So my Samsung Galaxy S (i9000m) has taken a lot of abuse, but has died. It won’t boot at all. It won’t even load the battery charging indicator. I tried to push stock firmware to it, and no luck. It is officially dead.

I could get Bell to send it off for repair, at an average cost of $180. But if it is the built-in memory like I think it is, then it would be much more expensive, more so than buying a used Galaxy S off of Kijiji or something.

I have always felt the build quality of this device was lacking, and having it completely die two years into a three year contract sucks. So now I have to spend some serious money to get a phone back into my life, and I want one that I will be reasonably happy with.

No matter which phone I move to, I’ll most likely have to pay $165 towards an “early upgrade fee”. So I’m already in the hole for that amount.

Here are some quick details:

• I’m with Bell and am reasonably happy with my current plan
• I have a microSD memory card that I could move to a new phone if it supports it
• I really like Swype on Android devices
• Samsung build quality worries me
• I’ve never owned an iPhone

So my current options are the following: iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, or the HTC ONE S. Since I’m going to be stuck with this phone for the next two or three years, I am sticking to devices I would want to own.

Apple iPhone 5
I haven’t owned an Apple phone, but I am surrounded by people that do. They have all been happy with their devices, and while they aren’t the most feature packed phones, they seem to be quite durable and have a reasonably long lasting battery.

The biggest issues here are cost and time to ownership. There could be as long as a three week delay in getting my hands on an iPhone 5 due to limited production and the popularity of the device. It doesn’t officially hit the stores until this Friday, and will cost $199 on a three year contract for the 16GB model.

I would have to buy a new SIM card, as well as the phone, and the early upgrade fee. So the total cost would be over $400 walking out of the store.

Samsung Galaxy S3
The most feature filled phone in the list, this is the latest upgrade of my current phone. It runs the latest Android operating system, and could support my microSD memory card, increasing its base storage.

I am worried that its battery life will be sucky, though I’ve heard mixed reports on this. The biggest advantage though is that because it has a removable back, I can get an extended battery for it, like I did with my current phone. I found this to be a huge improvement, and the increased size and heft made the device feel better in my hand, and would probably do the same for the S3.

I could probably walk out with one today. It would cost me $100 to purchase the phone.

The total cost walking out of the store with the phone would be under $300.

HTC ONE S
The middle phone in terms of features, this phone couldn’t use my microSD card, doesn’t have a replaceable battery, and doesn’t run the latest version of the Android operating system. It is $50 cheaper than the Samsung, has less features and lower specs, but is considered to be very durable.

I could probably walk out of the store with one today. It would be $50 for the phone, and the total cost of walking out of the store would be just a little over $200.

Conclusion
I really want to move on this quickly as I am not used to going without a little laptop in my pocket that I keep on me all the time, also it is a great way to keep in contact with people through text messaging. Lastly, I am taking a trip to Annie’s for Thanksgiving so I really need to have this sorted out by then.

Please vote on the poll, give suggestions in the comments. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

NOTE: I will probably put whatever phone I get into a case this time around to help resist/reduce any bumps and bruises it might get