View Poll Results: which phone?

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  • Nokia 1020

    4 18.18%
  • Nokia 925

    0 0%
  • Sony Xperia Z1

    5 22.73%
  • Other

    13 59.09%
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Thread: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

  1. #1
    unapologetic apologist
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    Question Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    I am always using my camera, so the Nokia 1020 looks mighty attractive - without question the best out there. Also like Windows 8 mobile, so no issue with it being a relatively unpopular OS.

    The problem is cost. I don't want to be be spending above £25/mth (for various reasons) and there are very few options for the 1020 at that price bracket.

    Alternatives are the Nokia 925 - still a decent camera, plus all the other Nokia bits I like (strength, offline maps, Lumia etc) but doesn't match up to the 1020

    And possibly the Sony Xperia Z1 - better camera than average, waterproof (I do a lot of outdoor stuff).

    I want a decent sized screen, so not looking at smaller phones.
    My reservations about the Z1 are Android (yes, very popular, but not had it before, and kinda prefer the Lumia OS), and the camera quality isn't as good in low light from all accounts.

    What say you, pretty please?
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    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    TBH, it sounds like you already know you want the Nokia 1020, so if I were you I'd try to find a way to get it. You don't want to tie yourself in then spend the next 18 - 24 months wishing you hadn't settled for an inferior handset. If every time you take a picture you look at it and think "That would've been better on the 1020" then (IMNSHO, anyway) the extra outlay is probably worth it.

    OTOH, if you're up against a financial hard limit, you may as well go for whichever of the other options is the cheapest. Looking around, that's probably the Nokia 925.

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    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Buy a cheaper phone on a cheap contract(or use something like giffgaff) and get yourself a compact?

    The markups for the improved phone cameras is hilarious if you consider the cost of phones like the Nexus 4 and some of the Chinese brands.

    Most are based around standard lens-sensor modules which don't cost much to make and use plastic fixed focal length lenses and tiny sensors. Only the Nokia ones with the PureView camera looks a bit more expensive due to their relatively large sensors.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 27-09-2013 at 12:00 PM.

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    Buy a cheaper phone on a cheap contract(or use something like giffgaff) and get yourself a compact?

    The markups for the improved phone cameras is hilarious if you consider the cost of phones like the Nexus 4 and some of the Chinese brands.

    Most are based around standard lens-sensor modules which don't cost much to make and use plastic fixed focal length lenses and tiny sensors. Only the Nokia ones with the PureView camera looks a bit more expensive due to their relatively large sensors.
    I know, there's a premium for the camera.
    The Nokia has OIS which separates it from other phones, and makes it easier to shoot in low light, which is a big part of when I need it. I've considered a waterproof compact, but they're already minimum £200 for something decent, plus (of course) I probably won't carry it around when I need it

    ho hum.....
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    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by fuddam View Post
    I know, there's a premium for the camera.
    The Nokia has OIS which separates it from other phones, and makes it easier to shoot in low light, which is a big part of when I need it. I've considered a waterproof compact, but they're already minimum £200 for something decent, plus (of course) I probably won't carry it around when I need it

    ho hum.....
    The thing you are paying hundreds of quid premium for a better camera on a phone. Even if you spent £200 on a waterproof camera it will outlive a few phones and will stand far more abuse TBH and will have better image quality than 99% of them. So over a few years,you will be spending just a ton of money for the better camera phone.

    Even for things like G+ and FB,you are only posting reduced quality pictures anyway,so passable camera quality will do the job.

    Moreover,a lot of modern waterproof compacts are small,and are easy to carry around,and unless you are heavily using it everyday,they will keep charge for quite a while.

    Heck,my Canon S95(not waterproof),will destroy any modern camera phone and cost me under £200 brand new and is hardly large. It has both OIS,a 1/1.7" sensor and a faster F2.0 lens on the wide angle part of the zoom,and ISO upto 3200.

    Edit!!

    In fact the ONLY camera phones which are even worth wasting money are the ones with the large sensor versions of the PureView camera. Even then they are flipping expensive for what they are.

    That is the only sensor-lens combo which can even approach a reasonable compact in a phone and even then it has worse DR AFAIK.
    Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 27-09-2013 at 12:21 PM.

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Cat the Fifth: stop being right!

    MY current mobile is the Nokia N8, which is a bit long in the tooth, but was the best camera-phone for quite a while. I don't really want to go backwards, quality-wise, even tho most pics get down-sized for web use.

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    How Urgently do you want the phone?
    I remember when I was looking for a 925 on contract a few months ago. (Just after it got released)
    It was all pretty expensive, then a few weeks later. There were plenty of deals available.

    I'm hoping to get the 1020 on O2 refresh myself, but at the moment it's just a little too pricey for me

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    I got my HTC One-X partly because at the time it was quoted in reviews as having the best camera of any phone on the market. I use it a lot for snaps of the kids and the ability to take movies and snap full res photos at the same time is very handy. Compared to a proper camera it really is rubbish though.

    Most people use photos for posting on Facebook. They never get printed or even displayed at full size on a decent sized monitor. They don't need to be good, and that is the level that phones are built down to.

    So I voted for "other". Buy a camera. Even a tiny Ixus is probably better than a phone. Try not to get caught up in the whole megapixel race as well, more pixels means more noise not a better picture.

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Wait 2 weeks for the Nexus 5. Rumored spec is that the camera has 13mp OIS probably priced around £300. So its at least worth a wait.

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Why not go for the Galaxy S4?

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by theanalyzer View Post
    Why not go for the Galaxy S4?
    Because the Nokia 1020 has a way better camera?

    Proper camera is far better still though.

    http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?...dCamera3=30004

    That compares S4 with the Nokia with a camera.

  14. #12
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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Nokia Lumia 1020 has a fantastic camera, but Windows is still a really limited OS that has a dreadful selection of quality apps...

    I have a HTC One and it has both a good camera, good operating system and fantastic screen & speakers.
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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by fuddam View Post

    What say you, pretty please?
    Figure out you're budget, that is the limit that you will not cross.

    That will narrow it down. Then check ebay and see if any on auction.

  16. #14
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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by fuddam View Post
    Cat the Fifth: stop being right!

    MY current mobile is the Nokia N8, which is a bit long in the tooth, but was the best camera-phone for quite a while. I don't really want to go backwards, quality-wise, even tho most pics get down-sized for web use.

    But he is right!!

    This

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lu...0545369&sr=8-2

    Will give you far better quality than any phone camera (better lens for a start) with better versatility.

    Best of all you can drop it down the loo (apparently the greatest cause of water damage to 'phones, or any other water hole down to a depth of 12 metres) without worrying about it.

    So you can keep your long in the tooth phone, get a better camera AND save a bundle of cash.

    Edit: The model above has wi-fi too!

    However there are a whole load of cameras less expensive than the one I have linked to that will give better shock protection, waterproofness AND picture quality than any smartphone.
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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    lol. I need to replace the N8 because it's a bit cramped for web browsing, call quality has dropped for people on the other end of the line (but not for me, and same thing happened with previous phone, strangely), and memory management is the pits. Continually struggling to get above 25MB free of the 256MB ram, which leads to Out of Memory errors all the time. Dumb apps that one can't delete etc.

    I had a look at ebay for the 925, never having bought a phone from there. Seems average price is around £250-£300. Divide that into 24, then add a sim plan giving roughly 500 mins, texts & 500MB minimum, and suddenly hardly any difference from buying the 925 new from mobilephonesdirect.co.uk. Only hassle is to send rebate vouchers off to the site every 3 months for the cashback.

    After cashback, monthly cost is around £21/mth, and the phone is free.

    Re the waterproof cameras: been wanting one for AGES, though have broken two (kodak Z1 and Z3) so far. The Panasonics are pretty cool.

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    Re: Trying to choose a new smartphone - which one?

    Panasonic Lumix for £289
    Huawei Ascend Y300 £99.95 @ Argos

    Job done?

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