Galaxy Ace

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Noig

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#104377 17-Jun-2012 10:45

My old phone is coming to an end in a couple of weeks
Has anyone bought a Glaxy Ace( or Ace Plus 7500)? Could I get one unlocked?
Any pros and cons? Could I have GPS on it?Best place to buy?
Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

Altan

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#642029 17-Jun-2012 10:48

Take a look on the xda-developers, I'm sure the Galaxy Ace section can tell you any pros & cons.

Noig

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#642032 17-Jun-2012 10:57

Altan: Take a look on the xda-developers, I'm sure the Galaxy Ace section can tell you any pros & cons.

Did not find much there tough here I have found a comparison to another Ace model. I'll check for reviews and see what comes up.
Also how does it work with unlocking such a device? Had a quick look on the net and there seem to be a few websites offering paid unlock options.
Have not found any unlocked Ace 7500"s in NZ online shops?

jeffnz

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#642097 17-Jun-2012 14:04

how do you mean "unlocked " most android phones in NZ are unlocked and work on most networks and XT as long as they have 850 band. Friend bought an Ace a month ago its very good and does most things the S2 does but wee bit slower. It has GPS uses google maps so does use data. Check out pricespy it will show cheapest place. but they seem to be under $300 and some places a lot less.

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Noig

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#642113 17-Jun-2012 14:49

jeffnz: how do you mean "unlocked "

Just to be able to choose any plan from any supplier.

jeffnz

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#642120 17-Jun-2012 15:27

ok not sure if it does XT as what I have seen is only 900 which is VF and 2 Degree's, to work on all networks needs to be quad band 3G

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robjg63

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#642128 17-Jun-2012 16:05

You would be ok on vodafone and 2 degrees.
As mentioned above - apart from 'skinny' handsets phones arent locked here and all the parallel imported ones are unlocked.

The Ace will work fine on VF and 2D, but as mentioned above the ace doesnt have the 850 band. Dont know about the ace plus.
There are numerous places selling the ace - but it is now around 18 months old (I bought mine last october).

Theoretically there was a model somewhere overseas that could work on XT - but I wouldnt believe you can get hold of one of them here.

I find the GPS a bit slow to get going - but the google navigate is very good - you wont need a separate GPS device. I like the fact that google navigate reads street names - though sometimes the pronunciation can be 'odd. Usually best in the car to run it on a charger as the GPS etc does kill the battery PDQ.

Its a good cheep phone. I just turn off the 3G/GPS/Bluetooth etc and just use the phone part and it lasts a week on a charge - I dont make many calls though. If you had 3G turned on all the time it might last a working day. I find its ok if I just turn the other things on when I want them.

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ChevronX

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#642344 18-Jun-2012 08:40

I have a Galaxy Ace, and for the price it is really good. As mentioned above, Bluetooth/GPS seem to work fine for me but like all phone GPS chips problems connecting inside but I personally think this is a really good midrange phone.

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Noig

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#642348 18-Jun-2012 08:52

Thanks for the replies.
One reason for me to potentially move to a smartphone is the gps.
Which other phones up to 500 dollars would may be better?

scheduler

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#642404 18-Jun-2012 10:41

Sorry I didn't see this yesterday as Bond and Bond had the Ace plus for $299 yesterday only. I bought one and have had no trouble setting it up 2 degrees. All the specs say it dual band UMTS ie 900 and 2100 so definately no good for Teleco,

I haven't had a good go but so far it seems a nice phone for a midrange phone

oxnsox

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#642417 18-Jun-2012 10:59

Noig: Thanks for the replies.
One reason for me to potentially move to a smartphone is the gps.
Which other phones up to 500 dollars would may be better?

I'm a fan of the Motorola Defy (or Defy+) for it's screen size, battery life, and compact overall size. But you need to choose whether to buy the XT compatible one of the VF/2deg one.
Though having said that, it's an issue you'll face with most low/mid end handsets

saym77

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#651087 5-Jul-2012 08:53

I have one, great for entry level into andriod devices and reasonable priced, but dont go off what the specs say, esp for battery life as its all wrong, you may be dissapointed in what you get, i reccomend going into Parallel Imported and playing with the phone there (they have them charged up and ready to paly with) then compare with other phones in that price/spec field.

cheers

robjg63

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#651094 5-Jul-2012 09:02

saym77: I have one, great for entry level into andriod devices and reasonable priced, but dont go off what the specs say, esp for battery life as its all wrong, you may be dissapointed in what you get, i reccomend going into Parallel Imported and playing with the phone there (they have them charged up and ready to paly with) then compare with other phones in that price/spec field.

cheers

The only part of the battery life claims that may be vaguely true are if ALL the GPS/Wifi/3G/bluetooth are off, then the standby time and call time are great. As soon as any of those things are on you can just about see the battery dropping.

Though I have 2.3.3 installed - dont know if the later versions of android have any tweaks for battery life.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

Jaxson

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#651298 5-Jul-2012 13:54

Noig:
Which other phones up to 500 dollars would may be better?

http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/

$200 off tonight only.

Noig

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#651971 6-Jul-2012 16:27

Thanks, to late as I just came back from a 10 day Pacific holiday. I assume the $599.- is the full price?

crackrdbycracku

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#651988 6-Jul-2012 16:46

I am a big fan of my Motorola Defy but I think what you can get in that price range has moved on a bit in the last 2 years or so since it was released. Still a good phone but at present I would buy this:

Samsung i9070 Galaxy S Advance 8GB, for $489

http://www.mobicity.co.nz/samsung-i9070-galaxy-s-advance-8gb.html

This is about what I paid for a Defy 15 months ago.

Defy is still going strong.

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