Out of contract - what android to go for?

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 10:40am #1

Hi Guys,

I have the Galaxy S3 at the moment. I had the S2 and the S previously. My contract is going to end next week, so I typically sell the phone I have and get something new. I haven't seen the S4 in the flesh, but from what I've heard it's very similar to the S3, so I'm wondering if it's worth going for that? I think I fancy a change, but I want to stick with android. Any suggestions?

I was thinking the HTC One, but I believe there is no SD card slot in it which seems a bit crap. Is there a new phone coming out soon I should wait for?

I'd be interested in hearing peoples opinions.

Thanks!

redscan · 28-08-2013 10:43am

RonnieL wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I have the Galaxy S3 at the moment. I had the S2 and the S previously. My contract is going to end next week, so I typically sell the phone I have and get something new. I haven't seen the S4 in the flesh, but from what I've heard it's very similar to the S3, so I'm wondering if it's worth going for that? I think I fancy a change, but I want to stick with android. Any suggestions?

I was thinking the HTC One, but I believe there is no SD card slot in it which seems a bit crap. Is there a new phone coming out soon I should wait for?

I'd be interested in hearing peoples opinions.

Thanks!

The HTC One looks like it will be hard to beat. Might be worth waiting to see what Google offer in the future. They are currently selling off the Nexus 4 at a big discount so the new model shouldn't be too far away.

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 10:47am

Thanks Redscan. Just googled the specs, and it seems the HTC One camera is only 4 megapixels. I know it's not all about megapixels when it comes to camera quality, but that still seems low? I use the camera on my S3 a lot and find it really good, especially for taking pictures of the kids when we're out and about. Decisions decisions!

MiCr0 · 28-08-2013 10:52am

read a review on the camera before you write it off
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-one-1131862/review/7

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 11:01am

MiCr0 wrote: »

read a review on the camera before you write it off
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-one-1131862/review/7

Thanks Micro. Interesting review, which makes the decision even harder :-)

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 11:37am

I rang meteor there and the cost of an S4 on my plan will be €300, and the HTC One will be €230. He mentioned the Xpreria Z too. I suppose I might as well go into a shop and have a look at the three of them and make a decision then.

If anyone has any thoughts on phones, or even if they know of better value with other networks, I'd be happy to hear from you :-)

mcbert · 28-08-2013 11:52am

I was faced with picking between S4 and HTC One recently. Regarding the HTC One camera, the more I searched, the more reviews I found that were quite contradictory. I just never found a consensus online. In the end, I thought the S4 looked cheap, so I went for the One. Ignoring the camera for a minute, I cant find much to fault the One. I really like it. Regarding the camera, it can take great pics, BUT, while I never use digital zoom - no point - I do like to print them sometimes, and to do that, I sometime crop an image. But the resolution is too low on the One's 4MP camera to crop much. I cant comment on how it compares with the S4's camera, but I am disappointed that for me at least, a phone camera, after all these years, still isnt good enough to replace a compact camera.

BionicRasher · 28-08-2013 11:55am

Nexus 4 8GB is approx €185 and 16GB is about €230 in the Play Store at the moment so thats really good for an off contract top end phone.

Great comparison here if you are undecided it may help

I know I would be slow to go back in to an 18 month contract and get a phone that was released 6 or 8 months ago so I think I would plump for an out of contract deal and the Nexus 4 is great value at the moment.

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 11:56am

mcbert wrote: »

I was faced with picking between S4 and HTC One recently. Regarding the HTC One camera, the more I searched, the more reviews I found that were quite contradictory. I just never found a consensus online. In the end, I thought the S4 looked cheap, so I went for the One. Ignoring the camera for a minute, I cant find much to fault the One. I really like it. Regarding the camera, it can take great pics, BUT, while I never use digital zoom - no point - I do like to print them sometimes, and to do that, I sometime crop an image. But the resolution is too low on the One's 4MP camera to crop much. I cant comment on how it compares with the S4's camera, but I am disappointed that for me at least, a phone camera, after all these years, still isnt good enough to replace a compact camera.

Thanks mcbert - really helpful. I only read the review that was linked above, but I got the sense from it that HTC believe people don't print the pictures they take on their phone. They reckon it's more geared towards looking at the pictures on the phone, and uploading to facebook etc. I'll definitely take what you've said into account. Right now I'm leaning towards the S4.

BionicRasher · 28-08-2013 12:06pm

RonnieL wrote: »

I rang meteor there and the cost of an S4 on my plan will be €300, and the HTC One will be €230. He mentioned the Xpreria Z too. I suppose I might as well go into a shop and have a look at the three of them and make a decision then.

If anyone has any thoughts on phones, or even if they know of better value with other networks, I'd be happy to hear from you :-)

I would avoid Sony if I had the choice - having had a Xperia S now for a while I am disappointed in it overall (wife has a Xperia U and daughter has a Sony Tipo and they are not great too even though I know they are lower end phones) but the S for a flagship phone when it came out has been poor IMHO. its not that comfy in the hand with square edges, software is buggy and Sony are a bit of a disaster with updates, screen is great indoors but crap outdoors.
Not sure if the Z has made any advances in these areas but the S has put me right off all things Sony now.

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 12:09pm

tui0hcg wrote: »

Nexus 4 8GB is approx €185 and 16GB is about €230 in the Play Store at the moment so thats really good for an off contract top end phone.

Great comparison here if you are undecided it may help

I know I would be slow to go back in to an 18 month contract and get a phone that was released 6 or 8 months ago so I think I would plump for an out of contract deal and the Nexus 4 is great value at the moment.

And now there's another phone in the mix! I hadn't heard anything about the Nexus 4 prior to now. It does seem like a bit of a boring option, but for €230 and being out of contract it is tempting. Having said that, the review you've linked seems to be favouring the HTC overall, and he did seem to do a lot of testing of the camera.

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 12:11pm

tui0hcg wrote: »

I would avoid Sony if I had the choice - having had a Xperia S now for a while I am disappointed in it overall (wife has a Xperia U and daughter has a Sony Tipo and they are not great too even though I know they are lower end phones) but the S for a flagship phone when it came out has been poor IMHO. its not that comfy in the hand with square edges, software is buggy and Sony are a bit of a disaster with updates, screen is great indoors but crap outdoors.
Not sure if the Z has made any advances in these areas but the S has put me right off all things Sony now.

Thanks again - that's the Xperia out of the running. In reality, I don't think it was ever really in the running. I had googled it quickly and didn't really like the look of it.

rickyjb · 28-08-2013 12:16pm

RonnieL wrote: »

I rang meteor there and the cost of an S4 on my plan will be €300, and the HTC One will be €230. He mentioned the Xpreria Z too. I suppose I might as well go into a shop and have a look at the three of them and make a decision then.

If anyone has any thoughts on phones, or even if they know of better value with other networks, I'd be happy to hear from you :-)

If you use the live chat on the website and haggle they'll knock at least €30 off the price of the phone and €5 off your monthly bill. I got it for €200 and €25 a month bill. You can also use fatcheese to get another €40 bringing the phone down to €160 which is not too bad.

Just don't try and buy it from O2!;)

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 12:18pm

mcbert wrote: »

I was faced with picking between S4 and HTC One recently. Regarding the HTC One camera, the more I searched, the more reviews I found that were quite contradictory. I just never found a consensus online. In the end, I thought the S4 looked cheap, so I went for the One. Ignoring the camera for a minute, I cant find much to fault the One. I really like it. Regarding the camera, it can take great pics, BUT, while I never use digital zoom - no point - I do like to print them sometimes, and to do that, I sometime crop an image. But the resolution is too low on the One's 4MP camera to crop much. I cant comment on how it compares with the S4's camera, but I am disappointed that for me at least, a phone camera, after all these years, still isnt good enough to replace a compact camera.

Sorry Mcbert, quick question on the HTC one. A girl I work with has one, and she said she likes it, but she mentioned an annoyance when it comes to video recording - she reckoned you either had to film at HD quality, or really low quality, no options in between. Have you found that?

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 12:21pm

rickyjb wrote: »

If you use the live chat on the website and haggle they'll knock at least €30 off the price of the phone and €5 off your monthly bill. I got it for €200 and €25 a month bill. You can also use fatcheese to get another €40 bringing the phone down to €160 which is not too bad.

Just don't try and buy it from O2!;)

Now that's what I'm talkign about Ricky! Assume you bought the HTC One? Any particular cards you played in the haggling process?

This is the first I'm hearing of fatcheese. To google!

vibe666 · 28-08-2013 12:25pm

I'm in a similar situation at the moment. I have a HTC One X currently just out of contract with Meteor. The digitiser is quite badly cracked (for the 2nd time) so I could do with something right away and was thinking of the HTC One or S4, but I've decided to grab a cheap android phone to keep me going for a month or two (just ordered the PAYG Vodafone Smart 3 online to be delivered sometime today, fiver to get it unlocked and then in with my meteor SIM until I decide who to go with for the big upgrade).

Once I have that, I'm going to wait it out until the Sammy Note 3 is out and go for that as I'm disappointed with the battery life on the One X and don't see the One or S4 being much better.

I also like the idea of the bigger screen as well as a bigger battery and I've had a play with the Note 2 and like that, so I reckon the Note 3 will be a winner for me if I caqn hang on for the month or two before it's out here.

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 12:31pm

vibe666 wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation at the moment. I have a HTC One X currently just out of contract with Meteor. The digitiser is quite badly cracked (for the 2nd time) so I could do with something right away and was thinking of the HTC One or S4, but I've decided to grab a cheap android phone to keep me going for a month or two (just ordered the PAYG Vodafone Smart 3 online to be delivered sometime today, fiver to get it unlocked and then in with my meteor SIM until I decide who to go with for the big upgrade).

Once I have that, I'm going to wait it out until the Sammy Note 3 is out and go for that as I'm disappointed with the battery life on the One X and don't see the One or S4 being much better.

I also like the idea of the bigger screen as well as a bigger battery and I've had a play with the Note 2 and like that, so I reckon the Note 3 will be a winner for me if I caqn hang on for the month or two before it's out here.

Cheers Vibe. Sounds like a solid plan! The notes are just a bit to big I think. Also, I have it in my head that I can get a new phone and I have zero patience so I'll probably end up getting one in the next day or so.

rickyjb · 28-08-2013 12:36pm

RonnieL wrote: »

Now that's what I'm talkign about Ricky! Assume you bought the HTC One? Any particular cards you played in the haggling process?

This is the first I'm hearing of fatcheese. To google!

The wonders of the internet eh.

Yeah I got the HTC One, fantastic phone I'd highly reccommend it. Brilliant screen, browsing is great, battery life is way better than I expected (coming from a Nokia N8). I find the camera good, very easy to use. Not as good as the N8 when you put the pics up on a laptop but better in low light situations. Video recording is excellent, on a par with the N8 or maybe a little bit better.

For haggling I'd either say you're thinking of moving to another network or just come straight out and say you heard someone else got it for this price, can I have it too. If they gave it before they can give it to you! Don't forget the monthly discount also.

If they're stubborn just ask to speak to their supervisor, at that point they'll crack and give you whatever they can:pac:

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 12:39pm

rickyjb wrote: »

The wonders of the internet eh.

Yeah I got the HTC One, fantastic phone I'd highly reccommend it. Brilliant screen, browsing is great, battery life is way better than I expected (coming from a Nokia N8). I find the camera good, very easy to use. Not as good as the N8 when you put the pics up on a laptop but better in low light situations. Video recording is excellent, on a par with the N8 or maybe a little bit better.

For haggling I'd either say you're thinking of moving to another network or just come straight out and say you heard someone else got it for this price, can I have it too. If they gave it before they can give it to you! Don't forget the monthly discount also.

If they're stubborn just ask to speak to their supervisor, at that point they'll crack and give you whatever they can:pac:

Cheers, I'll give it a bash.

You're on an 18month contract I take it?

mcbert · 28-08-2013 1:08pm

RonnieL wrote: »

Sorry Mcbert, quick question on the HTC one. A girl I work with has one, and she said she likes it, but she mentioned an annoyance when it comes to video recording - she reckoned you either had to film at HD quality, or really low quality, no options in between. Have you found that?

Sorry, I don't know. I don't video much, so mine is just set to highest quality, have no need for lower quality. Cant play with it now I'm afraid...

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 1:27pm

mcbert wrote: »

Sorry, I don't know. I don't video much, so mine is just set to highest quality, have no need for lower quality. Cant play with it now I'm afraid...

No worries. After some googling, I see what my colleague meant about the video quality. It seems the only options are "Full HD, HD, and MMS", and the difference in quality between HD and MMS is massive. I can see this being an annoyance for me but not necessarily a deal breaker. I'll probably pop into a phone shop tomorrow and see if I can get my hands on the S4 and the One.

anncoates · 28-08-2013 1:30pm

Going to wait for the Note 3 myself before I decide.

rickyjb · 28-08-2013 1:31pm

RonnieL wrote: »

Cheers, I'll give it a bash.

You're on an 18month contract I take it?

I am. The customer care team over the phone offered me a 12 month contract but no discount on the phone and €30 a month if that's any use to you. They're a different company (strange as it sounds) so they won't offer the same deal.

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 1:57pm

rickyjb wrote: »

I am. The customer care team over the phone offered me a 12 month contract but no discount on the phone and €30 a month if that's any use to you. They're a different company (strange as it sounds) so they won't offer the same deal.

Ah ok - swings and roundabouts so. I like the 12 month contract because it allows me to change the phone more often. But it seems like the deal your on is probably slightly better value. If we assume €20 a month is the base rate i.e. how much we'd have to pay monthly if we went SIM only. You're paying €25 a month, so we can say the extra fiver is for the phone. So that's €5*18+€200 (which you paid up front) for a total phone price of €290. On the 12 month contract it would work out at €10*12+€230 which is €350. That's a €60 difference. If I could get them to knock a few quid off the price of the phone, I reckon I'd still go for the 12 month. Anyway, I'll probably do some more poking around online later. Thanks everyone for your input - much appreciated!

Blindside87 · 28-08-2013 2:35pm

Always been a fan of the Galaxy S series so I would say the S4!

petes · 28-08-2013 3:20pm

Blindside87 wrote: »

Always been a fan of the Galaxy S series so I would say the S4!

Because you've used one or because you liked an earlier model?

I have a HTC One myself. My One X fecked up and I bought it outright so I did a fair bit of research. Used the S4 for a bit (very small bit) and I still don't like the feel of them.

I've had no problems and had it the last three months or so.

vchircu · 28-08-2013 4:20pm

To be honest i really dont think theres any need for a super high end phone like the s4 or htc one , there arnt really any games or apps that would even begin to push the devices power so if your budget is smaller then either the htc one or s4 is just overkill ,for example the sony xperia sp scores better than the galaxy s4 and the htc one on the 3D Mark gaming benchmark , and i own the xperia sp and my dad has the s4 i compared the 2 while playing games and some benchmarks and there was not that much of a difference , certainly not enough of a difference to pay over 200 euro extra for an s4 , you can get the xperia sp for 89 euro on a 45 euro a month 18 month contract which is pretty good , or get it for 319 euro without a contract on prepay , hope this helps

RonnieL · 28-08-2013 4:26pm

vchircu wrote: »

To be honest i really dont think theres any need for a super high end phone like the s4 or htc one , there arnt really any games or apps that would even begin to push the devices power so if your budget is smaller then either the htc one or s4 is just overkill ,for example the sony xperia sp scores better than the galaxy s4 and the htc one on the 3D Mark gaming benchmark , and i own the xperia sp and my dad has the s4 i compared the 2 while playing games and some benchmarks and there was not that much of a difference , certainly not enough of a difference to pay over 200 euro extra for an s4 , you can get the xperia sp for 89 euro on a 45 euro a month 18 month contract which is pretty good , or get it for 319 euro without a contract on prepay , hope this helps

Cheers vchircu. Everything you say makes sense, however for me it's less about "need" and more about "want". I have always wanted the latest and greatest when it comes to phones. Cost does play a part obviously, but with the approach I've been taking for the last few years, the sale of my old phone normally covers the cost of the new one. Having said that, I still want to make sure I choose the best phone, and get it at the best price. Nothing worse than paying X amount for a gadget, only to discover the guy that sits next to you bought it for less :-)

vchircu · 28-08-2013 4:36pm

no problem mate

, yeah im kind of like that too :L, i get a new phone every 3 months or so because i have the constant desire to upgrade , so then if money isnt a problem i would recommend the galaxy s4 as it is higher spec'd than the htc one and therefore more future proof

also the galaxy s4 has 8 cores , it has a quadcore cortex a15 which is top of the line right now and it also has an older generation quadcore cortex a7 so when the phone doesnt need alot of processing power it swithces from the cortex a15 to the a7 ( making the battery life last alot longer ) this depends now on wheather its the exynos 5 octa model; or quadcore sanpdragon model...youll have to ask in store about which version they sell

petes · 28-08-2013 4:52pm

vchircu wrote: »

,for example the sony xperia sp scores better than the galaxy s4 and the htc one on the 3D Mark gaming benchmark

Link?

rickyjb · 28-08-2013 4:54pm

RonnieL wrote: »

Ah ok - swings and roundabouts so. I like the 12 month contract because it allows me to change the phone more often. But it seems like the deal your on is probably slightly better value. If we assume €20 a month is the base rate i.e. how much we'd have to pay monthly if we went SIM only. You're paying €25 a month, so we can say the extra fiver is for the phone. So that's €5*18+€200 (which you paid up front) for a total phone price of €290. On the 12 month contract it would work out at €10*12+€230 which is €350. That's a €60 difference. If I could get them to knock a few quid off the price of the phone, I reckon I'd still go for the 12 month. Anyway, I'll probably do some more poking around online later. Thanks everyone for your input - much appreciated!

Except the phone is €160 online with the fatcheese discount;)

Out of contract - what android to go for?

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