Do I need a new phone? I seem to be missing many apps from the Marketplace

Tombi!

I have an old phone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_i5700
But I can't seem to update kik or even find the damn thing on the market place.

Same goes for things like snapchat.

Searching doesn't work and it says it's not compatible with my device when I tried to add it from website.

So I was thinking of getting an xperia J since it was roughly the same price as the samsung when I bought it a few years ago.

neacy69

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

I have an old phone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_i5700
But I can't seem to update kik or even find the damn thing on the market place.

Same goes for things like snapchat.

Searching doesn't work and it says it's not compatible with my device when I tried to add it from website.

So I was thinking of getting an xperia J since it was roughly the same price as the samsung when I bought it a few years ago.

According to wiki it hs 2.1 update preloaded. The latest release of android is 4.2 so that phone is quite a bit behind which woul explain why many of the new apps and updates are not available for that phone.

You could look into updating it manually using a custom rom and rooting the phone (sounds complicated but generally its quite easy to do).

Heres a youtube video of a spica running 4.2 (jellybean)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drugsmU2hOE

Just google for your phone model and custom roms

Simi

I don't think updating past gingerbread (android 2.3) is a good idea as the spica only has 256mb of ram according to that wiki article. Here's a good place to start looking anyway. A quick look at the compatiblity for the apps you've named shows they require android 2.2 and up, so that'd be a good place to start.

Or you could buy a new phone. Probably the better option.

thebman

The phone is old in android age

Can probably pick up a cheap but modern one on adverts 100 or so.

neacy69

Good option from vodafone:

Sony Xperia J €149
http://shop.vodafone.ie/shop/phones-and-plans/phones/pay-as-you-go/phone-details/sony-xperia-j

Tombi!

Lads, I was wondering about the cheaper phones. The phone I've had latest me since the start of 2010 till now just fine but the mobile browser is really slow... The point that images + javascript would slow down boards.ie to about 5 seconds or more per page load (at least).

So how long would youse reckon I'd get fro the Xperia J since I was looking at that but it only has a single core CPU. Or are dual cores only useful for some apps and games (I wouldn't be playing anything 3D on the phone).

By the by, would the Xperia J be a decent enough phone for someone new to smartphones? Since my mother needs one and it's not too expensive so I can buy her it instead of giving her my old 2009 one.

thebman

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

Lads, I was wondering about the cheaper phones. The phone I've had latest me since the start of 2010 till now just fine but the mobile browser is really slow... The point that images + javascript would slow down boards.ie to about 5 seconds or more per page load (at least).

So how long would youse reckon I'd get fro the Xperia J since I was looking at that but it only has a single core CPU. Or are dual cores only useful for some apps and games (I wouldn't be playing anything 3D on the phone).

By the by, would the Xperia J be a decent enough phone for someone new to smartphones? Since my mother needs one and it's not too expensive so I can buy her it instead of giving her my old 2009 one.

If your concerned about performance, start looking at the devices benchmarks for devices in your budget range.

A single core versus duel core comparison is not really valid for speed. You could have a single core out perform a duel core depending on the processor. Now most likely not but basically the number of cores is not a good indication of processor performance.

Simi

If slow browsing is you're major concern, then you should aim a little higher than the Xperia J. Most (if not all) apps are now designed to take full advantage of dual/quad core processors and more importantly, utilize much more ram than they did even a year ago.

A single core, 512mb ram phone is going to be frustrating to use from the get go and will only get more frustrating as time goes on. If you can stretch your budget to €200, I'd recommend the Galaxy Ace 2 from either Three or sim-free from Amazon. It's no high-flier, but it's 800mhz dual core processor and 768mb ram will serve you well. It also just received a jellybean update which should result in better browser performance.

If you need a bigger screen the Huawei g510 for €149 is a passable alternative.