New year - new phone - a smart one - a not-so smart consumer

You should look into buying a galaxy note 4! it's basically a phablet (Phone thats big enough to work as a tablet)

1 it has a large on screen keyboard
2 I don't know the exact camera specs, but I do know that it's very decent
3 with android it's incredibly easy to upload pics on the web
4 not exactly sure on the note but when I plug in my galaxy s4 my computer acts as if it's a usb thumb drive and I can easily copy over my files!
5 Never really looked into travel stuff, but as the saying goes "theres usually a app for that"
6 If my grandmother can operate a android smart phone so can you!
7 I'm not sure what bandwith you can get in America but here in Australia I barely use 1 gb from my plan!
8 You can get that setup easily
9 avg anti-virus is available on android devices
10 My phone lasts me the whole day and I am a power user! the note should give alot more battery life than my phone though

Try to stay away from long lasting (12 months+) contracts if you can

 

I don't know of a phone that has a slide out keyboard and also functions as a smartphone.

You might have better luck with a larger phone with bigger size on-screen keys - most new phones are going bigger, so you'll have a lot of options. I would recommend Android since it's more customizable - you can give it an uncluttered look. Some Android phones (the nexus and motorola models for sure) allow you to swipe the keyboard to type. I find that a lot easier than thumb typing actually - you might want to try this. It takes a little practice, but it's surprisingly accurate. If you want to go simple, I'd recommend something closer to "pure" Android. Google just came out with a 6" nexus model if you do want to go bigger, and motorola has some cheaper options that are close to pure Android and will be simpler than the HTC and Samsung models.

1. QWERTY keyboard that slides out (I still can't see how people with medium sized fingers race on a touch screen when texting) unless you can convince me otherwise

Probably not going to happen on a smartphone
2. A decent camera
Look for a camera that says 8mp
3. Easy ability to upload photos

All smartphones that I know of will do this
4. Ability to transfer photos easily to home computer as well

This is also standard for smartphones
5. Stuff for travel such as a travel alarm and international talk capacity

International talk will have to do with your specific plan - you should talk to your service provider. There are dozens of alarm apps that can be customized in any way possible.
6. Uncluttered look and screen so I'm not bewildered / easy to work any apps

You might have to rearrange things yourself to make it uncluttered, but it's definitely possible.
7. Internet functionality (how much space/capacity should a low end user get? - they threw out different numbers at the store and they meant nothing to me)

If you don't plan on watching videos and streaming music over the 3g/4g connection, you don't really need much. I have a 5gb plan which is really low and I never get anywhere near it just using the browser and checking email. I use wifi for the heavier things
8. Shortcuts for dialing, especially while driving

I'm sure this is possible on most phones
9. Virus security

You would have to purchase this separately
10. Good battery life/easy charging/hard to damage

Invest in a good phone case. Smartphones are all easily damaged. Battery life will probably not last longer than a day even on the better phones. I usually charge every evening.

 

I'm not too tech savvy myself, but I will warn you. If you walk out of the store with a windows phone just as soon as you get outside throw that piece of shit as far as you can. Then go back inside and get a good phone.

 

Give me your budget and I will give you an accurate answer.

Oh and also, do you like big phones (which could solve your issue with keyporads btw, but are not very portable and forget about using your phone with one hand for most things), medium sized phones or small(ish) phones?

I disagree, but that's not what we came here to discuss so let's just leave it at that.

 

The OP said that they wanted a phone that is easy to share pics. I am currently on a windows phone and can tell you that it is a frigging nightmare. Sure if you want to post a pic to a big social media site (Facebook, twitter, ECT) it works fine, but if you want to post a pic here I have to use my imagur app. I have to upload the pic to the app and it gives you a list of URLs (several sizes) that I have to figure out which one is not too small to upload here. I like to sell a few things on that list site that the mods always delete the name of. If I want to upload a pic there I have to email it to myself then upload it to a computer so I can upload it to the site. These are pics I personally took on my phone that I paid for and it won't let me share them as I like.

Most of the apps you want will be released for IPhone or Android and 6 months later they will finally release a cheap knockoff that works half ass.

It's not that the phone itself is junk, it's that the peripheral support makes it so that about the only things that a windows phone is good for are talking, texting, and seeing how far you can throw a cell phone.

 

Disclaimer: some probably worthless thoughts from someone who has never owned a smart phone because he does not like his phone to be smarter than he is. :lol:

Disclaimer aside: one issue that I think is worth considering is the question of how long the phone will get supported with software updates. It appears that Android updates can be spotty from what I hear, varying even with a company's line of phones. Sometimes there will be good updates, and other times what you get when you buy the phone is what you are stuck with forever. Others may have better advice on this issue (e.g. specific companies), but I have heard of people going with Google Nexus just because it's a Google product and more likely to get long term support. Another plus to Nexus: at least in the past, it seems to me that line was a more "pure" Android. A lot of people hated the tweaks made to Android in other phone lines IIRC.

One may ask why updates matter? Two reasons: updates can fix security holes that malware could take advantage of. Plus newer apps might require a newer version of Android.