Time to upgrade(?) mobile phone

[RainbowFire]

Got an e-mail from D-oh2 the other day saying that I can upgrade my phone.

Presently I'm running a Nokia E71 which is linked to the company's Exchange Server. I know it's not a new phone, but it's not let me down once (in fact it's predecessor didn't either, but then the E90 is a bit of a brick)

Given that Nokia are looking to move to Windows 7/8 mobile I thought it would be time to look at other phones. (after 16 years of Nokia) Am quite intruiged by the Galaxy S2 (especially now the S3 has been announced so there's a lot of stock-shifting deals going on.)

I have no real "must haves" beyond link to Exchange and voice dialling (I have a Nokia CK7W bluetooth car kit - nothing fancy, just a button to voice dial/answer/ end calls)

So, is the S2 worth looking at? Does it have navigation on-board? (with safety-spot stuff?) Does it have voice-dialling / does it work properly?

What are the problems with S2? Has anyone got one with Ice-Cream Sandwich on? What's the real-life battery usage like?

Are there any worthy alternatives?

Cheers

Edited 22 May, 2012 by RainbowFore

[@Lee]

I haven't got an S2 but if someone offered me one, I'd wet my pants!

[blueR36]

I have the S2 voice dialing and voice Google search ,I don't know what ice cream sandwich is, good phone no problems, needs to be charged daily

[Aspman]

Much as I hate to admit it Apple's iphones probably work best connecting to the business network.

[@Lee]

I have the S2 voice dialing and voice Google search ,I don't know what ice cream sandwich is, good phone no problems, needs to be charged daily

Ice Cream Sandwich is the name for the O/S, like Windows XP, 2000, etc.

[blueR36]

I have only learnt that LOL did not stand for Lots of Love a year ago!

[RainbowFire]

Thanks for the replies guys

I haven't got an S2 but if someone offered me one, I'd wet my pants!

Feel free not to post a video of that on Youtube ;)

I have the S2 voice dialing and voice Google search ,I don't know what ice cream sandwich is, good phone no problems, needs to be charged daily

Charging daily isn't so bad, the Nokia charger is by the bed, so the S2 one can sit there. How "desperately" does need charging it at the end of the day?

How does the voice dialling work? The Nokia is just push button, say name and away we go

(Am only interesting in voice dialling, overall voice control doesn't appeal, at the moment.)

Much as I hate to admit it Apple's iphones probably work best connecting to the business network.

Hmmm, I have an iPhone 3G from work. It lives in the bottom drawer of my desk. Whilst they are indeed very very good for business people*, it's *my* phone at the end of the day, and I like to put on it what *I* want to put on it, not what some gimp in the US thinks I should be allowed to have. (Technologically I have no problem with the iPhone, just the straight-jacket that comes with it............and the cost of it in the first place. Will probably end up with a 4 keeping the 3 company soon anyway, as the company upgrades.)

*we recommend them to lots of our customers, mainly because of the straight-jacket: all the apps are tested and approved by Apple, so you have to go a very very long way to **** 'em up.

Edited 7 May, 2012 by RainbowFore

[blueR36]

About 18 % left it says plug in your charger, 18 hours on without charging

[phantomlurker]

I have the Nokia Lumia 800 about a week, having upgraded from a boggo spec nokia - I have to say I like it very much! Whilst the Apple fans I work with derided it, everyone (them included) who has had a play has been very impressed with the slickness of the OS (win 7.5), the quality of the screen and the feel of the phone itelf. Its a good camera also.

I've only had a little play with the voice-dialling, via the headphone/speaker, worked perfectly. Not sure how well it works with other systems.

Downsides - sealed battery, non expandable memory (but about 13gb to play with), Limited apps but more becoming available daily.

Battery life is similar to that mentioned above, gonna be charging once a day.

Maybe worth a look/play anyway?

PL

[ckyliu]

I'm in the same boat, looking for a new phone. Presently on my shortlist I have the Samsung Galaxy S2, Sony Xperia S and HTC's One S. They're all top of the line 4.3" Android phones. The S2 is now over a year old but does hold its own and lots available used at a discounted rated. The Xperia S is a bit chunky but you do get al lovely HD screen and 12 MP camera. HTC One S has the best case/chassis. Haven't decided which I want yet, but there are lots of video reviews on YouTube and written ones on sites like Engadget and Tech Radar to help you decide.

I did also look at Motorola's brand new RAZR and a few others, but the above is my shortlist on 4"-4.3". Problem with going beyond that size is that you can't operate them with one hand comfortably and I struggle to find a pocket to fit the damn things in.

Edited 7 May, 2012 by ckyliu

[jrw]

Much as I hate to admit it Apple's iphones probably work best connecting to the business network.

Really, it isn't!

Blackberry are the best business phones but to link to a corporate exchange your work would need a BES.

Galaxy S2 will work fine however and is set up pretty much the same as the Nokia is. Be prepared to charge at least once a day though.

I have the S1 and love it.

[blueR36]

Press button and voice dialling the same

[monkeykler]

same with pretty much all smart phones they need to be charged daily - i've currently got a Saumsung Galaxy S2 - which i'll be selling very shortly because i've just pre-ordered my Galaxy S3 (can't wait!) i would highly recommend it especially for business, I have noticed since upgrading to Ice cream sandwich the battery life has been terrible though, so for now i'd say stick with the version below that or get an uprated battery off ebay..., plus you'll get an amazing deal in the next month with the S3 coming out, I also think Android is the way forward over using a locked down OS such as Apples iOS

[Binzie]

same with pretty much all smart phones they need to be charged daily - i've currently got a Saumsung Galaxy S2 - which i'll be selling very shortly because i've just pre-ordered my Galaxy S3 (can't wait!) i would highly recommend it especially for business, I have noticed since upgrading to Ice cream sandwich the battery life has been terrible though, so for now i'd say stick with the version below that or get an uprated battery off ebay..., plus you'll get an amazing deal in the next month with the S3 coming out, I also think Android is the way forward over using a locked down OS such as Apples iOS

+1

[domhnall]

I have the s2, and it connects flawlessly to work exchange server and I use it heavily when flying to London and dublin for the day. I have rooted it and set the cpu to run slow when the screen is off. I easily get 2 days out of the battery now.

Sent from my MZ601 using Tapatalk 2

[RainbowFire]

Thanks again for the replies guys.

Really, it isn't!

Blackberry are the best business phones but to link to a corporate exchange your work would need a BES.

Galaxy S2 will work fine however and is set up pretty much the same as the Nokia is. Be prepared to charge at least once a day though.

I have the S1 and love it.

It's not really going to be used as a business phone, I just find it handy to have the contacts/calendar backed up to Exchange, and for the e-mail: is just let let me know if there's any surprises in the morning.

If things go wrong, I really don't time to play the blame game with RIM. BES is an added complication to quick fault diagnosis/resolution. Also: kinda uncomfortable with the Canadians having a copy of my data.

Press button and voice dialling the same

Cool! Thanks dude! I think next weekend will see me having a trip to the local D'oh2 store.

I have the s2, and it connects flawlessly to work exchange server and I use it heavily when flying to London and dublin for the day. I have rooted it and set the cpu to run slow when the screen is off. I easily get 2 days out of the battery now.

Sent from my MZ601 using Tapatalk 2

Dom, my scottish is a little week, but "rooting" something holds a different meaning in these parts. ;) However, I'd be interested in getting the most out of the battery as possible.

[mannyo]

Exchange on Android support is quiet limited, for full Exchange integration you are stuck with iPhone, iPad, Windows Mobile based devices and newer Symbian based devices.

[jrw]

Exchange on Android support is quiet limited, for full Exchange integration you are stuck with iPhone, iPad, Windows Mobile based devices and newer Symbian based devices.

it works fine. Do it first though as if its anything like our exchange (gov connect compliant 2008) it will ask to format the phone to install security.

[ScoobyChris]

So, is the S2 worth looking at? Does it have navigation on-board? (with safety-spot stuff?) Does it have voice-dialling / does it work properly?

What are the problems with S2? Has anyone got one with Ice-Cream Sandwich on? What's the real-life battery usage like?

One thing to note is that if you get a current-model S2 (9100P) on O2 you'll struggle to find anyone with ICS. The only provider who's shipped it so far in the UK is Orange and none of the other providers have committed to a date when it will be available and have just suggested "checking the update tool every so often". Annoying! Real-life battery usage will depend what you do with the phone - if I spend a long time watching iPlayer, playing games, etc, it lasts about a day, but more usually it's charged every 2-3 days with just light use checking e-mails, playing the odd game, surfing the web, etc. I haven't bothered rooting mine, although I'll probably do that once it's out of warranty and have more of a play with it.

The Galaxy S3 may also be worth a look, but looking at the specs with my other half over the weekend, it doesn't look like it offers much over the S2, at least not for the extra price it commands.

Chris

[Raf_]

I use mine that heavily I need to swap batteries during the afternoon, if I use it like a normal person it'll last a day without problems. One of the plus points of a galaxy is that you can swap batteries. I got a pair of higher rated ones for around 14 quid that came with a battery charger.

[Aspman]

Really, it isn't!

Blackberry are the best business phones but to link to a corporate exchange your work would need a BES.

Say the 'B' word to my comms people and you'd better start running.

Yes it does certified secure messaging to scary standards (IL3 I think) but IT hate 'em and the users hate 'em

[mbames]

I have no real "must haves" beyond link to Exchange and voice dialling (I have a Nokia CK7W bluetooth car kit - nothing fancy, just a button to voice dial/answer/ end calls)

I had some terrible issues with echo on my CK7W kit via bluetooth, and in the end changed the kit for a cheapo parrot unit with a small display. The kit was fine with all my older Nokias (inc my E66 which I still use for work).

This might have been a specific issue with my HTC 7 Trophy and the car kit though, as when I tried a friends HD7 that was fine. Just a word of warning - what you decide up - make sure it works properly with your car kit before getting too "attached" to the phone.

[skomaz]

How the hell do you guys cope with charging every day??? OK I don't have a 'true' smart phone so probably don't know what I'm missing but I couldn;t be doing with charging every day - haven't done that since I was on site with a brick with a red LED display years ago!

[Padrino]

So, is the S2 worth looking at? Does it have navigation on-board? (with safety-spot stuff?) Does it have voice-dialling / does it work properly?

What are the problems with S2? Has anyone got one with Ice-Cream Sandwich on? What's the real-life battery usage like?

Are there any worthy alternatives?

Cheers

It is obvious that you have been spoiled with Nokia I was using E71 for years as well, it is nice to have free lifetime sat navigation with voice

I moved to E7 running Belle symbian and I am more than happy, there is a control app for battery use, I get 3 days out of mine without a problem, email exchange is standard application for Nokia and it sync without any issues.

[mbames]

How the hell do you guys cope with charging every day??? OK I don't have a 'true' smart phone so probably don't know what I'm missing but I couldn;t be doing with charging every day - haven't done that since I was on site with a brick with a red LED display years ago!

Charge it at work... with free/company electrikkkkkery