Buy now or wait for Apollo?

[marcojavier]

I'm new here, so please be nice? Haha

I'm an incoming college student who lives in Manila, Philippines, which almost has a non-existent WP scene. There's only ONE WP phone in all the carriers here (HTC Mozart) and while there may be other WPs sold outside the carriers, I don't know how often these get updated, seeing that the penetration of WP here is close to zilch.

Buying phones from carriers isn't really the 'in' thing here. The carriers here release phones MONTHS after they're announced, and at an exorbitant rate at that, so people end up buying phones outside the carriers. Therefore, any phone I buy will be at its "unlocked" price, which I can't even split up into monthly installments. It's a one time big time thing for me when it comes to buying phones. If I buy one now, I'll most prolly stick with it for 2-3+ years. Buying another phone would entail having to shell out another $500 - $600 (in conversion), maybe $450 if I trade in my old phone.

Should I wait for the dual-core WP models running Apollo? I am honestly itching to buy a WP phone right now (BlackBerry just won't cut it anymore) but I don't want to be stuck with a phone that'll make me feel like crap two years later on. But I have to admit that the Microsoft Office will be pretty useful for college, which I'll start in around six months or so.

P.S. If ever I do get one, I have eyes set on the Lumia 800. Gorgeous, sexy beast.

 

[marcojavier]

Also, can anyone kindly share their WP experience? Is it really suitable for college students? What drew me to WP is the People Hub and the Microsoft Office. Does the OS really deliver its premise as the OS that can balance productivity and a social life in one phone?

 

[welsbloke]

The dual core really is a gimmick when it comes to the Windows Phone as the OS is very slick. I liked the Mozart when I trialed it and in fact I choose that over the Omnia 7 at the time but my carrier only had the Omnia which as it turns out was a much better phone.

Having said that the Mozart is a solid phone. I certainly would not wait for the Apollo, you might want to see if you can get something second hand as lots of phones will be going to the auction sites as the 2nd generation phones hit the market.

Having said that I do not know the requirements of phones in the phillipines or the practicalities of ordering via an auction site.

I to like the Lumia 800 as well, this is definately mosty a case of style over substance as I think apart from maybe the screen, camera and the styling you will probably see no additional benefit over the Mozart.

 

[welsbloke]

The Social side is definately what the WP delivers in spades.

 

[M_D_Kaiser]

How about picking up the LG Optimus 7 used on ebay? They go unlocked for about 150$ in Europe. Very nice phone!

Does anyone know if the first gen phones will be able to update to Apollo?

 

[aubreyq]

I agree with welsbloke that the social aspect is where WP7 shines. I can't say much about college productivity, but I would say that you'll probably need a WP7 with a physical keyboard if you're thinking along those lines.

 

[selfcreation]

i wouldnt wait for appolo unless you have a phone for the next year!!!!!
apollo is 10-12months away....

 

[power5]

Apollo is not rumored to be out till next fall. So that's a long long wait. You say unlocked so I assume you have a GSM carrier? If so, you should be able to pick up any GSM phone you want. Focus are going for around $200-$250USD on ebay, used. Only thing to make sure is if the phone you want has the correct frequency bands for GSM in your area.

Updates are all done via the web/zune so it should not matter how much WP has been picked up in your area by your carriers.

College is all about being social. WP7 will make it much easier to keep up with friends than any of the other OS. If all your friends only use FB then any OS will work. If some use twitter, some use FB, some use IM, some use text, and some use email to communicate, WP7 will save you lots of double checking all those individual apps.

 

[Pronk]

There's *always* going to be something new 5, 10 months down the line, so base it on what you need now, not what might happen later.

 

[desmonium]

Wait for Apollo + Win8 if you are also planning to buy another laptop/tablet in one year, and you are satisfied with your current phone.

WP7 is not mature yet but hey, if you don't like your current phone, trash it and get WP7 or iPhone. No android unless you are abusing google voice.

 

[cckgz4]

Evermote and wp7 social and office is the perfect college phone

Sent from my HD7 using Board Express

 

[1jaxstate1]

I thought Apollo was for lower end phones. I say grab a Focus S, Titan, or a prostitute 800 when they are available.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

[marcojavier]

Thanks for all of the replies! I'm actually thinking about just getting a used phone for now, something that would last until I could buy a high-end model when Apollo comes out. Hoping to switch before the week ends.

The only thing that actually makes me reluctant about buying a high-end WP device now is the screen resolution. The resolution of all WP devices right now aren't really the best. In this aspect, I can't help but compare it to the iPhone and some high-end Android phones. I don't care about dual-cores (as long as the performance of WP is slick), so that's not a problem. But whatever, I would do anything I can right now to get my hands on ANY WP phone. Hahaha bubye BlackBerry

 

[desmonium]

Thanks for all of the replies! I'm actually thinking about just getting a used phone for now, something that would last until I could buy a high-end model when Apollo comes out. Hoping to switch before the week ends.

The only thing that actually makes me reluctant about buying a high-end WP device now is the screen resolution. The resolution of all WP devices right now aren't really the best. In this aspect, I can't help but compare it to the iPhone and some high-end Android phones. I don't care about dual-cores (as long as the performance of WP is slick), so that's not a problem. But whatever, I would do anything I can right now to get my hands on ANY WP phone. Hahaha bubye BlackBerry

Good plan, buy a used Samsung Focus after Nov 10th - new Samsung Focus S is coming out on Nov 6th. There will be a price drop

 

[jimski]

Good plan, buy a used Samsung Focus after Nov 10th - new Samsung Focus S is coming out on Nov 6th. There will be a price drop

But don't buy a Focus if it's Build 1.4. Otherwise, you may have a long wait for updates. As you might have already discovered, most first generation WP devices are similar. Different screen sizes, but the same resolution, processor, RAM, etc. So any good used WP will get you through the next year, so do some research. Absolutely love my Surround and wouldn't trade it for any other WP to date. Heavy use every day and still trucking after nearly a year (11/8/10).

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[marcojavier]

Currently looking into the HD7, but according to the HD7 users here, they were having problems with their handsets after they updated to Mango. I'd prefer HTC over Samsung, but I'll take whatever I can get at this point. It's either HD7 or the Samsung Focus for me!

Thanks for all the help!

 

[M_D_Kaiser]

Check out the LG Optimus 7; it's treated like the ugly cousin of Windows Phones, but it has 16GB storage, physical buttons (love it!), metal body, gorilla glas(?) and the best battery life (from what I've read online). On top of that, it's the cheapest one out there! Admittedly the screen is not an AMOLED, but you'll need a Samsung phone if you want that. The loudspeaker also sucks; but it's good enough for when you want to use it as speaker phone.

 

[welsbloke]

The Samsung Omnia 7 screen is very good for first generation and is only marginally less capable than the iPhone 4 for example. You should be able to find plenty of comparison examples.

It is perfect for a second hand purchase.