[General Questions and Answers] kngdmond:
I'm currently with Sprint and looking to upgrade my phone. Please keep in mind this is coming from a person who has NEVER owned a smartphone and still uses a dumb-phone from 3 years ago.

My phone choices are:

IPhone 5c or 5s

Samsung G S3

Samsung G S4

Samsung Note II

LG Optimous G

HTC One

I've read a half a dozen reviews to see which phone is most practical but most reviews offer mediocre or biased opinions. I would like to see what other people with similar interests think.

My wife just got an IPhone 5c and I really dislike it and is out of the question. I love Android.

I don't make many phone calls, rarely text, and I'm not addicted to social media, games or YouTube. I would describe myself as as a tinkerer. I'm also a person who doesn't care about trends or having the coolest new phone. I know the new LG and Note III are coming out soon but my experience with new cutting edge technology is a headache, and I don't use a phone enough to justify spending $300+.

These are the things I'm looking for:

Root without Sprint blocking or bricking the phone.

Painless tether method without getting blocked or penalized.

Good support, updates from the manufacturer and lots of ROM/MODs.

I like taking pictures so a phone that can take quality pictures & vids.

The ability to play newer games if I decided to play one.

The ability to stream video from Plex media server or other service.

A phone that doesn't fall apart after a week of use.

Ability to safely use credit card charging device and app.

I looked at:

Samsung G S4 (seriously thinking about this one)

Like - big screen, SD card support, 13mp camera, and removable battery.

Dislike - it is big and a little awkward to hold, tight fit into a pocket, Stock OS bloatware.

HTC One

Like - it is smaller & can fit in a pocket, thin OS like my tablet, rich deep colors.

Dislike - heard that the manufacturer rarely updates, no SD slot, 4mp camera, and non-removable battery (nothing a soldering iron can't solve)

LG Optimus G

Like - its $99, 13mp camera, SD slot

Dislike - Sprint sales person said it was a cheap POS, and said it had little support.

Samsung Note II - I only looked at this because it supports pressure sensitive stylus.

I just don't want to buy and get stuck with a POS.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

---------- Post added at 12:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:15 PM ----------

The Hisense Sero 7 Pro is a decent tablet for $129. Comparable to the Nexus 7 gen 1. It is rooted and runs CWM recovery. Unfortunately there are not many custom ROMs due to the lack of sources from the manufacturer. They say they're going to release sources. Jelly Bean 4.3 is supposed to released this fall. They have made 3 updates since May of 2013. There is a build.prop tweak that tricks the tablet to think its a Nexus 7 and had no issues getting games to run such as Asphalt 8. Supports Google store. After rooting I'm able to use a 64 gb sd card. I play guitar and plug my tablet into my POD XTLive and it works great. Good all around multipurpose tablet...I don't regret buying it. But if you want mass support and lots of ROMs, then I would stick with big name brands.