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These cult phones of yesteryear are long due an upgrade

androidpit samsung galaxy s5
© nextpit

Are the glory days of smartphones behind us? Perhaps not, but what's true is that many classic devices of yesteryear still hold a cult following today. In our last poll, we made the case for why some of our favorite old-school devices deserve a re-release, and asked your to chose the most deserving. The results are in, and it was a surprisingly close race!

cultpoll
There's a lot of love for these old handsets. / © NextPit

The Samsung Galaxy S5, put forward by Eric as Samsung's peak thanks to a combination of waterproofing, replaceable battery, expandable memory and overall hardy and repair-friendly design, won out...but only just. It closely followed by the Galaxy Nexus (which got my vote) and the Nokia Lumia 1020 (which we proposed should be re-released with Android One, rather than a new attempt at Windows Mobile), neck and neck.

The HTC One also had a respectable showing, although the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact trailed behind. For all the people that rail against phones becoming too big nowadays, the classic Compact didn't keep a hold on our hearts like the others.

It's easy to see why though, with its feature set and durability, the Galaxy S5 triumphed. As Jerry's W pointed out, it's a perfectly viable daily driver today thanks to support from LineageOS.

androidpit Samsung Galaxy Note4 3
The Galaxy Note 4 is still great! / © NextPit

Although we presented just a few choices, clearly our poll tapped into a deep reserve of nostalgia and our community themselves put forward some candidates that we didn't think of. For example, Mark put forward the Galaxy Note 4, and with good reason. It's still a 5-star phone in our books!

A couple of community members chimed in for the return of the Palm Treo (instead of the bizzare gimmick that holds the Palm name now). The Sony Xperia XZ Premium was also recommended. The Nexus 4 also got a shout-out, and also the Motorola Timeport P8767, for its impressive ruggedness and battery life.

Of course, it wasn't all just waxing lyrical about the old days. Many of us would rather see these re-releases with some modern conveniences too, such as 4K displays, IP rating, and wireless charging. Android One was also popular as an OS suggestion.

While for the moment, it's been a fun nerdy discussion of nostalgia and fantasy, we should remember to never say never...after all the Motorola RAZR is coming back, so there's always some hope!

Which smartphone of the past still holds a special place in your heart? Why? Let us know in the comments.

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Nicholas Montegriffo

Nicholas Montegriffo
Editor

A cyberpunk and actual punk, Nicholas is the Androidpit team's hardcore gamer, writing with a focus on future tech, VR/AR, AI & robotics. Out of office, he can be found hanging around in goth clubs, eating too many chillies, or at home telling an unlucky nerd that their 8th level wizard died from a poisoned spike trap.

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4 comments
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  • Rusty H. 33
    Rusty H. Feb 4, 2019 Link to comment

    One of my favorite phones was the HTC Tilt series. Keyboard stayed out of the way unless you needed it.
    The Cosmo Communicator looks promising (I think it was done similar in the PDA days). I still like the HARDWARE keyboard.
    Although I think 800 dollars is a BIT TOO HIGH.
    www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/planet-computers-cosmo-communicator-product-impressions-ces-2019/


  • David Martrano 29
    David Martrano Feb 3, 2019 Link to comment

    The 2013 Moto X, I really enjoyed this phone. It was my first smartphone. Now I use the Samsung s9plus. Boy, have things improved since then. But I really enjoyed the motoX. A very good learning phone at that time!

    Dean L.


    • 2
      fauxwindsock Feb 3, 2019 Link to comment

      1020 was the first phone I kept, still on my desk. Iphone for two weeks, awful. Samsung Captivate for months, not much of a camera. Everything since has been judged on the 1020. Guess that is why I still use the 950XL.

      Rusty H.


      • Rusty H. 33
        Rusty H. Feb 4, 2019 Link to comment

        Re-release it, Android, double the battery, update to "modern" specs and I think it would be a great phone.

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