Hi, I was waiting for the Huawei G330 to be released soon, but I need a phone by the end of this month and I am not holding my breath for the G330 to be released this month.
So Im just browsing ebay and mobicity and saw the Sony Experia X10 mini and the W8. Are these good basic android phones? I'm with Optus and need wifi and 3G enabled.
If these are not a good phone, can you suggest anything else for a bdget of NO more than $200,-?
Cheers!
Yeah, these are current gen…
The x10 mini is 2 years old (and was not well received) and the W8 is also pretty low end.
The P way over $200 and you'll struggle to find a unlocked U for under $200
Hmmmmm thanks for that. Wwhat about the HTC wildfire S and explorer?
The Sony Xperia Sola is available for $199 and can be unlocked from Vodafone for free
Looks like this deal is still live
https://www.jbhifionline.com.au/?P=672601&T=11036
$208 delivered Motorola Atrix
1Gb RAm
Dual core 1GHz CPU
16Gb SD plus microSD expansion slot.
Compatible with all Australian 3G networks
Easily the best value hardware available from OzBargain's "back catalogue" at the moment.
Experia P and U are both above 200 dollars and this is my absolute maximum.
What about the experia ray and tipo? It will be used as a backup as I do have an iphone gen 2 that works just fine still.
The Xperia Tipo is good for $148, and don't you just keep using your iPhone until the G330 is released?
BTW The Sola is fantastic for $199, much better than the G330
Xperia U for around $200
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw=xperia+u&_sacat=9355&…
It was $150 a while ago
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/83011
How can the sola be unlocked than?
Would the sola be better than the Motorola Atrix? (I saw the Atrix v2 as well, but a bit too dear with the postage from top buy).
I unlocked my Sola for free on the voda website
The Atrix is a high end model but its old and won't be getting any more updates
The Sola is new mid range model with newer software
Atrix has 1Gb RAM vs Sola's 512Mb
512Mb RAM is likely to become a limitation for Android 5.
If you're happy to root and use a custom ROM, the Atrix will have far better software support for far longer as a result of its 1Gb RAM.
Apart from that, the Sola looks pretty good with an official ICS ROM "planned".
I wasn't planning to root so i chose the Sola and i like the design better. The Atrix is only officially supported up to 2.3. The Sola has a chance of getting 4.1 or even 4.2
I wouldn't bet on getting anything past ICS without relying on the Hacking community.
My Original Galaxy S is rocking Jelly Bean beautifully.
Samsung wouldn't support it past Gingerbread blaming the 512Mb RAM being too small for their Touchwiz User Interface.
I have no idea what Sony's user Interface is called these days, let alone how easily they will be able to squish it into 512Mb RAM, but rest assured they'll use the hardware limitation as a lame excuse to stop support.
r u talking about the atrix or sola?
Apparently Sony's Timescape UI is very resource efficient compared to TouchWiz and Sense
The Sola.
I realise the Atrix is dead in the water officially, but the hardware can easily cope with 4.2 and most likely 5 when it comes, so it actually has a better chance at long term software support..thanks to the community.
I also realise that hacking is not for everyone, so I support the nomination of the Sola for the OP.
Im looking at the vodafone site and it says it costs $25,- to unlock online :o\
its meant to cost $75. When you get the phone, put the IMEI from the box into the voda website and it will generate a code for free. Then put a non-voda sim card in and put in the unlock code.
It's not uncommon for Vodafone unlock to be free even if the website says it will cost.
Yes, I unlocked my Samsung S2 within 2 months of my 24months plan for free on their website.
It's as simple as following prompts and putting in your IMEI.
Thanks everyone. Sola looks like it will be. And yes, I am into hacking computers, but not into phones as I dont use them often enough ;)
Are the Samsung Galaxy Ace's any good? My samsung galaxy tablet and galaxy S phones were utter cr@p and the S1 died just out of warranty and the tab is going the same way :o\
I think the Samsung Galaxy Ace is a downgrade from the S1….http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=3724&idPhone2=3115
Yep you are right
According to GeekAPhone, Galaxy S > Galaxy Ace
http://geekaphone.com/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-Ace-vs-Samsung-…
Galaxy S is a lot dearer than the Ace, so I wouldn't expect the Ace to be a lot faster or any better at all. Also the Galaxy S is no longer available. Can't find one anywhere. Even the S22 is becoming hard to find :o(
So Sola is still the best bet than? If the Sola breaks down and I have unlocked the phone, does Vodafone still cover the warranty?
Unlocking the phone doesn't void the warranty, but flashing your own firmware might.
That's why you keep ROM backups, so you can revert to the original ROM when required!
It's such an illogical argument that unlocking/flashing your phone is a major issue for warranty claims.
In the unlikely event that a phone is so buggered due to a dodgy ROM flashing that you can't recover it yourself, the service centre is just as unlikely to be able to resurrect it to a state that they can tell that you've flashed it.
TBH I don't even know what ROM flashing is, so I'm sure I'll be pretty safe ;o)
Xperia p or Xperia U