Advice on Phone Purchase

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roker

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A year ago I bought a Samsung Galaxy Ace smart phone, but this was an absolute disaster, very poor battery life, small memory only allowing about 4 Apps to download, slow processor. So I am giving it up as a bad job.
I am going to do some research before buying this time.
If I purchase from the UK, Amazon, EBay, will these phones work in Ireland, the reason I ask is because my Galaxy Ace has a (i) at the end of the model number, UK version does not.
Also I would be interested in suggestions for a mid range phone, ( I am not paying the price of a TV for a phone)
 
For what its worth, 3 in the UK are now selling phones which are network free.
agree 100% re the Ace, been there...
I went through a few Samsung's and now have a Huawei: bought in UK in 3, very happy.
one quirk is that scrolling R to L on the last screen does not bring you back to the start.
a double tap on the centre button does it
[broken link removed]
a year ago, about 100 euro
 
Purchased the Apple iphone 5 - had iphone3 - very happy. Sim free and amazed by what is can do!
 
If it's SIM free, how to I use my existing number? and set up a provider?
 
There is no problem. The new provider will port your existing number (they will refer to this as a "SIM only" plan} and with a phone like the iPhone, they'll issue you with a compatible nano-SIM, usually free. You contact them by phone once you get the nano-SIM and all the magic happens behind the scenes.

Have a look at TescoMobile - they offer the service I describe and for a 30-day contract, they charge €25 per month on direct debit for 10,000 txts per month, 10,000 phone minutes, 200 free web txts & 15GB monthly data. They also allow tethering (use of your phone as a modem to connect your computer to the internet). Usually, they are easy to deal with, unlike other suppliers I've been with (most of them). They are great value
 
roker said:
If it's SIM free, how to I use my existing number? and set up a provider?
Click to expand...


What "sim free" means is that the phone is "unlocked" and is therfore open to use any sim from any provider.

This is opposed to "locked" which nearly all phones on a pre-pay/post-pay plan are, ie. you must use the network providers own sim.
 
Thanks, I incorrectly thought SIM free was a new technology without a SIM.
If I buy online they will not be able to port my number. As I understand, I can just put in my own SIM on an unlocked phone.
 
roker said:
If I buy online they will not be able to port my number. As I understand, I can just put in my own SIM on an unlocked phone.
Click to expand...
Porting numbers doesn't come into the equation. You're talking about an unlocked phone - put any sim into it and it works (so long as it physically fits - there are 2x sim form factors - micro and normal sim size).

As regards what phone you should buy, it's going to depend on what features you need in a phone, what you're willing to pay for it, etc. - and then determine if those features actually function as desired (which wasn't your experience with the Galaxy Ace).

I bought the first Galaxy note (n7000) - second hand - but still within warranty. It was still expensive (€430 2 years ago) - but it's been a fantastic addition - that despite the price, I feel I've gotten most of the value back out of it. If I was to go out and buy a phone in the morning, it would be the LG G3. However, whilst there have been definite improvements since the n7000, I don't feel (for me at least) there's been anything particularly disruptive (...and therefore, can't justify casting the n7000 aside). I've overcome the main shortcoming of the n7000 (battery life) by way of a €20 battery charger pack - meaning that I never have to worry about it running out of juice ever again.


You're not going to get an objective answer until you set out exactly what features the phone must have.
 
I am told that the existing SIM can be cut to fit the micro SIM. But obviously my contacts are not on the SIM of my smart phone because I could only enter 13 characters on my old phone, where as the smart phone has much more details of contacts, so where are they located and how do I transfer them?
 
Thanks all, I give Samsung and Vodafone a miss because frankly the Galaxy is should not have been on the market with so many design faults (€100), and Vodafone sold methis phone that was well out of date, plus they presently have a poor selection if I take out the name Galaxy ( why should I buy again if they sold me a dud?)
After a lot of research I purchased a Motorola M G4 8GB (€169) which is capable of the new G4 system. I have moved from the old Android Gingerbread to Kit Kat which is taking a bit of getting used to, I don't know why they call them both Android, they are very different.
 
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