kips

I want to buy an unlocked Smartphone for under $300. Any advice on which phone to buy. Don't want to be tied to a 24-month plan as happy with service provider Amaysim.

Went to Allphones, Telechoice and Crazy John's in Rockingham shopping centre but none the wiser as to which phone is best.

One of them had Samsung Galaxy Ace for $229 but sold out. Need phone mostly for talk and text. Not bothered about playing games but probably browse Internet to pass time during 40-min train ride to and from Perth for work.

GarryP

Well, you can always get a phone that's easy to unlock, rather than necessarily one that's already unlocked.

I think you can get a Galaxy Nexus for around your maximum value - a good phone, well supported, if getting a little long in the tooth.

If people are looking for a cheap phone I tend to point them towards the Huawei G300/G330 - but in Oz its a Vodafone exclusive, and therefore on the wrong frequency. The one in the UK is the right frequency, and has been going for £65 as they switch over to the new G330 version.

And IIRC Amaysim is on the Optus network, so a phone that's locked to that network should work.

Rough pointer : You want >4" screen, at least 800x480, dual core >1Ghz, 512MB-1GB memory, ICS (4.0) or JB (4.1) OS.

kips

Hi GarryP

Thanks for your advice. Very helpful, especially the last sentence as what I know about smartphones could be written on the back of a stamp.

Funny you should mention unlocked phones as tried to get OH's old Samsung s532 unlocked. Took 4 phone calls to Virgin to finally get the unlocking number. Tried it and didn't work - says need to unfreeze phone. Another call to Virgin and still no luck.

Took phone to Virgin shop and told by salesman my Amaysim card won't work in phone because I have a microsim card and phone won't support that type of card. Hubby bought phone two years ago. Not sure it this is the reason but given up trying. Easier to get a new phone.

GarryP

Hmm, most eBayish unlockers give refunds if it doesn't work. Phones will lock if you have too many unsuccessful attempts, but it should be down to Virgin to make right. Of course, since they aren't making money you have to beat them into it.

Micro Sims are an apple thing - so you shouldn't have one unless you had an iphone.

If you do look to go the Galaxy Nexus route, Kogan have them on sale at the moment at $330+delivery. There may well be even better deals over the next month, since rumour says they are updating it with the traditional November launch of the Nexuses - so they are trying to clear existing stock. There's already is a 4.11 - Jelly Bean update available for it.

http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/samsung-galaxy-nexus/
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Sam...Y-Nexus_id5595

pumpkin blossom

Virgin wouldn't unlock my phone unless I paid them $80 or something stupid. Well, the way they put it was that I had to buy credit. Why would I want it unlocked if I was happy with virgin??

moneypenny20

No they're not.

GarryP

Really?

I've never seen a micro sim used in anything other than an iphone/ipad - although I guess there maybe a few out there who've taken this route.

I'm pretty sure that if you've gone down the cutdown route there are adapter to get it back to a standard size - the guts of it are still the same.

moneypenny20

Daughter's SIII is a micro sim.

GarryP

So not content with copying rounded rectangles, they've copied that too from apple?

I've never had the back off one so I assumed they were standard.

You can pick up a an adapter for about $1 on ebay, or a cutter and multiple adapters for about $5.

moneypenny20

I've not had the back off, she doesn't let it out of her hand The SII is normal. Don't see the point, it's not like there's no room to put a normal one in.

GarryP

I think I do understand it - in an underhanded way.

Apple came up with the micro SIM as a way of locking people into their ecosystem. Moving away meant hassle in getting a new SIM, etc. - so people would be less likely to change.

Samsung stick a microSIM socket in order to make it easy to move from iphone to their flagship. "Look, its better, faster, cheaper, AND you can just put your SIM in".

So apple then come up with a 'nano' SIM for their latest - so once again you are shafted if you want to move away from them. Only this time they played with the contacts, so you can't just cut it down, etc.

And this, little kiddies, is why you need proper regulation, there to backup the consumer - so someone comes down on the nasty capitalists with a pair of size tens and breaks their fingers.

Broad Shoulders

A man using Apple Maps walks into a bar, or maybe a hotel, possibly a church

kips

Update. Bought a Samsung Galaxy s2 unlocked from www.kogan.com for $379 plus $19 postage. Was on special. Wasn't planning to spend that much but thought it was a good price and my sister in the UK has this phone and very impressed.

derab

Good choice, just remember that with Kogan, your Warranty is with Kogan, not Samsung as they bring in grey imports on the whole.
I just picked up a S3 32GB for $560 from Kogan too, as I have dealt with them in the past and found them to be a good outlet.

kips

Thanks for that. Yes was worried about buying a phone online instead of a local retailer and what would happen if something went wrong with the phone. At least there is a one year warranty. Good to hear from someone who has bought something from Kogan. I like the regular e-mail updates on my order. Had 4 e-mails since ordering last Friday tracking the progress of my purchase.