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It seems that as well as advice on bikes, there's a wealth of good information for all sorts of other things too on here!
I'm currently on a PAYG SIM, but I've been using my phone a lot more recently, and it's become uneconomical on a monthly basis,. so it's time to get a cheap contract. I popped into a Carphone Warehouse yesterday, and they appear to have some very good deals on for £10 a month or less. Which would suit me very well actually.
So what sort of phone should i go for? there are so many,it's bewildrering! i'd like something that does music and GPS/maps ideally, a reasonably camera, robust and easy to use. Not really bothered about instant messaging, twiiter etc. So something between a teenager and a businesman't phone.
Has anyone got any good recommendations? Thanks for any advice.
Ohm, and i don't really want to spend much more than £10 a month idf I can help it, so no iPhone!
What phones did they offer you?
Some people on STW have had issues with them, but I recommend the Motorola Defy +, been faultless so far. Not as pretty as my HTC Legend, but faster, waterproof and a lot more rugged. Use it on the mountain bike for navigating. Even with GPS and roaming on there's been plenty of battery life left after 4 hours. Cheap too.
I think there are a few here:
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-monthly/deal-finder
I have no idea as to what ones are better than others etc. Backing stuff up to a computer is good; being able to work with a Mac would be nice but I can use a PC laptop too if necessary.
Willing to spend a bit more for a great deal though.
I recently got a samsung galaxy ace through virgin. Paid £100 PAYG then got the cheapest sim only deal with data which was £7. I'm a virgin media customer so I might have got it cheaper than a non-customer.
Also got the GF a galaxy ace plus which is slightly faster and bigger.
I'm really impressed with both phones so far. The gps works great with strava and memory maps and the battery lasts well even when tracking my rides and listening to music at the same time.
The Samsung appears to have software that will work with aMac, which is useful, although i concede the total integration of the iPhone is something I'd need to pay a lot more for!
That's really helpful, mdavids. i'd be interested in learning what experiences others have with some of the other phones in that list.
Yes.
Any of the Samsung Galaxy phones.
In this case, are Samsung better than other brands?
My only current concern is that the smartphones are a bit bulky compared to simpler units, but I suppose the larger screen necessitates this.
defo one of the Samsung ones.
Look around for cheap deals iPhones, with the 5 coming soon, the 4 will probably become the free starter option, replacing the 3Gs, or look around for someone selling one and getting a cheap tariff SIM.
Alternatively, have a look at the new Nokia Lumia phones, they're lovely looking phones, and the Windows OS looks pretty nifty.
Look around for cheap deals on iPhones, with the 5 coming soon, the 4 will probably become the free starter option, replacing the 3Gs, or look around for someone selling one and getting a cheap tariff SIM.
Alternatively, have a look at the new Nokia Lumia phones, they're lovely looking phones, and the Windows OS looks pretty nifty.
I have a similar question, ie what phone and/or apps would best fit the following requirements :
prime need is for holding and hopefully using OS maps for walking
would need to be able through on board memory or slot to hold many maps off line and internet connection to download, although would prefer a situation wherecould access maps(s) without being online to internet. Would also like it to show me my position on map and if possible track me as I walk. Oh yes and if I could actually draw with a stylus or similar on the screen the outline of the walk I was planning that wouldbe fantastic. A tall order, can anyone tell me what feature or apps would fill the bill and what phone might be best suited ?
Viewranger does most of that (havent trie planning a ride on the phone screen). The online track creator is ridiculously easy to use. Takes me about 5 minutes to plan a ride. ~Sure there's plenty of other apps that will do the job but www.viewranger.com works nicely for me.
It lets you store the maps or download as you go. Plan a walk on their website then sync to phone and you have a route to follow. Has audible alarms when you get near a waypoint and that sort of thing. Free too.
An iphone 4 for £10 a month?
Buy a used iPhone on ebay and get a SIM only contract.
The Wife has just got a new Nokia Lumia – having thought they were dead and buried I am very impressed with it, nicest looking phone I have ever used and super easy operating. Super fast on the internet etc. I would be happy with one.
Galaxy Ace. Or if you don't want/need to be cutting edge Galaxy Y.
I picked up a nearly new Galaxy W on here for just under £100 to replace my knackered HTC Desire & it's a lot better. £15 a month on a rolling Voda contract & it suits me fine 🙂
Are Galaxy Ace/Ace 2 any good? I've been looking at these to solve the £36pm Iphone 4s upgrade dilemma.....?
Orange do a SIM only contract for £7 per month. 250Mb of internet which isn't huge but OK for a bit of occasional surfing.
My Defy was pants. Perhaps the defy2 is better but I'd never own another.
Crashing, slow, glitchy, screen didn't work work when it was raining, really really rubbish signal compared to other phones with the same network even same sim card. Etc.
When it did work ok, it was really nice though.
Happy with my HTC desire. It used to crash a bit but a new battery seems to have sorted that.
defy=sh it
I,ve really enjoyed using my Defy.Its cheap as well.Not perfect but on the other hand some £500 iphones couldn't even take calls.
I popped into a Carephone Warehouse last week, just for a look at what's on offer, and it seem sa Samsung Glaxy Ace is the main contender so far. The maps feature worked almost instantaneously, which some of the others on display seemed to struggle with, so that was a big plus point.
An iphone 4 for £10 a month?
Where? With a free phone? I have seen some deals for £20 a month but you need to spend £300 or so on top, and I am not going to do that. I just want a cheap simple contract with a decent phone.
Carphone Warehouse do a Glaxy Ace with 250 minutes, 2000 tesxts and 500mb date per month for £10, which seems more than enough.
Any better deals out there?
Carphone Warehouse
£15/month
Samsung Galaxy Y
Free 32" Toshiba
I only wanted a new telly but I'm happy with what I've got.
I looked into those 'free tv' deals, and the reality is that you're paying almost as much for the tv in the extra over the phone only deal, so it's not 'free' at all really. Just an extended payment scheme. I suppose it's good if you dd actually want a new tv though.
.
Well I've bought a Samsung Galaxy Ace on a £7.50 a month contract; 250 minutes, thousands of texts and 500mb data. Lovely phone with some great features, and i think a fair bit better than an iphone 3 I had for a short while. Acts as an external drive so no special software needs for loading music and photos etc. Maps feature is excellent, really quick. Overall I'm very pleased so far.
Inevitably, the supplied headphones are rubbish, but fortunately the phone has a standard headphone socket so I can use any headphones. Which brings me to the next obvious questionl; what headphones should I be loking at? Budget up to about £50-60 really.
again, grateful for any advice and opinions.
Also, what can I actually do with 500mb of data? i'm a bit scared to use it in case i quickly go over my allowance and incur hideously expensive charges. What does 500mb equate to in terms of daily use?
Can I ask where you got your ace from at that price and what network it's on ? I'm currently looking myself and that sounds a good deal .
Videos will be the main data usage along with downloading large files or lots of music, most other things should be OK. Check what kind of data cap it is, some networks let you go over but throttle your connection. If it's the sort of cap where they cut you off or charge you they should have a webpage where you can check how much you've used.
If you've got wifi at home/work enable it on your phone, that'll cut down on your limited data usage.
Headphones: whatever you'd use with any other music player, there's probably loads of recommendations on this forum depending on what kind you want (e.g. discrete in-ear, or massive over-ear ones).
@stevelolly: I bought it from Carphone warehouse and it's on Talkmobile. Seemed the best deal around. £7.50 is peanuts compared to some phone deals, especially iphones. CW are ok, but watch out for deals constantly chaging; this one was £10 on Monday, but £7.50 today!
@sas; thanks, so as long as i don't use too much video (can't see myself doing that really), i should be ok? I'll use the home computer to downloads stuff as it's easier anyway. Do maps use a lot of data? That's the main think i'll use when outside really. there's a pub fiding feature which i can see myself using; could have done with that about 3 times last week alone!
bit of research suggests some soundmagic E30 are very good for the money. wondering if it's really worth gettng full sized ones for better sound quality, or are the in-ear ones ok?