Hi people,
So, brief backstory - I'm currently working in France but returning frequently to the UK - I have a SIM for both countries, (Orange pay-as-you-go in UK, a cheap contract with Free in France).
I have been surviving with a great little old-school Nokia phone that I picked up for £18 which holds both SIMs, but I'm getting tired of being the only guy in the world without a smartphone. and you can only play Snake so many times before you go a bit wrong in the head.
So with that in mind, I've been doing some research for phones within my price range - (not more than £200, ideally.) - and I've found quite a bunch... but owing to my feeble knowledge and lack of basic decision-making skills I thought I'd get some opinions here.
Essential functions that I expect from the device: to be able to check emails, browse sites, and use Google Maps smoothly. I want a phone that will function in as many countries as possible. A long battery life is a high-priority and a half-decent camera would be good too, but not essential.
My current contenders:
- Samsung Galaxy S duos - which I was initially drawn to as it's a brand I'm familiar with, but then again it just seems to say "I wanted an S5 but instead I bought this". Thoughts?
- Sony Xperia M dual - it looks shiny and well-built on the outside but specs seem weak, maybe? Who knows? Not me. Does it matter for my needs?
- Acer (since when did they make phones?) Liquid E2 or E3 duo - probably the E2 because I read bad things about the E3. The specs seem better than those of the Sony, but it loses out with clunky looks and also I have no idea if Acer are to be trusted in the smartphone department. Are they?
- Lenovo p780 - Higher end phone which seems surprisingly cheap on Amazon for the specs, BUT some of the reviewers say it won't function in the EU without "rooting" it and upgrading modem software or something like that... ideally I'd like a phone that's guaranteed to work straight out of the box, but if anyone has any particularly persuasive arguments for this model I'd be willing to look into rooting it myself.
I'd really appreciate any thoughts on this matter, not limited to the phones above. Anything cheap, solid and dual-SIM is a contender. Price-wise I could probably stretch as far as £230ish if it was a really knockout buy, but as I've stated - my wallet is light and my needs are simple.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this, I hope I've been specific enough - if not, let me know!
Tom
So, brief backstory - I'm currently working in France but returning frequently to the UK - I have a SIM for both countries, (Orange pay-as-you-go in UK, a cheap contract with Free in France).
I have been surviving with a great little old-school Nokia phone that I picked up for £18 which holds both SIMs, but I'm getting tired of being the only guy in the world without a smartphone. and you can only play Snake so many times before you go a bit wrong in the head.
So with that in mind, I've been doing some research for phones within my price range - (not more than £200, ideally.) - and I've found quite a bunch... but owing to my feeble knowledge and lack of basic decision-making skills I thought I'd get some opinions here.
Essential functions that I expect from the device: to be able to check emails, browse sites, and use Google Maps smoothly. I want a phone that will function in as many countries as possible. A long battery life is a high-priority and a half-decent camera would be good too, but not essential.
My current contenders:
- Samsung Galaxy S duos - which I was initially drawn to as it's a brand I'm familiar with, but then again it just seems to say "I wanted an S5 but instead I bought this". Thoughts?
- Sony Xperia M dual - it looks shiny and well-built on the outside but specs seem weak, maybe? Who knows? Not me. Does it matter for my needs?
- Acer (since when did they make phones?) Liquid E2 or E3 duo - probably the E2 because I read bad things about the E3. The specs seem better than those of the Sony, but it loses out with clunky looks and also I have no idea if Acer are to be trusted in the smartphone department. Are they?
- Lenovo p780 - Higher end phone which seems surprisingly cheap on Amazon for the specs, BUT some of the reviewers say it won't function in the EU without "rooting" it and upgrading modem software or something like that... ideally I'd like a phone that's guaranteed to work straight out of the box, but if anyone has any particularly persuasive arguments for this model I'd be willing to look into rooting it myself.
I'd really appreciate any thoughts on this matter, not limited to the phones above. Anything cheap, solid and dual-SIM is a contender. Price-wise I could probably stretch as far as £230ish if it was a really knockout buy, but as I've stated - my wallet is light and my needs are simple.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this, I hope I've been specific enough - if not, let me know!
Tom
Facebook
Twitter