Budget 20-25K Nexus 4 (battery life) or any worthy competitor?

[sibot]

Hi,
My friend wants to buy a phone and had her heart set out for the iPhone 5C. She's a Blackberry user and texts heavily. This will be her first touchscreen phone. She's also prone to drop her phones once in a while.

I had convinced her to go for the iPhone, but looking at the alternatives at Croma the other day, I saw how the Android phones have come a long way and frankly spending 37-40k on a phone does not seem justified. Thus, I suggested her to go for the Nexus 4.

But of late I have read a lot of complains about the Nexus 4 battery life and fragility. The battery life seems to be erratic and lasts 6-11 hours depending on the usage. I own a 4S and usually get through the whole day without a charge.

Her primary usage is - Whatsapp, BBM, Instagram, a bit of surfing, phone calls, camera app.
If plugging in the phone for charge was not an option, is the Nexus 4 a worthy competitor? A phone that can at least last 12 hours on a charge?

Also I'd love to get others inputs on how the battery life on their Nexus 4 is. She is willing to spend more and go for the Nexus 5, but the reviews of the Nexus 5' battery life is again nothing to write back home about.
In a fix.
TIA.

 

[onlyravi]

If Battery is your concern then Nexus 4 battery is great. Lasts easily for a day but must say that the stock camera app sucks big time. The camera is not the greatest but I believe some 3rd party apps can help to produce better pictures.

 

[sibot]

Are you sure about the battery life of Nexus 4? Every review has put the Nexus 4' battery life as it's biggest drawback.

 

[Onemufc]

No dude. N4 has a very poor battery life.

I would suggest to get the N5 to her. A little strech over 25K but its a good upgrade over N4.

 

[creative420]

Although it released last year, but SGS3 matches her requirement to the T. It will easily take care of all the primary requirements; since it has got a good screen to work on and a very very good cam. But the issue is it won't get any upcoming Android updates "officially".

 

[haris5sani]

No dude. N4 has a very poor battery life.

I would suggest to get the N5 to her. A little strech over 25K but its a good upgrade over N4.

You might need to check Kit-Kat optimizations by Project Svelte which has increased phone's standby time !!

 

[Onemufc]

You might need to check Kit-Kat optimizations by Project Svelte which has increased phone's standby time !!

I am preety sure that battery wont last the whole day on her kind of usage.

N5/G2 would be a good fir for her but both are well above the budget.

 

[sibot]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am thinking about the SGS3 too, but the stock OS looks tacky. And I recently read that Samsung has withdrawn or held back the 4.3 update on the S3 till further optimization. How is the battery life on the SGS3?
Going by the reviews, the Nexus 5 suffers from the same poor battery life as the Nexus 4.

 

[rkkaranrk]

No dude. N4 has a very poor battery life.

Are u serious......when did u last used the nexus 4 ?
Check the attached pictures.

 

[sibot]

Are u serious......when did u last used the nexus 4 ?
Check the attached pictures.

How is your usage like? This is surprising because it goes against every other reivew of the Nexus 4 that I have read.

 

[m-jeri]

My N4 with CM10.2 lasts a day with around 1 or 1.5 hour data usage. If at any point you try to use Navigation, kiss your battery goodbye in an hour or 2.

Get the S3, with those extended battery cases. Will last 1 day 100% with the most heaviest usage you can do.

 

[rkkaranrk]

How is your usage like? This is surprising because it goes against every other reivew of the Nexus 4 that I have read.

Check the attached pics it clearly shows the usage, approx 7 hour on battery with 1.22 hour SOT, In that 7 hour calling was around 20 mins. Browsing fb forums and others were around an hour.

Edit: 70 % wifi and 30% 3G

 

[Onemufc]

Are u serious......when did u last used the nexus 4 ?
Check the attached pictures.

I have around 5-6 friends who have the N4. They dont like the battery and the Camera.

Most of them have spares chargers in office.

 

[rkkaranrk]

I have around 5-6 friends who have the N4. They dont like the battery and the Camera.

Most of them have spares chargers in office.

Then u need to check this thread people here had got almost 6 hours sot With 15 hours battery may be more then that. Also there are mixed reviews for stock and custom rom.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1992627

 

[sibot]

Not a good idea to take a chance with the N4, when the popular sentiment is against it's battery life. The phone is excellent, so much so that I wanted to replace my 4S with it. But the battery life issues just kill the deal for me.

Anyway, coming back to the board with the SGS3 or other alternatives, like the HTC One X. Any reviews?

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

apart from the inferior camera, why not the lenovo P780?

 

[Ksavai]

I have Nexus 4 and my wife have Galaxy S3. Both phone are great and perfect for us...
Listing pros for each.

Pro of SGS3
1. Battery
2. Camera

Pro of N4
1. Build
2. Software

Now screen depends. SGS3 is AMOLED my wife loves it I like N4 LCD screen better. So you have to decide from your previous phone.
SGS3 battery is surely better but my n4 I see a day most of the time.

Other options are xperia SP, one X but I will go from above two.

 

[windhawk91]

The battery life is bad. Heavy customization helps in improving it but your friend doesn't seem to be a nerdy type of person.

Go with a Samsung / iPhone. For the usage stated above those are perfect.

 

[haris5sani]

Nexus 4 disadvantages are battery & glass build.
I saw my frnd using N4 with zero brighness, even I can't see whats on the phone. I asked y, he said due to battery drain(2G + calling + sms+whatsapp only) in just 8-10 hours.
Lenovo P780 has solid build, but tad heavy !!

 

[rkkaranrk]

If u want battery buy this shit battery last for almost 10 days.