Best mobile phone for around £100?

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G.T

G.T

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Paganisterr
Ak Paganister
Now, I hardly know anything about phones at all, and the current one I do have is very basic and crummy, and only used for very occasional chats (once or twice a month) or emergencies. It's pay-as-you-go, and will likely stay like that because of the lack of people I speak to.

So I'm interested in upgrading it to something a little more decent, mainly to enter the "21st century". A Smartphone maybe best suited for me, but I have no idea what is decent for around £100. I know I'm not going to get the absolute best stuff - 4GB memory, etc, etc, but that's not totally necessary. I would like a decent camera though.

I never thought I'd be asking for advice, and I'm a little anti-mobile phone because of the ridiculous prices you have to pay for texts and calls after the main purchase! So this upgrade is probably unlikely, because it'll make me use it more! :P

Many thanks if you can give suggestions.
 
I would recommend a Sony Ericsson K750i. I've got one and I'm more than happy with it. Its available for about £80 these days.

2 megapixel camera, plays MP3s (I use a 1mb memory stick pro duo in it), bluetooth, internet, and all the usual phone text stuff.

Sony-Ericsson-K750i.jpg


Sample photo
 
Don't be tempted by so called smartphones. You'd be looking at Orange SPVs and they are horrible to use. They concentrate on looking like windows, but really they're just overly complicated to use. A simple task like turning on bluetooth turns into a half-hour affair.

Go for Sony Ericsson. I had a K700i, loved it, and now I have a K800i and love that too. What daan said, really. The K750i will do you fine, but if possible try and find a K800 - the upgrade is really really worth it. The camera is good excellent, and you can upgrade the memory pretty cheaply. The same goes for the K750. They're both good, but the K800i has better specs and 3G. And Bestpic, which rules.

Here's some samples from my K800i:





And, as a bonus, if you get it on Three, you get to stream TV channels for 50p. God I miss that... Anywho, it's available at Play.com for £150 the last time I checked, but there are usually loads on eBay.

EDIT

On the operator front, I'd personally head for Three (if you bought a 3G phone) or T-Mobile (if you bought anything).

Three give you pretty reasonable call pricing and I love the facilities. You don't get the whole internet, but they tell you before you get charged (unlike O2 who just unexpectedly charge you £3 per megabyte) and everything within their site isn't charged. And that includes yahoo product, web and image search which is very helpful if you can't get to a PC. And for 50p per day you can stream TV to your mobile, which is a nice feature.

T-Mobile offer ridiculously good prices, and from what I can see the coverage isn't bad either. I've had no experience with them, though, and I suspect there are a lot of loopholes in their terms and conditions.

So, some "do not"s too: Fresh - very small network, and I suspect there are very few advantages over larger companies. O2 - dreadfully worked out priceplan that doesn't suit anyone but talkaholics and oil baron web surfers. And to my knowledge, their 3G only works in 2 places: Tower Bridge and on the top of the cliffs at Dover. Virgin - I've heard their coverage isn't great, and it certainly wasn't good a few years ago. Don't expect it to be anything like the cable. Tesco - just don't. Vodafone - same principle as O2. High cost of calls and texts in comparison to T-Mobile and Three.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

As I have a PSP, I have a Pro Duo already to use as decent memory, so that's one advantage already.

I'm used to good picture quality due to the cameras we have in the household, but that'll so me. I only want it for exactly the purpose daan took that picture - to photograph car spottings. I can't take my personal camera everywhere...

The Samsungs are interesting too ( D900 ), but this Ericsson seems to be the best bang for you buck. Both the more expensive cameras are a little out of my reach at this time...
 
I do like those Samsungs, but personally I don't think the camera will be much better than the K750 and certainly not above K800 standard. Plus, there's no 3G.

However, the screen is far better than the K750, which still uses the ancient one from the K700 (it's horrible), and will make day-to-day use much more enjoyable. Plus the TV out looks like a good idea.

I'd still go for the K800, but that Samsung looks excellent value for money. The best thing to do is go into Carphone warehouse and ask to have a go on a few. That way you'll be able to get a feel for the menus, decide which one you like the best and then go home and price check it.

Also, don't be put off by different memory card types. I found it very handy that my PDA took the same type as my camera, but now I have the problem that I never know where my memory card is when I want to take a photo. You're going to want to fork out for another card anyway, so it shouldn't really concern you what type it is. After all, even the newest formats are ridiculously cheap. The 1GB Memory Stick Micro or whatever it's called in my phone cost me something like £15 from Amazon, and the prices just keep falling.

It's your prefference, really, but you'll enjoy using the Samsung so much more than the K750 if you can afford the premium.
 
Ok, thanks. :) I guess I'll have to try them out. The ones I came across:

http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go/samsung/d900-clearance/

http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go/sony-ericsson/k800i-clearance/ - O2 though...

I'm a little confused as to why the "clearance" phones are cheaper than non-clearance equivalents. Selecting a non-clearance D900 is around £50 more expensive minimum compared to the clearance model. :odd:

And yes, I keep forgetting how cheap memory is. I constantly remember from a couple of years ago that getting 1GB cards was around £40. :ouch: Not so any more...
 
Meh, O2 aren't that bad. Good coverage, just a little pricey when it comes to internet access. I've lived with it for 6 months, it's just that if another network is available for the same price, go for the other one.
 
Ive got a Sony Ericsson W300i. SE's always seem to have the most features but dont have much of quality. After about 5 months of lots of use ( I use it like 24/7) Ive noticed that the flip is like extremly flimsy and it seems like its about to fall off. The phones button are miniature and are kinda dodgy. Its got one port for all the cables eg. ear phones, computer.. etc. But its got quite a lot of features. Bluetooth,Camera (kinda crap), Infrared, Radio, Internet, WALKMAN, some editing photos and sound making stuff and all the rest of the average phone features. Ive got a 256mb stick but the phone got only 18mb without stick. Good phone features but bad phone quality. Its $200 AUD btw, so its slightly less than what your looking for.
 
Sony Ericsson can't make flip-phones, so they shouldn't. Personally I think SE make excellent quality phones. The K700 I had has been literally covered in scratches, buttons have been pulled off, it's been thrown across a sports hall a few hundred times and it still works perfectly.
 
Alright, I went to a Phones4U store today (no Carphone Warehouse store that I know of near by), and they happened to have a display of many phones free for you to pick up and try. They were dummies, so I never got to see the menus and stuff. But I can say now I really do prefer the Samsung, even though technically it isn't as good as the Sony. The K800i was a bit bulky to my liking - the Samsung was sleek and felt just as good quality.

I found out what "clearance" means on the Carphone Warehouse website, and it's ex-demo/ mail order returns/ trial phones, so that's why they're a bit cheaper. They guarantee that they've had quality checks and have been reconditioned if needed. I just don't know if I want to take the risk... It's too expensive to buy otherwise.
 
Well ive got a Samsung X150. It was my old phone from last year. The flip is still perfect. I once rode my bike over the phone (on accident) and it still worked and it only had a few scratches. It was only like $60 but it ONLY has the vitals a phone needs. Samsung has excellent quality IMO but doesnt have too many features. All IMO.
 
Ok, I think I'm going to buy the D900. Just I have a couple of simple questions about what I'm confused about...

I'm currently with Vodaphone. The phone I'll be buying will be with T-Mobile. Is it possible to put my old Vodaphone sim card in my phone without messing anything up? If so, great, as I'll be able to keep my credit and phone number. If this does happen, will the T-Mobile sim card become a spare (no other costs included for keeping it?)?
 
You'll keep everything, you just have to unlock the phone since it'll be locked to T-Mobile. :)
 
Sod it, I decided to buy a K800i on Vodaphone. I've got to make a decision eventually, and decided to go for the superior camera over the looks/usability. It was only £110 from Play.com. Should be here tomorrow. :)
 
Well, just got the phone... And the old sim card doesn't seem to work properly. The 3G (apparently) doesn't seem to work with it, and when I see my balance a load of random !£?! characters appear like it's confused or something. With the new sim card it shows the balance and 3G works fine.

Help?!
 
Dave A works/has worked in the mobile phone industry - drop him a PM and see whether he can shed some light on it.
 
A simcard has to be 3G enabled to work with a 3G phone. Usually though a 2G or a 2.5G capable sim will work fine in a 3G phone but you won't be able to use the 3G services. Some newer phones though, and yours may be included, use a 3G signal for pretty much everything, regular calls and texts etc. If that's the case with your phone and I suspect it is with the K800 because I know it is with the current K810i, then your old sim won't work in the new phone. Try sending a text of making a call from the old sim and just see if it works, if it does then the phone simply uses a 3G signal to recieve account data and you'll just have to use the sim until it stops working because the credit has run out. If calls and texts don't work then there's not much you can do about it. The sim probably still works, just not in a 3G phone.

this is all under the assumption that your old sim is a 2G or 2.5G sim.

BTW good choice with the phone, I agree with the suggestions, Sony Ericsson are the company to go for with mobile phones.
 
Thanks for the help.

I did investigate after I sent the PM to you about this and did find out the sim card in the old phone is a 2G one, especially considering it was just a £20 phone a couple of years ago. I'm just using the new one instead. My brother gets my - from his own words "crappy" - phone with my old credit on it. Lucky sod. :P

I'm happy with the phone. Great quality display and case. I'm happy with the battery life as well. It came with half charge and has lasted a few hours of heavy usage before the battery icon turning red. 3G is ok, just soooo expensive. I loaded a BBC page and used up 3p!

The one thing that niggled me is how hard it is to get the battery cover off. I had to use a rubber in the end to build up enough friction to pull it off...
 
G.T
I had to use a rubber in the end to build up enough friction to pull it off...
Click to expand...
Talk about innuendo. :lol:

You should go and download themes for it now. There are loads of SE themes on deviantart. :D
 
G.T
3G is ok, just soooo expensive. I loaded a BBC page and used up 3p!

The one thing that niggled me is how hard it is to get the battery cover off. I had to use a rubber in the end to build up enough friction to pull it off...
Click to expand...

You call 3p expensive? O2 charge me £3 per megabyte, and I don't even get the speed difference!

I'm surprised at the battery cover thing. Mine slides off pretty easily.

Anyways, enjoy the phone ;)
 
If you want to know what the best phone out there is, it's the iPhone

but it's EXTREMELY expensive
You have to be rich to own one...not recommended unless your rich!
 

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