new smartphone recommendations

Macspower

Hi guys,

I know this is a common request but I'll give as much info as I can

I've had an iphone 3gs for the past 4 months with vodafone. It was a company phone and I had to give it back when I finished work with them. I was very happy with it in many ways but it had some coverage issues for me in my house where other vodafone nokias work perfectly. I also bought some apps for it. Are these gone now or if I get another iphone can I transfer them?

I want a phone with touch screen as I'm used to it now.

It needs to be able to play music and video ( iphone was a pain to convert)

It needs reasonable battery life although I do have a car charger so not a major problem.

I need emails on the go all day send and recieve and I need internet access with both wifi and 3g..

Tethering to my laptop would help me reduce bills and get rid of my vodafone gongle if it came at a good price with good data allowance.

Along with all the fancy stuff it must operate well as a phone with good signal and volume etc

I can choose any of the networks.... I seem to like the meteor unlimited option with 5gb data but no iphone available... galaxy S seems to be their preference

O2 seems to have too little data

Vodafone is prob my prefered option and I'm steered towards the iphone 4.

all suggestions appreciated

edit... just thought of something. I purchased a sat nav app for my iphone and loved it so if new phone had this capability it would be great

cnocbui

I think the iPhone 4 is probably the best fit for your requirements.

If you really want to look at alternatives include the Samsung Wave S8500 among them. iPhone 4 equivalent/better hardware at half the price and does all the essential phone things very well. Superb reception and voice quality. It has a WiFi hotspot mode where you can tether it to a laptop via WiFi and use it's 3G connection. I was able to use a 3G dongle Sim in mine in this way (Optus Oz) but a Vodafone 3G dongle Sim (Oz) wouldn't work, so I think with Vodafone you would need a data plan on a normal phone sim to use it in this way.

Video is much less restrictive than an iPhone and it will play just about any format natively, including .mkv The screen is better than the iPhone's, hell it's better than my Panasonic Plasma TV in some respects. Headphone output sound quality is on par with the iPhones - ie., superb.

GPS app - route 66 - is probably not as good as TomTom on the iphone.

bogman

According to the "Old Nokia Center" in Cork today the iphone 4 is fragile enough, when dropped the screen breaks easily and costs 150€ to repair, Galaxy s in comparison costs 65€
Reason I went there was that they repaired phones and I wanted a recommendation between the Desire, Galaxy & Iphone, having left there the Iphone was dropped off my list
Vodafone told me that they charge 200€ for this repair

evolutionqy7

did you have a look at blackberry torch? all the new ones have touchscreen + qwerty. Otherwise desire would be my call

Mits

I think the spec on the HTC DESIRE HD would suit you best but it is a big screen. I think vodafone is currently the only provider commited to this phone.

evolutionqy7

meteor is bringing it out too

Macspower

thanks for the advice guys. I decided today to go for the iphone4 but not all according to plan..

Firstly they dont seem to be available and secondly with a new connection with Vodafone even though I've a very good track record with them it seems that I must pay 200 euro deposit which will be refundable after 6 months..

Is this deposit standard? I'm wondering is this a shop thing or a general vodafone thing?

evolutionqy7

i think at this stage its general network thing. though haven't experienced it myself. tbh just for that reason id rather buy a sim free phone

Macspower

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

i think at this stage its general network thing. though haven't experienced it myself. tbh just for that reason id rather buy a sim free phone

yeah I agree... 200 deposit and maybe another 100 for the phone I might be better off with sim free and no contracts


Just having another look at the samsung wave and reading the thread on it here... it looks like a very viable option

dr ro

n8?

evolutionqy7

dr ro wrote: »

n8?

shivers running down the spine

dr ro

yeah maybe. Going to try it out though. Still using 3y o n95.

Doom

Samsung Galaxy S?

Macspower

choices are down to samsung wave (looks good) Galaxy S both on meteor network and iphone 4 on vodafone..

little worried about the bada OS on the wave but phone looks great..
I like the screen on the Galaxy....
I like the IPhone 4 but dont like the 200 deposit or the current availability or lack of

evolutionqy7

is the desire available? or are the Irish carriers still struggling to get stock in?

paddypowder

so im told the galaxy s is a totally superior phone/gadget to the i-phone 4?

ChopShop

paddypowder wrote: »

so im told the galaxy s is a totally superior phone/gadget to the i-phone 4?

Maybe... so long as you can live without a flash on the camera.

Macspower

lol and WOW @ meteor customer service..

I decided on a samsung wave and have been trying to order it online but it turns out that I cant order it online and keep my number so I must go instore...

Been on the phone to them and their level of knowledge is staggeringly low

Now here the problem lies... the plan I picked online is not available instore????? They have different plans... the store ones are the same plans but 10euro a month more expensive.... seems that there is no way around it..

I can keep a number from another network no problem and get the better priced plan but cant keep a meteor number and get cheaper plan..... mind boggles

Macspower

cnocbui wrote: »

I think the iPhone 4 is probably the best fit for your requirements.

If you really want to look at alternatives include the Samsung Wave S8500 among them. iPhone 4 equivalent/better hardware at half the price and does all the essential phone things very well. Superb reception and voice quality. It has a WiFi hotspot mode where you can tether it to a laptop via WiFi and use it's 3G connection. I was able to use a 3G dongle Sim in mine in this way (Optus Oz) but a Vodafone 3G dongle Sim (Oz) wouldn't work, so I think with Vodafone you would need a data plan on a normal phone sim to use it in this way.

Video is much less restrictive than an iPhone and it will play just about any format natively, including .mkv The screen is better than the iPhone's, hell it's better than my Panasonic Plasma TV in some respects. Headphone output sound quality is on par with the iPhones - ie., superb.

GPS app - route 66 - is probably not as good as TomTom on the iphone.

as a matter of interest where did you get the app.. I dont see it listed on the samsungapps site?

Mezcita

San Francisco from Orange in the UK.

http://shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-phones/San-Francisco-from-Orange-in-grey

£99. Unlocked for $3 via Ebay. Stick in your own Irish Sim. No contract.

I got one three weeks ago and am delighted with it. Was not willing to sign on to a long term contract or shell out loads for a new handset.

Unboxing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PffjbXLHGaY&feature=related

ralphie

Mezcita wrote: »

San Francisco from Orange in the UK.

http://shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-phones/San-Francisco-from-Orange-in-grey

£99. Unlocked for $3 via Ebay. Stick in your own Irish Sim. No contract.

I got one three weeks ago and am delighted with it. Was not willing to sign on to a long term contract or shell out loads for a new handset.

Unboxing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PffjbXLHGaY&feature=related

How did you get it as I dont think Orange will post to Ireland or accept an Irish credit card.

Mezcita

Yeah I got it shipped to a friend in the UK and he posted it over to me. Presume they sell it up north as well.

ralphie

Mezcita wrote: »

Yeah I got it shipped to a friend in the UK and he posted it over to me. Presume they sell it up north as well.

Thanks.Have to go up there tomorrow,might try to get one.

Mezcita

No worries. If you get one this site is excellent for apps/ roms etc/ how to take the Orange stuff off etc.

http://android.modaco.com/category/453/zte-blade-blade-modaco-com/

(Its called the ZTE Blade in the States)

cnocbui

Macspower wrote: »

as a matter of interest where did you get the app.. I dont see it listed on the samsungapps site?

It came pre-loaded and is just called navigation. you need a micro SD card installed to activate it. I did get mine sim free from Hong Kong so not sure they all come with it pre loaded. My Wave is the all black one and looks slick.