Looking for a new HTC phone.

GeX said:
100% will happen IF the EU are actually enforcing a 12month contract (sounds like boulderdash to me!)

So glad il be on £10 pcm rolling 1 month from next month!



It won't really help, phones are pricey and the cost of them is usually subbed by the contract, there'd be no margin to lower them much. The contracts will be the same value they are now, just over 12 months
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Whilst I agree I used to regularly (well 2-3 contracts) get 12 month contracts for £400 phones on £25 and £30 a month contracts. Top end feature phones of a few years ago were not much less expensive than todays top end smartphones. It makes me wonder why 12 month contracts were scrapped, they obviously used to make a profit so I can only assume that they still would (but 18 month contracts make more...).

It would be nice if we could get back to the same sort of prices we used to have.
 
desire 2 (and others maybe) is supposed to be announced (not sure on date of release) at mwc in about a week or so. If you can wait I'd wait that long because at the very least it might cause some price drops :)
 
Sho said:
If i where you wait for a month.

From next month 12 MONTHS contracts are back. 24/18 months contracts are getting scrapped by OFCOM and EU rules.

;)
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12 month contracts are not as good value though and require a large upfront payment for the handset which could have been gaining interest, further reducing their value.

The HTC Desire HD for example is £407.40 from jersey, and the cheapest sim only deal for data is £5 per month making a total 2yr cost £539.62 including lost interest of £12.22.

Whereas on a £21.96 contract the total cost is only £527.04 and it has unlimited texts and 300mins.


What are the main differences between the desire and the HD other than the screen size and camera? At £383 over 24 months it may be something I consider based on the smaller footprint, the HD is quite a bit bigger than the Xperia X1, whereas the other is only slightly so.
 
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Energize said:
What are the main differences between the desire and the HD other than the screen size and camera?
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The HD has a faster processor, much faster GPU, much more storage for apps, meaning you never have to worry about running out of space, or having to move apps to the SD card.
 
Energize said:
12 month contracts are not as good value though and require a large upfront payment for the handset which could have been gaining interest, further reducing their value.

The HTC Desire HD for example is £407.40 from jersey, and the cheapest sim only deal for data is £5 per month making a total 2yr cost £539.62 including lost interest of £12.22.

Whereas on a £21.96 contract the total cost is only £527.04 and it has unlimited texts and 300mins.


What are the main differences between the desire and the HD other than the screen size and camera? At £383 over 24 months it may be something I consider based on the smaller footprint, the HD is quite a bit bigger than the Xperia X1, whereas the other is only slightly so.
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That's only a recent phemomenum though. You never know companies may start doing the same deals they used to do 3-5 years ago on 12 month contracts.

When comparing two 12 month contacts with 1 one year contract you need to remember that you get another "free" phone with the 12 month contracts which can mean it costs less as such, if you want a new phone every 12 months. Especially if you sell your old phone, which would probably net you around £200.
 
I've never seen companies offer free £400+ phones on a 12month contract unless they charged £60 per month. I'm not particularly interested in always having the latest phone anyway, I just upgrade when I need to. Quite frankly I think the new legislation is ridiculous in not allowing longer contracts than 2 years because the 3 year contracts are even better value.

Broken Hope said:
The HD has a faster processor, much faster GPU, much more storage for apps, meaning you never have to worry about running out of space, or having to move apps to the SD card.
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Outside of games, what's the performance difference for having a fast GPU?
 
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Energize said:
I've never seen companies offer free £400+ phones on a 12month contract unless they charged £60 per month. I'm not particularly interested in always having the latest phone anyway, I just upgrade when I need to. Quite frankly I think the new legislation is ridiculous in not allowing longer contracts than 2 years because the 3 year contracts are even better value.



Outside of games, what's the performance difference for having a fast GPU?
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I'm sure someone will correct me, as I'm not 100% sure. But i think it's also used in things like google maps 3d, and other applications like that.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/16/google-maps-5-0-hits-android-includes-new-3d-map-view-and-offli/

Also if you want to keep your phone for over a year, more and more stuff will be coming out to take advantage of it.
 
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Yeah, things like google maps, much better 2D vector performance, did they add flash acceleration too? It's all 45nm too, so you get a nice drop in power consumption.

GeX said:
I'd disagree with that, I have 3 HTC phones and a Nexus S.. there is no real difference in build quality.. and the S has a lovely glass front :)
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I agree, build quality/quality control is usually the same across the board for high end phones. HTC stand out (imo) for great ergonomic design, I haven't used one that isn't great to hold/use :)
If they can iron out a few minor niggles (such as better buttons, bigger batteries, source a mind blowing screen etc) they're could create something very special indeed.

I'd wait a few weeks to see what they come up with...
 
Energize said:
I've never seen companies offer free £400+ phones on a 12month contract unless they charged £60 per month. I'm not particularly interested in always having the latest phone anyway, I just upgrade when I need to. Quite frankly I think the new legislation is ridiculous in not allowing longer contracts than 2 years because the 3 year contracts are even better value.



Outside of games, what's the performance difference for having a fast GPU?
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Well the SE K800 and K850 were £400 phones when they were first released (hard to believe now I know). Both of them I had on 12 month contracts for around £25-£30 a month with little/no upfront cost, that was a month or two after they were first released. Think the original N95 was also around that price.

3 year contracts are mental. How do you know what you will be doing in 2 years, let alone 3? Contracts of that length are just stupid IMO. I don't necessarily think they should be legislated against though, although that means at least shorter length contracts won't be squeezed out (rolls eyes at 3 man who suggested that 2 year contracts were the way to go. Yeah I assume you get more commission for those?)
 
Amp34 said:
Well the SE K800 and K850 were £400 phones when they were first released (hard to believe now I know). Both of them I had on 12 month contracts for around £25-£30 a month with little/no upfront cost, that was a month or two after they were first released. Think the original N95 was also around that price.
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Honestly even £30 per month is more than I'm prepared to pay, it just isn't good value for me when I wouldn't be using those extra minutes and texts. For a 24month contract I get twice as long a service for only 1/3 more total outlay than a 1yr contract at £30pm.

Amp34 said:
3 year contracts are mental. How do you know what you will be doing in 2 years, let alone 3?
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I'll be browsing the internet, calling people and sending messages as always. Just as I have done for the past 5 years. It's hardly trying to predict the lottery.
 
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I guess it could depend if you're married and have a house etc. but still...

You may have left the country, moved to an area with no signal (still an issue in some places), got into debt and need to reduce your outgoings...

Whatever the case the deals would need to be epic considering the length of the contract and the fact you may very well have to buy a new phone half way through.

Say £15 a month with a free top end smartphone and several hundred texts/mins/internet and I may consider looking in to it... ;)
 
Amp34 said:
I guess it could depend if you're married and have a house etc. but still...

You may have left the country, moved to an area with no signal (still an issue in some places), got into debt and need to reduce your outgoings...
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None of those are an issue for me, I have enough money to pay off the entire contract, moving to another country would take years in itself, and obviously I'm not going to move to an area with no signal when I depend on it. So really there's no reason why they're not sensible.

I also do not believe that the 12m contracts would be £30 a month, given that the ~£410 Desire HD equates to £34 per month by itself. The provider would be losing money, which makes no sense. At £40 there's not much in it and at anything less than £45 per month there's no incentive for a customer to purchase a more profitable 24m contract thus the provider would make less profit.
 
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In the end I went with the desire because after looking at them in the shop I decided that the HD was just too big compared to my X1 and the standard Desire has noticeably longer battery life.
 
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