Hi all,
I am a current Android user (Galaxy S3 with latest Kit Kat or whatever). I really like the hardware, I absolutely hate Android, and more specifically the god awful bloated version Samsung forces on Galaxy devices. I find it a real clunky OS, everything conflicts with everything else. Android updates break Samsung stuff and apps, Samsung updates break apps and Android stuff, everything is a fight between Google account this, Samsung account that. Nothing looks right together... Google apps run in an all white theme now, Samsung stuff runs all black, and both have awful keyboards so I had to add a 3rd party one that looks like nothing else on the phone.
The phone gets progressively laggy and choppy on everything unless you reboot Android to factory settings on a regular basis... the S3 has more power than laptops I used a few years ago, yet struggles even on simple smartphone tasks like sending texts, emails, etc.
Android is a mess. My friends who use it are split between people who hate it as much as I do, or are die hard fans but have a huge list of hacks, roots, mods, and other crap they use to get it to work properly.
So long story short I want to ditch this thing. I thought about going back to Apple but my last phone was an iPhone that bored me and I don't like the iOS 7 changes.
WP8 on the other hand looks really fresh to me. I love the new live tiles and the Metro theme. Live tiles are way better than the Android widgets that lag the phone and look like a hodgepodge mess of different looks and themes.
Using WP a bit makes going back to the pages of icons on Android and iOS feel like you are in the Windows 3.1 era. It is missing a few key apps that I like (SiriusXM, my online banking, etc), but most the stuff is there and I am willing to make the plunge.
So anyway, now I have to get through all the roadblocks to replace a phone at a reasonable price without signing a new contract. I live in Canada and am stuck on a 3 year contract with about 2 years left. I seem to have 3 options here, but I am a bit of a newbie. I usually never upgrade phones until the contract is done and get it straight from my carrier.
1. My carrier (Bell in Canada) seems to not care one bit about WP8. They currently only have ONE WP8 listed on their website. They have dozens of cruddy Androids of all shapes and sizes, iPhones, and even god awful Blackberries that look circa 2005... but one WP8... The Samsung Ativ S LTE. I am fine with that phone (same as my S3 but with WP8) except for one fact: it has been out of stock on the upgrade page for weeks, and I have no clue if they plan to get more, or any other WP8 phones for that matter. They haven't responded to my inquiry online. I might call this week. The cost for this would be: $270 for "early upgrade penalty" + $49 for the phone, total $319ish. There is probably also something in the fine print to screw me into more years on the contract. This would be an easy option if THEY EVER RESTOCK THE DAMN PHONE.
2. Buy another WP8 device outright from another carrier, and unlock it. I've never done this and don't know much about unlocking... but I guess I could buy a pre-paid Windows 8 device meant for Rogers or Telus (who actually seem to care about supporting something other than Android), and unlock it to use on my network. I am not sure if this is even possible since some retailers say you can't buy one of these phones without activating in store (WTF?). But the options in this range are the Nokia Lumia 520, or 625 (would be a downgrade for me to non HD), or the HTC 8X (like it), these are in the $75-200 range. I really have no knowledge on unlocking phones or if it is even possible with all models.
3. Buy something used from a shady Craigslist type.... the online sellers are full of used and "new in box, bro" phones of all shapes and sizes, and all conditions... some unlocked, some not... Who knows where they came from. The ATIV S on these sites seems to be going from $150-$300 depending on whos selling it and the condition.
I'd love one of the newer, good Lumias like the 920 or 1020, but way too expensive in any non-contract situation from what I can see up here.
None of these options seem that great for me, but I am really tired of Android... I could probably sell my S3 for $100-$200 once I get something new.
Sorry for the novel but I'd love advice from people who have been in similar situations or have advice. For what its worth my primary smartphone uses are streaming video (Youtube and Netflix), music/podcasts, email/text.
I am a current Android user (Galaxy S3 with latest Kit Kat or whatever). I really like the hardware, I absolutely hate Android, and more specifically the god awful bloated version Samsung forces on Galaxy devices. I find it a real clunky OS, everything conflicts with everything else. Android updates break Samsung stuff and apps, Samsung updates break apps and Android stuff, everything is a fight between Google account this, Samsung account that. Nothing looks right together... Google apps run in an all white theme now, Samsung stuff runs all black, and both have awful keyboards so I had to add a 3rd party one that looks like nothing else on the phone.
The phone gets progressively laggy and choppy on everything unless you reboot Android to factory settings on a regular basis... the S3 has more power than laptops I used a few years ago, yet struggles even on simple smartphone tasks like sending texts, emails, etc.
Android is a mess. My friends who use it are split between people who hate it as much as I do, or are die hard fans but have a huge list of hacks, roots, mods, and other crap they use to get it to work properly.
So long story short I want to ditch this thing. I thought about going back to Apple but my last phone was an iPhone that bored me and I don't like the iOS 7 changes.
WP8 on the other hand looks really fresh to me. I love the new live tiles and the Metro theme. Live tiles are way better than the Android widgets that lag the phone and look like a hodgepodge mess of different looks and themes.
Using WP a bit makes going back to the pages of icons on Android and iOS feel like you are in the Windows 3.1 era. It is missing a few key apps that I like (SiriusXM, my online banking, etc), but most the stuff is there and I am willing to make the plunge.
So anyway, now I have to get through all the roadblocks to replace a phone at a reasonable price without signing a new contract. I live in Canada and am stuck on a 3 year contract with about 2 years left. I seem to have 3 options here, but I am a bit of a newbie. I usually never upgrade phones until the contract is done and get it straight from my carrier.
1. My carrier (Bell in Canada) seems to not care one bit about WP8. They currently only have ONE WP8 listed on their website. They have dozens of cruddy Androids of all shapes and sizes, iPhones, and even god awful Blackberries that look circa 2005... but one WP8... The Samsung Ativ S LTE. I am fine with that phone (same as my S3 but with WP8) except for one fact: it has been out of stock on the upgrade page for weeks, and I have no clue if they plan to get more, or any other WP8 phones for that matter. They haven't responded to my inquiry online. I might call this week. The cost for this would be: $270 for "early upgrade penalty" + $49 for the phone, total $319ish. There is probably also something in the fine print to screw me into more years on the contract. This would be an easy option if THEY EVER RESTOCK THE DAMN PHONE.
2. Buy another WP8 device outright from another carrier, and unlock it. I've never done this and don't know much about unlocking... but I guess I could buy a pre-paid Windows 8 device meant for Rogers or Telus (who actually seem to care about supporting something other than Android), and unlock it to use on my network. I am not sure if this is even possible since some retailers say you can't buy one of these phones without activating in store (WTF?). But the options in this range are the Nokia Lumia 520, or 625 (would be a downgrade for me to non HD), or the HTC 8X (like it), these are in the $75-200 range. I really have no knowledge on unlocking phones or if it is even possible with all models.
3. Buy something used from a shady Craigslist type.... the online sellers are full of used and "new in box, bro" phones of all shapes and sizes, and all conditions... some unlocked, some not... Who knows where they came from. The ATIV S on these sites seems to be going from $150-$300 depending on whos selling it and the condition.
I'd love one of the newer, good Lumias like the 920 or 1020, but way too expensive in any non-contract situation from what I can see up here.
None of these options seem that great for me, but I am really tired of Android... I could probably sell my S3 for $100-$200 once I get something new.
Sorry for the novel but I'd love advice from people who have been in similar situations or have advice. For what its worth my primary smartphone uses are streaming video (Youtube and Netflix), music/podcasts, email/text.
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