Smartphone recommendations?

[PpPete]

My 'stupid phone' (Nokia 6300) has lasted very well but now has a cracked screen and likely to have to be replaced soon.
Main usage is voice calls, a few texts, and if I had a smart phone I'd use it to access business emails on the move. I have fbook and twitting accounts but almost never use them.
Needs to be small enough to go into a pocket and reasonably robust.
Budget is rather limited.
So far I'm looking at
HTC Wildfire S
Samsung Galaxy Ace
on 24 month contracts with Vodaphone
or possibly a Huawei Blaze bought SIM free and just use the current rather excellent SIM only deal I have had with Vodaphone for the past couple of years.

Any experience of those anyone ? Any competition you can suggest?

 

[PpPete]

Yes - with the budget I have I'm not expecting state of the art speed. But this is a first foray into the world of smartphones so I'll not be comparing.

 

[summerdays]

Go into the shop and try them ... or try a friend's. I couldn't get on with the on-screen keyboard and so ended up getting one with a keyboard on the phone - although it does make it bigger than my previous phone. I don't use most of the facilities on the smart phone but have to say it is nice having email, and maps on there.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Nokia Lumia looks a good phone (I've had a play and it's pretty impressive, actually) and having had a windows phone, it syncs with exchange &c perfectly and you also get free turn by turn sat nav on it.

It's free on a £26/month contract with Vodafone, but you can get it for 20.50 a month on other networks.

 

[HovR]

The Wildfire S is a nice phone. It keeps up with the more expensive phones for the most part, performance wise - Although it won't run some of the more CPU intensive games/apps - And may slow down temporarily if you perform a CPU heavy action. Email is easy to set up via POP3 or a app designed for your email service - It also will run FB and Twitter apps.

 

[Jezston]

If it's mostly for emails on the move, what about a Blackberry?

Hmm, looking at the plans on Voda's website, they are a fair bit more expensive, tho.

 

[PpPete]

Blackberry was my first thought too. Problem was button size/spacing on all the lower cost models - just too close for my fingers. The Bold was a possible but not at £41/month.... hence the thought of venturing into touchscreen for first time - I tried a Wildfire in landscape mode and found the "buttons" to be adequate.

 

[Edge705]

Im in the process of getting a new smartphone Ive had iphones for 4 years Im changing to a samsung galaxy s2 incredible piece of kit but more importantly android and not IOS IMHO Aplle have shot themselves in the foot restricting the iphone the way they have done

 

[Ruary]

I had iPhones for years, 3gs then 4 and in October I moved to Android with a Galaxy S2, fantastic bit of hardwear but after not enjoying the android experience I've just got rid of it and bought an iPhone 4Gs , so it's each to thier own on brand for me, but I've never felt restricted by the Apple restrictions.

Anyway, back to the point, I'd say the Wildfire is the better phone in your list, does everything most folk need and certainly fast enough for everything but complicated gaming.

 

[swee'pea99]

Another thumbs up for the Wildfire S. Had mine for about three months and I love it. (My first foray out of the mobile stone age.) I pay about £7/month all in, with unlimited data downloads and more texts and minutes than I can use - it's on T-Mobile (which means I can also use Orange). Got it from these people - you have to be a bit disciplined about posting them bills every few months, but it does work.

 

[martint235]

I'm just in the process of moving from Android to Blackberry primarily because of battery life. Touch screens eat battery so I'm hoping that a Blackberry Curve will last longer. Planning some long cycle rides and not having to charge my phone every 24 hours will be one less thing to worry about.

 

[Bay Runner]

Nokia Lumia looks a good phone (I've had a play and it's pretty impressive, actually) and having had a windows phone, it syncs with exchange &c perfectly and you also get free turn by turn sat nav on it.

It's free on a £26/month contract with Vodafone, but you can get it for 20.50 a month on other networks.

Had the Lumia for 2 weeks now, great bit of kit, integrates with Windows Live (emails calendar office documents) brilliantly well worth a look.

 

[PpPete]

Well I finally made up my mind and got a Wildfire S yesterday. £5/month more than my previous SIM only deal after I'd "negotiated" a bit.
Steep learning curve over next few days.
So far I've been able to transfer my contacts from the unsmart phone, sync my emails with Windows Live (but not yet the calendar) and install Tapatalk so I can look in here when on the move.