Mobile Phone ... time to upgrade; help welcomed

martinturner

martinturner

martinturner

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So, after two years it's time for me to upgrade my phone.

I know nothing about phones; seriously, I currently have a Samsung Tocco which turned out to be completely rubbish and I have just stuck with it for ages and finally its time to upgrade, yet I am a bit confused with what to go for.

I think the two contenders are a HTC Desire and the Apple 3GS. Apple 4G will be far too expensive and I am trying to keep to a ~£30 a month contract with no massive phone outlay. The HTC is more desirable on initial costs.

I have only had a play with an iPhone and did really like how easy it was and the internet was excellent. What is the HTC like for navigation/speed etc? I got the Samsung Tocco on the assumption it would work on the internet, yet it failed miserably. Whilst it could receive a speedy internet connection it just cannot handle it; its slower than a 14.4 modem at best.

What I want the phone for .... Internet and a Sat Nav option. Music/Video/Pictures all a plus too, but from what I gather they are all a much of a muchness these days for this.

Also, where do you buy a phone from these days? Carphonewarehouse/phones4u? I am currently with o2; do I contact them first? They seem more expensive for the same thing than the other two.

If the new 4G iphone is coming out in a week or so, will the prices drop on the iPhone 3GS or has that already happened? Should I wait full stop? Is there something better due out on the HTC side that will push prices down? Basically, whatever I get I don't want to be buying at completley the wrong time.

Help, very much welcomed. Thanks :)
 
Many people are very happy with what you are allowed to do on an Iphone. If you are the kind of person who doesn't want to be told how you are allowed to use your phone, customise the software, etc then go Android.

If you don't really care either way, then try both and see what you like.

If your phone is a fashion accessory then go to the Apple forum as they'll be able to help you with it better than the people in the general mobiles forum :P
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Other stuff:

The Desire is faster than the Iphone, but the interface is not as smooth-looking (ie the Apple interface is designed to be more visually responsive to touch and is more unified due to the controls Apple put in place on multitasking and UI design).

The Desire has Flash-lite now, and will have full Flash in the future.

The Desire is cheaper than a 3GS and I'm pretty sure will remain so even after the Iphone 4 comes out.
 
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I work for o2 and they are getting really tight on data usage, after the 24th you will have 500mb per month after that its charged, Ive changed from iphone 3g to htc desire, its amazing and beats my flatmates 3gs hands down. iphone is to closed and costly
 
Try and have a play with a HTC Desire - once you have you will know which one you'll want.

Plus the desire has the free SatNav Software which is Google Nav - which works flawlessly - relies on data connection tho if you venture off route.
 
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RedStarRiot said:
I work for o2 and they are getting really tight on data usage, after the 24th you will have 500mb per month after that its charged, Ive changed from iphone 3g to htc desire, its amazing and beats my flatmates 3gs hands down. iphone is to closed and costly
Click to expand...

But that applies to both though? So are you suggesting I change provider?

I spoke to the woman at O2 upgrades; she indirectly suggested the 3GS will drop in price again once the 4G is released? it was speculative rather than based on fact though from what how it sounded.

Is there a new HTC just round the corner that I should be aware of?
 
Pretty much the same position for me, I'm on orange and have dropped down to a sim only contract while I decide. The tocco was ****e really wasn't it :(
 
Yes the Tocco was worst phone ever; but when it came out I really liked the look of it (somewhat blonde response).

Yeah, I'm on a £10 a month Sim option with o2 as mine expired and am stuck as to what to get. I would get an iPhone in a snap if it was cheaper. I just don't make anywhere near enough calls/texts to warrant an expensive contract. I get by happily with my tenner a month SIM contract as far as that goes. For me though, I really want internet on the go, an mp3 player and a satnav (for when wife nicks my Tom Tom). I equally don't want to spend several hundred pound on a mobile phone to keep the sim only option. Just too many decisions!
 
Judgeneo said:
Pretty much the same position for me, I'm on orange and have dropped down to a sim only contract while I decide. The tocco was ****e really wasn't it :(
Click to expand...

Tocco drops TWICE as many calls as the next nearest phone - it's absolutely crap. At least you won't make the same mistake again though :)

On a basic level - If you like fiddling with things, you're going to love android. If you just want a simplistic setup the iphone will probably be more to your liking.

Pricing - The 3GS will drop the 16/32gb models and be left with the 8gb once stock is sold out. This is to stop apple cannibalising their 4g sales (which will be 16/32 still). Pricing has been leaked for voda, expect it to be similar to the 3gs though for most networks.

Martin unfortunately you can't have all that for cheap but the best way to go about this if you want all that will be a contract on the cheap that drops minutes in exchange for data allowance - a t-mobile specialty.

EDIT: I put a wildfire link sorry.

Edit2: http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/Brands/HTC/b509/n447/p31043.aspx#tabsAnchor - best deal is the 15/20 tmob mobile internet contracts i guess.
 
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Is teh HTC Desire Graphite and older model to the current black one? Difference in OS perhaps? I cannot work out if everywhere is selling the black one hence why this is so cheap?
 
martinturner said:
Is teh HTC Desire Graphite and older model to the current black one? Difference in OS perhaps? I cannot work out if everywhere is selling the black one hence why this is so cheap?
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They are exactly the same phone just different colours. I think the black one is exclusive to orange though (i own a black desire)
 
martinturner said:
I think the link you wanted to send me was

http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/Brands/HTC/b509/p31043.aspx

What are T-Mobile like for internet/phone coverage?

I have never heard of that company either? Who will my contract be with? What happens if they went bust? Apologies, never bought from a company outside of the network itself?
Click to expand...

http://www.buymobilephones.net/mobile-phones/HTC/HTC-Desire-Free-Line-Rental-Discount/85,35289

Cheaper on some of the deals.

I'm looking at http://www.buymobilephones.net/mobi...le/T-Mobile-25-(18mths)-inc.-Internet/5293824 specifically as it has data included, which the other one doesn't.
 
Is it safe to use either of these companies? Perhaps I am just paranoid about being ripped off, but they just look like those too good to be true deals in the back of a newspaper. Admittedly am out of touch with where to buy a mobile these days, but have always gone with the network provider. What should I be looking out for in the T&C's?
 
I've used buymobiles in the past so I trust them yes, however if you get one without cashback (or very little) it isn't really going to matter as once they send you the phone you deal with the mobile company direct. :)
 
Ah, thats interesting, so my contract will ultimately be with the network after purchase? Or have I misinterpreted that? So these companies basically act as a buffer for the supplier. In which case, how do they make money if they are offering a better deal than the actual provider?

Thanks for all the replies too guys, appreciate it!!
 
Yeah, they act like the middle man, essentially an independent travel agent for phones.

They get a massive commission from the mobile networks for selling the contract, some of that commission is then passed on to us.

So essentially that £35 a month contract will give them £15 a month commission (or more), they then give you your half price line rental offers and "free" phones out of that commission.
 
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