New Phone (again!)

Mark · 07-06-2011, 22:05

Well, my phone insurance has come through. Only problem - they're all out of iPhones (my iPhone being discontinued and they don't have any 4s in stock). So I got £369 cash. Bit disappointing given 8GB 3GSs go for £419 new, but mine obviously wasn't new so there's nothing I could do. Better than 'denied', anyway.

So I'm in the unexpected situation of having to find another phone. My choices are:

Limp along on my backup SPV M3100 which I've kept in a drawer for the last two years. Surprisingly, the battery is still fine. It's completely crap by modern standards (Windows Mobile 5), but it'll make calls and send texts. Get something better when the time is right (e.g. iPhone5).
Switch to an ex-works Blackberry I got for peanuts. Cost £10 to get it unlocked so I can bung my SIM in it and carry on. Slightly more up-to-date than the M3100 but don't know if it's usable until I get around to unlocking it. Get something better when the time is right.
Scrounge another iPhone 3GS from somewhere. Don't know what the secondhand market for 3GSs is like, and I'll have to watch for duds due to ageing batteries. Should be well within my insurance budget though.
Try my luck with a secondhand iPhone4. Good luck with that, but I suppose someone moving to the dark side might be selling up.
Shiny new iPhone4 32GB. Can get the 32GB model for less than my insurance but it's a new 18- or 24- month contract. Skip the next generation.
Get an SGII or similar (HTC?) and try to muddle along. Android has 'talky' accessibility now but that's a slow option and application-dependant. If it's got a 'supersize me' option for fonts then that might work (previous generations of Android seemed to have horrendously small fonts).

My choice depends on (a) accessibility options on Android and (b) whether there's likely to be an iPhone5 any time soon. I know nothing about either, so if anyone has any insights, please help!

PS - I wouldn't want to 'limp' for too long. I've got far too reliant on my phone when I'm out and about - particularly for things like bus/train times and directions. I managed before but was always afraid of getting 'stranded'.

07-06-2011, 22:05	#1
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	New Phone (again!) Well, my phone insurance has come through. Only problem - they're all out of iPhones (my iPhone being discontinued and they don't have any 4s in stock). So I got £369 cash. Bit disappointing given 8GB 3GSs go for £419 new, but mine obviously wasn't new so there's nothing I could do. Better than 'denied', anyway. So I'm in the unexpected situation of having to find another phone. My choices are: Limp along on my backup SPV M3100 which I've kept in a drawer for the last two years. Surprisingly, the battery is still fine. It's completely crap by modern standards (Windows Mobile 5), but it'll make calls and send texts. Get something better when the time is right (e.g. iPhone5). Switch to an ex-works Blackberry I got for peanuts. Cost £10 to get it unlocked so I can bung my SIM in it and carry on. Slightly more up-to-date than the M3100 but don't know if it's usable until I get around to unlocking it. Get something better when the time is right. Scrounge another iPhone 3GS from somewhere. Don't know what the secondhand market for 3GSs is like, and I'll have to watch for duds due to ageing batteries. Should be well within my insurance budget though. Try my luck with a secondhand iPhone4. Good luck with that, but I suppose someone moving to the dark side might be selling up. Shiny new iPhone4 32GB. Can get the 32GB model for less than my insurance but it's a new 18- or 24- month contract. Skip the next generation. Get an SGII or similar (HTC?) and try to muddle along. Android has 'talky' accessibility now but that's a slow option and application-dependant. If it's got a 'supersize me' option for fonts then that might work (previous generations of Android seemed to have horrendously small fonts). My choice depends on (a) accessibility options on Android and (b) whether there's likely to be an iPhone5 any time soon. I know nothing about either, so if anyone has any insights, please help! PS - I wouldn't want to 'limp' for too long. I've got far too reliant on my phone when I'm out and about - particularly for things like bus/train times and directions. I managed before but was always afraid of getting 'stranded'.