Advice for a new phone?

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jagdrag77

jagdrag77

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Australia
I hate to start a thread for this, but I'm new to the whole smart phone thing and was looking for some advice and what better way then asking all of you intelligent people on here?

I was thinking about maybe an iphone, but I feel like everyone has one. A mate has recommended to me the HTC Incredible S I think it's called, but I'm still unsure.

I'm mainly gonna be using it for MSN and Skype, and of course GT Planet.

Any thoughts?

I appreciate any help on this one :)
 
Well I don't know if we have an Android app, but if we don't, Apple does, so, there's always the 'easy' option (to be pc about it).

If it must be today, I'd get the RAZR or the Galaxy S II (Motorola and Samsung respectively), but if you can wait a few weeks, there'll be a Galaxy S III which will be the king for a long while of smart phones, so, that might be the best option.
 
Android does have a GTPlanet app. I have an xperia play and that's pretty good the screen is easily big enough for the keyboard. The phone is now quiet cheap ( here in the UK ) I got mine for under £200.
 
If you already have an iPod touch, then it's probably easier to just go with the flow and get an iPhone since the overall experience is similar - how to navigate settings, set up wifi, etc. Plus, you can add it to your iTunes account and sync everything together.

If you haven't got that tie in, then give Android a serious look. It's rare for a popular app to be available on only one of the platforms - sooner or later either the original developer ports their app across, or someone else develops a credible clone. I'm running a Google Nexus 1 and haven't regretted it for a minute. Skype and GTPlanet both run really well. I don't use MSN so can't comment there. There is a new app available called Evi which is supposed to be an alternative to Siri - it must be pretty good because Apple is about to pull it from the iTunes store. You can still get it in the Android market. Which raises another point - both Apple and Google can and have pulled apps from their respective markets, but with Android, you can usually find the app on an alternative market if it is popular enough (assuming you haven't got yourself a phone that is too locked down by the carrier). With Apple, your only option for non approved apps (so far as I know) is a jail break
 
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The Galaxy S II is the best phone on the meerkat just now by far in my opinion. Although, at the moment I am using a crappy Orange-branded ZTC Stockholm...purely because it has Android and was £70.
 
Wow, thanks for all the very informative replies guys.

I've been thinking of having an Android based phone, although I like the technology and feel of my ipod touch...But I don't need/want a new phone for a month or so, I guess I'll just do some research until then.

Once again, thanks for the info 👍
 
iPhone's are pretty neat. I've had my iPhone 4 for a few months now and it's absolutely perfect for Skype and MSN. I usually have them running when I go out and about to keep connected to friends. I have absolutely no gripes with it aside from lack of 4G. If you're looking for a 4G device, i'd reccomend an Android based phone. Not sure which one, but if you take a look at your carriers site and see what people are saying you should have pretty good idea of what to expect from the phone. One thing to keep in mind when reading reviews about any phone is to remember that what people say their battery life is like is usually false. Most people with smartphones have no clue on how to maintain battery life so your best bet for actual battery life figures would be from sites like www.Phonearena.com where they have real figures and tests done by professional reviewers. Memory and cpu core count don't matter too much to be honest though. So don't fret if the phone you like the most has 512mb of ram and a 1Ghz single core cpu, because from what you've said you'd be fine with one of the "older" model phones.
 
bergauk
iPhone's are pretty neat. I've had my iPhone 4 for a few months now and it's absolutely perfect for Skype and MSN. I usually have them running when I go out and about to keep connected to friends. I have absolutely no gripes with it aside from lack of 4G. If you're looking for a 4G device, i'd reccomend an Android based phone. Not sure which one, but if you take a look at your carriers site and see what people are saying you should have pretty good idea of what to expect from the phone. One thing to keep in mind when reading reviews about any phone is to remember that what people say their battery life is like is usually false. Most people with smartphones have no clue on how to maintain battery life so your best bet for actual battery life figures would be from sites like www.Phonearena.com where they have real figures and tests done by professional reviewers. Memory and cpu core count don't matter too much to be honest though. So don't fret if the phone you like the most has 512mb of ram and a 1Ghz single core cpu, because from what you've said you'd be fine with one of the "older" model phones.
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Yeah, I have seen MSN running on an iphone from a mate, and it looks fine. To be honest, I think 4G has only just recently come in Australia, so that doesn't bother me too much. I think 3G is enough for what I need, and I don't think iphones run on 4G yet? Battery life is important to me, so I'll keep that website in mind for further references. Memory doesn't bother me as that's what memory cards are for, ha.

I don't mind the older things in life, so I should be fine. Thanks for your advice 👍

Btw, nice photo.
 
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jagdrag77
Yeah, I have seen MSN running on an iphone from a mate, and it looks fine. To be honest, I think 4G has only just recently come in Australia, so that doesn't bother me too much. I think 3G is enough for what I need, and I don't think iphones run on 4G yet? Battery life is important to me, so I'll keep that website in mind for further references. Memory doesn't bother me as that's what memory cards are for, ha.

I don't mind the older things in life, so I should be fine. Thanks for your advice 👍

Btw, nice photo.
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Well iPhones actually don't come with expandable memory. I was actually referring to the RAM or "random access memory." What this is, is the memory that MSN, Skype and iOS run off of. Also, iPhone's, as far as I know, do not have 4G yet. But 3G is fine for more cases. I've been on car trips and streamed full TV shows off it without any issues.
 
It's a trick, unfortunately no international law/regulation was set on only what was allowed to be called 4G, the actual (real) 4G you're looking for is the 100/50mbps up/down (on paper), this isn't what telsta etc is spamming, they're just pushing out something that's faster than HSPA+ and calling it 4G, and they're getting away with it.

One does not simply push out advanced technological networks overnight, but telstra etc are committing daylight robbery by trying to convince everyone they have (okay so they physically upgraded their networks, but not with the proper stuff).

Back to the OP, I'd wait 5-6 months and get the Galaxy S3.
 
I would say go for the Samsung Galaxy S2, its an awesome phone. Nice large touchscreen, great Camera too, very quick and looks amazing. The phone looks very slick but the back cover is very flimsy, made out of plastic, but if you are going to get a cover for the phone then i won't mind too much.

Another interesting feature is that it can be formatted to run on Ubuntu 11.04, but to be honest i would stick with the Android OS as it has way better power management.

Just like RTSolvalou you could wait for the S3 too and there's the arrival of the Google nexus S 4G.

Anyway hope this helps. :)
 
RTSolvalou
It's a trick, unfortunately no international law/regulation was set on only what was allowed to be called 4G, the actual (real) 4G you're looking for is the 100/50mbps up/down (on paper), this isn't what telsta etc is spamming, they're just pushing out something that's faster than HSPA+ and calling it 4G, and they're getting away with it.

One does not simply push out advanced technological networks overnight, but telstra etc are committing daylight robbery by trying to convince everyone they have (okay so they physically upgraded their networks, but not with the proper stuff).

Back to the OP, I'd wait 5-6 months and get the Galaxy S3.
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Interesting fact about Telstra's so called new 4G phone, anyways I've never been with Telstra, Optus are better.

I don't know if I can wait that long for a new phone, but I have seen a few Samsung phones, mainly the Galaxy's and they seem reliable.

mp10
I would say go for the Samsung Galaxy S2, its an awesome phone. Nice large touchscreen, great Camera too, very quick and looks amazing. The phone looks very slick but the back cover is very flimsy, made out of plastic, but if you are going to get a cover for the phone then i won't mind too much.

Another interesting feature is that it can be formatted to run on Ubuntu 11.04, but to be honest i would stick with the Android OS as it has way better power management.

Just like RTSolvalou you could wait for the S3 too and there's the arrival of the Google nexus S 4G.

Anyway hope this helps. :)
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I'm interested to know the difference between the Galaxy S2 and S3, might have to do some research, but thanks for advice mate 👍

Slashfan
Anything but an Intensity II. Them things SUCK.
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Ha, I know right? :dopey:
 
Well I have an iPhone and I haven't regretted it once. I had a blackberry before it and it was good but more like a windows computer since it had file structure and more complicated than needed to be. Android phones I hear are good since they are sort of in between iPhone and blackberry. The only thing with them is there is too many different phones that offer android and every other week a new better one comes out. With iPhone you get a phone that does everything awesome, has billions of apps, and you don't have to worry about being screwed over with a new better model in a month. I'm not sure how soon your gonna get this, but I would suggest iPhone 5. My people at bestbuy said its scheduled for launch in July, but I have been hearing apple may change it to release in November. Either way a bit of a wait from now, but 4s is still good.
 
I'm a huge Android fan but your only going to get the true benefits of Android if your a person who likes to tinker and customize their phone and knows their way around a computer. Android takes a lot longer to learn than Apple and can be frustrating at time because there are so many different phones with so many different OS's so not all apps run great on all phones.

If yor new to smartphones and want a consistently good running phone although with less customization and options than an iphone is the way to go. With Apple its basically 1 OS for everybody, all apps are made for that one phone and work well and crashes are a rarity when compared to most Android phones.

That said I couldn't live without my widgets, flash playing abilities, and wide spread customization of my phone. Also things like Dropbox in combination with my Documents to Go app let me work on essays or anything on the go and then pick up right where I left off on my pc at home. I don't think that's possible on an iPhone.

I'd take a look at the S2 which usually can be had for $0 on a 3 year plan now (if you wait for the S3 you'll be looking at about a $150 on a 3 year plan, in Canada that's the case anyway). The other great option is the Galaxy Nexus S which is the Google phone and gets all updates before any other phone and is what Google streamlines everything for. Super Amoled screens are absolutely amazing too and honestly blow the iPhone screen out of the water.
 
Hold up you have an iPod touch. Ok this will be an easy decision for you than. If you really like it and wish you could just add the ability to make calls and txt than the iPhone is for you. Plus all your apps are stores on your account so when you sign into the iPhone you can get all your apps right away. However your iPod touch will probably be useless since the iPhone will do everything the same. If you want to switch it up than android is for you.
 
The SIII specs are all.... speculation, but it should be a hell of a drug phone and take the market crown like the SII did.

There is something to think about when getting an android phone, and that's if you're going to load up on applications and games.
If you are, then pick one of the (if not THE) best phones from your chosen manufacturer, as those are the ones that are guaranteed to have no problems running applications, if not then given priority in regards to updates to fix bugs/crashes.

It's just a thing that 3 similar phones could be released by the same manufacturer running the same version of android, and the compatibility with applications and games will vary, but that's not to say compatibility is a prominent problem with the operating system, I don't want to be a scare monger exactly.
 
shmogt
Hold up you have an iPod touch. Ok this will be an easy decision for you than. If you really like it and wish you could just add the ability to make calls and txt than the iPhone is for you. Plus all your apps are stores on your account so when you sign into the iPhone you can get all your apps right away. However your iPod touch will probably be useless since the iPhone will do everything the same. If you want to switch it up than android is for you.
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Ah, you've simplified it so much for me here. I'm a fan of Apple products, always have been.

I've always wondered why people who have an ipod the exact size of an iphone, always confuses me as to which one is which.

Anyway, thank you all for your very informed posts, much appreciated. I think I'll be going with an iphone, just gotta decide which one now, ha.
 
jagdrag77
I think I'll be going with an iphone, just gotta decide which one now, ha.
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Comedy gold.

I pretty sure you'll be happy with it, if I could sum up how that OS works with apps and connecting to other devices, it's a bit like the freemasons society with it's lockdown setup.
 
I think the new nokia lumia 900 should be in the mix. Incredible phone :)
 
I can't believe no one mentioned the Droid Razr MAXX or the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Those are the best two Android Phones on the market right now. Hands down.

You can't go wrong with the iphone though, it will get the job done, just not very exciting. A very "vanilla" phone for lack of a better term. BUT they work exceptionally well, just too bland for my tastes.
 

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