Phone Advice

Puppetmaster · 5 Nov 2010 at 20:06

So my contract runs out middle of December and I'm wondering what phone to get next.

I currently have a Nokia N96 on Three. I'm probably moving away from three (been with them for 5 - 6 years) as the signal in my house has turned horrible. Probably going to either O2 or Vodafone.

Onto phones. I've kind of made a short list of 4 potential phones.

Nokia N8
iPhone 4
HTC Desire HD
Samsung Galaxy S

Nokia N8 - Bad points about this mainly revolve around the o/s. I've been using nokia phones all my life, so i seriously doubt I'd have a problem with the os. Has the best camera, tho that isn't that important to me.

iPhone - Certainly the most popular phone. Don't know a huge amount about it. On the bad side its the only phone i have to pay for even on a contract. Cant upgrade the internal memory either.

The other two i dont really know much about. I've had a quick play around with my friends iphone 4 but it was very brief. Not tried the other phones. A friend at work had a 3GS and bought a galaxy s and said he preferred it.

Can anyone offer me any advice.

Mr-White · 6 Nov 2010 at 12:14

Puppetmaster said:
Nokia N8

iPhone 4

HTC Desire HD

Samsung Galaxy S

Desire HD wins hands down for me if cost is not a problem, my personal views are:-

Nokia N8 - still running Symbian :-/
iPhone 4 - gay, every little scrot has one, not very exclusive
HTC Desire HD - looks awesome, good quality and spec, uncommon
Samsung Galaxy S - Android phone, expensive well spec'd but uses Samsung's flakey software.
HTC HD7 - nice spec'd HTC phone, the new Windows o/s still needs tweaking. Def a phone for the future

MW

Scrutinize · 6 Nov 2010 at 14:06

What do you want to get from the phone? For example the n8 has the best battery life and free satnav plus epic camera, android has loads of free apps and a nicer menu system plus flash web browsing.

I am finding the android apps thing a bit overated and have little use for most on android. I only have two apps of use, guitar tuner and youversion bible. I have google nav which is cool but thats preinstalled. The rest inc youtube, google maps, email and web i could get on my SE c510 along with a better battery life albeit with a smaller screen.

Its all subjective though really, and i think the n8 is my next purchase as i can live with symbian unless we see some new android devices with 3day plus battery life with reasonable usage.

IP4 is nice.

Django x2 · 6 Nov 2010 at 15:29

mrk1@1 said:
IP4 is nice.

But it also sums up everything con you've listed about Android albeit with far more restrictions in place.

Symbian 3 is shocking, unless Nokia adopt Android, they will fail, it's that simple.

You need to try apps. Go through the "recomemended" apps from appbrain and you'll find loads of good ones like runkeeper, agenda apps, winamp apps, remote PC control apps, etc

Scrutinize · 6 Nov 2010 at 16:00

Won't disagree on the apps but 99% of no use for me.

IP4 is good, as our pastor has one, could even say endorsed by God good. Android just does it cheaper and for techies

Django x2 · 6 Nov 2010 at 16:03

But Steve Job is the devil, literally!

Mr-White · 7 Nov 2010 at 11:57

I found there were only maybe 4-5 apps that I actually used on my 3GS, the rest were gimmicky games. Also having an iphone means itunes, that alone is a horrific thought

MW

Robbo · 7 Nov 2010 at 12:11

Puppetmaster said:
Onto phones. I've kind of made a short list of 4 potential phones.

Nokia N8

iPhone 4

HTC Desire HD

Samsung Galaxy S

Nokia N8 - Bad points about this mainly revolve around the o/s. I've been using nokia phones all my life, so i seriously doubt I'd have a problem with the os. Has the best camera, tho that isn't that important to me.

iPhone - Certainly the most popular phone. Don't know a huge amount about it. On the bad side its the only phone i have to pay for even on a contract. Cant upgrade the internal memory either.

The other two i dont really know much about. I've had a quick play around with my friends iphone 4 but it was very brief. Not tried the other phones. A friend at work had a 3GS and bought a galaxy s and said he preferred it.

Can anyone offer me any advice.

You've listed a very different four phones there.

As you said the camera isn't that important to you, that should immediately rule out the N8, as the software isn't great compared to the other phones.

If you had a 32GB iPhone 4 you would probably be ok with storage, even though its not expandable.

The HTC Desire has a poorer battery than the other phones, considerably. That said, its software is the best out of the box IF you like fiddling with your phone. Most people dont.

Only get an Android phone if you like fiddling with it and changing how the UI looks, at the expense of having a fairly rubbish app store compared to the iPhone.

The Samsung Galaxy S really has to be tampered with and slightly modified for it to work as well as it can, as well as having fairly poor out of the box (TouchWiz) software compared to the HTC Desire HD, the main upside to the Samsung is its screen, its lovely.

Have you considered a Windows 7 Phone? I imagine you have but dont fancy adopting quite this early, which is fair enough, but if you do, there are some very good options.

iPhone 4 - gay, every little scrot has one, not very exclusive

Haha

This is the exact mentality of the 'scrots' who buy the iPhone!

There aren't that many people with an iPhone 4 to be honest, considering what it costs.

manveruppd · 7 Nov 2010 at 13:18

Mr-White said:
iPhone 4 - gay, every little scrot has one, not very exclusive

I'm not a big Apple fan, but that's got to be the worst reason not to buy an iphone ever!

Mr-White · 7 Nov 2010 at 13:43

manveruppd said:
I'm not a big Apple fan, but that's got to be the worst reason not to buy an iphone ever!

I was given a 3GS by work, tbh I was embarrassed to use it in public most of the time. I felt people were assuming I was the stereotypical iphone user who doesn't know what they're doing and bought one because it's an "iphone" and "fashionable" not for g33ky reasons and I felt people on the train were judging me

MW

ethos · 7 Nov 2010 at 13:49

Mr-White said:
I was given a 3GS by work, tbh I was embarrassed to use it in public most of the time. I felt people were assuming I was the stereotypical iphone user who doesn't know what they're doing and bought one because it's an "iphone" and "fashionable" not for g33ky reasons and I felt people on the train were judging me

MW

That's pretty ridiculous, almost sounds like you have some personal issues you need to work through...

Robbo · 7 Nov 2010 at 14:06

Mr-White said:
I was given a 3GS by work, tbh I was embarrassed to use it in public most of the time. I felt people were assuming I was the stereotypical iphone user who doesn't know what they're doing and bought one because it's an "iphone" and "fashionable" not for g33ky reasons and I felt people on the train were judging me

MW

Just... lol. :confused:

franco_22 · 7 Nov 2010 at 14:17

Mr-White said:
I was given a 3GS by work, tbh I was embarrassed to use it in public most of the time. I felt people were assuming I was the stereotypical iphone user who doesn't know what they're doing and bought one because it's an "iphone" and "fashionable" not for g33ky reasons and I felt people on the train were judging me

MW

lol. It's true thou.

Robbo · 7 Nov 2010 at 14:18

franco_22 said:
lol. It's true thou.

No it isn't.

Anyone who thinks like that obviously needs to get some real problems to worry about. Seriously.

Geffen · 7 Nov 2010 at 14:22

I'm in a similar boat as my contract for my HTC Magic running out.

N8 - Nokia do great hardware but they really need to ditch symbian Saying that if you haven't used a smartphone before then the OS will seem fine.
Iphone - It a great phone but a bit more expensive to get than others. The real thing that put me off is the whole apple image and the locked down nature of os.
HTC Desire - Good size handset with lots of power but has poor battery life.

I ended up shortlisting to

HTC Desire HD
HTC Desire Z
Samsung Galaxy S

The Desire Z looks good and is about the right size for me but am worried by the keyboard. Some people have claim it a little lose and when i played with it kept getting skin on my hand trapped in when closing the keyboard which was annoying.
Samsung Galaxy S - Great screen, powerful but meant to have very poor GPS which is the only real thing stopping me getting it.
Desire HD - Will probably end up getting this. It a little bigger than i would like but on the plus size the big screen makes it easier to browse the net.

osc89er · 7 Nov 2010 at 14:29

Robboftw said:
No it isn't.

Anyone who thinks like that obviously needs to get some real problems to worry about. Seriously.

Mr White has maybe taken it a bit far or may be confused, but there is something to it.

The iphone has transcended beyond purely being a phone. It is now also a fashion accessory and fashion is an expression of you and the image you wish to portray.

Think about it. People often say stuff like "I wouldn't be seen dead in that." They are expressing the belief that being seen in/with it portrays an image of them that is unacceptable.

Stellios · 7 Nov 2010 at 14:37

HTC Desire HD
HTC Desire Z
Samsung Galaxy S

Then get the SNES, NES, Game Boy and Sega Genesis emulators and ROM Gripper then your set for life with old school cheesy games. Ive got the Z and the keyboard really makes playing games like sonic good fun. Stuff the rest of the gimmicky crap thats on the Iphones app store (before you nay sayers appear I have an ipod touch so know whats out there) as theres literally thousands upon thousands of games to be had just for the emulators alone.

The Desire Z looks good and is about the right size for me but am worried by the keyboard. Some people have claim it a little lose and when i played with it kept getting skin on my hand trapped in when closing the keyboard which was annoying.

Yes the hinge is loose, but its meant to be as its isnt spring loaded. Ive had the phone a few days now and have used it in numerous situations, up to and including upside down in bed and its been fine. Theres a slight magnet to hold it open, but from the way you naturally grip it with the keyboard open your index finger holds the top screen in place anyways.

Samsung Galaxy S - Great screen, powerful but meant to have very poor GPS which is the only real thing stopping me getting it.

These are a lovely bit of kit, beautiful screen and fast as hell. BUT, its too light and too plasticy to make it feel like a premium product, its somehow just feels cheap even though its far from it. If they had made it out of different materials then it would be a great piece of kit. Only other thing Ill say is that samsung dont seem too good with updates, 2.2 has been around on a lot of HTC products for months now, and the galaxy is only just beginning to roll it out now.

Desire HD - Will probably end up getting this. It a little bigger than i would like but on the plus size the big screen makes it easier to browse the net.

Beautiful bit of kit, its fast and responsive and HTCs senseUI is a joy to use, just be warned that unless you have huge hands youll probably end up needing 2 hands to operate it.

Robbo · 7 Nov 2010 at 15:01

osc89er said:
Mr White has maybe taken it a bit far or may be confused, but there is something to it.

The iphone has transcended beyond purely being a phone. It is now also a fashion accessory and fashion is an expression of you and the image you wish to portray.

Think about it. People often say stuff like "I wouldn't be seen dead in that." They are expressing the belief that being seen in/with it portrays an image of them that is unacceptable.

I agree to some people it is a fashion accessory, but you could apply the same logic to Android or any other type of phone. If you let your £500 phone choice be dictated by what other people think of it, then that is just stupid.

In fairness to Apple, the iPhone is an extremely solid device, if someone bought it purely as a fashion accessory and doesn't use its features, then fair enough they are either rich and/or stupid. However, I would imagine most iPhone users have it because it works how they want it to and does the things they need it to.

If you see someone using one and judge them badly assuming they have it as a fashion accessory then you are just an idiot (obviously this doesn't apply to Paris Hilton look-a-likes walking around Harrods with those horrible little dogs

)

If this sort of thing actually worries you, then I feel sorry for you.

Mr-White · 7 Nov 2010 at 15:11

ethos said:
That's pretty ridiculous, almost sounds like you have some personal issues you need to work through...

Not really, I just don't like people thinking less of me. In someone else's opinion me flashing an iphone about in public maybe a sign I'm wealthy, successful and fashionable. Everyone has their own views.

MW

ethos · 7 Nov 2010 at 15:37

Mr-White said:
Not really, I just don't like people thinking less of me. In someone else's opinion me flashing an iphone about in public maybe a sign I'm wealthy, successful and fashionable. Everyone has their own views.

MW

Yes really, that's just a massive insecurity on your part.

Also, who are these random strangers who can't take their eyes off you and the phone you are using?

Do you really care what they think?

Seems crazy to base your mobile phone choice on anything but your own needs and wants. Infact, I'd say it was more retarded than the people who stereotype you by the phone you use.