Who’d have thought that choosing a mobile phone would be so difficult!

Two years ago I entered into my first contract in about 10 years. I wanted a new phone and my monthly spend on Pay and Go was going up and up, so taking everything into consideration a contract seemed like the best idea.

I got everything set up and my shiny new HTC Sensation was delivered the very next day. Being the good and obedient person that I am, I placed it on to charge and refrained from using it. When I did switch it on…..it didn’t work!

There were no signal bars. This in itself is not that unusual in my house as the coverage is sporadic to say the least, even though there is a mast with a half mile of the house. I took the phone upstairs and placed it into the cradle and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it rise up to 3 bars. I picked it up to give it a little cuddle of joy and the bars disappeared. This went on for about a half hour or so, me picking up the phone and praying, it dying in my hands, only to revive when placed back into the cradle.

The next morning I phoned the company back, was told to return the phone and in less than 48 hours had a replacement. It wasn’t much better signal ways, but I was able to occasionally receive calls and text messages.

Skip forward about 12 months. I just happened to be online with my network provider and discovered they had a tariff for the same money I was paying, only it had better benefits. I phoned and inquired if it would be possible for me to be moved onto this instead of my current one and as a goodwill gesture they agreed. The next day I fell and met Alien leg.

After a couple of weeks I was really starting to lost the plot with not being able to make or receive phone calls or send and receive texts. I phoned my network provider and explained all this and one lady on the phone agreed that I did indeed have a limited signal and as a result I may be able to buy myself out of my current contract. I’d been researching phones and the Nokia Lumia 800 seemed to be the clear leader with regards to signal strength much due to it’s polycarbonate casing. The first lady put me through to another lady,  who told me there was nothing wrong with my signal. Her solution, if I was having problems, was to turn off my 3g and just use 2g within the house. A debate ensued, which I lost and in the end I purchased a Pay as you Go Nokia Lumia 800 with the vain hope I might be able to get a signal.

It arrived. I charged it. It had signal. I lifted it up. It still had signal. I made a call. I sent a text. I was delighted.

Fast forward another 12 months and my contract is coming to an end. There are a lot of phones I would like, however most of the newer ones start at £32 a month, which is £10 more than I pay now and I just can’t justify it.

So here are my choices:

Nokia Lumia 820 – The phone will be free and I will be able to carry on with my existing tariff for £22 a month.

Nokia Lumia 920 – This is the one I would like. It’s a free phone, however the tariff comes in at a slightly higher £27 a month.

Samsung Galaxy S3 – Various prices, but I have seen comparisons for a free phone between £22 to £27 a month.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini – Been offered it as an upgrade. Free phone, £22 a month.

HTC One – Although the reviews are great and my top reviewer Lee from Geeky and Freaky can’t wait to get his hands on one, it’s a little out of my price range at £32 a month.

So those are the main contenders. My apologies to Apple and Blackberry that you do not figure in my list. Iphones have no signal here at all for some reason, and I hate paying for apps and my fingers are to clumsy for a Blackberry.

There are pro’s and con’s to the other 5. Obviously with the two Nokia’s still having polycarbonate casing, I am guessing they would have the better signal, but there is a definite lack of apps compared to Android. That said they also have built in XBox Live which I love, it makes messaging and keeping in touch with gaming community so much easier.

Google Play for Android is hard to beat, especially the range and quality of the free apps available. I’d be able to play my games again on the train and also blog, given that the Android WordPress app is much better than the Windows one.

So if you had a budget and the choice, which would be your pick? Or do you have any other suggestions?