merlina Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Don't know why I didn't think of asking this on here before... Mobile phone advice needed: My time with the horrible Nokia N8 is at an end as of today - yay! (we just never got on). So, I was looking at a Samsung Galaxy 3 - or is the 4 worth the extra dosh? After reading reviews all day (when I should be working), I'm now erring towards a Samsung Note II. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Warnings? I'm pretty sure I don't want an Apple (not least because I can't replace the battery). I'm not especially tech-savvy. I want to use the phone as a sat-nav as well as phone Replaceable batteries are important as sometimes I'm away from a charging point for days I'd like it to have a good dictaphone capacity And be easy to use! (The Note 2 seems to fulfil all these and I can use the pen as a stylus to move around which I really like - I have long fingernails and can't get to grips with touchscreens) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Apologies for butting in on your thread Merlina (tell me to butt out if I'm derailing it ) but I'm also interested in phone recommendations. I have decided to finally drag myself kicking and screaming into the 21st century and get a smartphone. I've had my current phone for 7.5 years and so it will be a wrench to get a new one, but I think needs must! Like you Merlina, I would find sat nav helpful. Also I don't want a contract as I use giffgaff, so I just want to buy the phone. Nothing too expensive or complicated! A good camera would be nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Ooh, sorry Merlina & Lavenders_ Blue but I'd like to add my interest too! My 2 year old Orange San Francisco is playing up and I'd like recommendations for a cheap smart phone (not on contract for me either). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I don't think that HTC Android phones can be beaten - my Husband , myself & both girls have them, & we all regularly use the SatNav with great ease. I didn't see The Gadget Show last night,but I believe that Android phones were featured, so it might be worth a look online or on their site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlina Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 Everyone is very welcome in 'my' thread I've had an HTC Trinity for many years and love it very much, but it's looking very tired and worn out now. I'll be keeping it as back-up. The new HTC don't have replaceable batteries, so I'm less keen. I haven't seen all the models, but the newest didn't seem intuitive at all to me. What I hate about the Nokia was that to be able to do x you have to find a menu (hard enough in itself), then a submenu, then another submenu, then another, and another, to do a very simple task - and no apparent way of creating a shortcut. The HTC I saw seemed a little like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I have the original Note and love it. I don't use the stylus as much as I expected (I had a Palm years ago and absolutely adored it esp the handwriting recognition, but time seems to have moved on really) I would say that whilst it is great for the internet and texting, it is very big to use as a phone, but that doesn't bother me. The large screen is good for mapping and GPS use, however, do be aware that this will chew through the batteries pretty fast and I still use an actual GPS when out walking. We are a non-apple family (my OH is a techie and very anti-Apple and Microsoft !) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I like my Galaxy S3 though having played with the S4, it's MILES faster to use. That said, do what I didn't do - get a case - once those things get dropped onto a hard floor..... The glass of the screen cracked on mine 2 weeks ago. If I get it repaired properly, the bill is around £200 (!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 My HTC Wildfire died on me a few months ago (suddenly ) so I had to replace it in a hurry, got a Samsung Galaxy Ace II (I think) which is much more basic than the models you are looking at, I think? Anyway, it does everything I need it to do and very well - it has satnav which I have used and was quite impressed. That said, texting is nowhere near as good as on the HTC - I'd swap back to HTC in a heartbeat if I could! My phone is also a bit smaller than the higher spec models, which I think is an advantage!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 DH and DD used to have Blackberrys but don't want those again. In November when I got myself a job the first thing I bought was a Samsung Galaxy 3 to replace the brick that I was given years ago. I went on to 02 and bought a refurbished one for £80 and an 18 month contract for £26 per month for unlimited texts and calls. Obviously there is a limit to unlimited I have discovered but I don't think I've ever gone anywhere near that! One thing I didn't realise is that sharing photos costs are not covered and if you send them on Facebook direct then it costs even more - and smileys are also counted as pics. So download photos onto your computer and email instead. The camera is brilliant. And being a technophobe I found it really easy to do (Chicknboo will laugh because I was trying to take a photo at a show and found I was videoing instead - but the little pom pom was cute). I think DH changed his Blackberry to a Galaxy 2 - na na ne na nahhh mine's better than his! DD has an iphone - she's just waiting for her contract to end so that she can get a better phone - I think she wanted a Nokia lumia - but that was a while ago and she'll probably have something else in mind. Good luck because there are a lot to choose from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Very timely, I've just been given a Sony Xperia for work I'll give a review when I've worked out how to turn it on Hope it's got large font I'm really glad I don't have to choose one but guess best way is to decide which features you really want to work easily and then read the reviews there are hundreds online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I found the Gadget Show website - thanks for the heads up on that. You can sort by various categories such as best budget phone, best Android phone etc depending on what you want. I don't want much other than Internet/e-mail access, sat nav and camera, so budget phone is fine and the Nokia Lumia is looking like a good choice at the moment. Might have to take myself into a phone shop (shudder) and take a look at a few phones once I've got a shortlist to see what they are like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Have now ordered a Nokia Lumia 520. Reviews seem to suggest that, as a budget phone, it's hard to beat. I don't want anything more than a budget phone. Looking forward to it arriving and trying to get my head around the technology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
