Question Mobile phone choice.

[Notebook]

My Motorola VS3688 is getting a bit dodgy now(battery life), and things have moved on a bit since the mid 90's...

Looking at all the shiny new smartphones in the shops, and wondering if I need all those features?
Prices vary from £20 to £400 in the UK, I'll probably end up in the bottom third.

Anyone have any strong views or experiences on the current choice?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

If you really only need a phone, you can get some very good smartphones with recent android for less than 150€ . But if you expect to make use of the many many apps, investing a few Euro more is sure a good idea. No need for a top class model, but the upper middle has already great tools. I got myself a Samsung Galaxy S3 when I needed one, but that was pretty expensive - and powerful. Not sure if I really use it. Unless I activate skype on it, the battery lasts 2-3 days on it.

 

[insanity]

I'm a big fan of both the iPhone and the Galaxy. In your case, I think an older iPhone, particularly the 3Gs or the 4 are strong contenders for a good buy. It's an intuitive interface and it is not feature overkill, but they are sleek and modern.

 

[Ghostrider]

Get one with as much onboard RAM as possible. Yes, you can put many apps on the SD card but not all support this, and there's nothing as frustrating as having a massively powerful palmtop computer with a cellphone thrown in as a passing thought (which is what smartphones basically are) and having to cope with ZX-80 grade memory issues.

 

[Notebook]

4G is just coming out in the UK, doubt if I need anything so fast.
The V3 uses 2G and its always been fast enough for me, but I'm a slow thinker/talker.
The Samsung range do look good, and so do the Nokia, IPhones, HTC and so on.

Never sent a text, received a few, and just phone back. Never got into texts, or facebook. twitter, skype. Too old to change now...!

However, I'm not a complete luddite, and have been seduced by those bright colourful hi-res screens, and the web browsing. I didn't think I would use my netbook as much as I do. Thought the screen and kbd would be too small.

Next week-end is the purchase time, so....

N.

 

[streb2001]

I think I will be getting my wife a Nokia Lumia 620 for her birthday. Looks like a lot of phone for the money.

 

[hedzup456]

I recommend the Samsung Galaxy Ace/ Ace 2. They are what I use; if you won't use apps as much, go for the Ace, if you will, I recommend the Ace 2.
~H

 

[Screamer7]

I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 for 4 months now and never regret buying one.
The screen is huge, have a good battery life and is powerful.
The voice calls is crystal clear and maybe sometimes too loud on full volume.
The GPS is really impressive and very fast.
From the moment I switch the GPS on to locate my position took about 5 seconds outdoors.
Indoors it take about 10 seconds.
The WI-FI radio is excellent.
I receive a signal from my Wireless router (Dentra) indoors trough 4 walls, with a distance of about 20 meters without problems.
I rarely use it's Bluetooth radio.
And it is customizable.
I can change the screens with what ever I want.
And to crown it all there is a lot of apps on the Google Play.
And many of them are for free.
So, if you can afford it, buy the S3......wait a moment, the S4 is due out sometime in this week.
Just one cautionary note about the S3....buy a protective casing that can flip open and close.
Mine have a magnetic strip that close the strip holding the case .
Although the glass is scratch resistance, it can scratch if you are not taking care..
I tried to scratch a broken S3 glass with a very sharp knife, and it just do not scratch.
And never drop it.......you will almost certainty crack the screen.
Ask my friend.:facepalm:
The only downfall is the PC to Smartphone software.
Do not bother installing Kies.......it is a PITA.
Instead use something else or Windows Explorer. I use "My Phone Explorer"

Otherwise looking for the Nokia range.
They also make good phones.

Oh yes the memory of the S3 can also be expanded to a max of 64 GB with a micro SD card.
The camera is a 8 MP, with HD video recording which in my opinion is suburb.

 

[sitha241]

I have Samsung Galaxy S plus..and it is very nice phone..Great memory (8 GB),decent amount of RAM and 5 MP camera..
I flashed android Jelly Bean on it and now it is a beast..
But depending on what you need like Urwumpe said up to 150 euros you can get great phone..

 

[worir1]

I have an s2 and if your not wanting to spend too much this phone is good. Its cheaper team the s3. Its got an 8 mega pixel camera full 1080p video recorder. Its quite fast. I also recommend you get it on a contract where you get an upgrade phone every 12 months or around. That way you will always be up to date with the latest technology.

 

[Quick_Nick]

Get one with as much onboard RAM as possible. Yes, you can put many apps on the SD card but not all support this, and there's nothing as frustrating as having a massively powerful palmtop computer with a cellphone thrown in as a passing thought (which is what smartphones basically are) and having to cope with ZX-80 grade memory issues.

It's interesting to note that the U.S. version of the Galaxy S3 has twice as much RAM as the international version, but half as many cores. Overall they perform about the same, but I would like the think the U.S. version that I have is best. The RAM really is used, while I don't think you need more than two cores for anything other than draining your battery. I would be the first to put my devices to their limits but I just can't find practical uses for more than two cores in a smartphone.
My previous phone was more limited by RAM than its puny processor. Eventually I had to employ a task-killer just to get the thing to respond ten minutes after starting up. (I had over 100 apps and the worst RAM-offenders like to start automatically...)

 

[Hartmann]

I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 for 4 months now and never regret buying one.
The screen is huge, have a good battery life and is powerful.
The voice calls is crystal clear and maybe sometimes too loud on full volume.
The GPS is really impressive and very fast.
From the moment I switch the GPS on to locate my position took about 5 seconds outdoors.
Indoors it take about 10 seconds.
The WI-FI radio is excellent.
I receive a signal from my Wireless router (Dentra) indoors trough 4 walls, with a distance of about 20 meters without problems.
I rarely use it's Bluetooth radio.
And it is customizable.
I can change the screens with what ever I want.
And to crown it all there is a lot of apps on the Google Play.
And many of them are for free.
So, if you can afford it, buy the S3......wait a moment, the S4 is due out sometime in this week.
Just one cautionary note about the S3....buy a protective casing that can flip open and close.
Mine have a magnetic strip that close the strip holding the case .
Although the glass is scratch resistance, it can scratch if you are not taking care..
I tried to scratch a broken S3 glass with a very sharp knife, and it just do not scratch.
And never drop it.......you will almost certainty crack the screen.
Ask my friend.:facepalm:
The only downfall is the PC to Smartphone software.
Do not bother installing Kies.......it is a PITA.
Instead use something else or Windows Explorer. I use "My Phone Explorer"

Otherwise looking for the Nokia range.
They also make good phones.

Oh yes the memory of the S3 can also be expanded to a max of 64 GB with a micro SD card.
The camera is a 8 MP, with HD video recording which in my opinion is suburb.

I have a S3 and i´m agree with all

A very good choice

 

[Eccentrus]

It depends, if you already have a tablet, a smartphone would not add much to the functionality, especially if you already a have a good tablet with 3G, but otherwise I suggest like many, and if you have the monies, S3, HTC-One X, or if you are nokia-aligned, a Lumia

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Heh. I'm still using a 4-year-old flip phone. Battery's conking out pretty quick now, but I just need to make it to summer. I plan on getting a PHONE, not a portable computer. I'll get a laptop for on-the-go processing (and at-home, too, but that's beside the point!)

 

[Eccentrus]

Heh. I'm still using a 4-year-old flip phone. Battery's conking out pretty quick now, but I just need to make it to summer. I plan on getting a PHONE, not a portable computer. I'll get a laptop for on-the-go processing (and at-home, too, but that's beside the point!)

well then, the new Nokia budget lineup was certainly made for you! :tiphat:

 

[Ghostrider]

The camera is a 8 MP, with HD video recording which in my opinion is suburb.

Yeah, nothing like filming the 'burbs. That's where desperate housewives dwell. And the Klopeks. :lol:

 

[Notebook]

Virgin Mobile, my current pay-as you go mob, are doing a BlackBerry Curve 9320 for £7.50 p/month for 6 months, then £15 p/m.

looks a good deal, and it might convert me to Blackberry, or not.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

You know, in London you can be arrested for being caught typing on a BlackBerry in the wrong neighborhood.

(As use of BlackBerrys was considered as organizing the last riots)

What I dislike on BlackBerry is their terrible obsolescence. They had been first in doing good smartphones and then they got lazy and all technology rushed past them. Their new models solve some problems there, but are still lagging behind technology.

 

[Notebook]

Yes, read some reviews and its a bit....dull. However, it could be a good starting point for me. Last time I was in a phone shop was 10+ years ago. If I don't keep my wits about me I could end up with a IPhone 5 two year contract! Always good to have a fall-back plan.

Not sure about lackberyy, no one has mentioned them so far. The virgin deal is cheap, and if I just run it for six months, its less than two pints of Stells Artois a month, I can get through that in a day!

N.

 

[ADSWNJ]

Interesting to see this 'post-Apple' world playing out. If you had asked this question say 2 years ago, I'm sure this whole thread would have been about iPhones.

One thing to think about with your phone choice is how much you want it to integrate with other devices you own or may want to own. Simple choices ... Apple ecosystem (iPad + iPhone + MacBook), Android ecosystem (Samsung choices plus lots more), Microsoft ecosystem (e.g. Nokia Lumia 820 + Surface + PC). There's value in the integration of these ecosystem components. E.g. I was surprised how tightly my Win 8 PC and my Surface interconnect, and despite having multiple iPhones for a number of years now, I have seen others with the Lumia 820 and showing how natural that interaction is as well. Enough for me to look closely at a Win phone for next time.

I guess just be your own person, not swayed by fads and fashions, nor by hype. Go find a few phone shops and ask them lots of questions about those three ecosystems (Apple, Android, Microsoft), and see what you like.