New phone time

Gandalf · February 27, 2012, 11:48:59 AM

Current HTC Desire, rooted and running Oxygen. For the first time ever I'm happy with the phone and my contract ran out a while ago and I've not had the need to upgrade, however, while my phone still has some resale value (I've already got a buyer lined up!) I'm looking for something a bit more up to date. I've been looking at the Xperia S for a while and it certainly looks to be a nice looking phone, but then HTC announce their SEX lineup and the X sure looks like it's a bit of a monster!

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4320&idPhone2=4369

So, anyone else looking at the moment? Any thoughts?

vladic · February 27, 2012, 12:31:45 PM

If its in the budget id go for (assuming you dont like Iphones) the samsung galaxy 2, as it has gotten excellent reviews and plenty of people I know who own one have not complained.

Gandalf · February 27, 2012, 12:35:21 PM

I'm after something a bit more modern. The SGS2 is a year old now. Besides, the wife has one and it'd get confusing if we both had the same phone!

OldBloke · February 27, 2012, 12:49:54 PM

I've had my SGS2 for nearly a year and I'm in no hurry to get rid of it. I've got an ICS 4.0.3 rom on it and the only thing lacking that I might find useful at some stage is NFC (although this could be available via adapted SIM/Memory chips).

How about the latest Nexus? Played with one recently and it looked very nice.

T-Bag · February 27, 2012, 02:00:10 PM

I'm a fan of HTC phones. Having played with both the Galaxy S and SII they feel a bit plasticy and the touchwiz doesn't compare to Sense (tough if you plan on rooting it then I don't suppose the default OS makes much difference).
The S3 is supposed to come with a ceramic back which could overcome most of my concerns about build quality.

The HTC One X looks like a stunning phone and would have my vote. Having said that I've not done any serious research, just specs and images, haven't been able to see how long that battery huge battery really lasts when powering such a huge screen...

smilodon · February 27, 2012, 08:31:28 PM

I assume you'll be rooting the stuffing out of it as soon as it arrives. So why not a Google Nexus?

TheDvEight · February 27, 2012, 11:48:54 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdD8s0jFJYo

Quite like the look of this phone andrioid 4.0 aswell...i was trying to remember the name of this phone off the advert and typed in google andrioid phone onto google and found it and realised when i was going to post smilodon had posted it.

Only thing that puts me off is that it looks quite alot like an iphone is it trying to be one? although saying that im really tempted to get this phone.

Could be fun to put a custom OS on it no?

Gandalf · February 28, 2012, 09:30:59 AM

nope, the google phone is underspecced for their flagship phone. If I was to go samsung, then I'd wait for the sgs3 however they are very plasticy. My HTC Desire is heavier than the SGS2 even though it's smaller and it feels a lot more solid. Weight isn't an issue, it's build quality.

I think I will end up going for the sony, though the One X is certainly making me think! Will have to wait for a few more side by side reviews of both phones before I decide.

T-Bag · February 28, 2012, 11:06:38 AM

Quote from: Gandalf;345559nope, the google phone is underspecced for their flagship phone. If I was to go samsung, then I'd wait for the sgs3 however they are very plasticy. My HTC Desire is heavier than the SGS2 even though it's smaller and it feels a lot more solid. Weight isn't an issue, it's build quality.

I think I will end up going for the sony, though the One X is certainly making me think! Will have to wait for a few more side by side reviews of both phones before I decide.

One X is Quad core, Xperia S is Dual. But that could be a bonus, the smaller screen and more modest (though frankly still quite a lot for a phone) processor could make the battery last considerably longer. The Xperia S has GLONASS access which I find quite cool, GPS and the Russian equivalent on one device. Hopefully you'll never get lost again. I would wait to see how the two stack up if you can. Looking at spec sheets is never enough to judge a phone completely.

kregoron · February 29, 2012, 07:00:13 AM

If the specs are true for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S 3 are correct, id probably go for that myself.

Quote
According to BGR's source, the phone will have a massive 4.8-inch "full HD" display with a 1080p resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio, a 1.5 GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor, an 8-megapixel camera in the back, a 2-megapixel camera up front for video conferencing, 4G LTE, Android 4.0 (AKA Ice Cream Sandwich), and a ceramic case.

Gandalf · February 29, 2012, 08:10:38 AM

Quote from: kregoron;345627If the specs are true for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S 3 are correct, id probably go for that myself.

oooh, I didn't realise they were trying for a full HD screen... and a ceramic case.... that does sound juicy! Though with that amount of hardware inside, I wonder if it comes with a portable 'Mr Fusion'!

Well, that's another phone to keep my eye on! And the size isn't too much of a problem as I rarely use them for voice calls now anyway, it's mostly email, web and SMS!

DannagE · February 29, 2012, 08:29:47 AM

The HTC line up looks good, but that battery is far too small for the size of the screen and a quad core. Not to mention quad core in a phone is pointless. they are just throwing numbers at people now because they can.

Like the 41 megapixel Sony phone that's coming. :what:

The galaxy nexus doesn't have an sd card slot, so loses lots of potential customers there.

Apple are going to have to come up with a completely new design for the next iPhone, everything is going bigger.

I've had the galaxy note now for just under 3 months and it's the best gadget I have ever used. I wouldn't be able to use a small screen/phone again. It did feel massive to start, compared too the desire, but once you play with it and realise how useful the large screen is then you don't realise the size anymore. Yes touchwiz it's terrible, but there are lots of other launchers out there to make it like how you want it.

Ice cream sandwich 4.0.3 is a big step up from gingerbread. Much faster and clearer. Can wait for the official roms to start appearing.

Anyhow, you are going to have to wait months before and of these new phone come to the markets so lots of things could change.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

Tutonic · February 29, 2012, 09:54:36 AM

I've got my eye on the SIII being my next phone, but everything hinges on the battery - it better have a good one!

I really like my Desire HD, but the combination of big screen plus small battery is not a good one.

Snokio · February 29, 2012, 02:18:18 PM

Out of interest, are the screens getting any bigger? i have a 4" screen which is fine, but for web browsing it feels a little small, the new LG Prada is 4.3 IIRC released this month.

T-Bag · February 29, 2012, 06:19:20 PM

Quote from: Snokio;345648Out of interest, are the screens getting any bigger? i have a 4" screen which is fine, but for web browsing it feels a little small, the new LG Prada is 4.3 IIRC released this month.

Yup, look at the HTC flagships over the past few years: HTC Desire 3.7", HTC sensation/Desire HD is 4.3", HTC One X: 4.7".

Typical trend is heading towards 4.5-4.8" phones. The Note is an exception at 5.3" and the iPhone is an exception sticking with the same 3.5" screen size from before.

If it doesn't increase that significantly soon I don't think it'll be able to compete properly...having said that you have to try a bigger screen size to realise how important it is (then you'll never go back), but a die-hard Apple fan will never try anything not Apple so they might not realise what they're missing, or will just buy an iPad as well.