Seller-Refurbished HTC One M8 (model 6525) for $170 [Verizon with Unlocked GSM]

If you are comfortable with beat-up smartphones (an anti-euphemism for seller-refurbished), all it takes is $170 (was $150) to get the seller refurbished 32GB HTC One M8 (model 6525) from eBay seller BidAllies (98.7%). The description over there calls it “This is a B+ Stock item, meaning unit is in good cosmetic condition and may have minor scrapes or scratches since it’s been handled.”… Price updated in this post on 11/10/15…

Now if you only want to use it as a Wifi-only device, you don’t have to worry about the cellular part. But if you do, keep in mind, this is a Verizon Wireless model, with the GSM part unlocked. Some recent Verizon phones have GSM so you can use it while traveling abroad. So if you are planning to use it on GSM, make sure you check the bands, and check various forums, to make sure it will work to your satisfaction on your chosen GSM network.

Over 4900 units got sold from this offer so far. Only the Gray color scheme remains in-stock. The rest are sold-out. Some prefer the M8 to the newer M9 flagship, but that depends on preferences. The M8 was the first HTC modern-era flagship to bring back the microSD slot (the M7 does not have it).

No contract, you own it right away. You don’t have to use it wirelessly, you just have it as a Wifi-only device, such as a media player, or remote control, or have it feed off your hotspot or your other phone’s mobile hotspot.

The price is very tempting, but make sure you understand the risks of a “seller refurbished” item, and the potential band issues if you are planning to use it on a GSM network.

November 8, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Open-box HTC One M9 (former AT&T, unlocked) for $350 (was $300)

Things are heating up in the world of smartphones, the flagships from the established phone manufacturers are getting a lot of pressure from upstarts (companies big and small that don’t have the gravitas of the Samsung, LG, HTC, etc). That means discounting across the board. Including the open-box (new-other condition) HTC One M9 (32GB, Unlocked, was AT&T) for $350 (was $300) with free shipping. The seller is QualityCellz (99.2%), and claims it is under HTC warranty but does not provide further details… Price updated in this post on 11/10/15…

The “new-other” part says it may have cosmetic imperfections. Sounds like open-box. eBay really needs to clean up their “item descriptions” as people seem to be finding loopholes to “prettify” their listings.

Since this was an AT&T phone, if you are planning to use it on some other GSM carriers, make sure you check the bands and frequencies to make sure it works to your satisfaction.

It is contested in some Android forums as to whether one should get the M9 or go for the M8, so it’s up to you to prioritize features and prices.

November 6, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

LG G Stylo (Boost Mobile) for $130

The new condition LG G Stylo, in the Boost Mobile configuration, is currently on sale for $130 with free shipping and no-contract at Amazon by Amazon actual. This is the CDMA version of the phone, that doesn’t have as good of a spec-sheet as the TMobile/MetroPCS version. The phone has a giant 5.7-inch IPS screen with Gorilla Glass 3. The processor is the Snapdragon 410, which ranks #797 at notebookcheck (this ranks all processors, not just smartphones).

However, it only has 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board storage and microSD (up to 32GB). It has a built-in stylus, but keep in mind, this is a basic stylus, it’s not at the level of the Samsung S-Pen. On the plus side, it has a 3000mah removable battery. It comes with Android 5.1 out of the box. It averages 4.2 out of 5 based on 120 customer reviews, and it has 90 questions answered by customers over there. This is a prepaid phone, no contract, you own it as long as the payment clears.

November 3, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

[DEAD] Mon only: unlocked Motorola Moto X (2nd gen) for $200

As of 12:05am ET, all three of the colors sold-out, ahead of the 24-hour expiration window…

[Read more…]

November 2, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

LG Nexus 5 for $175

The launch of Marshmallow (Android 6.0) changed the depth chart of the Nexus phone line-up. No longer can the trusty Nexus 4 get official OTA Google OS updates with the rest of the pack. So the lines have moved, now the Nexus 5 is the oldest phone that is going to be Marhsmallowed (yes, it’s a verb!). Of course there is (and will be) more work at XDA and other places to get 6.0 on the Nexus 4, but if you prefer the official OTA, it has to be Nexus 5 or newer.

Speaking of which, eBay seller “mobilepros1” (97.9%) is offering new-condition factory-unlocked 16GB LG Nexus 5 (model D820) for $175 with free shipping, with a limit of five per buyer. Only the black color scheme is available. This is a GSM model. No contract!

The warranty is curiously described as “Remaining US Warranty”. Remaining as in? 🙂

A quick refresher, this has 2GB RAM, 16GB on-board, no microSD, 5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 800 with Adreno 330, and things like that. Some are reporting battery life improvements with Android 6.0, which is a good thing since battery life was one of the knocks on this one when it came out.

Now strategically the question is, do you get this one or a Nexus 6? Other things equal, the Nexus 6 may get an additional official OS update over the Nexus 5. On the other hand, there’s breaking rumor-news now that Google will merge Android and ChromeOS, so I don’t know if that will throw a monkey-wrench in their OS upgraditis situation.

October 29, 2015 Filed Under: android, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Seller-refurbished Samsung Galaxy S4 (Verizon) for $90

If you are not a perfectionist, and you are comfortable with the higher risk of seller-refurbished products, the Verizon version of the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S4, model i545, is offered in seller refurbished condition for $90 with free shipping, in three of the four colors (blue is sold-out), by eBay seller “GuaranteeCellular” (98.4%). Limit five per customer. No contract!

The description there stresses that it has “noticeable scratches or scuff mark”, but promises that it will be fully functional and have a clean ESN. As of posting time, over 1900 units got sold from this particular listing, despite the higher risk and the lower percentage of the seller. If you are risk-averse or a perfectionist, you may want to sit this one out.

October 29, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , , ,

[DEAD] 5-inch Huawei SnapTo Unlocked 4G LTE for $98

This particular sale ended but with so many phones on the market, and with Huawei desperate to gain a foothold in the USA market, on the heels of its Nexus flagship phone, there are bound to be more sales in the future…

[Read more…]

October 28, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

FreedomPop: pre-owned Samsung Galaxy S3 for $80 w/free S&H [or Galaxy S4 for $140]

If you want to try out the Freedom Pop service, and could use a Samsung Galaxy S3 phone with the service (or if the service doesn’t work out, you can use it as a media player or in-house remote control), you can get the certified pre-owned Samsung Galaxy S3 for $80 with free shipping. It comes with a 30 day warranty.

This is a 4G LTE phone, which is important existentially for the cellular part of the service, because Freedom Pop exists on Sprint’s network, and the older “4G WiMaX” is going away. So if you buy anything from Freedompop that you want to use over cellular, make sure it is 4G LTE, not 4G WiMax.

[Read more…]

October 25, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , ,

[DEAD] Scratch and Dent Samsung Galaxy Former-Flagship deals

This daily deal expired…
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October 21, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Certified Preowned Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for $240 with coupon (T-Mobile)

Note temptations! Without a contract. Certified pre-owned. Okay, let’s start from the beginning. Coupon code CPO60 (CPO for Certified Pre Owned) is a $60 off discount on the current price of the certified pre-owned Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at the T-Mobile website. This drops it from $300 to $240.

That’s yours to keep, no contract, no payments if you pay the full $240 upfront. If you are a new customer, their shopping cart will automatically add a $15 SIM Starter Kit to your shopping cart, and it won’t let you remove it. Not a very Uncarrier thing to do 🙂

This phone came out during the reign of Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), and has a Snapdragon processor, with 3GB RAM, 32GB on-board plus microSD slot, the all-important S-Pen, and things like that.

October 20, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Refurbished Samsung Galaxy S4 (Verizon) for $120

If you are fond of the Verizon network and refurbished by 3rd parties (not the manufacturer) smartphones without a contract, Groupon is offering one such thing. It is the refurbished condition Samsung Galaxy S4, in either black or white, going for $120 with free shipping and free returns but only a 30-day warranty from an unspecified Vendor.

So if you are comfortable with taking on some risk, you may find it interesting. Otherwise, if you are more risk-averse, you are better off with certified-refurbished/manufacturer-refurbished and new condition.

This was the flagship two years ago, with a 5-inch AMOLED 1080p display, 2GB RAM, 16GB on-board, microSD, and such. It come out at Android 4.3 time. The official model names are SCH-I545ZW (white) and SCH-I545ZK (black).

October 20, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , ,

New phone at Virgin Mobile: 4.5-inch Huawei Union for $80

Once upon a time there was a drought of new smartphones at Virgin Mobile, as Sprint was trying to digest all the different prepaid companies it accumulated. Perhaps the color-matched red of the Radio Shack stores is doing well with the red of Virgin Mobile, or perhaps their own Sprint prepaid is not doing as well as they had hoped. Regardless, speculation aside, there’s yet another new phone shipping from the VM website.

As usual, it is no-contract, but locked to Virgin Mobile. It the 4.5-inch Huawei Union for $80 with free standard shipping. It has the latest Android Lollipod version (5.1), which is pretty good considering some flagships that cost almost an order of magnitude more are still behind.

The main specs of the Union are:

  • 4.5-inch 854 x 480 display
  • Android 5.1 out of the box
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB on-board storage (consumer-usable amount is less – as usual)
  • microSD card
  • 1.1 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor – currently ranks #959 at notebookcheck.net – this includes ALL PC and mobile processors
  • 4G LTE, Bluetooth, Mobile HotSpot features
  • detailed specs at PhoneArena
October 18, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

Power-hungry users: BLU Studio Energy 2 with 5000 mah battery (unlocked 4G LTE) for $180

If you are a fan of GSM and 4G LTE and battery life is your #1 priority, there’s a brand new smartphone coming out with a 5000 mah battery (that’s right, five thousand mah). It is a refresh of a previous model, but now with 4G LTE and improved specs. It is the new BLU Studio Energy 2. And a reasonable price of $180, unlocked without contract requirements.

Having said that, the rest of the specs are in the mid-range, it has 1.5GB RAM, 16GB on-board, microSD (up to 64GB), 5-inch HD AMOLED (which probably suggests 720p), and an unspecified 1.3 GHz quad-core processor (other Blu phones use MediaTek). It is a dual-SIM phone and comes with Lollipod out of the box.

The price at the moment is $180 at Amazon.com (no contract!). The shipment estimate, as of the time of writing is “Temporarily out of stock”.

October 10, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

Good News / Bad News: Motorola Moto G (3rd generation) arrives at Virgin Mobile USA for $150

This is a good news / bad news type of a thing. The good news is that the third generation (latest model as of writing time) Motorola Moto G has arrived at Virgin Mobile USA and it is available for purchase for $150.

The bad news is that this is the entry-level model with 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board. This is the only model they currently offer. This is clear in their product description, see annotated screenshot below:

motorola_moto_g_3rd_Gen_at_virgin_mobile

[Read more…]

October 6, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

Unlocked 32GB Motorola Nexus 6 (XT1103) for $300

If the new Nexus 5X and 6P devices are not to your liking, there’s further discounting on last year’s Nexus 6 by Motorola. You can get it in new condition, carrier unlocked, in the 32GB denomination for $300 with free shipping, with a choice of blue or white, with a limit of five per customer, from eBay seller “QualityCellz” (99.2%). This is model XT1103.

This does not have a microSD, but it is one of only a few phones at the moment that can work with Google’s Project FI, whose defining feature is giving you an account credit for unused data in your account.

September 30, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , , ,