My mobile contract's coming up - what smartphone should I buy next?

[edam]

Currently have a HTC Desire S which is fine but I'm happy to switch if anyone knows of anything interesting. I could do with something with a better camera, possibly, apart from that I mainly use phone functions + email + web. Any suggestions welcomed!

[starsandunicorns]

No tips but marking place as i have a htc desire and my contract is comming up in june my dp has a samsung s2 but it doesnt have those buttons at the bottom like the desire which i like but it does have a bigger screen and the web good on it

[PedroPonyLikesCrisps]

Really depends on preference and budget. BTW, the Samsung's do have buttons at the bottom but they are touch buttons which light up when you use them.

If you want top of the range, then the Samsung Galaxy S4 is out soon. Or the S3 will be a bit cheaper now. If you want size, then the Galaxy Note 2 is still the best phone around.

I love HTC, but switched to Samsung last year because they have the money to spend on innovation now which HTC have lost. Samsung phones are top draw these days. Plus there's not too much learning to do because it's all on Android still so things function pretty much the same.

[CruelAndUnusualParenting]

As your current phone is fine, you should be able to get a cheaper contact by skipping the upgrade. That would be my choice, but I'm a cheapskate.

If you are looking for a better camera, this is what The Register has to say about the camera in the new HTC One.

"Now I?m no photographer but it?s perfectly obvious even to me that this is the best camera ever fitted to an HTC handset and one of the best ever fitted to a mobile phone. A more visually astute reviewer may tell you that the Nokia has the edge in some circumstances but the differences would, I suspect, be negligible."

The Nokia they are comparing it to is the Lumia 920.

[cocolepew]

Samsung Note, I love mine.

[edam]

Thank you very much - apologies I didn't get back here fast enough!

[CointreauVersial]

I also have an HTC Desire S, and my contract is up soon.

I'm keeping the phone, and moving to GiffGaff. My phone bill per month will halve.

I think it's a great phone, and there's not a lot it can't do.

[sailingmummy]

I've recently got a Samsung Galaxy Ace for £10 a month from Tesco Mobile. It's Brilliant and I love the tariff! I get 500 mins talk, 5000 texts and 500mb data a month for £10! I also like how I can cap my bill so that it never goes over £10 :)

[EggsEggSplat]

I'm on my second Samsung (currently Galaxy S2) and I'm very happy with it. DS has an HTC Desire and is very envious of my Galaxy.

[pigsinmud]

My contract just finished with an htc desire s. I fancied a new phone, so bought a google nexus 4 and moved to giff gaff. Now get free calls & texts to dh & ds2 - who has my old htc.

Loving the nexus 4!

[edam]

Thanks again for the new advice. Options, options, options...

[INeedThatForkOff]

I'm torn between iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 when it arrives. The camera is what I'm most interested in. Currently on HTC Desire so have considered the One. However I quite like the idea of the fitness apps on the others.

[NetworkGuy]

Depends on whether you have reasonable coverage from Three but they have the Sony Xperia T reduced to £23 (500 mins, 5000 texts, unlimited data) or £26 on the One Plan (allows tethering for a tablet from your phone, pushes the minutes up to 2000 and adds 5000 mins for calls to others on Three).

The Xperia T was the 'old' flagship phone but they have just taken in stock of the new Xperia Z so the 13 Mp camera and other features of the Xperia T are now available at less than the Xperia S (which has a 12 Mp camera and is slightly slower).

How it compares in price and features with your existing phone, I don't know, but might be worth a look. If you use a cashback site (eg Quidco) then you might save some cash too - TopCashBack is offering about £62 for new contracts with Three for either the One Plan or the 500 minute deal.

I took out a SIM Only deal on T-Mobile at the end of January (£16/month for unlimited everything) and have just received £101 cashback... which takes the monthly cost down to under £8 :)

[edam]

wow, that's a good deal. I'm on T mobile, wonder if they'll offer me a deal to stay..?

[NetworkGuy]

edam - at present T-Mobile are offering the "Full Monty" account (originally £31/month, currently listed in the EE store's booklet at £21) at £16/month.

I saw it on a backboard outside the EE store and popped in (not letting on I already had the deal) and confirmed there's no hidden "fair use" restriction on how much data (I've used 20-30 GB in some months on Three under their "all you can eat" account), and the chap pointed out the original pricing and confirmed it is unlimited (but excludes 08xx, 09xxx, MMS, video calls, etc - basically it's for minutes and texts to 01/02/03 and UK mobiles, plus unlimited internet use).

I hope they offer you a good deal, but some of the comments I've seen suggest that until you get your PAC (to port number to another network) few of the firms are willing to offer much, so you might want to try their bluff - get your PAC, be "ready" to switch to another network (ie get a SIM for another network, and borrow a mobile phone from a friend if you don't have an unlocked phone yourself) and be prepared to use the PAC in the last few days of your contract, so you keep your number {but on PAYG} and then look for a suitable deal to have as a fresh contract {with T-Mobile or someone else if they serve your needs with a signal and have a good deal on offer}.

[VanitasVanitatum]

Galaxy s3. Amazing camera, great size screen.

[NetworkGuy]

STOP PRESS - Xperia T for £18 at buymobilephones.net on Three with 200 minutes, 5000 texts but still has unlimited internet...

Sony sells the phone for £319 and I know this is a 24 month contract, but if you don't get time to talk because of work/study, but do send the odd (hundred) texts a month, and want to use the internet for streaming audio for hours at a time, this might be the deal for you.

Not associated with the website, and currently not even with Three but seemed a good deal for someone!

[anchovies]

I have just got a new HTC One (previously had a HTC desire HD.)

For me it was between the HTC One and Samsung S3 (or hanging on for the S4) and the HTC won on both the way it looked and felt and the functionality.

The camera is fantastic and has an awesome feature called zoeshare which takes your selection of 3 second mini videos (taken by the camera) and pictures and makes a little video (let me know if you want to see an example and I'll find the link to one I made yesterday.) It also sorts the pics/videos automatically into events which is quite useful.

The blinkfeed feature on the home screen is pretty cool although you do need to mess about with it a bit to get it to show you what you want.

The speakers are really good quality, better than any I've ever heard on a phone before.

I would highly recommend it :)

[Bluemonkeyspots]

I got the iPhone 5 this week and love it!

[HazeltheMcWitch]

Please may I ask for help/advice also?
Anyone got much experience of the Samsung Galaxy S3 MINI ?

I'm at the end of my contract - I;m on, and want to stay with Orange. I have a Google Nexus S currently (samsung build), which I'm happy with, but it's old and tired! I'd be quite keen to stay on Android.

I want to reduce my monthly bill and get a new phone... I'm being offered what seems like a good deal on the S3 Mini... anyone have any opinions on it? NB I'm probably a light smartphone user, really! I want it for calls, lots of texts, and some apps. I don't really do social media. The camera on it si 5MP, which is what I have now (on phone).

My dilemma is greed, really - is it worth paying more for the S3? WOuld it be worth hanging on for the S4 t come out, so the S3 deals are even cheaper? Any idea when this will be?

Sorry for essay...

[NetworkGuy]

Nexus S vs S iii Mini hints at quite a few similarities, while the S III leaps out as being quite a bit higher in spec than the S III Mini... ( comparison )

"I want to reduce my monthly bill and get a new phone" - without knowing roughly what you're paying (and what you get in mins/texts/internet data) it's a bit awkward to suggest something that might be better but significantly more costly.

[Movingtimes]

I got the Siii Mini a few weeks ago as an upgrade from a HTC Desire and I love it. Battery life is way way better, processing speed is incredibly quick compared to the Desire and all around a really nice phone. I thought about the One but with HTC's battery life issues, the fact that you can't take the back off and change to a spare battery would really have put me off. The camera on the One sounds great, but the camera on the SIII Mini is good too, though only 5mp.

[NetworkGuy]

Oooops - that Xperia T deal at £18 isn't "200 minutes, 5000 texts, unlimited internet"... it's 300 minutes and the rest as first typed...

Only a £2 more than my 600 minutes, 3000 texts, unlimited SIM Only deal I had... IE no mobile in my first contract with them...

[HazeltheMcWitch]

Thanks both. My phone needs have massively changed (since last contract), so I am currently paying way more than I need. I have unlimited texts, minutes, data and what was then a whizzy phone. Really, I need about 300 mins, quite a few texts, and min 500MB of data.

NetworkGuy - thanks for those links. You're quite right, the S3 Mini does look very like the Nexus S! So that's y decision, really - do I want to stick with a slightly upgraded version of what I have now for lots less money, or do I want a better version (S3) fora bit less money. Hmm...!

[NetworkGuy]

HazelMcW - or could you stick with the current phone, get a SIM Only deal, and pay a very low amount for your needs...

At the moment, the Panther SIM Only 12 month deal is £10.50/month (reduced from £15.50) giving 300min, 500 MB internet, 'unlimited' texts. If you go via Quidco, you'd get £80 cashback, which means your cost would be around £50 for the whole year - ie under £5/month (but Quidco charges £5/year so that would reduce any savings a little).

Orange SIM only deals

Of course, to do this you'd need to get your PAC from Orange, move the number to another network, and then go back onto Orange (and then, as a "new" customer, the payout via Quidco should reach you within a number of weeks).

Unfortunately, the £80 cashback offer ends on Sunday, so this option isn't really possible but gives a flavour of what might be possible if you could cope with using a PAYG mobile for a short time to be able to move your Orange number away, and then rejoin Orange with a better deal.

If you do get a PAC, you might have Orange ringing you with offers at which point you could take some deal, but you'd probably be spending more than under £50. It might get you a newer phone, but would you really be spending any less than you are at present?

You can see it could be best to be prepared at some point in future, to move your number away even if it was just for a week... and then move back, if the Cashback deals (from Quidco or TopCashBack) make it worth the minor hassle.

[SizzleSazz]

I kept my iPhone 3 and vodafone reduced my tariff (600 free mins, unlimited texts and 1/2gb data from £30.00 to £8.74