Budget 15-20K Dual Sim with adequate Internal Memory EDIT: Bought Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8

terence_fdes

terence_fdes

wizened Dinosaur
Skilled
Hi,

I need a Dual sim phone. Will be going to Malaysia for a couple of months (for work if all goes well). Will be keeping my Vodafone sim too. Now should I get this phone in Malaysia or India ?

My existing HTC Wildfire S is not going to serve my purpose [internal mem is the worst - I am constantly battling to clear up & keep 5MB free at all times :mad:]. Cannot shift/move a variety of apps even with AppMgr III.

1. Budget?
A: 10-20K (lesser the better ;))
2. Preferred Form Factor(flip, bar, slider)?
A: Bar
3. Preferred display type?
A: Should be clear as hell in daylight (outdoors) :wacky: . My existing phone (htc wildfire) is crap.
4. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: Want to buy only Samsung (never tried it)
5. Preferred input method (Touchscreen, QWERTY, etc.)?
A: Touchscreen
6. Camera required or not? If required, please specify type like front camera/flash/etc.
A: Need front cam too + Full HD recording.
7. Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Android
8. Preferred connectivity options? (3G, Wifi, Edge etc).
A: All (including 4G - if possible)
9. What is your intended use for this phone(internet, camera, multimedia, mails, etc)?
A: Skype; Whatsap; G.Talk; 3G/4G Data usage; Click photos (since I am not going to carry my Nikon D5000 with me); mails
10. Any other requirements?
A: DUAL SIM IS A MUST. Maximum internal storage (at least 8GB of which usable would be 4GB -I guess). Would love if the Camera is great quality too (reason listed above). Expandable memory - prefer 64GB.
11. If you have already considered a phone then please mention the model.
I have used Nokia; Sony; Nokia & HTC phones in the past but never a Samsung
Samsung
Galaxy Grand Duos - my pick [is this a good model ?] ~ 18720 at FK along with a Flip-cover offer [8MP & Full HD]
Galaxy Grande Quatro - Quad core ~ 17080 at FK
Galaxy Core ~ (new model) ~ 15350 at FK
Galaxy Mega 5.8 ~ (new model) ~ 24620 at FK
a comparision of all the above is here

Thanks
Terry[DOUBLEPOST=1373432853][/DOUBLEPOST]tagging @vyral_143; @m-jeri; @nishthecooldude; @DarkAngel
 
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My vote for Mega 5.8 if you can afford. Grand Duos and Mega 5.8 both are same is sunlight legibility. Also no 4G/LTE for both.

Why better over Grand Duos:
Better SoC clocked at 1.4GHz
1.5GB RAM vs 1GB of Grand Duos
battery: 2600mAh vs 2100mAh that of Grand Duos
Android 4.2.2 vs 4.1.2
Camera performance slightly better
 
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ajax3592 said:
Go for Samsung I8552 - Galaxy Grand Quattro - Flipkart if you want to try Samsung. It has a good camera, my cousin owns one so I can recommend.
Click to expand...

Thanks.... I was worried about some of it's drawbacks - The TouchWiz UI is not the full fledged version of what appears on the Grand I9082; Camera (esp video is a big disappointment); although it's a quad core it's Cortex A5 processor is mediocre, along with Adreno 203 - see a review here

vyral_143 said:
My vote for Mega 5.8 if you can afford. Grand Duos and Mega 5.8 both are same is sunlight legibility. Also no 4G/LTE for both.

Why better over Grand Duos:
Better SoC clocked at 1.4GHz
1.5GB RAM vs 1GB of Grand Duos
battery: 2600mAh vs 2100mAh that of Grand Duos
Android 4.2.2 vs 4.1.2
Camera performance slightly better
Click to expand...

All valid points & the review here is also favourable. What worries me is the huge price difference between this & the Grand Duos - Rs 5500/- :(
With that money I could easily get a 64GB SD card and still save 2k.
Samsung messed up by not providing the Mega with 16GB Internal mem & maybe a quad core.

It's really hard to get everything. I shall consider all these points before I take a final call.

Meanwhile FK has REDUCED prices TODAY on all of the 4 models that I had referred to :)
 
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Ok the Galaxy Mega 5.8 has a faster SoC but the display size is abysmal! How can one carry around a 5.8 inch device! :O Also considering it has only qHD resolution at that screen size expect jagged text!!! The Grand duos is no better but atleast one can put it in a pocket! Anyways coming back to the topic, get the grand duos! extra 300mAh and qHD resolution do not justify the extra 5k!
 
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Terry - I hope you do know that keeping the Vodafone SIM active there means a deposit + a monthly charge. That's why I suggested not to take the card there.

As for sun legibility - I dont know of any Sammy which is good. Do check out the models before buying one.
 
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vivek.krishnan said:
Terry - I hope you do know that keeping the Vodafone SIM active there means a deposit + a monthly charge. That's why I suggested not to take the card there.
Click to expand...

Yes, I realise that keeping vodafone "active" for more than a month (on International Roaming) would be madness. I need to figure out how not to let my number expire too (probably switch over to pre-paid), as I do not know the duration of my stay abroad. Moreover, I am also looking at the "dual-sim" as a long term solution for local use - where I can use the 2nd sim only for data plans [whoever has the best 2G/3G plans].... NOT Vodafone ....certainly :D

As for sun legibility - I dont know of any Sammy which is good. Do check out the models before buying one.
Click to expand...

Yes this is always a headache [unlike the S3/S4 or iPhone's which are very good in daylight]..... but I am sure that any of those chosen models will be at least 75% better than the lousy HTC Wildfire S that I am using (it was the costliest blunder that I did when I picked up that model, just 3 days after it's launch in India. It conked off just after 3 weeks of using and I had a harrowing time as I sent it for repairs....took 30 days).
 
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Is ebay a good place to buy cellphones ?

MEANWHILE PRICES ARE CRASHING ..... This is what I found since I first posted
Galaxy Grand Duos - my pick ~ 18720 at FK along with a Flip-cover offer; TODAY ~ 18299; ON EBAY ~ 17915
Galaxy Grand Quatro - Quad core ~ 17080 at FK; TODAY ~ 16999; ON EBAY ~ 15592
Galaxy Mega 5.8 ~ (new model) ~ 24620 at FK; TODAY ~ 23799; ON EBAY ~22460 [seller has 97.2% positive feedback]

Do let me know if 64GB microSD Sandisk Ultra Class 10 will make the device sluggish or should I stick to 32GB?
[Purpose would be storage of pics & videos or should I keep transfering things onto my pen drives....... this is until, I can safely transfer all this back to my PC...... which will be some months away].

Is there any other better place (other than FK) where I can do a side-by-side comparision of the Grand Duos & Mega 5.8 ?
 
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I would suggest the Grand duos in your budget for your requirements. Ebay is decent place to get stuff. Just be careful that you transact with a seller with good FB and good number of transactions.

Avoid the Quattro as it doesn't even support HD video recording since it has a pathetic Quad core Cortex A 5 processor.
 
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vyral_143 said:
Tried them at any store ?
Click to expand...

Yes I checked the Grand Duos thoroughly (a colleague has it in office)..... Not the Mega 5.8.... All the points that you mentioned earlier are the compelling reasons that is pushing me towards this model.
+ (My wifie is pushing me for the Mega 5.8)
I also showed her this video from youtube

I will be combining either of these phones with Samsung 64 GB MicroSD Pro Class 10 ~ 3999/- on FK[DOUBLEPOST=1373644938][/DOUBLEPOST]Also can anyone (Mumbaikars) confirm if the rates at Alfa are a lot lower than Flipkart for these items
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
Samsung Mega 5.8
Samsung 64 GB MicroSD Pro Class 10

I am presently steering towards the Mega (80%) and Grand Duos (20%)..... will want to lock it by tomorrow (Saturday).

Thanks[DOUBLEPOST=1373680930][/DOUBLEPOST]........... BUMP .. can anyone (Mumbaikars) confirm if the rates at Alfa are a lot lower than Flipkart for these items[DOUBLEPOST=1373716405][/DOUBLEPOST]Got the Mega 5.8 locally from Magnet Store, Irla. Good deal. Will update again. Battery down. ..
 
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Ok so here are the details & thanks to @Brendon & @vivek.krishnan for pushing me to try local stores [I find it too hard to push my ass for such things and prefer online purchases]; thanks also to @vyral_143 for exposing me to the Mega 5.8
[I tugged along my wifie ...who then wanted me to take the Mega 6.3 ...... :confused:]

FINAL DEAL FOR GALAXY MEGA 5.8 FROM
Magnet - The electronics mega store at Irla, Mumbai for Rs 23599/- and they included a SSK X-2200 Power Bank - portable charger (costing 1k) with this model.

I also checked out the rates at 6 other shops in the vicinity along with 'terms & conditions' for RMA + any bundled offers.
The lowest price being offered was a Samsung Store (adjoining Magnet) for 21k by CASH only :eek: ... otherwise 23.7
Alfa 23k [add 1.5% for CC payment]; same price also at 3 other shops & no offers & RMA was standard.

Magnet scored the best (IMHO) as their terms & conditions suited me - any repairs/RMA will be dealt through them (7 day replacement with no hassles) + Free portable charger (worth 1k) & no extra charges for CC payment. They also managed to convince me to take an "Daily Complete Security" Antivirus Package (lifetime updates/warranty) for 1199/- ....... dunno if this is a worthwhile package or I got mugged by em o_O
I did not allow them to insert my existing sim card (vodafone) as they were going to 'cut-it' :dead::bawling: .... the Mega 5.8 needs a 'micro-sim' card....so will wait till Monday now.

None of the shops had Samsung 64 GB MicroSD Pro Class 10 (Alfa has not even heard of it - which means this is a relatively new product & FK has it:happy: ). Anyways, I have already booked it from FK for 3999/-
==============================================

Used the phone for over 5 hours continuously wifi (my daughter & I) and drained out the Battery - I am satisfied with everything so far [resolution; clarity; speed; ease of multi-tasking; GTalk .....] and a lot more needs to be explored.
 
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Congrats on the new phone - you should have gotten the SIM cut as it serves a dual purpose. I cannot say that Alfa would be the cheapest - but offline shops are usually cheaper than FK - if no discount is runnong on FK. Tradus, EBay and Indiatimes are decent too.[DOUBLEPOST=1373727361][/DOUBLEPOST]As for the AV package - congrats again - you surely got mugged. But lets look at it positively - you wont have any issues with security mostly.
 
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shanx said:
How can one carry around a 5.8 inch device! :O
Click to expand...
Was wondering the same thing and they even have a 6.3 inch in the mega line as well. I thought 5 inches was too big until i saw the S4. Note 3 is rumoured to be a 6 inch screen.

His HTC wildfire is a 3.2 inch, and the jump is to 5.8 inch. Weight wise its a jump from 105gm to 160gm (!) Noticeable, maybe you get used to it.

If you stick this in your shirt pocket its ok, pants will be harder. Forget one hand operation, thumbs will never reach the opposite corners, this is a two handed device.

I don't get the dual Sim thing either, its going to be a killer on the battery. As it is people complain they can't get enough battery life with one sim. Solution is to carry along an extra battery. At least its an option when you can remove the back cover. Not so with unibody.
 
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