If you’re looking into getting a brand new mobile phone you might be amazed at all the choices you have on shelves these days. With thousands of handsets to choose from and more being released all the time, the real problem can be deciding which of these many phones is going to be the right one for you. There are a couple of considerations that you need to keep in mind while you’re shopping.
The first is finances. You’ll be spending a minimum of around £500 on a new, top of the line mobile, and that’s a lot of money, especially in today’s economy where many of us are trying to save some cash. Fortunately, you should only need to buy a new phone around once every two years or so, but you should still be sure that you’re spending wisely and not wasting any of your hard earned cash.
The second is performance. Most of us use our mobiles every day and are somewhat dependent on them, either for work or personal reasons, so getting a good quality and reliable device is essential. You need to know that you’re getting a phone that can do everything you need it to do. This means having a close look at specs on models you’re interested in before you buy.
The only way to know that you’re getting good specs for a good price is by comparing phone, but this isn’t always easy. Mobile spec sheets, descriptions and feature lists are often loaded with jargon and data. This makes reading these sheets both difficult and time consuming for the average shopper. That’s why we’re here to help you today.
We’ve looked at some of the hottest new releases on today’s shelves and put them to the test, placing models in head to head comparisons that easily let you see which the better device is. If you’re mobile shopping and want to know that you’re getting a great phone, keep reading to find out which of today’s two chosen phones is going to come out on top.
Introducing the Two Phones…
Both of today’s models come from bestselling manufacturer Samsung. The current Samsung flagship is the Galaxy S4 model, but the company have released a few variants on the classic S4. Today we’ve got the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, a rugged phone that’s waterproof and dust proof. The Active is the cheaper of today’s devices, so do you need to compromise on performance to get a lower price?
The second model is a phablet, meaning that it combines the larger screen of a tablet with the functions of a mobile, and it’s from Samsung’s bestselling Note series. The newly released Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is a stunning device with some high end specs, but it’s also very expensive, so is it worth paying more for?
What You’ll Pay…
If you can afford to pay full price up front then you can get a SIM free hand set that you can use with any mobile service provider. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is going to cost you around £500 SIM free, whilst the more expensive Note 3 will cost you about £630
You can also sign a mobile incentive contract with an operator so that you don’t need to pay full price up front. The best deal on the Active right now is with Vodafone, and you’ll pay no money down on a £37 a month calling plan. For the Note, the best deal is with Three, and again you’ll be paying no money down on a £37 a month plan.
Mobile operator deals are notorious for changing very quickly. It’s best to use a tariff comparison site like uswitch.com to make sure that you’re getting the most up to date information and the best prices. You can get an overview of your UK operator options here.
What They Share…
These models are quite similar, as you may expect. Both are Android touch screen devices. Both run the same 1900 MHz processor, so they’re equally fast and responsive. They’re both 4G phones, meaning that you can get faster mobile Internet speeds as long as you have a 4G data plan from your operator. Finally, both run Bluetooth 4.0, the newest version, so you’ll get faster data transfer and lower power consumption when connecting.
What the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Does Better…
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active really doesn’t have any serious advantages over the Galaxy Note 3. It is the smaller device, however, being around ten per cent smaller than the Note. It’s also lighter, weighing in at 151 grams versus the 168 gram Note. This makes the Active a little easier to put in your pocket and carry around with you.
What the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Does Better…
As the more expensive device, the Galaxy Note 3 obviously has some advantages. It’s a phablet, so it has a larger screen, measuring in at 5.7 inches versus the five inch Active. This gives you a better viewing experience and makes on screen typing easier. The Note’s display is also a Super AMOLED screen, rather than the TFT LCD display on the Active, so you get better and more vivid colour reproduction.
The Note does have the better camera. It has a built in 12.8 MP camera, as opposed to the standard 8 MP camera on the Active, so it can pick up more fine detail and therefore take better quality pictures.
Finally, the Note has a larger internal storage capacity. It has a 32 GB internal memory rather than the 16 GB memory on the Active, so you can store double the amount of music, photos and other data on the Note.
What’s the Best Buy?
These are both great devices, but in our opinion it’s worth spending a little more money to get the larger screen, better camera and bigger memory on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Phil Turner was advised to visit this page at uSwitch.com to see the most up to date reviews available for the sansung galaxy note 3 http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/news/2013/10/samsung_galaxy_note_3_review/
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