Dopod? Nokia Nxx? O2? Smartphone?

[Sunny Valentine]

I am a bit lost with all these new Multifunction phones curently on the market. Bus, as I feel the urge to renew my phone, that is what I like to get:

Form Factor: Not too Bulky (definitely not the iPAQ Smartphone Size I had two or three Years ago). Dopod, Nokia N Series look ok for me.

Connectivity: WiFi, Edge, Bluetooth a Must. I would prefer a cable to the PC when usingit as a modem though, my experience with Bluetooth in these circusttances have been disappointing). Full Email including IMAP, a possibility to read PDF, DOC, XLS, TXT File attachments.

A well-thought Webbrowser where you can access html Pages, if possible including Java, Javascript, php and the like.

Either a Keyboard, or a well´designed virtual Keyboard. An addon Keyboard (if not too bulky!) would be a good addition as well.

Three o Quadband, I would be tempted for the possibility to use it in real 3G Networks abroad as well!

Good Voice Quality, and the option of using REALLY LOUD ringtones, as well as Vibrating.

Battery life 3 - 5 Days with normal use (30 min phone, 1 hour organiser a day appox.)

I don't care about Camera, Video, MP3 Player at all. I prefer to use my camera and iPod, as they are superior to everything built into a phone anyway, for the time being.

And a goo and reliable data synchronisations with WinXP.

GPS and mapping would be a nice extra, but not 100% necessary.

Any suggestions on which model I should have a go?

Sunny

[astral]

I have the Nokia N70 which covers most of your points

Connectivity: WiFi, Edge, Bluetooth a Must. I would prefer a cable to the PC when usingit as a modem though, my experience with Bluetooth in these circusttances have been disappointing). Full Email including IMAP, a possibility to read PDF, DOC, XLS, TXT File attachments.

A well-thought Webbrowser where you can access html Pages, if possible including Java, Javascript, php and the like.

I have Opera and Acrobat installed

Either a Keyboard, or a well´designed virtual Keyboard. An addon Keyboard (if not too bulky!) would be a good addition as well.

No just the phone pad.

I only plan on sending sms and this is fine for me

Three o Quadband, I would be tempted for the possibility to use it in real 3G Networks abroad as well!

Good Voice Quality, and the option of using REALLY LOUD ringtones, as well as Vibrating.

Battery life 3 - 5 Days with normal use (30 min phone, 1 hour organiser a day appox.)

Yes.

Mine has 1Gb of memory, so good for mp3, 2Mpix camera - so so.

Bluetooth, but comes with the usb cable and sw for direct connection as well.

Supplied sw allows for backup to XP.

Memory card can be removed and inserted directly into my notebook.

mp3 ring tones supported.

[solo siam]

Just bought teh Blackberry 8100 Pearl and am VERY HAPPY with it, Don't know how I lived without it - Push email is a synch (I set mine up in 20 seconds) and it can send messages to both your outlook and your blackberry at the same time, I bought a 2gb MicroSD memory card for 1300 baht to add to it.

[nikster]

My N73 does most of this except the keyboard. But it does most of this badly and s-l-o-w-l-y. Except maybe the very loud ringtones - the stereo speakers on the N73 are unbelievably loud, way louder than my laptop. You an use it as a portable boombox, almost.

Connecting as Bluetooth modem is easy and works well.

Nokia PC Suite can synchronize and do everything you'd want to, but it's terribly buggy so much so that it fried my system at one point. Garbage.

Maybe Samsung BlackJack or Nokia E65? Or Blackberry if you can live with the design.

[Raskol]

By the criteria you list I'd suggest you check out :

HTC s710

First one with WM6, also has slide out qwerty and strong wifi antenna.

No 3G or HSDPA, but those would be a waste in Thailand and bring the price up too.

[danone]

can only recommend the nokia e61.

had a treo before - what an archaic device in comparison!

if you also want to browse the internet, get the opera browser for the e61.

its multifunctional capabilities are amazing. you can edit documents, make a phone call and surf the net all at the same time - and send an email.

first i feared it may be too bulky, but forget it. and the price is quite reasonable for all the functions offered.

the symbian OS is as stable as you can wish and syncing over my mac works like a breeze.

battery life gives you a few days.

[Phil Conners]

Check out HTC-S620. In Thailand it is sold rebranded as Dopod (don't know the exact model number). Specs are like the Nokia E62 except it uses WM5 instead of Symbian and has a considerable smaller size. The default display colors (yellow/greenish) are awful but can easily be skinned to a cool black.

[nikster]

Check out HTC-S620. In Thailand it is sold rebranded as Dopod (don't know the exact model number). Specs are like the Nokia E62 except it uses WM5 instead of Symbian and has a considerable smaller size. The default display colors (yellow/greenish) are awful but can easily be skinned to a cool black.

Random news bite: The Dopod brand - wholly owned by HTC - is going to go away completely. HTC will in the future sell all its devices under the HTC brand name.

Personally, I will wait for the iPhone. Current smart phones suck more or less, and I am hoping the iPhone will change things for the better here. Not in terms of features, just in terms of usability. It's going to be out in June in the U.S. (and I am feverishly thinking of ways to get it from there...)

[bendix]

Personally, I will wait for the iPhone. Current smart phones suck more or less, and I am hoping the iPhone will change things for the better here. Not in terms of features, just in terms of usability. It's going to be out in June in the U.S. (and I am feverishly thinking of ways to get it from there...)

Me too. I've got a business trip lined up for Chicago at the end of July and will collect one then. I'm assuming I can just bring it back and use with a Thai sim-card?

[Phil Conners]

I think you'll probably find them in the shops here the week after ... but the first couple of months they will probably be very expensive. Thailand loves new gadgets!

[danone]

I think you'll probably find them in the shops here the week after ... but the first couple of months they will probably be very expensive. Thailand loves new gadgets!

the iphone?

if that were true ... normally new mac-things shop up in singapore and malaysia a week or two after their global launch.

thailand usually needs another month.

with the iphone though its a whole new game. at&t has an exclusive for quite some time. the iphone wont appear in europe before autumn. guess asia is not on the priority list.

most probably they'll lock the phone to certain carriers. buying a phone in the US to use over here may not work.

see how they lock the ipod? apple is good in what they're doing and no third party softwares will be allowed for the iphone, meaning: even more difficult to get into the system and unlock that lock.

am waiting for the iphone too, but soon after the launch of the first model there will be a broader variety.

i'd wait out the teething issues, even though they may be minor.

[Morbius]

I have the Nokia N70 which covers most of your points

I don't think the N70 has WiFi capabilities (which the OP mentioned as a 'must')

[Morbius]

Suggest you take a look at the E-TEN glofiish X500 and M700. They seem to have most of the features you require and both have built-in WiFi and GPS (however, not sure about the external keyboard connectivity feature). And E-TEN PDA phones get high rankings on most user reviews.

E-TEN web site: http://www.etencorp.com

[BackinBKK]

I'll 2nd Ben's recommendation on the Blackberry 8100 Pearl. It's by far the best I've ever used. THe phone alone is great, but then add on all the smart features like the suretype, the trackball, ease of messaging, synching with outlook, and not to mention the Blackberry push messaging, there is nothing out there that can touch it. If you don't believe Ben and I, check out the reviews online. Plus I think you can pick one up on ebay (new unlocked) for around $300 USD (compare that to any Nokia or other "smart" phone). The only thing youre missing is WIFI, but who needs that on your phone if you have fulltime EDGE service from TRUE or AIS?

Do yourself a favor and buy this phone.

[astral]

I have the Nokia N70 which covers most of your points

I don't think the N70 has WiFi capabilities (which the OP mentioned as a 'must')

I did say "most of your points" in my original reply.........

Are there any mobile phones with WiFi?

PDA's yes.

[Sunny Valentine]

I'll 2nd Ben's recommendation on the Blackberry 8100 Pearl. It's by far the best I've ever used. THe phone alone is great, but then add on all the smart features like the suretype, the trackball, ease of messaging, synching with outlook, and not to mention the Blackberry push messaging, there is nothing out there that can touch it. If you don't believe Ben and I, check out the reviews online. Plus I think you can pick one up on ebay (new unlocked) for around $300 USD (compare that to any Nokia or other "smart" phone). The only thing youre missing is WIFI, but who needs that on your phone if you have fulltime EDGE service from TRUE or AIS?

Do yourself a favor and buy this phone.

Thanks for that recommendation, as well as all the others. Still unsure what to do.

I definitely need Wifi, as I suffer from DTACs Edge speed andreliability for too long now. Its all news to me that true has deployed Edge? I will check into that!

Other than that, I am more and more leaning away from Windows Mobile units (had a Compac Ipac for a while and hated most of the OS) and will probably look into the Nokia E or N Series.

Sunny

[Insight]

Check out HTC-S620. In Thailand it is sold rebranded as Dopod (don't know the exact model number). Specs are like the Nokia E62 except it uses WM5 instead of Symbian and has a considerable smaller size. The default display colors (yellow/greenish) are awful but can easily be skinned to a cool black.

Using the HTC TyTN here - slightly bulky, but absolutely love it. Does everything the OP requested with bells on.

(Branded in Asia as the Dopod 838 Pro, but probably worth holding out as per nickster's post).

Just upgraded it to WM6 which is slightly faster than WM5 and a lot more "phone friendly". Syncs perfectly with MS Office as, obviously, it's all MS.

[appleman_thai]

i have been using a DOPOD 818 Pro for over a year now.

I have been thru all the supposed "smart?phones" and this is by far the best.

Out of the box it was useless but after loads of time and customisation it is now really cool.

I have everything i need including wifi, skype, phone, thai language, dictionaries, word, excel, mp3, camera, photo viewer etc etc etc.

What I would say is to invest a lot of time in setting up the phone in the beginning. If you are NOT into gadgets then stick to a Nokia.

[Casanundra]

i have been using a DOPOD 818 Pro for over a year now.

I have been thru all the supposed "smart?phones" and this is by far the best.

Out of the box it was useless but after loads of time and customisation it is now really cool.

I have everything i need including wifi, skype, phone, thai language, dictionaries, word, excel, mp3, camera, photo viewer etc etc etc.

What I would say is to invest a lot of time in setting up the phone in the beginning. If you are NOT into gadgets then stick to a Nokia.

Agreed that the Dopod is a great Phone. I upgraded from an O2 Mini and my Dopod far out classes the O" on so many levels.

One thing to be aware of however is that if you plan on taking the Dopod back to the UK and wish to use one of the local sim cards in it that the 'select network' option may cause you some headaches as it is predominantly set up for Asian networks only. This causes the phone not to be configured correctly and as the UK doesn't know what a Dopod is, it causes a few minor blips until you can download the software onto the phone in order to overcome the problem.

Other than minimal / no UK coverage for the Dopod the phone itself is one of the best I have ever owned

[appleman_thai]

I have returned to Ireland in the last 2 months and I am using my DOPOD on the 02 network without any problems at all.