New Phone

[Martin]

Hi gents,

As per the norm I am writting on here to ask for input on a technological purchase. My Blackberry Bold is on its last legs and I am up for an upgrade on my current contract. The costs of the contract are errelevant because for a a bit extra I'd rather have a phone that meets all my needs and is good and reliable.

I was prefering (prior to my own research) a non-touch-screen phone, however all the phones with the best functionality seem to be touch screen. Due to this I have seen;

Blackberry Storm, IPhone, HTC Desire and Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Perhaps a decent Nokia if someone can suggest it.

What I require from a phone, above the standard stuff is pull emails, internet browsing, quad band, good functionality for texting/emails and for it to be reliable with aslong a battery life as possible.


Blackberry Storm looked good but reviews I have read are that people have a lot of problems.

IPhone is the favourite for all, but as it's a more common phone I am keen to find an alternative.

HTC Desire is at the moment my leading choice due to reviews and the functionality of the device.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is a new one but doesn't seem too special?


I am aware that a new IPhone is due out soon and I think a new HTC is due out in the summer also, however with my phone being as poor as it is I need a new one asap, so please base any recommendations on what is currently available.

I'm just keen for some input...

 

[Twigley]

Blackberry curve.

I have the 8900 and im sure there is an update.

 

[Ram]

I'm happy with my iPhone. It covers all my needs and anything that I could possibly need with other apps.

I haven't had any problems at all. Very customisable if you're going to jail break it, but if you are you need to be aware that it will be tethered so you need to rejail break it everytime you turn your phone off. There is an untethered jail break being released for ~3.1.3 soon so you dont have to worry about turning your phone off or it going dead.

 

[Dark_Angel]

I'm renewing my Orange contract come Friday.

Only problem I have with the iphone is its shockingly crap 2MP camera. The HTC desire has a 5MP iirc, which'd I'd prefer. It also has a faster processor.

I don't like touch screens though, texting quickly on them is a pain in the arse. So I may well go for a Blackberry.

 

[Weeble]

I can text pretty fast on my HTC Hero.. it just takes a bit of getting used to is all. Once you get used to a QWERTY on a phone you can generally type pretty fast.

I'd probably go for the HTC Desire myself (or the G1, really) as it's just a bit different. Really customisable, very user-friendly, there are even custom ROM updates for most droid phones that allow you to change whatever you want and more, whilst still retaining all native functionality (or not, as you so choose!)

 

[Dark_Angel]

Just took a closer look at the HTC Desire, looks IMMENSE.

Think I'm going to be going for that over the iphone tbh.

Pricing is far more reasonable than the iphone, too.

 

[Tim]

HTC Desire is the way to go. I'm ending a 10 year relationship with Nokia to go for the Desire - it's that good.

Be wary about the camera though - yes it's 5MP, but that doesn't define the quality of the image. Apparently, photos taken with the HTC are pretty decent. Videos not so good due to fluctuating framerates.

HTC are also pretty good at releasing updated software - esp as their interface requires them to customise the default Android releases before release.

The X10 is a decent phone. But it runs Android 1.6 (current is 2.1) and Sony Ericsson are notoriously slow at releasing software updates. Shame, as it looks like a swish phone apart from that.

There are no decent high-end Nokia phones these days. The N8 is due to be announced this month, but I expect it will be underpowered, under featured and have the same old software issues which have affected Nokias for years. Shame.

PS. Desire is £350 on 3 PAYG - launching on 20th April.

 

[Martin]

Seeing as the person who's view I respect the most (only on phones though Tim) says Desire and comments on the main weakness being the camera then I think it's the one for me. I have used a phone camera so few times I could count it on one hand (that's accross a few camera phones I've had).

Cheers for the input lads. Now I need to find a good contract for the Desire - any offers, Tim?

 

[Dark_Angel]

My GF just upgraded with Orange, she managed to wrestle 400 minutes, unlimited texts + unlimited internet for £20.50, + phone for "free" (RRP £420ish I think).

I'll be getting the same deal when I upgrade tomorrow. Give em a ring, see what you can get from Orange? Magic number is a brilliant perk, free calls to your "favourite" orange number.