New phone at a good price

Brianqpr on 06/09/2014 - 09:50

My old iphone 4 is showing its age in terms of performance and I want to replace it. Obviously looking for improvements in all areas such as speed, camera etc which should not be hard given how out of date the 4 now is. In particular I've found the iphone to be average at best on reception but that could have more to do with Optus than the phone itself, I don't know. Are particular phones better at picking up a signal?

I've narrowed it down to Nexus 5 and sticking with the $18 Vaya plan I'm on, Sony Z1 $40 per month on a plan from Virgin (1.5GB Data), or the HTC One on $30 per month on Vodafone (800MB Data).

I make very few calls so call allowance is not really important to me. I probably use around half the 1.5GB data I have available each month and with Vaya its only $7 extra for an additional GB anyway and $10 with the other providers.

The Nexus seems the best option due to features, price, software updates and the big one no 2 year contract. The trade off is the initial outlay vs not have that on contract. However the pricing in the phone market seems to be rapidly falling while the competition is rising. Is the Nexus likely to get cheaper in the near future? Seems you can currently get one for around $360.

LG G2 now falling in price too but I think I prefer the size of the Nexus.

Also, what can you get for a 16GB iphone 4 is very good condition on ebay etc?

Any tips or suggestions welcome!

Mobile

Comments

  • YouLIKEyouLICK on 06/09/2014 - 10:42

    I really dislike pre-paid, most of them give you lousy 30days, which is very stingy if you don't use all your credit.. it's like a contract in a way.

    Just say you buy the HTC One M7 801s 64GB Black(not sure what Voda is giving you), from mobileciti.com.au for $488 unlocked.
    Pre-piad monthly spend is $25 over 2 years= $600

    Total over 2years: $1088

    I'll take the Vodafone $30 plan, HTC One is a great phone and good value for a HD phone with a good camera.
    $30 x 24= $720.

    Nexus 5 got a crap camera and no expandable memory slot.

    I'm on a $29 plan with Voda with a Xperia Z, love the phone, waterproof and great camera.

    iPhone 4, hmmm that's so vintage now. Lol still selling over $400.

    • Feepitee on 06/09/2014 - 10:50
      +1

      Half of 1.5gb is still 750mb, which is far more than the 300mb the $30 Vodafone plan gives you. If we take the actual prices (Vodafone provides the One M7 32GB) then at Kogan it is $389 + $23 shipping, which is $412. Then on his Vaya plan of $18 a month he is provided 1.5gbs over 300mbs at Vodafone. Total cost would be $412 + 432 = $844, which is $124 more than Vodafone for far more data credit. If you wanted an extra gb at Vodafone, that would cost an additional $10 per month which would then push Vodafone to $960, which is more expensive. If you can live with cutting down your data use though, Vodafone is definitely a good option.

  • Feepitee on 06/09/2014 - 10:47
    +2

    The LG G2 is almost the same size as the Nexus 5, 138.5mm x 70.9mm x 8.9mm vs 137.84mm x 69.17mm x 8.59mm. As you can see, the LG G2 is only less than 1mm taller and less than 2mm wider for a 0.2 inch (5.08mm) increase in screen size due to the better sizing of the bezels.
    Otherwise, you can wait for the New Moto G which will be launching at $269 RRP at retail stores in Australia later this month with a guaranteed upgrade to Android L. The Nexus 5 is due to be replaced by a new Nexus in October so buying one right now is probably unwise.

    • YouLIKEyouLICK on 06/09/2014 - 12:01

      How much for G2? Good phone also.

    • scrimshaw on 06/09/2014 - 16:13

      The G2 battery is also much bigger than the Nexus 5. 3000 mah vs 2300mah, meaning that instead of lasting just one day, it can go 2 days with moderate usage.

  • Brianqpr on 06/09/2014 - 11:44

    Vodafone includes an extra 500MB for the first year so I pretty much expect to be paying $30 with an occasional $10' extra in year 1 and $40 in year 2 as I would need the extra GB. Vodafone will also throw in two free months with an online order.

    The price advantage the nexus 5 had seems to be diminishing as others such as the HTC One get cheaper. Moto G is probably with a look too. Was thinking of getting the current one for my daughter but maybe she can have the old iPhone instead!

    • YouLIKEyouLICK on 06/09/2014 - 11:58
      +1

      Bonus to get 2 months free. I'm sure Vaya will decrease data or increase the price within that period. But if your happy to go prepaid, you sure can.

      My mate is the ultimate prepaid king, he uses Aldi prepaid, cost him $15 a year on his old Samsung S2, he always uses Wifi to make calls and most places he goes there are wifi available. So I guess if you use Voip and chat messenger apps, you can bypass the cost of calling and texting. Use it when you really need to make a urgent call or no wifi. He even ask and uses my phone and others around him to make calls, because some of us have too much call credit left.

  • colin1 on 06/09/2014 - 14:04

    Just bought a LG G2 16GB grey import from T Dimension in Hong Kong for $382.82 with free delivery.

    Only too 4 days to arrive

  • Woodyg22 on 07/09/2014 - 13:26

    Vodafone offer good month to month plan deals every so often. Currently on $30/month $500 credit, unlimited SMS and 1GB. $400 for Nexus 5 comes to ~$15/month + $30 for plan so only $45/month. Great phone, ample plan, low price and no contract.

    Edit: wait a month or so and make that Nexus 5 a 6*

  • Brianqpr on 10/09/2014 - 10:14

    Have verbally agreed to buy a new HTC M7 for $300. Seller claims new and unlocked and still in packaging. If correct then I'm happy to pay the $300. Will see for myself on Friday. This means I can stick with Vaya, not be on contract and keep options open in future.

    Interestingly Vaya seems to have increased its price for extra data to $15 per additional GB. They have retained the $7 rate for those, including me, who were already on one of their plans though.

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