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Having such trouble decidind on phone. Could use some help.


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Old 24-07-2014, 12:26
BelfastGuy125
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Ok so I want to get a quality smartphone and get off my stupid Samsung Galaxy Ace I'm currently paying £11 a month for on Tesco. Basically I realised the only thing I use it for is Internet data and texts and realised I could get on a sim card deal via Three that is £15 a month for Unlimited data albeit I have to buy the phone. So taking that into account I want a nice shiny brand new phone that can do 4G as well.

Trying to decide between: Google Nexus 5 (as a cheaper option) and the more premium end of phones Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia z2 and HTC One M8 is so hard because they are all so alike as well as all around the same price point. Camera is important to me as well as general good performance when playing games and stuff.

I hope someone can give me some good recommendations. Also where is generally the cheapest place to buy phones?
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Old 24-07-2014, 12:42
Mark in Essex
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I've got the S5 and it's a good all rounder.

There are some good deals on contract but have also found this deal SIM free:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/sams...949314?aui=298
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Old 24-07-2014, 12:56
GeordiePaul
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Z2 if the camera is very important, nexus 5 if not (the camera is still pretty decent despite what anyone might tell you).
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Old 24-07-2014, 13:00
finbaar
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If you are after a cheaper alternative to the most recent flagships I can recommend the LG G2. Same internals as the Nexus 5 but with a better screen, battery and camera. You can pick one up fro about £280 from Amazon or even cheaper here:
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/smartphone...ns=1&pid=47868
The only thing it lacks is a sd card slot (but so does the N5).

Of the others the Z2 is the best combination of great camera, screen and performance. You can get that for £409 mobilephonesdirect.

The M8 has a poor camera, The S5 is a good phone and is a possible if you like the design. Also there is the LG G3 which has mixed reviews but it could be that the internals are not up to the job of running that screen - I am sure that the owners will soon try and put me right on that one though.

Well done though for going sim only and buying your own phone. That is one reason to get the LG G2 - it has already seen it's price drop. You can guarantee that today’s flagships will be significantly cheaper in 6 months.
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Old 24-07-2014, 13:02
finbaar
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I've got the S5 and it's a good all rounder.

There are some good deals on contract but have also found this deal SIM free:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/sams...949314?aui=298
I agree with the tip about using HotUKDeals. I use that all the time.
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Old 24-07-2014, 13:39
Zee_Bukhari
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The HTC One M8 is a great choice if camera is important to you, even better is the Nokia Lumia 930, which has a 20MP camera, I have one and it takes amazing pictures.

I wouldn't recommend the Samsung.
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Old 24-07-2014, 13:59
niceguy1966
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The HTC One M8 is a great choice if camera is important to you, even better is the Nokia Lumia 930, which has a 20MP camera, I have one and it takes amazing pictures.

I wouldn't recommend the Samsung.
Sony Xperia Z2 (and Z1) also have 20MP
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Old 24-07-2014, 14:00
BelfastGuy125
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Thanks for all the advice so far.

Why would you not recommend Samsung? I'm interested because I would like to be able to rule one out as it would make my decision a bit easier.
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Old 24-07-2014, 14:19
doc2008
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I had an s2 then s3, felt the s4 and 5 were to samey. Went with the m8 and have to say I am so impressed with it, everything about it just screams quality.
Hold one in your hand and then an s5 and see which one feels like a premium built phone.
Truth be told all of the phones you have mentioned are excellent but my choice would definitely be m8.
As for deals, EE, love them or loathe them have some cracking deals on m8 just now with phone for free and various amounts of 4g data from about £26 a month. Deals were on hot UK deals earlier today.
Good luck
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Old 24-07-2014, 14:30
BelfastGuy125
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I had an s2 then s3, felt the s4 and 5 were to samey. Went with the m8 and have to say I am so impressed with it, everything about it just screams quality.
Hold one in your hand and then an s5 and see which one feels like a premium built phone.
Truth be told all of the phones you have mentioned are excellent but my choice would definitely be m8.
As for deals, EE, love them or loathe them have some cracking deals on m8 just now with phone for free and various amounts of 4g data from about £26 a month. Deals were on hot UK deals earlier today.
Good luck

Hmm yes. I think it comes down to M8 vs Z2 with Nexus 5 as an outside cheaper option.
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Old 24-07-2014, 14:39
GeordiePaul
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I don't like Samsung phones mainly because of their crap software they load onto android which slows it down and makes it feel like a phone 2 years older than it is in performance terms. It's ugly too.

Same for the G2 I'm afraid, it might have better screen and camera but the software is awful.

Nexus 5 is all about the software and is superior to all other options for this, not in terms of features, but just responsiveness, performance and polish, not to mention getting the latest updates from google before the others.

HTC is a good phone but the lower megapixel count lets it down - it's pretty much the same as the old HTC One which I found was not even as good as the nexus 5 camera.

The Sony is a quality item, doesn't quite have the same Sound quality as the HTC and the software isn't as good as the nexus, but it's the best all rounder.
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Old 24-07-2014, 14:47
BelfastGuy125
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I don't like Samsung phones mainly because of their crap software they load onto android which slows it down and makes it feel like a phone 2 years older than it is in performance terms. It's ugly too.

Same for the G2 I'm afraid, it might have better screen and camera but the software is awful.

Nexus 5 is all about the software and is superior to all other options for this, not in terms of features, but just responsiveness, performance and polish, not to mention getting the latest updates from google before the others.

HTC is a good phone but the lower megapixel count lets it down - it's pretty much the same as the old HTC One which I found was not even as good as the nexus 5 camera.

The Sony is a quality item, doesn't quite have the same Sound quality as the HTC and the software isn't as good as the nexus, but it's the best all rounder.
Thanks for that summing up.
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Old 24-07-2014, 15:30
finbaar
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I will freely admit that I am a fan of the pure Google experience. I have owned three Nexus phones and loved them. But it is merely a matter of opinion about whether a manufacturers skin is ugly. There are fans of each of them and plenty of people who find pure Android boring. It is also very easy to turn off the manufacturers “extras” to speed up a phone. And some like LG’s knock on are a real plus missing from a Nexus.

If the OP wants the best camera then it has to be the LG G2 for less than £300 or the Z2 from the current crop of flagships.

However coming from a Galaxy Ace you could blindfold yourself, and pick any of them randomly and you would be thrilled with what you got.
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Old 24-07-2014, 15:32
finbaar
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Or how about the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom. By far and away the best Android camera phone and available for just over £300.
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Old 24-07-2014, 15:35
GeordiePaul
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It's not just the appearance for me finbaar, it's knowing that all this junk is running on top of vanilla android, using resources and slowing it down. When you read comparisons of other phones vs the nexus 5, the latter is still usually the winner when it comes to speed and polish.

Indeed the appearance is subjective, but I personally think the Samsung / LG interfaces are childish, gaudy, cluttered messes. But yes I agree some extra USEFUL features could be a good addition to vanilla.

It's also not THAT easy to disable a custom UI on a device without rooting it and installing a vanilla based ROM. Some people believe that you can just stick google now launcher on and it will get rid of it all... But It's not that simple, the rest of the crap is still there.
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Old 24-07-2014, 17:10
Mark in Essex
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Would you consider the LG G3 as it looks like a nice phone?
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Old 24-07-2014, 17:42
finbaar
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It's not just the appearance for me finbaar, it's knowing that all this junk is running on top of vanilla android, using resources and slowing it down. When you read comparisons of other phones vs the nexus 5, the latter is still usually the winner when it comes to speed and polish.

Indeed the appearance is subjective, but I personally think the Samsung / LG interfaces are childish, gaudy, cluttered messes. But yes I agree some extra USEFUL features could be a good addition to vanilla.

It's also not THAT easy to disable a custom UI on a device without rooting it and installing a vanilla based ROM. Some people believe that you can just stick google now launcher on and it will get rid of it all... But It's not that simple, the rest of the crap is still there.
Whilst I sympathise heartily with much of you say I feel that most people get a fuller experience with a skinned device. The bed example of how to do Android is the Moto X. The look of pure Android but with great enhancements missing from the Nexus.
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