Post: #1

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 and also i am moving to canada in march from ireland...

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, 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
Thanks Ross.

Post: #2

What's your price range, which features are a priority (camera, memory, screen size, battery...)? If you aren't concerned with money, Samsung Galaxy S3 has all this (good battery life, superb screen size and quality, great camera...). If you want good bang for your buck, Nexus 4 is good, it costs ~300-400$ without contract, but it doesn't have a microsd slot, so you're stuck with 8 or 16 GB (depending on which one you buy), but everything else is on par with Galaxy S3, but it's noticably cheaper.

Post: #3

I bought a used iPhone 4 for AT&T in great condition off of ebay for $180. Then purchased the Straight Talk SIM card here: http://www.straighttalk.com/ShopSims

Now I have unlimited calling, text, and data for $45 a month. Straight Talk also sells new iPhones if you don't mind spending $450-$850.

Post: #4

Android is solid. I have an HTC One X.

If I were buying a new phone right now, I'd buy an HTC One X Plus.

HTC and Samsung have turned out some excellent Android phones recently.

For Windows, check out the Nokia Lumia 900 and 920. They have great screens and a nice style, and the OS is user-friendly from what I know.

Also check out the HTC Windows Phone 8X. http://bgr.com/2012/10/29/htc-windows-phone-8x-review/

Post: #5

One X owner here too. Awesome, awesome phone. Never given me a single problem.

Post: #6

Remember you will use this every single day more than other devise.

This is a case where you can have the best, don't mess around, Go for quality and get the iphone5, stunning phone, it will impress the ladies, the music issue is easy to get around and its the best.

In this case you can drive a ferrari, do it... its worth the few 100 dollar premium and you won't regret it.

Post: #7

Remember you will use this every single day more than other devise.

This is a case where you can have the best, don't mess around, Go for quality and get the iphone5 in white, stunning phone, it will impress the ladies, the music issue is easy to get around and its the best.

In this case you can drive a ferrari, do it... its worth the few 100 dollar premium and you won't regret it.

Post: #8

Cheers guys i have been looking at your suggestions and i think i will wait till i get to Calgary too buy my new phone as they are a LOT cheaper i will probably just go with a pay monthly contract with Fido as they offer the best deal with contacting home etc. it will be mainly used for texting family back home as texts are free and for social networking and for e-mailing etc. i suppose my limit would be $600 would like to hold some music as well. i have checked out your different suggestions and really like the looks of the HTC One X. Also guys as you probably know from this post i don't know much about phones is the iPhone 5 much more of an upgrade from the 4s? would it be worth the extra $100 ? Thanks so much for your suggestions and help.
Ross.

Post: #9

No problem pal, the iphone5 is $649 and the 4S is $549..... I have had lots of different phones, cheap and expensive, android and apple (never windows) I think it is worth getting the best available and that is iOS and iphone 5, its like paying an extra few $100 to drive a ferrari instead of a ford, and this is something you use so much its worth it.

I would say check both out when you are there, but unless money is really tight pay the extra 100 and get the 5, I think of it in terms of opportunity cost, $100 is a heavy night out, it is worth paying the extra to have the best phone as you will use it more than anything else and it still has value with the ladies.

For your music there are apps that you can make youtube playlists that play like its your own music through wifi, or with 16gig you can easily fit a good amount of music on there. Spotify and Pandora are also an option.

In terms of contracts just get something with plenty of data usage, although you will use wifi mostly, don't worry about costs to call home, it is nearly always cheaper to do this through skype, you can install this on your phone and it works seamlessly, if your friends and family get it too calls are free, otherwise they are a few cents a minute.

So hope the advise helps, let us know what you get and how it turns out, best of luck

Post: #10

Just don't forget: One X and iPhone don't accept MicroSD, and iPhones have small screens compared to Galaxy S3 and One X (3.5 inches for iPhone 4S and 4.0 inches for 5 vs. 4.7 on One X and 4.8 on S3), and you have to use iTunes (no drag and drop mp3's). Galaxy S3 is a little bit more costly than One X, but accepts MicroSD and is a little bit faster.

Post: #11

Dude when you get here go on to a website we have http://www.kijiji.ca. You can buy a brand new phone from someone unlocked for half the price.

You can even buy one slightly used for about 10 cents on the dollar. I just picked up a brand new samsung galaxy s2 hd lte and its retails for $550, I got it for free and I sold it for $250 and it was brand new.

My advice is do some research ( i'm partial to the samsung galaxy s3, blows the iphone 5 out of the water in every aspect), but figure what you want and then buy it off that site.

Post: #12

Try them out at a store before you make a decision for one of the other. For me, iOS blows Android out of the water in terms of intuitiveness and usability with the interface. Android phones feel clunky and can be slow as molasses. The Android phones I've seen and used have also tended to feel cheaper, like the build quality isn't as high, more plastic is used, etc. Of course, that might not be true of all of me, but if I were looking for a new smartphone, an iPhone 4S or 5 would be hands down what I'd go for.

Post: #13

(01-23-2013 12:52 PM)Katatonic Wrote:  I bought a used iPhone 4 for AT&T in great condition off of ebay for $180. Then purchased the Straight Talk SIM card here: http://www.straighttalk.com/ShopSims

Now I have unlimited calling, text, and data for $45 a month. Straight Talk also sells new iPhones if you don't mind spending $450-$850.

Any cap on the unlimited data? What happens when you exceed 2GB in usage? Any latency?

Post: #14

Galaxy S3 or Iphone 5! Sony is OK too.

Post: #15

(01-23-2013 10:08 PM)Moma Wrote:  

(01-23-2013 12:52 PM)Katatonic Wrote:  I bought a used iPhone 4 for AT&T in great condition off of ebay for $180. Then purchased the Straight Talk SIM card here: http://www.straighttalk.com/ShopSims

Now I have unlimited calling, text, and data for $45 a month. Straight Talk also sells new iPhones if you don't mind spending $450-$850.

Any cap on the unlimited data? What happens when you exceed 2GB in usage? Any latency?

I have heard that they will throttle, but it hasn't happened to me yet, and I've used around 2GB.

Post: #16

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD

Post: #17

I will firmly say Android and preferably Samsung Galaxy S3 or S2. I personally have Galaxy S2X. I have never understood how people can claim Apple and iTunes is user friendly. I say from experience since I also have an iPod touch and Android is very easy to use. As someone else pointed out it is as simple as dragging files on to your phone.

Especially with the Android 4.0 and upwards it is very fast, intuitive.

Post: #18

Oh, I forgot: android also has standard connector (microUSB), so if you lose a charger, you can simply ask a friend to lend you one or buy one for less than $10 while iphone charger can cost up to $30 or more, and about slowness, android jelly bean has never slowed down on my S3. Also you can use this to connect any USB device to android (mouse, keyboard, usb thumb drives...):

Post: #19

(01-23-2013 09:19 PM)Ovid Wrote:  Try them out at a store before you make a decision for one of the other. For me, iOS blows Android out of the water in terms of intuitiveness and usability with the interface. Android phones feel clunky and can be slow as molasses. The Android phones I've seen and used have also tended to feel cheaper, like the build quality isn't as high, more plastic is used, etc. Of course, that might not be true of all of me, but if I were looking for a new smartphone, an iPhone 4S or 5 would be hands down what I'd go for.

Do androids feel cheaper because they are lighter and use less battery power all while having a bigger screen ?

Have you ever seen the side by side tests of the voice activation features ? Such as texting someone or even just asking your phone a simple question, like what is the temperature right now ? Android blows Iphone out of the water. Half the time iphone doesn't even respond and just continues searching.

How about those maps on the iphone ?

I could go on and on about the intuitiveness and how much smoother the android is, but that never seems to matter to Ifanboys.

My old galaxy S is still lighter, faster and bigger screen than the iphone 5, all while using less battery power. Did I mention that phone is 3 years old ?

Also not that stock prices reflect current trends but more future trends, I think everyone in the finance world is recognizing which company is going to win out on the handset market.

Not to mention samsung makes 30% of the iphone. Do you really think they are going to give iphone their best chipsets ? Or maybe they will just keep them for themselves and use them on their own phones ?

Post: #20

This is a video all iphone users should watch. It is not a side by side comparison because there really isn't any comparison. This video shows exactly the power of an android phone.

Post: #21

I used to be a hardcore techie and cared about processors and chipsets and all that. Now, I take a hands-off approach and just want the darn thing to work: preferably well and seamlessly. I'm sure Android works well for some people, I just don't seem to be one of them. To me, iOS wins, and on my phone I'm really not going to stress too much about the hardware specs, so long as the basics are covered: battery life, physical size and weight, etc. Most phones on the market are acceptable in these departments (though the larger screens make some of the Androids pretty massive) so I focus on the operating system. For me, as said, iOS is better. Maybe I'm just weird though...

Post: #22

Have you seen the Galaxy S from 3 years ago ? exact same size as the iphone 5, yet bigger screen, way more battery power, and lighter.

I get that people are used to the Iphone and it was ahead of its time, but now it is old tech. My whole point is that the androids are far better and CHEAPER. I do not know one cell phone provider that sells androids at a higher price than Iphones.

So why not buy a superior product that is also cheaper ?

Post: #23

(01-24-2013 01:22 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:  




This is a video all iphone users should watch. It is not a side by side comparison because there really isn't any comparison. This video shows exactly the power of an android phone.

This makes me a bit sad. All these things... all of this... I could do this with my palm pilot ten years ago. With Windows CE at the turn of the millenium (admittedly with fewer widgets). The Nokia N900 four years ago.

I was giving presentations off a palm pilot in 2004. Real, business presentations.

It's apple's success that has ruined support for peripherals. They and they alone have stood and refused to give support for such elementary things as flash drives and external videos.

I hope android kicks them back into reality.

Post: #24

There is also an opportunity to buy returned open box phones from the Rogers stores for around 50% off. Just call around to the various Rogers phone stores in the area and ask if they have any returned open box phones for sale, then ask for the price and to reserve them. I got a 32GB Galaxy S3 for $350 plus tax in November (even less for the 16GB) and the HTC One X and Galaxy Note 2 are also priced similarly. Just inspect the phone before you buy and it is likely no different from a brand new phone; mine had zero flaws or signs of wear and came with a free screen protector.

I found it through this thread on redflagdeals: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/rogers-st...v-1215762/

Post: #25

Thanks that's top advice. has anyone any experience with the Nexus 4? i see Fido have signed a contract to have this phone on there network. would be interested to know how much extra they will charge compared to google play prices?