Android (lol) phone recommendations

[familychoice]

Mrs FC is after a new mobile, and armed with a budget of up to £20 per month is looking for an android smart thing. She wants to go on the Orange network and will be making only a few calls on it so doesn't need an expensive plan. Good phone signal, good build, occasional web browsing, decent camera and video are main requirements.

We visited the Carphone Warehouse on Sunday, and while one assistant - with heroin dealer dress sense and pallor - kept IE6 amused, another assistant showed us their wares until IE6 tired of his new playmate and started breaking the shop.

The choices she was shown were:

HTC Desire S   
HTC Wildfire S
Samsung Galaxy Ace
Samsung Galaxy W
Nokia Lumia
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray

We weren't that impressed with the HTC's, and friends have recommended the Samsung's for build quality. We liked the Lumia but reading through a few reviews it seems the battery life is exceptionally bad. Mrs FC's fave was the Sony Xperia, and it gets good reviews. I didn't like it personally as the screens a bit narrow and the processor is slower than some of the others, but it's a new model so should provide a bit of future proofing.

I was quite impressed with the Windows phones - very nice OS, but she prefers android.

Any recommendations or feedback on the models above?

TIA

[Steve Lampkins]

Obviously I'd recommend the Lumia. I believe there are battery fixes coming (software issue).

[spannaa]

The Nokia isn't an android phone though, it's Windows.

Out of the phones you've listed, I'd go for the Samsung Galaxy W.

[rutty]

My wife has the Galaxy Ace and loves it. The battery isn't great, though.

[familychoice]

Thanks for the replies. I notice battery life is a bit of an issue with all smart phones these days, even the new iphones. Didn't realise the Lumia was Windows only...

I'll pass on the recommendations - thanks.

[robwhizz]

Go for a Samsung. I've had HTC for a while, and the Desire S was a very good phone a couple of years ago. Don't touch the Wildfire. Cheap, small and underpowered.
I had a good go on a friends Galaxy S2 a few weeks ago. Very, very impressed. I've always liked HTC Sense on their android phones, it is very good, although I find I'm using less of it's features now that Android has gotten better and 3rd party apps have better integration. So I wouldn't mind dropping it now. Samsung's touchwiz thingy is not bad either.
I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab and I'm very impressed. Beautiful screen, great battery life, very fast CPU and well built.
My next phone will without doubt be a Samsung.
If you can wangle a Galaxy S2 out of them then go for that, otherwise take Spannaa's advice and go for the W.

[suedenem]

Phones4U had a 24 mth T-Mobile deal on the Galaxy S2 a few weeks ago, which sounds like it would've fit the bill - free phone/300mins/3000 texts/500Mb data for £20.50.  Dunno if it's still running that offer, though.  Don't forget the Quidco cashback if you decide to go that route ;-)

(T-Mobile lets you automatically piggy-back Orange's network, and you can usually get a few more minutes for your pounds with them.  Might be worth looking at unless you've had an horrendous customer service experience...)

[robwhizz]

(T-Mobile lets you automatically piggy-back Orange's network, and you can usually get a few more minutes for your pounds with them.  Might be worth looking at unless you've had an horrendous customer service experience...)

My wife is with T-mobile and her internet connection is brilliant. I was using it at a friends house by turning her phone into a hotspot, and it was faster than our home broadband connection.

[Tony]

Yeah, I'm with T-Mobile - no complaints.

Also have a Desire HD - don't think you can get a better build quality than that tbh.

[familychoice]

Thanks for the replies

If you can wangle a Galaxy S2 out of them then go for that, otherwise take Spannaa's advice and go for the W.

Cheers for the recommendation - I'll pass them on and we'll have a look at a few reviews tonight.

Phones4U had a 24 mth T-Mobile deal on the Galaxy S2 a few weeks ago, which sounds like it would've fit the bill - free phone/300mins/3000 texts/500Mb data for £20.50.  Dunno if it's still running that offer, though.  Don't forget the Quidco cashback if you decide to go that route ;-)

(T-Mobile lets you automatically piggy-back Orange's network, and you can usually get a few more minutes for your pounds with them.  Might be worth looking at unless you've had an horrendous customer service experience...)

Thanks for the info - that was a good deal, looks like it's gone now, though it's always worth calling and trying to haggle if they've had it at that price previously. She's on T-Mobile at the moment, and I was with them previously and had no complaints with their service. Carphone Warehouse have a deal with a free phone for £26 per month which isn't bad. I'll have to check out the Quidco offers and see what we can get.

Also have a Desire HD - don't think you can get a better build quality than that tbh.

That looks good too, thanks.

[Dom]

Go for a Samsung. I've had HTC for a while, and the Desire S was a very good phone a couple of years ago. Don't touch the Wildfire. Cheap, small and underpowered.

I can vouch for that. My Wildfire was good when I first bought it, but I've found that it runs out of internal storage space too easily, and since upgrading to Android 2.2 the OS is a little sluggish. It's what I expected really, as I didn't pay a penny for the phone, But I'll definitely be getting something faster next time.

A friend of mine (and former iPhone owner) has recently got the Galaxy S2 and absolutely loves it. It might cost you, though, as it's new, but it should last you a long time and the specs are great from what I've seen. I'd try and wrangle one out of them for £20 a month, even if it's a two-year contract.

[Shirker]

Aren't T-Mobile and Orange the same network now anyway? If one has no signal it uses the other I think. So between those networks shouldn't make too much difference.

[familychoice]

A friend of mine (and former iPhone owner) has recently got the Galaxy S2 and absolutely loves it. It might cost you, though, as it's new, but it should last you a long time and the specs are great from what I've seen. I'd try and wrangle one out of them for £20 a month, even if it's a two-year contract.

I think that's my favourite out the available options, though Mrs FC is still keen on the Sony. The £20 deal Sue mentioned would have been perfect.

[Steve Lampkins]

Not being a corporate shill here, but I got Mrs. Lampkins the Nokia Lumia 800 for Valentine's day, and I'm genuinely impressed. Itching for one myself now...

[familychoice]

Not being a corporate shill here, but I got Mrs. Lampkins the Nokia Lumia 800 for Valentine's day, and I'm genuinely impressed. Itching for one myself now...

I was impressed with that one when I saw it in the phone shop, it that was my favourite to be honest.

No phone for Mrs FC this Valentines, she takes an age to make her mind up so the specs/World will have changed by the time she does.

[Steve Lampkins]

Yeah, I've played around with them, but when you populate it with real-life content: photos, videos, music, contacts and Facebook/Google account stuff, then sit down with the phone for a while, it really comes to life. Everything is really well connected and integrated. Pretty seamless experience.

[familychoice]

Yeah, I've played around with them, but when you populate it with real-life content: photos, videos, music, contacts and Facebook/Google account stuff, then sit down with the phone for a while, it really comes to life. Everything is really well connected and integrated. Pretty seamless experience.

Yeah I saw - the heroin dealer/sales assistant had one himself and was showing me how it worked.