New phone - what to choose?

[konnfusedisme]

Ok, i'll be honest, my current is my faithful no frills Nokia C5. It lasted 4 years, still no problems with it.

Now tho', I can afford and need a reliable phone and contract recommendation that allows me to:

make and receive calls, has a great camera, data-wise, browse my favourite fanfics, gossip sites, google random wiki searches, imdb reviews, email, dull things like that. I don't download much at all and bbm and whatsapp are not an issue for me.

What phone and network do you guys suggest? I've heard that vodacom is pretty expensive for data charges and am not so keen on BBs except for the bis. Android or iphone? Drag me out of the dark age please.
Thanks in advance

 

[pezulu]

I would suggest you go through to a cellshop in your area where you can get the feel of the various handsets available to you.
You could also read up webwise regarding various handsets, and compare them to each other.
A good place to start would be GSMArena.

Regarding networks, that is a tricky question.
Each network will tell you that it is the best.
Your best option would be to see what works best in your area, or in the area you are going to be using handset most.
CellC seems to be the cheapest when it comes to call rates, particularly on prepaid, while Vodacom seems to have their finger of the data pulse. CellC had blistering data speeds, but these seem to have fallen of late.
If you have a WiFi connection in your home or workplace you could use that, instead of relying heavily on data bundles from a particular service provider.
Out of personal choice I don't like Vodacom handsets for the simple reason that they are branded and loaded with Vodafone bloatware.

BB has never been much of an option for me, as I don't make use of BBM, nor is BIS a problem, as I have an uncapped WiFi enabled network at home and at work.

Choosing between Android (Samsung, Nexus, HTC, etc.) or Apple is a matter of personal choice.
You can root an Android device pretty easily, or just as easily jailbreak an Apple device.
With an Android device you will be required to open a gmail account (if you don't have one already) while with Apple you will need an iTunes account.

At the end of the day, do your homework online, until you are satisfied with the decision you make, and once you have made your choice, you will know that the choice was yours, and you weren't influenced by anyone.

 

[Crowley]

CellC seems to be the cheapest when it comes to call rates, particularly on prepaid, while Vodacom seems to have their finger of the data pulse. CellC had blistering data speeds, but these seem to have fallen of late.

At the moment CellC has the best rates for voice and data. Vodacom/MTN OOB rates are R2/mb where CellC is 15c/mb in or out of bundle.

Phone wise I agree with pezulu, go to a cell chop and play around. I prefer Android so the Galaxy SIII or the Sony Experia T would be my first choice.

 

[konnfusedisme]

thanks for the advice, it was interesting to read. Seriously tho, my head is still spinning from looking at all the various deals and googling the phone reviews, that's why as a last ditch, i asked for help.

Its become real difficult to choose a device as the market is flooded - it makes me want to cry and curl up into a foetal position, cos you'll always be wondering 'Should i have waited a little longer?'.

Handset wise - i'm between the S3 or Iphone & you've helped me out there I guess the question should be, which network has the lowest data charge rate.

 

[kingrob]

If you take the Galaxy S3 on a Vodacom Smart 229 package, it's actually not bad.

You can bolt-on a monthly data package, which rolls over for another month, so if you're paying R389 for 2GB bolt-on, it's actually R195 per month.

I would also look at the Note 2, if you don't mind the size.

*Iphone 5 is way too expensive for what it is + it's rather heavy on the insurance.

 

[mika1000]

galaxy s3 or nokia lumia 920

 

[konnfusedisme]

Really appreciating the advice guys - at least i won't feel like a twit when i have to ask the salesperson questions about the phone and contract. @kingrob thanks for the data add-on tip. Completely forgot about that option.

 

[Roman4604]

Android or iphone? Drag me out of the dark age please.

You cant go wrong with either, there're both great smartphone experiences, however they do differ slightly in their approaches.

The iPhone emphasizes a slick, consistent (albeit restricted) experience, while Android is more about flexibility with no restrictions, but you do lose some consistency & polish. It really comes down to whats more important to you.

At a basic functionality level they are quite similar though. I found this video helpful in comparing their actual workings ...

[video=youtube;7zXkzxuEJu0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zXkzxuEJu0[/video]

Note, the Samsung Android experience is slightly different from the pure Google one in the video, but you can always flash your phone later to make it look as such.

 

[kingrob]

Really appreciating the advice guys - at least i won't feel like a twit when i have to ask the salesperson questions about the phone and contract. @kingrob thanks for the data add-on tip. Completely forgot about that option.

No problem.

Another thing about the Smart 229 is the 150 sms bundle. My mom refuses to use an iPhone or Android phone, so we communicate via sms when I'm at work (she uses a Nokia C2). If you have to buy a 100 sms bundle, it's another R50.

So the Smart 229 is great for my usage scenario, but if you're heavy on the voice calls, might have to look at the more expensive smart package.

 

[kingrob]

Note, the Samsung Android experience is slightly different from the pure Google one in the video, but you can always flash your phone later to make it look as such.

I actually prefer the Samsung Android experience to the plain vanilla Android experience.

The SPlanner app + widget, Smartstay feature, etc...little things that makes my experience brilliant.

 

[Park@82]

... I found this video helpful in comparing their actual workings ...

[video=youtube;7zXkzxuEJu0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zXkzxuEJu0[/video]...

Thanks for sharing, I am always curious about what iOS has to offer vs Android that I use daily.

 

[AlphaJohn]

[video=youtube;7zXkzxuEJu0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zXkzxuEJu0[/video]

Note, the Samsung Android experience is slightly different from the pure Google one in the video, but you can always flash your phone later to make it look as such.

That robot voice is a bit bias, else its a cool vid that covers a lot(Not all) of feature differences. Personally I would have preferred they not keep on saying "I prefer JB because of x feature."

 

[Park@82]

...Personally I would have preferred they not keep on saying "I prefer JB because of x feature."

Well she did say the same about iOS on a couple of occasions e.g. the camera.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

I'd say get yourself a Galaxy S3 4G LTE, it covers all that you want whilest being one hell of an incredible smartphone.

As for Network? You could get on a TopUp Vodacom package and buy Data with some of the airtime that you get, thats what i do, im on a TopUp500, so i get R500 airtime and buy data with some of that.

 

[konnfusedisme]

Thanks guys, i've finally decided Samsung and then i remembered the S4 is due out soon. I'm going to wait abit and see what the contracts are going to be like.

 

[kingrob]

Thanks guys, i've finally decided Samsung and then i remembered the S4 is due out soon. I'm going to wait abit and see what the contracts are going to be like.

Give this man a Bells!!

S4 is two, three months away. I would also wait.

 

[HTC SA]

If you're going to consider the S4, then you should consider the HTC One which releases in SA in April. Here is the MyBB story on it.

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/smartphones/70854-htc-one-unveiled.html

and here is a youtube clip on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9A8NnBbW_A

 

[Velenoso]

Thanks guys, i've finally decided Samsung and then i remembered the S4 is due out soon. I'm going to wait abit and see what the contracts are going to be like.

I hope they are going to improve the battery life by a hell of a lot. I'm still on the S3, keep a spare battery and use a car charger to keep me going through the day.

 

[kingrob]

The S4 announcement is on 14 March 2013....Three weeks from now.

I'm sure it will have a beefier battery.

 

[Chevron]

Ok, i'll be honest, my current is my faithful no frills Nokia C5. It lasted 4 years, still no problems with it.

Now tho', I can afford and need a reliable phone and contract recommendation that allows me to:

make and receive calls, has a great camera, data-wise, browse my favourite fanfics, gossip sites, google random wiki searches, imdb reviews, email, dull things like that. I don't download much at all and bbm and whatsapp are not an issue for me.

What phone and network do you guys suggest? I've heard that vodacom is pretty expensive for data charges and am not so keen on BBs except for the bis. Android or iphone? Drag me out of the dark age please.
Thanks in advance

You want the Xperia T. You can get it on Top200 with 150Megs of data for R309p/m from MTN.