Android phone approx $500 outright?

[UnSCaRReD]

Hello all,

The wife has expressed a desire for a new phone, so I'm thinking I'll look around and if the right deal is around we might both do it.

I bought one of those $99 Telstra smart touch things to have a play with Android earlier this year and see if I was prepared to dedicate more funds to a phone purchase. I like what I've seen so far, and that was on a small screen with only 2.1.

Due to current contract considerations for her, and mine being a work SIM, we are limited to outright purchase.
Any suggestion would need to be NextG compatible, as we are in country NSW and travel to other country areas quite regularly.

The dollar limit isn't super firm at $500, but I don't think I'll be spending $1600 on phones so $800 is definitely beyond the budget.

So, what choices are there?
Please recommend and link to reviews and potential purchase locations if possible.

[Joshuayu101]

Well if your not going to be doing really anything fancy,
You can have a look at an xperia x10a (i think the 'a' is the telstra version) Few guys on Gu have it and can give you some points about it.

Its fairly cheap these days and pretty good specs for its age. But then again, the battery life isnt the very best.

Care to say what you will be using the phone for?

[Harbinger]

Looks like you can get a Samsung Galaxy S on telstra for about $500 outright.

Samsung i9000 Galaxy S 8GB NextG | MobiCity

I use one of those on optus and I think it's good, but I keep it in a case so the plastic doesn't bother me. It's a year out of date though, single core, horrifying.

Galaxy S II is about $650 outright.

Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II 16GB | Samsung Galaxy S2 | MobiCity

has all the dual cores, and iphone 4 design styles you can handle.

OR HTC side of things, Desire is $500

HTC Desire A8182 NextG | MobiCity

quite a solid phone, I know a lot of people who have these and are happy with them, they're outdated now though.

These are get-it-right-now prices, I've seen prices for the desire and galaxy S quite a bit lower than that. But they tend to be short term deals. I think $500 is probably a bit high for either of them.

[grandinferno]

Go the Desire.

Forget about Samsung imo. And Sony.

[UnSCaRReD]

As for what the phone will be used for:

Both will be used for calls and text, and some surfing. The wife's would probably get little more use than that other than taking pictures.

Mine would definitely be used for email, and exchange email at that. That is one of the key things for me, a decent exchange application so I can work without always needing to be physically in front of my notebook.

I've heard good things from most HTC owners, so I am probably leaning a little towards something they offer, though some of the newer Samsung offerings seem to be getting good verbal responses fomr people I know with them, but their uses may be different to what I'm likely to use them for.

I guess I'd prefer two phones the same for ease of teaching SWMBO about how to use them, and also the "why did you get a different on if the one you got me is so good?" but maybe due to different uses different phones may hit the mark better?

Keep the opinions rolling, even if they echo ones already expressed.

Thanks.

[rec]

Go the Desire.

Forget about Samsung imo. And Sony.

No way he'd go the Desire for $500, when the Samsung S2 is just $150 more? The new dual-core Android handsets are sooo much better than the last gen models, regardless of brand.

Thanks to work handsets, between Elle and I we have a Desire, a Galaxy, an iPhone 3GS and the new HTC Sensation - which shits over all of the previous handsets mentioned, comprehensively.

I've used Eater's S2 many times and it's just as good as the Sensation, bar the build quality.

But, my iPhone 4 still trumps them all and it's what I continue to use.

With the iPhone 5 release imminent, you'll soon find iPhone 4 handsets on eBay around your price range.

[UnSCaRReD]

Opinions on the Desire HD for $549?

HTC Desire HD - NextG compatible | MobiCity

OK, the Sensation is more like $700, but I'll look further in to that, maybe they wil be cheaper some time if I keep watch on prices.

[rec]

Again, if you only have to pay $100-$150 more for the Samsung S2 or HTC Sensation, then that is absolutely the right choice.

Buying a last gen Android considering the small price difference for the far, far superior dual-core handsets would be stupid.

[UnSCaRReD]

That's the kind of thing my gut is telling me, but my wallet says SAVE!

[Aegis]

get the xperia play, then you can play minecraft

[UnSCaRReD]

Ok,

After playing with a Desire HD belonging to a relative, my wife loved it but thought it might be a bit big for her everyday needs.
Also, as she was mainly going to use the phone for talk and text, I decided to have her look at the HTC Wildfire S, on sale for $199 prepaid with Telstra.

In short, she found it the best fit for her needs, despite the slower processor and smaller lower resolution screen.

I did tell her I'd rather spend $600 once and for her to be happy than spend $200 and her wanting an update in 3-4 months.

In the end, she decided the Wildfire S was a good entry level Android phone for her, and said the "fancier" ones were probably more my cup of tea due to the things I would do on them that she simply wouldn't.

This means I free up a little more in the total budget to play with, and can consider the higher end phones for myself.

[rec]

Yeah that's fair enough - if you're a talk and text user then something low end would be perfectly apt.

And now you can buy that HTC Sensation. Win-win.

[ResLo]

I've heard only good things about the wildfire and the bang for buck is awesome. Single cores are fine for handsets especially if you root it and put on a custom ROM.

[UnSCaRReD]

It's deciding between the Sensation and the Galaxy SII that is the issue now - I like what I've seen of HTC's phones so far a lot, but I don't know anyone who actually HAS a Sensation that I can look at but I know of a few GSII users who are very happy.

[Brookie23]

But, my iPhone 4 still trumps them all and it's what I continue to use.

Well that's the first time I've heard someone say the iPhone 4 is better than its Android competitors. I'm an iPhone 4 user and although I haven't tried my sister's SII, I'm jealous of the flexibility she has that I don't. E.g. being able to do whatever the hell she wants with her media and not being restricted to fucking iTunes.