Help choosing a phone. - Forums at CNET UK

Ellis
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Joined: 8 Jun 2008
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18 October 2009, 04:29 pm

Right it's for christmas nothing fancy, spending limit around £200, a good camera would be nice, so some expandable memory aswell, I would mainly use it for texting and ringing people, I also want something to last sometime.

Cheers.

Nick4u1
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Joined: 18 Oct 2009
Posts: 6

18 October 2009, 09:46 pm

Yeah if you're going to buy a phone outright youll obviously be looking for a sim free phone version but it would help if we knew the kind of person you are buying it for...or is it just for yourself?

Edited by Flora Graham (Administrator) on 23 October 2009 at 04:09 pm

Ellis
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18 October 2009, 10:14 pm

Well it's for me.

I'm currently on 02 and would like to stick with them (so sticking with my own sim card would be easier) I was looking at something like the Samsung Omnia but it seemed to have a lot of features that would need 3G or Wi-fi (which it has neither). for example video streaming and facebook.

weetanhops
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Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 1,719

19 October 2009, 01:54 am

The Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is a really cheap handset (£130) for its features. It has Wi-Fi, but no 3G or GPS. Really robust touch screen phone though, and I think it makes use of that Comes With Music deal Nokia have.

What kind of form factor are would you like the most?

Ellis
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Posts: 133

19 October 2009, 06:22 pm

Well that nokia 5530 sounds great, but is the camera any good, is there a phone around with a better camera, or do you think the camera on the 5530 will be good enough. Form factor anything bit a flip.

**also just did some research on it, and it uses a stylus, do you have to use the stylus all the time?

Edited by Ellis (Member) on 19 October 2009 at 06:22 pm

weetanhops
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19 October 2009, 08:00 pm

You shouldn't need the stylus at all, only if you want to use the handwriting recognition. It uses a resistive screen, not a capacitive one like the iPhone.

The camera's a typical 3.2mp fare, single LED flash isn't exactly super-bright but it's decent enough in dusk-level light.

For £130, it's extremely capable. Just don't expect iPhone or Android quality from it.

Edited by weetanhops (Moderator) on 19 October 2009 at 07:02 pm

Edited by weetanhops (Moderator) on 19 October 2009 at 07:03 pm

Ellis
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20 October 2009, 04:13 pm

Yeh I'm liking the look of that phone so what's the whole deal with the Comes with Music ? is it unlimited free music for a year or what?

weetanhops
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20 October 2009, 06:14 pm

Ellis says:
Yeh I'm liking the look of that phone so what's the whole deal with the Comes with Music ? is it unlimited free music for a year or what?

From what I gather, yes. Think you can only have them stored on a single computer though, but obviously you'll probably be downloading them direct to your phone. Unlimited free downloads from the Nokia Music Store on any phone that Comes With Music - think you'd have to be on a pay monthly contract to have it included though

Ellis
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20 October 2009, 07:36 pm

hmm right well thats interesting, i would imagine you could put any unprotected mp3 track on it, ones from seven music and itunes plus etc.

But thanks for the help, looks like i'll be getting that for christmas.

weetanhops
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Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 1,719

21 October 2009, 01:54 am

Ellis says:
hmm right well thats interesting, i would imagine you could put any unprotected mp3 track on it, ones from seven music and itunes plus etc.

But thanks for the help, looks like i'll be getting that for christmas.

I always recommend that people go into a store and try it out before they buy. You'd be surprised sometimes at how differently a phone behaves to how you'd expect it. When I'm after a new phone I usually have a top 3 or 5 and try them out in different stores (they'd just get mad at me if I tried them all in the same one!).

It's still not ideal but it gives you a good insight. Don't be afraid to take advantage of your grace period as well, and make sure you know when it runs out!

Pretty much stuck with my hellish phone because I didn't follow either of these steps (well, I did try handsets out, but ended up choosing the phone for the tariff in the hope I can get an amazing phone on it this time around)