is just a device I've found to work exceedingly well.

For whatever reason, the pictures decided to go horizontal.

[Obice]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@Obice wrote:

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When I watch YouTube I like to have a grand view of the video, I've had a S8+ briefly and I didn't care for the oddness of watching the videos at the aspect ratio as it was.

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@Obice I'm finding more and more YouTube content is actually at 18:9 now and fills my 18:9 OnePlus 5T fully.  For those that don't, I generally use the pinch gesture to zoom it to fill.  You lose a tiny bit on the top and bottom but for most videos it's not bothersome.  

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Ah... I don't tend to watch a lot of YouTube on my phone as I used to. I put something on to fall asleep to.

[srlawren]

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@Obice wrote:

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When I watch YouTube I like to have a grand view of the video, I've had a S8+ briefly and I didn't care for the oddness of watching the videos at the aspect ratio as it was.

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@Obice I'm finding more and more YouTube content is actually at 18:9 now and fills my 18:9 OnePlus 5T fully.  For those that don't, I generally use the pinch gesture to zoom it to fill.  You lose a tiny bit on the top and bottom but for most videos it's not bothersome.  

[Obice]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@Obice wrote:

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Apart from the size of the screen? Down firing speaker, removable back, 1080p - 16:9 ratio display, lots of software support from independent developers for custom ROMs. You know a phone is fantastic when it has THAT much support from a community passionate about technology. Some things I don't like is that storage is limited to 32GB with an option of upto 64GB external storage. And I find the more apps installed on it the slower it becomes, the processor is just too d**n old to keep up.

Overall, I have just found it difficult to find another phone that works as well as this one did before it met its demise.

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@Obice yeah those are some tricky requirements.  Removable back is pretty much a non-starter now (other than maybe a Moto Z4, but it's more a decorative shell you can remove and you still don't have access to the battery if that's what you're after).  16:9 is largely a thing of the past now too, with most phones being 18:9 or taller--most people tend to prefer this as you can get more screen with less width, meaning easeir to handle, but I guess if you're largely doing productivity stuff then 16:9 might be preferable.  Downfiring speakers is a bit of an odd thing to prefer--again many people dislike it as they're easy to block with your hand. But then, most phones still have down-firing speakers, though they may also use the earpiece for a supplementatry front-firing speaker.  Custom ROM support isn't terribly rare with most popular devices so you're probably okay there.  

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Yeah... you see my predicament. All the things I like are "outdated" by the new.

I've had phones with down-firing speakers and back-firing speakers. Back-firing is the worst, it just doesn't sound right and I would find myself constantly covering it with my hand.

Yup, developers have a Havoc-OS ROM for instance, for the Moto G6 Plus which is why the G6 Plus peaked my interest.

When I watch YouTube I like to have a grand view of the video, I've had a S8+ briefly and I didn't care for the oddness of watching the videos at the aspect ratio as it was.

[srlawren]

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@Obice wrote:

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Apart from the size of the screen? Down firing speaker, removable back, 1080p - 16:9 ratio display, lots of software support from independent developers for custom ROMs. You know a phone is fantastic when it has THAT much support from a community passionate about technology. Some things I don't like is that storage is limited to 32GB with an option of upto 64GB external storage. And I find the more apps installed on it the slower it becomes, the processor is just too d**n old to keep up.

Overall, I have just found it difficult to find another phone that works as well as this one did before it met its demise.

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@Obice yeah those are some tricky requirements.  Removable back is pretty much a non-starter now (other than maybe a Moto Z4, but it's more a decorative shell you can remove and you still don't have access to the battery if that's what you're after).  16:9 is largely a thing of the past now too, with most phones being 18:9 or taller--most people tend to prefer this as you can get more screen with less width, meaning easeir to handle, but I guess if you're largely doing productivity stuff then 16:9 might be preferable.  Downfiring speakers is a bit of an odd thing to prefer--again many people dislike it as they're easy to block with your hand. But then, most phones still have down-firing speakers, though they may also use the earpiece for a supplementatry front-firing speaker.  Custom ROM support isn't terribly rare with most popular devices so you're probably okay there.  

[Obice]

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@srlawren wrote:

@Obice fair enough.

While the Note 9 is slightly narrower than the Note 3, it's taller, and the screen is significantly larger (with much less bezel than Note 3), at 6.4" vs. 5.7".  The Note 10+ is slightly larger than the 9, and has the biggest screen (6.8") and smallest bezel of the 3.  You can compare them here if you're curious:  https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5665&idPhone2=9163&idPhone3=9732.

That said, it doesn't sound like it will meet your needs indeed.  Out of curiosity, if you dont't use the S pen (largely considered one of the main selling featues & differentiators for the Note line), then what aside from it's size do you love about it?  This might help us point you in the direction of another option.

EDIT: removed duplicate link 

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Apart from the size of the screen? Down firing speaker, removable back, 1080p - 16:9 ratio display, lots of software support from independent developers for custom ROMs. You know a phone is fantastic when it has THAT much support from a community passionate about technology. Some things I don't like is that storage is limited to 32GB with an option of upto 64GB external storage. And I find the more apps installed on it the slower it becomes, the processor is just too d**n old to keep up.

Overall, I have just found it difficult to find another phone that works as well as this one did before it met its demise.

[srlawren]

@Obice fair enough.

While the Note 9 is slightly narrower than the Note 3, it's taller, and the screen is significantly larger (with much less bezel than Note 3), at 6.4" vs. 5.7".  The Note 10+ is slightly larger than the 9, and has the biggest screen (6.8") and smallest bezel of the 3.  You can compare them here if you're curious:  https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5665&idPhone2=9163&idPhone3=9732.

That said, it doesn't sound like it will meet your needs indeed.  Out of curiosity, if you dont't use the S pen (largely considered one of the main selling featues & differentiators for the Note line), then what aside from it's size do you love about it?  This might help us point you in the direction of another option.

EDIT: removed duplicate link 

[Triguy]

@Obice If it is going to cost over $300 then you would be better off to buy a new phone.  Phones have improved in six years and even mid-tier phones give similar performance to some flagship phones without the high price tag.

[Obice]

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@Triguy wrote:

You could take it to a Mobile phone repair kiosk usually there is one  in most malls and ask them for an estimate to see if it would be worth repairing.  The screen is usually one of most expensive componets of the phone so you would have to weigh the cost of repair vs using the money to buy a new phone.

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I called the local repair depot a few months back for a different phone I had bought (that was broken out of the box) and I was quoted $280 before tax for the screen. You can buy a decent phone for that.

[Obice]

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@srlawren wrote:

@Obice if you love the Note 3 so much, have you considered the JUST RELEASED Note 10 / Note 10+?  Granted, they are ridiculoulsy expensive, but would give you the S-Pen and pretty much everything you could want in a phone in 2019 (with the exception of a headphone jack, but they do include AKG USB-C buds in the box, and you can pick up an inexpensive USB-C to 3.5mm adapter). 

If that's too rich (it's way more than I'd personally want to spend), maybe check out last year's Note 9 to see if you can find a good price on one now that the 10 is out?

Samsung has come a LONG way in the past 6 years, particularly in the last year or so.  Their "One UI" is soooo much better than their old TouchWiz skins that would have been prevalent with the Note 3.  I think you would be blown away by a Note 9 or 10.  Time to splurge?  

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Yeah, I have seen the new Note 10's on YouTube and seen the Note 9 in store.

My problem is that I brought my Note 3 with me to the store and it was actually wider by a bit than the Note 9 and I haven't seen the Note 10. I really just want a phone that is as close to the Note 3 as I can possibly get.

Unfortunately as stated, the Note 9 and 10 are very pricey and even if I had the money I don't think I'd pay it.

I don't use the S-Pen on the Note's, never have so that's a non issue. I'd like a headphone jack not because I use headphones but because I still want the ability to hook my phone up to a stereo/sound system and dongles are a poor excuse for an alternative - they break easy, same as any cable.

I've seen One UI and although it's... better than TouchWiz it's still not in my taste.

Who knows, I'm very picky. Eventually, I shall have to move to another phone and adapt to it.

[Triguy]

You could take it to a Mobile phone repair kiosk usually there is one  in most malls and ask them for an estimate to see if it would be worth repairing.  The screen is usually one of most expensive componets of the phone so you would have to weigh the cost of repair vs using the money to buy a new phone.

[srlawren]

@Obice if you love the Note 3 so much, have you considered the JUST RELEASED Note 10 / Note 10+?  Granted, they are ridiculoulsy expensive, but would give you the S-Pen and pretty much everything you could want in a phone in 2019 (with the exception of a headphone jack, but they do include AKG USB-C buds in the box, and you can pick up an inexpensive USB-C to 3.5mm adapter). 

If that's too rich (it's way more than I'd personally want to spend), maybe check out last year's Note 9 to see if you can find a good price on one now that the 10 is out?

Samsung has come a LONG way in the past 6 years, particularly in the last year or so.  Their "One UI" is soooo much better than their old TouchWiz skins that would have been prevalent with the Note 3.  I think you would be blown away by a Note 9 or 10.  Time to splurge?  

[geopublic]

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@Obice wrote:

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@geopublic wrote:

@Obice  I guess security is not a consideration if you like to experiment with custom ROMs and rooting your phone.

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If I'm after absolute security then an iPhone would be best - and iPhone's are costly in part because of that.

In order for a company to come out with an android skin, they must manipulate the android source code... who knows what they might do about the security. (Also why iOS is so secure, no one is allowed to f*** with it except Apple).

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@Obice  I don't necessarily agree with your statement regarding the fruit brand's security. Because Apple is closed when there is a vulnerability found it can go undetected for a long time and maybe never. Organized crime loves that about Apple.

But that's another conversation altogether.

[Obice]

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@geopublic wrote:

@Obice  I guess security is not a consideration if you like to experiment with custom ROMs and rooting your phone.

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If I'm after absolute security then an iPhone would be best - and iPhone's are costly in part because of that.

In order for a company to come out with an android skin, they must manipulate the android source code... who knows what they might do about the security. (Also why iOS is so secure, no one is allowed to f*** with it except Apple).

[geopublic]

@Obice  I guess security is not a consideration if you like to experiment with custom ROMs and rooting your phone.

Been there done that, not worth it in my opinion 

But your money your choice.

[Obice]

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@geopublic wrote:

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@Obice wrote:

The specs check out but that drop at the top of the screen I'm not fond of.

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@Obice  If that's the case then look at a Pixel 3a or an Android One phone. You get vanilla Android, monthly security updates and guaranteed future Android upgrades.

Good Luck.

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Interesting. I'd be more inclined to buy my Note 3 again and put a custom rom on it for customization.

[geopublic]

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@Obice wrote:

The specs check out but that drop at the top of the screen I'm not fond of.

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@Obice  If that's the case then look at a Pixel 3a or an Android One phone. You get vanilla Android, monthly security updates and guaranteed future Android upgrades.

Good Luck.

[Obice]

The specs check out but that drop at the top of the screen I'm not fond of.

[geopublic]

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@Obice wrote:

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@Dunkman wrote:

@Obice 

The phone is about six years old technology.  Might want to change phones eventually and this is a good time.  

Or if you really like the phone, if you are DIY type person, maybe getting a screen and replacing it yourself is other option.  

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I'm of the mentality that if something works... It works - why change it?

As for the age of the phone, I know it's quite old but with some software tweaks it works just fine. I know there shall come a day that I'll have to buy something newer and perhaps today's that day.

At the moment I'm using an iPhone but the phone part doesn't work the greatest, I cut out and on my Note 3 I never had that issue.

I have been looking at the Motorola Moto G6 or G6 Plus as something to try out. I'm open to suggestions (I say that cautiously as I know I'll probably be flooded with arguments of all sorts.. aha).

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@Obice  One more to consider here.

[Anonymous]

I'm also of the same mentality. I had been running the Blackberry OS10 since they came out. But more and more little things just kept dragging it down. I finally gave in and got a used S7. Happy with the ease of finding modern programs and not older or incompatible ones that could work in the BB.

But yes I had been quite emotionally attached to them. If they hadn't dropped the OS for phones I would still be using it.

[Dunkman]

@Obice 

I have the same mentality     I am still using iphone 6.   

Here is one thread about some budget phones that you can buy:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Amazing-Quality-Phone-For-a-someone-o...

Costco unlocked phones, Staples phones are some choices.  Online buying the Xiaomi brand of phones is also option (ie. Amazon).  

[Obice]

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@Dunkman wrote:

@Obice 

The phone is about six years old technology.  Might want to change phones eventually and this is a good time.  

Or if you really like the phone, if you are DIY type person, maybe getting a screen and replacing it yourself is other option.  

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I'm of the mentality that if something works... It works - why change it?

As for the age of the phone, I know it's quite old but with some software tweaks it works just fine. I know there shall come a day that I'll have to buy something newer and perhaps today's that day.

At the moment I'm using an iPhone but the phone part doesn't work the greatest, I cut out and on my Note 3 I never had that issue.

I have been looking at the Motorola Moto G6 or G6 Plus as something to try out. I'm open to suggestions (I say that cautiously as I know I'll probably be flooded with arguments of all sorts.. aha).

[Dunkman]

@Obice 

The phone is about six years old technology.  Might want to change phones eventually and this is a good time.  

Or if you really like the phone, if you are DIY type person, maybe getting a screen and replacing it yourself is other option.