Smartphone curious

I’ve been happily using a Blackberry on an O2 rolling contract for a while now. However I stopped this a couple of months ago as I was out of the country for 2 months and wasn’t sure when I’d be returning.. anyway now I’m back and want to get some kind of phone contract up and running again, currently just on payg. Was just gonna get the same BB contract but I’m kind of intrigued by an Android based smartphone.

BB is just used as a telephone, texting/bbm, email, endomondo and facebook at the minute, but it might be nice to have a bigger screen and have something that can be used as a web browser. I don’t want fully touch screen though, a flip out keyboard would be better.

What models and providers/tarrifs are good right now? Are there any new Android updates on the horizon that I should wait for?

Before you say it I’m not getting an iPhone, they’re too expensive.

TBH, it sounds like you’d be best off sticking with the Blackberry.

The keyboard is your biggest stumbling block; there aren’t all that many decent (affordable) handsets with full keyboards. The Desire Z, maybe. If you’re going Android / iPhone, you might have to drop this requirement. (For what it’s worth, I was in the same boat back when I transitioned from an old Windows Mobile device; I’d still prefer a real KB but you do get used to the onscreen ones.)

You do get used to an on-screen keyboard surprisingly quickly.

In some ways it is actually better than a physical keyboard as it can offer varying buttons depending on what you are doing and it can easily handle multiple languages.

If you’re really keen to have a physical keyboard then there are a few pocket-sized Bluetooth keyboards available, including some that fit into a case next to the phone.

The problem I have with touchscreens is that other than the iPhone and HTC HD7, those I’ve tried have felt pretty unresponsive and horrible so I was rubbish at typing on them with my clumsy fingers. That was a while ago though, maybe things have improved.

And the bluetooth keyboard is a no go!

If you decide to drop the keyboard idea. What about Orange San Francisco (£99) + (wiped Orange branding)upgraded to android2.2 + giffgaff PAYG.
OR
the just launched Orange Monte Carlo £119 and use Orange PAYG and wait until someone has got an unlock for it, then go giffgaff (you can take you tel no with you). You’ll have to make do with the Orange branding and bloat until someone comes up with a clean fix. The MC has a 4.3″ screen and is new build the SF is smaller and older, but still ok.
This is the reasonable cheapskate option if you want to do it on a budget IMO. No idea how the screens compare to more expensive offerings.

other than the iPhone and HTC HD7, those I’ve tried have felt pretty unresponsive and horrible

Old, cheap touchscreens use resistive or other cheap tech which is very unresponsive. These days I would imagine any decent multi-touch smartphone is sporting a capacitive touchscreen which is much more responsive.

Try before you buy!

Before you say it I’m not getting an iPhone, they’re too expensive.

iPhone 3Gs is free on O2 with a contract, starting at around £22 for 24 months.
An advantage with the keypad on an iPhone that many people miss, and that is not available on a physical one, and that’s if you turn the phone to landscape format the keys get wider to fit the screen and make it easier to type, plus the spellcheck is very efficient, and it’s very easy to get accents and other characters just by tapping and holding a character, like this: ç ? ß … You can easily change languages too: ?? ????????????. That’s Japanese, and it does say ‘like this’, the other one is a Native American alphabet, Sioux, I think.
It’s very difficult to do things like that on a physical keyboard.

I just went over to a San Francisco and after having managed to remove a bunch of Orange bloat (without taking the step of installing a new OS) I think it’s flippin brill.

The only snag is the output via the headphone jack is a bit quiet and I don’t know if that’s a known problem or is OS related or just my phone.
Mrs BJ works as a teacher and some say Orange do a big discount if you ask. So she might be able to get one free on an £8 a month tarrif.

I wouldn’t bother with a 3gs now. Its old tech and feels it.

iPhone 3Gs is free on O2 with a contract

I would imagine the 4 is probably free now.
That’s what happened in the states anyway.

You can get a Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini-Pro for around about £15 on T-Mobile and other networks I would imagine. Its has a slide out keyboard with a capacitive touchscreen, is running Gingerbread which is the current release of Android (for handsets anyway) and has an up to date spec (1Ghz processor) if not top of the range. The SE UI is pretty snazzy as well.
It’s quite small though, which is good or bad depending on preference.
The new range of Sony Ericsson handsets are much better then they were even 18 months ago and they have come out of their period of poor quality and unreliability so are worth looking at again.

24 months is a bit long for a commitmentphobe like me 😆 I’m gonna have a look/play with the phones suggested. Cheers!

iPhone 3Gs is free on O2 with a contract, starting at around £22 for 24 months.

Hmmm….

That’s a long contract for a phone which came out in 2009. Not wrong, just saying..

tom

The 02 shop in kettering has just reopened(thursday) after a refit….all the handsets in there are now live and there’s a much better range to choose from 😉

Mate of mine’s flogging a San Francisco if you want a cheap way into Android.

Android Icecream Sandwich (next on from Honeycomb after Gingerbread) is coming out in the next few days (October 19th?)

I would guess that when it does, phones that have it (Samsung?) will be quite a bit more responsive and phones that don’t will be cheaper.

I’m writing this on a desire z. Great bit of kit especially now I’ve put a custom rom on it. This is my 5th android phone and have customised all but 1. Makes a huge difference.

Id say your best bet is to get onto a rolling monthly contract to get round your commitment stuff and head on down to your nearest CEX and take your pick of handsets.

If you want to try an android handset with a hardware keyboard and your in the SE, you can have my motorola dext for 20 quid. Its the only one I haven’t modded and is running an old version (1.5) but still works and gives you an idea of how android works.

try a samsung galaxy s2, love mine and i’m a recent smartphone convert

I can recommend the Desire Z as well – excellent phone and having a physical keyboard makes typing much easier.

When you get an Android device, try the Swype keyboard, its mental!…

Cheers Gary didn’t know that, I’ll go down and have a look to see if they have these recommended phones 🙂

Mrs Grips has an android phone with a keyboard, but to be honest the keys are tiny and I prefer using the on-screen ones on mine cos they are bigger.

I love my Motorola Atrix, it’s massively useful. Google Maps on it is fantastic, as is Endomondo, Kindle and all the rest of it. Lovely.