€200 sim free phone - Suggestions wanted

Glenbhoy

My old galaxy i9000 has just about seen enough action, spluttering along on its last legs now and it's time to upgrade.
I don't want a contract and have a nice sim only deal at present (montly contract, so can go with a contract deal if I really have to).
I'm looking for an upgrade on the i9000, but I don't need top of the range or the most modern phone out there. Essentially I want a phone similar in size to the i9000, with better (or at least removable) battery, I don't want to spend more than €200 on the phone and I'm struggling not least because of the amount of options and the difficulty in trying to make comparison. I mainly use the phone for browsing, very little downloading, talking or watching videos etc, but I browse a lot and often have a few screens open at once.

Any help or suggestions are welcome.

DECEiFER

The I9000 was a top-of-the-range phone in its day and as an owner of one myself, I couldn't agree more, it's so tired today.

€200 doesn't really get you much SIM-free. Even the Nexus 4 would set you back nearly €100 more for the 8GB model.

I bought one recently but before the Nexus 4 became a viable option, I was often checking eBay and Adverts.ie for good second-hand deals on things like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, etc. Even a S II wouldn't be a bad thing as it still has some punch. Plus you can root it to give it some extra adrenaline. At 4.3" it's not a massive amount bigger, but it has the same resolution as the original S and the pixel density does go down a bit as a result. My mother has one and there is still quite a difference in terms of the speed and responsiveness compared to my S. Some people are getting €150 for the S even today, second-hand, so you see why €200 won't do much for you brand-new without signing your wallet over once a month to one of the carriers.

I'm sure there are other worthy competitors out there, but if you're just looking for a sweet phone for €200, my advice is to consider a good-quality second-hand model. I understand not wanting to spend more and at the same time not wanting a contract that gives you nothing you want for €40 or more a month.

pickarooney

You could get 100+ for the galaxy s on eBay if it's in decent nick do work that into the budget

MuppetCheck

I know it's an old model too but it can still cut it well so how about a clean secondhand s2?

Glenbhoy

pickarooney wrote: »

You could get 100+ for the galaxy s on eBay if it's in decent nick do work that into the budget

Good call, not sure how much my bate up model would achieve though!

Thanks for the suggestions all.

_Whimsical_

Why does it need to be sim free?
Can you not just buy a phone and unlock it? If you like the look of something that is locked to a network check if it can be unlocked. It's generally very easy and if it does cost its almost always less than a tenner or there abouts.

Clareman

I picked up a S3 Mini on Adverts this weekend, keep an eye out there and you might pick up something, once you don't mind it being second hand of course.

mickdw

Glenbhoy wrote: »

Good call, not sure how much my bate up model would achieve though!

Thanks for the suggestions all.

I was looking for one a few months back to run some tv out functions off and I found it impossible to get a working one for under 100 so its certainly worth selling.

Glenbhoy

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Why does it need to be sim free?
Can you not just buy a phone and unlock it? If you like the look of something that is locked to a network check if it can be unlocked. It's generally very easy and if it does cost its almost always less than a tenner or there abouts.

It's not the unlocking that's the problem, it's just that I didn't want to be locked into a contract.

I'm thinking maybe the S3 mini might be the solution, worst case scenario, three do it on a 12 month contract which might work out a decent buy.

_Whimsical_

Glenbhoy wrote: »

It's not the unlocking that's the problem, it's just that I didn't want to be locked into a contract.

I'm thinking maybe the S3 mini might be the solution, worst case scenario, three do it on a 12 month contract which might work out a decent buy.

You can get the S3 mini on Vodafone prepay for 205 if you do it right. Then you could unlock and use it as you wish. http://shop.vodafone.ie/shop/phones-and-plans/phones/pay-as-you-go/phone-details/samsung-galaxy-s3-mini-blue

If you port a number to Vodafone they will give you 20 euro off the phone. It doesn't have to be your main number,you can get a free sim from another network and port that number. If you buy online via www.fatcheese.ie you will get 24 euro cash back for a new connection,which it will be if you port a number over. You have to wait around 3 months to get your fatcheese cash back but it comes eventually.