Mobile phone upgrade time - which of these should I pick?

Participant · 13 Aug 2010 at 10:48

I've been on a sim only deal with Vodafone for quite a while, using a Nokia 6500 Classic that is starting to give up the ghost (keeps resetting itself, battery life is poo, 'cannot access memory' messages, etc.). So I'm going to flog it as faulty / needing a firmware flash and get a new phone.

I've found out that I can get a new phone and stay on my £10 p.m. price plan, which is ideal for my personal phone.

I'm not a huge mobile internet user as I only ever use the internet on the go if it's job-related, so don't particularly need a super-mega smart / iphone, however if I had a phone that was decent for net and email access on the go then I potentially would.

Which of the following would you go for? I've been out of 'the phone loop' for ages now so really have no idea what's good in the mid-range phone market. I'm prepared to pay the purchase fees you can see, if it's worth it for a really decent phone.

Myshra · 13 Aug 2010 at 11:16

I'll possibly be the only one to say it but from your description you use your phone 99% as a phone and probably feel that the internet is a optional extra rather than a requirement so with that in mind, I pick the cheapest of the bunch the Nokia 6303. It's strongly built, uses a reliable OS (Symbian S40) and lasts a decent amount of time compared to the current generation of smartphones. In all honestly I'd take a 6303 over the X6, I (personally) am not a fan of what they have done with that phone.

Participant · 13 Aug 2010 at 11:33

Thanks Myshra.

I've just realised that I (think) can browse the internet at home on the sofa with the X6 using its WiFi functionality...correct? Not sure this is worth £130 to me however when I could also just use a laptop.

I take it the 6303 would just be pretty much a straight replacement for my 6500 in terms of functionality?

Neodite · 13 Aug 2010 at 11:49

If i had to choose from them i would get a blackberry

Myshra · 13 Aug 2010 at 12:00

Yeah a 6303 is pretty much a 6500 grown up. Nicer case, better screen / camera, faster, same UI design "core".

The X6 can use it's browser over Wifi yes. The default Symbian 60 browser is a bit average but opera mobile is a pretty good replacement.

If you have a spare 10 minutes I'd try and pop into a carphone warehouse and ask for a few demos, pretend you want something etc... then walk out.

Participant · 13 Aug 2010 at 12:47

Going to town on Saturday so I will do that, thanks.

I'm also wising up to the fact that I can get an HTC Desire for £17ppm over at mobiles.co.uk...although I don't use mobile internet yet, I'm thinking I probably would if I had the right tool. For only an extra £7 per month over my current deal I could have what appears to be a very good smart phone then after the 24 months, go back to a cheap sim only deal or sell the phone and start again.

Will have a think anyway, thanks for the info.

Neodite - really? Why? For £200 plus £240 rental I could probably get a better smart phone no? Also I've been reading this morning and it seems the 9700 is about to be superceded.

Robbo · 13 Aug 2010 at 12:51

The Blackberry Bold is the best one of those in my opinion, all the touchscreen options you can pick from are terrible

That said, I'd scrap the deal and get a Desire or Galaxy S for around £20 per month.

Dsteviedee · 13 Aug 2010 at 12:57

Samsung monte pink.

You know you want to!

Robbo · 13 Aug 2010 at 13:06

Dsteviedee said:
Samsung monte pink.

You know you want to!

I'd rather not have a phone

Myshra · 13 Aug 2010 at 13:12

Dsteviedee said:
Samsung monte pink.

You know you want to!

When orange had pink samms last year we had real issues with male customers wanting the pink phone (was cheaper for a time for quick selling) and then having to hand over a bag of makeup or something similar to them. Instore staff have some "interesting" tales about this.

The one thing about mobile data is you can't go back. People who get it almost never take it off their plans. Most people also use it in their own homes, they constantly look up web pages from the sofa, check facebook without turning computer/laptop on etc... if you want to be more connected that few £ extra per month goes a long way in my experience and its so cheap with quidco/mobiles.co.uk - it's cheaper to use them then my staff discount I can give people at orange to put it in perspective.

Robbo · 13 Aug 2010 at 13:13

Myshra, are you suggesting the pink Monte is the official fudge packer phone?

RSR · 13 Aug 2010 at 13:19

Robboftw said:
The Blackberry Bold is the best one of those in my opinion, all the touchscreen options you can pick from are terrible

Id agree with that statement.

"andy" · 13 Aug 2010 at 13:41

the bb 8520 isnt a bad phone for £20 will certainly do all your phone/sms/email needs very well

see if you can wait another month maybe. when the new BBs come out i imagine the old ones getting cheaper ?

Participant · 13 Aug 2010 at 13:50

Robboftw said:
That said, I'd scrap the deal and get a Desire or Galaxy S for around £20 per month.

That, will probably be my course of action. I've been watching video reviews on YouTube and it looks an awesome bit of kit.

WiFi internet browsing from the sofa, Google maps on the go, MP4 movies, all those aps and Google Office etc...you're basically walking around with a PC in your pocket. iPhone 4s are just epically expensive by comparison.

Only problem is the sparse nature of Orange's coverage in my area

. I might have to shell out a bit more for the Vodafone deal on mobiles.co.uk.

Dsteviedee said:
Samsung monte pink.

You know you want to!

Myshra · 13 Aug 2010 at 14:08

Robboftw said:
Myshra, are you suggesting the pink Monte is the official fudge packer phone?

Haha, not at all but I will say that some customers were so insulted they stormed out the shop when it was handed over apparently and one cust even put some of it on in the store

Participant · 13 Aug 2010 at 14:36

Guys this is how Orange's and Vodafone's network coverage compares for my area...is it really likely to be as bad for 3G / internet services as this suggests?! The problem being that the price plans are £17pm and £25pm respectively!!

Robbo · 13 Aug 2010 at 14:50

Well, at home you have Wifi for internet things, and coverage maps aren't really ever very accurate

Myshra · 13 Aug 2010 at 15:55

Robboftw said:
coverage maps aren't really ever very accurate

Ain't this the truth. I would actually suggest you goto this site: http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/ sitefinder is what ofcom forced us to do (grumble grumble) but is so hidden away it doesn't get too much use. The key to using it is working out which transmitters are close to you and the freqency they work on. 2g is either 900 or 1800 (voda/o2 operate on 900Mhz, orange/tmob/3 on 1800) and 3g sites (these are all that matter these days imo for smart phones) are on 2100Mhz for everyone.

Transmission length can be variable but put it this way, you don't want to far away from em

Hills and other crap like that are big no nos. The images suggest you have a 2G only node near you

I guess this isn't too much of a problem if you're fine with wireless networking at home (all data it would do via 3g it would just do fine with via wireless). Phones use less power when on a 2g connection anyway

There's also the amazing distance selling regulations on your side: (http://www.out-law.com/page-430). Quite frankly, this law is so good it should be prayed to. It basically states you can return ANYTHING you brought over the internet, cancel any contract, the works - as long as you return the goods as shipped (ie no marks) and within 7 days. It can also be applied to phones (I note: I am not a lawyer, my word is not gospel. you sometimes have to fight but check the internet for proof this works, its out there).

Might be worth looking at T-mobiles coverage just for the record - by the end of the year T-mobile and Oranges network will hopefully be fused together which might fill in some holes near your home.

Rroff · 13 Aug 2010 at 15:58

If you contact vodafone directly you may be able to get them to "upgrade" you to something like the sony ericsson x10 mini pro for a reasonable price/similiar to what your paying now.

The upgrade options on my account with voda are usually pretty dire - but talking to them direct I got them to more than halve my bill £38->17 (before VAT) (slight loss of minutes 900->600, same text allowance, but doubled internet useage 500->1024MB).

Participant · 13 Aug 2010 at 19:54

Robboftw said:
Well, at home you have Wifi for internet things

That is very true (that it doesn't really matter if 3G is good in my area due to WiFi), but if I'm sitting on my sofa and someone's sent me a video text message or something, then I suppose I wouldn't get it until I was next in a coverage area.

Myshra said:
Ain't this the truth. I would actually suggest you goto this site: http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/ sitefinder is what ofcom forced us to do (grumble grumble) but is so hidden away it doesn't get too much use. The key to using it is working out which transmitters are close to you and the freqency they work on. 2g is either 900 or 1800 (voda/o2 operate on 900Mhz, orange/tmob/3 on 1800) and 3g sites (these are all that matter these days imo for smart phones) are on 2100Mhz for everyone.

Transmission length can be variable but put it this way, you don't want to far away from em Hills and other crap like that are big no nos. The images suggest you have a 2G only node near you I guess this isn't too much of a problem if you're fine with wireless networking at home (all data it would do via 3g it would just do fine with via wireless). Phones use less power when on a 2g connection anyway

There's also the amazing distance selling regulations on your side: (http://www.out-law.com/page-430). Quite frankly, this law is so good it should be prayed to. It basically states you can return ANYTHING you brought over the internet, cancel any contract, the works - as long as you return the goods as shipped (ie no marks) and within 7 days. It can also be applied to phones (I note: I am not a lawyer, my word is not gospel. you sometimes have to fight but check the internet for proof this works, its out there).

Might be worth looking at T-mobiles coverage just for the record - by the end of the year T-mobile and Oranges network will hopefully be fused together which might fill in some holes near your home.

Thanks for this info, very useful

. T-Mobile shows excellent 3G coverage for my post code, so if what you say comes to fruition, that will solve my problem. Any ideas how likely / links to press releases? You clearly have some excellent industry knowledge

.

Rroff said:
If you contact vodafone directly you may be able to get them to "upgrade" you to something like the sony ericsson x10 mini pro for a reasonable price/similiar to what your paying now.

The upgrade options on my account with voda are usually pretty dire - but talking to them direct I got them to more than halve my bill £38->17 (before VAT) (slight loss of minutes 900->600, same text allowance, but doubled internet useage 500->1024MB).

Giving them a call is something that's certainly worth doing. I intend to call their retentions, and go along the lines of 'Orange have a fantastic deal on the Desire, what's the best you can do for me?'. Not good enough = goodbye. Within £5pm = remain.