Phone Buying Advice Budget -35k

[W@rrier]

1. Q: Budget?
A: 35k

2. Q: Preferred Form Factor(flip, bar, slider)?
A: Bar

3. Q: Preferred display type?
A: Nothing like that ! Should be very legible in bright sunlight too!

4. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: Not interested in Motorola !

5. Q: Preferred input method (Touchscreen, QWERTY, etc.)?
A: Touchscreen , If a qwerty is also there along, would be nice though!

6. Q: Camera required or not? If required, please specify type like front camera/flash/etc.
A: Wont use Still camera much, but Video Recording should be great!

7. Q: Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Open for anything other than Win!

8. Q: Preferred connectivity options? (3G, Wifi, Edge etc).
A: 3G.

9. Q: What is your intended use for this phone(internet, camera, multimedia, mails, etc)?
A: Internet, Email, Ebook reading, Navigation and heavy calling!

10. Q: Any other requirements?
A: Stable Build quality, should be able to suffer a few falls
Very good Battery Life! I might talk for a few hours a day, so battery life important!

11. Q: If you have already considered a phone then please mention the model.
A: SGS II, Iphone 4,Nokia E7 and ??

The phone is for my elder brother!

Considering the outburst of Touch screen phones in the budget, one is pressured to go for a touch screen even if he is not really attracted by it
Currently using an E72! I love its solid build quality and Its No-Nonsense look!
Considered the E6 first , but didn't find it to be such of an upgrade ! so tried the E7, Likes its sleek body and looks dashing ! But the current situation of Symbian OS is questionable and It doesn't have apps like android !

But still, the Nokia E72, has installed a sense of reliability in me which is easily not broken! Anyone who used an e72, would understand what i mean
But, also have had a bad Experience Sliding phones in the past My N95's Sliding mechanism broke the day its warranty got over

I am Not an apple fanboi, had an Ipod nano 3g, of which only the display was impressing !

Havent used the SGS II yet , but the Tech spec is sure bloody impressive!

I Intend to use the phone for minimum an year or perhaps an year and a half!

Do suggest me all the options !

P.S I know I sound vague, But i am extremely Confused

 

[rareravi]

For most of your requirements SGS II is the best option but don't expect a great battery life from android devices.

 

[emmarbee]

SGS II if you want to do more in your mobile.

Nokia if you want better battery life.

iPhone a bit of sgs II and a bit of nokia.

But I strongly feel not to go for nokia. I have mentioned nokia has better battery, that's because, you won't do much on nokia, even though it can do some stuff, you wouldn't like to do it on it.

But the same thing, in sgs II, you'll love doing it, so obviously battery is down soon.

For ex: browsing. Though you can do it on e72, you won't love doing on it. Android makes you want to do some stuff that the symbian puts you off.

If you do only talking in sgs II, it can give you great battery life.

1. Q: Budget?
A: 35k

2. Q: Preferred Form Factor(flip, bar, slider)?
A: Bar

3. Q: Preferred display type?
A: Nothing like that ! Should be very legible in bright sunlight too!

4. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: Not interested in Motorola !

5. Q: Preferred input method (Touchscreen, QWERTY, etc.)?
A: Touchscreen , If a qwerty is also there along, would be nice though!

6. Q: Camera required or not? If required, please specify type like front camera/flash/etc.
A: Wont use Still camera much, but Video Recording should be great!

7. Q: Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Open for anything other than Win!

8. Q: Preferred connectivity options? (3G, Wifi, Edge etc).
A: 3G.

9. Q: What is your intended use for this phone(internet, camera, multimedia, mails, etc)?
A: Internet, Email, Ebook reading, Navigation and heavy calling!

10. Q: Any other requirements?
A: Stable Build quality, should be able to suffer a few falls
Very good Battery Life! I might talk for a few hours a day, so battery life important!

11. Q: If you have already considered a phone then please mention the model.
A: SGS II, Iphone 4,Nokia E7 and ??

The phone is for my elder brother!

Considering the outburst of Touch screen phones in the budget, one is pressured to go for a touch screen even if he is not really attracted by it
Currently using an E72! I love its solid build quality and Its No-Nonsense look!
Considered the E6 first , but didn't find it to be such of an upgrade ! so tried the E7, Likes its sleek body and looks dashing ! But the current situation of Symbian OS is questionable and It doesn't have apps like android !

But still, the Nokia E72, has installed a sense of reliability in me which is easily not broken! Anyone who used an e72, would understand what i mean
But, also have had a bad Experience Sliding phones in the past My N95's Sliding mechanism broke the day its warranty got over

I am Not an apple fanboi, had an Ipod nano 3g, of which only the display was impressing !

Havent used the SGS II yet , but the Tech spec is sure bloody impressive!

I Intend to use the phone for minimum an year or perhaps an year and a half!

Do suggest me all the options !

P.S I know I sound vague, But i am extremely Confused

 

[Onemufc]

SGS 2 . No two ways about it . or even an Iphone 4

 

[aradhakr84]

Looking at your needs you do not need to spend 35k, there are many phones that are available much lower than your 35k budget. These are:

1) HTC Desire S - 22k
Android. 1 ghz processor single core. Super LCD Screen for email, reading, navigation. Excellent hardware and product from reputable company, HTC. Excellent support. 3.5 g and upto 14.4 Mbps speed. Best suited for your needs. Front and back facing camera. Also excellent video recording (720p)
2) Galaxy S - 21K
Android. 1 ghz processor single core. Super Amoled screen (best on the market) for email, reading, navigation. Was best selling worldwide back in its glory days. Supports 3g 7.2 Mbps speed. Excellent custom support from XDA. Also best suited for your needs. Front and back facing camera. Also excellent video recording (720p)
3) LG Optimus 2 X - 23k
Android. 1 ghz processor dual core. LCD Screen for email, reading, navigation. First phone to have dual core. But still in froyo and user interface is not that satisfying. But given the custom mod support it changes into a total beast when modded. 1080p video recording. Best suited for your needs and also has front and back facing camera. Supports 3g 7.2 Mbps speed.
4) Samsung Galaxy SL - 18k
Android. Same as Galaxy S minus Super Amoled screen (has super lcd instead), hummingbird processor (has ti omap processor instead), 540 gpu (instead has 530 gpu). All the other are same as Galaxy S

Finally I would recommend these phones if you also want to future proof. Not that the above phones won't last you for a year or more. But some people just like the added insurance that future proof is better. These phones are:
1) HTC Sensation - 29k
qHD resolution screen (540X960), 1.2 ghz dual processor, 1080p recording, capable upto 14.4 Mbps speeds, really fast and excellent for all your needs.
2) Samsung SGS 2 - 29k
Super Amoled Plus (even better than super Amoled), 1.2 ghz dual processor, 1080p, capable upto 21 Mbps speeds, really fast and excellent for all your needs.

Also these phones can be considered to suit your needs: Spice Mi-410 - 13k, Desire Z - 17k, LG Optimus Black - 19k, Nexus S - 19k

 

[W@rrier]

Thanks to everyone for the replies

@aradhakr84

Thanks a lot, that is a very good list of options!

I want a futureproof phone, which wont feel out of place atleast for an year!

Have used desire S a lot as a friend have it and I dint the feeling of it in my hands:O somehow it felt alien, i guess ! and its video recording actually is not at par with contenders!

Galaxy S, Well when its successor is out, it doesnt feel very logical to go for it ! I do like the phone, but its a year old in the market now!

LG Optimus 2x, To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it! Will definitely look at it! Tech spec Looks very nice and very near to the SGS II

Sensation feels highly overpriced ! but nonetheless will check it out too!

Currently SGS II leads!

I do love the looks of the iPhone, and the display seems better than the SGSII, but that seems the only 2 things ahead of SGS II?

If i get an SGS II,or the optimus 2X i can be sure that i will be able to pretty much run anything that comes for android for the year !

@emmerbee When you say SGSII doesnt have good battery life, how much can i expect on moderate usage?

 

[paarkhi]

one to one and half day with moderate use and with custom roms you can increase that, Samsung has released an update also 2.3.4

 

[rhlravi]

Thanks to everyone for the replies

LG Optimus 2x, To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it! Will definitely look at it! Tech spec Looks very nice and very near to the SGS II

Sensation feels highly overpriced ! but nonetheless will check it out too!

Currently SGS II leads!

I do love the looks of the iPhone, and the display seems better than the SGSII, but that seems the only 2 things ahead of SGS II?

If i get an SGS II,or the optimus 2X i can be sure that i will be able to pretty much run anything that comes for android for the year !

@emmerbee When you say SGSII doesnt have good battery life, how much can i expect on moderate usage?

When you have the budget to go for the SGS2, you can safely omit the Optimus 2x, as the SGS2 outperforms it in every department.

The Sensation has a better UI (personal opinion), but the SGS2 has a better screen(lower pixel density, but better display quality), camera, and has a slightly better CPU+GPU.

As for the iPhone, it is not worth going for one right now considering the fact that a new one will be out in the coming few months and the present one's specs seem weak compared to other phones at similar range. If you can wait till the new iPhone comes and import it, then it would make sense. (By the way, you feel that its screen is better because of the higher resolution on a smaller screen, increasing the sharpness.)

And finally about battery life, it is ultimately upto how you use the phone. If you watch videos/ use apps/games for a long time, then your battery will not last more than a day, and if you are a frugal user, it will last longer. It would be better if you are more specific about 'moderate usage', but i would say that it should generally last a couple of days on moderate usage.

 

[W@rrier]

one to one and half day with moderate use and with custom roms you can increase that, Samsung has released an update also 2.3.4

about battery life, it is ultimately upto how you use the phone. If you watch videos/ use apps/games for a long time, then your battery will not last more than a day, and if you are a frugal user, it will last longer. It would be better if you are more specific about 'moderate usage', but i would say that it should generally last a couple of days on moderate usage.

Moderate usage meaning half an hour on phone, a 1-2 hours on net! and an hour of net connecting to laptop and a few sms'es!

When you have the budget to go for the SGS2, you can safely omit the Optimus 2x, as the SGS2 outperforms it in every department.

The Sensation has a better UI (personal opinion), but the SGS2 has a better screen(lower pixel density, but better display quality), camera, and has a slightly better CPU+GPU.

Had a lok at the differnet reviews of the optimus on the net and can find it very much value for money , and also that SGS II beats it hands down on every account , but where it really loses is the camera , the SGS II 's video is much more detailed and even the pics have a very noticeable difference!

As for the iPhone, it is not worth going for one right now considering the fact that a new one will be out in the coming few months and the present one's specs seem weak compared to other phones at similar range. If you can wait till the new iPhone comes and import it, then it would make sense. (By the way, you feel that its screen is better because of the higher resolution on a smaller screen, increasing the sharpness.)

You must be right about it ! But, it looks awesome ,and TBH the snob value is double that of an SGS II

 

[aradhakr84]

Since you are interested in future proofing, SGS II seems to be the logical choice to buy. Happy Shopping

 

[ManU Fan]

Even though SGS II has more specs than any other phone in the market, i would suggest going for iPhone 4. After using iPhone 3GS for last 1 year, there is nothing that can be compared with Apple's quality, ease of use and the flowing touchscreen. Once you start using an iPhone, you will never go back to any other brand.

 

[aka007]

If u do not intent to change your phone for like 2-3 years then go for the sgs2. As for now you can also consider the iphone(if you are willing to change). Another option would be to wait for the iph5!

 

[rhlravi]

Had a lok at the differnet reviews of the optimus on the net and can find it very much value for money , and also that SGS II beats it hands down on every account , but where it really loses is the camera , the SGS II 's video is much more detailed and even the pics have a very noticeable difference!

Yes, the Optimus 2x is good value for money and well priced for a dual core smartphone, but since your budget is 35k and the SGS II is well within you reach, i suggested dropping the Optimus 2x from your options.

You must be right about it ! But, it looks awesome ,and TBH the snob value is double that of an SGS II

Well, it is upto you to decide which is more important : snob value or other factors(like cam, processor etc...) .

 

[W@rrier]

Sorry for the long delay people, didn't have any updates to post !

so, checked out the SGS II, and.. Loved it !

Definitely buying it!

Thanks to all for your help!

Next in mind, a Tablet

 

[egobrain.exe]

I would suggest to choose between the iPhone 4 or the SGSII. Both are top notch phones, anyone would fit in the bill and requirements pretty easily!

 

[spawnfreak]

Even though SGS II has more specs than any other phone in the market, i would suggest going for iPhone 4. After using iPhone 3GS for last 1 year, there is nothing that can be compared with Apple's quality, ease of use and the flowing touchscreen. Once you start using an iPhone, you will never go back to any other brand.

My younger brother, owned an iPod touch and used a Nokia X something. Since I wanted to upgrade, I gave my older iPhone 3GS to him.
Met him yesterday after a month since he lives in a hostel. His words for the iPhone "after this iPhone, i'll buy another iPhone, and after that another iPhone and then another iPhone and only iPhone till eternity" lol