[Ronan OF]

Hi all,

So coming up to upgrade time for me. Was hoping the Nexus 5 would be refreshed, alas not so I think I'll go for a Samsung Galaxy S5.

I see that there are various colour options - but I also want to but an official flip cover for the device! So if I get the blue or gold variants - does that mean I'll loose the coloured phone in favour of the protective flip cover? Or have I read about the cover wrong?

I know it's not the biggest issue, but wondering on the point of choosing a colour if I have to replace the back of the phone?

Also, for anyone reading this, narrowed down to GiffGaff and o2 - any advice on either network is appreciated!

[DevonBloke]

iPhone 6 on EE or Three.
That's it. End of.

[Ronan OF]

Okay, appreciate the feedback, but the idea is to allow smooth linking between my Nexus7 and my mobile! Why is why I'm looking at the Samsung S5!

[Graeme89]

Nice choice... Not keen on o2/giffgaff though

[Ronan OF]

Any reason for the o2/GiffGaff dislike?

Also additional question: phone branding - I know Carphone Warehouse don't brand the phones they send, but do o2 or GiffGaff?

[dosanjh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronan OF

Hi all,

So coming up to upgrade time for me. Was hoping the Nexus 5 would be refreshed, alas not so I think I'll go for a Samsung Galaxy S5.

I see that there are various colour options - but I also want to but an official flip cover for the device! So if I get the blue or gold variants - does that mean I'll loose the coloured phone in favour of the protective flip cover? Or have I read about the cover wrong?

I know it's not the biggest issue, but wondering on the point of choosing a colour if I have to replace the back of the phone?

Also, for anyone reading this, narrowed down to GiffGaff and o2 - any advice on either network is appreciated!

I think you mean the s-view cover? You get the cover and the coloured phone of your choice, that cover really bulks out the phone unlike the s-view cover for the s4.

[Ronan OF]

Thanks for the reply.

This is the cover I was looking at - http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/m...EF-WG900BBEGWW

[dosanjh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronan OF

Thanks for the reply.

This is the cover I was looking at - http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/m...EF-WG900BBEGWW

Yep - that's the one I've got, you can see it's got some padding that adds to the bulk and it's quite a big phone anyway but obviously gives it more protection if that's what your after, the s4 case was a lot sleeker, slimmer and lighter

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Gala.../dp/B00BTCPHHY

[daveyfs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronan OF

Any reason for the o2/GiffGaff dislike?

EE and Three are more technologically developed networks with faster speeds than o2 (and Vodafone) and significantly greater 3G coverage (and 4G in the case of EE). o2 are great if you only need 2G voice and text service - their 2G coverage can't be beaten - but the fact you want an up to date smartphone would suggest to me you would be using quite a bit of data, in which case good 3G and 4G coverage are important, and o2 can't offer that unless you live and travel only in larger urban areas.

Note also that giffgaff runs on the o2 network but at a lower grade of service than the o2 branded service. There have been a lot of complaints about giffgaff data performance on this forum and elsewhere, e.g.

http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Hel.../td-p/14367445

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1953504

Personally, I tried o2 recently but had to cancel within the cooling off period due to the reasons stated above - I travel a lot with work and tether to a VPN via my phone - cities and most towns were fine but once outside those it was back to 2G which is unusable for this purpose. Now on EE, and good, usable 3G/4G service in 95+% of the places I visit. With o2 I'd estimate the percentage of 3G (hardly any 4G that I saw) coverage struggled to reach 50%.

Of course it depends where you are. If you're in London, Birmingham or another big city and never leave there you'll get on fine with o2. If you're anywhere else and/or travel a lot you might be disappointed. Whatever you do though, I'd avoid giffgaff - they are cheap but you get what you pay for. If you need a low cost option, go for Three - they're miles better.

[Ronan OF]

Great reply mate, thanks for that! I am a bit worried by the cover size if I'm honest but the phone will need protecting as I plan to keep it good.

Yes there is a reason I'm going for a high-end smartphone with 4G enabled - so you guessed correctly!

I am in Northern Ireland, so I think I might be more limited with my 4G options. I know locally o2 have their 4G service up, Three are to follow in December (cashing in on Christmas) but not heard about the other networks. So I'll check that out and also check when they plan a full rollout.

Anyone relse care to comment?

[Alex_1]

I've got the black S5
Keep it in a TECH21 gel case, much preferable to flip case for me
Also protect screen with Zagg invisible shield
This is my combined choice of protection
Moved from Vodafone to 3 on the 15 quid one
plan and I've never looked back...

Good luck with your choices

[alanwarwic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveyfs

...o2 are great if you only need 2G voice and text service - their 2G coverage can't be beaten - but ....

Why got get to the real point and check coverage where you live ?
Three used to fail every other weekend for me, the time when I used it most !
'Best UK average' is of little use to most of us.

On the subject of covers, I have a clear jelly bean case for my SF but I also clip a rear shell protector (a HTC Sensation one maybe) onto the front to near 100% guarantee the screen never breaks/gets crushed inside a luggage case etc.

[Ronan OF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex_1

I've got the black S5
Keep it in a TECH21 gel case, much preferable to flip case for me
Also protect screen with Zagg invisible shield
This is my combined choice of protection
Moved from Vodafone to 3 on the 15 quid one
plan and I've never looked back...

Good luck with your choices

Oh, I like the look of the TECH21 stuff - which cover do you have?

[Pucky]

I bought a cheap clear gel case from ebay for my S5.