Developers, developers, developers, developers

[Legendary Silke]

The Huawei does look like a nice phone, though after-sales support is a big question mark.

 

[Mark Kamill]

I'm willing to take that risk. In the end I might even buy something used, like an S3 or Desire 500.

 

[Legendary Silke]

The best thing you can do to yourself right now is probably to test drive an actual phone in person. Nothing beats actually using the device in question. Ask around in stores, carrier or not - they might allow you to try it out.

 

[Tsutarja]

Check out the Moto G. It's a little higher ($175) but it's a damned good phone for the price:

http://www.motorola.com/MotoG

Wow, that actually looks like a pretty good phone! Too bad though that it has a hefty price tag on it for unlocked status.. but what phone doesn't really?

I'd rather have a smartphone unlocked so that I'm not confined to a contract at all.. right now I just have a basic mobile phone with AT&T's GoPhone service.. at least with an unlocked smartphone, I could still use my GoPhone service and not have to tie into data plans to use it.

 

[Legendary Silke]

I'd rather have a smartphone unlocked so that I'm not confined to a contract at all.. right now I just have a basic mobile phone with AT&T's GoPhone service.. at least with an unlocked smartphone, I could still use my GoPhone service and not have to tie into data plans to use it.

Do they sell phones unlocked and without being tied to any plans on AT&T GoPhone?

Speaking of contracts, while my phone is under contract, I pay the bare minimum data fees since I paid upfront for my phone. Sometimes, it's just easier to buy a (cheap) phone under a carrier if you're planning to get a data plan anyway.

I was planning for either the Samsung Galaxy S III or the Apple iPhone 4S back then, when I had the choice. Then I realized that I don't really need all the fluff.

 

[Buoysel]

I will vouch for the Lumia. Nokia still makes amazing phones. I have a Lumia 928, and I have beat the crap out of the phone, still works great.

I came from a Nexus device. I loved Android. I got the Lumia for the Camera, but I will not be going back to Android anytime soon. Windows Phone OS runs so smooth and is optimized so well. I don't have to worry about battery life. My phone always last all day. If quality is your thing, then go with Nokia.

 

[Tsutarja]

Do they sell phones unlocked and without being tied to any plans on AT&T GoPhone?

I'm not sure if GoPhones are unlocked or not, because they do have the AT&T carrier name on them physically and within the welcome message itself, but they do come with SIM card slots since AT&T is a GSM network.

I will vouch for the Lumia. Nokia still makes amazing phones. I have a Lumia 928, and I have beat the crap out of the phone, still works great.

I came from a Nexus device. I loved Android. I got the Lumia for the Camera, but I will not be going back to Android anytime soon. Windows Phone OS runs so smooth and is optimized so well. I don't have to worry about battery life. My phone always last all day. If quality is your thing, then go with Nokia.

If I could find one that was inexpensive enough and unlocked, I honestly wouldn't mind going for a Windows phone at all. I already have my Nexus 7 2013 tablet which is enough Android for me and I have my iPod Touch as well for iOS.

 

[Legendary Silke]

I will vouch for the Lumia. Nokia still makes amazing phones. I have a Lumia 928, and I have beat the crap out of the phone, still works great.

I came from a Nexus device. I loved Android. I got the Lumia for the Camera, but I will not be going back to Android anytime soon. Windows Phone OS runs so smooth and is optimized so well. I don't have to worry about battery life. My phone always last all day. If quality is your thing, then go with Nokia.

One of the things I've liked about my Nokia phone is that even though the battery clearly has seen a lot of discharge cycles after one and a half year of use, the battery drains by only about 19% for every 10 hours with full-time push email for my Outlook.com account, pull email every 15 minutes for 5 more IMAP email accounts, full time HSPA+, and all networking, location, and quality-of-life (things like Find My Phone, Xbox Live) services turned on, and tons of background apps being allowed to run (with some essentially running full-time for notifications, like the built-in messaging client, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other apps.)

It's kind of amazing, really.

Zach, a Nokia Lumia 520 should cost about $100 unlocked on the open market.

 

[Mark Kamill]

Yeah, the G510 is from an online retailer, so I'm going in blind. The archos and the nokia I've tried, but not that. However, huawei does have surprisingly good build quality, so I'm not too wary. The lack of flash really kills me in the end for the 520, even if its amazing.

 

[Legendary Silke]

Yeah, the G510 is from an online retailer, so I'm going in blind. The archos and the nokia I've tried, but not that. However, huawei does have surprisingly good build quality, so I'm not too wary. The lack of flash really kills me in the end for the 520, even if its amazing.

The LED flash might not be handy for taking photos in the dark (unless it's macro), but it sure comes in handy when you need light for video or just to see things. Dual-LED flashes are quite a lot better with regard to this, seeing as, well, there's two of them.

Nothing beats a real xenon flash which can freeze things in place, but you can find them only on dedicated cameras and the highest-end camera phones (these days, that leaves only the Nokia Lumia 1020 and 928).

 

[Mark Kamill]

I agree completely, no argument in that department. Until 2010 I always had c-line SE phones which were unbeatable. But for me its a real cut and dry "I need to have flash because well just because damn it!" Its just I'm new to the android market. :p

 

[Tsutarja]

Okay, now I think I'm really settled on the Lumia 520... Amazon has one for AT&T GoPhones at a sale price of $69.99 now (original price $99.99).. will tell my parents about this one tonight for sure.

All I want is a phone that can take pictures, call, and just browse the web on wifi only. I don't really need apps with my phone.

 

[Mark Kamill]

If you did need apps though, the 525 is coming soon. Only it has a crappier body. Shiny plastic compared to the classier matte finish.

 

[Legendary Silke]

If you did need apps though, the 525 is coming soon. Only it has a crappier body. Shiny plastic compared to the classier matte finish.

The Nokia Lumia 525 is not coming to North American markets.

Most Windows Phone apps should run well on 512 MB of RAM. For the rare few that don't, they usually will get it fixed within weeks, if not days.

Also, don't be afraid of Internet Explorer. Who knows, maybe you'll have a different opinion of it after trying it with a touch screen device.

Looks like we'll have to keep dreaming about file managers in the meantime (though having to use one to manage files is probably a design fault in the first place in my honest opinion).

 

[Buoysel]

Also, don't be afraid of Internet Explorer. Who knows, maybe you'll have a different opinion of it after trying it with a touch screen device.

IE isn't as bad as it used to be. It still doesn't handle JavaScript as well as chrome, but others things it works just as well.

Looks like we'll have to keep dreaming about file managers in the meantime (though having to use one to manage files is probably a design fault in the first place in my honest opinion).

OMG yes, but I understand why. People are stupid when it comes to technology. Windows Phones are simple to use, which is what makes them end user friendly. I got my dad an android phone and it confuses him. He can pick up my Lumia though and was able to figure it out. I'm going to get him a Windows Phone for Christmas.

 

[Mark Kamill]

Decided to go for the Huawei! Although the UI has some lag, I've tried it before on other models, and I was always impressed with it. No app draw and just home screens is friking ace imo, and the phone covers my needs either way. Will post impressions when it comes.

 

[Legendary Silke]

Decided to go for the Huawei! Although the UI has some lag, I've tried it before on other models, and I was always impressed with it. No app draw and just home screens is friking ace imo, and the phone covers my needs either way. Will post impressions when it comes.

An Android phone with no app drawer? That certainly is a bit strange.

I particularly like how Windows Phone handles the home screen and the app "drawer". If you want to, you could certainly rock the phone with no home screen, with only the application list to deal with. You can do it Android-style with Live Tiles acting as widgets. Or you could icon up the Start screen if you want to.

 

[Tsutarja]

I've decided myself to get a Lumia 520 unlocked, now waiting for my parents to approve before they begin Christmas shopping for me.

 

[Legendary Silke]

I've decided myself to get a Lumia 520 unlocked, now waiting for my parents to approve before they begin Christmas shopping for me.

If you get the 520, you might want to pay a visit to AT&T and request a Micro SIM (if AT&T's store doesn't automatically give you one). If you also plan to switch between the 520 and your old phone, you might also want to get a SIM adapter.

 

[Tsutarja]

If you get the 520, you might want to pay a visit to AT&T and request a Micro SIM (if AT&T's store doesn't automatically give you one). If you also plan to switch between the 520 and your old phone, you might also want to get a SIM adapter.

I was thinking of getting it on Amazon, so is that going to be a problem? From past experience, AT&T usually issues SIM cards to new GoPhones, but whenever I've gotten a new phone, I just usually keep my old SIM and put it into the new phone. My SIM card is already the full-sized version, so would that be a problem?