I have £150 - £200 to spend on a phone. I don't want an android phone, I hate everything about it. So for that price i'd get a second hand iPhone 3G or a new Nokia C7, music would be a priority so both are decent enough in that department, Which would you go for?

if you buy a second hand iPhone that's already 18 month old figure on buying a new battery which costs 62 quid from apple.

Are those the only 2 phones your looking at? The nokia runs awful slow symbian software whereas the iOS the iphone runs looks rather dated these days.

what exactly is it you don't like about Android and have you ever used it?

Don't get the iPhone 3G. It will only run a cut down version of iOS 4 and it's dog slow with it. You really wouldn't be getting the best iPhone experience with that. If you can find a second hand iPhone 3GS within your price range, that's the last of the old 3 series iPhones, has better processor speed and will run iOS4 properly.

As someone else has said though, you'll be buying into 2 year old technology. The newer iPhone 4 had a lot of improvements from the 3 series by way of the camera etc.

If those are the only 2 phones you have to choose from and you're wanting to take any photos. I'd pick the Nokia. It wasn't until iPhone 4 that Apple got their act together to produce a half-decent camera.

With Android, you'd have a huge range of choices. If you've tried 1 Android phone and had a bad experience, don't be put off. It could just be that phone, poor carrier or manufacturer customisations of the OS etc. Android phones are as different and diverse as cars. The base OS might be the same, but the customisations, devices, and OS versions vary as greatly as a Nissan Micra to a Ferrari!

i detect the wiff of an android advocate.

Nope, just asking a simple question. Is that ok with you?

Pretty much agree with this.

My first android was a T-Mobile Pulse and it was pretty awful. then i moved onto a Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro and again was awful.

However, rooted and custom roms on them are absolutely superb. I now have the desire hd and before that the iphone 4. Before all of them i had tried several nokias but hated the symbian software. Slow and clunky.

Best advice is to go to a shop and try all 3 out. Symbian, iOS and Android.

Ok i've played with a HTC Desire, I had one on contract but sent it back, What I don't like about android is its linux, sure you have the fancy widgets and stuff but dig just slightly below the surface and there it is, even the font annoys me, Linux to me feels like a wanna be.

Well the Desire is a pretty good phone, so if you're judging by that and you really didn't like it, then maybe Android isn't for you.

As I said before, of the 2 you've mentioned, the iPhone 3G will give you a poor iPhone experience now because it's so old, and if you're likely to take any photos, then pretty much any Nokia will beat it hands down.

If you're on a really tight budget but want an iPhone, you need to track down a 3GS minimum, but the iPhone4 is much better.

on what basis is linux a "wannabe"? I't slowly becoming the most popular system for phones, hardly a "wannabe"...

Now that is a hell of an odd reason lol

You dislike it because its linux? Well you best not go near an iphone seeing as its based on linux like android. You know you can change fonts on android right? Just like you can customise the entire lot the way you want it.

Looks like the nokia is your only choice really.

The iPhone has a very simplistic operating system with everything you need. It has a good app store and decent specs. It looks pretty and feels like a premium device. There's also iPod docking stations everywhere you go, so charging this device shouldn't be much of a problem. Having an iPhone is the in-thing. The in-crowd will think you're cool and they retain their value for longer should you eventually decide to sell it on eBay.

The iPhone is very restrictive. It's dependant on iTunes, you can't change the ringtones unless you practically hack the phone or pay out good money on iTunes, updates are known for being problematic, bluetooth doesn't work, it's extremely fragile, the battery can't be removed, the SIM tray is a pain to open and and it takes a mini SIM card that no other phone uses, though this can be fixed with a microSIM adaptor.


Using Android is like using a phone-sized version of Windows desktop. It's technical but simplistic and so open and friendly! You can even download a Sega Mega Drive emulator for free (with no in-game adverts) and download every single Mega Drive game (ROM) for free - and they run beautifully (this would never be allowed on the iPhone).The app store is just as good as Apple's, the Desire which runs Android has a removable back and battery, a microSD card slot and it takes a normal SIM card. Bluetooth works normally, the phone is tough, solid and rarely scratches and the specs are decent.

The only downsides with the Desire are its lack of 720p video recording, its poor internal memory (though this is compensated for with the SD card), no front facing camera and a battery life that's ever so slightly worse than the iPhone 4's. HTC technical support is also sub-standard compared to Apple's.

Pencil - he's asking about the iPhone 3G, not the iPhone 4. So it's a standard size SIM card. It still wouldn't be a great choice though as it's old and slow by comparison to current iPhone and Android models.

In answer to the OP's question i would have to chose the Nokia over the iphone 3G.

I think for an iphone you have to start at 3GS as the minimum now.

I'd tend to agree, at least if music is a priority.

One of the most pleasant surprises with the N8 has been the music quality - it really is *very* good - definitely better sound output than the iPhones/iPods that I've regularly listened to. From what I understand, the C7 uses 99% of the same hardware as the N8, so will probably sound very good.