Since my N5 isn’t working well, I’ve considered buying a new phone. Strangely, there aren’t a lot of compelling choices. Here’s what I looked at:

  • Nexus 6 – It’s expensive ($750+tax+shipping in Canada) and I wasn’t enthusiastic about it when it was released (doesn’t seem to use its large size well). Also all the problems I have with my N5 would still exist on the N6 AND it would be more expensive to replace if there were issues.
  • Moto X 2014 – It’s pretty hard to get in the frequency band that I want (I have to buy it from Wind, but it seems like they are OOS in a lot of places). Also, it feels like I’m not improving on my N5 as the technology seems about the same.
  • OnePlus One – This is probably the best option as the screen is larger than the N5 (but not N6 size), it’s relatively open, and relatively cheap. Although with the exchange rate, the 64GB version would set me back $500CDN after shipping.
  • Random Chinese model – The first problem is that it won’t work with my carrier. The second is that I would lose all the benefits of being close to Google/AOSP and getting quick updates. I’m not sure I’m ready to give that up yet.