An Android Phone within 15-17K

1. Budget?
15-17k

2. Display type and size?
4"

3. Form Factor? bar, slider, flip?
Bar

4. Preferred choice of brand?
Samsung

5. Preferred input method (QWERTY, touchscreen, numpad, touch-n-type).
Touchscreen

6. What camera option you want? Please specify need for flash, autofocus, front facing camera.
Presence of Flash would be good but not essential as I don't use cam much.

7. Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc).
Android

8. Preferred connectivity options (3G, Wifi etc)Please specify clearly.
3G, Wifi.

9. Preferred applications (Flash, Swype, GPS, etc)?
Flash for browser. GPS.

10. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, mails, internet, gaming etc)?
Communication

, gaming.

11. Any specific mobile phones in consideration?
Yeah, Samsung Galaxy SL I9003, either from here:-
Samsung Galaxy S i9003 Android, 2.2 Froyo | eBay

or here:-
Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL - adexmart

12. Any other info that you want to share
Open to suggestions. Noob as far as Android goes, so would like to know how far can I upgrade, both officially and unofficially. Also the procedure for the same. Also would like to know about apps and ROMs.

I think beside Galaxy s you should really look to SE Neo V, It has Screen Size of 3.7, I know you said 4 but this is new phone comparing to Galaxy s and it got everything you need . And it is confirmed it will get Android 4 (Ice cream sandwich). well I got this news from an sales Executive in SE Showroom.. (not so trustworthy). But their are very bright chances it will Get ICS

What about the chances of Galaxy S getting ICS?

I guess It might get .. because "hardware manufacturers agreed to support devices through 3 o/s cycles"'

So Galaxy s was released with 2.1,the it got updated to 2.2 and then 2.3 so if 2.4 (android 4) Comes to Galaxy s then it will be it's last Official Update.

let's wait what other's has to say

Go for this Flipkart.com: Samsung Galaxy S LCD I9003: Mobile

That was my first stop.

But in adexmart and ebay, its cheaper by 600 bucks. Any other suggestion?

What about Motorola Defy!!!

Don't have much faith on Motorola.

Are they good? What are the advantages over the I9003 except price?

defy is best phone under 15K mark. above that no way .you can consider Defy+ buy why if you already have Samsung and Sony Ericsson. In India Motorola's resale is not good at all.

You have selected 2 good models.

The price you have for Galaxy S is amazingly good and def a must buy. I think the galaxy S may get the ICS update. However if the manufacturer doesn't come up with an official one, you can always get an unofficial upgrade.

Since you have the budget, I would also suggest you to wait for Defy Plus. The current defy is also a very good and a sturdy model. But it's worth waiting for the defy plus. It is already released in Western Europe and should hit the stores in India soon.

Waiting means mid November max. Is the Defy Plus just around the corner? And is Motorola better than Samsung?

if defy+ is priced higher by even Re.1 for similar mobiles from Sammy & SE, simply ignore it. i have a feeling it'll cost 18k or more. also other than a 200Mhz clock everythings the same. even the cam looks the same.

instead wait for Galaxy W. it just uses a turbo version of the Scorpion 8255 but the 400Mhz will help to add to the smoothness. maybe better graphics performance if the on-die GPU is clocked higher too.

Skud said:
And is Motorola better than Samsung?

Motorola is a good reputed electronic Industry and defy is a best buy phone.
BTW, why dont you consider HTC desire? (I am not trying to stir your thoughts.. But its HTC!!)

^^ seriously? HTC desire?

Sam said:
if defy+ is priced higher by even Re.1 for similar mobiles from Sammy & SE, simply ignore it. i have a feeling it'll cost 18k or more. also other than a 200Mhz clock everythings the same. even the cam looks the same.

instead wait for Galaxy W. it just uses a turbo version of the Scorpion 8255 but the 400Mhz will help to add to the smoothness. maybe better graphics performance if the on-die GPU is clocked higher too.

When will Galaxy W be released? Anytime soon?

In short in my opinion u can choose any 1 between Galaxy s and Neo V .. I would have gone for Neo V as it is newer Phone. If to you screen size matters lot then go for Galaxy s.

Other then two, I don't know if their is even a phone to consider ..

Edit : yes Galaxy W is definitely better then both phones on paper at least.. It is supposed to be released this month only..

if you can wait for DEFY+ fine..else go for DEFY.

clmlbx said:
In short in my opinion u can choose any 1 between Galaxy s and Neo V .. I would have gone for Neo V as it is newer Phone. If to you screen size matters lot then go for Galaxy s.

Other then two, I don't know if their is even a phone to consider ..

Edit : yes Galaxy W is definitely better then both phones on paper at least.. It is supposed to be released this month only..

Any idea about the initial price?

18k or maybe less.

R

Go for Sony Ericsson Neo v at 15490 at adexmart

if defy+ is priced higher by even Re.1 for similar mobiles from Sammy & SE, simply ignore it. i have a feeling it'll cost 18k or more. also other than a 200Mhz clock everythings the same. even the cam looks the same.

instead wait for Galaxy W. it just uses a turbo version of the Scorpion 8255 but the 400Mhz will help to add to the smoothness. maybe better graphics performance if the on-die GPU is clocked higher too.

defy got 1530 MAh battery, defy+ has 1730 MAh, 720 p HD recording that only some lucky red lens can get with defy and IP67 certification

and gingerbread upgrade and ICS upgrade in 1st q of 2012 for sure

U

go for galaxy S if you don't want a descent camera.. everything else is great in that phone.. screen is gorgeous and it is a big advantage to have a bigger display..

Camera is not so important to me. I can live without flash and all, but yeah, with everything remaining constant won't mind a bit of extra.

lll_aritra_lll said:
defy got 1530 MAh battery, defy+ has 1730 MAh, 720 p HD recording that only some lucky red lens can get with defy and IP67 certification

and gingerbread upgrade and ICS upgrade in 1st q of 2012 for sure

compare it to Galaxy W & Neo V. those are the only direct competitors of Defy+

Galaxy W & Neo V both got 720p video recording which Defy+ doesn't have & its better not to bring in some red lens thing as those are all based on luck & then you need to do some modification to allow 720p recording.

both the other 2 have front cam, defy+ again misses out on that.

Neo V & Galaxy W will get ICS update too (at least) & so will Defy. but custom roms are always available so that doesn't matter that much.

Defy+ ships will a slightly larger battery so theoretically it should get a bit more backup. but the Blur thing should definitely be replaced by something else. or just go stock.
lastly, Galaxy W have a higher clocked proccy. so it kind of cancels out each other's unique features.

thats why i told that Defy+ should not be considered if its priced higher than V & W. and i have recommended more Defy than Ace or Xperia Mini/Pro :smile:

I would suggest Neo V due to the camera quality, hdmi, usb OTG and superb display. I have seen it, and I must say the display is far superior that Galaxy S Amoled. The Bravia engine makes the color super natural as compared to Galaxy S which is just good in black gradient, and the sound quality of Neo V is top notch.

Galaxy S/SL sound sucks even after voodoo patch as compared to Neo V.

Dont go for Galaxy SL, until you ONLY need a 4" screen and looks of Galaxy S. If you can use 3.7' screen, I would suggest to go for Xperia Neo V. Outta the box, it comes with hdmi cable, and features like Android 2.3.4, USB OTG, 3D panaroma mode, and hd video recording which satisfies most of the needs of a end customer.

Regarding the Android update, Neo V officially comes with Android 2.3.4 which is questionable for Galaxy SL . Sony has officially announced that all Xperia phones will atleast get the next update which would be ICS.

Whereas, Galaxy SL is shipped with froyo, and I think officially the last update would be Gingerbread.

Noob question: what's this voodoo patch?

BTW, the internal memory of both SE Xperia Neo V & Ray seem less than required. Don't want to spend a penny on memory cards as I already have a couple of spare 1gb microSD cards. And definitely I would like to have my apps on internal mem only. Besides, what's the hardware spec of Neo V & Ray? Couldn't find it.

^^ why do you want your apps on Internal Memory.. ?and after Froyo you can install apps in Card. and with android, their will be lot of Apps. (On my symbian I have 25-30 apps ) with this good screen you can buy at least 4 Gb card, that Won't be much Costly..

You should not buy Ray it just has Screen Size of 3.3, Here is

Neo V vs Galaxy S

Neo V vs Galaxy W

Galaxy S vs Galaxy W

But did you inquire about Samsung Galaxy W, It might be available,

1. Samsung Galaxy W
2. SE Neo V
3. Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung galaxy S plus recently launched but unfortunately price is arnd 22k....shud come dwn tho...

as for nw definetly go for SE neo man...hw many more ppl do u need to tell u the same thing again and again?? =P

Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk

clmlbx said:
^^ why do you want your apps on Internal Memory.. ?and after Froyo you can install apps in Card. and with android, their will be lot of Apps. (On my symbian I have 25-30 apps ) with this good screen you can buy at least 4 Gb card, that Won't be much Costly..

You should not buy Ray it just has Screen Size of 3.3, Here is

Neo V vs Galaxy S

Neo V vs Galaxy W

Galaxy S vs Galaxy W

But did you inquire about Samsung Galaxy W, It might be available,

1. Samsung Galaxy W
2. SE Neo V
3. Samsung Galaxy S

I simply don't want to invest in another mem card, regardless of its price. Already have 3-4 1gb cards lying around. Might carry a bit of music in one of them with my new phone, that's it. Also, the original Galaxy S with Super AMOLED screen is not available anymore, i am looking for Galaxy SL. And it has a better battery than Neo V.

pratheekb96 said:
Samsung galaxy S plus recently launched but unfortunately price is arnd 22k....shud come dwn tho...

as for nw definetly go for SE neo man...hw many more ppl do u need to tell u the same thing again and again?? =P

Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk

No one is telling what's wrong with Galaxy S.

And service? Don't know where Sony Service Centre is in Patna. And regarding Sony's service, have very bad experience once several years earlier. And father used to have a SE phone some years back with 5 digit price tag (forget model no.). The phone neither look that costly, had very poor sound level and generally was not good.

I do know Android has changed the situation (example, LG), but still a bit shaky to go for SE. I really need a strong enough reason to let go the extra screen space and much more accessible service of Samsung.

Skud said:
I simply don't want to invest in another mem card, regardless of its price. Already have 3-4 1gb cards lying around. Might carry a bit of music in one of them with my new phone, that's it. Also, the original Galaxy S with Super AMOLED screen is not available anymore, i am looking for Galaxy SL. And it has a better battery than Neo V.

No one is telling what's wrong with Galaxy S. And service? Don't know where Sony Service Centre is in Patna. And regarding Sony's service, have very bad experience once several years earlier. And father used to have a SE phone some years back with 5 digit price tag (forget model no.). The phone neither look that costly, had very poor sound level and generally was not good.
I do know Android has changed the situation (example, LG), but still a bit shaky to go for SE. I really need a strong enough reason to let go the extra screen space and much more accessible service of Samsung.

Dont know how can u define Galaxy SL has better battery, its not just the specs of battery which makes the diff, but hardware, android version etc too play an important role here. Galaxy SL sucks in terms of build quality.

For the second part, where does Galaxy S comes? I guess you are asking about SL, whats wrong ? Havent u read all above what has been shared by all? It sound quality is ok, not so good, camera is better in Neo with the features like panorama, 3D etc. hardware wise both are same except some say SL has better GPU but I think its questionable too. Havent seen real benchmark stuff for Andreno 205. SL screen cant be compared with Neo V led screen which includes bravia engine. SL has bigger screen compared to Neo however Neo is using official GB version 2.3.4 and chances are better it will get ICS coz its new phone.

From my experience LG sucks, someone else would say SE sucks or even Samsung. That your choice to choose SE/Samsung product or not. No one is forcing you.

I feel Neo V looks much better than Galaxy SL, (You love showoff) and if u wanna showoff high end phone, why not buy an iPhone chinese duplicate?

Lastly, if you have made up ur mind to go for Galaxy SL. Please dont waste time of others.

Btw: Good luck with your upcoming Galaxy SL.

dreatica said:
Dont know how can u define Galaxy SL has better battery, its not just the specs of battery which makes the diff, but hardware, android version etc too play an important role here. Galaxy SL sucks in terms of build quality.

of course, all i know is the spec of battery, and that's why i have said battery, not battery life.

For the second part, where does Galaxy S comes? I guess you are asking about SL, whats wrong ? Havent u read all above what has been shared by all? It sound quality is ok, not so good, camera is better in Neo with the features like panorama, 3D etc. hardware wise both are same except some say SL has better GPU but I think its questionable too. Havent seen real benchmark stuff for Andreno 205. SL screen cant be compared with Neo V led screen which includes bravia engine.

yeah, that's a mistake, its Galaxy SL, not S. regarding camera, i have already stated in the starting post, that camera specs are not that essential. hardware wise there's little to differentiate. neither the reviews throw much light on which to choose. sony is a bit cheaper with lesser screen space (with arguably better screen, from whatever feedback i get) and lesser internal memory. so its basically coming down to personal choice from what i get.

SL has bigger screen compared to Neo however Neo is using official GB version 2.3.4 and chances are better it will get ICS coz its new phone.

Is it a big deal in Android world if a phone doesn't get official update? Or to ask differently, which phone has the best custom ROM support? I am asking actually.

From my experience LG sucks, someone else would say SE sucks or even Samsung. That your choice to choose SE/Samsung product or not. No one is forcing you.

I don't have any experience of LG phones, but with the success of O1, they must have done something right. It can't be fluke.

I feel Neo V looks much better than Galaxy SL, (You love showoff) and if u wanna showoff high end phone, why not buy an iPhone chinese duplicate?

Thanks for your valuable advice. BTW, I also feel Neo looks better.

Lastly, if you have made up ur mind to go for Galaxy SL. Please dont waste time of others.

Btw: Good luck with your upcoming Galaxy SL.

Please read my first post again. I have clearly stated I am a bit inclined for Samsung Galaxy SL but open to suggestions. From the online shops, it was clear to me there's only 3 phone to consider, Galaxy SL, Defy and Neo V. So far, this post hasn't changed that situation. I would have loved to see all three side by side and physically compare them, but I know its not possible here. As I don't follow development in mobile phone technology much, and I am not that much updated (even this was also mentioned in my first post), so some suggestions might be helpful. All I want is a Android phone with good features and performance, which should last me for as many years as possible, and will allow me to customize and learn and have fun as much as possible.

And lastly why are you wasting time reading and typing what you feel useless?

Skud said:
All I want is a Android phone with good features and performance, which should last me for as many years as possible, and will allow me to customize and learn and have fun as much as possible.

Skud said:
And lastly why are you wasting time reading and typing what you feel useless?

I said about others

I should write why wasting time of asking suggesting from "us" which would include me too. lol Do you get what exactly I meant. :grin:

Now be a good boy and buy Galaxy SL

Dont take it as big hearted feelings man, you don't pay me anything, or I am not receiving any. Its just to help you guys choose a wise opinion, and my opinion was based on as I have tested both the phones, coz my off friends are using it. Real experience counts a lot, as compared to checking reviews etc.

Personally, I don't owe any of the phones and I am not interested in Android at all

. I am using iPhone4 and I am quite happy with it.

Purchase deferred till next month. Mods close the thread for now.