Next phone, no idea what to get?

addyb

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Ok long story short.

Im an iphone4 owner and getting rid as im just after a change. Im not too interested in apps but i do use the web browser, sms and email a lot (have a googlemail account) Ive just sent my iphone back to apple today for repair (faulty sleep/wake button) and plan on selling it when i get it back.

Now ive been to Android before with the nexus and quite enjoyed it, again im not bothered about apps and features as i primarily just use email, sms, web.

I was toying with the idea of getting away from android as well but the Nokias and blackberrys ive read up on seem to have awful browsers so its kind of put me off getting one.

Im due an upgrade in October but ideally wanted to find a "keeper" now so i can let my contract run out (with o2) and then move onto simplicity.

So far ive looked up on:

Samsung Galaxy S2
Milestone 2
Nokia N8
Blackberry Torch/Bold
Xperia Arc
X10 mini pro

Really have no idea what to go for. Like i said i need a decent web browser and i use googlemail so i know that kind of points me towards an Android device.
 
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If email and SMS is your primary use, I'd go with BlackBerry, it can't be beat for anything messaging related. Also, the browser in OS6 is much improved over previous versions so don't let that put you off. However, it isn't anywhere near as good as the iPhone Web experience although it'll come down to personal taste. I don't tend to browse a whole deal so for me, the BB browser is perfectly adequate and I use Opera Mini and/or Bolt for those times the stock BB browser is insufficient.

As to device, again it's a personal choice. The Torch is nice but it's a heavy brute and the keyboard is dreadful. As you email and SMS a lot, I'd stick with a good old BlackBerry Bold. If touchscreen is a must, you could also wait for the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 series that will be launched later this year as this comprises a standard Bold with a touchscreen.

Other options; both Nokia and Android have very good browsing capabilities and it'd depend on what else you want to do with the handset as to which to choose. Nokia for example has offline Ovi maps installed that doesn't require a network connection so if sat nav is importnant, you might want to consider that.
 
If email and SMS is your primary use, I'd go with BlackBerry, it can't be beat for anything messaging related. Also, the browser in OS6 is much improved over previous versions so don't let that put you off. However, it isn't anywhere near as good as the iPhone Web experience although it'll come down to personal taste. I don't tend to browse a whole deal so for me, the BB browser is perfectly adequate and I use Opera Mini and/or Bolt for those times the stock BB browser is insufficient.

As to device, again it's a personal choice. The Torch is nice but it's a heavy brute and the keyboard is dreadful. As you email and SMS a lot, I'd stick with a good old BlackBerry Bold. If touchscreen is a must, you could also wait for the new BlackBerry Bold 9900 series that will be launched later this year as this comprises a standard Bold with a touchscreen.

Other options; both Nokia and Android have very good browsing capabilities and it'd depend on what else you want to do with the handset as to which to choose. Nokia for example has offline Ovi maps installed that doesn't require a network connection so if sat nav is importnant, you might want to consider that.

What would you say had the better browser, a Nokia N8 or the latest Blackberry Bold? Like ive mentioned im not really fussed about additional features, i dont really touch apps on my iphone anymore and i have a dedicated sat nav so thats not an issue.

I was put off by the blackberry as my wife has the curve and when having a play with the browser it just seemed horrendously slow to load pages. Also i primarily use gmail and i heard that blackberrys dont seem to like it that much.
 
What would you say had the better browser, a Nokia N8 or the latest Blackberry Bold?

I'd go with the Nokia as the better browser overall based upon user experience and compatibility. Nokia have been providing stellar mobile browsers for years whereas RIM came to the consumer market pretty late so you still get the occasional glitch. However, the newer browser on OS6 is much, much improved and worth trying before you decide.

You can also download and install Opera Mini and.or Bolt to your wife's handset and try those, they are very quick and light although don't offer the full suite of browser functionality.


I was put off by the blackberry as my wife has the curve and when having a play with the browser it just seemed horrendously slow to load pages.

Yes, that's because the Curve is a slow handset. RIM are petty stingy when it comes to specs with low end CPU's and minimal amounts of RAM. That's why they are beefing up their portfolio of handsets with more aggressive specs.

The Bold is much quicker overall, not only for browsing but everything else too so don't let the Curve experience put you off as the Curve is a handset that's been build to a specific price point and is RIM's entry level model.


Also i primarily use gmail and i heard that blackberrys dont seem to like it that much.

I've never had any issue integrating Gmail with a BlackBerry, it works like a peach. When you do set up email on the handset, it even has a Gmail option to choose from. Additionally, Google has it's own native Gmail app that you can download and install on a BlackBerry so I don't think you would have any probs getting your gmail account to work.
 
I'd go with the Nokia as the better browser overall based upon user experience and compatibility. Nokia have been providing stellar mobile browsers for years whereas RIM came to the consumer market pretty late so you still get the occasional glitch. However, the newer browser on OS6 is much, much improved and worth trying before you decide.

You can also download and install Opera Mini and.or Bolt to your wife's handset and try those, they are very quick and light although don't offer the full suite of browser functionality.




Yes, that's because the Curve is a slow handset. RIM are petty stingy when it comes to specs with low end CPU's and minimal amounts of RAM. That's why they are beefing up their portfolio of handsets with more aggressive specs.

The Bold is much quicker overall, not only for browsing but everything else too so don't let the Curve experience put you off as the Curve is a handset that's been build to a specific price point and is RIM's entry level model.




I've never had any issue integrating Gmail with a BlackBerry, it works like a peach. When you do set up email on the handset, it even has a Gmail option to choose from. Additionally, Google has it's own native Gmail app that you can download and install on a BlackBerry so I don't think you would have any probs getting your gmail account to work.


mmm your making it sound so tempting now! Thanks for the heads up.
 
Do some reading into Googlemail and Blackberry before you make the jump, as RIM still don't have an answer to the problems. It's not terrible, it just becomes a problem when you mange your email equally between the Googlemail website and your Blackberry, as the synchronisation of read and deleted status can have massive delays before they each catch up.

If you only use your BB, you'll be fine.
 
Do some reading into Googlemail and Blackberry before you make the jump, as RIM still don't have an answer to the problems. It's not terrible, it just becomes a problem when you mange your email equally between the Googlemail website and your Blackberry, as the synchronisation of read and deleted status can have massive delays before they each catch up.

If you only use your BB, you'll be fine.

Hi Rob,

Yes to be honest i dont use the gmail website that much at all really.
I think im going to get the bold 9780. I can upgrade at the start of october so will get the newer bold then should i like the 9780.
 
The newer 9900 series Bold with touchscreen and keyboard should be out by October :)
 
The newer 9900 series Bold with touchscreen and keyboard should be out by October :)

Even better!

Registered on Crackberry.com and have been getting info from there. Cant wait to try a blackberry, hopefully should suit my needs perfectly.
Just awaiting my iphone return so i can get it sold and get one simfree.

Anyone know the best price for this? Just remembered need to convert back to a normal sim from my micro as well! :suicide:
 
9900 series pricing hasn't been announced yet, but it probably wont be a million miles off of the 9780 pricing.

As for your SIM, get a Micro SIM adapter and you have the best of all worlds. O2 stores hand them out to their customers for free, or you can buy them online for a few quid each. It saves the hassle of having to change SIM's, but also means you can flick back to an iP4/iP5 or anything else that decides to use a Micro SIM without any hassle.
 
9900 series pricing hasn't been announced yet, but it probably wont be a million miles off of the 9780 pricing.

As for your SIM, get a Micro SIM adapter and you have the best of all worlds. O2 stores hand them out to their customers for free, or you can buy them online for a few quid each. It saves the hassle of having to change SIM's, but also means you can flick back to an iP4/iP5 or anything else that decides to use a Micro SIM without any hassle.

Will probably just order one online as im not near to my local o2 and its hard work me getting there at present.
 
Surely if your priority is gmailing and web browsing, the galaxy s 2 is the most suited phone, with the best browser on any phone, and with the best gmail integration.
 
Surely if your priority is gmailing and web browsing, the galaxy s 2 is the most suited phone, with the best browser on any phone, and with the best gmail integration.

Ive had android before though so its a bit overkill for my needs these days. Web browsing isnt an absolute must as i use my ipad for that.
 
So what advantage would a blackberry give?

It just seems like you're purposely choosing a phone that suits your needs less, with a colossal range of disadvantages, yet costing the same price, simply because its different
 
So what advantage would a blackberry give?

It just seems like you're purposely choosing a phone that suits your needs less, with a colossal range of disadvantages, yet costing the same price, simply because its different

You are possibly right. Although i can get the Bold considerably cheaper than the S2. I should of originally posted that im totally bored of iOS and Android.
Im not saying that the Blackberry is better than other devices but i personally think it would suit me better. I only ever used sms, email and the occasional web browsing on my iphone and past android devices. Im not bothered about a touch screen and pretty much have zero interest in apps these days I like the physical keyboard as i do compose a lot of emails and post on a lot of forums via the net and having a play with my wifes blackberry i found it a lot more suitable.

I was looking at the S2 but im not ready to go back to Android just yet. Blackberry is the only platform ive never tried and as stated my contract expires this october so it gives me a few mths to see if it really is the perfect fit for me. If come October i feel ive made a mistake i will just get rid of it and see whats available then!
 
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So what advantage would a blackberry give?

For email, SMS, chat or any kind of messaging, it's unbeatable :smashin: And that's what addyb said was important for them.

BBM and push email in particular have been the primary drivers behind BlackBerry growth in the consumer market, we hear time and time again from clients that the BBM experience is miles better than other, more commercial and less polished offerings.
 
thanks for the explanation addyb, that makes sense. Just make sure check out the web browsing experience in a store before you commit in case it may not be good enough to what you are used to, although if its just occasional basic light browsing it may be sufficient.


For email, SMS, chat or any kind of messaging, it's unbeatable :smashin: And that's what addyb said was important for them.

Fair enough, although I had understood it as gmail email (of which nothing would be better than a google phone itself).

Not sure how sms on a blackberry is better, unless there is a preference for a keyboard, although there are android phones with keyboards too.

BBM restricts chat to only other BB users, whilst there are numerous crossplatform messenger services.
 
I know you're on a one-man Pro-GS2 mission, wearing GS2-tinted glasses with GS2-Blinkers on the side, but you would have to be bonkers, mental and crazy to think that a Samsung Android handset of any sort makes a better email and messaging device than a Blackberry.

I swear we will see you in the Motoring forum soon, suggesting the GS2 is a better car than the VW Golf. Then in the Home Appliances forum rating the GS2 as the best fridge. Then in the Politics section voting the GS2 for Prime Minister and King.
 
thanks for the explanation addyb, that makes sense. Just make sure check out the web browsing experience in a store before you commit in case it may not be good enough to what you are used to, although if its just occasional basic light browsing it may be sufficient.




Fair enough, although I had understood it as gmail email (of which nothing would be better than a google phone itself).

Not sure how sms on a blackberry is better, unless there is a preference for a keyboard, although there are android phones with keyboards too.

BBM restricts chat to only other BB users, whilst there are numerous crossplatform messenger services.

Yeah I've had a bit of a play with the browser on a workmates bold albeit running os5 and it wasn't bad for the sites I'd use it on. At work I've got a pc for the net and also have one and an iPad at home for my main web browsing so I think I have all angles covered in that respect.

Like I mentioned after I spend a good amount of time with one I could love or hate it so have to at least give it a whirl. It's a good situation for me at present as I've got a 4 mth window now in which to try a different platform. So it ultimately means I'm not stuck with something too long if I hate it, as come October I can upgrade on my current iPhone contract.
 
but you would have to be bonkers, mental and crazy to think that a Samsung Android handset of any sort makes a better email and messaging device than a Blackberry.

i said an android device would be better at gmail than a blackberry.

I also questioned whether a blackberry really is better for messaging. The keyboard aspect is a moot point as android has both touch screen and keyboard variants. So the only 'advantage' you are left is blackberrys have BBM. This is only an advantage if you have lots of specific friends also using BBM. Otherwise, cross platform messengers such as whatsapp are preferable and availabe on all smartphones.

I'd take crossplatform messengers such as whatsapp/pingchat etc, along with android voice text messesing, and free video chat calls over BBM which none of mates use and woud be redundant,
 
By your logic, a Nokia 5230 would make an equal messaging device, since you make no reference to software design, features / functionality, usability, customisation, reliability or efficiency and you disregard hardware as a contributing factor.

(edit)

It's also absolutely incorrect to say that the keyboard is a moot point. Not all keyboards are created equally. In fact, even the Blackberry range of handsets, as it stands today, as three different physical keyboards that offer three different user experiences. The Curve 8520 and 9300 have one, Bold 9700 and 9780 another and the Torch 9800 a third.

The same can be said for Android handsets - the Motorola Milestone keyboard is very different to the Motorola Pro, the HTC Desire Z etc. It is anything but a moot point.

Also, how do you get text on the screen, into your messages? With a keyboard. If the keyboard is crap, the messaging experience is bad. If it's good, it's good. It's a very important point. Of course, you could hold your phone in front of your face and speak the message you want to send to it... but I don't always want everyone around me hearing my message. Privacy does still have a place in society.
 
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Though to be fair, the Sammy does have Swype, which IMO is hands down the best touch screen keyboard going... not perfect for sure, but even I can use it one handed with my clumsy fingers, and if I use 2 hands, I can get some serious speed on it!

I have no experience of Blackberry's other than to say I've never liked the look of them, and when I do look at them, I do wonder how anyone types with their tiny keys (seem like they were designed for girls hands TBH :D )
 
By your logic, a Nokia 5230 would make an equal messaging device, since you make no reference to software design, features / functionality, usability, customisation,

all things that are well regarded as being superior on android. However as these things can be subjective i chose to ignore these advantages android has, and just highlight that the only two "advantages" messaging with a blackberry has is (1) a keyboard... a moot point, as even you have highlighted yourself keyboards exist on android so moot point, and 2) BBM - something much more limiting and restricting than cross platform messengers.

It's also absolutely incorrect to say that the keyboard is a moot point. Not all keyboards are created equally. In fact, even the Blackberry range of handsets, as it stands today, as three different physical keyboards that offer three different user experiences. The Curve 8520 and 9300 have one, Bold 9700 and 9780 another and the Torch 9800 a third.

The same can be said for Android handsets - the Motorola Milestone keyboard is very different to the Motorola Pro, the HTC Desire Z etc. It is anything but a moot point.

But you have even highlighted yourself... keyboards exist on both android and blackberry, all varying and different, and whose quality and preference is all subjective. So the clear statement that one advantage Blackberrys have for messeging purposes is that they have a keyboard is a moot point. And that's ignoring the fact that many prefer touch screens to hard keyboards anyway lol.

Also, how do you get text on the screen, into your messages? With a keyboard. If the keyboard is crap, the messaging experience is bad. If it's good, it's good. It's a very important point. .

precisely, which is why android.. with its collosal variation and ways to input text, be it through swype, voice text, a range of varying keyboards downloadable, and a range of hard keyboards, with a range of messaging apps available means a superior experience is always possible
 
Your opening paragraph to that makes you look a bit daft and very blinkered. Those things are not regarded as being superior on Android and only somebody with either a point to prove, something to sell, no experience of anything else or a blind desire to justify something they have done would suggest so.

Software design is considered to be lacking, with a lack of maturity and polish to the operating system, huge fragmentation, massive ranges of operator and vendor bloating, customisation and support.
Features and functionality are very highly regarded in some areas (customisation of appearance), lacking in others (non-Gmail email support, enterprise support, security, non-user-friendly / unintuitive UI, inconsistent developer support, fragmentation of user experience etc).
Usability is considered 'geeky' and a very techy OS that requires time, knowledge and a good technical understanding to get the best out of.
Customisation is superb for appearance only. Anything else is disjointed at best (how many places to set an alert tone!?), impossible at worst (try adding a new certificate, or changing the vibration length and frequency for incoming messages to differentiate).

That's not for one second putting a downer on Android, far from it, as I'm sure people who know my history will appreciate. I'm a big Google fan (more of a Google fanboy than anything else), I test Android handsets on a regular basis, I've owned more than I care to remember and I have regular access to old, new and not-yet-released Android devices. I like to think this enables me to form an unbiased view of the operating systems good and bad points. That often upsets those, like yourself, who need to justify their own decisions and can only see their own personal opinion as fact, as hearing the bad bits is considered anti-Android.

Out of interest though, when you owned a Blackberry - which you must have done, given your absolute statements of comparison - where did you find the software lacking, how did you find the messaging customisation and user experience and which model did you have, so we know which OS version your comments and opinion are based on.

Your comments on BBM are also misguided. Yes, BBM only works Blackberry-to-Blackberry, but that doesn't restrict you at all as you're still free to use other messaging platforms. But what it gives you is free, unlimited, text and media messaging with emoticons, data transfer, awesome security, in-built delivered and read status, real-time updates of your contacts status, location and activity if they are typing a reply or listening to music (if they enable these features, it's personal choice), to name a few highlights. All this for free, yet you consider it a negative thing? Best of all, it's use sits side-by-side and integrated with all other messaging options on your device - even Facebook and Twitter. Yet you think a separate and distinctly different Application that operates in isolation and eats into your data allowance is a better option? Why?

I can totally and utterly understand why people feel the need to defend their purchase and I can honestly, hand-on-heart understand why somebody would think Android is an excellent OS, because I agree, but you're making yourself look a bit stupid now.
 
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