I was really really happy with my Sony Ericsson LWW wt18i for about 2 and a half years. But times do change, and so does technology. One day this cutsie thing ran out of RAM. 512 Mb was the precious little that I had.But whatever meaty hardware it had, alas, its software(Android Gingerbread 2.3.4) did not support. So it supported a keyboard and a mouse, yes, with USB OTG, but failed with pen drives. So I decided to move on.
Shopping for a successor to the L WW proved to be tougher than I expected. With Sony expected to exit the mobile phone market, I expected service related issues.So I had to nitpick through the mobile jungle. First I landed up with with Yu Yureka, but it was there just for a few hours. Then, I read that it was suffering from overheating. Once more, I started searching. I had a few parameters and features in mind
#4G(3G wasnt that fast anymore)
#Gorilla Glass(doesnt break)
#USB OTG(I was used to it)
#An excellent low light cam(I am a shutterbug)
#A good front cam(for those skype moments)
#Great torch
#Waterproof
#Durable.
This package, I was somewhat sure I could get for around 20k
The Samsung Galaxy A7 comes closest to my ideal phone. Of course, A8 comes even closer
But there was no A8 when I bought mine.
Disappointment. The phone started misbehaving out of the box. It just wouldnt catch the signals when out of my house. Then, the 2G mode was absent. I had to take the set to the service centre. Thankfully, it has been working well eversince. But there are issues.
# No DLNA. This means you cannot just hook up your A7 to the USB jack of your TV and enjoy downloaded youtube videos. Neither can you show your friends the wonderful moonset the you shot from the porch.
# The sound isnt loud enough. And I used to think Sony mobs whisper!
#Too big. Now, this might be great for watching videos, but serves as open invitation to pickpockets.
#No wireless charging. MicroUSB ports get damaged pretty easily.
#Price I had to pay through the nose and a half.
# Pet problem of the UI- it thinks /Camera and /Video folders are the only ones that can have media in them. No Gallery existence for downloaded or transferred media.
Comparing the pros and cons, however, the scales tip slightly towards the positive side. Guess this much bang shall my buck afford me, in my quest for a future resistant phone.
