Cheap way into ICS?

[ghettoBird]

Greetings forumites/forumettes

I'm due for an upgrade & want a phone that runs ICS. Im not sure about the s3/one X route, but the alternatives( one S, Nexus) don't seem to be too far removed in price. I'm not so keen on the "older" phones (s2, razr, sont) coz they ain't that cheap either...

Long story short, I just wanted to take my shirt off, but it seems I may just have to go the full monty.
Am I being unreasonable, or should I just bite the bullet, our do y'all have an idea I can run with?

Thanks

[koeksGHT]

That new Huwawei phone?

[mercurial]

Greetings forumites/forumettes

I'm due for an upgrade & want a phone that runs ICS. Im not sure about the s3/one X route, but the alternatives( one S, Nexus) don't seem to be too far removed in price. I'm not so keen on the "older" phones (s2, razr, sont) coz they ain't that cheap either...

Long story short, I just wanted to take my shirt off, but it seems I may just have to go the full monty.
Am I being unreasonable, or should I just bite the bullet, our do y'all have an idea I can run with?

Thanks

Get the S3. You won't regret it.

[Vulk]

I'm guessing the cheapest phone that runs ICS is probably the HTC One V?

[Nduimiso]

You can always get an older non ICS phone and flash an ICS rom on it. Otherwise maybe huawei or some other chinese phone manufacturer

[CranialBlaze]

I know there is a new HTC coming out that's said to be the cheapest ICS phone available, think it was teh Desire C.
Looking at the specs though I am pretty sure you will have a terrible ICS experience especially with HTC's Sense. The Google Nexus was rated as about min spec for ICS and my experience was not great. For the hardware GB was better and the Desire C is way way way less powerful than the nexus s.

If you want a decent ICS experience I would not go for anything less than a Desire HD, Galaxy S2 or a Galaxy Note. All things being equal you are better off getting the S3 or One X

[ghettoBird]

Thanks for your suggestions!
I had forgotten the One V, I'll take a look at it.. I haven't heard much from users of the chinese phones...

[Elimentals]

Cheap go for older phones that have it already.
My best recommendations would be SGS2, RAZR or RAZR Maxx

[TJ99]

Get a RAZR or Galaxy S2, and flash a custom ROM on it. Elimentals is not entirely correct, the RAZR STILL doesn't have the official update available in SA, only to "selected users" or some nonsense.

By the way, ICS is like totally so 2 weeks ago. JB is already rolling out and being ported to existing phones.

[Elimentals]

Get a RAZR or Galaxy S2, and flash a custom ROM on it. Elimentals is not entirely correct, the RAZR STILL doesn't have the official update available in SA, only to "selected users" or some nonsense.

By the way, ICS is like totally so 2 weeks ago. JB is already rolling out and being ported to existing phones.

My bad, do not own one, just saw that official was released. Thanx for pointing that out. Also the reason why I was not gonna recommend Xperia S.

Xperia S for me is a better phone(Hardware) than SGS2 but does not have official ICS yet.

[OGroteKoning]

Greetings forumites/forumettes

I'm due for an upgrade & want a phone that runs ICS. Im not sure about the s3/one X route, but the alternatives( one S, Nexus) don't seem to be too far removed in price. I'm not so keen on the "older" phones (s2, razr, sont) coz they ain't that cheap either...

Long story short, I just wanted to take my shirt off, but it seems I may just have to go the full monty.
Am I being unreasonable, or should I just bite the bullet, our do y'all have an idea I can run with?

Thanks

Hmmmmm ... the phones you mentioned and the thread heading does not compute
I would hazard a guess, that if you get an older phone, you will regret it in 3 months time. Go for broke and get either the S3 or the One X. Compare the two on GSM Arena. Also read the threads on this forum. If you go for the One X, make sure you get a phone after a certain serial number (the previous ones have some sort of hardware issue). If you get the S3 - just smile

[Vulk]

OP: Alternatively, if you have a way of sourcing hardware from overseas (eg. if you know someone who is planning the visit the US soon), then the best possible option would be to get the Galaxy Nexus directly from Google for $349. This would have many advantages:

1. Price: if you can buy it overseas it works out to R2,859, which is ridiculously cheap compared to any similar phone in SA.
2. Stock ICS: the Nexus runs "pure Google" version of ICS, which is considered by most tech reviewers to be superior to "skinned" versions of Android such as Touchwiz and Sense.
3. Updates: The Nexus is the only phone that receives updates directly from Google. It will get an update to Jelly Bean sometime this month. By comparison, the RAZR, the flagship from phone from Motorola which was launched on the same day as the Nexus, is still on Gingerbread.
4. Hardware: Yes, the Nexus is considered last-generation hardware. But to put this in perspective, it has essentially the same internals as the Galaxy SII, but is paired with an amazing 720p, 316ppi display. The hardware easily beats something like the HTC One V for example.

Obviously points #2-3 still apply iif you buy one in South Africa, but then the value calculus is very different.

[ghettoBird]

OP: Alternatively, if you have a way of sourcing hardware from overseas (eg. if you know someone who is planning the visit the US soon), then the best possible option would be to get the Galaxy Nexus directly from Google for $349. This would have many advantages:

1. Price: if you can buy it overseas it works out to R2,859, which is ridiculously cheap compared to any similar phone in SA.
2. Stock ICS: the Nexus runs "pure Google" version of ICS, which is considered by most tech reviewers to be superior to "skinned" versions of Android such as Touchwiz and Sense.
3. Updates: The Nexus is the only phone that receives updates directly from Google. It will get an update to Jelly Bean sometime this month. By comparison, the RAZR, the flagship from phone from Motorola which was launched on the same day as the Nexus, is still on Gingerbread.
4. Hardware: Yes, the Nexus is considered last-generation hardware. But to put this in perspective, it has essentially the same internals as the Galaxy SII, but is paired with an amazing 720p, 316ppi display. The hardware easily beats something like the HTC One V for example.

Obviously points #2-3 still apply iif you buy one in South Africa, but then the value calculus is very different.

That would be first prize, but no such opportunities on the horizon unfortunately..

[TJ99]

OP: Alternatively, if you have a way of sourcing hardware from overseas (eg. if you know someone who is planning the visit the US soon), then the best possible option would be to get the Galaxy Nexus directly from Google for $349. This would have many advantages:

1. Price: if you can buy it overseas it works out to R2,859, which is ridiculously cheap compared to any similar phone in SA.
2. Stock ICS: the Nexus runs "pure Google" version of ICS, which is considered by most tech reviewers to be superior to "skinned" versions of Android such as Touchwiz and Sense.
3. Updates: The Nexus is the only phone that receives updates directly from Google. It will get an update to Jelly Bean sometime this month. By comparison, the RAZR, the flagship from phone from Motorola which was launched on the same day as the Nexus, is still on Gingerbread.
4. Hardware: Yes, the Nexus is considered last-generation hardware. But to put this in perspective, it has essentially the same internals as the Galaxy SII, but is paired with an amazing 720p, 316ppi display. The hardware easily beats something like the HTC One V for example.

Obviously points #2-3 still apply iif you buy one in South Africa, but then the value calculus is very different.

The problem there is that unlike in SA, most US phones are network locked, and some are LTE only which means they won't work on our networks even if you could unlock them. Some don't even have SIM card slots and hard-wired to only work on that carrier's network. You'd have to be very sure you're getting the right one.

[Vulk]

That would be first prize, but no such opportunities on the horizon unfortunately..

That sucks. I'm in the same position re: the Nexus 7; I desperately want to buy one, but I don't know anyone who is travelling overseas soon.

Damn Google for not just shipping these products abroad...

--
EDIT: @TJ99, I'm talking about the out-of-contract Galaxy Nexus which Google sells directly from the Play Store, which is unlocked.