I currently have a Sony Xperia Arc android phone on SIM only but the phone is starting to tire, getting slow, not enough memory for apps etc. I currently pay £16.50 a month with O2.
For £22 a month I can get a new Samsung Galaxy S3 however I know the S4 is now out. From about £32 a month I can get
Iphone 5
HTC 1
Xperia Z
Samsung S4
Anyone went through this process recently and if so what was the end choice?
Is Samsung S4 worth an extra ten quid over an S3?
Other than the iphone, all the phones mentioned are bigger than my Xperia Arc which I am not really sure I want to go to!
Thoughts?
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I've got no regrets with my Xperia Z - bit big if you like your phones small, but for multimedia it is really good - great screen size and full HD. Biggest problem is short battery life, listening to some music and playing a game on the 90 min journey to work sometime uses 30% of battery, so you wouldn't want one if you can't regularly charge it. It has covers over all orifices to enable the waterproofing which is a bit of a faff until you get used to it.
My other choice on spec would have been the S4 but I couldn't wait until they came out...
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Smokie what did you have before the Z ?
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An HTC Desire - used it for the best part if two years, also no complaints, but I prefer the Xperia for my current needs. I do end up spending hours on the train these days and use the phone to pass the time, so I've done some work recently to achieve media streaming from my home network (using Plex) and using the cloud to allow me plenty of fairly immediately available choice of what I spend my time listening to/watching. Also spent best part of three weeks in Florida in march where the phone was more than adequate as satnav and a still/video camera.
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Smokie, had a look at phones at lunchtime - I think the Z is definitely bigger than I want. However I can see exactly why it would be great for someone to view media, pass train journeys etc!
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Carphone Warehouse are doing iPhone 5 for £99 up front and £26 a month. 500 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data.
tinyurl.com/c7nu8no
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When you chose the Sony P-O-S I told you you would be back... Now do the right thing this time, like we told you last time, and get the Iphone.
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...or keep what you have and buy a second pair of shoes instead. Then you won't need the phone so much because people will stand close enough to hear you.
};---)
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He's got a point mind...
:-)
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Still got my new Clarks ones I got in the Xmas sale in their box - reckon my current shoes tread are prob enough to see through the Scottish summer . . . ahem
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New roadsign seen on the M8...
tinyurl.com/d4at4gj
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>> Other than the iphone, all the phones mentioned are bigger than my Xperia Arc
>>
Aha. I have an Xperia Arc S.
I'll be keeping it until somebody makes something similar. Ludicrously thin, very light, thoughtful added bits from Sony with minimal "cruft", runs most things well, decent camera and two full days of battery life(!)
Everything a smartphone should be[1] and Sony's current design team should be beaten to death with one.
[1] The only criticism I can levy against it is that it's very short on internal storage, but rooting and a copy of "Link2SD" sorts that out.
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Thats exactly my issue with the Arc now TeeCee, the internal memory is so low (estimates vary between 300-500MB) that when I have the Apps on it that I use regularly, I am constantly having to go in to delete data otherwise it is running out of memory.
Most apps don't seem to allow to be stored on SD Card.
Also find that the phone is generally running slow now, bit of delay between pressing buttons and anything happening.
Love the size and shape of the Arc and coincidentally, it is the exact same width as my ipod classic meaning that either phone or ipod can fit in the Brodit holder I have on my dash.
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>> Thats exactly my issue with the Arc now TeeCee, the internal memory is so low
>> (estimates vary between 300-500MB) that when I have the Apps on it that I use
>> regularly, I am constantly having to go in to delete data otherwise it is running
>> out of memory.
>> Most apps don't seem to allow to be stored on SD Card.
>>
1) Root it (there's a "single click" scripted tool to do it for these).
2) Install "Link2SD". A paid app but worth every penny.
Basically you partition your SD card (full instructions with the app) to provide a data partition (as seen now) and a smaller, software partition. Link2SD then moves the apps you choose to this and symbolically links them to the internal memory in the same place, so the OS cannot tell the difference. It can also be configured to move apps by default at installation / update time. I've partioned off 4 of my 32Gb SD card, which is actually too much.
I've also stopped using the native app2sd, on apps that support it, in favour of this as it makes the thing a heck of a sight more stable. ICS seems to have a cow if the functions of the OS itself are obliged to access an app placed on the SD card via conventional means.
Another thing it'll let you do is uninstall system apps. It's amazing how much extra grunt you get when all the Faceberk cruft is removed.
I've still got over 160Mb free, despite having well over 500Mb of user apps and associated data on it. Hmm, 207 hours uptime.....reboot....170+ now.
They slow up like they've hit a brick wall when the free space in internal storage gets tight.
Last edited by: TeeCee on Thu 16 May 13 at 13:50
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I have used the following (as has my son) and then gone the SIM only route. Mine was a Grade B with one slight mark on the top edge of my HTC One X. Has worked well for me.
www.smartfonestore.com/buy_product.aspx
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HTC One. Do try one. Excellent phone. Build quality and construction as good as any Apple product. The Samsung Galaxy S4 feels bigger (it isn't) and cheap. I don't think the phone misses out on having only a 4.65" display. I don't think it benefits from being full HD.
Camera is also quite good. You can't capture detail add its four megapixels. But very good in light light. Left to auto it is better than my Panasonic Lumix G2 on auto. A pleasant surprise. Got some good footage over here in Greece including Easter celebrations late at night. Auto slide shows good fun too. And the ability to take 3s video with photos too... Can then do some fun stuff like removing profile, selecting smiles from didn't sits for current purple, combining photos of moving things into one image. And it does slow motion video. And HDR video... List goes on.
Drop the HTC One from a height on a stone floor and the metal can pick up a few scraps but the screen should be okay... Sadly done that.
If this was an iPhone 6 hardware wiser, Apple fans would be pleased.
Also has 1.5GB+ RAM available. And quad core snapdragon 600 CPU. basically ARM 15 but Qualcomm design not ARM.
Downside... No SD card slot but you can plug in usb devices like sticks and card reader.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Wed 15 May 13 at 13:43
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Gentlemen use BlackBerrys. Iphones are for social climbers and Androids are, well, a bit like slip on shoes...
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I have a pair of slip on shoes, own a KIA, and my Samsung Android thing does more than I will ever need.
And I don't give a toss what anyone thinks. :-)
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It is good not to have to care. :-)
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I have heard that's what happens eventually. :-)
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>> I have heard that's what happens eventually. :-)
>>
Eventually?
Mrs madf accused me of never caring ...:-)
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>> I have heard that's what happens eventually. :-)
>>
Don't worry you will grow out of the i-gadget, car badge, fashion, marketing victim stuff. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 16 May 13 at 07:58
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Colleague in work has just got the HTC One and speaks highly of it though they have went down the Apple route with no SD slot and no access to battery etc?
Read a review of the new S4 and they said it wasn't as good as the HTC One.
But they are big and do they pass the "front pocket of the Jeans test", especially once you put a gel cover or similar on it?
I guess my phone use is as following:
to talk to people - so ease of accessing numbers to call is important
to text
emails - both work and home
twitter / facebook
apps
web browsing
camera
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Re iphone, I have 3 docking stations in the house for ipod classic so has "old" style docking point. I also have a cable for the car with the ipod connection on one side and the aux 3.5mm connection on the other.
So how does this new iphone 5 work with docking stations? Have seen some adaptor things on ebay but they seem to only facilitate charging and not audio playback?
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Phoned O2 to get prices for my upgrade with the appropriate amount of calls / texts and data.
Prices as follows:
Galaxy S3 - £22pm
Galaxy S4 - £27pm and £99 handset
Iphone 5 - £37pm
Xperia Z - £32pm
HTC One - £32pm
So over the course of 24 months,
S3 - £528
S4 - £747
I5 - £888
Z - £768
One - £768
Can possibly get better deals going through quidco etc but you can never guarantee you will get the cashback they say they will.
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My Xperia Z with unlimited everything is on 18 months (I think!) for £32 with Virgin. Got some sort of discount though for being a customer with TV etc. I have 32gb memory card which is handy, but with streaming not as much use as it used to be, as I just grab stuff over the air. Can;t take the battery out though.
Last edited by: smokie on Wed 15 May 13 at 22:34
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Answer is simples, you dont go for the Iphone 5. Iphone 4s's are much cheaper and do everything the '5 does just as well. (in the case of Siri - just as badly)
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Had looked at 4's but at time of looking, in some cases they were actually dearer than 5's!
Will have another look......
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>> Colleague in work has just got the HTC One and speaks highly of it though
>> they have went down the Apple route with no SD slot and no access to
>> battery etc?
why are you het up with access to battery? its not required. You dont need an sd slot either, if you get one with big enough memory.
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Agree with Z, the iphone 4 is so much cheaper than the 5 and hardly anything in it performance-wise. I just bought my daughter one and it's a nice size.
I've cut right back on my phone costs by going SIM only for £10 a month and buying 2 year old technology on e bay, my current HD Desire was £60 and works perfectly. It's cheaper for me this way as I don't need cutting edge and no longer have the 24 month tie in, which was a problem when my phone filled with water and got ruined 3 months into the contract! I don't insure personally, it's another £5 to £10 quid a month , which i would rather put away and "self-insure". I guess over 10 years I'm well in pocket.
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+1
Going 2-3 year old technology route is so much cheaper .. and more fun as you have a wider choice and can see the obvious faults in each product...
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I have just purchased the Nexus 4 16gb model from Google. It cost £279 SIM free. I bought it on the strength of Which? that said it was a Best Buy. Toss up between this and the Galaxy S3. I'm new to a smartphone and I'm trying to get to grips with it. Most pundits reckon it's equal to the S3, but cheaper with better back up from Google.
I have also signed up with Virgin Media at £15 per month for unlimited calls, unlimited texts and unlimited data.
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>> I have just purchased the Nexus 4 16gb model from Google. It cost £279 SIM
>> free. I bought it on the strength of Which? that said it was a Best
>> Buy. Toss up between this and the Galaxy S3. I'm new to a smartphone and
>> I'm trying to get to grips with it. Most pundits reckon it's equal to the
>> S3, but cheaper with better back up from Google.
>>
Good choice! I bought the 8GB Nexus 3 months ago and have been very pleased with it.
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In the past, removing the battery was the sure fire way of resetting a phone when it had frozen. I accept that I have very rarely had to do this with the Xperia (only once that I can remember) but it was reassuring to know that I could.
Daughter has a Samsung W or some such thing and she had to buy a new battery for it - easy to do when it is accessible.
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>> In the past, removing the battery was the sure fire way of resetting a phone
>> when it had frozen.
With the iPhone, you just press and hold down the lock and home button together for several seconds.
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Similar on the Xperia Z. Though I guess the battery will eventually die, hopefully just within my contract but almost inevitably just outside... :-)
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Probably much longer. If it's any guide, my iPhone 3G turns four tomorrow and the battery life is still just about as good - well, as adequate - as it was when new.
Another vote for the iPhone 4S. I was issued one at work in March and it's a revelation, certainly compared with the 3G. Plenty fast enough for my purposes, I've yet to find anything for which I needed a 5, and yet it fits all my chargers, docks and accessories.
I know there's a trend away from docking and towards all-wireless speakers, but the great advantage of the old way is that when the phone is in a speaker dock, I know where to find it and that it'll be charged when I pick it up.
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If I buy a phone from these people
www.smartfonestore.com/buy_product.aspx
and it is locked to, say, O2, does that mean that I have to buy an O2 contract, or can I get it unlocked - legally?
Or would it be best to buy an unlocked phone?
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It is best, but more expensive to buy unlocked.
The handset is typically subsidized by the network operator. Consequently they lock it an tie you to a contract to recover that subsidy.
If a phone is locked to O2, then it will only "recognise" an O2 SIM until it is unlocked.
Typically when you buy a phone that is not linked to a contract, neither is it subsidized and thus most unlikely to be locked.
If you did buy a locked phone without a contract, then unlocking it is totally legal.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 8 Jun 13 at 17:42
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If the phone is locked to a network then it either needs to be unlocked or you'd have to use a SIM from that network. As long as the phone is out of contract then getting it unlocked is free - more tricky with an iPhone because it also involves Apple in the process.
I have got my last phones from Carphonewarehouse because they are all unlocked. Probably the same with other independent phone companies too.
Although buying a new phone out of contract ought to mean it's unlocked, as these appear to be second hand then unlocking them might not be so simple. You normally request an unlock via the network operator who then passes on details to Apple to unlock. And unlocking the phone via other means sometimes can lead to problems for iPhones (like totally messing up the baseband).
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Nokia Lumia 920 (or slightly newer 925)?
Windows Phone OS is great (ignore the die-hard geeks who've never used it properly but will slate it anyway), best camera out there, wireless charging, and fairly cheap.
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To make the 925 thinner they have apparently dropped wireless charging. Although a replacement back plate adds that feature back in.
I've only taken a look at Windows Phone 8 once and i think it's okay but you'd need to learn how to do things the Microsoft way if you're used to Android phones or an iPhone.
The new EOS looks interesting from a camera perspective. It will have a PureView camera.
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Mrs H has a Nokia Lumia 520, £8.50 a month; I have a Nokia Lumia 720, £7.60 a month. Our first smart phones so entirely happy with Widows Phone.
Who are these folks who spend £30 a month on phones?
Oh, that's right, my elder children (both girls).
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Good phones the Lumias. Its a pity that platform wont last.
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Household has bought two from here, one 'unlocked' and one 'locked'. Both were unlocked and have been excellent (Nokia Lumia and HTC One X)
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Just to bring my side of this thread to a close - I finally upgraded and got a new Xperia SP phone.
Reasons being:
I like my current Xperia Arc but just too slow and limited now with space so this has more memory, processor so a natural evolution of my model.
It was only £22pm and free phone through Phones 4U for an O2 upgrade (better than what O2 could give me)
The phone appears to be unlocked (certainly no reference to O2 on the box, packaging, start up screen etc)
Phone is slightly bigger than my existing phone but smaller than the S4, Z HTC One etc
So far it seems good......
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Worth noting that all phones supplied by carphone warehouse are supplied unlocked
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Any thoughts on Huawei phones?
They are now going to rule the world - apparently?
Link to Sunday telegraph:-
tinyurl.com/m2dnq9y
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Just bought one for a daughter. I'll let you know when it arrived. Price/Performance seems impressive though.
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So far it seems good......
Apart from bluetooth volume - its awful!
Have raised this with Sony, apparently they are now conforming to some European code on volume levels. Tried a colleagues Xperia Z, that was the same and she says the earpiece volume is crap in any loud areas like shopping centres etc
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My missus has a Nokia Lumia 920. When speaking to her on any phone - my mobile, home phone, office phone, whatever - the sound quality is exceptional. It's crystal clear, digital sounding. To use a radio analogy, it sounds like the call is on FM, rather than Medium Wave, the latter being how phone calls usually sound.
How does the device at the other end of the call improve the quality of the line so much? It's really, really impressive. But it begs the question: how is that of any benefit to the person with that device? The benefit is entirely with the person they are calling.
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New mobile phone choice - smokie
