Upgrading mobile phone

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Another Northern Soul
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Upgrading mobile phone

Post by Another Northern Soul »

Hello.

I'm with O2 for my mobile phone which is currently a Nokia Lumia - I know it's basic but it has always served me very well and I don't use the phone much other than for calls, texts and whatsapp. It's a Windows phone though and I believe that Windows is to be obsolete.

Can anyone advise please - is it straightforward to upgrade to a newer, preferably Nokia, Android model phone?

Whatsapp are saying that they will be ceasing supporting of Windows phones soon. Can't stand whatsapp personally but it's a necessary evil.
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Selby White
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Re: Upgrading mobile phone

Post by Selby White »

Got a decent deal from vodaphone for Mrs SW and me plus land-line and home broadband.
Gave us Huawei phones and seem good enough to me but not a phone expert.
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Another Northern Soul
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Re: Upgrading mobile phone

Post by Another Northern Soul »

Selby White wrote:Got a decent deal from vodaphone for Mrs SW and me plus land-line and home broadband.
Gave us Huawei phones and seem good enough to me but not a phone expert.
Too suspicious that company for me mate (Huawei that is, though Vodaphone might not be much better) but thanks for the reply :thumbup:
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kk white
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Re: Upgrading mobile phone

Post by kk white »

I recently bought 2 Samsung Galaxy A40's. Around 250 euro each - straight sale - most phone companies offer them for free on contract.

Way more than I would normally pay, but it's Samsungs budget version of their higher end phones nearing the 1000 euro mark. It does everything that the expensive ones do, delighted with them.

Apart from being able to say that XXXX amount was spent on a phone to have the latest high end model, I have no idea why anyone would shell out those crazy prices.
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Re: Upgrading mobile phone

Post by Deleted User 728 »

Mate, get yourself switched to a monthly "sim-only" contract.
They offer more flexibility (you can cancel with a month's notice) and great value because you're not buying the handset itself when you take out the contract.
Those 24-month jobbies are effectively just getting you to cover the cost of the phone itself over the length of time most people are happy enough to stick with one particular model.

What you will need to do is replace your ageing handset.
I use Huawei but if you don't like that idea there are other Chinese models on the market and my last three have all been made by Cubot.
They take the tech of a Samsung and reverse engineer it to come up with their own, cut-price models.

I would make a list of the features you want - camera quality (front and back), screen size and (for me personally) if the phone has a metal body (once in a while I sit on mine) and then look at the alternatives.
There's a million sites to buy them from online, but eBay is the obvious one because you can check the feedback and reviews and you're covered by PayPal too.

The last three or four I've bought have been around the £60-£80 mark and have been great - really happy with the technology as I don't need the latest models, just something with a decent screen and good camera.
Jeanna IS the kind of person who needs the latest model and my last handset came from her when she upgraded her own, so I would ask friends and family too - if you have someone like that, they may offer you a cheap upgrade.

Don't stress about the operating system either - I was a big fan of Windows Mobile and still have an old HTC model that I keep as a back-up.
Android is ridiculously easy to use and if you don't like an app you just drag it and it gets removed from your handset.
All the other functions are intuitive so just jump in - you'll be amazed how quickly you pick it up :)
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Another Northern Soul
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Re: Upgrading mobile phone

Post by Another Northern Soul »

rigger wrote:Mate, get yourself switched to a monthly "sim-only" contract.
They offer more flexibility (you can cancel with a month's notice) and great value because you're not buying the handset itself when you take out the contract.
Those 24-month jobbies are effectively just getting you to cover the cost of the phone itself over the length of time most people are happy enough to stick with one particular model.

What you will need to do is replace your ageing handset.
I use Huawei but if you don't like that idea there are other Chinese models on the market and my last three have all been made by Cubot.
They take the tech of a Samsung and reverse engineer it to come up with their own, cut-price models.

I would make a list of the features you want - camera quality (front and back),screen size and (for me personally) if the phone has a metal body (once in a while I sit on mine) and then look at the alternatives.
There's a million sites to buy them from online, but eBay is the obvious one because you can check the feedback and reviews and you're covered by PayPal too.

The last three or four I've bought have been around the £60-£80 mark and have been great - really happy with the technology as I don't need the latest models, just something with a decent screen and good camera.
Jeanna IS the kind of person who needs the latest model and my last handset came from her when she upgraded her own, so I would ask friends and family too - if you have someone like that, they may offer you a cheap upgrade.

Don't stress about the operating system either - I was a big fan of Windows Mobile and still have an old HTC model that I keep as a back-up.
Android is ridiculously easy to use and if you don't like an app you just drag it and it gets removed from your handset.
All the other functions are intuitive so just jump in - you'll be amazed how quickly you pick it up :)
Cheers mate, and everyone else, good advice.

I'm on a good low pay contract TBF, and in the past their upgrades have been very generous ie FOC.., but we shall see :P
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Re: Upgrading mobile phone

Post by Deleted User 728 »

Another Northern Soul wrote:
Cheers mate, and everyone else, good advice.

I'm on a good low pay contract TBF, and in the past their upgrades have been very generous ie FOC.., but we shall see :P
Nothing is free.
You always pay for a handset across any contract.

One more thing : you'll get a far better deal if you go through customer services.
If you do stick to the traditional contract with a handset, don't go in-store, just call them and say you want to leave. Once you're through to the "retentions dept" that's when you're speaking with someone whose job it is to keep you with the network - they have the most flexibility and the most "budget" to play with in terms of keeping you happy.
Do your research first though so you can get the best possible deal - if 3, Tesco or one of the smaller companies like GiffGaff offer something better, make a note of it and ask them if they can match it. Most of the time they will.
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Another Northern Soul
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Re: Upgrading mobile phone

Post by Another Northern Soul »

rigger wrote:
Another Northern Soul wrote:
Cheers mate, and everyone else, good advice.

I'm on a good low pay contract TBF, and in the past their upgrades have been very generous ie FOC.., but we shall see :P
Nothing is free.
You always pay for a handset across any contract.

One more thing : you'll get a far better deal if you go through customer services.
If you do stick to the traditional contract with a handset, don't go in-store, just call them and say you want to leave. Once you're through to the "retentions dept" that's when you're speaking with someone whose job it is to keep you with the network - they have the most flexibility and the most "budget" to play with in terms of keeping you happy.
Do your research first though so you can get the best possible deal - if 3, Tesco or one of the smaller companies like GiffGaff offer something better, make a note of it and ask them if they can match it. Most of the time they will.
I worked 11 years in the mobile comms industry and final job was in sales, my monthly contract is very reasonable price but the difference these days compared to before is that they try and 'upgrade' your monthly fee as well. They will have a struggle to do that to me, appreciate your advice Rigger :)
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