Cellphone Upgrade Time

ViperGTI

ViperGTI

New member
Not exactly sure where to place this... so Off Topic it is. I am finally due for a phone upgrade this month and I'm looking for some input.

In the past, I've always gone for HTC with Windows Mobile because I've got the developer tools to actually create apps for it... it's been six years now, still no apps (what I want to do and what I have time for are two very different things)... so screw it. I'm open for anything.

I've used the new Google Android on my tablet and it is a massive improvement from version 1 that I had on an old phone at one stage, but it found itself going through a wall by "accident" (not really by accident). I've also heard some good things about the new Windows Phone. I've never touched an Apple product before which is why I haven't mentioned anything and Blackberry... just No.

I'd like some feedback from people who have some of these newish smartphones (specify phone brand and OS). Basically what I'm looking for is this:
- Good reception quality
- Sync contacts / calendar with Outlook
- Serve as a Wi-fi router so that my tablet can connect to the internet via the phone
- Good performance & ease-of-use (I don't want to press a button and have a 2 second delay before something happens)

That's it... pretty basic I hope.
 
Most phones these days can do the list you mention, though I'm not sure about wifi hot spot functionality on iPhone. I myself have a Galaxy S2 and must say even this 2 year old phone can get everything done quite well.

Network coverage will mostly be determined by your network. Check your coverage to determine if you need LTE devices.

I boils down to what you want from your device. Android gives you a lot of freedom tinkering your phone. iPhone keeps you under a very tight leech, but everything is easy to use and it's really slick. Windows Phone 8 is the new kid and is looking promising and should be on your list of possibilities.
 
Samsung Galaxy S3 or HTC One X (might be a newer model now).

Those are probably the two premium android phones at the moment. Can't advise you much about Windows phone besides from having heard some good things about them. I have no interest in iPhones so I can't say much about that. ^_^
 
I'm a big fan of Windows Phone 8, however... I don't actually have one. I've got a Windows Phone 7 phone. So I'm not sure that the new generation can do everything that you want. My Windows Phone 7 phone can so you would think that 8 can do all that. If you want to go for one of these then the Nokia Lumia 920 is the best one to go for. Though the battery doesn't last too long I believe... Hmmmm.

Otherwise you really can't go wrong with a Samsung Galaxy S3. It's a powerhouse phone and in my eyes the perfect size for what a smartphone should be these days. It's Android so your .NET skills won't help, except if you are prepared to pay for Mono.
 
I'm also due for upgrade now, but I'm holding out for the HTC One X+ to be released (Jan-Feb apparently)

My HTC Desire HD has served me well, don't think I'll change brand any time soon
 
i have the S3(i upgraded from Blackberry)

the phone works great, its easy to use and the only issue for me was in the beginning from switching to a touchscreen phone from a none touchscreen phone.

the battery life is ok, lasts me about a day to day and a half if i dont play games on it or surf the internet the whole day.

one other thing i had to get used to from moving from Blackberry to android is that so many things use data and i had to learn to buy data packages for the phone etc. though i dont think you will have any issue like this.

also the phones camera is great and also its video recording is great. i go see bands preforming a lot and i like recording their performances and the playback is clear and not at all "scratchy".
 
My wife just got an S3, and I've been playing with it a bit, and I really like it. I wish I had one, but by the time I'm due an upgrade, there's going to be something newer and better.
 
Wenzdayz said:
i have the S3(i upgraded from Blackberry)

the phone works great, its easy to use and the only issue for me was in the beginning from switching to a touchscreen phone from a none touchscreen phone.

the battery life is ok, lasts me about a day to day and a half if i dont play games on it or surf the internet the whole day.

one other thing i had to get used to from moving from Blackberry to android is that so many things use data and i had to learn to buy data packages for the phone etc. though i dont think you will have any issue like this.

also the phones camera is great and also its video recording is great. i go see bands preforming a lot and i like recording their performances and the playback is clear and not at all "scratchy".
Click to expand...

Too bad it's the size of a frisbee
 
There's really not a lot to choose between the HTC One X and the Galaxy S3. Personally I think they both a brilliant phones. HTC's Sense is much better that Samsung's TouchWiz, but Samsung has couple of cool features. Both will get the Jelly Bean update. So between them its all about what brand you like more.
 
DieGrootH@mmer said:
There's really not a lot to choose between the HTC One X and the Galaxy S3. Personally I think they both a brilliant phones. HTC's Sense is much better that Samsung's TouchWiz, but Samsung has couple of cool features. Both will get the Jelly Bean update. So between them its all about what brand you like more.
Click to expand...
give that man a Bells!
 
Thanks for the feedback. I'm busy googling as the responses come in.

DieGrootH@mmer said:
There's really not a lot to choose between the HTC One X and the Galaxy S3. Personally I think they both a brilliant phones. HTC's Sense is much better that Samsung's TouchWiz, but Samsung has couple of cool features. Both will get the Jelly Bean update. So between them its all about what brand you like more.
Click to expand...

Eish... two more words to google that I didn't even know about
 
ViperGTI said:
Eish... two more words to google that I didn't even know about
Click to expand...

They are the propriety software companies put on the phones to make them unique. Google the Nexus phone. That is the bog standard Android layout. Anything that looks, works or feels different is part of the propriety software.
 
Ok, so it seems that it is coming down to the Nokia 920 (never thought I'd look at a Nokia again), the S3 and after watching a video comparison of TouchWiz vs Sense, the HTC One X is also back on the table.

Solitude:
When you say the battery doesn't last long... How long is that? Less than a day? A day? Or slightly more?

Everyone:
1. Syncing of contacts and calendar entries. How easy is that? Do you have software that installs on your pc or does it sync to a cloud?
I have the Nexus tablet which syncs to the cloud and does a good job of combining all my Google contacts (of which I have none), Skype and Facebook, but the outlook contacts and calendar syncing is not going well. I haven't tried Windows Live though, but hopefully these phones come with software that can sync via USB cable or something?

2. Updates. Is there a feature available so that the phone only perform updates when connected to Wifi or does it install updates whenever updates are available, regardless of type of connection to internet?
 
ViperGTI said:
Ok, so it seems that it is coming down to the Nokia 920 (never thought I'd look at a Nokia again), the S3 and after watching a video comparison of TouchWiz vs Sense, the HTC One X is also back on the table.

Solitude:
When you say the battery doesn't last long... How long is that? Less than a day? A day? Or slightly more?

Everyone:
1. Syncing of contacts and calendar entries. How easy is that? Do you have software that installs on your pc or does it sync to a cloud?
I have the Nexus tablet which syncs to the cloud and does a good job of combining all my Google contacts (of which I have none), Skype and Facebook, but the outlook contacts and calendar syncing is not going well. I haven't tried Windows Live though, but hopefully these phones come with software that can sync via USB cable or something?

2. Updates. Is there a feature available so that the phone only perform updates when connected to Wifi or does it install updates whenever updates are available, regardless of type of connection to internet?
Click to expand...
I'd say go with the One X, but wait for the One X+

HTC comes with it's own PC sync software that takes care of most of the work

and there are a couple of apps in the Play store to help with outlook syncing

as for the updates; it will notify you when an update is available, then before you start the download it will ask you how you want the download to be handled (wifi only / data only / wifi and data). or at least that's how my phone works :D
 
1. Syncing of contacts. Should the phone you choose (and I'm talking about the Android devices now) not have any of the functionalities built in, there will most likely be an app that does it for you. So far my Galaxy S2 has been syncing my contacts very well I must say. For Outlook, the native software is not so good. Try looking at the app called Touchdown, or something similar. We use Touchdown at work, at that seems to be keeping everything synced and running smoothly. All Android syncing happens in the cloud, and you wouldn't need to install any additional software on your PC (unless the 3rd party app you are using requires it)

2. Updates. All Android devices give you the option to only do updates (either Google Play updates or phone updates) over wireless. In fact, it's the default setting.
 
ViperGTI said:
Ok, so it seems that it is coming down to the Nokia 920 (never thought I'd look at a Nokia again), the S3 and after watching a video comparison of TouchWiz vs Sense, the HTC One X is also back on the table.

Solitude:
When you say the battery doesn't last long... How long is that? Less than a day? A day? Or slightly more?

Everyone:
1. Syncing of contacts and calendar entries. How easy is that? Do you have software that installs on your pc or does it sync to a cloud?
I have the Nexus tablet which syncs to the cloud and does a good job of combining all my Google contacts (of which I have none), Skype and Facebook, but the outlook contacts and calendar syncing is not going well. I haven't tried Windows Live though, but hopefully these phones come with software that can sync via USB cable or something?

2. Updates. Is there a feature available so that the phone only perform updates when connected to Wifi or does it install updates whenever updates are available, regardless of type of connection to internet?
Click to expand...
my Samsung synced all my contacts when i linked my gmail accounts with my phone book as well as facebook contacts etc. (you dont have to link all your social media accounts to your phone but it is an option)
 
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