Help Needed Choosing My New Phone

[fu510n]

Im due for my renewal call from o2 on Thursday and im still none the wiser as to which phone to get. Id really appreciate peoples opinions and experiences with any of these phones below, plus if any of them arent yet on the market do you know when they're due for release?


Right now its a Toss up between the following;

• Samsung Omnia
• Samsung INNOV8

But im also considering these;

• Samsung Tocco
• Sony Ericsson C905
• Sony Ericsson W980i

And is it worth thinking about these?;

• HTC Diamond
• iPhone
• Nokia N95

If its any help im more likely to use it for music than taking pictures

Any help is greatly appreciated

[smokedog]

If you want it for music, then it’s a case of
iPhone (Market leading interface, excellent music functions(coverflow)
Or
Sony Ericsson W980i (Very compact, award winning sound quality(Clear Audio), FM transmitter)

Also recommended, but both are image centric

Samsung INNOV8 (The new king of the all-in-one mobiles, excellent feature list, compact and build quality)

Sony Ericsson C905 (The top of the range Sony Ericsson phone, a good all rounder)

Phones I wouldn't consider

Samsung Tocco (Tacky/slow touchscreen interface)
Samsung Omnia (A Tocco on drugs running on Windows Mobile OS)
HTC Diamond (A Windows Mobile disguised with a very pretty interface)
Nokia N95 ( Bit long in the teeth now, replace the N96 just round the corner)

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by smokedog

If you want it for music, then it’s a case of
iPhone (Market leading interface, excellent music functions(coverflow)
Or
Sony Ericsson W980i (Very compact, award winning sound quality(Clear Audio), FM transmitter)

The iPhone is very appealing but the quality of contract is abysmal, you get practically nothing for ridiculous-amount-of-pounds per month. Unless im somehow swept off my feet by it today i dont think its an option as i need lots of texts and minutes.

The w980i is great feature-wise but the actual handset design inside the clamshell is awful, the buttons are naff and i hate the way the screen sits back from the keypad. Plus ive been seriously let down by the Walkman phones alately, they dont seem to have anything different to the last one to roll off the production line.

Originally Posted by smokedog

Also recommended, but both are image centric

Samsung INNOV8 (The new king of the all-in-one mobiles, excellent feature list, compact and build quality)

Sony Ericsson C905 (The top of the range Sony Ericsson phone, a good all rounder)

The INNOV8 looks incredible, the only drawback is that i dont know when its due to be released with o2, any ideas? Also, is it on the chunky side? Its got a huge amount of storage which i can fill up with music and a 3.5mm jack input so it will be great for music

The c905 looks good but to me its not groundbreaking like the INNOV8, besides the onboard memory is awful

Originally Posted by smokedog

Phones I wouldn't consider

Samsung Tocco (Tacky/slow touchscreen interface)
Samsung Omnia (A Tocco on drugs running on Windows Mobile OS)
HTC Diamond (A Windows Mobile disguised with a very pretty interface)
Nokia N95 ( Bit long in the teeth now, replace the N96 just round the corner)

Tocco - really that bad?
Omnia - I thought it looks amazing, are there any problems with it?
Diamond - a "windows mobile"? im guessing thats a bad thing but why?
N95 - im not too fussed about anyway, i turned it down in February to get the G600 lol


Thanks a lot for your help

[Callumpy]

Go for somthing with Windows Mobile on like the HTC, its pretty cool and you can get lots of apps to add on to it

[fu510n]

Just called o2 to sort out something with my current handset (w880i) and thought id ask about the availability of the phones ive been looking at, you wont believe this!...........

Samsung Omnia - not on the system and not showing as "upcoming"
Samsung INNOV8 - not on the system and not showing as "upcoming"
Sony Ericsson C905 - not on the system and not showing as "upcoming"
Nokia N96 - not on the system and not showing as "upcoming"
HTC Diamond - on the system but no info or dates available
iPhone - completely out of stock

I told her that other people i know (people here lol) have those handsets on o2 through other companies (Carphone Warehouse etc.) and she told me that if they're available on o2 through anyone else then they MUST be available on o2 DIRECTLY from o2, yet she couldn't find them at all!

[fu510n]

Well im mighty ****** off at O2, i called cancellations earlier tonight to see what deal i could haggle out of them. I figured it would be easy to get what i wanted considering ive been with them for 3 years on 3x12 month contracts and must have spent well over £1000 in this time. I also thought that it would be even easier if i gave them an earfull over last years "renewal" (they offered me a free phone with no strings attatched because id been such a loyal customer, they swore it wasnt a renewal so i accepted. Then a week or so later i called up to negotiate my renewal and was informed by accepting the phone i had already renewed!)

So bearing all that in mind the "easy-ride" i was expecting turned into a nightmare, none of the phone i wanted were available and there is no release date on O2 yet (Omnia, INNOV8, C905, N96, HTC Diamond).

The best she could offer me was a C902 on with 1200 mins, 1000 texts + a free bolt-on of unlimited texts or internet for £30p/m (should be £45). Considering i currently pay £20 per month for 400 mins and 1000 texts i was somewhat disappointed, a 50% bigger bill just for an extra 800 mins and a free bolt-on. She was adamant i wasnt entitled to anything more and when i quoted other peoples deals through O2 she said they werent possible, in a word she was a bitch!

Well, theres always tomorrow..........

[jimgee]

Originally Posted by fu510n

i called cancellations earlier tonight to see what deal i could haggle out of them.

Worth reading this:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=719845

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by jimgee

Worth reading this:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=719845

Yeah i already have mate, thanks anyways though

[DeadEye14]

I have the N95 8GB its a great phone, decent battery life (though far from the greatest I'll admit) and it can do just about everything. I have unlimited web access which is fantastic, I can access these forums from it and with the 3g its pretty quick, not to mention the maps which are damn handy if you travel a lot. I would say this though, if money is the most important issue just buy one that can make and receive calls as the more your phone can do the more it can cost you so I'd consider what you really need it to do before buying.

[Desmo]

Originally Posted by fu510n

I told her that other people i know (people here lol) have those handsets on o2 through other companies (Carphone Warehouse etc.)

They may well do, but the phone and contract were probably sourced separately and then the shop combine them as a "deal". Hence the reason that they don't show on the O2 system.

[chrism_scotland]

Originally Posted by fu510n

The iPhone is very appealing but the quality of contract is abysmal, you get practically nothing for ridiculous-amount-of-pounds per month. Unless im somehow swept off my feet by it today i dont think its an option as i need lots of texts and minutes.

The w980i is great feature-wise but the actual handset design inside the clamshell is awful, the buttons are naff and i hate the way the screen sits back from the keypad. Plus ive been seriously let down by the Walkman phones alately, they dont seem to have anything different to the last one to roll off the production line.



The INNOV8 looks incredible, the only drawback is that i dont know when its due to be released with o2, any ideas? Also, is it on the chunky side? Its got a huge amount of storage which i can fill up with music and a 3.5mm jack input so it will be great for music

The c905 looks good but to me its not groundbreaking like the INNOV8, besides the onboard memory is awful



Tocco - really that bad?
Omnia - I thought it looks amazing, are there any problems with it?
Diamond - a "windows mobile"? im guessing thats a bad thing but why?
N95 - im not too fussed about anyway, i turned it down in February to get the G600 lol


Thanks a lot for your help

I did read that the Samsung Innov8, now the i8510 for the UK is going to be exclusive to Carphone Warehouse and it will be September before its out, but nothing much on networks it will be available from.

[fu510n]

Originally Posted by DeadEye14

I have the N95 8GB its a great phone, decent battery life (though far from the greatest I'll admit) and it can do just about everything. I have unlimited web access which is fantastic, I can access these forums from it and with the 3g its pretty quick, not to mention the maps which are damn handy if you travel a lot. I would say this though, if money is the most important issue just buy one that can make and receive calls as the more your phone can do the more it can cost you so I'd consider what you really need it to do before buying.

Im really not keen on the N95 to be honest, i considered it back in February when i got my g600. I just dont think its the phone for me, thanks anyway

Originally Posted by Desmo

They may well do, but the phone and contract were probably sourced separately and then the shop combine them as a "deal". Hence the reason that they don't show on the O2 system.

Gutted

Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

I did read that the Samsung Innov8, now the i8510 for the UK is going to be exclusive to Carphone Warehouse and it will be September before its out, but nothing much on networks it will be available from.

Ooh, can i wait that long though? I doubt it, lol!



I have a question... if i was to take out a contract from Mobiles.co.uk for the Omnia on O2, afterwards do you think i could switch tariffs with O2 to my current deal or the one they offered me yesterday? Surely they'lll let me make changes to my tariff as the contract itself is with them? Or is it possible to somehow integrate that deal on O2 into my current O2 account (i get a £15 discount )

Any help greatly appreciated

[Tejstar]

Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

I did read that the Samsung Innov8, now the i8510 for the UK is going to be exclusive to Carphone Warehouse and it will be September before its out, but nothing much on networks it will be available from.

I would think that this should be on all networks, I can't see it being like a N96 situation where it's not meant to be coming to O2 (well at least at the beginning).