# what new phone????



## soton_dave (25 Sep 2013)

im due an upgrade on my mobile and really dont know what to get.

at the moment im using a galaxy s2 so the natural way forward would be the s4 but with the new i-phone 5s just out im debating going for that.

i was the same with the s2 it was between the s2 or the i-phone 4s.

having always had android im leaning towards the s4

any opinions?

cheers dave


----------



## sa80mark (25 Sep 2013)

I had the I phone 5 and got rid of it, I hated it I replaced it with a Samsung galaxy note 2 and love it imo its the best phone on the market my miss upgraded hers last week to an s4 and I must say it a pretty impressive thing so for me anything in the Samsung range is the only way to go


----------



## Curvball (25 Sep 2013)

For what it's worth, everything renders and displays much better within iOS. So I would opt for the iPhone5 - it's fast too and new

The above is based on my constant testing of various apps, websites etc across a multitude of mobile devices on an almost daily basis.


Posted from the comfort of my iPhone...


----------



## Ian Holdich (25 Sep 2013)

5s....wipes the floor with the current samsung phones.

So so fast!


----------



## ian_m (25 Sep 2013)

Seeing a lot of Windows phones appearing here at work. The Lumia 520 is/was available at Carphonewarehouse for £7 a month and free phone. For an 8GB phone and SD card support a bargain. Just works.

There is a Lumia 1020 here as well (@£41 a month ) with a wonderful 41M pixel camera, that really redefines what a camera phone can do.

I got them all connected to our Exchange mail server at work relatively easily, as easy as iPhones.


----------



## Gary Nelson (25 Sep 2013)

Ian Holdich said:


> 5s....wipes the floor with the current samsung phones.
> 
> So so fast!


 You got one then Ian? I'm thinking of getting rid of my S4 and going for the 5s


----------



## Ian Holdich (25 Sep 2013)

I haven't, but my boss has, it's awesome! I still have the 4s and will be upgrading soon to the 5s.


----------



## kirk (25 Sep 2013)

I'm due an upgrade in November.  Have a HTC sensation at the moment. So I reading this with interest. The signal here is poor but according to orange its good..... What's that phone with the zoom out lens? Is that any good or just a paper weight?.


----------



## Alastair (25 Sep 2013)

kirk said:


> I'm due an upgrade in November.  Have a HTC sensation at the moment. So I reading this with interest. The signal here is poor but according to orange its good..... What's that phone with the zoom out lens? Is that any good or just a paper weight?.



The s4 is a great phone but I dont rate the camera on it personally from experience.  

The new sony z1 looks like a nice bit of kit and the 5s is good performance wise like ian said its fast but doesnt look any different to the 5 I had which I hated 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## aliclarke86 (26 Sep 2013)

From a consumer point of view apple have made a great phone but in my experience they become incredibly sluggish within 3 months. Get an android phone and ROOT! Then flash flash flash. I like Linux BTW 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4


----------



## ajadcock (26 Sep 2013)

↑ beat me to it  galaxy s4 would be infinitely more customisable, and capable of just doing more in general! love a bit of linux 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## LondonDragon (26 Sep 2013)

S4 all the way, unless you want a small display with an awkward aspect ratio then go for the iPhone! Android gives you freedom, iPhone gives you a screen of icons! your choice


----------



## RolyMo (26 Sep 2013)

*Disclaimer* - I have an iPhone, wife has one and I have an iPad, an Apple TV, and MBP. So my views are going to be somewhat slanted to the Apple stable of products. I never used to be.

I sat down with friend earlier on in the week as he had just got the iPhone 5S and a Galaxy S4 as we write apps together so we need the hardware. So I sat about playing with both that evening. First time to really play with Android (apart from a wifes friends android at the weekend, which was getting a lot of spam messages (not email or SMS's from somewhere) so I was trying to figure out why, her son had put lots a free dubious apps which appeared to be advert messaging her )

They both are bloody good phones, both have merits. At the time I could not really get the eye tracking feature (Android) to work and scroll down a webpage based on my eye movement, but I was in a restaurant at the time so perhaps the lighting was not optimal). Lots of stuff on the android lots a settings to play with. Lovely big screen if that is what you like (personally I think there is a sweet spot on size of phone before you look like a Dom Jolly sketch. Lovely colours. Yes it was different, of course it was different, so it would take a while to get used to. However I did not find Android as intuitive compared to iOS. The new iOS7 although is iterative in its feature set is an even more stylish OS. Very nice on the eye. But hey Android looked good too. Especially with the large colourful screen again!!! 

But I would repeat what a friend who switched to Android a year or two back and then came back to iOS. He said if he would recommending a phone to his parents then he would not be recommending the Android. If you want to tinker with settings and customise, i.e. you are a geek, then the Android is best.  If you just want an easy life and things to just work then the iOS based device is the way forward. He has switched back to Apple, not least as it integrates nicely in his company car and has an app from the manufacturer that shows him the G's he's pulling as he goes round a corner. And currently he wont go back.

Apple has Airplay so you can wireless send music, video and pictures to other Airplay compatible devices. I not too familiar with Android/Samsungs equivilent. But lets put it this way. With AirPlay you no longer need expensive Bang & Olufsen multi-room systems. Rather you you can have Airplay compatible docks and HiFi systems (most manufacturers have somewhere in their range an AirPlay compatible device) and move from room to room with the iOS device and stream music to your airplay device. Me I have Spotify and I wirelessly stream the music to the phone out to the Airplay device. Awesome. Simple. I can video my kids doing an after school activity and immediately stream it from my phone to my Apple TV to see on the big screen. I know the latter is possible in the Samsung world too.

If you are an Android person. Stick with it. The S4 is a nice phone.However if you want simplicity and style and are willing to pay the premium then Apple is your best bet. 

This weeks Moneysavingexpert.com email showed the TCO on both phones. There was on 1 network a startling £500 difference between the TCO of S4 to the 5S. The latter being more expensive. This may factor hugely for you.

Good luck.
R


----------



## AshRolls (26 Sep 2013)

My view after recent experiences is that I will never sign up to contract phones again, they are ripping people off horribly.

I bought a Lenovo A830 Chinese import Android phone (Android 4.2.2) and use it with Ovivo free tariff (150mins FREE per month). I wouldn't recommend this phone for a non geek but it cost me £150 all in, the build quality is excellent and I'm not getting fleeced! I will save around £250 a year with this setup, and I'm a heavy user that would not tolerate anything less functional than the best.

If I wanted a bit more security than a Chinese import I would wait for the Google Nexus 5 next month and use that on Ovivo or GiffGaff. Last month you could get a Nexus 4 for £160!!

The main thing is that *YOU DO NOT NEED TO SIGN UP TO MEGA EXPENSIVE TWO YEAR CONTRACTS.* There are much much better deals to be had, you are being suckered and fleeced if you do.

Don't even get me started on Apple and their 'walled garden' aka excuse to rip off their iClone customers. A phone is a phone, not a religion! Ok, I got started


----------



## RolyMo (26 Sep 2013)

Ashrolls Agreed on the contract stuff. The TCO is really bad. But then you are in essences having something on credit so you are paying interest in affect until the cost of the phone is paid off.
But if one does not have the means to buy a phone outright then a contract or a cheap PAYG phone is the only way forward. 
Have heard good things on Giffgaff for the cheapness, some friends wives have old out of contract iphones on Giffgaff. The network performance I have heard is ok as its O2 really and if you look closely it is actually owned by Telefonica who own O2.
Yes the 2 year contract is soooooo bad by the operators.  Always hunt the 12 months or buy the phone upfront.
R


----------

