First smartphone, which one for me?

patsyrockem

Hi all, I am looking to buy my first smartphone, going to go sim-free with tesco, the deal looks good. I just need my new phone for the usual calls and texts and browsing the internet and probably use a few apps for things like sports news and betting. I am willing to spend 200euro.I do like the look of the samsung galaxy ace but thats an uneducated choice. I need help because I am totally bamboozled. Can anyone recommend a phone for me? Thanks

Kristopherus

I would highly recommend the Hauwei Ascend G 300. This is available from Amazon.co.uk for £100.00. Or the Ascend G 330. Both phones have hardware & features of phones costing twice as much. There's a big thread on the Ascend G 300 in this forum.

Lelantos

If you have time & can keep an eye on the carphone warehouse website, look for the HTC one s & HTC one x they normall retail at approx 479 & 599 on Vodafone, but they are doing a special offer of 159 & 199. Sold out right now, but if either appears over the next 24 hours, snap it up right away.

rocoso

Kristopherus is correct Hauwei have far more advanced technology than any price comparable phone...
def check them out

Alpha Dog 1

There Vodafone only though, wonder how hard it would be to unlock?

Lelantos

Alpha Dog 1 wrote: »

There Vodafone only though, wonder how hard it would be to unlock?

Any half decent unlock shop could do it easily, 10-20€

patsyrockem

Thanks everyone , I will look into the Huawei option, I presume if I buy from amazon I will have to get it unlocked. Will it be difficult to get it unlocked?

polaris68

patsyrockem wrote: »

Thanks everyone , I will look into the Huawei option, I presume if I buy from amazon I will have to get it unlocked. Will it be difficult to get it unlocked?

Nope, all phones from Amazon are unlocked - insert any sim and you're ready to go.

That why they cost more - they don't come with a network's "discount".

Kristopherus

patsyrockem wrote: »

Thanks everyone , I will look into the Huawei option, I presume if I buy from amazon I will have to get it unlocked. Will it be difficult to get it unlocked?

I got mine from Amazon Uk and it was locked to Vodafone UK. Unlocked it via a link I got here to a guy on ebay.ie. Cost me €7.00. Had the unlock code next morning. You can then go to : http://www.modaco.com/topic/357243-explained-like-youre-5-install-custom-roms-from-scratch-install-the-official-ics-update-root-more/. Follow that guide to be able to do whatever you please with the phone.


EDIT: GRAB IT QUICK FROM AMAZON. ITS REDUCED TO £84.99.

Francie Barrett

Kristopherus wrote: »

I got mine from Amazon Uk and it was locked to Vodafone UK. Unlocked it via a link I got here to a guy on ebay.ie. Cost me €7.00. Had the unlock code next morning. You can then go to : http://www.modaco.com/topic/357243-explained-like-youre-5-install-custom-roms-from-scratch-install-the-official-ics-update-root-more/. Follow that guide to be able to do whatever you please with the phone.


EDIT: GRAB IT QUICK FROM AMAZON. ITS REDUCED TO £84.99.

Terrific price.

Like you said, it can be unlocked on ebay for under a fiver too.

patsyrockem

Hi all, thanks for the help, got myself a Hauwei g300 from amazon at good price;) it came with a vodafone number etc, need help again tho, how can I get it unlocked so that I can sign up for a sim free deal? Thanks Again.

Kristopherus

patsyrockem wrote: »

Hi all, thanks for the help, got myself a Hauwei g300 from amazon at good price;) it came with a vodafone number etc, need help again tho, how can I get it unlocked so that I can sign up for a sim free deal? Thanks Again.

Go on to Ebay.ie or Ebay.co.uk & search for Korter_gsm. He is seller No.35476. He's the guy I used. Cost was $6.68. Had my unlock code next morning via email.

Edit: Here is a link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNLOCK-CODE-HUAWEI-FUSION-U8652-FUSION-2-U8665-Ascend-Y100-Y200-Y201-PRO-/390532012875?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5aed859b4b

patsyrockem

Thanks for all the help, nearly there now, I've got my unlock code but need an unauthorised sim card before I power up to enter the unlock codes. (as per instructions) Can I just go in to any mobile provider and ask them for a sim and will this work or have I another problem. Thanks again.

Kristopherus

Have you got your own Irish sim or is this your first phone:)?

patsyrockem

Have tried my old sim which is a vodafone sim, would'nt let me do anything only emergency calls. The new phone is locked to vodafone, would that be the issue?

Kristopherus

patsyrockem wrote: »

Have tried my old sim which is a vodafone sim, would'nt let me do anything only emergency calls. The new phone is locked to vodafone, would that be the issue?

It should'nt be as they are 2 completely different providers. But, just in case, it might be better to use a family/friend's sim from a different network.

patsyrockem

Hi again, I have got a new sim and can enter the four digit unlock code for that sim which then gives me the option to enter the sim unlock code. But I don't have any keyboard or screen to enter the code just a dark blank screen saying enter sim unlock code.
Help needed again sorry!

patsyrockem

Sorted i think. Thanks for all the help.

steirishrover

patsyrockem wrote: »

Sorted i think. Thanks for all the help.

I'm looking at buying this phone now... Can you recommend it?

I have an iPhone4 but sick of it at this stage giving me problems...

Any info would help

Alpha Dog 1

steirishrover wrote: »

I'm looking at buying this phone now... Can you recommend it?

I have an iPhone4 but sick of it at this stage giving me problems...

Any info would help

It's a very good low budget phone. But it's at entry level and you might find it underpowered compared to your iPhone.
This phone is 80 pound compared to 500 for the iPhone.
Also android is considerably different to ios.

steirishrover

Alpha Dog 1 wrote: »

It's a very good low budget phone. But it's at entry level and you might find it underpowered compared to your iPhone.
This phone is 80 pound compared to 500 for the iPhone.
Also android is considerably different to ios.

Ok so I think I might leave it then... But I was gonna buy 2 huawei phones-- 1 for me & 1 for the gf.

She has a Sony tipo at the min but hates it... She loves the Facebook etc so would this phone be ideal for her or is their anything better in carphone warehouse or meteor shops around the same price?

Kristopherus

Alpha Dog 1 wrote: »

It's a very good low budget phone. But it's at entry level and you might find it underpowered compared to your iPhone.
This phone is 80 pound compared to 500 for the iPhone.
Also android is considerably different to ios.

Its a low budget phone with the features of a €400.00 phone. 1ghz processor, 3gb internal storage, plus up to 32gb micro card. How bad:rolleyes: And with an iphone you're paying miles over the odds for just the logo.:cool:

seamey beag84

Might buy the Hauwei myself. It comes with Android 2.1 though. Can this be updated to Ice-cream or even jelly bean? My HTC HD2 is finally on the way out and this looks like a cheap replacement, till Google X release what there playin at.

Alpha Dog 1

seamey beag84 wrote: »

Might buy the Hauwei myself. It comes with Android 2.1 though. Can this be updated to Ice-cream or even jelly bean? My HTC HD2 is finally on the way out and this looks like a cheap replacement, till Google X release what there playin at.

II bought one a few weeks ago that shipped with ice cream sandwich.

seamey beag84

Alpha Dog 1 wrote: »

II bought one a few weeks ago that shipped with ice cream sandwich.

Was it through Amazon you bought it? I'll be buying it tonight, might try Flubit on it aswell and see what I can get off..

Alpha Dog 1

seamey beag84 wrote: »

Was it through Amazon you bought it? I'll be buying it tonight, might try Flubit on it aswell and see what I can get off..

Yeah, Amazon. Was reduced to 82.99 at the time.

irishpancake

Kristopherus wrote: »

Its a low budget phone with the features of a €400.00 phone. 1ghz processor, 3gb internal storage, plus up to 32gb micro card. How bad:rolleyes: And with an iphone you're paying miles over the odds for just the logo.:cool:

Me and Kris are on the same wavelength here, the g300 is brill for the price, and you can overclock safely, with a new kernel, as used in Stock + ROM, no probs, no reboots....

http://www.modaco.com/topic/360947-romics-stock-rom-b960-r6-updated-06-03/

App drawer > No-Frills CPU > Set Governor to SmartassV2, set I/O scheduler to noop and for nice performance boost set the Max clock frequency to 1.152Ghz.

NB: I have found most G300's to be pretty stable between 1Ghz and 1.19Ghz so you can comfortably use 1.19Ghz if you wish but if you want keep things conservative and still have a little performance improvement then setting the max frequency to 1.152ghz is a great compromise.

There are other ROM's also, and development is continuing....

Also, this can be got from Vodafone Ireland for under €100, if you know how, check the g300 main thread, plus buy through Fatcheese, for €24 cashback.....

can't do better that that guv!!

Kris, we should be on a % :P

patsyrockem

Thanks for all the help so far, just getting around to setting up my new g300:o unfortunately now it or me can't connect to the internet, followed the Tesco mobile help page and entered the settings as shown but still no change. Feeling really silly now but where am I going wrong?? Can someone advise as to my next step?