Mobile phone choice advice / opinions please

[shaynus]

I'm on the verge of taking the big step (for me anyway!) of delving into the world of smart phones.
I've narrowed the choice down to 3.5 hand sets, those being Samsung Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S II, and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S with the Motorola Defy+ as the outside smokie as it seems to be a bit more rugged and has the Telstra blue tick, although to be honest I don't know if that is much of an issue. We tend to get really bad mobile reception at my place (suburbian Mandurah - tin roof issue??)

Any recomendations / thoughts / reports from those more in the know or have used them??

I know alot of people will say go for an iphone, but I like the idea of an android OS, and want to be slightly different to my mates!

Cheers!

[RIPLEY]

I have the samsung s2 , it works ok in Byford hills.
I like the phone and the system, I dont think the talk thing is as good as iphones but the screen etc is miles ahead.

[russkigreg]

I got the first Motorola Defy when it came out - rugged case is average, lets water in still after a bit of use. Basically if you open and close the protective flaps (which you have to if you want to, oh, charge your phone or anything) they will wear out after a little while. I had it for 8 months then went back to an iPhone. So yeah, not that one in my opinion - the processor is also underpowered and won't run the more intensive android apps. If you're determined to go android, get something with the best processor you can to cope with any OS upgrades/better apps in the future.

[agrid]

I'm liking the look of the Google Nexus right now.

[r0gue]

Samsung Galaxy S2 or the Galaxy Nexus without a doubt. Both are awesome phones.
The Galaxy S2 won phone of the year in Australia for 2011, and there is a reason for that.

Edit: if you need protection for the phone, there are some very rugged cases these days that will protect your phone just as well as the defy.
something like this is what I use when at work for my SGS2.

http://www.otterbox.com/Samsung-Gala...efault,pd.html

[Zzar]

My wife and I receintly (2 weeks ago) got new Galaxy S 2's. great phone, beats my old iphone hands down. Receptions top notch and havn't had any issues with apps from the android store.

Very happy with it. The nexus looks like it should be good too, though you will pay extra for the new tech.
Btw the S 2 is still running android 3 (Gingerbread) but should be upgraded to the new Icecream Sandwich OS (4) any time soon.

[SOLID]

The S2 is great as posted above. I have the Nexus S which is still fairly decent for a free on a plan phone. For the latest and greatest you cant go past the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as it is high spec and the only phone with Ice Cream Sandwich aka Android 4.0.

[r0gue]

Btw the S 2 is still running android 3 (Gingerbread) but should be upgraded to the new Icecream Sandwich OS (4) any time soon.

Actually it is running 2.3 which is Gingerbread, 3 is Honeycomb which was made for tablets.
4 (ICS) is combining them both to make one OS for both phone and tablet.
The SGS2 hopefully should see ICS in February.

[Zzar]

Oops, your right rOgue... OS version 2.3.6

My bad

[Lord Augastus]

If your like me and have big thumbs, then the massive screen of GS2 is the best choice. I find the high contrast and full HD1080P video recording and 8mp camera GREAT for photos. I took a few pictures on a sunny day and the screen just makes them look amasing. After using the GS2 for three months now, i can say the bigger screen is BIG plus, and it is gorrilla glass unlike Iphone where if you drop it its perfectly fine!. The Andoid runs smoothly, only needs a power-cycle(off and on again) evry few weeks to keep the phone running at a good efficiency. The battery will run ALL day using the phones and apps, if that is a bother you can get an extended battery from asia for only 15(inc-shipping) to extend the use for even longer. It has great shortcuts for messaging and calling, easy and simple to use, i find it easier then HTC versions.

[r0gue]

If you need more battery to get through the day/night, and like me do not want to beef up the SGS2's svelte lines with an extended battery, then just buy a second battery and desktop charger.
I bought a set and it is great, I just stick the small second battery in my pocket and off I go.
I got it from here if anyone is interested.

Online shopping for the most popular high tech consumer electronics from Japan and Korea - EXPORT PRIVE LTD

[Falcore]

I found the bulk of it to be annoying tbh.

Loving the iPhone4s especially with the lifeproof cover (waterproof)

[agrid]

For the latest and greatest you cant go past the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as it is high spec and the only phone with Ice Cream Sandwich aka Android 4.0.

Oops, that's what I meant.

[Twigs]

sorry to thread shit but how do you update the operating system to icecream sandwich? I have a HTC Wildfire S

[r0gue]

sorry to thread shit but how do you update the operating system to icecream sandwich? I have a HTC Wildfire S

All updates for HTC phones are done over the air, and you will receive a notice saying there is an update available on your home screen.
Unfortunately, the HTC Wildfire S will not get ICS, only the top range dual core phones will get it, like the HTC Sensation.
You will not miss much though, and the Wildfire S is a great little budget phone, my Mum uses one.

[Tom V.]

Absolutely Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S! I have the standard Xperia and it's, without a doubt, better than any other smart phone. It's thinner, easier to use (seriously, much much easier), faster and has more space than the Galaxy. Oh, and the camera is better as well. If you want to be different to your friends, get the Xperia, because so few people have these, yet they're absolutely brilliant phones.

Oh, and they're [surprisingly] tough. I dropped mine a few times with no problems. Then one night I was at a friends place and dropped it from the 1st floor balcony. Even then, only the speaker broke. It's currently sent away for repair, but it's a bit of a testament as to how well made they are - that it can drop 4 or 5 m onto concrete and only the speaker breaks.

[Wedge]

Went looking last week just after Christmas for a phone replacement for my sister, bloke at vodaphone was saying everywhere is sold out of the Samsung galaxy s2. Hopefully they have more in stock.

[r0gue]

Absolutely Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S! I have the standard Xperia and it's, without a doubt, better than any other smart phone. It's thinner, easier to use (seriously, much much easier), faster and has more space than the Galaxy. Oh, and the camera is better as well. If you want to be different to your friends, get the Xperia, because so few people have these, yet they're absolutely brilliant phones.

Oh, and they're [surprisingly] tough. I dropped mine a few times with no problems. Then one night I was at a friends place and dropped it from the 1st floor balcony. Even then, only the speaker broke. It's currently sent away for repair, but it's a bit of a testament as to how well made they are - that it can drop 4 or 5 m onto concrete and only the speaker breaks.

Not meaning to rain on your parade, as one of the reasons I like Android is there is so many phone variations you can always find what suits you.
But some of your statements are not correct.
The Arc S only has 320MB internal storage, while the SGS2 has 15 or 30 GB. Both have an sd card slot to increase that.
The Arc S is 8.7mm thick, the SGS2 is 8.5mm thick, which made it the thinnest phone so far (until the Droid Razr, although the thicker part is thinner on the SGS2 to the Razr), and certainly thinner than the Arc S.
The Arc S runs a single core 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, the SGS2 runs Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor which is supported with Mali-400MP GPU and Orion chipset, so the SGS2 is by far faster.
The Arc S has a camera that can do 720p, the SGS2 will do full 1080p.

Not saying the Arc S is not a good phone, as it is.
But facts help people make a better decision on what they want.

[r0gue]

Went looking last week just after Christmas for a phone replacement for my sister, bloke at vodaphone was saying everywhere is sold out of the Samsung galaxy s2. Hopefully they have more in stock.

Do not rely on the word of one shop, ring around, especially places like allphones etc.
I was told the same thing when I bought mine, I walked to the next shop and walked out with one.

[Lord Augastus]

Do not rely on the word of one shop, ring around, especially places like allphones etc.
I was told the same thing when I bought mine, I walked to the next shop and walked out with one.

When i got mine Perth was out of White model SG2 so they just got one from mandurah 1day wait, ring around they should have one somewhere.