Buy latest version?

[23kid]

I've read all over the place people saying 'buy the latest version' or 'wait for the next version'. How do I know if the phone I am looking at online is the latest version or not?

 

[xandros9]

Well, you don't HAVE to buy the latest version. There are always improvements, but a last generation phone or PC will work just fine, and may even cost less.

You'll have to have at least a basic idea of how the lineup is. Right now, the Lumia's with the middle numbers 3 and 4 are most recent, however, there's more than just buying based on generation. I have to run, but I can elaborate later.

 

[RumoredNow]

For phones and tablets you can check release dates through web searches and by seeing how old reviews are.

Generally just staying in touch with news about your fave platform or OEM will help. In addition to Mobile Nations forums I have some tech news in the feed of my readers...

 

[23kid]

Right, so when they say version, they mean 820, 822, 830 etc. rather than various versions of the 830 itself? I consider the 820 to be a completely different phone, rather than a version.

 

[AndyCalling]

Think less the 'latest version' and more the latest release at that price point. The 830 is more recent than the 820 and has later technology, but the 'engine' is a bit smaller. Kind of a side-grade. The 930 is a more definite upgrade from the 820.

 

[23kid]

The 930 is arguably a downgrade as it doesn't have expandable memory :wink:

I think the point has been missed. obviously different phones are different. What I thought was the case, and now disproven, is that each model (say the 930) had a number of versions. So when people say they want the 930 and another says "get the latest version" I assumed that maybe there were a number of releases of the 930, and therefore you should get the newest version, which may have firmware/hardware tweaks. Clearly not.

 

[scox72]

Personally think expandable memory is a thing of the past. As phones become faster and more powerful there is s performance degrade when using micro SD cards, think this is the reason a lot of the new "flag ship" android phones have stopped using them.
Steve
Sent using TapaTalk on my Windows Phone

 

[23kid]

I will agree with that when they release phones with 128GB+ internal memory. No point in a smartphone that can't hold all my media. I don't want to have to pay extra for data in order to stream spotty, low-quality music.

Maybe I'm unusual, but I see storage as a basic requirement for a smartphone. If you're not using it for media you may as well get a 3310!

 

[Harrie-S]

The 930 is arguably a downgrade as it doesn't have expandable memory :wink:

I think the point has been missed. obviously different phones are different. What I thought was the case, and now disproven, is that each model (say the 930) had a number of versions. So when people say they want the 930 and another says "get the latest version" I assumed that maybe there were a number of releases of the 930, and therefore you should get the newest version, which may have firmware/hardware tweaks. Clearly not.

Indeed a 930 is a 930 and there is no "newer" version 930 but there can be different versions.

For example for the 1520 there are several versions (RM versions) which have different spec's). So is the RM 940 dedicated for AT&T (and has PMA wireless charging and not QI). And the RM 937 is an European version and the 938 a Latin American version. (the difference is in the bands).

Furthermore you have different Country Versions which basically means that during the set up it starts with German, Polish or whatever language (according the Country Variant) and some country specifiek apps are preinstalled. But during the setup you can off course change the language.
And it is possible that the is also a firmware/OS difference between country variants. For example CV India has no option to use max 4G because most Lumia's do not support the 2300 band.
So this option is disable.

 

[23kid]

None of this affects my purchase however, so I can be confident that if I buy a Lumia xxx I will get the same Lumia xxx as everyone else (in my region, at least)

 

[Harrie-S]

None of this affects my purchase however, so I can be confident that if I buy a Lumia xxx I will get the same Lumia xxx as everyone else (in my region, at least)

There is no garantee because it depends where you buy it. But at least it should be indicated in the shop or website.
For example if you buy it from eBay it can come from "everywhere". But if you live in Europe and buy from a reliable "local" web shop it can be a CV for your county or at least a version you can use in Europe.