Im looking for a smartphone that is good for the following

estreetb

Im looking for a smartphone that is good for the following. budget is 200-300euro

3g
good battery
internet (email, banking, google, boards, booking flights, flash capability)
good music player 8gb storage capacity (either in ph or memory card)
gps and maps
wifi
bluetooth
decent camera
fm radio

looking at reviews here the htc tattoo, htc hytn ii, e71, e72 and hero are popular but going by the thread below flash is not possible on phones yet.
HTC Hero - Adobe Flash

what other limitations are there with smartphones. i presumed they were minature computers but apparently they are very limited.

what phones would cover most of my requirements assuming flash is not going to be possible

btw is it better to use wifi when using the internet than connecting by network?

thanks

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

estreetb

thanks, i forgot to mention a few things

i use webmail but im not sure if all phones support webmail.

my main concern is that i read somewhere on this forum that when using the 5800 keypad it obscures half of the screen.

i dont know how practical that would be for banking online or for booking flights on ryanair for example

if you or anyone else has used this phone for banking and booking flights id like to hear how user friendly it is.

how good are the music features btw and does it have social networking sites and skype integrated


thanks for replying.

nmesisca

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

and thats the Flash Lite version that is on the Hero too.
with the difference that Hero has a much better screen..

estreetb

i think the hero is out of my price range but have you used the hero for banking online etc. whats the browsing experience like

going by this comparison site 5800 has better screen resolution but poorest input
http://www.phonegg.com/compare/25/Nokia-5800-vs-HTC-Hero.html

nmesisca

estreetb wrote: »

have you used the hero for banking online etc. whats the browsing experience like

its flash lite so some stuff is bound not to be supported.

for banking, flash hasn't got much to do with it as banks in generally don't want to use flash content as it introduces some exploitable code.

browsing experience is brilliant in general. very responsive, pinch to zoom and mid march should see the new 2.1 update. soon also the full flash experience.

Wolflikeme

estreetb wrote: »

Im looking for a smartphone that is good for the following. budget is 200-300euro

good battery
internet (email, banking, google, boards, booking flights, flash capability)
good music player 8gb storage capacity (either in ph or memory card)
gps
wifi
bluetooth
decent camera

looking at reviews here the htc tattoo, htc hytn ii, e71, e72 and hero are popular but going by the thread below flash is not possible on phones yet.
HTC Hero - Adobe Flash

what other limitations are there with smartphones. i presumed they were minature computers but apparently they are very limited.

what phones would cover most of my requirements assuming flash is not going to be possible

btw is it better to use wifi when using the internet than connecting by network?

thanks

I've a BlackBerry 9700 and the battery is outstanding! Lasts easily for 3 days. Can hold a good size MMC too (forget how big though).

estreetb

ok ive decided against the nokia 5800 as there are a lot of posts on the forum about slow and unresponsive screens and various bugs.

im considering these phones although E75 and E72 are a little out of my budget and the Tattoo is not 3g which seems strange given the price.

can anybody with experience of these phones give advice please
Nokia E75 340euro
Nokia E72 320euro
Nokia E71 280euro
voda tattoo 260euro
Nokia E52 200euro
Nokia E63 170euro

Ludo

I would recommend the tattoo as I am very happy with mine...BUT the camera is crap. I mean really crap. But I dont care about that and knew before I bought it. Could be a deal breaker for some though.

estreetb

how much of a drawback is the lack of 3g. whats the intenet browsing like on it.

i was leaning towards the e71 but apparently the camera is brutal on that too

dMaN24

You could get a decent second hand Sony Ericsson C905?
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_c905-2427.php

nmesisca

estreetb wrote: »

ok ive decided against the nokia 5800 as there are a lot of posts on the forum about slow and unresponsive screens and various bugs.

im considering these phones although E75 and E72 are a little out of my budget and the Tattoo is not 3g which seems strange given the price.

can anybody with experience of these phones give advice please
Nokia E75 340euro
Nokia E72 320euro
Nokia E71 280euro
voda tattoo 260euro
Nokia E52 200euro
Nokia E63 170euro

man, the Tattoo IS 3G. however I dont think it has Flash Lite.
I did try 3G, but not flash.
its a brilliant little phone and is quite inexpensive.

estreetb

i must have that wrong so, i thought i read on one other thread that it doesnt have 3g

without flash surely most sites like youtube etc are off limits.

am i wrong in that as well.

i dont want to shell out 250euro+ for a phone thats restricted on the internet to just scrolling through sites

nmesisca

estreetb wrote: »

i must have that wrong so, i thought i read on one other thread that it doesnt have 3g

without flash surely most sites like youtube etc are off limits.

am i wrong in that as well.

i dont want to shell out 250euro+ for a phone thats restricted on the internet to just scrolling through sites

to be honest, unless you have reaaaaly a need for flash, I wouldnt be too worried. I have a nexus One which doesnt have flash at all and the browsing experience is great.
youtube works fine as there is a specific app in istalled to browse that.
if I had to choose I would go for hero first, then tattoo.
they will both get updated to 2.1 soon.

estreetb

i dont have a need for flash, would just like to be able to view the odd youtube video etc or news/sports bulletins on the web without it being a chore.

if its not essential for that then its ok.

the hero has great reviews but unfortunately is too expensive for me

whats nexus?

Bluefoam

A smart phone by its very nature is more expensive than the average phone... hero is the minimum I would consider + it does have flash for YouTube and movie playback. Only downside is the camera isn't great indoors. I would also rate capacitive screen, screen size and user interface as major concerns when considering a smartphone. Also remember that a good smartphone will change the way you use a phone, so don't base your choice on you current usage patterns. Availability of apps should also rank very highly...

estreetb

ive a limited budget and also need to get a netbook or cheap laptop. total budet is 500euro and thats a stretch

i had been thinking to get a decent enough smartphone + netbook

would a hero be comparable to a netbook for internet browsing etc.

maybe i could kill 2 birds with one stone

nmesisca

estreetb wrote: »

ive a limited budget and also need to get a netbook or cheap laptop. total budet is 500euro and thats a stretch

i had been thinking to get a decent enough smartphone + netbook

would a hero be comparable to a netbook for internet browsing etc.

maybe i could kill 2 birds with one stone

no. not really.
your arms will fall off much before your eyes will pop out
never consider a phone as a replacement for anything with a 9"+ screen.
its a great phone and you can use it for browsing etc (on the bus/train/taxi play a game or two, read the news etc) but a continuos use would kill your eyesight too.
again, i would consider the tattoo. small (very) with good choice of applications, sense ui, an update coming soon, FM radio as well :rolleyes:
tattoo+netbook for general browsing you can make it with just short of 500

estreetb

thanks for getting back to me, will try out a tattoo in store and see what its like.

ive been searching around for a smartphone buying guide and found this
How to choose the best smartphone – MobileMentalism

its very good, easily the best of the ones i found.

it might be of use to people like me who wouldnt be up to speed with all the tech jargon

estreetb

would any of these phones be suitable and if so which one ticks most of the boxes below. what aer opinions on voda 360 in general?

Vodafone 360 M1 Black by Samsung 90euro
Nokia 5230 120euro
Samsung Cara 150euro
Huawei U7510 120euro

requirements from original post
internet (email, banking, google, boards, booking flights, flash capability)
good music player 8gb storage capacity (either in ph or memory card)
gps and maps
wifi
bluetooth
decent camera
fm radio rds
skype
social networking integrated

coldfire1x

Why not get E52, put a 8gb memory card and you have everything. Great battery life as well.

estreetb

ok ive narrowed it down to these,
Nokia E72 320euro
Nokia E71 280euro
voda tattoo 260euro
Nokia E52 200euro

browser, wifi, skype, 3g+hsdpa, and gps+maps are more important now as ill be traveling and need good connectivity options.

i need something that doesnt require me to carry a laptop

i would like to know if skype is integrated with these and if not what is the best way to use it.

nmesisca

estreetb wrote: »

ok ive narrowed it down to these,
Nokia E72 320euro
Nokia E71 280euro
voda tattoo 260euro
Nokia E52 200euro

browser, wifi, skype, 3g+hsdpa, and gps+maps are more important now as ill be traveling and need good connectivity options.

i need something that doesnt require me to carry a laptop

i would like to know if skype is integrated with these and if not what is the best way to use it.

on Android phones, there is a skype version, however it does use sms (!i know its silly) so not many people use it. There is fring however, and that works perfect for me even on 3G (and yes it is compatible with Skype).

stomprockin

estreetb wrote: »

ok ive narrowed it down to these,
Nokia E72 320euro
Nokia E71 280euro
voda tattoo 260euro
Nokia E52 200euro

browser, wifi, skype, 3g+hsdpa, and gps+maps are more important now as ill be traveling and need good connectivity options.

i need something that doesnt require me to carry a laptop

i would like to know if skype is integrated with these and if not what is the best way to use it.

I'm Surprised you ruled out the Nokia 5800?
i know there are some forums around and most people saying its slow etc.. but that was before the firmware update:D. i have the 5800 and its a super fast phone

estreetb

about the 5800

is the screen ok. ive heard its hard to input text etc and unresponsive. thats something i definetely want to avoid. otherwise it seemed very good


to nmesisca
"on Android phones, there is a skype version, however it does use sms (!i know its silly) so not many people use it. There is fring however, and that works perfect for me even on 3G (and yes it is compatible with Skype)."

i dont understand about skype using sms. is fring a voip program also

nmesisca

estreetb wrote: »

about the 5800

is the screen ok. ive heard its hard to input text etc and unresponsive. thats something i definetely want to avoid. otherwise it seemed very good


to nmesisca
"on Android phones, there is a skype version, however it does use sms (!i know its silly) so not many people use it. There is fring however, and that works perfect for me even on 3G (and yes it is compatible with Skype)."

i dont understand about skype using sms. is fring a voip program also

yeah thats what the masses dont understand either, seen as skype should be a Voip service! if you "chat" with one of your skype contacts it will use SMS instead of the 3G connection. If you're on Wifi everything is normal and it will use your WiFi connection. its pretty useless.
Fring is a similar (though not yet as polished) Voip service. Free to register, once you start up Fring and enable the skype plugin you will see all your skype contacts there.
I tried it on the bus calling italy on 3G and (apart for a 1sec delay) was actually very good.

estreetb

thanks again, imm proably driving you mad with all the qs

chillin_penguin

I use the hero for all of the above and find it quite good! Battery life is never good on any smartphone

Bluefoam

I use a program called nimbuzz for skype... its the most simple to use... I found fring too buzzy and trying to do too many things...

estreetb

i just seen that 5800 doesnt have video recording. id like to be able to post up videos from time to time. can this be added to it by any chance by an external program or is it not hardware supported.

meteor have some decent lower range phones but 1 of my requirements is always missing - either 3g,wifi,gps etc
Meteor Online Store - Compare Phones

stomprockin

estreetb wrote: »

i just seen that 5800 doesnt have video recording. id like to be able to post up videos from time to time. can this be added to it by any chance by an external program or is it not hardware supported.

meteor have some decent lower range phones but 1 of my requirements is always missing - either 3g,wifi,gps etc
Meteor Online Store - Compare Phones

the 5800 has support for video recording!

http://symbian.smashpop.net/the-5800-video-recording-test

estreetb

thanks bedlam,
im just browsing ryanair atm using a sony w200i ph Sony Ericsson W200 - Full phone specifications

it only has these screen specs 128 x 160 pixels x 1.8 inches but the clarity using opera mini4 is very impresive

only problem with w200 screen using ryanair is scrolling and possibly missing an important button relating to fees etc

so I can only imagine what the 5800 is like.

given that the w200 has excellent sound quality for radio/mp3s the 5800 is back in the running

ive heard great things about the e71 but am wondering about the screen size and practicality of booking flights and banking online.

these are important to me as i travel quite a bit and dont want to have to lug a laptop around with me if i can help it.

BostonB

My 2cents. Haven't used many smart phones though. I have a E71 and the camera is dire, as is the 5800's camera, E51 etc. You need to goo the E72, N86 to get a decent camera. I suspect the N97 and N97 mini might be a good compromise. I have an iPod Touch and compared to that,browsing on the E71 is like being back in the stone age. I dunno about other phones. No flash on Apple though. However the E71 is a better Palm PDA (well a lite version) than the Touch is. But that wasn't part of your requirement.

estreetb

thanks bedlam, ive been on airline sites and ulster just now on the w200 and its possible although not perfect.

the 1.8 screen is the biggest problem. the data itself is very clear so the smartphones should be grand.

ill try the phones in store just to be sure.

estreetb

is there a suitable slider phone option with a physical qwerty keyboard and touchscreen

requirements from original post
good battery
3g / hsdpa
internet (email, banking, google, boards, booking flights, flash capability)
good music player 8gb storage capacity (either in ph or memory card)
gps and maps
wifi
bluetooth
decent camera
fm radio rds
skype
social networking integrated

BostonB

Silder with a Querty? Palm Pre. Not used one though.

estreetb

i bought the 5800 from vodafone PAYG

qs for the mods

should i post qs here about what i think of it and any problems i might have or should i join the 5800epxress thread?

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

gcgirl

5800 thread i'd say would be the place