Entry level smart phone, £200 budget.

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

opethdisciple

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Hi Guys.

Think its time for me to upgrade to a more current phone.

I have a budget of around £200.

I have been looking at HTC Android phones and an older Iphone 3g 8gb all for around £200.

Is Android a good Mobile OS?

Any sugestions?

Preferably Im buying first hand.

Also guys Im not really a big phone user.... so an entry level phone is what im looking for.
 
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Android is an excellent mobile OS.

Are you buying second hand or only new? It might be possible to get a HTC Desire or SE Xperia X10 for £200 if you look around second hand.

From new, you can get an Orange San Francisco which is a decent phone with Android for £99. Or probably slightly better (but more expensive), the HTC Hero.
 
Do whatever you have to to get a HTC Desire, I got one tuther day & they are Amazing bits of kit. :cool:
 
I've just switch from my Desire (now sat on the desk not getting used) to a Win7 mobile, but I would say you can't go wrong with a 2nd hand Desire, very nice phones.
 
Ok.

So I have been looking at the San Fransico.

From a logical perspective, it probably is the best phone for me.

I.e for a non heavy mobile user, its pretty much what im looking for and at only half my budget.

Im currently with T-Mobile. Are these phones unlocked?

Also, as im completly new to the whole Mobile os arena, is the Android os on the San Fransico, a full fledged Android o.s?

What I like about Apple, is you can plug the phone in to itunes and update the software, synchronize it etc......... can this phone or rather Android phones in general do this as well?

(Mostly interested in updating the phone os etc)
 
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All Android updates are OTA (Over The Air). That is, it'll download updates automatically or when checked via wifi or over your normal mobile data connection. No cables or plugging involved. Apps also exist to seamlessly sync your Android phone with iTunes if having music on your phone is a requirement.

And yes, the Android OS on the San Francisco is as fully fledged as any other, though it runs on 2.1 (2.2 is the latest). Going by your usage I doubt you'd notice the difference, and for reference phones like the Samsung Galaxy S are 2.1 as well.

Unsure about the unlocking situation - best to head over to the San Francisco thread that's here.

Edit: First link on Google when searching for "unlock san francisco free": http://android.modaco.com/content/z...-codes-for-orange-sanfrancisco-and-zte-blade/
 
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Thanks for the reply.

Are there any drawbacks to unlocking a phone?

I.e are there anythings which may not work correctly or as intended?

So its not possible to update the san Fransico to Android 2.2?

Is that becuase the latest version fothe San Fransico is 2.1?
 
opethdisciple said:
Thanks for the reply.

Are there any drawbacks to unlocking a phone?

I.e are there anythings which may not work correctly or as intended?

So its not possible to update the san Fransico to Android 2.2?

Is that becuase the latest version fothe San Fransico is 2.1?
Click to expand...

Nope, no drawbacks at all. Unlocking isn't related to the OS in any way, it's a hardware-software limitation put on by the network. Some phones come unlocked as standard.
 
It's worth noting that it's not as though the SF is out-of-date. Think of it as one running Windows Vista, the other running Windows 7 (ish). Both receive updates and fixes as necessary (I think?) just like normal.
 
Yea I get it.

But being a bit of a geek, this things interest me! :D

I do have one question tho.

If I unlock the phone, to T-mobile (that is of course if I dont already buy it unlocked), my current contract is pay as you go.

If I was to change, to some kind of contract etc etc etc........ T-mobile or whom ever Im dealing with would have a problem with me:

A. Buying my own handset?

B. Unlocking the phone?

:confused:
 
Of course, the thing with an Android phone and a contract is that to make the most of it you really need to have some sort of mobile internet included. If you're not buying it from T-Mobile then they're not great, how much do you want to spend per month?

http://giffgaff.com/

£10/m gets you 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet :)
 
Superewza said:
Of course, the thing with an Android phone and a contract is that to make the most of it you really need to have some sort of mobile internet included. If you're not buying it from T-Mobile then they're not great, how much do you want to spend per month?

http://giffgaff.com/

£10/m gets you 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet :)
Click to expand...

Yea you are spot on.

Im a cheap skate, but it is not like I cant afford to spend 100ish pounds a year on a contract. If I want to make use of a smart phone then im going to defo need to make use of the internet.

What is this giffgaff link you'v posted?

The £10 a month contract looks good however, Im not sure if the free* internet included with the deal is only upuntill Febuary 2011?
 
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im thinking at this moment in time that psending £200 on a phone is not a lot of my, simply becuase my ipod was £150 and this phone can do a lot more, so £200 is a fair price.

Im currently looking at the HTC Wildfire looks like a nice phone.

That giffgaff link you sent me looks good tho. If its a reputable company and they have cheaper deals than competitors then I may go with them.

It says on the website that 'giffgaff' is part of the O2 company, so thats reasurring. I nee to find a contratc tho between £10-£15 a month with free unlimited internet and a decent amount of calls and txt.

Im not a heavy user of calls and txt, but the internet is important.

The HTC Wildfire is not the only phone im looking at, but I think 200 is my happy midium.
 
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