Swap my Orbit 2/Polaris for a SE Xperia?

[Guest Zahid]

Because I've had a few replacements from O2 for my scroll-wheel rubber ring falling off (common problem), they've offered to change it for a Sony Ericsson Xperia or the Touch Diamond. I have 7 months left of an 18 month contract, so this could be a good to ease the wait for my contract to end so I can go for the Touch HD.

The problem is, I'm happy with my Orbit 2/Polaris apart from the rubbber key falling off.

I'm not considering the Touch Diamond because of the lack of external memory/SD card support, and the screen looks small.

Is the Experia an upgrades from the Orbit 2?

Is there any reason I'd regret swapping my Orbit 2/Polaris for the Experia?

I use my phone for mobile internet, email, navigation (tomtom), and calling.

Any opinions appreciated!

[Guest Monolithix]

To be honest, either of those handsets make an awesome upgrade to the Polaris. If you need a microSD slot then definitely grab the X1, it's roughly the same size and has an awesome wVGA (800x480) pixel screen. It's also got an above average slide out keyboard. Check out Paul's review here: http://www.modaco.com/content/reviews/2748...-the-sony-eric/

[Guest Zahid]

To be honest, either of those handsets make an awesome upgrade to the Polaris. If you need a microSD slot then definitely grab the X1, it's roughly the same size and has an awesome wVGA (800x480) pixel screen. It's also got an above average slide out keyboard. Check out Paul's review here: http://www.modaco.com/content/reviews/2748...-the-sony-eric/

Thanks for the link, i already read the review yesterday.

After looking around the web, it appears a significant number of Xperia owners are having issues with cracks appearing on thier phones

Having thought about it, I've never managed to fill more than 2gb of my 4gb microSD card in my Polaris, so I guess the 4GB internal memory of the HTC Diamond would be enough.

So I guess I'm now open to either the Xperia or the Diamond. I like the idea of the extra screen size of the Xperia, but the build issues are putting me off a little.

Will the Diamond perform as well/fast as my Polaris?

Another option is to go for the phone that sells for most money on ebay, sell it as soon as I get it unused, then put in some extra cash and buy a Touch HD.

Again, your opinions are appreciated, thanks.

Edited December 17, 2008 by Zahid

[Guest Monolithix]

Well the x1 I used was Paul's from his review (I guess I really should add my thoughts as he requested!) and didn't notice any cracks (although there are a few unusual paint chips...). Other than that I'd say its one of the sturdiest feeling handsets I've seen this year. The Diamond in my opinion is fantastic, the screen is a little small but it is still VGA and looks fantastic. In fact if O2 are offering you up the x1 you might even be able to push for a Touch Pro, which is also great (and as I mentioned in our Podcast, the great keypad actually resulted in me quite unexpectedly preferring it to the x1).

A quick search on t'bay shows x1's going for roughly twice what a Diamond is demanding, £350-400 compared to £170-200.

So I think if i were in your position, I'd go for the x1. And as you mentioned, if you dont like it, it'll go a significant way to covering the cost of an HD (which I just got this week, and it's brilliant :rolleyes:)

[Guest Zahid]

HD - nice :rolleyes:

I've email O2 just to confirm that they are offering the Xperia as a swa for my existing handset due to my ongoing issues with it, rather an upgrading me early. As long as this is the case, I'll go for the Xperia and sell it, then buy the HD :)