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Which New Phone To Buy?/

dksharron

By dksharron
in Mobile Devices and Apps

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dksharron Senior Member

dksharron

Posted
Posted

I am looking to get a new phone, so that I can catch up with the rest of the world.

I have a 2 year old Nokia with a camera. It is maturing rapidly.

I need to have some internet on the phone, a better camera, etc.

I have been looking at some of the Samsumg's in the 10 - 12,900 region, and they appear to do everything I need with plenty to spare.

There is also the iPhone, but I have never been a Mac person. The sales lady, who sold all brands, felt the Macs had better QC, and they also picked up the internet better and faster.

And next there is HTC and Nokia. argh

3G or 4G ?

Is the Thai mobile internet system running the 3G very well now? How long will it be until 4G is here? How much of a difference will there be? Is it important?

Any and all ideas and information are warmly welcome.

happysanook Gold Member

happysanook

Posted
Posted (edited)

Samsung has really shot up recently, but I would look at individual phone model reviews before purchasing...

You really don't NEED to spend 10-15k baht to get a decent phone. There are decent Android models for half that - in the 6k-8k range.

Anything with 800Mhz CPU or better will suit moderate needs. I'm not sure how important screen resolution is to you, but I have no problem with 480x320, and this is as about as low as it goes. My iPod touch has a much higher resolution, and the difference is obvious when going from one to the other, but your eyes will usually adjust to whatever you're looking at.

As to Apple being better and quicker netwise, I'd call that bull.

Things I'd concentrate on are battery life, camera quality, screen size, CPU and what each of these are worth to you... For instance, you may have to pay several thousand baht more to get up into a phone with noticeably better photo quality, but is that worth it given everything else is of irrelevant difference to you? (maybe/maybe not depending on budget and needs). And CPUs are starting to be dual and even quad core, but if you're just using the phone for moderate needs, the difference may not even be noticeable.

Difference between 3g/4g will be negligible, if noticeable at all for basic surfing. Yes, if you're downloading huge files with bit torrent or looking at very graphic heavy websites often, there may be a difference. 3g is far far faster than 2g, but I personally use 2g (edge) most of the time and it's fine for email and basic surfing. Last I knew, they were still working out the 3g kinks in some areas, and no idea when 4g will be here.

Edited by happysanook
  • Like 1
tominbkk Platinum Member

tominbkk

Posted
Posted

I would stay away from Iphone. Checkout Sony Xperia Ray, Android smart phone i love it

Why would you stay away from the iPhone? Just because you don't like them? After a year and a half stint with Android I went back to the iPhone.

meand Silver Member

meand

Posted
Posted

The one thing i'll say, i'll defer to the more knowledgeable on the details -- don't spend 15k on a phone. From what I read in your initial post, you just don't need that. Id go with the recommended 6-8 k.

dksharron Senior Member

dksharron

Posted
  • Author
Posted

"If you want to impress the girls, you have to buy the latest iPhone."

Thanks. I will impress them with my Thai instead, but that would annoy my gf. :-(

Again, I thank everyone for their input.

Digitalbanana Diamond Member

Digitalbanana

Posted
Posted

I would stay away from Iphone. Checkout Sony Xperia Ray, Android smart phone i love it

Why would you stay away from the iPhone? Just because you don't like them? After a year and a half stint with Android I went back to the iPhone.

I plugged an iPhone into the USB port of my Windows PC and all I could view was the photograph folder? I never looked at an iPhone again.

  • Like 1
happysanook Gold Member

happysanook

Posted
Posted (edited)

This is similar looking to the Samsung Note...It's a HUGE phone. The screen alone is 5+ inches.

Not all China phones are bad. Anything with a 2nd or 3rd generation MTK processor will be fine. The great thing about these phones with mtk processors is that they are mostly all dual SIM... They also use PowerVR for GPU, so playing most 3D games will be no problem. Lenovo uses mtk CPU's in some of it's phones.

Edited by happysanook
astral Star Member

astral

Posted
Posted

I had a Samsung a while back, but traded it is as there was no way to backup the data

in the phone. I tried all the SW options I could find. :bah:

I now have an old Nokia XpressMusic

Reasonable camera, WiFi etc

Second hand was between 3-4000

arkom Silver Member

arkom

Posted
Posted (edited)

I would stay away from Iphone. Checkout Sony Xperia Ray, Android smart phone i love it

Why would you stay away from the iPhone? Just because you don't like them? After a year and a half stint with Android I went back to the iPhone.

Same with me, had an Android for about a year so and switched to an iPhone. Company gave another Android to use for work, nothing against Android, but I still prefer my use iPhone.

Edited by arkom
meand Silver Member

meand

Posted
Posted

I would stay away from Iphone. Checkout Sony Xperia Ray, Android smart phone i love it

Why would you stay away from the iPhone? Just because you don't like them? After a year and a half stint with Android I went back to the iPhone.

Same with me, had an Android for about a year so and switched to an iPhone. Company gave another Android to use for work, nothing against Android, but I still prefer my use iPhone.

Can you go into more specifics? Is it just ease of use, or actual functions/features? Thanks.

skybluestu Gold Member

skybluestu

Posted
Posted

Whatever you get make sure it is Android, loads more apps to choose than iphone.

HTC tend to lower their prices quite substantially after a phone has been out for a while so you can now get a Desire S for about 9000baht that was 17,000baht not long ago, the likes of Samsung, Sony and Apple only lower their prices by a few thousand before discontinuing.

doggie888888 Gold Member

doggie888888

Posted
Posted

I would stay away from Iphone. Checkout Sony Xperia Ray, Android smart phone i love it

Like the OP, my Nokia is about to be retired. I was a Sony user prior to this Nokia and I would consider a Sony smartphone. The problem is I find it hard to compare apples with apples..for example Xperia Ray is a contemporary of which model of say samsung (or HTC or Nokia)? No point comparing the Xperia Ray to Samsung Galaxy S3 or Iphone 4s because I assume they are in different price range and different capabilities.

I have more or less ruled out Iphone due to the fact that I am not a Mac person and have heard of compatibility issues with my notebook and/or needing Itunes for loading music/photos. Am i wrong?

arkom Silver Member

arkom

Posted
Posted

I would stay away from Iphone. Checkout Sony Xperia Ray, Android smart phone i love it

Why would you stay away from the iPhone? Just because you don't like them? After a year and a half stint with Android I went back to the iPhone.

Same with me, had an Android for about a year so and switched to an iPhone. Company gave another Android to use for work, nothing against Android, but I still prefer my use iPhone.

Can you go into more specifics? Is it just ease of use, or actual functions/features? Thanks.

I would say all of the above, but I guess ease of use would big a reason I prefer the iPhone. I can use the Android without any problems, but I feel the iPhone is more user friendly.

I think functions and features are pretty similar, although I like the option of adding widgets to home screen like weather, sports scores and email ect. on Android but for me it makes it a little to cluttered.

  • Like 1
ravip Star Member

ravip

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just bought a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos S6102after more than 10 years of been a die hard Nokia fan. So far no complaints... just need a bit of getting 'used to' a different system. Cost me approximately 6,661.58 THB - but in Thailand it will be much cheaper.

A no frills phone with useful features at a low cost for a average to low user.

Apple? Compatibility is an issue - but if you like 'expensive exclusivity' - go for an iPhone.

3G vs 4G - http://www.diffen.com/difference/3G_vs_4G

Just my opinion.

Edited by ravip
  • Like 2
FritsSikkink Star Member

FritsSikkink

Posted
Posted

I had a Samsung a while back, but traded it is as there was no way to backup the data

in the phone. I tried all the SW options I could find. bah.gif

I now have an old Nokia XpressMusic

Reasonable camera, WiFi etc

Second hand was between 3-4000

Must be a long time.

You can backup at a google server (would never do that)

You can backup with Samsung Kies software (free download)

ravip Star Member

ravip

Posted
Posted

I had a Samsung a while back, but traded it is as there was no way to backup the data

in the phone. I tried all the SW options I could find. bah.gif

I now have an old Nokia XpressMusic

Reasonable camera, WiFi etc

Second hand was between 3-4000

Did you try the software Samsung Kies?

"Simplify, sync and keep life up to date with Kies. Manage music, movies and photos. Backup precious contacts and calendars. Or download apps and podcasts and automatically upgrade device firmware. Kies conveniently syncs your life across all your devices."

I just changed from a Nokia 5320 XpressMusic to a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos S6102 !

gbetromero Newbie

gbetromero

Posted
Posted

I have tried many phones in the past few years being thailand. The iphone being one of the worst. Just think of it as the take over for symbian phones. Now androids rock solid phones like my backup phone galaxy mini gt-s5570. Open source and very easy to upgrade firmware depending to your taste ,feel and needs. Im currently running chocobread 3.2 and does everything. Open source baby all the way. By the way there is tons of support for any android phone firmware and hardware.

Sent from my GT-S5570 using Thaivisa Connect App

jimmybkk Silver Member

jimmybkk

Posted
Posted

If you've never used either before, i would stop debating whether to go iPhone or Android - unless you use (or have used) both you'll never be able to say which you prefer, and ultimately it is all down to personal preference. Unless you have a specific requirement they will both probably do exactly what you want them to do.

For the price range you're talking about have a look at the Galaxy Ace 2. It's only been released fairly recently I think and sells for 10K. I have the standard Ace (called a Cooper in Asia) and I'm pretty happy with it as my first foray into the smartphone market. The Ace 2 has a faster processor I believe and also a front facing camera (as well as the regular one on the back) which is handy if you want to video chat with family or friends.

I know it can be overwhelming when u walk into the phone shops and are faced with so much choice and so little available advice from the salesperson, but don't lose too much sleep over it. If you want to spend 10K, get the Ace 2.

wana Gold Member

wana

Posted
Posted

If the budget 10-12,900k call into MBK and get a imported galaxy nexus for 11,500 or a galaxy s2 for 12,000 (19,900 + 17,500 from samsung thailand )

they will be ALL the phone you need for now ,AND the next few years as well

Current samsung range is incredible , impressive specificiations and not near as overpriced

as the latest apple cra_p escpecially if you take a model imported from somehwhere else

because the thai retailers add a nice margin

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