Searching for a high-end dual-core Android phone

[gino_76ph]

Hi there!

I'm in the hunt to replace my HTC Sensation this coming Christmas/New Year sales with a new Android 4/4.1 phone.

My budget is £300-ish and what i'm looking for is the phone must be dual-core, a 1.0Ghz CPU (at least), 1GB RAM (at least), current-gen GPU, a BSI camera (with all the image stabilisation/low-light/1080p stereo recording, burst-mode, etc.features), a very good sound quality (with Dolby, some sort of surround sound and customisable equalizers) and one that has a replaceable battery and/or good battery life.

Any suggestions guys?

[MadduckUK]

Right now probably a galaxy nexus, but by Christmas that may have changed. better to ask when you are ready to buy right away, as any really good deals don't tend to hang around for long.

[Smudger]

What about rooting the Sensation and putting the XE mod on it?

[gino_76ph]

This is what i think so far...

Had HTC handsets in the past and so far the issue/s i got where with the calling part (the person i was talking to says they couldn't hear me clearly even though i was shouting and i'm on a good signal area) and a so-so battery life.

The Galaxy S3 would be the best phone of choice at the moment but it is out of my budget. Next is the Galaxy Nexus but i don't like the 5MP-only camera. Next would be the S2 but it has a poor audio quality.

I'm kinda liking the Huawei Ascend P1 and the ZTE Grand X phones but it seems to suffer criticisms especially the camera and battery life.

HTC One X is beyond my budget. The One S might be within my budget but i'm hesitant because of it's non-replaceable battery. The Sensation XL could be a fair choice but specs are very similar with the normal Sensation and heard of general problems with the OS, screen and camera. (I could be wrong).

I don't fancy Motorola as they tend to have the updates very late. Sony might be a wise choice but again i'm very cautious as the sound quality seem to be not equal to the market standard that is Dolby Mobile. Maybe they have improved their audio/music equalizer settings. I dunno.

Another good choice might be the LG Optimus 4X GD which is a quad-core phone but (like in past handsets) it has been plagued by a so-so/average but quite capable (i heard) camera and a poor battery life although it is replaceable so i can live with that.

I would prefer not rooting/JB/sideloading my device. I would very much a plain SIM-free and unlocked handset please.

[SiM]

samsung galaxy s3 refurbed? http://www.smartfonestore.com/buy_pr...%20III%20i9300

[gino_76ph]

Great website SIM. Havn't heard of it till today. Cheers for that!

I am not in a hurry but i am very much tempted to buy one this October. If not i can always get one in the new year. But, going back to my previous paragraph what would be my nearest choice?

My budget is still within £300-ish, can be used or refurbed but has to be SIM-free & unlocked.

[bazray]

If you can grab an S3 for £300ish do it. If you want new try Amazon Germany, they tend to have better prices.

[gino_76ph]

At the moment my list is here:

HTC One X or One S
Huawei Ascend P1/P1S or the D Quad
Sony Xperia T or J