Help me select a new smartphone [Archive]

Espada III

1st Sep 2013, 11:48

I am in the market for a new smartphone. There are too many choices.

I have for several years used a Blackberry. My main uses are calling, texting, and some e-mailing, but whilst I receive e-mails, I do not send that many from the phone, but wait to return to the office unless the matter is urgent. I also do a little web browsing, but this is not a great experience on the BB so I will probably do more on a new touchscreen phone.

I will not do any gaming, or downloading music; I do not have a tw itter account and do not use facebook. I do use Google Maps which I think is a superb piece of kit.

Therefore, I am not sure I need a top of the range phone, but equally, as I use it for business it needs to be reliable, light and reasonably fast.

I am not a great lover of Apple products, not sure if BB will last till the end of the year. Do I go Android or Windows?

Help!

Any recommendations?

Capetonian

1st Sep 2013, 11:55

A friend who always researches these things very thoroughly and goes for the best on the market, has set her heart on the new Samsung Galaxy S4. I don't know much about smartphones as I still use a steam-driven Nokia, but I did look at a few reviews of the S4 and it does seem like a superb piece of kit and well-specced, although most of its assets would be lost on me or useless.

Video: Samsung Galaxy S4 Active review - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-video/10275818/Samsung-Galaxy-S4-Active-review.html)

Bern Oulli

1st Sep 2013, 12:31

Or Giggle's Nexus 4. Cheaper than the Galaxy especially if bought Sim free and unlocked from the Giggle Play Store.

three eighty

1st Sep 2013, 16:03

Seriously!!! Call 5 friends and look at their phones then decide

NWSRG

1st Sep 2013, 16:41

Today's high end smartphones all seem to be getting BIG...the Galaxy S4 is a cracker, but look at the size of the thing...

Personally, the iPhone is hard to beat...so easy and intuitive, maybe not quite all the bells and whistles of the S4, but a great interface, lots of apps, and ideal for the basics the OP is after.

Wouldn't go for W8...Android looks to be mature and secure now. But iOS is pretty much all you need...

spannersatcx

1st Sep 2013, 16:51

I have an S4 although it has a large footprint, it is very light, and you don't always know you have it in your pocket.

I have to say it is probably the best phone I have had, from sony to blackberry to htc .....this one beats them.

Never had an Iphone, don't like them for numerous reasons.

I would pop in to a high street store and have a feel of all the phones available and see which one suits you best.

OFSO

1st Sep 2013, 17:01

Android & HTC - got the phone for free with a €9 a month, two year Vodaphone (E) contract. Well, that should be "free". However with Skype on the phone and wifi I hardly ever go over the €9 limit. IMHO HTC is one of the best screens and OS.

mixture

1st Sep 2013, 17:12

Personally, the iPhone is hard to beat.

Agreed. :ok:

papabravowhiskey

1st Sep 2013, 19:18

Low-cost option: I bought a Huawei Ascend G400 - 4" screen, android, works very nicely. The current model (Huawei Ascend G510) has a 4.5" screen and costs around £100 on PAYG.
PBW

Espada III

1st Sep 2013, 19:44

Thanks all. I have got hold of an unlocked iPhone 4 which I can play with. I will see. To me it seems heavy and slow and i don't like that you have to do everything through iTunes, but then, I suppose androids are pretty similar with Google Store or whatever it is called.

mixture

1st Sep 2013, 21:02

To me it seems heavy and slow

Well it is an iPhone 4 my dear. I can assure you the current generation is neither heavy or slow. :ok:

and i don't like that you have to do everything through iTunes

As you've concluded yourself, other phones will have their own admin apps.

To be honest, iTunes isn't that bad, it just gets on with the task at hand without fuss.

OFSO

2nd Sep 2013, 07:46

I suppose androids are pretty similar with Google Store

Nope. You can go to settings and select only download via Google Playstore, or accept anything from anwhere. It's ANDROID, remember, which lets the customer decide. (And decide to be careful, also, but that is another matter.)

mixture

2nd Sep 2013, 09:03

select only download via Google Playstore, or accept anything from anwhere. It's ANDROID, remember, which lets the customer decide

Oh OSFO. :ugh:

What you very carefully skirt around is the fact that its a double edged sword.

That extra flexibility comes with a great deal of risk, and to be honest, the vast majority of people will never have much use for non Google Playstore apps anyway !

You have to remember, its a smart phone, not a computer. The focus should be on stability and security of the platform.

There are also other issues with the Android platform such as issues with different platform version APIs.

As much as you might personally hate it OSFO, the Apple platform has a great deal going for it if you look at it on an impartial technical level.

Also remember OSFO, that if people want to be idiots and run random third party apps on their iPhone, they can always jail break them.

OFSO

2nd Sep 2013, 09:16

For the record, I only ever use free (I am mean) and Google Playstore apps (I'm careful) and even then every one gets scanned with antivirus. Yes my phone and my tablet are there as phones, primarily, but offer so much in the way of computing power for other communications ('net, news, skype, web) that they do get used that way more than as phones. So much so that I'm thinking of reactivating an old Nokia dumbphone to use as a ...phone.

M.Mouse

2nd Sep 2013, 10:08

I know this advert is for the S3 but it sort of speaks volumes to me.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Ad - YouTube

Ancient Observer

2nd Sep 2013, 12:40

Us poor pensionners can't afford Apple prices, and the outrageous charges at the Apple store if anything goes wrong. Like - no way to repalce the battery, and no way to add a few Gb.

AND the fact that Apple refuse to pay UK taxes despite making a Billion dollars out of the UK market.

Samsung S 4 is currently the best non-Apple product, and if that is too big, try the Apple S4 mini. Lower spec, but good at the price.

My local Carphone Warehouse tends to be quiet early morning mid-week, and the lady in there is a delightfully helpful lady.

W2k

2nd Sep 2013, 13:14

I'd really suggest you give the current Nokias a shot, get a Lumia with Windows Phone 8. It has all the stuff you need and then some. You'll find Nokia's HERE maps are more than a match for Google's, especially the included Drive+ satnav which is excellent.

Battery life is very good, especially if you don't use a lot of data services. The UI is uncluttered, beautiful and FAST. Nokia builds their hardware rock solid and the screens have excellent daylight readability. You have a fair selection of screen sizes and designs, one of which will surely suit your wallet.

mixture

2nd Sep 2013, 16:10

Us poor pensionners can't afford Apple prices, and the outrageous charges at the Apple store if anything goes wrong.

Apple prices are not excessive given the quality of hardware and software.

Buy AppleCare, you don't get outrageous charges and they even come pick up your iPhone from you at home and drop off a brand new one at the same time !

I bet getting your android phone repaired isn't exactly free anyway !

no way to repalce the battery

Oft quoted but rarely needed. Don't think I know of one iPhone user who's had to have their battery replaced and I know of quite a few either directly or through work !

and no way to add a few Gb.

What for ? They come with generous storage.

AND the fact that Apple refuse to pay UK taxes despite making a Billion dollars out of the UK market.

Oh, and the love of your life, the jewel in your eye... Samsung don't do the same thing ?

Seriously AO, you always regurgitate that same boring argument. How about you name me one large multinational that doesn't aggressively cut its tax bill ! They're all at it.

spannersatcx

2nd Sep 2013, 20:12

I bet getting your android phone repaired isn't exactly free anyway !

No problem it comes with a 2 year warranty.

They come with generous storage.

At a premium price though.

It's each to his own, some prefer Apple some prefer others. I personally don't like the iphone, but I'm not against apple, I have an iPad and ipod.

Nervous SLF

3rd Sep 2013, 04:14

Talking of iPads, SWMBO has set her heart on getting one of those. At the moment she has a Kindle book reader ( not fire ) and wonders
if she can easily transfer her books from the Kindle direct to the iPad. She also wants to transfer stuff from her 3 year old Acer laptop
which uses windows 7. I said that I haven't a clue but I notice that as Apple have their own e-book system I suspect the answer to both
questions is no.?

Don Coyote

3rd Sep 2013, 04:52

Nervous SLF, you can download the free Kindle app and it will sync your whole library. It will even open the books at the page you were last reading on the kindle.

Different story regarding the ACER depending on what you want to transfer. Pictures, PDF and word documents will be fine.

crewmeal

3rd Sep 2013, 06:24

As posted elsewhere I have a Sony Xperia Z. It is crammed full of bloatware which is aimed at you spending money on gamey rubbish. Ideal for kids but not for me. Samsung is the same and been featured on the BBC's Watchdog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox9nuDKbNUo

mixture

3rd Sep 2013, 06:37

Talking of iPads, SWMBO has set her heart on getting one of those. At the moment she has a Kindle book reader ( not fire ) and wonders if she can easily transfer her books from the Kindle direct to the iPad.

There is an Amazon Kindle App available on free of charge on the Apple App Store. Download, install and Robert is your uncle.

And I concurr with what El Coyote said about the Acer. Pictures, music etc should be fine. Depends what you want to transfer. The iPad/iPhones should not be seen as a replacement for a laptop. Smart phones and tablets, irrespective of manufacturer, have their place in the market, but the aim has never been to replace laptops.

Nervous SLF

3rd Sep 2013, 22:35

Thank you for your replies. :ok:

OFSO

4th Sep 2013, 07:51

It is crammed full of bloatware

I have bought a tablet from Maplins UK and a smartphone from amazon. Both unlocked, both very cheap (because neither the latest nor the most fashionable) , both had no bloatware whatsoever and both worked perfectly with SIM cars from major providers.

OTOH a Toshiba laptop from amazon came with adware - which I immediately removed to my satisfaction.

spannersatcx

4th Sep 2013, 16:59

I downloaded calibre e-book (http://calibre-ebook.com/about)
Converts to ipad/kindle, and it was free!

Ancient Observer

6th Sep 2013, 16:47

Apple rip offs. Iphone 5.

16 gb extra on an apple costs £70. On an android, it costs £6 from Amazon.
32 gb extra on an iphone costs £100. On an android, it costs £15 from Amazon.

This might be cheap for mixture, but for us pensioners, it is extortionate.

They do not come well equipped with gbs unless you are very rich.

As the Ancient household has the lot - ipads, iphones and itouches, i am not against them in principle, I just hate their pricing, and their dodgy use of offshore Cos to hide their taxable profits. I wish the US Govt would force them to repatriate their ill-gotten gains. Then they would pay some taxes, for once.

mixture

6th Sep 2013, 17:40

AO,

I think you and I will just have to agree to disagree and leave it like that.

McGoonagall

6th Sep 2013, 18:17