[Closed] New phone time...what ticks these boxes?

Buy a second hand, black and white nokia on pay as you go for taking out on the bike and battering around.
Then take whatever smartphone that Vodafone will give you.

Why not just switch providers to one who does carry the z1 compact or go via a 3rd party? It's a 4g phone as we'll so EE worth considering.

Z1 Compact. At the minute I think only O2 have it direct.

I don't want/need multiple phones and I'd then need to change sim cards every time I left the house on my bike...smartphone is to do everything so I want it to be a bit more robust, hence the requirement for the proofing. Having 1 phone that needs charged daily when I don't think I'm a heavy user is bad enough (all data switched off unless I need it, about 15 minutes of calls, maybe 20-50 texts (depends if I get a joke or not) and maybe 30 minutes of web surfing/Twitter during the day), the bigger phones with the bigger screens will kill the battery quicker.

Vodafone give me the most consistent reception wherever I go, been like that for years and still the case, vowed never to go to Orange again due to such shocking service. Not keen on going to a 3rd party as it introduces a whole new level of spam/junk mail.

Have considered going for the huge phone and then selling it but unsure I'd get the price of the phone brand new and then be able to pay for the Compact.

So back to original request - any phone that ticks those boxes (preferably all of them but any ticking most of them?), on Vodafone?

I don't think the dimensions of newer phones are significantly bigger than an S2, they just utilise more of the available space for screen. My Note 2 is obviously the exception. Plus your battery assertion is not always true, the Note 2 has much better battery life than an S2.

The S5? Won't be free though.

Why limit yourself to a provider-provided phone? If you've got the money for it up front it'll be cheaper overall. Eg, http://www.expansys.com/sony-xperia-z1-compact-black-257573/

Vodafone are doing it as I was offered one? Probably not a direct upgrade.

I don't have money to buy a new phone outright, if that was the case I'd be singing. Compare the size of the Xperia X1 or the S4 to the Galaxy S2 - you can't reach the whole screen with 1 finger/thumb when held in your hand...it's a considerably larger thing to hold...larger screen is nice, but I don't need a larger screen.

I'm still waiting for "the deal" on the z1 compact. Lovely phone.

Vodafone confirmed they aren't going to do it as it is too similar to the Z1 - not quite, it isn't as large, is much more like a phone-sized item, has all the features but a slightly smaller capacity battery and a slightly lower res screen - both things I can accept on that as the rest of it is the same as the big beast.

Samsung and HTC seem to offer 'mini' versions of their big phones but they aren't the same, everything is reduced - spec and features, so they aren't the same.

So 1 option is to go for the Z1 and just sell it...get the money for it (no idea how much it costs or what I'd get for it) and hope it covers the Compact...then chuck my sim in and away I go.

If you with your special agent credentials haven't been able to find a phone meeting every one of these precise requirements, what hope for the rest of us?

Woohoo...nice one...almost...nope, I've no idea how to do a search that lists all my wants and then get a website to recommend it. I tried speaking to Vodafone, they suggested I take the Z1 as it was the same thing; then they suggested take a S4 Mini as that was apparently the same as the S4 (nope, it's lower spec/fewer features and isn't 'proofed').

GSMarena has a load of stuff that allows you to search but it doesn't seem to come up with anything that would be suitable that isn't the Z1 Compact. The size is important as well as the features...if I wasn't bothered about the size, I'd be on the Z1 in an instant...

I'm in the same boat, have a look on car phone warehouse site. They are advertising the Experia compact on vodafone for £29 pm with no upfront cost. Daft how they won't do it direct though ??

Galaxy S4 Active
waterproof to 1m with underwater camera mode
4g
8mp cam
same processor & ram as normal s4
low power mode to turn the wick down when only on standby (or use the)
Swappable battery

or hang on for S5 which is ip67 as standard.

decent camera min. 8mp

You know that more MP doesn't automatically mean better?

decent internal memory >8mb, 16 preferred
decent ram - 2mb

You mean GB right...?

Yes, aware that more megapixels doesn't mean better, however I've got 8MP just now so want to maintain that...assuming that most things in a picture are equal.
Yes, meant Gb not Mb!

Does anyone know if I can go into CarphoneWarehouse and get my contract renewed/new phone instead of going through Vodafone? If so, I'm worrying over nothing...as I can then get the phone!

Yes, you can do that. While you are in there, I would at least have a go on the larger phones. I use an Note 2 with one hand which actually is massive (the phone, not my diminutive hands). I've had an S2, and an S4 or S5 won't be more than a cm longer than it.

Not helping the OP at all, but I just received my Z1f (compact) from Japan.

Awesome.

Such an upgrade from the iphone.

Travis - Member
Not helping the OP at all, but I just received my Z1f (compact) from Japan.
Awesome.
Such an upgrade from the iphone.

How is it such an upgrade, software or hardware?

To be honest, my iphone was an old one (4) and running iOS7. Just knackered it up.

I like camera on this one, it's waterproof, and it's quick on the apps (compared to before)
It's a tad larger than an iphone5c.
In some countries, it is outselling the iphone 5c.

So to me, it was an upgrade on both hardware and software.

I have just gone from an S2 to an S4, it is a little larger and ticks all the boxes apart from the dust/water/robust that you require. You can get a waterproof case off ebay for under a tenner to use on the bike, a gel case for a couple of quid for normal use and it comes with a pre fitted screen protector. Used my S2 for 2 years mounted to the handlebars in a protective case and it is still working fine having been out in all weathers and survived several crashes.