Buying a new Android phone...

[Richard-BKK]

Today I had a small accident which killed my mobile phone, a plastic chair at a roadside noodle shop collapsed and my phone which was in my back pocket absorbed most of the fall... So I need to buy a new phone.

My plan is to not spend more than 16,000 THB, and I use my phone mostly for work, so games, playing video are not high on the priority list.

Currently I'm thinking about five phones:

- Samsung Galaxy Note 2

- LG Optimus G Pro

- Sony Xperia Z

- Oppo Find 5

- Huawei Ascend P6

Anybody have any advice, or better have an other phone I not considered yet?

[anon8]

Nexus 5

Sent from my C6802 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[speedtripler]

galaxy s4 is in mbk is 15-16k negeotiable (even the LTE 4G model )

it blows away the note 2 in every way except screen size

i have one about 5 months now and its an animal of a phone ,best ive ever used (i installed a custom rom but thats easy as i dont personally like samsung softaware )

http://www.mirakar.com/detail_product.php?IDPro=14035

[Tywais]

HTC One Mini is in that price range while the HTC One is closer to 20k. Rated phone of the year for 2013 on several sites.

[anon8]

HTC One Mini is in that price range while the HTC One is closer to 20k. Rated phone of the year for 2013 on several sites.

No need to pay 15.000 for anything mini.

5 used to look over the edge way large, they become a norm now.

5 inch is actually too small for smart phone, if u use it as a smart phone, meaning a computer.

Note 3 would be best phone at the moment, but if it is too big to carry around, or above budget, then its Nexus 5, nothing even comes close as far as 5 inchers go. It is far away from competition.

[Thai at Heart]

Nexus 5.

No other gets close for value for money.

[Richard-BKK]

I looked at the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the LG/Google Nexus 5 but I'm not really impressed with battery life.

Currently I'm thinking to get the Samsung Galaxy Note II, because of the S-pen that comes with it. Of course the 3100mAh battery is good for well over two days at average us (tested as my g/f has a Note II).Second, less important point is that the Samsung Galaxy Note II has the most support if it comes to alternative firmware, or even other operating systems (not something what is important, but after a year of using the Samsung Galaxy Note II I probably buy another phone and it would be nice if I could run the same OS I use daily on my desktop ~ what is Linux).

I had a Samsung Note III and while I send it back to Samsung to look if they can repair it... which probably will cost some serious amount of satang... I not feel the need to buy another one. The Samsung Note III is indeed very fast, works excellent, but I not need it.... what I do with my phone can easily be done with a Samsung Note II...

The LG Optimus G Pro has better specs than the Samsung Note II, but is missing the S-pen, and I really like to work with the s-pen ... so the LG Optimus G Pro is the closest rival of the Note II.

I looked at the Sony Xperia Z mainly because the specs of the phone are acceptable close to the Samsung Note II and LG Optimus G Pro and the Sony offers water resistance ... actually the phone can me submerged in 1 meter of water ....

I looked at the Oppo Find 5 as it has similar specs as the LG Optimus G Pro (including the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chip) and cost less...

The Huawei Ascend P6 is on the list because it cost 5,000 THB less than a Samsung Note II and still has similar specs.

[rak sa_ngop]

galaxy s4 is in mbk is 15-16k negeotiable (even the LTE 4G model )

it blows away the note 2 in every way except screen size

Be aware that some/many/all the phones sold at a discount to the normal shop price in MBK are sold with the boxes opened and resealed in plastic film. The paper seals have been carefully cut and certain items may have been removed from the box.

I know this for sure as the Galaxy I bought 2 years ago was in a sealed box but the paper seal was broken. Not sure what was taken out the box as I did not have another purchase to compare it to.

However Samsung guarantee will still be valid in Thailand even without having to produce a guarantee card or a dated receipt. Not sure about the international guarantee if there is one.

So you can save a few thousand baht. The phone will be guaranteed (12 months) in Thailand (I later had problems with the sound quality and the phone was repaired in hours with no proof of purchase).

I saved a fair bit of money in MBK and now over 2 years later still think it was a good deal.

[canarysun]

I have also been look at these phones too! I like the Huawei Ascend P6 I think its a beautifully designed phone.( smooth and the camera is supposed to be very good.) From previous problems i have had with smartphones i would recommend that you make sure you buy a " Quad Core " and a minimum of 2GB of Ram.( still so many of these smartphones have only 1 GB of Ram which isn't enough to keep the apps running smoothly.) Also Buy your phone from an " official shop with a Guarantee " ( do not buy in places such as MBK in Bangkok )

The best value of all the phones is the " I Mobile " which is very popular here in Thailand and a " top of the range phone with 18MP camera will cost a cool 8,000 Thai Baht.But as yet i cannot find any real reports on how these phones perform " in the real world ".

The amazing thing with " The Smartphone " these days is that it's " all about playing games " ( something which i hate! ) and the main reason we buy a phone is " to make a phone call " it would be nice if they could pay a bit more attention to " the call quality " as they do " playing games "

[lomatopo]

However Samsung guarantee will still be valid in Thailand even without having to produce a guarantee card or a dated receipt.

If the IMEI shows as registered to Samsung/THL. I assume any warranty details (agent/term) are covered in the warranty documentation within the box, assuming they have not been duplicated. Many discount shops offer grey-market units sourced from, or destined for, locales outside of Thailand. Some of these have "fallen off the truck", or are units from the factory (say in Viet Nam) which were out of spec and supposed to be re-worked or scrapped. A colleague purchased a Samsung Galaxy Note (original) here in a discount shop in MBK for a few thousand less than the MSRP, which had a Bulgarian provenance and Samsung/THL would not provide warranty repair/service/replacement, rather directing him to Samsung/Bulgaria or some service provider there.

There have been a few similar threads here over the years so one must factor in the potential risk associated with warranty issues when purchasing "open-box" or grey-market units here.

[dddave]

Consider the LENOVO P-780, currently on sale in some Fortune shops for B7,900. It's big selling point is a 4000 mAh battery...good for 2-3 days of use without a re-charge. I am very happy with mine.

Lenovo has a reputation for good build quality. It's a tad thicker and heavier than others because of the battery but it's a small price to pay for not being tied to a charger. The only downside in 4GB internal memory. I make sure to install all my apps on the external SD card.

Has one interesting feature that I like; take a picture of a business card and it organizes it into a special file of other business cards you have saved available at the touch of an ap button....clever.

[Digitalbanana]

galaxy s4 is in mbk is 15-16k negeotiable (even the LTE 4G model )

it blows away the note 2 in every way except screen size

Bit of an exaggeration methinks. For most folks Note 2 is perfectly adequate for most people and S4 full of superfluous geek stuff. Note 2 hardly gets blown away, Samsung even did a December ROM update to new O/S for it.

[speedtripler]

galaxy s4 is in mbk is 15-16k negeotiable (even the LTE 4G model )

it blows away the note 2 in every way except screen size

Bit of an exaggeration methinks. For most folks Note 2 is perfectly adequate for most people and S4 full of superfluous geek stuff. Note 2 hardly gets blown away, Samsung even did a December ROM update to new O/S for it.

S4 is superior in every way and nearly the same price

Better camera

Better screen

faster cpu/gpu

4g lte

2 gb ram but they're both great phones

S4 is the perfect size for one handed use, note 2 is a bit bigger and

Thicker

Can't really go wrong with either

[Turkleton]

.....

The best value of all the phones is the " I Mobile " which is very popular here in Thailand and a " top of the range phone with 18MP camera will cost a cool 8,000 Thai Baht.But as yet i cannot find any real reports on how these phones perform " in the real world ". .......

Good phones, but don't expect any (firmware) updates/upgrades.

I've bought an IQ1 in Dec. 2012 with 4.0 ICS, update to JB was promised but never realised.

And unfortunately they are only sold in Thailand, so one can't expect any support from the Android community (xda developers e.g)

Edited January 9, 2014 by Turkleton

[A1Str8]

From your list I would say Huawei or the Note 2. Besides those plastic chairs are dangerous indeed. I always carry my own chair.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[MichaelJohn]

My wife has the Oppo and is very nice although I've noticed the operating system is falling behind already?

I have a Nexus and think it's fantastic and would definitely recommend it :-)

[build6]

I looked at the Sony Xperia Z mainly because the specs of the phone are acceptable close to the Samsung Note II and LG Optimus G Pro and the Sony offers water resistance ... actually the phone can me submerged in 1 meter of water ....

don't forget the Xperia ZR

until the "Z1 Compact" (just announced) shows up I think it is the best Sony phone out there.

I think ZR has a IP58 waterproof rating which is better than the Z

(actually this "waterproof phone" business must be a world of trouble for Sony w.r.t. warranty issues)

TG Fone sells it for 13990 last i checked

[bealus]

Just bought a quad core samsung Galaxy Win for just under Baht 9000; excellent screen. Could not hurt if you look at the other specs. IMO good price/value ratio. Dual sim capable too.

Cam with 5 M pixels obviously can't compete with the regular Galaxy line.

[Digitalbanana]

From your list I would say Huawei or the Note 2. Besides those plastic chairs are dangerous indeed. I always carry my own chair. Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Yes, the smart phone makers haven't thought this out clearly. The Note 4 should come with it's own non collapsible plastic chair, as they have little else to add gimmick wise.

[Richard-BKK]

Yesterday and this morning I looked at the specs of the Asus Fonepad Note 6, it is being sold for 13,500 THB and it seems to be a good deal and phone...

[casualbiker]

Yesterday and this morning I looked at the specs of the Asus Fonepad Note 6, it is being sold for 13,500 THB and it seems to be a good deal and phone...

If you're looking that big also consider the Huawai Ascend Mate. Lovely phablet and only 7990b from Jaymart.

If I hadn't gotten a Moto G from the UK that would have been my choice. Huawai also do a 5" phone similar price but with 2g ram... http://www.lazada.co.th/shop-mobiles-tablets/huawei/?gclid=CKmxvPeb9bsCFUUF4godeioAmA&wt_sn=5990879819_22178243939&wt_snk=Exact_5990879819_huawei&ef_id=Usg6mAAABZTbBEUq:20140111035038:s

Edited January 11, 2014 by casualbiker

[Ricci]

No need for a quad core or 2gb ram, if you simply want to use the device as a phone/sms/internet device.
If you want to play 3D games or you want to do a lot of multitasking, then you should go for top notch.

Or go for the combination of a phone (for calls) and a tablet (for gamers or nerds).

In this case you would be pleased with a Samsung Galaxy Mini II an a Vido N80 RK (available at Advice).

The N80 gives you a 20000 rating on Antutu.

If that is not good enough, go for the N90.

Combined price would be less than 9000 Baht.