upgrading from iphone 3gs, to what???

DriversEd

hi,
i have an upgrade which is giving me free options of iphone 4, samsung galaxy s2, nokia n8, and all the smart phones a guy would want i suppose.
but, i'm going off the iphone for some reason.
ive heard the galaxy s2 is the business, but its massive!
the n8 is getting recommended, but the nokia c7 looks very good close up and seems to have all i would need.
i prefer candybar phones, and also one handed operation if you know what i mean. toucjscreen is fine, but for some reason i'm attracted to the phones with the send and hang-up buttons on the bottom at least. dont know why?
i use email and surf the web a bit, like to run a few data apps like bloomberg etc, play a few games and a good camera. i like a very good calender/reminder application, news apps and weather etc.
bluetooth, voice memos and notes apps also.
but above all is battery life, and reliablility, sturdiness is paramount.
has anyone any experiance of the nokia c7 or the n8 as i was a nokia fan before this iphone 3gs. and even now, when i pick up a nokia, its more intuitive to use the other phones IMO.

any and all advice or opinions are welcome and gratefully received,
ed

DjFlin

I'd avoid the Nokias if I were you.

Otherwise you cant go wrong with an iPhone 4 or Galaxy S. You might like Windows Phone 7 if you can get one, the Microsoft Office suite in it can be quite handy.

jimmycrackcorm

The s2 might appear massive at first but once you have it you won't think that for long.

Rsaeire

Given that you're leaning towards the Nokia handsets, I'd try them out in store, if you can. While you're there, I'd also recommend trying out the Samsung Galaxy S II. I have the S II and I find it to be an excellent handset. It has almost everything you need, bar the hang-up button at the bottom. While bigger than any of the iPhones, you soon get over the initial size since it's incredibly thin; pretty amazing considering all the hardware it has jammed inside its svelte body.

Also, since you're looking to be using your new handset for email, web browsing, data apps, gaming, taking pictures etc, the size and quality of the S II's screen will win you over for sure. It really is something to behold, plus it's the fastest handset available in this country at the moment which will mean it won't be outdated as quickly as other handsets.

dr ro

Unfortunately gs2 comes with everything except longer thumbs! It's quite difficult to get any touchscreen smart phone that's usable one handed. But the nokia range are close. I use n8 and it does all you are looking for plus more. Screen is 3.5 inch so manageable. Everything else you've listed is there including call buttons in the right places and the camera is the best of any smart phone. I don't know a lot about the galaxy but I do know it's too big for me and can't do alot of what my n8 can.

Rsaeire

dr ro wrote: »

Unfortunately gs2 comes with everything except longer thumbs! It's quite difficult to get any touchscreen smart phone that's usable one handed. But the nokia range are close. I use n8 and it does all you are looking for plus more. Screen is 3.5 inch so manageable. Everything else you've listed is there including call buttons in the right places and the camera is the best of any smart phone. I don't know a lot about the galaxy but I do know it's too big for me and can't do alot of what my n8 can.

Out of interest dr ro, as I considered the N8 before buying the S II, what do you find the N8 can do that the S II cannot?

cantthinkof1

I have a Galaxy S2 since it was launched in Ireland. Its fantastic. My wife and daughter both have iPhone 3Gs and the GS2 is light years ahead in terms of screen size/quality and speed.
Having used the iPhone a few rimes I find the response times very slow and the small screen annoying.
Sister & Brother in law have iPhone 4 and I dont see any difference as its the same/simillar OS inside.

The S2 is very fast and as its android much more flexible in terms of apps and what you can do with it than Apple.

The only downside is the battery life on the S2 but thats due to tha screen, wifi, gps, bluetooth ans all the other services running in it but if you turn stuff off when not using them then the battery life increases..

As other posters have said: stay away from Nokia. They are old hat and if you are tying your self into a new 18-24 month contract you want a device thats current and under continious development/evolution.

Destroyer666

Xperia play, best piece of technology I ever bought.

AckwelFoley

cantthinkof1 wrote: »

I have a Galaxy S2 since it was launched in Ireland. Its fantastic. My wife and daughter both have iPhone 3Gs and the GS2 is light years ahead in terms of screen size/quality and speed.
Having used the iPhone a few rimes I find the response times very slow and the small screen annoying.
Sister & Brother in law have iPhone 4 and I dont see any difference as its the same/simillar OS inside.

The S2 is very fast and as its android much more flexible in terms of apps and what you can do with it than Apple.

The only downside is the battery life on the S2 but thats due to tha screen, wifi, gps, bluetooth ans all the other services running in it but if you turn stuff off when not using them then the battery life increases..

As other posters have said: stay away from Nokia. They are old hat and if you are tying your self into a new 18-24 month contract you want a device thats current and under continious development/evolution.

Ive never had an android because i once had a touchscreen phone and it drove me mad.. ive big hands and it was impossible to type on them correctly..


the sister got the GS2 and i essnntially got a hard on using it It works fine for me som im off to the shop to get one now!

dr ro

I'm not dissing the sgs2 here as I don't know enough about it and haven't heard anything bad about it, however with my n8 I use the fm transmitter in the car a lot, I do use the usb on the go, I have used internet free sat nav in 3 other countries. The camera is superior as is the flash. It's easy to use with one finger as specified by op and as a result the battery benefits from smaller less demanding screen. I know the galaxy is quicker with an impressive screen and a bazillion apps. But these aren't important to me. And apparently not to op either.

cantthinkof1

AckwelFoley wrote: »

Ive never had an android because i once had a touchscreen phone and it drove me mad.. ive big hands and it was impossible to type on them correctly..


the sister got the GS2 and i essnntially got a hard on using it It works fine for me som im off to the shop to get one now!

Did you get the hard on in front of your sister?? Your a sick puppy:eek:

Rsaeire

dr ro wrote: »

I'm not dissing the sgs2 here as I don't know enough about it and haven't heard anything bad about it, however with my n8 I use the fm transmitter in the car a lot, I do use the usb on the go, I have used internet free sat nav in 3 other countries. The camera is superior as is the flash. It's easy to use with one finger as specified by op and as a result the battery benefits from smaller less demanding screen. I know the galaxy is quicker with an impressive screen and a bazillion apps. But these aren't important to me. And apparently not to op either.

I didn't think you were dissing the S II, I was just curious what features the N8 has that the S II doesn't. The features you mentioned would definitely be very useful if needed and, of course, using the handset with one hand is one of the points the OP mentioned they were interested in.

OP, hopefully you've found some good advice amongst the posts above which can help you make your mind up about which handset you're going to go for. Again, I'd recommend testing any handset you're interested in by going to a store, just so you can get a feel for which one would suit best.

DriversEd

thanks for the replies, they are a great help, really!
i have, since i posted, had a look at all the above handsets in a store.
i'm no better off, as with all stores, you are looking at a dead phone with a cartoon picture on the front. can they not figure out a way to show me a real working sample!!

i still think the sgs2 is large, but have heard nothing but good things.
i am losing interest in the apples, as everything else seems to be getting better, while apple just comes up with more ways to keep you instead of 'attracting' you.
i take your point with the nokias being older, but are they not upgrading the OS soon?
and worse about the nokias is, i held the N8 and thought it was too light and flimsy, and i didnt like the cheap aluminium finish. the one i preferred was even a bit older but much better build quality i think, the C7!!

i'm stuffed!
are windows phones going to be out soon, are they their own or who's making them?

anyway, thanks again so far!

bd250110

duffsaw wrote: »

i'm stuffed!
are windows phones going to be out soon, are they their own or who's making them?

anyway, thanks again so far!

I think the SGS II is the best choice at the minute. Unless you can't wait, I would hold tough for iPhone 5, just so you know what it is. I have the SGS II and it is a great handset, but I'm struggling to find a keyboard that is as quick and accurate as typing on the iPhone keyboard, I think it might be the size of the screen and buttons are not quite where my thumb expects them. Im using swipe at the minute, best keyboard so far.
The camera is not great in low light - even with flash.
Battery life will (just) get you through the day with moderate usage - I tend to turn WiFi off when outside the house. A car charger is a must.

The windows phones are made by HTC, Samsung, LG and Nokia. Nokia have dumped their own OS and will be Windows from here on in. Reviews of the windows phones have been good.

deco nate

duffsaw wrote: »

thanks for the replies, they are a great help, really!
i have, since i posted, had a look at all the above handsets in a store.
i'm no better off, as with all stores, you are looking at a dead phone with a cartoon picture on the front. can they not figure out a way to show me a real working sample!!

i still think the sgs2 is large, but have heard nothing but good things.
i am losing interest in the apples, as everything else seems to be getting better, while apple just comes up with more ways to keep you instead of 'attracting' you.
i take your point with the nokias being older, but are they not upgrading the OS soon?
and worse about the nokias is, i held the N8 and thought it was too light and flimsy, and i didnt like the cheap aluminium finish. the one i preferred was even a bit older but much better build quality i think, the C7!!

i'm stuffed!
are windows phones going to be out soon, are they their own or who's making them?

anyway, thanks again so far!

sorry,but...the n8 is by way far from being flimsy,cheap finish.
if you held it up against those other phones,you would see it right away.
yes,some parts of the others os is faster than simbian.but as to hardware
they are very hard to match,in sayin that the iphone is close in
that department.(ie,not made o plastic.like most others)
and,did the c7 come before...or after the n8

DriversEd

hi deco,
not sure which came first on the nokia's alright.
how long before the nokia's are released with windows OS? is that worth waiting for? as i said i have always leaned towards nokia's.

KrisW

Did you hold a working N8, or a shop dummy? The dummys feel flimsy, but the real phones are very solid. The C7 is a more hand-friendly shape, though, and this may make it feel more solid. Of the three, I find the iPhone4 to be the worst design: far less comfortable than the 3GS with its curved back.

The SGS2 is the newest of the phones you mention, and it has by far and away the best specification (fastest processor, most RAM, etc, etc), but it's also a big phone, and while the technology inside is top-notch, the outer casing really doesn't live up to the price - lots of cheap-feeling plastic. If you can live with that, it's definitely the most future-proof of the three.

If you really like the iPhone, and have lots of apps already, it's hard to argue with the iPhone 4 - except that the iPhone 5 can't be very far away at this point. You have an iPhone 3GS, so the 4 is really more of the same, with a sharper display. That might not feel like much of an upgrade though.

I've an N8, and it is out nearly a year by now. Its biggest plus point is that it has an exceptional camera; there is really nothing to touch it on the market, and it can genuinely replace a point-and-shoot pocket camera. Like all new Nokias, there's an excellent free sat-nav that can operate without using mobile data.
The software was very ropey at launch, now it's functional if not super pretty. There's another free update by the end of the year that'll fix this point, though, and that will bring the software right up to date. The C7 is pretty much an N8 but with a camera that isn't as good.

C7 was launched about 2 months after N8, btw. The first Windows Phone devices from Nokia are expected to launch at the end of November, and be on sale early 2012.