I want a smart phone

davet82

I'm thinking of buying a smart phone, i have a work phone which is a basic nokia but I thought I'd treat myself to a new smart phone as a reward seeing i've quit the smokes...

I just don't know which one to get or where to start...

So I want something that has apps, internet, at least 8gb for music, a good camera, fm radio...

now i suppose its gonna be between an iphone (expensive i've heard and also restrictive software/music licence ?) android/samsung or nokia/windows 8

i don't really no where to start as i haven't taken much interest before in smartphones, any advice would be much appreciated, pros/cons

bbam

Unless the IPhone 5 has an FM radio, nothing up to that has it.
Not a problem though for me. Got an iPhone 4 over a year ago and love it.

davet82

bbam wrote: »

Unless the IPhone 5 has an FM radio, nothing up to that has it.
Not a problem though for me. Got an iPhone 4 over a year ago and love it.

Have you used android?

my daughter got a ipod touch for xmas and i've have to say i'm a little addicted to it, iphone is bascily an ipod that calls?

Danger781

davet82 wrote: »

Have you used android?

my daughter got a ipod touch for xmas and i've have to say i'm a little addicted to it, iphone is bascily an ipod that calls?

Yes pretty much. iOS will be almost the same across all iDevices.

If I had to sum up the differences between Android and iOS (you mentioned restrictions), an iPhone is like renting a nice hotel room. It looks pretty, its easy to use, and you don't really have to worry about anything. BUT, it's not yours. This is one of the things I love most about Android. It's like buying your own home. You can customise it the way you want. Lay it out the way you want. Colour it the way you want. Nobody can say no. If you look at the iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, 5 side-by-side you won't see a difference in the OS. It always looks the same.

For music, Apple has that locked down. iTunes is simple and intuitive and they make syncing back and forth very easy. Now it is possible to get alternatives from Android with a little bit of effort on your behalf. There's an app called iSyncer I believe that will also sync your phone with iTunes. I recently myself started using Google Music so none of my music is actually stored on my device. It's all streamed directly to my phone no matter where I am!

Another thing to consider though - an iPhone has a limited storage. If you purchase a 16GB iPhone you are stuck with that 16GB with no alternatives. The majority of android devices will take microSD cards, so you could store all your music on the card and leave the internal memory of the phone at full capacity.

FM Radio - iPhones do not have an FM Radio functionality. Nearly every android device will have one out of the box.

Camera - Anything around the price of the iPhone will have a similar, if not better camera. 8MP seems to be average at that price.

Apps - Android app store and Apple app store are both huge. App store will have apps that Google Play won't, and vice versa. However there are lot more free apps available on Android compared to iOS.

davet82

Thanks danger that was really helpful, i think it will be andriod device, sounds like the better choice the way you describe it, i cant really see any advantage getting an apple device. I'm persuming a samsung galaxy would be the way to go when it comes to andriod?

Danger781

davet82 wrote: »

Thanks danger that was really helpful, i think it will be andriod device, sounds like the better choice the way you describe it, i cant really see any advantage getting an apple device. I'm persuming a samsung galaxy would be the way to go when it comes to andriod?

I try my best to be unbiased but it never works. You could never make me get an iDevice. :P

That entirely depends on your budget. I will say this - There is a reason that Samsung is so popular amount smartphone users.

You can get an unlocked Galaxy SIII for a little over €400 now off Amazon.es / Amazon.de, and that is probably your best option if you were willing to splash out that much.

davet82

Danger781 wrote: »

I try my best to be unbiased but it never works. You could never make me get an iDevice. :P

That entirely depends on your budget. I will say this - There is a reason that Samsung is so popular amount smartphone users.

You can get an unlocked Galaxy SIII for a little over €400 now off Amazon.es / Amazon.de, and that is probably your best option if you were willing to splash out that much.

anybody i've talk to that have used both apple/adroid give the same advice so that tells a story

€400 i think i could justify spending that seeing i'm saving nearly €100 a week not smoking!

galaxy s3 is that latest model? unlocked you mean sim free? I would need a vodafone one as i'm tied to that network through work

Danger781

davet82 wrote: »

anybody i've talk to that have used both apple/adroid give the same advice so that tells a story

€400 i think i could justify spending that seeing i'm saving nearly €100 a week not smoking!

galaxy s3 is that latest model? unlocked you mean sim free? I would need a vodafone one as i'm tied to that network through work

Sim Free means it will work with any sim card you put in it. However, it would have to be a micro SIM. You can get those with new numbers, or you can have your number moved to one free of charge.

Brianderunner

Dont bother spending a fortune. The galaxy Mini 2 is fine and does all of those things. Got mine for 100 quid.

davet82

Brianderunner wrote: »

Dont bother spending a fortune. The galaxy Mini 2 is fine and does all of those things. Got mine for 100 quid.

what sort of storage does it have? i'd like it to have room for music

Danger781

You pay less, you get less. There is a reason the SIII is so popular.

I know it sounds like I'm promoting it, but I don't even have one myself. I still have my HTC Desire from 2010.

FlapsOfDoom

you can also go to any phone shop and get your SIM card cut down to a mini SIM with a little device they have. Had to get it done for my One-X

AntiVirus

Here's a good comparison of the SIII vs Mini. The SIII is miles better than the Mini!

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III,Samsung-GALAXY-mini-2/phones/6330,6928

Danger781

AntiVirus wrote: »

Here's a good comparison of the SIII vs Mini. The SIII is miles better than the Mini!

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III,Samsung-GALAXY-mini-2/phones/6330,6928

It would want to be at four times the price

WealthyB

It's a bit of a pain to order, (and you'll need someone in the UK to help) but I can't recommend any phone above the LG Nexus 4

http://www.google.ie/nexus/4/

For a SIM-unlocked phone the price is amazing considering you'd pay twice that amount for a similar Samsung S3

davet82

WealthyB wrote: »

It's a bit of a pain to order, (and you'll need someone in the UK to help) but I can't recommend any phone above the LG Nexus 4

http://www.google.ie/nexus/4/

For a SIM-unlocked phone the price is amazing considering you'd pay twice that amount for a similar Samsung S3

have family up north would that help?

ok its half the price but is it half the funtionality? does it match up to everything i mentioned in the OP

davet82

€500 galaxy s3 sim free is the best price i've seen so far...

which is quite expensive, feeling conflicted spending so much

WealthyB

davet82 wrote: »

have family up north would that help?

ok its half the price but is it half the funtionality? does it match up to everything i mentioned in the OP

Normally you would expect that to be the case, but the hardware spec is as good as the Samsung S3 which was the flagship Android Device of last year. In certain aspects it's even better.

Here's just one of many reviews comparing the two devices
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/mobile-phone/3408763/samsung-galaxy-s3-vs-lg-nexus-4-comparison-review/

Family up north will definitely help as it's not available to Irish Market yet. Just be wary that there's a 4-6 week waiting list, but there's a waiting list for a reason, and IMO the wait is worth it.

EGriff

davet82 wrote: »

have family up north would that help?

ok its half the price but is it half the funtionality? does it match up to everything i mentioned in the OP

Its as good if not better than an S3 (matter of opinion really, build quality is definitely better, plus very fast OS updates direct from Google)

They are only sending out orders now though that were placed on the 5th of December so it may be hard to get for another month or so.

ITS_A_BADGER

Do not get a windows phone they are a pain to operate and not great with the apps, Choose between iphone or android

TBi

ITS_A_BADGER wrote: »

Do not get a windows phone they are a pain to operate and not great with the apps, Choose between iphone or android

I always enjoyed using my Windows Phone. Are you sure you were using windows phone or the older windows mobile.

Personally i always found android a pain to operate compared to iPhone or WP7.

ITS_A_BADGER

TBi wrote: »

I always enjoyed using my Windows Phone. Are you sure you were using windows phone or the older windows mobile.

Personally i always found android a pain to operate compared to iPhone or WP7.

I found WP7 a chore to use, personally i own an android phone and think its quite intutitive to use, I have never used an iphone or ipad but hear nothing but great things about them from my family members. But each to their own i guess

Brianderunner

davet82 wrote: »

what sort of storage does it have? i'd like it to have room for music

2 GB i think. You can get a cheap 4GB memory card to go with it.
If you're coming from a crappy old nokia to a mini 2 you would think its the dogs bollox The perfect starter smart phone imo.

WealthyB

Brianderunner wrote: »

2 GB i think. You can get a cheap 4GB memory card to go with it.
If you're coming from a crappy old nokia to a mini 2 you would think its the dogs bollox The perfect starter smart phone imo.

This is kinda going off on a tangent but what's the point in getting a "starter smart phone" though? You'll only outgrow it really quickly - the slow CPU will only become more and more frustrating as you inevitably load more apps onto the phone and use it for ever increasing functions.

I can understand the whole idea of not wanting to commit too much money as this is your first foray into the world of smartphones, but I don't see the point in spending €100 on something you'll most likely want to replace in 6 months.

Brianderunner

WealthyB wrote: »

This is kinda going off on a tangent but what's the point in getting a "starter smart phone" though? You'll only outgrow it really quickly - the slow CPU will only become more and more frustrating as you inevitably load more apps onto the phone and use it for ever increasing functions.

I can understand the whole idea of not wanting to commit too much money as this is your first foray into the world of smartphones, but I don't see the point in spending €100 on something you'll most likely want to replace in 6 months.

I'm quite happy with mine. Perfect for internet and facebook messenger etc. My OH has the S2 and i really dont see whats so good about it compared to mine. basically the difference in price isnt justified i feel.

Makes you less of a target for thieves as well i would imagine.

WealthyB

Brianderunner wrote: »

I'm quite happy with mine. Perfect for internet and facebook messenger etc. My OH has the S2 and i really dont see whats so good about it compared to mine. basically the difference in price isnt justified i feel.

Makes you less of a target for thieves as well i would imagine.

Comparing your phone with an S2, I agree, because the S2 isn't a massive jump up. Neither phone would come close to the S3 or N4 however. There's a massive gulf in terms of screen quality, size, CPU, RAM, Internal Storage.

My Galaxy Nexus would load a web page or download a facebook photo at least twice as fast as your device (with both of us on the same WiFi Network)... now to some people that's not important, but to me it is. I place device performance highly in what I want in a smartphone. But again, that's just me, I'm never off my phone.

Don't agree on the point about being mugged. Thieves gonna thieve. They won't pass you over simply because you have a lower end Android in your hand.

Danger781

The reason I didn't recommend a Nexus is mainly because of the long waiting list to order one. Other than that it is a fantastic phone and having all the most recent updates to Android direct from Google would be amazing. I own a Nexus 7 tablet myself and absolutely love it.

But, the Nexus 4 does not come with a microSD slot so again, you are limited to either 8GB or 16GB of storage just like an iPhone. This is where Google Music comes into play. All my music stored online and streamed directly to my phone, with option of storing specific playlists on phone memory for out and about if you think you might not have internet access. I would find it difficult to fill 16GB of storage on apps alone.

Edit:
€429 White 16GB Galaxy SIII http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00812YWXU/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=ce-de
€439 Blue 16GB http://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B00829LZXC/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

AntiVirus

ITS_A_BADGER wrote: »

Do not get a windows phone they are a pain to operate and not great with the apps, Choose between iphone or android

If both my parents can use one anyone can use one! I also have one

Francie Barrett

davet82 wrote: »

I'm thinking of buying a smart phone, i have a work phone which is a basic nokia but I thought I'd treat myself to a new smart phone as a reward seeing i've quit the smokes...

I just don't know which one to get or where to start...

So I want something that has apps, internet, at least 8gb for music, a good camera, fm radio...

now i suppose its gonna be between an iphone (expensive i've heard and also restrictive software/music licence ?) android/samsung or nokia/windows 8

i don't really no where to start as i haven't taken much interest before in smartphones, any advice would be much appreciated, pros/cons

It sounds like an Android phone would suit you best. As a reasonably priced, all-round package, you can't go wrong. Also, given your requirements, it doesn't sound like you would even need to spend the €500 for a Samsung Galaxy 3 or an iPhone 5. Even a Sony Xperia J (which will only cost about €200 on Pay As You Go) will tick all your boxes and run Android 4.0.

What kind of money are you thinking of spending? Are you pre-pay or pay monthly?

skaface

pity you can,t get the mini 2 on vodafone atm..

Danger781

I would personally choose the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 over an Xperia J at around the same price. It's a better phone overall.