Phone upgrade time.

97th choice

My current vodafone contract is up so I'm looking at phone choices.

Currently I have a nokia N8 which has been a great bit of kit apart from the obvious crappy OS.

Things I do with my phone - text, phone, email, sat nav, endomondo, camera, browse internet, facebook etc.

I don't do much internet stuff with the nokia because the browser and screen size is poor. Same reason for lack of apps usage.

Two iphones in the house already so tempted by the 4s.

Suggestions?

dantheman1979

If your after something with a better screen size i wouldn't look at the 4s as it has a 3.5" screen like your N8 albeit with a higher resolution. Maybe consider an iphone 5 or if you want an even bigger screen one of the top end android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, Nexus 4.

BigLee1

Samsung Galaxy S3, what a fantastic bit of kit that is My gf has an N8 and she`s getting an S3 in a couple of weeks so we`ve been doing research on phones recently.

97th choice

What made you decide on the S3?

Greer_

I'm looking at getting a Nokia Lumia 800 - just because I like the look of it, and the screensize isn't HUGE! No strava on windows phones though so it looks like i'll be converting to endomondo!

The Northern Monkey

Greer_ wrote:

I'm looking at getting a Nokia Lumia 800 - just because I like the look of it, and the screensize isn't HUGE! No strava on windows phones though so it looks like i'll be converting to endomondo!

Nope, just get the gpx tracker and upload the route from your pc to Strava.
Endomondo kills my wp7 battery..

Greer_

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Greer_ wrote:

I'm looking at getting a Nokia Lumia 800 - just because I like the look of it, and the screensize isn't HUGE! No strava on windows phones though so it looks like i'll be converting to endomondo!

Nope, just get the gpx tracker and upload the route from your pc to Strava.
Endomondo kills my wp7 battery..

Thanks for that does the gps lock on quickly enough etc? Any other problems you've noticed with windows phones?

winter_zombie

hi

i have the HTS one S its got a geat screen,great cam, the apps are great and because its android you can add third party apps if you want

im on 3, simply because they can offer me 500 mins, unlimited texs and unlimited data for £25 a month

depending on were you go for your phone/contract you can get a few pounds off per month just by paying via direct debit insted of a paper bill.
i have been going to http://www.buymobilephones.net for about 6 years now, depending on your phone/contract you can also get free gifts. i had a xbox 360 with kinect free with my girlfriends phone,thats because she dident want anything too fancy but a good contract

Thewaylander

Google nexus 4 if it ever comes back in stock. you just can't touch it at the price.

You have to look via google play.

The Northern Monkey

Greer_ wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Greer_ wrote:

I'm looking at getting a Nokia Lumia 800 - just because I like the look of it, and the screensize isn't HUGE! No strava on windows phones though so it looks like i'll be converting to endomondo!

Nope, just get the gpx tracker and upload the route from your pc to Strava.
Endomondo kills my wp7 battery..

Thanks for that does the gps lock on quickly enough etc? Any other problems you've noticed with windows phones?

Gpx tracker seems more accurate than endomondo ever was!

Only downsides the WP is they are less custoisable and the tiles can get annoying if you use too many.
I'm not a fan of the Facebook integration either and I still forget how to find my phone book after 2 years lol!
Also,anything in the 'store' is double the cost of android/apple and you don't get the same variety of apps - there is a lot missing...

I won't be getting another, Android for me next.

AllezGaz

I've gone from iphone 4 to Galaxy S3. Superb bit of kit

angry_bird

I'd steer clear of a windows phone, housemate has one that runs it and it's shite, he's just waiting until he can upgrade and get Android seeing as he doens't like Apple, at all, except iPods, because everything is overpriced junk. But yeah Android or Apple are the best bets. If you're going Android I'd try and get the Galaxy S3, other housemate has one and it's proper good.

Personally I'm very happy with my iPhone 4, decided to keep it and not bother upgrading once the time came.

Greer_

But the S3 is HUUUUGEEE!!! I've seen smaller tablets

sanchez89

Greer_ wrote:

But the S3 is HUUUUGEEE!!! I've seen smaller tablets

agreed. my contract is up in the new year but the choice of replacements is epic. and all of the batterys are cack!!

i thought my blackberry was bad for only lasting 2-3days. some of these cant even manage 24 hours!

have a look at the galaxy s2. smaller than the s3 and still decent apparently, but obviously bit older so it wont be acceptable by the 'cool kids' standards. :shock:

lugsey2k5

S2 is a bit naff. Battery life is very poor on it.
I have the s3 and as long as you dont have tiny hands the screen size isnt a problem. People complain its huge but iv never had an issue with it being to big in my pocket and the bigger screen just makes everything better.

Battery life is about a day which is the same on all smart phones except the Motorola razor.

sanchez89

lugsey2k5 wrote:

S2 is a bit naff. Battery life is very poor on it.
I have the s3 and as long as you dont have tiny hands the screen size isnt a problem. People complain its huge but iv never had an issue with it being to big in my pocket and the bigger screen just makes everything better.

Battery life is about a day which is the same on all smart phones except the Motorola razor.

now you see thats the opposite of what iv heard, you could easily get a couple of days from it using it normally, i.e not messing with it every 15 seconds.

how you find the S3 buddy? my mate has one and i can always see him stretching his thumb about to reach the top corners of the screen, the battery life and call quality good on it?

lugsey2k5

Girl friend has the s2 and its lucky to last a day although the battery is starting to go.

I have relatively large hands so phone size isn't a problem but a know a few girls with the phone and they dont have problems either. Tried friends lumia 920 the other day and its a much larger and heavier phone while still having a smaller screen.

I love my s3. Does everything i need, call quality is very good, battery lasts a day easily but would last longer with more features turned off etc.

dantheman1979

The juice defender app works well on android phones for improving battery life.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... cedefender
Also with the galaxy s2 and s3 and many other android phones the battery is easily replaceable you can just carry a spare when your out and about and swap it when needed.

allthegearnoidea

if your worried about battery life then dont go apple, the batteries in any of the phones they prduce just hasnt been upto scratch, pretty much all the other big hitters have a replaceable battery, and as hese types of phones are all basically more powerful than a computer 10 years ago, they do get a little bit stuck hre and there and need a quick battery pull here and there,
the latest androids are awesome phones, crackng screen clarity, plenty of apps, great OS and plenty of development fr them!!

snowjho

I'm hoping to go google nexus 4. Amazing value for money. o2 offered me it for free for 2 years on £31 a month. But at only £279 upfront and then a £10 sim from Tesco on 30 day rolling contract I declined. Just waiting for it to come back into stock......

Have been tempted by the Motorola RAZAi. Does seem like a sensible size for a mobile phone. In the flesh it feels like a nice device.

cicatriz

I got a Galaxy S2 about 4 months ago. Chose it over the S3 due to the more practical size. No problems with battery life for normal usage provided Wi-Fi, GPS etc are switched off when not needed it lasts about two and a half days. It lasts about a day and a half with heavy usage, YouTube, iPlayer etc. It was a deal through 3 for £25 a month, all you can eat data, 500 minutes, 5000 texts, 2000 3 to 3 minutes too.

jonomc4

Had a new iphone 5 bought for me at Christmas - TBH not a major jump between the iPhone 4 and the 5 other than screen size / siri and a little faster. I would save yourself £300 and bet a 4s on ebay over the £580 for a new iPhone 5. For me having a bigger screen is not a major concern - it just means the phone takes up more pocket space.

If you buy the phone outright you can get some great sim only deals (e.g. 2000 minutes, unlimited texts and data all for £20 a month). It is many years since I last had a contract - plus I love being able to change providers at the drop of a hat if I want to - I don't have to put up with poor call centres or long waits or poor rececption - I just flip to someone who does it better.

Daz555

S3 - blimey. With the latest update Samsung have taken this to a new level. Applications can now be tiled in separate windows for proper multitasking - has been available on Note for a while but Samsung sticking it on the S3 was a very nice surprise.

unquestioned

Lumia 920? I went to an EE shop that used to be orange & bought one outright for £330, I think they have the new HTC wp8 phones & other lumias aswell but cheaper since the 920 is the awesome.

newbie_biker

I used to have a HTC Desire and that thing was ultra reliable, never had one fault with it. After a couple years it was getting kinda dated so about three months ago I got a S3. It's a good phone but has a bunch of features on it that I'll probably never use.

The full HD screen is very nice and the picture in picture feature is pretty cool but to this day I still love my HTC.

My sister has the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and when you put the S3 and the Note side by side, the Note dwarfs the S3 in comparison.

Greer_

See I have an HTC desire and hate it! Battery life is terrible, internal memory for installing apps on is shockingly bad, and the gps is really slow as well!

Daz555

Greer_ wrote:

See I have an HTC desire and hate it! Battery life is terrible, internal memory for installing apps on is shockingly bad, and the gps is really slow as well!

Root it and mod it and you can pick and choose the software you want installed, overclock it etc, and of course get loads of space for installing apps.

Everything you need to know is here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594

I use this ROM on my old Desire - like night and day compared to stock:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594

newbie_biker

Greer_ wrote:

See I have an HTC desire and hate it! Battery life is terrible, internal memory for installing apps on is shockingly bad, and the gps is really slow as well!

I sold my Desire just after I got my S3 and the girl who bought it from me said she loves it, I also have a friend who went from a HTC Desire to a S3 and when I asked what he thought of the Desire he told me he thought it was a great phone.

I will admit battery life was quite dismal but all Desires were like that, I can honestly say I never had a fault with that phone, it was a solid bit of kit. For some strange reason I'm not attached to my S3 the way I was to my HTC.

I always do my research before getting a new phone, personally I think techradar.com have the best reviews since they do a thorough analysis of nearly every aspect of the new phones out on the market.

snoopsmydogg

I had an old desire and after having it repaired 4 times I lost faith in it, 2 frozen screens/crashes, a software issue and a speaker that gave up (sounded like the person on the other end was underwater). TBH I was glad to see the back of it in the end, the only good thing on mine was the battery life.

Traded it for a S2 and it has been great so far but only about 6 months in so time will tell. The one thing that bugs me is the battery life, I am lucky to get 10 hours from a full charge. It gets used for calls and a little web browsing but wifi, bluetooth and gps are normally switched off so looks like a bigger battery from evil bay is on the cards.

97th choice

Got my hands on a lumia 920 to try today, bit of a beast but fast and loaded with goodies.

I can't get past the lack of decent apps available in windows markplace though.

newbie_biker

Greer_ wrote:

But the S3 is HUUUUGEEE!!! I've seen smaller tablets

Actually, the Galaxy's size is easy to adjust to. Put the S3 next to a Galaxy Note 2 and the S3 will seem small in comparison.