so im in the market for a new cellphone and since ill be chipped soon i should ask for some advice from the hive mind 
requirements/preferences
1 not apple
2 middle of the road price. i don’t need a flagship phone
3 i do not game on my phone
4 must have sd card slot
5 good nfc reader
6 available for purchase new and unlocked
7 usb c charging
8 works with us carriers
its been a bit of a rabbit hole I’ve fell into and it’s just getting confusing really
and advice would be much appreciated
p.s. i have a galaxy9s and its a great phone but its just about dead at this point
1 Like
The moto G pro is by far the best and most practical one I’ve had recently and possibly the cheapest. Nothing special about it but everything is just good and satisfactory. Nowadays it must be drit cheap but also quite outdated. I expect the new mid-range Motorola phones to be similar though.
I now have a pixel 6 which was more expensive. I’m torn about it. It has great design and performance other than a few bugs. But it’s just not as practical day to day. The sides, cameras and screen get damaged easily, it gets hot, the shortcuts and UI is not fluid.
Both have great NFC but I guess my point is fancy is not always better.
Generally I try to avoid all the recent Chinese brands as well as Samsung, they have awful quality and design and are just riding the latest trends.
I’ve had a few Asus Zenfones and they are comparable to the Motorola. What I like about them is that each of their models is optimized for a specific usecase (photography, gaming, work…) instead of being average at everything.
I had a razer phone also. A superb hight quality, nicely finished, solid brick with shitty software. Like the rest of their products honestly.
5 Likes
Nothing Phone 2a ?
no sd card slot
thanks though
Ahh… true.
i have decided to ride the latest trends and jump on the band wagon.
i went with the SAMSUNG Galaxy A35 5G
p.s. where i parked last night --see video–
1 Like
I have the A54 from samsung. Works so good. It is able to scan the flexNT throuh a shirt, hoodie ant winterjacket. I was like wtf. I have also a cover on the phone.
Reading the glass chips also easy , i don’t need to remove it from the cover.
1 Like
i was a but concerned about the antenna quality
thanks
its a bit of a guessing game from a buyers point of view witch phone has good nfc performance
here’s a video of today’s shenanigans for your enjoyment
3 Likes
I must remove the case from my S20+ to read the flexNT. This phone has the worst NFC Reader.
The S20+ wasn’t able to read the BeUno and it was also difficult to read chips like the xNT, xSIID…
2 Likes
So you still have your S20+ ? We may have something for you to test with it soon 
2 Likes
I can bring the S20+ to the USA in August
1 Like
I have the Samsung Zflip 5 and I LOVE it. Great camera, very durable, good battery life, and as small as my wallet… BUT hate that is doesn’t have an SSD, and I have to remove the case to use NFC. But it’s small and not like having to carry around a tablet in my pocket, and VERY durable. I ran over my last one with my 2012 RAM 3500 and it worked for another 6months before it started glitching, filed a claim, they sent me this one… it’s now been just over a year with this one and I still love it aside the SSD and NFC issues
1 Like
thanks for the info
1 Like
Are you coming to Grindfest?
No
Coming to the Def Con. Are xou also going.
Hopefully 2025 again.
Damn that the flights to the USA are so expensive.
update i went with the Samsung galaxy a 35 5g and i don’t have a lot to compare it to but it seems to work very well.
reads neXt chip from 1/8 inch away with the case on
thanks for all of your contributions to this topic