Galaxy 2 contract or Giff Gaff Francisco

Empty_pockets

Hi,

Ready to change my mobile. Been considering a few things. Leaning towards two options at the moment.

Stay with O2 with a 30% contract discount. Quite fancy the Galaxy 2 which should be released Mid May.

But unsure of the price or contract terms - Can anyone recall what the Galaxy 1 was when it first came out. Handset price, contract price and term.

Other option is the San Fransisco which seem highly rated but not yet been to look at one. I think the handset is about £100 plus unlocking at say £10 plus lets say 24 months at £15pm on Giff Gaff. £470?

grumbler

Empty_pockets wrote: »

But unsure of the price or contract terms -

Can you just check your bills and/or online account?

Can anyone recall what the Galaxy 1 was when it first came out. Handset price, contract price and term.

Does it make any difference now?

Other option is the San Fransisco which seem highly rated but not yet been to look at one. I think the handset is about £100
plus unlocking at say £10

Unlocking is free

sebtomato

One thing to remember (and that most people forget) is that the networks are giving you a subsidised handset, which you repay each month (like a credit), and those can be very expensive to replace if lost or stolen. The Galaxy 2 will be around £500, so if you lose it, you have no other options but to buy a full price one, or move to a much cheaper device.
Therefore, if you want to go for an expensive handset, you need to consider buying some insurance, probably adding £7-£10 a month to the cost.

My preferred option would be San Francisco with GiffGaff. If I break or lose the handset, not a big deal. Also, I can move to any networks any time, although looks like GiffGaff will be leading for some time.

I have a San Francisco and it is a great device for the price. It can be slow in a few occasions (specifically games like Angry Birds), but looks good and most applications work fine. Looking at it, most people won't think it is an entry-level, cheap phone.

Empty_pockets

grumbler wrote: »

Can you just check your bills and/or online account?
Does it make any difference now?
Unlocking is free

Regards contract terms What will O2 will be offering in 6 weeks time. What will be the minimum tariff, what will be the minimum term and what will be the handset cost. Yes the Galaxy S pricing does make a difference as It's likely to be a similar offer albiet a newer model.

Handset unlocking is free from day 1? Please post which shop provides this for free.

JJ_Egan

Empty_pockets wrote: »

Handset unlocking is free from day 1? Please post which shop provides this for free.

Current cost of SGS mark 1 is around the £350 mark .

O2 my SGS was unlocked . as was my previous from CPW .

jje

Empty_pockets

Sebtomato - Thanks for your input.

Not too concerned about loosing expensive handset. Currently have an original Galaxy and had no issues on that front. Regards insurance, I am covered on home insurance for phones. I do have a backup phone for emergencies.

I'm tempted by the Francisco because these days I don't use so much functionality of the phone. The apps I use are mail, f/book, ebay, spotify and a gps tracker. That it. The rest get little or no attention.

I currently get a 30% discount on contract so it's possible a £30pm discounted to £21pm would allow me a Galaxy 2. I'm happy to pay that money but only for 18 months.

I think prob best to wait a couple of months as this is the season for phone releases and offers. I saw a TV ad for 12 month contract with O2 recently but no mention of it in shop when I visited last week, again something to look into.

Im_just_careful

Orange Sanfrancisco free unlock from

http://www.nextgenserver.com/calculator/

It worked fine for me.

Empty_pockets

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Current cost of SGS mark 1 is around the £350 mark .

O2 my SGS was unlocked . as was my previous from CPW .

jje

Thanks for info.

Was referring to the Orange phone for unlocking. If I recall correctly Orange won't allow an unlock for min 3 months.
You can get it done elsewhere but I'm sure it's chargeable.

Rusty!

No, it's free.

cattleya

I have OSF and I bought it about 1 month ago, I cannot recommend it highly enough. I use following applications: Spotify, Ebay, Angry birds, camera (it is very bad for moving objects, therefore do not expect to snap great pics of your kids), and many others, so far I did not have a problem with any application downloaded from market.

You dont need Orange permission to unlock, there are simple instructions on internet, I unlocked for free and it took me 5 minuts, on the same day that I received the phone.

I installed custom ROM which removed all of the Orange applications, I believe this one is at the moment considered the most stable and battery saving. ROM is an operating system of a mobile.

This link shows popularity of ROMs used by OSF owners:
http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blade-roms-rom-customisation/329997/poll-what-rom-are-you-using/
I use FLB Froyo 2.2 but I see that recently Cyanmogen 2.3 gains popularity.
This is discussion board dedicated to OSF:
http://android.modaco.com/category/453/zte-blade-blade-modaco-com/

This website gives step by step instructions how to unlock and install new ROM:
http://www.orangesanfrancisco.co.uk/
I used it, the only information inaccurate there is that ROM called Japanese Jellyfish is the best one which is no longer true, if you look at the first link which I posted. Everything you need you can find there and if you need more, go to Modaco board.

I use Giff Gaff and very happy with it, I love the fact that I have no contractual obligations and unlimited internet, therefore no stress to go over limit, because there is none!

I had a PAYG card from Orange and I bought OSF for £79, I just told them that I read on internet that Orange gives good discounts to customers.

The only extra cost is microSD card, OSF comes with 2gb, but I bought 16gb.
And of course jelly case and screen protector are a must in my opinion, on the Modaco board there is thread with recommendations for them.

sebtomato

Empty_pockets wrote: »

I'm tempted by the Francisco because these days I don't use so much functionality of the phone. The apps I use are mail, f/book, ebay, spotify and a gps tracker. That it. The rest get little or no attention.

No issues with the SF for those applications. If you only use those, you don't need a top of the range Android phone, the SF will be the sufficient.