Want to Replace Galaxy S3

pistachio1 on 03/01/2016 - 22:01

My Galaxy S3 is now nearly 2 years old and my 3yo and 1yo have damaged it badly - screen cracked, charging jack loose, not to mention the bottom half of the LCD screen is completely black when the screen is on.

I want to spend around $200 and get a phone comparable to the S3 - considering it's two years old that shouldn't be too much money, right? The main thing I want is a camera at least as good as the S3, again, which shouldn't be too hard.

I'm overwhelmed by all the choices on DSE, Officeworks, etc, so can someone please recommend me a good replacement? I'm still under contract with Optus for a few more months so the phone will have to be either unlocked or locked to the Optus network.

Mobile

Comments

  • Neoika on 03/01/2016 - 22:31
    +1

    Another S3 Galaxy!

  • Axelstrife on 03/01/2016 - 22:37

    Used galaxy s4 ebay

  • [Deactivated] on 03/01/2016 - 22:57
    +2

    For $299 I'd highly recommend the Moto G3 available now at Officeworks. It is $99 above your budget but I can personally vouch that it's well worth it and very future-proof.

  • iridiumstem on 04/01/2016 - 01:14
    +1

    Any mid-ranger with the new Snapdragon 620 would be better than Galaxy S4 (not the i9506 one though), if you want something with more umph, Snapdragon 800 ones from 2013 in my opinion is still decent enough (especially considering QHD screen negating most of the improvement on 2014's CPU and GPU).

    LG G2 is alright (I have few irks with it that makes me slightly hesistant on recommending it, but at its price, you wouldn't be able to find something better). Galaxy S4 would be… nah, go for S5 at least if you want something that's from Samsung. Samsung's implementation of Lollipop is awful and Marshmallow seem to fix those problems (in layman's term, one of the memory management setting was set badly, causing few issues). If you know how to root the phone, it's alright I suppose, but why go through trouble when you could get other things.

    Moto G3 is… well I have not tried Motorola's UI, but, at least on paper, it's a low end device. Don't get me wrong, a low end device nowadays are reasonable (I think it'd outperform S3 or be close to it at the very very least), that said, I personally think it's better to go for something with better CPU and GPU, especially if you know how to do custom ROMs.

    TL;DR, flagships from 2013 with Snapdragon 800 are still a reasonable choice, however, many mid-rangers wouldn't be a bad choice.

  • Mumbles on 04/01/2016 - 10:44
    +1

    You're budget is too way too low for a mid-range 2015 smartphone. If you can find a smartphone with 8MP still camera, 1080p@30fps video, 720x1280 screen for under $200 that is amazeballs!

    $200 is what you expect to pay for an unlocked Samsung budget phone with 5MP camera, 720p@30fps video, 800x480 screen.

    Since you're phone contract is still with Optus then seriously consider repairing the S3. Get some prices on replacement screens or repair quotes. $200 might be enough to repair what's wrong with it.

    If camera is your priority then Nokia/Windows phones have the best cameras under $200. Their CPU power will be slower than the Samsung S3's.

    The Optus websites prepaid mobile page has an Optus locked Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE for $149 :
    http://www.optus.com.au/shop/prepaidmobile/microsoft/lumia-6…

    The Optus prepaid Microsoft Lumia 640 can be found as cheap as $99 on OzBargain:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/226758

    I don't own the Microsoft Lumia 640 but its specifications say that the camera is 8MP, 1080p@30fps video, 720x1280 screen. That camera has got to be in the ball park of your S3.

    If looking for a brand new sim-unlocked Android phone then a no-name brand from a China store/eBay/Aliexpress is a great value option. There will definitely be a phone that meets your criteria that's under $200.

  • [Deactivated] on 04/01/2016 - 15:45

    Asus ZenFone ze550ml. I paid around $200 for mine when on sale. I think there is a slightly newer version available now.

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