4evermaat

Catcom in Surin sent a technician to my house to ensure the signal would work where I would be using the net the most prior to me purchasing the modem.

I live approx. 15 kms out of the city.

I would suggest you ask them to do this if you are living outside the city. You may get a good signal on your laptop in their office but it may not work or only work at slow speed where you are living. You can buy an aerial from them if you need one.

Hope this helps.

Is this free service that CAT provides to potential customers?

The Samsung Galaxy Cooper

The Samsung Galaxy Cooper (S5830) hit the local market this weekend; ~ 9,900 baht at Jaymart. Evidently selling quite well. Comes with froyo (Android 2.2). Looks like a great mid-range Android phone.

http://droidreign.co...s-and-pictures/

AKA: "Ace"

I guess at the expo I got a steal 9100. I thought about getting 2. and they gave away a free gym bag and wep490 bluetooth headset. I have contacted Samsung about the USB drivers for windows and hopefully mac also. You can connect the flash drive part, but not the tethering part due to missing drivers that I need to install manually. Their official website still does not list the model.

If you're shopping for Android you might be best to wait a wee while.

There are a boatload of new models coming in Q1 which will have far better specs, and some forthcoming Android flavours will require additional power to run well.

This may be true for tablets, and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), but not really relevant to Android phones, the focus of this thread. Android 2.1, 2.2 and even 2.3 are pretty robust and can run on the bulk of the platforms we're discussing here.

Most of the recently announced models, coming up for release in 1H seem to be amping up camera, graphics and video; with bigger screens, and in the U.S., higher bandwidth radios. I'd say now is the best time to buy; great deals on older models, like the Galaxy S and whole new batch of capable mid-range models (10,000 baht). But, I guess waiting is always an option.

+1 . I was playing the waiting game also. But the truth is that I'll never be 100% satisfied with what is out there. Either the price, specs (missing flash, bug with wifi, lack of nearby tech support or software support). So I figured I might as well jump on the opportunity.

Thanks for all the info, Im planning to stay in Chiang Mai. I like the sound of the MIFI as then i can connect my phone to it as The only deal i have looked at was from AIS and that was 4000 for the stick and 950 a month with a limit of 5gb. I like to download and watch a few youtube videos from time to time so it would have to be unlimited or a high gb usage.

well. Where can i get the CAT from? would they sell them in most plazas or would it be a on line job?

My girlfriend said that it is the first one on this list:

http://www.catcdma.com/catshop/north.htm is the one in chang mai. Only one store unfortunately, whereas phuket had at least 3. They may speak english, 9/10 it is better to have a thai person do the asking for directions to their storefront. bring your passport and work permit with you. If no work permit, either a long-stay visa may do the trick or they may insist on having a thai person to do the billing. I would push gently first to have it in your own name. But if that doesn't work, your thai friend is the backup. I still prepay anyway to make sure there are no interruptions.

Bring your laptop with you and do not leave until the internet is working 100%. on the EVDO (high speed).

I wanted to only use my smartphone for this and not my laptop. I was curious to know what kind of quality you are receiving? And what application you were using to connect. Also, what kind of rates are we getting. I have an account with callcentric.com and i can use several SIP dialers. I think I will go with cSipSimple.

Your not going to get high speed off a usb stick. The sticks are only good for checking email and looking at web pages, streaming audio is okay but video forget it. I pay 100 bhat for 30 hours of internet each month but what I discovered recently was that you don't have to wait each month for the next 30 hours. All you have to do is ring up the operator cancel the contract and pay to start a new 30 hours, which cost 1 bhat.

I think you were referring to an EDGE/GPRS stick?

CAT has a CDMA 3G offering, 3.1 mps, at approx. THB 850 per month (this includes 7% VAT). You need to purchase the USB dongle from them. They have a range of products and prices; I believe the cheapest is around THB 7,000. You can find more information at http://www.catteleco...=588&subcat=756 (English language but not much info) or their current CDMA products at http://www.catcdma.c...uct/product.htm (Thai language only).

+1. Cat is going to be your best bet. You can get a usb for 3000 baht. The EC150 may be discontinued, but was one of the few that used a SIM card. So theoretically, you could switch out the CAT sim and put in a HUTCH sim as needed. Not sure if that worked in practice; just what the CAT office told me. But more importantly, if you take the modem to another country that supports the same network frequency, you should be able to use it there.

Most of the other USB sticks have the software already flashed to the respective company's hardware. it kind of locks you into that company, which is very prevelant in the U.S.A.

CAT offers a MIFI modem. I recommend that one highly. 5900 + 850/month and you can connect up to 5 devices simultaneously.

Jiu is correct also. You would need to determine where you spend the majority of your time. If you insist on having high speed everywhere, you'll have to buy 2 or 3 separate accounts e.g. one hutch account for bangkok/pattaya and CAT cdma for Chang Mai/Southern Thailand phuket chumphon etc. If you travel often, you can do a temporary suspension of your account in one provider and re-activate with another. Then reactivate in another provence. Maybe if its not so often, you may have to do a permanent cancellation of service. But it's no cost to activate again. It would take a little longer for the paperwork. There is no one-stop nationwide coverage for high speed mobile internet. Companies like TOT and 3BB have tried to fill this gap with wifi hotspots. But then I think they limit it to certain provences or hours of use.

Thanks for the report.

I remember back in the early 90's these shows used to be held at Central LadPrao convention hall. Personally, I have got rather tired of the Queen Sirikit conventions for computers and mobile phones. It's the same old vendors turn up each time, occupying the same footprint in the display halls and resembles a market rather than a convention. Prices no cheaper than can be found in the IT malls (not Central PowerBuy but Pantip, Fortune and Zeer). Pushing through 10 deep crowds to get a product I can buy more comfortably on any day of the week at a mall lost its appeal.

Somewhat true about the market thing. But the only other thing they could do is demonstrate current or upcoming models and give out free t-shirts. What else can they do really? I think expos are similar in the USA. I used to go to a computer show, and that's all they did was invite vendors to sell computer-related stuff.

Can you please advise where exactly Pantip, Fortune, and Zeer are? I need something to show a thai person that is much more familiar with Bangkok than I am. Maybe I will check these stores out the next time I am in BKK.

I think I tried to visit Pantip website, but it was difficult to navigate their online store, let alone the site itself.

We will need to know your location city/provence

and speed requirements

They have the lg optimus 2x and the black for demo, not sale. I think samsung had the galaxy 2s on the podium. Just about all the vendors had at least one android/wm phone that if the release was within 3 months or already released in another market, they had a demo. You would think they would just sell a few at full price just to test the market and make a few people feel special.

They have the lg optimus 2x and the black for demo, not sale. I think samsung had the galaxy 2s on the podium. Just about all the vendors had at least one android/wm phone that if the release was within 3 months or already released in another market, they had a demo. You would think they would just sell a few at full price just to test the market and make a few people feel special.

here is some information on how to get there. I had to look this up myself. I learned that the Thailand Mobile Expo tme will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Location info is here: http://www.qsncc.co....about_howto.asp and a map here: http://www.qsncc.co....ncc/ncc_map.htm . Surprisingly, there is no thai on the website.

If multiple people are going, metered taxi may be the most practical.

I guess I can throw up something real quick here. I went around 1030am and spent several hours going through all the major booths. I was looking for a phone under the 10000 price range, I was thinking of jumping on a 12-15000 model if it just blew me away. It takes a lot to impress me with a phone.

Some notible mentions:

1) What I was not aware of is while all the brand names have their own section (Samsung, iMobile, etc), they still had subdivisions of separate vendors. In other words. the Samsung section had 12 different independent Samsung dealers. It was annoying in a way because i had to ask each booth "how much is this model?" I guess it helped to go in looking for specific model already or being set on one or two models per manufacturer. So i guess it is good for the consumer in that you could negotiate the price down. Most of the vendors. Maybe late saturday or sunday the other vendors will "discount for you". But be prepared to spend a lot of extra time in negotiations.

2) Many of the deep discount promotions are really just lottery drawings that they do at different times. I was surprised at how little many of the vendors were willing to negotiate. The Acer people really did not budge at all in negotiations. Neither did HTC, Dell, Asus, or Sony. LG and Samsung were the most price-friendly. But we'll see what happens maybe saturday or sunday.

3) Now the iPhone 4 line at the TrueMove booth was always full, and they had about 30+ flat screen computer terminals with credit card swipes each. The terminals were at 100% capacity every time I looked over. Looked like the only thing that could stop them is if those terminals went offline. I was not wanting an iPhone myself, but just couldn't help but notice the very structured, assembly-style setup they had.

4a) From my point of view, the iMobile was the most let down. Most of their android phones did not have newer firmware. They had a few unrelease models, i693, i694, i695. one of which had 2.2, but another one I was trying to check the specs and it appeared that the menu kept crashing. The i651 was the only recent model worth looking at, and they scaled back heavy from the previous 3G 8500, i810, i858 models. Only 3mp camera and android 2.1, for 7000 baht. The i692 specs were a bit of a letdown (only dual band and a 2mp camera)?

4b) On the other hand, Wellcom had the A86 and the older A88 for 5900 each. One of the booths had a deep promotion. If you buy one, the second one is 2000 baht off. And they still tossed you a free t-shirt and 1000 baht true sim. They would not budge on the A99 (2.2): 9900 baht. And they wouldn't let you take 2000 baht off the A99 or vice versa as. The A86 is probably the best value android 2.1 phone. I wouldn't be surprised if they release 2.2 for the A86 in the future. It just seems that Wellcom continued to improve and outdo their previous model as well as many competitors, whereas iMobile seemed flat and not to care.

5 ) Plenty of accessory shops. I recommend that you get the screen protection IMMEDIATELY after you buy the phone. There were about 4 vendors doing this for 50 baht each and they will cut it exactly to fit your phone right on the spot.

After the show, I did go to Central across from the Big C in Bangkok. My lady said it was one of the biggest Centrals in Bangkok, if that helps. Anyway, many of the mobile shops did not have all of the models that they did at the show, especially the newer models like the Acer Liquid Metal and the Samsung Galaxy Cooper. This included PowerBuy. If you really want the phone, send someone to get it for you in person.

I can provide a more fuller details when I get some free time, but I think I gave you the gist of it. Going in with some awareness definetly helped, and I still carried the laptop.

edit: after narrowing it down to the Wellcom A99, the LG Optimus One, and the Samsung Galaxy Cooper, I went with the cooper. Excellent choice for 9100 baht that I was able to discount. And they gave me a voucher for a free mini gym bag and a nice samsung bluetooth earpiece Maybe a 2000 baht value if i think that bluetooth piece is worth 1500 retail. I also got a free leather case, but that was completely useless as it didn't fit. They would not give me a t-shirt no matter how much I begged. Anyway I used some of that discount to pick up an 8gb micro SD card. 390 and they had the 16gb for 790 baht. There was only 1 vendor doing this exclusively (and USB sticks also).

LG actually was giving away tons of extras with the optimus one (android 2.2) : car charger and holster, 8gb SD card + 2gb sd card, +jelly case + 300mb true move net sim + navigation (GPS software from LG?) I only spoke with two of the dozen vendors, and the flyer price of 10,500 went down to 8300 baht. I think a large reason why is because the optimus 2x is already emitnent in release and maybe they have an overstock. They had prototypes, but none for sale.

Part of what made me lean away from the Welcomm A99 was that they wouldn't budge on the price at all. But I thought about it afterwards and it really is a lot of powerful hardware. I don't know how solid it is in actual daily use, but assuming it is functioning 90% 95% capacity, it's still one of the best out there hardware wise. So I guess the Samsung brand name and the girlfriend's final decision after we went back to both booths to get the Samsung were some of the final factors. No regrets so far after playing around with it.

Also note: NO FREE WIFI. So bring your own internet connection if you bring your laptop.

Also note 2: Bring your passport or a copy of your passport. You need that to participate in the promotions as a farang. Or a drivers license. I asked "can't I just use my cell phone #"???? NO.

I'm at the Thai mobile expo. i'm seeing these units at 8300 and maybe lower if you negotiate at each LG booth (one area, but different LG vendors) + 2GB +8GB + case + net sim card 300 MB + navigation + car charger. I was doing some last minute comparsions on the laptop before I purchased and I narrowed it down to the Wellcom A99, LG optimus One, and the Samsung Galaxy cooper. I talked the cooper down to 9100 and after that, it was only accessory extras (she eyed the price sheet). So i figured I hit the floor on the profit margin

The optimus 2x and optimus black were on display, but unavailable for sale. One agent said appx 20,000.

If he lives in Chiang Mai he can try to do get a medical extension there, till he is able again to travel. The letter from the doctor is essential and some hospitals have liaison with immigration and can take care of this for him.

But it must be because of an illness. They will in all likely hood not do it in case someone is permanently disabled and in a wheel chair. Than he has to apply for a normal extension of stay if he qualifies.

Wouldn't it be cheaper to have a thai person or even a farang help assist in walk/carry the person over the border and back? The worst cost would be an additional visa run ticket, correct?

I learned that the Thailand Mobile Expo tme will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Location info is here: http://www.qsncc.co.th/about_qsncc/about_howto.asp and a map here: http://www.qsncc.co.th/about_qsncc/ncc_map.htm . Surprisingly, there is no thai on the website.

And from the looks of it, if multiple people are going, taxi may be the most practical.

Went down to Penang for my imm 'b" last week, smooth and easy and cheapish...

Single or multiple-entry?

I got single entry.. for work purposes. People got 12 months imm 'o' multiples if they had had one previously. Onr guy had 3 in a row. 15 months at a time!!

(jim hasnt updated his website for AGES)

Would I be able to take a letter of invite from any school on "official looking letterhead" and get an non-ED visa?

The non-o's, what was their reason on the application?

Now that I think about it, I'm considering heading to that mobile expo this weekend in bangkok. Each of the major phone vendors will be having decent promotions, and they will have many android phones at all kinds.

For a good android phone (7000 -10000 bhat range), the Acer beTouch e140 is reasonably. The Samsung Galaxy Cooper

But they will have several that are in the 3000-7000 range also, including a spriiing querty for 6000 baht or so.

http://www.thailandm...eexpo.com/2011/

This show is at Queen Sirikit Center. Typically there are not a lot of huge deals per se. Rather many nw models are showcased, and you can get added to the waitlist, or they throw in extra goodies (case, memory, etc.), but not a lot of movement on price. Most mall stores will match the Expo price, for those bigger retailers.

Thanks for the tip. I guess I'm comparing Chumphon to the expo. There is virtually NOTHING middle or high-end out here. Gotta order or have a friend buy/ship it to you. So I figured I'd just go right to the action myself.

I will be taking the bus from Chumphon for the first time to Bangkok. Any idea how to get there from the bus station? I want to rent a motorbike also to make it easier to go as I please.

Now that I think about it, I'm considering heading to that mobile expo this weekend in bangkok. Each of the major phone vendors will be having decent promotions, and they will have many android phones at all kinds.

For a good android phone (7000 -10000 bhat range), the Acer beTouch e140 is reasonably. The Samsung Galaxy Cooper

But they will have several that are in the 3000-7000 range also, including a spriiing querty for 6000 baht or so.

These are available on the local market if you want to try one:

Sorry for the lousy mobile phone picture but it is a 30cm cast iron pan, 1 cm side and bottom thickness with the handles part of the same casting. The depth is 6-7cm. They work fine but are very heavy and also expensive. I think the two I bought were over 700 baht each.

I will ask around locally for a cast iron pot. I need a flat-bottom pan for the induction cooker.

ours will be 990 Baht. Did not yet figure out the shipping within Thailand.

@sbk: don't act too surprised

Please keep us updated. Will some of these be flat-bottom pans? Shipping is fairly cheap in thailand, unless you charge for delivering to the post office. Villa Market got me for at least 150 bhat on that maple syrup order.

I think you should consider where you will be using your phone, and on what type of networks, paying special attention to the 3G frequencies your prospective model supports, and those offered by your service provider. I think the iPhones support many 3G frequencies while a local Galaxy S would only support 900/2100 MHz (so would not work with True or DTAC 3G which use 850 MHz).

Right now, it seems like the Samsung Galaxy S, the HTC Desire, the HTC Desire HD might be the top-shelf Android phones here?

The Nokia N8 (not Android) gets high marks.

The Galaxy S has been out for almost one year, and the S2 is expected maybe end Q1/begining Q2, and has been a hugely successful model, especially in the U.S. where it is sold by AT&T, T-Mo, and Verizon (under different names). It seems like the Galaxy S supplies are dwindling here, with the 8GB version (more than adequate IMO)generally available for 17,500.

The HTC Desire has also been out for a while, it seems like it available for ~ 15,000, while the HD, which is quite new, is holding at the MSRP of 22,900 (w/32 GB), but available for less with smaller uSD cards. Both of these HTC models support 900/2100 MHz 3G only, so no-go with True or DTAC 3G.

TOT 3G operates on 2100 MHZ, and is available fro TOT or via resellers like iMobile, iKool and others).

You can check street prices at www dot thaimobilecenter dot com

Here is a great link that compares the different price lineups. http://www.thaimobil...tail.asp?nid=82 scroll down to see the comparison chart. see English translation http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thaimobilecenter.com%2Fhome%2Fmobile_article_detail.asp%3Fnid%3D82

I think that the wellcom A99 is the best priced value. I did see some of the local thai vendors in the Ocean Mall carry the Acer Liquid Metal. 14900 and I didnt know it had so many specs. A little pricey for me, but it is powerful little phone.

There are a few phones that have all the 3G spectrums 850/900/2100.

I am interested in the following phones i-mobile i692 Android 2.2 and the iNote. I wanted to know if anyone has played with one? How much am I looking at to buy?

I briefly got a chance to view the i651 (android 2.1) , and i remember the price being 7500 when I left Phuket. Are there any places that sell these online? Local thai shops that can EMS post after a 7-11 payment or bank account payment.

When it comes to certain things in Thailand, the resell value is very low when going to a company to buy back items. The best deals would be a genuine item (not copy or knock-off) that you already purchased at a store. Then you return to the SAME store to purchase a new phone. Ask first what their buy-back policy is.

It's a risk thing, especially with a small electronic device like a cell phone. To be honest, you will get a better price selling it privately, either via craigslist/thaivisa classifieds, or local swap meet. Or asking some of your thai friends if they need a phone or can help ask around for you. If you can sell it for 1/2 of current retail, you did very well. 2/3s of current retail, you got lucky.

Wow. I'm surprised ... (well, actually, not that surprised!).

I must admit, I haven't specifically looked in my local Carrefour, but Robinson have plenty of them.

The touristy area stores will most likely have what you need. The same store name but in a less busy place is less likely to have what you want.

But I see in a year or two Chumphon getting an iMobile shop and some other stuff. They already have Jay Mart in the Carrefour. A Homepro would be a welcome addition. But i was surprized st how much some of the local thai vendors are carrying (near the farang bar). You could get lucky at the local market also.

These are available on the local market if you want to try one:

Sorry for the lousy mobile phone picture but it is a 30cm cast iron pan, 1 cm side and bottom thickness with the handles part of the same casting. The depth is 6-7cm. They work fine but are very heavy and also expensive. I think the two I bought were over 700 baht each.

Expensive???

700 baht is cheap.

Yes, a true cast iron pot for 700 baht is very cheap. True value quote me 3000 for similar size.

The Link works for me - and Verasu is certainly the best place I have found in Bangkok for specialist cooking equipment etc..

Patrick

It works now. Not sure what happened, but nothing came up a few hours ago.:jap:

I think it would be much safer to get the appropriate pots/pans. The labeling usually indicates whether it is suitable for induction. (basically, aluminium is not.)

I broke down, sucked it up, and decided to buy a induction-compatible frying pan. They had one NOT at Makro, NOT at Tesco Lotus and NOT at Carrefour where they sell ONLY the induction heating plate. (I searched almost everywhere for an old fashion single electric range--no one had one). Dont you love when a major chain sells a product (especially exclusively), but none of the compatible accessories?

A local Thai cookware shop had one 560 baht for the 24cm; the 28cm was 910 baht. It was about 100 meters from the Farang Bar in Chumphon.