how are you supposed to choose a new handset.....

pennymakespounds

when it is so difficult to find a real working model to try ?

Particularly for us older ones . ! who find smartphones difficult at the best of times .

There's only really the handful of mobile operators with all their stores on the average high street ... and carphonewarehouse ... but amongst them there are very few " real working models" that you can physically pick up and try .

When you want / need to consider .. size...weight .. screen ... the size & layout of the touch keyboard ( dealbreaker for me , many i just cannot use properly) ....

Many of us with not brilliant eyesight... font size & clarity of reading .. ( sold samsung galaxy a3 as just couldn't see anything properly ... love large clear clarity of my lumia 735 )

Understanding how to do photos ... attach to emails . etc ..

trying to understand the pros / cons of the makes .. a samsung v sony v lumia etc ....

trying to understand the differrence between models of the same brand ... LUMIA .... 435 / 520 / 530 / 535 / 630 / 635 / 640 / 735 / 830 / 920 / 930 / 950 ...just one crazy example !!!

I keep reading very good things about the new One Plus models .. but as far as i know there is no shop where you can try / buy ... and like most handset websites they are just full of marketing guff & useless photos .. and nothing of an " idiots guide to how you use it " .

With so many new products coming out and variations to buy ... and not a pocket money item !! .... handsets are an extremely difficult product to choose / buy .

I'm sure I .. and many consumers .. would buy far more often .. if it was easier to go and see ... touch.. try .. etc .

Rant over !!

grumbler

All smartphones are pretty much the same.
For you the main differences are:

• Operating system: Android/Windows/iOS
• Screen size
• Screen resolution

Touch keyboards are customisable.


If you like your Lumia, why do you want another one?
Otherwise use it as a starting point for the improvements you really need.


All parameters like weight, size, screen size/resolution can be found in specifications at the retailers' websites or, say, at http://www.gsmarena.com


http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6639

Most likely you don't need to send e-mails on the go. If so, consider a simple phone with physical keyboard and a tablet instead.

JJ_Egan

Bad eyesight then you want something like a Note .
Add a better keyboard app like Big Buttons Keyboard .

Ignore the makes as they all have many models .
One Plus is from China and invitation only to buy .

slink85

considering they all run either windows or android, then pretty much every issue you describe are common across every phone out today.

taking photos and sending them by email are the same across all phones on a certain platform, keyboards can be resized on most, once you know how to do something on one Android phone then you know how to do it across every phone.

so all you're really left with is the 'spec' of the phone, and what its like physically, most phones are of the same sort of size and thickness now, even the 'budget' smartphones like the moto G ranges are pretty much the same size / shape / weight as top end models, with only millimetre and gramme differences.

pick a price range, and pick any phone and they will all be much of a muchness, sub £100 phones will all be pretty naff, say £100 - £200 and you have a few stand out options like the Vodafone smart and Moto G 3rd Gen, above this price and they all start to become much of a muchness again.