Meteor: Samsung Galaxy Mini

beardybrewer

First post in this forum so don't crucify me but I thought this was a really good deal.

I picked up this phone on Friday and have been playing with it all weekend. I would have thought any smartphone out of my price range as a pay-as-you-go customer. But for a hundred quid you get a full Android 2.2 phone will the same bells and whistles of more expensive phones. Remember, the OS is the real feature.. you are running the exact same software as the big boys. The hardware isn't as fast and the screen isn't tops but you get everything Android smartphones have to offer. The next comparable phone cost 2x as much.

Also you can get up to €30 in call credit brining the phone down to just €70 (but this requires a €20 topup each month to get €5 credit for 6 months).

Lastly, Meteor are offering a deal right now if you top up €20 you can get free meteor talk, text, and internet/data. So you can use your new phone from anywhere. And regular non-offer data charges are capped at €0.69 per day. I downloaded an app which switches off data... but if I didn't have wifi and really wanted to check my email I could afford 69 cents the odd time.

https://store.meteor.ie/phones/samsung_galaxy_mini/#what-you-get-tab

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

CaSCaDe711

Out Of Stock now. (the Mini).

beardybrewer

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Well that is cheaper yes, but a much less capable phone. The mini has better display, multi-touch, faster wifi, better camera, and most importantly runs Android 2.2. My understanding is that 2.2 was a significant upgrade over Europa's 2.1.

http://www.thephonedatabase.com/Samsung_Galaxy_mini_367_vs_Samsung_Galaxy_5_487_Compare_Phones

beardybrewer

CaSCaDe711 wrote: »

Out Of Stock now. (the Mini).

There were at least a dozen more boxes behind the Meteor counter at the Galway Shopping Centre last Friday. FWIW

noodler

newkie wrote: »

Well that is cheaper yes, but a much less capable phone. The mini has better display, multi-touch, faster wifi, better camera, and most importantly runs Android 2.2. My understanding is that 2.2 was a significant upgrade over Europa's 2.1.

http://www.thephonedatabase.com/Samsung_Galaxy_mini_367_vs_Samsung_Galaxy_5_487_Compare_Phones

The Europa from 3 has 2.2 (I got it last week).

From my very basic comparisons online I thought I had come to the conclusion the Europa was actually better than the mini.

Anyway for 40e - -only one winner imo.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

doctorg

But the mini will be getting an official update to 2.3 while Europa won't!

UnknownSpecies

The Europa is an end of life phone and won't be getting updates whereas there is a definite possibility of further android updates for the Mini. The Mini came out to replace the Europa so they are pretty similar, but I do think the extra screen size and less buttons do make a big difference.

drunkmonkey

doctorg wrote: »

But the mini will be getting an official update to 2.3 while Europa won't!

dorgasm wrote: »

The Europa is an end of life phone and won't be getting updates

Have you a link to where Samsung said they won't be supporting the Europa, it come with 2 years warranty so I doubt there just going to abandon it.

UnknownSpecies

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Have you a link to where Samsung said they won't be supporting the Europa, it come with 2 years warranty so I doubt there just going to abandon it.

I haven't got a link but going by how reluctant and how long it took for an update on the Galaxy S, I can't see them releasing an update for the Europa any time soon, just my own thoughts !

TheDriver

europa is only 50 bucks for god sake plus the usual credit thing, twice the price for slightly bigger screen?? Its not like you are spending 500 euro and future proofing. europa is a grand phone, wifi and all

beardybrewer

Well technically there is more than just the bigger screen. But hey, if the other details aren't important to ya then by all means go with Three. It doesn't mean this is bad value, because it is a better phone. Put it this way, this is the best value for a current model. It's all perspective... personally I think €100 for a phone this good is great value. Comparing current models, the HTC Wildfire was the next step comparable model and was over 2x the price. Also I'm already on Meteor and have had issues sending MMS across carriers.

Klingon Hamlet

Meteor don't offer all-you-can-eat data, or free calls to all networks over weekends. 3 is a better deal IMHO.

noodler

Klingon Hamlet wrote: »

Meteor don't offer all-you-can-eat data, or free calls to all networks over weekends. 3 is a better deal IMHO.

Really? Guess I'll be switching once my meteor credit runs out?

I still can't see a clear answer on this thread if I can keep the 39e credit on the new 3 sim (that came with the phone) if I port my number over.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

noodler

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Cheers for that.

I haven't even put the 3 sim in the phone to see if there is 39e. I wonder if I should od this before porting.

danjo-xx

noodler wrote: »

Cheers for that.

I haven't even put the 3 sim in the phone to see if there is 39e. I wonder if I should od this before porting.

You have to put the 3 sim in the phone anyway before you can port your number over.

BostonB

newkie wrote: »

Well technically there is more than just the bigger screen. But hey, if the other details aren't important to ya then by all means go with Three. ...

What are the exact differences, I'm curious.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

BostonB

AFAIK both have poor camera's no flash no autofocus etc. Same res screen if bigger. But perhaps theres more to it.

beardybrewer

BostonB wrote: »

What are the exact differences, I'm curious.

Check out this link I posted earlier: http://www.thephonedatabase.com/Samsung_Galaxy_mini_367_vs_Samsung_Galaxy_5_487_Compare_Phones

With Meteor data is 50mb a day, normally 69 cents but free with the current top-up offer but who knows how long that will last.

BostonB

Ok thanks some differences nothing major though.

Wi-Fi 802.11 n
Higher pixel camera but still not good.
less colours on screen
Android 2.2
Bigger screen (same res)
Slight longer battery life
Slightly less internal memory.

So its slightly better, but not sure if its worth an extra 50~60 euro if you are on a tight budget. Which is the attraction of the Europa.

jimmycrackcorm

newkie wrote: »

I downloaded an app which switches off data... but if I didn't have wifi and really wanted to check my email I could afford 69 cents the odd time.

https://store.meteor.ie/phones/samsung_galaxy_mini/#what-you-get-tab

Reason enough why the Three offer is better.

Saruman

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

That's a brilliant deal for a phone that includes WiFi. Exactly what I am looking for thanks.