Broken Lumia 900, need cheapest WP replacement

[drusand810]

Hi all,
Wasn't sure where to post this or if the forums have a "deals" thread already. I recently broke and subsequently lost my lumia 900 on a trip to New Orleans (yes, I'm a complete heartbroken idiot, I know).

It's been a few days and I'm about to reactivate my HP Veer after waiting to switch to WP for over a year. But I really don't think I can do the switch back. So I'm asking you guys, what's the cheapest route to a WP device?

I'm doing everything I can to win another Lumia 900 (searching for contests, entering as many times as possible, going to a Behind the Tiles event, etc.). But if I can't do that, I'm looking for the cheapest available phone right now that will work on AT&T.

I could spend $450 on a new 900, but, as much as it pains me to say, with Apollo devices on the way, it seems smarter to find a cheaper stopgap now and wait to drop a huge chunk of cash on one of those.

Thanks for your help.

 

[red grenadine]

You can get a Samsung Focus on ebay for probably $100 used / $150 refurbished

 

[Old_Cus]

I would try EBay

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[lolken]

ebay .. i would also recommend the focus.. im not a samsung fan, but of the first gen phones the focus was the best IMO.

just be careful who you buy form on ebay.. remember to check the seller reviews.. my friend recently bought a non functioning (floor model) samsung focus S for $100 .. hahaha..

 

[Rodolfo#WP]

I never recommend ebay, but I affirm the Focus recommendation. I just posted yesterday, on another thread, that I may never upgrade because it is unlikely that I will find a phone with the combo of features that the Focus brought to the table in its first-release form, plus the nearly flawless experience I have enjoyed.

I've been shopping for a like-new or reconditioned Focus hoping that the Lumia release will free many and lower asking prices generally. The lowest price I've seen is $100. Amazon has a reconditioned one for 170 and new ones from 200. Sorry about your phone and good luck with your next one.

 

[FriendOrDafoe]

Dell venue pro will be your cheapest solution. It has a great design but the hardware is... well not that great. You can get one unlocked and brand new for $250 or search for a used one.

 

[socialcarpet]

No insurance on the phone huh? I think the Focus is a great recommendation. Or maybe a Lumia 710? Not sure what those are going for though. You might try Craigslist as well, that way you don't have to wait for the new phone to be shipped to you and you can see before you buy.

Sorry this happened to you.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[drusand810]

Well, the plot just got way thicker.

When it went missing, I didn't think to check my skydrive, but apparently, the cab driver who found my phone accidentally took a picture with it and it got a glimpse of his ID. He probably took it trying to turn off the phone (I called it many times, but he eventually did turn it off so I couldn't track it). I can't read what the ID says, but I'm shooting it out through the internet to see if someone else can. If any of you are CSI types or photo geniuses, here's the pic:

https://skydrive.live.com/pagenotfounderror

and for fun, here's precisely where he took the photo:

Bing Maps - Driving Directions, Traffic and Road Conditions

Even if I can't retrieve it, gotta say, these features are amazing. If I do somehow get it back, it'd make a heck of an ad!

hopefully the lumia's camera is not as bad as everyone says...

 

[bear_lx]

amazing, simply amazing. how cool would this be if we could get it back baes on this info? put it on facebook, twitter, and craigslist in NO. i would try and use some photo editing software and try and blow that id up. there is the feature of locking the phone via windows live, and displaying a message of your choice on the homescreen... very useful for when you lose your phone.. you could put a message on the phone that says something like, " this phone is trackable and locked, please return to:" or "this phone belongs to chuck norris, and i highly reccommend you return it , or else..."

good luck!

 

[JR A]

File a police report, never hurts to do so when you lose something.

Contact the cab company or agency and see if anyone working there can put a name to the face of that ID card. Do you remember what day and what hour you were using the cab? And did you get the cab's ID number (car number)?

That info will tremendously help in tracking down who your driver was.

 

[aarondr]

Can't use fine my phone? Also - I'd recommend finding a used or craigslist Samsung Focus Flash - great phone/hardware on the cheap. Smaller & not as nice screen, but I found a couple for about $150 - and they are 2nd gen parts (1.4 GHz, 512MB Ram, - only 8GB space thought :-( ). Great little phone as long as you have your 25GB of skydrive.

 

[drusand810]

File a police report, never hurts to do so when you lose something.

Contact the cab company or agency and see if anyone working there can put a name to the face of that ID card. Do you remember what day and what hour you were using the cab? And did you get the cab's ID number (car number)?

That info will tremendously help in tracking down who your driver was.

Thinking about doing a police report since I haven't yet, though I'm back in NYC. Does anyone know if you can get an exact timestamp in SkyDrive? I only have "3 days ago."

Unfortunately, I did not get the car number or even the company...I was still up at 8 am, so you can imagine my state of mind. I did trying calling every company I could find, but it hadn't been turned in. It's pretty distinct as it's a Cyan lumia with a completely busted screen

Also to all asking: I can't use find my phone, it's been turned off. I've been checking every day to see if it's on and I have a lock message ready to go if it ever turns on.

 

[Ordeith]

Thinking about doing a police report since I haven't yet, though I'm back in NYC. Does anyone know if you can get an exact timestamp in SkyDrive? I only have "3 days ago."

Unfortunately, I did not get the car number or even the company...I was still up at 8 am, so you can imagine my state of mind. I did trying calling every company I could find, but it hadn't been turned in. It's pretty distinct as it's a Cyan lumia with a completely busted screen

Also to all asking: I can't use find my phone, it's been turned off. I've been checking every day to see if it's on and I have a lock message ready to go if it ever turns on.

I show a date taken of 04/22/2012 7:28am

But I don't know if that is localized to the timezone the photograph was taken in or my own.

 

[squire777]

In terms of a cheap replacement, if you know anyone that lives in Canada they can probably get you a 710 for about $250 (though you'd have to unlock it and the shipping charge).

 

[pavvento]

I have my Titan (2 months old) with box on Craigslist for $300 but would sell it for $250 since you're on the forums. Let me know if you're interested; I'm in San Francisco but can ship it!

 

[oldpueblo]

I've bought no less than six gen1 WP7 devices for $100 or under on craigslist.

 

[Gmotagi]

Thats the best I can do with the image without distorting it more. Not csi im afraid

 

[gsquared]

You can get a Focus for well under $100. I'd say if you pay more than $50 your getting ripped off. If Nokia would let me get a white Lumia 800 here in the US I'd sell ya my Focus for that amount.

 

[DavidinCT]

Thats the best I can do with the image without distorting it more. Not csi im afraid

If the OP is going into NY and going to go to file a complaint, print out that image and take it with you. The cops might know by the logo on the ID on what company it was. Also I would call around to cab companies in NY again to see if your phone showed up after a few days.

As for a cheap replacement, ebay but, do your homework. Make sure it's a clean phone that is not banned from the network, most good sellers will post about that.

 

[Sasquatch76]

I bought my Focus Flash a week ago for $130 shipped from Gazelle on eBay. Like new condition, regardless of the "good" condition they listed it as.