$600 for new phone which and why?
 

If you have $600 to spend on a phone which one would you get and why?

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

You have to give criteria that would influence your decision one way or the other.

What's important? Screen? RAM? Materials used? Color? Interoperability with your desktop OS of choice? Hardware keyboard?

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

N900 + have 400$ left in pocket. Period.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

NO criteria from my side.
Its about what would be your decision, and why.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

I would buy the N950 no hesitation!

I had the N900 on pre-order but the N9 I bought months later. Had it been the N950 I would have also bought it on launch day. Such a sad state of affairs really not to be selling such a beautiful phone.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Wait... where are you guys getting these $200 N900's? Link me, I need a new travel phone.

I'm horrible at these things. But here's my take.

If you're out for something just right now, I'd say go SGS2 then go and flash a custom ROM on top of it to obtain root and have access to a set up apps, utilities that fall short in terms of being a full-blown Linux but can do terminal, SSH et al. Matters on your usage.

If you're out for something down the line, then I'd say wait for the next crop of phones to come out. There's a few that will have quad core, blah blah... but it's really down to build, the OS being updated to the upcoming levels - Jelly Bean is next after Ice Cream Sandwich.

Notice that I'm shifting over to Android. iOS doesn't give you control like we TMO'ers tend to like. Android isn't Linux/Unix - we've heard those arguments before but at least manufacturers are supporting it still. Can't say the same for Maemo/MeeGo. And I have no reason to believe that Tizen will be different.

SGS2 for now. HTC One X also has my attention. SGS3 is rumored to be announced next month. Those are the ones I'd say be aware of for the next 30 days.

btw... whatever happened to your N9 body swap?

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

If I didn't already have N9, then the white N9. Why? Linux in pocket with great UX and perfect size/body for me.


There's nothing else in the market I find interesting at the moment. So that 600$ I'd use for diapers (not for me, the baby)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

I want to get a Galaxy Note, but I'm waiting for Samsung to bring out an official update to ICS for it. Why do I want it? Because it has a large high resolution screen which will still fit in my jeans pocket and a stylus and removable battery and a fast dual core processor and it runs Android and I need a decent Android device, I'm not sure it will replace my N900, but will certainly be a nice complement to it. The N9 seems mildly interesting, but without a keyboard or FMTX or IR port or removeable battery it almost seems like a downgrade from an N900, but I might consider it when I can pick up a 2nd hand one cheap.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Body swap went horrible, completely messed it up, wouldnt charge at all claimed insurance and thats how I got the $600. :D:D

Edit
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...3&postcount=13
Had the SG II swapped again a month later, size when holding in hand wasn't for me.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Depends how long you hold the $600, 100+ diapers might just be for yourself. :p;)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Galaxy note is the way to go. The size is no problem and screen gives you an excellent web experience. Or wait until the note II arrives.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

milestone 3 or 4 may be?

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Now I would go for a Galaxy SII.

Galaxy Note is way too big.



I bought in a store 3 new n900 for 675€.

now I have 5 :)

and sold my n9 ( can't live without kb ).

regards

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Hold your money for now, wait for the next generation of Android phones running quad-core OMAP 4xxxs, Tegra 3s and Exynos.

If you are, however, willing to deal with the incredibly slow web browser on the N900 in exchange for non-vnc slow chroot performance, get a N900.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

There's only a few choices:

-N900 (linux in your pocket, cheap but very outdated)
-N950 (linux in your pocket, somewhat outdated, impossible to get)
-iPhone (4 / 4S = best ecosystem out there, no customizability)
-Android qwerty (Captivate Glide, EPIC 4G, Milestone 4, Droid OG)
-Android high-end (Gnex, SGSII, Atrix etc)
-Android XL (NOTE, LG 4X HD)

Otherwise you have niche such as SGTab (7in makes calls), Wave-Bada, HTC HD2, WP7.5
I wouldn't really go far to recommend HPalm, Symbian or RIM as smartphones.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

gNote, or wait for quadcore things come, sony experia s also great
sgs2 personally(bcos my hand not that big and exynos is damn great)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

galaxy nexus. in gsm+lte flavor if it exists.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

call me stupid but i am leaning towards another N9 or Lumia 900 which would be better?

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Matters on usage. I'm eyeballing a Lumia 900 because I can get it cheaper than I did a N9 and will have a Google Voice app that works like I need it to - GoVoice on WP7 isn't half bad actually. And I'm REALLY missing voice commands.

But let's be honest. You want the N9 because it's different, it has terminal, you like to tinker a bit, you like USB mass storage and you more than likely will regret going to WP7 because it will box you into that ecosystem.

Get the N9. Don't body swap this one ;)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Tough one. Right now I want that $200 Asus/Google pad when it materializes. Then i have $400 to go. My N9 works remarkably well as my everyday phone, but the camera is poor, and no shutter button sucks more and more. Thought I would get used to it, but no. So the only solution:

Google/Asus tablet $200
Nokia 808 PV $400
Sum $600 :D

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Erm... that still doesn't help me. Name, place, country... details. It was a rather specific request.

And if you point me to eBay, that's just poor.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

The same here i also miss a shutter btutton on the N9 and think the camera is on the poor side.

Like to tinker, but find myself spending less time on it and don't find it as fun anymore and could get it out of the system by fidling with my old N900. Just find myself wanting my phone to be working out of the box more and more and IOS is deffo not for me (tried 4S for 2 months).

Would go for a Nokia 808 pureview if i was to change, even taken the phone running on symbian platform. It would suit my day to day needs very fine and even bring a monster cam with it. A mobile and an almost point and shoot in the pocket. Cool.

But as @gerbick puts it i also think you (somedude) would like the N9 over the Lumia 900 (wich has 4.3" screen, quite big, on par with sgsII afaik) unless you grown tired of tinkering aswell then the Lumia is one fine replacement and has a better screen imo? Though the N9 got swag :D

Regards Dousan...

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

how about...
NOKIA E710 Communicator ?!?

just kidding :D
i'm getting a 808 PV with my contract renewal in a few months(not when 808 PV becomes available but when contract is due for renewal :p)
still, the E710 Com. with OS2013...
(with a microSDXC slot!)
i may actually spend some money on that ¦-)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

thanks for all the great insights guys, i think i will get another N9 and make sure i do not do a body swap. Btw anyone wanting a cyan whole body with sim holder, usb door?

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Make sure its a unicorn white n9!

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

not really into the white one, either black or cyan, and 64 comes in black or white so black it is as it was.
After i get it again i will be whining about no skype video calls so get ready boys.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Lol like this feture very much:

The E710 in, 808 out ;)

Regards Dousan...

e: What would TMO be without whinning about dev phones not working with everything out of the box. Bring it on @somedude :p

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

N9 a developer phone, come on its clearly a mass market end user phone,
See whining has already started.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

How much? I might attempt a body swap on my spare N9.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Fair enough. I need to sell my black 64gb. Grass is always greener.

gerbick- video please :)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

@ gerbick 50 bucks everything, reminder as i tried before the glue on the connectors might not be as strong because i took the plastic off of it'

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Thanks for the reminder. I'll have to do some research first to see if that would sway my decision.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

Actually, you can get refurbed ones (reasonably so) from ebay for about $150 these days. I just picked one up as a backup and/or to run as a home micro server for less than that. (If you play the auctions right, you can get them for closer to $100.)

There are a few retailers out there on ebay, but by far one of the most reliable appears to be cellphoneforever. They're only slightly shady in that they adamantly claim it's a "new" phone, when it's clearly a refurb.

To be clear, the one I got from them was in great physical condition, and came with most parts one would expect:

• N900 with no screen or case scratches
• Original stylus, power brick, and uUSB data cable
• Black box that looks like the Nokia box (but wasn't)
• Nokia printed manual and CD with PR 1.2 firmware images/tools
• Nokia battery, still in pouch
• US keyboard (probably swapped in)
• Flashed with PR1.2 and a couple games added but never played

What was missing was the micro-fiber wipe cloth, which isn't a huge deal. However a screen protector had also been put on which, while done well, was a cheaper stick-on that I'm sure will eventually come off. The feel is nice though, and everything feels new. The image on it was PR1.2 with what looks like a restore done to load a set of apps they touted on their e-bay page (mainly games and fMMS).

There's a sticker under the battery cover that clearly marks the unit a refurb. But it also looks like it went through a full series of tests before it shipped, which is a credit to them. I loaded up the tester suite and checked all the hardware, all working just fine. Overclocked stably when I flashed and cloned from my existing N900 to the new one too (using backupmenu). The uUSB port seems to be in solid shape as well, and it looks like the "new" unit has some type of extra holder around it internally, so it may be it was secured as well during the refurb.

So, overall a refurbed N900 for under $200 is quite doable. My bet is they have new cases and keyboards (which are under $20 on ebay) and take older units, repackage the guts, flash it, and sell it as "new".

The insistence that it's "new" is the only reason I left them a neutral rating, since it clearly is not. Had they just labeled it a refurb, or at least admitted it when it's clear that's what's goingon, I'd have been totally happy with it. But then refurbs don't sell as well on ebay, so they lie to bring up the bidding prices. (Though honestly, in the N900 market, if they're refurbing AND fixing issues like the uUSB port, some would be more likely to go for it over all.)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

n900+808 or 3*n900

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

1) galaxy note (white) :)
2) if you think its too big :(
3) think again
4) goto #1

cheers :)

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

bought another N9 64gb for 425 on amazon. Just couldnt find anything else that i was wowed with as i was with the N9. Thanks again to everyone.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

This or Gnex with ICS? Decisions decisions.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

gNote>gNex

gNote will get ICS soon, just my opinion

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

NOTE already has ICS.

-Try neobuddy's ICS-Stunner v4.3.
Its based on Google's Android (not Samsung's) so everything runs 100% fullspeed. It has the AOKP features so you can customize it to your liking, and it goes great with the Apex Launcher. You can also change DPI and it reverts to Tablet mode. Everything is great except 2 points: there isn't a Super optimized kernel yet (something that can clock higher while using less battery) and S Pen doesn't work.

-Try maxicet's MidNote v3.1
Its based on Samsung's Android by three leaks (chinese, AT&T and Australian). Everything works at ICS smoothness including the S Pen. The only drawbacks are that you don't get the AOKP/CM9 features, you can't revert between phone and tablet modes, the kernel isn't the best available. Oh, and there's no premium suite from Samsung which will be released via official update.

-Future?
When theres a few more leaks or an official update, it will be repackaged to complete the AOSP ROMs and the optimized Samsung MODs.

Re: $600 for new phone which and why?
 

You guys make me want a note lmao

This 3.5-4" screen nonsense is starting to be really annoying for my big hands.