Today I have spent a bit of time wondering what new phone to get myself, if any.. I am due for an upgrade on May 12, as it happens my HTC Desire has died a painful death and refuses to charge - I think it fell victim to a power surge in Pinas UPS are collecting it tomorrow to take it to HTC (my insurers told me to go through HTC first). So, my current mobile is my 5 year old Sony Erricson K810i which is a feature phone (though by current standards these things should be called feature-less) and a bit worse for wear, plus it sometimes forgets there is a sim card inserted..... One of the things I have missed most from my HTC is the ability to chit chat with Joy over Facebook and Yahoo from my mobile. I could be on my lunch break at work and spend a good 30 minutes talking about the weather or what not with her, now it is back to the odd text Though I did buy myself a brand new shiny cheapo phone the other day for a Lebaro mobile sim so I can call her for 14p a minute, though I will see how long I use that sim for.. Anyhoo.. There is also the issue of Joy's visa and the impending proposals made by the home secretary, these may mean I end up taking the EEA route and that also means I can't go around signing two year contracts any time soon So, the sooner these proposed changes get an official announcement and we know what we ar dealing with, the sooner I can leave the stone age and get back to the world of modern gadgetry! So, if I do get a phone there are two I think I will go for. HTC One X This is the current flagship phone from HTC, it has 32gb of storage, Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) quad core processor that is super fast and comes with Beats Technology (though they no longer include the headphones which come in at something above £70). All of the reviews have been very positive about it so far.. but then there is choice number 2. Samsung Galaxy S III As of this moment in time this phone is not yet out, but Samsung announced yesterday that they were launching "the next Samsung Galaxy" on May 3rd. Now everything so far is rumour and speculation but it is likely this phone will sport a quad core processor of it's own, HD display as well as Android 4. No idea how music will sound from this phone until it is released and reviewed but the Samsung Galaxy S II was the big phone of 2011 and far superior to the iPhone 4 and 4S (Siri is really just an app bolted on). Now, either phone will be a great phone! They also come with 24 month warranties which is something I now think of as important and are future proof enough to make me feel a little better about signing a 2 year contract. But I think deciding point will come down to cost and battery life.. Apple have the must have phone with a huge fanbase and so charge a premium for their phones, I get a feeling Samsung might follow this trend too I hope not, because if they do then for me the only choice will be HTC, regardless of what improvements the new Galaxy carries with it.
Getting a new 'free' phone on contract is, almost certainly, more expensive then buying the phone outright and taking out a cashback deal. You can get some fantastic cashback deals as low as £0/month net, so two year cashback contracts are no big deal. You just send your on-line bills to get the cashback. My current deal is 400 x-network minutes, unlimited land-line calls, but no internet and that works out to 99p/month net. But as I have downgraded tariff for the last six months of the deal, Orange will end up paying me for using their service and I still get a Nokia 2220 as well, very useful as a backup phone. You can see the deals here... http://www.mobilephonechecker.co.uk/mobile-contract-deals/
If I were to buy one of those phones outright and then add a tariff such as the O2 on and on, the savings would be minimal.
Must admit I am not in the market for high-end phones with unlimited tariffs. Seems the same rules don't apply there. Did a quick check, on your preferred tariff, and it is probably cheaper going for the contract deal with the phone combined.
Obviously not the Samsung Galaxy S3, but here is a pretty good deal with a free Samsung Galaxy S2 with the O2 On & ON tariff. £36/month (before cashback) and just £23.25p/month after cashback... http://www.buymobilephones.net/mobi...e=afp&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=83231
600 anytime minutes, 500 texts and all the internet I can get through........... £26 a month........ Oh, and a splendid Samsung Galaxy II s with it...........
Nothing wrong with a Sony Ericssonn K810i, I would still have one around here if my Mrs hadn't sent my old phones to Pinas. Ain't going to happen again, I hid my Satio and my C905 some where safe, and if I need a spare with some urgency I know where to look.........
Dom, a K810i that forgets it has a sim card inserted is very wrong for a spare.. I'm going to get the thing recycled after I get the new phone.
Decided my next phone will be the HTC One X even though the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III might tip it slightly in specs! Today I got my phone back from HTC, fully repaired and now working as good as new. They got it last Thursday (UPS were a pain in collecting it, but hey) and I got it back today. It had been despatched on Monday. That's very good service They have a warranty on their phones for 2 years (just as Samsung do), but getting it fixed and back to me that quickly has won me over for another model. Thank You HTC
I have done a fair bit of research as my contract is up in June, I own a iPhone 4 but I will be selling it as I think the Samsung Galaxy s11 is great value for money at either 21.50 a month or 20.50 which is much cheaper than the iPhone though if it's true about the s111 then I will wait...
Don't stone me, but i honestlyrecommend one of those "China Phones"which one can buy almost everywhere in the Philippines. In Cebu the best place is "PM Mall", opposite of SM main entrancenear the Jeepney stop. Plenty of shops there. I had the pleasure ofa Blackberry 9000 C+, with WIFI, TV and all other applications available for it. Worked fatastic for a year until it got stolen a week ago. Buying now for some of those Samsung ones, which wouldset me back about 2000 php or2400 phph with WiFI. or an I Phone Copy for 2900 php, but they are so similar, that i am still hesitating a bit. I know about 20 guys which also use China Phones ( wealthy chinese guys,probably thats why they are wealthy !) and none of them ever had any trouble with them. Buy a new battery ( there are plenty good manufacturers for around 300 php) right away, as it is the weak point of those phones, then one can use the supplied one as backup. The China Phones generally have a warranty of a month, which is enough for electronics, because as it is with digital stuff, it works right away or doesn't. However, above are just mine and other peoples experiences, mostly the rest of infos i hav or had is second hand and appeared to be untrue ( except the battery part !) But of course i could buy also a samsung galaxy for 37.500 php instead of 2200... mmmh
There are reviews on YouTube of fake iphones and their operating system, from what could see on there they look pretty bad. Slow, buggy and not much worth to anyone who can afford the real thing.
I saw that too, but after i installed WiFi in my Restaurant i SAWwith my own eyes, that fakes or originals are ofno differnce. Software can be installed for cheap in any Phone shop. With my fake blackberry( i am not sure if it really was fake though,we all know the chinese factory "overruns") i logged into the Blackberry website and upgraded too. Not that there was anything to upgrade, i was just curious. The only thing i could not participate was the free blackberry to blackberrysmsw services, because it requires a name and dealer registration. But then again- My Gf has an original Samsung fromDubai and tried heaven and earth to get it running with the free sms feature in the Philippines, up to the manufacturer. But it was only valid for the Emirates and some associated nations, NOT for Philippines. So much for the "Worldwide". But who needs that in the Philippines anyhow. If i really need to send free sms, iload a20 php"free all" valid for24 hours and sendmy infos out. NOTE HERE FOR ALL- i ajust add this Infos for people which live in the Philippines, in the UK or Europe things vary of course, asproviders beat each other with gimmicks every week. In the PI we only have an ogliopol of three phone providers, whih harmonically raise their prices all the time. So the option Contract/Phone combination isn't really attractive here.
Hey Guenther - let me know next time you are going to SM - I'll meet you there, buy you a coffee and you can show me these phones if you will. Al.:england:
certainly,i did send you a PMK with my number and facebook. Not sure when i go over to the "other side",but if i go, i will actually buy one of those phones,so its a good occasion. Not sure which one, the Balamban phone shop has all kinds ( Galaxies,I=Phones, HTC's , Blackberries and Nokias) but in the City they are 25 % cheaper and i can test the WIFI and TV/radio as well. Sad thing in Balamban, no real TV and Radio reception,lol. Everyone has cable or satelite.
