Good day Istoyans!
My name is Demc Dominic Paires and I will be reviewing the different kinds of phones that I have used, owned ,and collected for the past few years!
Take note this is just my personal experience and your experience with a certain phone differs from mine! So feel free to ask away!
This review are for the Istoryans who are planning to get a phone and wants to have an idea on what they are getting and needed a quick real life based review!
P.S. I wont be getting too deep on the review, But if you ever have any questions (I would only concentrate into 3 things! Camera, Battery Life and Screen). Feel free to comment and Ill get to you soon. At the End of the reviews I would rate the phones listed in the category of: Camera, Battery Life, Screen and Overall!
Also, The following phones that I will be reviewing are:
* Oppo Find 7A
* Nokia Lumia 1520
* LG G3 f400k (Korean Variant)
* Oneplus One
* Samsung Galaxy S6 edge Plus
* Samsung Galaxy Note 3
* Sony Xperia Z2
* Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
* iPhone 6s Plus
* iPhone 5s
* iPhone 5c
* iPhone 4s
* iPhone 4
* iPhone 3gs
UPDATE
* Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
NEXT UPDATE:
* Samsung Galaxy Note 6 - when released
* iPhone 7 Pro - when released
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OPPO Find 7A
- Ohhhh the elegant Oppo, Not much phone screams unique on this phone. No matter what color you get, you will always be greeted with a black front and that Unique but awesome Notification ligts in the bottom. I could stare on it beauty for hours and not get bored when I get a notification, It was one of a kind. The first time I got my Oppo, It was still on kitkat even though lollipop was released plenty of months ago, It was dissapointing.
The Camera of the Oppo Find 7A was superb at that time Exposure was okay, Colors would pop and punch you in the face, manual controls and you can shoot at RAW! Yes, RAW!. The battery life was okay. But, I find myself wanting to charge it at early night. The display was not the same with its Older Brother (Which is the Oppo Find 7. It was not released in the philippines). The software (Kitkat) is Color OS on top of android, It was standard but with a bit of features here and a bit of features there, like the colorful themes (Hence, Color OS) and what was unique was the gesture system. Draw a circle in the lock screen (while screen is off) and you can open the camera app and you can even assign apps for different kinds of Actions.
So when the build for Color OS Lollipop was releases a few weeks after, I updated and to my surprise, it sucked. Battery life is now bad, The home screen was replaced with an iOS-ish like theme (No more google standard home screen). The greatest hit it took was the battery and it was a deal breaker for me.
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Nokia Lumia 1520
-The Famous nokia brand! The brand whose phones were made with diamonds, a phone for self defense on which one swing of its powerful case would break a man apart, Said have been found in the center of an asteroids cater, One phone to rule them all!
Anyway, Nokia Lumia 1520 was a very large phone. When I say Large, I mean Gigantic! looks more of a tablet than of a phone. However, Bigger phone means? BIGGER BATTERY! and the Nokia did not disappoint, it is in my number 2 spot when it comes to battery king, I could last days with heavy use and still watch enough movies at night for me to go to sleep. The big screen was a multimedia bliss, I can watch movies, Play games, view pictures bigger, view contents bigger! Everything was such a good experience with the 6 inch screen of the nokia! However, I cannot use it one handed (I mean, who does with such a big screen, right?). But unlike other big phones, Nokia does not have a one-handed-easy-use feature. Nokia's camera was one of the best ive seen so far that are close to DSLR, only second the well known Nokia 1020. Colors was awesome, quality was awesome, exposure was awesome. But what made it fun was the manual mode, The manual mode of the Nokia 1520 was on the best of its time.
Software wise, Nokia was not a much as versatile as shall we say, Android, It was confusing for a person who never owned a nokia before, You are greeted with a tile-like homescreen and you would nee to swipe to the right for you to view the different kinds of apps you have, All in favor of an alphabetical order. You cannot arrange them by your own (Unfortunately). Finding the right options was also a pain in the neck. But, Despite the confusing UI and unorthodox theme, I quite enjoyed the Nokia Lumia 1520
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LG G3 F400k (Koren Variant)
- Take note, that this is the korean variant and may differ with the local variant purchased here in the philippines.
LG G3, could be summed up in this word! Beautiful screen! With a Quah HD resolution and a 5.5 inch display, Whats not to like? The moment you watch a video which is in a pure Quad HD resolution, you would get your mind blown on how beautiful the screen is and how sharped it looked! By far on of the best screens that I have enjoyed and the longest phone that I've ever owned as a daily driver!
But, What about the other stuff? was it perfect? No, it was not. Despite the praise I gave with the LG G3. The Battery was just terrible, it would not last me a day with heavy use and without quickcharge it would also take too long to charge. What abut the camera? The camera was not as good as the oppo and the nokia 1520 but it had an okay quality. The Colors seemed too underexposed, the exposure and white balanced was off. Not the best and not the worst . No manual mode was a such a bummer for me. But, it did its job and I always carry a DSLR with me (So, no biggie)
Software wise, The LG G3 wasnt perfect also. The UI was fast, But it would suffer with a bit of hiccups here and there. I got mine with kitkat as the OS and went to download lollipop when it was released and Same with the OPPO, The Battery went downhill like a land slide. It was disappointing, But there was something in the G3 that keeps pulling me back.
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OnePlus One
-Perhaps, the most underrated phone and the most unrecognized brand here in my list. It is not for sale here in the philippines via kiosk or any stores, But I bought mine in lazada.
Now, The OPO(One Plus One, Not to confuse it with the OPPO) was made by one plus, A sister company of OPPO. urrgggh, The names. 
The OPO's Screen was just at 1080p, BUT! it was one of the best 1080 p's I've seen, No pixels and what so ever. However, There was on problem with my one plus when the weeks came by. Suddenly, on the bottom corner of my screen I noticed a yellow tint, which I called a burn in! I dont know why it was there, But it was really annoying. A big faded yellow tint in my phone would drive anyone crazy!.
Battery life was also great! I've heard so many things about this phone and its battery life, But having to witness it was perfect heaven! The Camera on the underhand was a not so perfect heaven as I've seen. The Colors was more underexposed than the LG G3's, The Quality was subpar, Exposure was terrible even in daylight and NO MANUAL CONTROLS! really? No manual mode?
Now to the software, Right out of the box, Color OS was on top of it (I have no idea why lazada would ship it with Color OS) and not he default Cyanogen Mod (Which made OPO a great phone) and So I switched it to Cyanogen Mod and the OS was a thousand times better than Color OS, It was like STOCK ANDROID! (who doesnt like the nakedness of stock android?) The UI just flies between menus and apps, The battery life was much better than of the Color OS. The simplicity made it a win for me! Cyanogen was the best android skins out there!
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Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
- Remember LG G3? and how beautiful of a screen it has? Well, picture it with a colorful UI that can bust out of your screen and RKO you in real life! That is the Screen of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus (What a mouthful of a name!). With a bigger 5.7 QHD Super Amoled Screen, This has hands down the best screen in the market to date! But what about other criteria? Well, The Camera? THE CAMERA IS HEAVEN! Yes, Also the best camera in the market to date! With the colors popping out of the screen and hitting you in the nuts, Exposure was excellent, White balance was also superb! As I said, Best Camera in a smartphone!
But What about Battery life? Despite the praise it had with the majority of the community, My battery testing was very disappointing, I thought it would last me a day of heavy used But it did not! I would have more or less 3-3 and Half of Screen On time! But, the fast charging was another way to beat the bad battery of my S6 Edge Plus and I was "meeeeh" with that.
Software, Touchwiz is lighter than ever, it is as mature as ever in this generation. It flies through any applications I open but somehow drops when things get hot! The RAM management was terrible in my variant, I would open only 4 apps and Touchwiz would just restart the apps again as oppose to letting them run in the background! But all in all, It was a great experience to have a Samsung S6 edge Plus!
Hardware!, The Edge Screen is such a great thing to have, I mostly use it all the time for shortcuts for my apps. But the best thing with the edge is that you have that great edge to edge visibility, Its like the Screen is floating on the phone! Viewing media content in this phone is the best experience I had, The edge screen gives an illusion that it has no side bezels at all!. Also, The finger print sensor on this phone is better than its predecessor, Its fast and effective and one of the best things samsung corrected
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Samsung Galaxy Note 3
- The Famous Note line! The big Brothers of the "S" Series in the Galaxy Line up and the Lineup who started the Big Screen Craze! and now on its 3rd Generation the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Let's see if it improved with its predecessors!
Screen! The Note 3 has a large 5.7 Inch 1080p Screen with Super Amoled, It may not be the same with the Samsung S6 edge Plus nor the Samsung Note 5 Screen But it gets the Job done! Although it has the same popping colors of its successor (Amoled screens are the best screens!).
Camera, Samsung always get the cameras right and this phone is no exception! Colors still pop and makes your eye bleed (In a good way), Exposure is very good, quality is also very good. But everything falls apart at night shots! Which also became so granny and blurry at the same time
Battery Life, Fortunately it lived up to the good things of the Note line! Unlike the "S" series (younger brothers) it has a bigger form factor which in this case has a bigger battery life, It would last me a day without needing a charger!
Software wise, Touchwiz in the iteration was not as refined as the new generations we have now! Its laggy, Cartoonish, Stutters quite randomly, different kinds of gimmicks on whi 90 percent of the I did not use
Hardware, Is where the Note differs from the "S" series, for it has the S Pen! A well rounded and verstaile stylus pen built for the purpose of business men! You can write, Draw, Take down notes, Use it as an accurate "Finger". It was a great addition. But, I dont use it quite as I would like to.
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Sony Xperia Z2
- One of my favorite brands of all time, The Sony xperia Z2 was a monster of a phone. Waterproof and Dustproof, I could swim with it in the lake and in the pool and I wouldn't worry much about it! It was a rugged phone But in a premium and beautiful form factor!
The Screen f the Sony Xperia Z2 was only at 1080p. But, it was beautiful thanks to the software enhancements of Sony on whic they call triluminos display which gives the screen richer and more vivid colors and a unorthodox pixel construction it gives out sharp details in its 1080p Screen. Although not in the same level with the amoled screens! It is one of the better LCD's out there.
Camera of the Sony Xperia Z2 was superb, Better than the Oppo, OPO, LG G3 and the Note 3, But falling short with the Nokia 1520 and the Samsung S6 Edge Plus (Which is quite a cheat for it is years older than the S6 edge plus). Colors was vivid, Exposure was excellent, Quality was great and MANUAL CONTROLS! Yehey! Manual Controls with this phone was a great addition. You can only shoot 8mp with its automatic mode, But with Manual Mode, You can go up to 21mp as its maximum and the little adjustments and take the perfect shots!
Battery life! Now, Sony always boasts their line ups as a battery king which could last for a full 2 days straight! But, It's only applied if you dont touch your phone! Meaning it would last only 2 days if its standby! But. The sony xperia z2 is a great battery life contender! It would last me a full day and no charge is needed between those!
Software wise, Its like stock android but with the bit of sony's apps! There is nothing special about this OS, It is just like Stock Android, and you know how I feel like stock android. It is my 3rd choice of Skin when it comes to android next only to Cyanogen Mod.
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Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
- Sony Xperia is a marvelous phone when it comes to its size! Its compac! But what makes it different to other compact android phones? It did not sacrifice internals! it is the small brother of the Sony xperia Z3 but its not as small as you think it is hardware wise!
Screen is only 720p unlike its 1080 big brother the Sony xperia Z3! But it with this small screen (4.7 inches) 720 is enough for its screen size! Although its not as good for multimedia against the bigger phones. But it is better with one handed use! Which is why compacts exists. Better handling of the phone, it doesnt bulk up in your pocket and not as annoying to hold.
Camera, Its no different from its big bro! They both share the same optics. But, Unfortunately! Neither the Z3 Compact and the Z3 fails to live up to the name of the camera of the Z2. To be frank! It was not as good as the Z2 (I dont know why! But Z3's camera is a step down to the Sony Z2's camera). Quality was great but the exposure and colors of the Z3 was not the same with the Z2, Underexposed and Dull respectively.
Batterylife, in this category however, The z3 takes the cake against the Sony z2, This would last me a day of heavey usage and sometimes 2 days with light usage! No problem at all. But, not including fast charging was certainly a bummer!
Software, Its the Same of the Sony z2, Nothing really different other than the Lollipop update it had (Which worsen the battery life of the Z3 but still an "all day, all night" phone!)
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iPhone 6s Plus
- and now we shall dwell in the iOS territory! The iPhone 6s Plus is my daily driver now and you will know why I chose it as my daily Driver!
The Screen size of the iPhone 6s plus is an LCD 1080p 5.5 inch display! Nothing to fancy, but its the best 1080p on an LCD today (Amoleds are still the best). Despite its perfect size, The form factor of the phone however is large! Larger than the Samsung Note and The Samsung S6 edge pluswhich both have a larger 5.7 inch. The iPhone was not built for one handed use even though they have a one handed work around!
Camera! What are the things I want to tell that you don't know already? Apple has a long history of great cameras! And the iPhone 6s Plus improves all of that! With the inclusion of 4k recording! it is now a solid contender of the high end android phones! and as always they never fail to deliver, Great exposure, White Balaced is just right, Quality is what you expect in an iPhone Camera and Colors exemplifies the natural colors of life! But I still prefer the popping colors and vividness of the Samsung Cameras!
and Now to the part on why the iPhone 6s Plus is my current Daily Driver! The Battery life. It is no doubt, hands down the best batterlife I have ever got my hands on a phone ever! It would last me 2 Days in heavy usage!, with an average of 7 hours screen on time! Now, Take note. I play heavy games, I watch movies for hours, I Use social medias for hours, I text, I call, I read contents in the internet! There is nothing I could do to drain the battery life of the iPhone 6s Plus in One day!
Now, To the Software side. On which it differs from the Android rivals. iOS, is what apple calls their OS. iOS, is simple, fast and it gets the job done. Although, I still prefer Android for its customization, Nothing beats iOS in its simplest glory! Everything are in the right place when you unlock your phone! Speaking of unlocking, it is one of the few phones who has a fast finger print and accurate sensors! It has also hands down the fastest and most accurate Finger print sensor I've used so far.
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iPhone 5s
iPhone 5c
iPhone 4s
iPhone 4
iPhone 3gs
- Since, there is not much difference between these phones! I would just like to review them all at once!
Screen, These phones was the king of compact phones! It was small, Fast and reliable!, all of these phones may not have the jawdropping Quad HD's, full 1080 p's nor even a 720p's. But it was regarded as one of the best screen in the market on their generation!
Camera, the 3gs camera was a big improvement from the iPhone 3g, But the lack of flash and the low resolution makes it lacking in this time and age, iPhone 4 however gave it a flash but still the quality of its picture in this day is not something you would like your jaw to drop. The iPhone 4s to iPhone 5s However, is still a great camera phone to have in this current time and would still give you decent pictures!
Battery life, Dont expect these phones to give you the best battery life. It has a small battery inside and all of them will not last you a day, the earlier the generation the worst the battery life gets! Bring a portable powerbank and tha could alleviate some of its flaws!
Software, It is no longer as quick as the current iPhones we have right now. In fact, It lags and stutters most of time and the earlier the generation the worst the lags become. Its not gonna win any awards in the fastest phones, But if you are willing to wait a few seconds before your apps open, Then it okay, I guess.
The main reason for the lag and stutters of these early generation iPhone is solely because of the iOS updates that has come through out the years! an iPhone 4s with iOS 9 is more laggy than an iPhone 4s with iOS 6! so on and so forth, you get the Idea!
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UPDATE
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- So, I've been using th S7 edge as my daily driver now for the past 5 days and boy-oh-boy does this phone take the cake! 
Let's start out with the screen, as all of you know already, Samsung has the best Screens in the market to date. Nothing beats their screen and that is a Fact! Colors are so vibrant, it may not be accurate like real life, But it is so appealing in the eye. It sports a 5.5 inch Quad HD Super Amoled Display, IT IS AWESOME! Nuff said!
Camera, It has a 12mp camera (Previous generations has a 16mp). Yes, It downgraded in terms of resolution, But let me tell you now it is more of an improvement than a downgrade. Yes, it has a smaller resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio (Which is a bummer, I enjoyed the full screen heaven of the samsung s6 edge plus' camera) But its quality is superior than its predecessors. At night, it captures more light. Colors remain vibrant, it is saturated, it is full of life, white balance is spot on and quality is as sharp as ever.
Battery life is superior to the previous generations, its has a whopping 3600 mAh, which is surreal. I mostly get 6-6 1/2 hours of OnScreen time (Which is only 30 minutes less than my iPhone 6s Plus). Just like the iPhone 6s Plus, I fail to drain the battery when I want it to. It passed with flying colors for me.
Software, Although touchwiz is now as light as ever. It still have some minor stutters that I could notice. Especially, when you swipe to the briefing page and back to the home screen. Sometimes, opening apps would have a minor delay (But not too noticeable), Maybe its just me nitpicking. However, despite this stutters, I find the current touchwiz smoother and faster. I may not like the color scheme of the stock UI. But hey, There is a theme store and all I did was download a stock android theme and I was good to go!
All in all, This is the best Samsung has to offer and certainly one of the best phones ever made IMHO. It has appeal and power to be on the top.
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Scores
As for the scores, Please take notes that these scores are personally given and its only based on my opinions! if you do disagree in some cases, No need to be hostile! This is just an unbiased and real life review on the phones listed!
The Score System would be out of 10 and the categories would be: Screen, Camera and Batterylife
* Oppo Find 7A
Screen: 6
Camera: 7
Batterylife: 5
* Nokia Lumia 1520
Screen: 7
Camera: 8
Batterylife: 9
* LG G3 f400k (Korean Variant)
Screen: 8
Camera: 6
Batterylife: 4
* Oneplus One
Screen: 6.5
Camera: 5
Batterylife: 7
* Samsung Galaxy S6 edge Plus
Screen: 10
Camera: 10
Batterylife: 5
* Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Screen: 7
Camera: 7
Batterylife: 7
* Sony Xperia Z2
Screen:6
Camera: 8
Batterylife: 8
* Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
Screen: 5
Camera: 6
Batterylife: 8.5
* iPhone 6s Plus
Screen: 7
Camera: 9
Batterylife: 10
* iPhone 5s
Screen: 5
Camera: 7
Batterylife: 4
* iPhone 5c
Screen: 5
Camera: 6
Batterylife: 4
* iPhone 4s
Screen: 5
Camera: 6
Batterylife: 3
* iPhone 4
Screen: 4
Camera: 4
Batterylife: 3
* iPhone 3gs
Screen: 3
Camera: 2
Batterylife: 2
UPDATE
* Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Screen: 10
Camera: 10
Batterylife: 9.5
Thank you for having some time to read this long reviews! Hope I helped you on deciding some of the phones you will get in the list! If you have any questions, Feel free to PM me or Directly Comment!
Good day to you istoryans and God Bless!
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