[android] What phone do I get?

[witch]

£20 max but would like to pay less if poss. I think I would need a slightly higher level of either calls or texts or both because events in my life will mean more calls in the future

[techy32]

Check this deal

 

Samsung Galaxy S3 | Phones | Mobile Phones Direct | Smart Deals On Smartphones

 

best for your need and under £20

[witch]

Looks good but a bit low on the data?

[techy32]

Scroll next and you will get unlimited data for £19.50

[arwen]

Have you thought about getting a really good SIM only deal and just buying a phone SIM free? For a one of cost the Nexus 4 at £280 is a steal. Say you keep it for 24months, phone = £11.66 per month. 3 are normally pretty good at giving great SIM only deals out to existing customers, just keep at them ;-)

 

If not, then the Sony phones do seem to be ok, but I've heard quite a few folk having to send them away for repair quite a bit. So long as its at least dual core and 1GB of ram you will be fine I reckon.

[hardtailstar]

Have you thought about getting a really good SIM only deal and just buying a phone SIM free? For a one of cost the Nexus 4 at £280 is a steal. Say you keep it for 24months, phone = £11.66 per month. 3 are normally pretty good at giving great SIM only deals out to existing customers, just keep at them ;-)

 

If not, then the Sony phones do seem to be ok, but I've heard quite a few folk having to send them away for repair quite a bit. So long as its at least dual core and 1GB of ram you will be fine I reckon.

 

similar to what I was going to say,

 

Would you consider buying a phone out right and using a sim only plan? In my experience they are cheaper than contracts, just wished I shopped around more!

[witch]

Due to current economic circumstances in the witch home, no, I can't afford to buy a phone, and said circumstances are why I need to reduce my contract cost

[arwen]

In that case… another option is to phone up and see if you can add a second contract into another one that one of your household has?

T-Mobile have been ringing me up offering it. Not sure of the deals though.

[witch]

In that case… another option is to phone up and see if you can add a second contract into another one that one of your household has?

T-Mobile have been ringing me up offering it. Not sure of the deals though.

 

Difficult as my son is about to graduate and unlikely to come home, my daughter has a sim only and mrwITch is pay-as-you-go!!! But a good idea

[fiendishlyclever]

Few ideas. Get all the family on one network and bring your costs down with free calls/texts between them. Check out the mobiles section on hotukdeals - just got my PAC off Three today (an achievement) and am tempted. Once you request your PAC they often phone back with better deals too....

[witch]

Few ideas. Get all the family on one network and bring your costs down with free calls/texts between them. Check out the mobiles section on hotukdeals - just got my PAC off Three today (an achievement) and am tempted. Once you request your PAC they often phone back with better deals too....

 

Can't get the family on one network as the children are all grown up - in fact one of them moved to O2 because the reception where he is in Cornwall is so bad.

Hmmm

[witch]

Hmmm

Three have offered a Galaxy Ace or the HTC desire C (which seems to be a lower spec than my current one) with 2000mins, 5000 texts and all you can eat data for £15pm

Or a Lumia 620 for £20pm

 

Thoughts? Reception is pretty rubbish at home but I suspect that is the phone - it used to be OK.

Deals seem reasonable - unless you know better...

[SYNACK]

Lumina 620 but you knew I was going to say that.

[witch]

Yes, I did, I know you are a windows phone fanboi - but explain why please

[CAM]

It's at the lower end of the contract price scale but retains very good performance (although not as fast for gaming!). The camera is great quality and the phone feels very rugged in my opinion. Battery life is great and in bright sunlight, WP8 will alter the screen to make it readable outside which makes a huge difference. Once you get used to Live Tiles, you will not want to go back. WP8 community seems very pleasant too.

 

Downside is WP8 has a lack of apps at the moment, although it makes the news sites interesting every time a new high-profile app appears and a buzz starts generating from the community. Live Tiles take time to get used to until you suddenly click and go "Ahhh, so I pin this and that from the app instead of just the launcher." Many first party apps are rubbish and paid third party apps tend to be the better alternative (typically round the 80p mark but you won't need many). Sadly I have to report I had a few crashes with no clue if it was the app or OS.

 

Overall, I think the Lumia 620 is worth it for the budget end of the smartphone market. It's no powerhouse but does what it needs to do and feels like a quality piece of kit. You will find yourself a bit stumped using Windows Phone 8 at first due to the jarring experience of changing over but this is because it works completely different to any other phone OS on the market. Suddenly you will find yourself using it naturally with no hassle or quibble as everything falls into place and just clicks together. Definitely try one at the stores before committing, demo units sold it to me.

[SYNACK]

Yes, I did, I know you are a windows phone fanboi - but explain why please

 

The windows phone stuff is really smooth and speedy UI wise and it is about getting stuff done with a minimum of fuss. If you don't want to spend the whole day tinkering with it to get it just right the WP stuff is great as it can collate everything, emails from multiple accounts, IM, contacts, calendars, social media stuff all into a nice quick easy feed. The apps are no where near as riddled with ads as Droid and if you ever want rdp I have found no phone app on any platform that comes close to ConectMe. No EG app yet but ZH is working on it and that will be native and designed specifically.

 

I find the platform is just a whole bunch more focused at getting stuff done rather than trying to be a universal hammer.

 

As above it is a bit of a change and that is because it is different, it was designed from the ground up to get phone stuff done. Of course then then chucked it on W8 desktops but touch is what it is designed for and does well.

Edited May 13, 2013 by SYNACK

[witch]

Thanks

I am a bit of a dinosaur with phones and for some reason it takes me a long time to get used to a new one - far more than any other tech. I am a bit worried about a windows phone in case I can't work it!!

[bossman]

Have a butchers at this: Pay monthly - Mobile phones - Tesco Mobile

 

Down the bottom end, some of the deals look really good and I know from experience (OH anyway) is that she is more than happy with her Samsung Ace and is not too clogged with apps.

 

Also you don't really need unlimited data or texts as you will not use more than 5000 txts per month or use more than 500Mb of data per month, as for the calls then maybe change the amount of free minutes per month.

 

Happy hunting MSSB

Edited May 13, 2013 by bossman

[witch]

Have a butchers at this: Pay monthly - Mobile phones - Tesco Mobile

 

Down the bottom end, some of the deals look really good and I know from experience (OH anyway) is that she is more than happy with her Samsung Ace and is not too clogged with apps.

 

Also you don't really need unlimited data or texts as you will not use more than 5000 txts per month or use more than 500Mb of data per month, as for the calls then maybe change the amount of free minutes per month.

 

Happy hunting MSSB

 

Thanks MLNM. I have looked but will have another look today.

[witch]

Right - I was all ready to take the Galaxy Ace from Tesco Mobile at £15 a month but when I rang 3 they offered an HTC Desire C (slower processor but more RAM and space than my current Desire) at £9 (bit of a reduction from my current £25!!) with 300 mins, 5000 texts and 250GB internet. I can pay £11 if I want double the internet.

 

The only thing is the size of the phone - hope it isn't too big for me.

Please don't tell me it is rubbish - unless you have very good reasons (I have 7 days to send it back)

[sonofsanta]

The HTC Desire C is a 3.5" screen, same as the Galaxy Ace, and won't feel big in the hand (unless you have really tiny hands).

 

If it was the original Galaxy Ace you were looking at, I'd say the HTC is the better phone simply because it is a newer version of Android (the phone is a year and a half newer), so more secure and with more apps available. In general, HTC's customisation of Android tends to be a bit lighter as well, unlike Samsung's bloat, so that will mitigate the speed disadvantage in the processor.

 

By all accounts the actual physical design is done well. I reckon you're safe with it (though I have no first hand experience of either specific model).

[witch]

Yes, it was the original Ace- couldnt find the newer version anywhere. I do have small hands but hopefully it will be OK