Buying new phone [Halp]

[BattleMoose]

Howdy all.

Truth of the matter is, I know nothing about the nature of cellphones available, capabilities, contracts prices and social vanity value.... My current phone, I think must be going on bout 5-7 years now, really not sure, has lost its protective screen, doesnt make sounds properly and randomly turns itself off. I am approaching the stage where I am actually ashamed of taking it out in public. ^^ And it cannot accept or send mms and the camera is a camera in name only....

Altho, at the core, its still functional which is why I have kept it for so long.....

So please forumites, if there are knowledgable people on the world of cellphones, willing to share such knowledge and willing to make recommendations on good contracts to get. :-) It would be most appreciated.

Yeah, I do want to get a contract.....

Looking for:
Value for money
Snazzy smexy lookin phone
acceptable camera

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalp

[Chevron]

Budget?

[Wesley]

Looking for:
Value for money
Snazzy smexy lookin phone
acceptable camera

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalp

I have this one, and it is awesome. Completely outclasses most other budget phones out there. Its a Nokia 3110c.

http://www.myworldphone.com/mmMYWORLDPHONE/Images/nokia3110big.jpg

And if you go a bit higher, you can get this one, the Nokia N80. Bloody nice phone, my mom's upgrading to it soon.

http://www.cyberindian.net/wp-content/uploads/nokia-n80-large.jpg

[BattleMoose]

Budget, I dunno, I hardly know what these things cost. I basically want a functional, awesome looking phone, at the cheapest price possible, I cannot be clearer than that, and I realise how vague that is. ^^

[Wesley]

Budget, I dunno, I hardly know what these things cost. I basically want a functional, awesome looking phone, at the cheapest price possible, I cannot be clearer than that, and I realise how vague that is. ^^

What make was your old phone btw? I say go for the 3110c. You can sign a contract with Vodacom for a Topup 135, which gives you R135 per month, and if you run out you can just buy extra prepiad vouchers and use that. Its a great phone, its easy to use, and it can Multi-task to some degree.

[Chevron]

N80 is old with bad battery life.

I'd have a look at the Sony W890i or the Nokia N82.

[onona]

If I were to get a new phone now, I'd go for a Sony C902 or an iPhone 3G (actually I am upgrading to an iPhone next month myself). Unfortunately I have no idea what offers are available on these handsets in SA.

[Wesley]

Unfortunately I have no idea what offers are available on these handsets in SA.

An arm and a leg :p and then some because they still bill you for calls. But L, you need the iPhone because you have l33t skillz and need or use most of the other functions that come with it. I myself would love to own an iPhone, but its not as awesome as I expected, and it costs way too much for my puny student budget.

Maybe I'll wait for the Samsung Omnia to drop down in price and try get it next year.

[Kensei]

N80 is old with bad battery life.

I'd have a look at the Sony W890i or the Nokia N82.

Seconded. I have a Nokia N82 and I find it perfect for my needs. Which are primarily satisfying my compulsive need to check my email every half hour, some from of GPS (Nokia Maps works fine :p) ,decent games (Comes with Lumines, Geometry Wars and Bejeweled) and a decent camera.

All 1849 photos I took last year were off my cellphone camera - it takes good photos and the display is crystal clear.
You can look at the quality here:
Random Photo 1 (http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z210/KenseiZA/DecJan2009/Image1713.jpg)
Random Photo 2 (http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z210/KenseiZA/DecJan2009/Image1710.jpg)

Like I am sure most modern phones it comes with a mini-SD slot to expand the memory.

[Cats]

If I were to get a new phone now, I'd go for a Sony C902 or an iPhone 3G (actually I am upgrading to an iPhone next month myself). Unfortunately I have no idea what offers are available on these handsets in SA.

I got a c902 a few days ago on an mtn c0ntract. I am not entirely sure how much it costs because i got it as a birthday present but ya i dont thnk it is a bad price p/m though. And it really is a smexi phone.

[BattleMoose]

Oooooh, I forgot to mention, I really really really really want gps capable as well, I get so lost up here in Gauteng is horid.... :/ And get lost so frequently too. :-( And it seems so silly buying a garmin when ur phone can do it instead.

[Kensei]

I am not 100% sure if the GPS on the Nokia is a true GPS, ie, it interfaces with satellite. But it definitely can give you directions :)

[onona]

All 1849 photos I took last year were off my cellphone camera - it takes good photos and the display is crystal clear.
You can look at the quality here:
Random Photo 1 (http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z210/KenseiZA/DecJan2009/Image1713.jpg)
Random Photo 2 (http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z210/KenseiZA/DecJan2009/Image1710.jpg)

I don't want to sound like a bitch, but I wouldn't describe either of those photos as good quality.

The fact is, that camera phones are all ****. Some are just less **** than others. If you want a camera, buy a camera.

[BattleMoose]

I do have a camera, it is nice to have a camera on your phone tho, because well, frequently, one is without ones camera, at least I am usually.

[skelektron]

I work in the celphone business, and i reckon any Sony Ericsson is great value, especially the w890i or the k850. We have an official Nokia care point in our store, and we also reapair other phones. We recieve minimal returns on phones, but the ones that give us the most preblems are Samsung slide phones, or any slide for that matter as the flex that connects the screen to the phones get damaged quick quick. Any phones in the N range give us serious problems. Some clients end up leaving there phones with us longer than the contract has been running, because they're such kak.

Phones i would recommend:
SE C902
SE w890i
SE k850 or K810i (if you can find one...)
Nokia 5310
Nokia 3500 classic

Samsung i900 Omnia is a lekker toy, and a functional phone, but pricey. So is the SE X1.

[Ch@pS]

If you really want to splurge go for the N85, it > all. That being said, if you dont **** out gold bricks, I'd suggest the N82, for a camera phone its very good quality, far better than most, if not all other 5MP phones. Take a look at the review GSMarena did on the N82 before you decide though. Alternatively took at the nokia 6220 classic, specs wise its nice, and other than a cheapish keypad its great. The HTC touch pro looks great but suffers the same price tag as the N85, so the HTC S740 is what i'd suggest as this altrnative.

[Kensei]

I don't want to sound like a bitch, but I wouldn't describe either of those photos as good quality.

The fact is, that camera phones are all ****. Some are just less **** than others. If you want a camera, buy a camera.

Understood and agreed, onona ;) Compared to the awesomeness you can get with a proper camera, any cellphone based picture is utterly ****. But I still think that it is pretty decent for everyday snaps of 'OMG, I was walking down the road and I saw this!'

For what BattleMoose wants, I am sure the quality is OK :p

[Toi]

If you're buying prepaid then be prepared to fork out some serious cash bro. Most phones recommended here cost in excess of R4000. Contracts are much cheaper than buying cash.

I own and would recommend the following:
Sony Ericsson C902 - super cool, sexy easy to use phone
Nokia N81 - cool phone, has the latest and best version of S60 and is a blast to use. The top three keypad buttons can be a pain to use sometimes.
Nokia E71 - flashy business phone. Has a full QWERTY keyboard that takes some getting used to because of the small buttons but unless you're a ogre you'd get the hang of it. Has a ton of features and did I mention that the case is metal?

But if I had to choose one my vote would go to the C902 purely based on the fact that it's small and by far the easiest to use.

If you have to buy cash I'd go for a SE K810i, it's old but still a damn good phone.

[no_fear]

Oooooh, I forgot to mention, I really really really really want gps capable as well, I get so lost up here in Gauteng is horid.... :/ And get lost so frequently too. :-( And it seems so silly buying a garmin when ur phone can do it instead.

I got a N78. Pics are decent, and it has GPS which works like a charm. Every now and then it takes awhile to lock on but is generally good. It also has a FM transmitter so you can play your music through any radio and it comes with a 2gb memory card. It's a ****ing good phone, although freezes up a bit every now and then.

I have no problems with it and think it is a lot better than most phones :)

[Frozenfireside]

Camera phones are so ****ing retarded.

1) they don't work well. taking a decent picture is near impossible.
2) the quality is shoddy. Grainy, colourless, crap.
3) don't ****ing tell me it's x million pixels-it's the lens that makes a camera better over pure pixels (but a huge pixel count, like 12mega, help.)

Don't believe me? ask any photo store. Explains why wildlife photography people don't use happy snappy cameras. It saves you having to explain your **** pictures on facebook because it came from your phones camera.
This is a N80 phone camera thing, my mate deems it 'great'. It's not. I can't see a damn wave anywhere.
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o269/frozenfireside/kite.jpg

Just get as simple as possible-my mom has an entry level nokia that lasts 6-7 straight days of moderate to highish usage because it's got no **** add ons. It's a basic phone and it works well.

Separate GPS systems are better then phone based GPS as you don't then waste your phones battery life and updating the software is easier. This is my mates point of view as he has a bluetooth GPS system for his N80.

[Ch@pS]

In the end, seperate equipment thats designed with one purpose in mind will always out perform a jack of all trade device. However, for convinience(and indeed budget) a phone with these features comes in handy. I've got upwards of R25k in SLR lenses lying on my shelf at the moment, but that didnt stop me from looking to upgrade to a phone with a decent camera, cause when it comes down to it, lugging around your camera body + lenses + extras just isnt an option in everyday life.

[Frozenfireside]

Aaaah I guess drunken nights with 'watch this!!!' is hard to record with an SLR but remember that the less features it has, the longer the battery life is.

I would say bluetooth is needed. camera isn't. QWERTY keypad is very nice (I have a Nokia E61 *sick*).

[Ch@pS]

All true. ;) Although how will a camera thats not in use significantly reduce battery life? It shouldnt. Qwerty keypad on a phone = epic win, i miss my old 6820 years ago. :(

Cameras are on most phones out nowadays, no point in not getting one. If you want camera and qwerty why not look at an HTC S710, its like R89 per month on a cell c casual chat 100 contract, for nothing really.

[no_fear]

I dunno, I don't think a QWERTY keypad is needed. I find my normal keypad perfect for typing. I can type without looking at the phone and type fast. So why bulk up the phone?

[Ch@pS]

I dunno, I don't think a QWERTY keypad is needed. I find my normal keypad perfect for typing. I can type without looking at the phone and type fast. So why bulk up the phone?

Im with you on a normal keypad being fine, but the qwerty one is just that much faster once you get used to it. Have a look at the LG KS360 and HTC S710, perfect examples of doing qwerty right.

[Toi]

I got a N78. Pics are decent, and it has GPS which works like a charm. Every now and then it takes awhile to lock on but is generally good. It also has a FM transmitter so you can play your music through any radio and it comes with a 2gb memory card. It's a ****ing good phone, although freezes up a bit every now and then.

I have no problems with it and think it is a lot better than most phones :)

Ha, surf less pron.

[HolyMackerel]

I upgraded to an HTC (model escapes me right now) and what a hunk of junk. Well for me at least. It has all the bells and whistles but I struggled my ass off to delete photos or any other things on my phone. The best qwerty phone was my 6820. I just loved that phone. My Nokia 9300 wasn't bad either except that it lacked a camera. The new E90 isn't bad either. Well if you're a Nokia fan, anyway.

[Takiro]

Very cheap and quite smexy is the 3500 classic. I'v got it, it very user friendly ect.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn11/Takiro_NAG/3500-classic.jpg

[no_fear]

Ha, surf less pron.

Nope :P just when the memory card is nearly full it slows down a little.

I also figured today that you can get N-Gage on it. It's pretty fun. Got MGS on it. It is like the one on ps1! MADNESS! heh :D

[BattleMoose]

I am a proud new owner of a Nokia N79. :-) Thanks to everyone for their input.

[Frozenfireside]

I've found a phone for me-Nokia E75. With TCP/IP,regular KB and QWERTY KB. My dad wanted it but he had to upgrade in Jan. He asked me if he could have my phone and I saw the irony in that.

It's a lovely phone to look at.

[Aesir]

While there is a topic for this, does anyone know if the HTC diamond is a good phone? I have heard of some of the nice functions it has but is it user friendly and the software stable?

[Frozenfireside]

Actually that is a huge coincidence. A customer has got one and I spoke to him today about it. He hates it. It has a dumb OS that is illogical according to him. I'm sticking with Symbian. My boss got one and he can't type out an SMS cause he hasn't figured it out yet.

[cov1e_stalker]

While there is a topic for this, does anyone know if the HTC diamond is a good phone? I have heard of some of the nice functions it has but is it user friendly and the software stable?

I think its an ok windows mobile phone (my dad has one) symbian OS is better.

GSMarena (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_touch_diamond-review-264.php) likes it

But theres the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_5800_xpressmusic-review-308.php) with a bigger screen and more memory and its much cheaper. ( uses Symbian 5th)

The smart phone maket is booming !

[Aesir]

Thanks a lot, the phone is for my mom (I know jack **** about phones so dunno why they always ask me). So if it's finicky or hard to use I won't recommend it to her. Hmm the Nokia looks like a good choice, when one gets older a big touch screen might be a good thing. :P

[Chevron]

Thanks a lot, the phone is for my mom (I know jack **** about phones so dunno why they always ask me). So if it's finicky or hard to use I won't recommend it to her. Hmm the Nokia looks like a good choice, when one gets older a bug touch screen might be a good thing. :P

Rather have a look at the HTC touch pro. It's basically the touch diamond with more ram, longer battery life and a qwerty key pad.

[FEN1X]

My moms possible upgrade is the Samsung Pixon M8800, any thoughts?