Friday, January 28, 2011 - 01:37 pm, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Even though the exchange rate sucks.
Specifically I'll be staying in the Rocks area, and will be looking for an Android phone - Nexus S or Galaxy 9000 S most likely.
I'm starting my new job in February too, so will be losing my iPhone, and they will most likely give me a Blackberry, which is crap for apps and media, and only runs on Telecom's XT network, so I thought I'd shout myself a new smart phone.
Even though the exchange rate is pretty terrible, I can claim back GST on my return trip to NZ, which should work out in my favour, plus I figure Sydney CBD is bound to have a better selection of phones than Hamilton or Auckland.
If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should buy by the way, I'm open - the Galaxy S seems good, but is pretty dated looking (basically looks just like my current iPhone 3GS) and the Nexus S seems to have all the features plus the looks, but kinda sucks that it doesn't have any memory expansion - probably not too much of an issue as I've had a 16GB iPhone for 3 years now and haven't managed to fill it up either. Also as its not officially released in NZ I'd be buying a parallel import.
I don't want another iPhone as this ones been buggy as during every second iOS release, I feel that iOS is looking really dated compared to Gingerbread or Froyo, I won't have a Mac any more either as that was works too, and I basically hate Apple for their black box policies and bare faced hypocrisy, (yeah, I know, like Google is any better these days...) and want to get into some Android development.
Looks like I can get a Nexus or Galaxy S + 1 year local warranty in NZ for around $1050 Kiwi Shekels off trademe, so I'd really have to be able to get something for less than about $700 AUD for it to be worthwhile.
Anyway, any thoughts on what and where to buy are much appreciated...
Sunday, January 30, 2011 - 09:18 am, by: Tai Johnsen(Privatejohnsen)
Desire HD mate
None of that samsung plastic cased touchwiz IU crap
The HD has offline maps, solid alloy body and a beautiful 4.3 inch LCD, not a fuzzy AMOLED..
It's bloody fast with the stock ROM, but you can already put plain android 2.3 roms on which are stupidly fast..
My 2c ;)
Check out the XDA forums for all the ROMs..
I have purchased 5 phones for myself and friends over the past year from www.clove.uk with no hassles and the pound is still pretty good... Mobicity is an australian option..
Sunday, January 30, 2011 - 04:43 pm, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Yes, the Desire HD was on the list too - its a little more expensive, and haven't managed to actually have a hold of one yet.
I don't really want or need the fancy camera as I have a SLR for that kind of thing, and after using it, anything else just doesn't cut it - but if the build quality is worth the extra hundy, it might be well worth it.
It does use that swipe interface though doesn't it?
To be honest Samsung have never impressed me with build quality on anything - their TV's are really nice to watch and use, but they have terrible plastic moldings.
Still I've had a play with a Galaxy S and a hold of a Nexus S, and they both seemed on par with my iPhone 3GS build quality wise - not up to iPhone 4 standards though.
Yes, the thing I liked about the Nexus S was the vanilla Android it came with - but now after seeing that link, it seems its generally quite easy to go vanilla on most phones if you want to.
Sunday, January 30, 2011 - 04:45 pm, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Oh, thanks for the feedback too people. Definitely looking at the HTC again.
Buying on Trademe (NZ Ebay) is definitely an option and most of the popular phones seem to be available - just thought I might save a bit of money in taxes by buying while in Aussie. I might not be able to wait that long once I lose my iPhone anyway...
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - 07:36 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Quick review six weeks on - Tai, you sure gave me some good advise - this is an awesome phone! Battery life which was my biggest concern after reading some reviews, hasn't been an issue - easily gets me through a whole day, and I'm often on the phone for up to two hours a day as its my primary business number - my 3GS used to manage a day and a half so it definitely chews the power quicker than that, but it also has a MUCH bigger screen and is MUCH faster, gets better reception, HSPA+ gives really good data speeds... I could go on all day.
HTC Sense is just fantastic to use.
Bought a Momax i-CrystalCASE2 for it, which has enhanced it even more (would recommend this case for anyone looking at a TPU style case)
Next thing is a new headunit for the car, as the old one was bought specifically for my iPhone.