With my update due in April it looks like I am going to be a kid in a candy shop. The big question is which one?

LINK

Well we don't really know what there will be at the moment - only one of those has actually been announced yet.

MWC is at the end of Feb, we'll probably see the 'flagships' show up there.

For me mobile phones are outstripping ordinary folks needs far too fast. Sooner or later people will get fed up with chasing the dragon that is the latest phone just because it's the latest.
I bet that the vast majority of people don't use any of the current power phones to their potential. It really is becoming a sad world...

This is very true. There's only a tiny percentage of users that will upgrade every time something new comes out. It's why HTC have announced they'll be making less models, because they're simply not making enough money from the dozens of different handsets they're doing. Better to have 3 or 4 really great handsets with a good range of features and let people choose from those rather than trying to cover all bases.

SGS2.

I guess that is what I will go for in August. I passed up on the SGS2 in August 2011 because of the cracking deal I got on a SE Arc but the call of the AMOLED is proving to hard to resist.

I think HTC reducing the number of phones is sensible. They seem to have two or three phones comepeing against each other at every price point with very little to distinguish them. With so many good phones coming out they need to differentiate the brand.

I'm in the same postion, contract end in April. I have the HTC Desire which I love and my wife has had the SGS2 since November so I have had a good play with it and really like it. The only thing that puts me off getting the SGS2 is the phone will be three years since launch when my next contract ends. I would like to see what the SGS3 is like, but considering I am on Virgin I may be in for a long wait

Jump ship then. I am on o2 and keep promising myself that I will go with whoever gives me the best deal or the phone I want. Although, I quite like the idea of o2's new free wifi that is being rolled out - so I might stick around. Also, for my last three phones I have upgraded via CPW, no branding and they sometimes get the handset before the airtime provider.

I meant SGS 3 not 2

My contract is up in April also and i currently have a blackberry, not sure if i want another but don't really know anything else to get? :S

Mine is up in April also, and I really like Sony Xperia S... shame it doesn't come with ICS out of the box.

How many of those whose contract ends in March/April currently has an HTC Desire?

Mine is up in may. Think I want the xperia s unless something else appears

I dont think many people do always buy the latest phone. A small minority do, but not many. From the queues, it seems the apple fans are more for 'chasing the dragon'.

I tend not to get a phone on contract, always buy the phone outright and then get a sim-only deal. My current phone is a Desire HD, and there has been nothing out there that has tempted me away from it...the SGS2 has come close though.

The phones from the article do look nice. Out of them the SGS3 and HTC Edge are the ones that I would most likely go for.

After a play with the Note I have to say it is massive and the screen is quite incredible.

Not for everyone but it has to be the number one executive toy, c/w bluetooth of course.

what is it with HTC that can't actually make a phone without a 2p sized camera bulging out of the back. Don't they know it looks fugly?

M

I'll be upgrading in April too. Currently got a Nokia N8 I love but can't stand the Windows Phone OS, vastly prefer Android so I'm going dive in with the Xperia S. Only ever owned Nokia phones before so ti will be interesting! Still got my old 6680 from back in the day

xperia ion for me if it comes out here of course, which it will eventually

It's the Xperia S in the UK. I've done a hands-on with it here: http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Andro...ws.asp?c=37188 and some videos.

I had a play with one of these last year, and it was too big for me. However it does seem to be selling really well. Samsung claim over a million units sold.

The Cameras are actually smaller than a 5p piece...well it is on my Desire HD. I guess they do it to break up an otherwise bland back.

Nice preview thank you

But they always bulge, and look ugly. Why it needs such a huge bulky lens in comparison to other manufacturers, I just don't know.

Sony can make them smaller and not bulky - http://r-www.se-mc.com/cws/file/1.10....-1500x822.jpg

Apple can make them really small and not bulky - http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NBwq0T4bKS...600/iph4cm.jpg

I could go on... but I won't. It's a personal preference, and I think that the HTC cameras are god awful ugly.

M

Of course can make them like the others. It s not as though they cant. Its a design decision taken by someone. Its certainly not a bulge. Even with the 'bulge' its only 11.8mm thick. Without the 'bulge' it would be around 11.4mm thick. Some will like it, some wont.

When cameraphones were taking off, it was the norm to make a big deal of the camera on the back - even making the back look like a camera.

Now, I'd say everything is becoming more subtle. I do wish manufacturers would ensure they didn't place the LED lamp too close to the lens though!

I think the design of HTC handsets has become rather dull, and I don't know why they seem to think that just changing the angle/pattern on the back is enough. I suppose they're thinking that Apple can get away without making radical changes (with the 3G to 3GS, the 4 to 4S, but clearly the 5 will be quite different) yet that's Apple and there's no point always trying to copy Apple. HTC has plenty of things going for it on the software side, but I do think they need someone new in the design team to give some fresh ideas.

I thought the reason why they made all phones similar was so you tell that they were HTC phones from a distance???