What Phone?

[jim]

I need to replace my K850i, which is slowly falling apart - I can wait, but I'm not sure how much longer.

I really like the look of the Touch Diamond 2 or something similar, but despite a month or two of occasional references my girlfriend is still threatening to kill me if I spent that much, and reckons that I should get something for £10 off eBay.

Has anybody got any ideas for something that might come somewhere between those two points that would be a worthwhile upgrade to my K850i? Rough requirements are:

• Some kind of camera, 2-3 MP is fine as it's only for emergencies where I don't have a proper one
• GPS would be nice, but no big deal
• Decent games catalogue would be good, tend to play the odd one while I'm on the train
• And obviously, a price that I can get away with spending - maybe £100-150 is a good starting point, although if I'm missing out on something seriously good as a result, then please let me know.

And that's about it really, can live without an integrated keypad/internet/toaster and so on, I'm just not sure where to look really as all the smartphones seem to be far too expensive at the moment. Oh yeah, and I started a new £10/m contract about a month ago, so it'll have to be Orange/Sim-Free

Any recommendations would be hugely appreciated, I was never particularly up to speed with phones - "a decent Sony-Ericsson will do" - so I'm even more confused now with all the choice and features flying around.

[MadduckUK]

bargain of the moment would be http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=158759

touch screen
gps
all WM games will work
real keypad
dirty filthy cheap

minuses = not sexy

[jimbouk]

bargain of the moment would be http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=158759

minuses = not sexy

minuses = no warranty

[jim]

I don't really get that... it must effectively come with a 6 month warranty at the very minimum :/

And I couldn't give a damn about its sexiness... I prefer being a pseudo-nerd and saying "Well it might look somewhat 'uncool', but I think you'll find that my Qualcomm is 283MHz faster than yours, donkeybreath."

Seriously though, this looks like a fairly good deal - a few questions though.

What are i-Mate like as a manufacturer? Good quality or not? It appears that they've gone bust, explaining the warranty issue.

How much more expensive is something slightly better going to be?

Is this a pretty amazing deal compared to similar spec'd phones or are we talking a saving of something small like £30-40 because there's no warranty?

[badass]

I don't really get that... it must effectively come with a 6 month warranty at the very minimum :/

And I couldn't give a damn about its sexiness... I prefer being a pseudo-nerd and saying "Well it might look somewhat 'uncool', but I think you'll find that my Qualcomm is 283MHz faster than yours, donkeybreath."

Seriously though, this looks like a fairly good deal - a few questions though.

What are i-Mate like as a manufacturer? Good quality or not? It appears that they've gone bust, explaining the warranty issue.

How much more expensive is something slightly better going to be?

Is this a pretty amazing deal compared to similar spec'd phones or are we talking a saving of something small like £30-40 because there's no warranty?

The seller had responsibilities under the Sale Of Goods Act but that's a bit wishy washy until the thing actually breaks and you have to sort it out with the seller.

[jim]

Picked up a second-hand but unused HTC Touch 3G for just under £200, didn't seem worth getting a decent Sony-Ericsson in the same vein as my current phone for £140 when I could get that much more for £60... assuming all goes well, I think it should be a decent buy

[MadduckUK]

ouch, probably 50 or so £ too much tbh

[jim]

Considering they were £300+ brand new when I looked I think it's alright, 2 year warranty with it was the main thing for me... didn't want to end up with something that broke 6 months down the line and left me stuffed

[pritsey]

2nd hand Nokia E71 is a very good buy. HAs everythign you want, plus very good build quality. I rate them very highly.

[pp05]

2nd hand Nokia E71 is a very good buy. HAs everythign you want, plus very good build quality. I rate them very highly.

Unless you prefer thumb buttons. E72 all the way. Faster processor too. 5mp camera and a blazingly quick UI.

[pritsey]

As per original post, budget is £100-150 which is why I said e71, the e72 is about the £350 mark.

[pp05]

As per original post, budget is £100-150 which is why I said e71, the e72 is about the £350 mark.

You could pick up nokia E51 for under 80 off ebay.

[pritsey]

Camera on e51 awful and no gps...but yes, a cheap buy.

[muppet_hat]

E51 too old

e71, have it, love it, can't complain, it's cheaper as the e72 just came out. But nokia isn't great for gaming.

e72 looks extremely promising, but yes high price tag. wait a bit guys. technology always releases new products at high prices but the price drop curve is steep in the first 6 months. ususally at least hahah. wait a bit you might just save a large sum = )

Aside from nokia, EVEN THOUGH you already bought the 2nd hand HTC, for OTHERS INTERESTED:

HTC Hero Android

Bold 9700

= )

[pp05]

E51 too old

e71, have it, love it, can't complain, it's cheaper as the e72 just came out. But nokia isn't great for gaming.

e72 looks extremely promising, but yes high price tag. wait a bit guys. technology always releases new products at high prices but the price drop curve is steep in the first 6 months. ususally at least hahah. wait a bit you might just save a large sum = )


= )

E71 has held its price more or less for the last 12 months. Its only now taking £50 off because of e72.

E51 might be old but its still a classy phone by current standards. Battery life generous. Best of all doesn't break the bank and has bluetooth, wifi, infra red and can be used as a modem.

[pritsey]

If you're gonna go 2nd hand though, N95 is still a fantastic phone. I still get teary eyed when I think about mine :-)