which smartphone?

crispy1980

right, the missus has decided that she would like a smart phone for the first time. as im having another bike i cant moan too much! she mainly wants it for surfing the web plus the usual phone stuff. it is the first smartphone she has had so needs to be pretty esasy to use. i also want to use the gps function to track my cycling routes etc. looking at reviews im thinking that the best bet would either be samsung galaxy s3, sony xperia s or iphone 4 . trouble with the iphone is that the monthly costs seem to be more for the same level of data/minutes/texts than the android based phones? what would be your recommendations from the above? ( or any other you could recommend) cheers, chris

ps alos on experience, how much data per month should i be allowing for general web access?

redvee

I've got a generous 1Gb/month data with my contract and use approx 1/4 of that currently as when I'm home I use the wifi and also when I out, so a 500mb package should suffice but get an app that records the data usage so you know how much you've used as the networks do charge a lot for going over the allowances.

crispy1980

the deal ive seen is for the galaxy s3 with 300 mins, unlimited texts plus 750mb of data so im guessing this would really be plenty?

TheEnglishman

I got an iPhone and a giff gaff pay as you go thing. It's great and I'm saving a fortune over the previous contract

iPhones rock - the office management have just switche from android to iPhone and all report much better battery life

If you really want 'functionality' just jailbreak the iPhone if thats your thing

allthegearnoidea

hahah! iphones and good battery life!!
being quite honest here, iphones are Supremely easy to use, pretty much anyone can pick one up and use it, they are the Fashionable phone of the time, if you have apple computers etc at home then they are great, easy to sync etc. if you dont then i'd rellay not look at one! allt he music really needs itunes to load it on properly etc. and also NO expandable memory,
the latest androids have fantastic screens, there are plenty of apps out there for them too (why the number of available apps is so important i dont know! ), even many usefull ones!! most android phones come with a memory card so drag and drop files is easily done, and also they are updateable to new software easilt too, unlike being tied into apple's and apple's only!

essentially all these touch phones are multimedia tools with the ability to make calls from them, (the iphone is Essentially an Ipod Touch with the ability to make phone calls!!) i'm a blackberryist at heart, but wouldnt recommend them to first time smart phoners, blackberrys are Communication tools (The best platform for mobile messaging!) with the ability to use multimedia and they pretty much always will be, have a nose at the Tesco phone shops as they have some Great deals on the android handsets, otherwise you'll be looking at close to £40/Month for a Iphone,

crispy1980

im pretty sure im swaying towards the samsung galaxy. big selling point of the sony is the camerawhich isgreat, but think the overall samsung wins out! ive rang o2 who the contract is currently with, and they cant touch the deal ive already posted? even t mobile cant match it and the deal is with them asa provider! seems odd to me that the big companies cant match the third parties with their own networks.

oodboo

I recently got a new smartphone. The wife has had an iphone 4s for a couple of months and she likes it but I couldn't get on with it. I had a Sony Xperia X10i before and this time I've gone for the HTC One S. I didn't want the huge screen of the One X or the SIII, smartphones are getting too big. Ok it means I didn't get a quad core precessor but I'm not bothered as I don't use my phone for games or media much. One selling point for me was the ability to take photos while recording video. The phone runs fast enough for me (better than my xperia) and does everything I want it to (web, email, facebook, etc).

Before I bougtht the iphone for the missus I took her to some shops where she could have a play with one and compare it to the andriod offerings. I bought her an ipad a few months ago as well so I think that was a big seller for the iphone as it's just a smaller version of what she's used to.

redvee

If you're after a sim only deal then giff gaff seem to be the way to go. I saw one users usage report of 6Gb data usage all for £10 month :shock:

bails87

I've got 1GB of data and usually get very close to using all of it. I use wifi at home, but 3g for twitter, the odd bit of web browsing and an occasionaly youtube video when I'm at work or otherwise out and about.

One 1-2 minute youtube video can (IME, not sure if it's a problem with me/my phone) use ~40 meg, which is more than your daily allowance is you spread 1GB over 30 days in a month. Likewise, I've opened a few twitpic links and that's used ~25mb of data through the browser, so today I've used 120% of my daily allowance....again :roll: Get loads of data because you'll use it if you've got a phone that allows you to.

adm1

If you're buying it for your wife.....and if she is anything like my wife - i.e. knows how to use a computer for day to day stuff, but that's about it, then iPhone 4S is the way to go.

Just make sure you have iTunes on her PC or Mac and she's sorted.

Our family have both Android and IPhones, and the iPhones are much easier for non-technical users than the Android devices. I am always having to support my sons' Android phones, but not once for my wife's iPhone.

I get all the "Android open source is better" arguments, but for the average non-technical user, the iPhone will most likely be a better user experience. Don't get swayed by tech specs, gigahertz, processor cores, etc.....remember who you are buying it for!

mrmonkfinger

adm1 wrote:

I am always having to support my sons' Android phones

do they mess around with the phone?

adding a few apps, mostly using the built-in stuff = no problems
rooting and installing a custom rom = problems

just my experience

adm1

mrmonkfinger wrote:

adm1 wrote:

I am always having to support my sons' Android phones

do they mess around with the phone?

adding a few apps, mostly using the built-in stuff = no problems
rooting and installing a custom rom = problems

just my experience

No rooting - mainly problems due to installing loads of (crappy) free apps that don't always work well. Running out of memory, needing to move stuff to SD card, problems synching media, having to terminate apps stuck running in the background. All kinds of things really...

I also have an Android phone and an iPhone. Although I have personally never had any problem with the Android, I just don't like the look and feel of it as much as the iPhone. Of course, I am a Mac user who also has an iPad, so I am bought into the whole ecosystem and am of course somewhat biased!

karlbrewster

iPhone man. It's more user friendly & like they all say, battery lasts longer.

oodboo

karlbrewster wrote:

iPhone man... , battery lasts longer.

Longer than what? And if it does then that's only because of it's piddly little screen.

I easily get a days use (including about 3 hours of strava tracking) out of my phone and you can expect to need to charge a smartphone every night if you use it. Whenever I see a friends iphone it's on charge.

allthegearnoidea

I get a day out of my berry Torch with a days Hard use, will stretch it to 2 days if I don't play with it and leave it just for emails etc.
The peeps I know with I's as soon as they get in the car its on charge!

Most smartphones now adays are recommended to charge overnight, its just the way they are, mini computers, and battery technology now means it doesn't effect them half so much as it used to charging when not flat!

TheEnglishman

smart phone battery life really is dependent on how much functionality you have on all the time. If you really *need* push mail, GPS apps tracking your every move and you watch back to back films in the train in then yes, the battery life will be pants. If not, and I guess you may well not, then it can be quite good.

I run Cyclemeter and a heart rate monitor for 60 mins each day and make a few calls and surf the web a bit and easily get a day, possibly more out of the thing.

Collegues at work say their Android phones have significantly worse battery life than the iPhones that replaced them. I can only go by that as I've only ever had an iPhone.

schlepcycling

redvee wrote:

If you're after a sim only deal then giff gaff seem to be the way to go. I saw one users usage report of 6Gb data usage all for £10 month :shock:

I bought my Galaxy S3 outright and went with a giff gaff sim, I was able to port my number from my previous contract and for £10 a month I get 250 mins, unlimited texts and unlimited internet, they also don't charge for calling freephone numbers from your mobile, it's run on the o2 network.

mrmonkfinger

Blimey, some of you really charge every day? I get 2 or sometimes even 3 days out of mine, if I'm not messing about on the net to much, or using GPS (which I don't very much).

bails87

On what phone?

mrmonkfinger

HTC Desire. It's used for some texts, the odd call, a bit of web browsing (I'm not a Facebook/Twatter addict).

I have an overnight powersave widget set up, but that's about it.


Edit: Using GPS or web intensively, then I'm down to about a day.

crispy1980

well i pretty much have made my mind up on the samsung. in all honesty its probably way more advanced than we need at the mo but its got to last two years so im thinking top at the momnet to last. ive got it for £28.50 per month, free phone, 600 mins , unlimited texts and 1gb of data on orange network. thnik the iphone may have been better for ease of use but i dont linke the way that apple have you under there control

karlbrewster

oodboo wrote:

karlbrewster wrote:

iPhone man... , battery lasts longer.

Longer than what? And if it does then that's only because of it's piddly little screen.

I easily get a days use (including about 3 hours of strava tracking) out of my phone and you can expect to need to charge a smartphone every night if you use it. Whenever I see a friends iphone it's on charge.

It lasts longer than its closest rival - the Samsung galaxy S series. I fully agree the screen is less than impressive though.

montevideoguy

I have to say that the battery life on my One S is pretty damn good (can get a day and a half), and I love the form factor of it. I just wish there was removable storage and a better screen... and the option to revert to stock ICS without rooting and sticking a custom rom on it.

Also, for "gorilla glass", the screen scratches far too easy for my liking.

erinmills

i'm using Galaxy S3 & i'm quite pleased so far. Though they could use a little upgrade in the battery life department..

anj132

My wife recently got an S2 which worked out cheaper than the S3 and latest iphones, she didn't want to pay much over £20 a month. Similar iphone for price was the 3GS and doesn't really spec up to the S2. She wasn't keen on the size of the S2 at first - she had an xperia X10 mini pro before but now she loves it. It's great for fbook and the like.

crispy1980

had the phone for a week now and have to say it is excellent, does everything you want and more. as said, battery doesnt last too long but it does get some hammer. really pleased with it and would reccomend to anyone. also, some say that android is more difficult to use, well both me and the missus have never had one before but i we both find it pretty intuitive to use and have had no problems

lighty89

BlackBerry for me, Bold 9900.
Brilliant for communication.
No crap apps, just a phone that's quick and isnt meant for time-wasting (got my iPad for that)?

bluechair84

I've recently turned off data on my Defy which has increased battery life massively. I don't really need my phone to tell me when I have email as I'm close to a computer most of the time, I just turn it on when if I need to browse for something online. When it comes to strava, I can run it for hours and still have plenty of battery left now. I get over two days easily out of the phone having made this change.

grant64

crispy1980 wrote:

right, the missus has decided that she would like a smart phone for the first time. as im having another bike i cant moan too much! she mainly wants it for surfing the web plus the usual phone stuff. it is the first smartphone she has had so needs to be pretty esasy to use. i also want to use the gps function to track my cycling routes etc. looking at reviews im thinking that the best bet would either be samsung galaxy s3, sony xperia s or iphone 4 . trouble with the iphone is that the monthly costs seem to be more for the same level of data/minutes/texts than the android based phones? what would be your recommendations from the above? ( or any other you could recommend) cheers, chrisHome Voip

ps alos on experience, how much data per month should i be allowing for general web access?

At this point I say you wait another month until the iPhone 5 comes out and then evaluate your choices then.

Thanks,

Grant

allthegearnoidea

And then you'll be on £40+ a month +£200+ for the handset and not necccesarily have a better handset!!

oodboo

grant64 wrote:

At this point I say you wait another month until the iPhone 5 comes out and then evaluate your choices then.

Thanks,

Grant

Or you could read the thread and see that he already got the Galaxy SIII.