Best 3g Phone Available

girlx · May 18, 2008

can someone tell me which is the best 3G phone available in thailand since the 3G iPhone is not here yet? i am thinking it is probably the Nokia N95.

monty · May 18, 2008

Gotta be carefull what to buy when you need 3G.

AIS uses HSDPA 3G on 900 Mhz. Not to many phones support that frequency.

Dtac will use HSDPA 3G on 850 Mhz, where quite a few more devices support the frequency.

Not sure which exact model they sell here, but the US N95 8gb version does hsdpa on 850 and 1900 Mhz, making it compatible with Dtac (when they start rolling out), but not AIS (which currenty is active in Chiang Mai on 900 Mhz)

Gary A · May 18, 2008

Nokia E51;

GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900

WCDMA 850 / WCDMA 2100

monty · May 18, 2008

The Nokia 6121 classic does WCDMA 900/2100 Mhz, in case you happen to be in an AIS HSDPA area...

girlx · May 18, 2008

woah way to confuse me. i need one that works in Asia, the US, and Europe! I thought all I had to worry about was buying a tri- or quad- band!

p.s. should i just wait and buy in either the US or Europe? which is better?

Edited May 18, 2008 by girlx

nikster · May 18, 2008

I'd just buy a 3G iPhone, supposed to come out in June which is real soon now

monty · May 18, 2008

woah way to confuse me. i need one that works in Asia, the US, and Europe! I thought all I had to worry about was buying a tri- or quad- band!
p.s. should i just wait and buy in either the US or Europe? which is better?

The phone itself will work pretty much everywhere, it's just the internet part which is difficult.

HSDPA is widely used, but depending the area on different frequencies.

Also, most phones might be quad band, but only for voice, not necessarily for 3G. Voice might work on 850 Mhz, but internet only on 900 and 2100 Mhz.

Do note, that on the GSM networks, all phones will automatically fall back to GPRS/EDGE when no 3G can be found on the phone's 3G frequencies. So you'll have internet pretty much worldwide, albeit not always at maximum available speeds.

macduff · May 18, 2008

N82 nokia

monty · May 18, 2008

N82 nokia

HSDPA only on 2100 Mhz, which will be quite a while before it will get licensed in Thailand.

If you want to use the device in Thailand it'll have to be 850 (Dtac) or 900 Mhz (AIS) HSDPA capable

girlx · May 19, 2008

does anyone know where to get the latest news on when the 3G iPhone will be released here? is it out in the rest of the world already? will it be unlocked? trying to decide if i should wait for it or not.

jfchandler · May 19, 2008

Why do they have to make technology...about these things... SO difficult?

I love my Nokia E61i phone purchased in the USA... International quad band for calling and a ton of other features (still camera, video camera and music player) including full QWERTY keyboard. But in just re-checking to make sure... only 2100 band (EU version) for 3G Internet, which seems a ways off for Thailand... No 3G on the 850/900 bands.

One consolation: it does include Wifi, so I can connect via any public hotspot for free or pay a bit extra to add formal Wifi service to my True account. Right now, I use it with my home Wi-fi for free and when I travel at airports and such. It also can connect to the Internet via Bluetooth...and GPRS/Edge of course.

When I was shopping phone models late last year, I read everything I could about 3G for Thailand, and saw a maze of different frequencies and different statements from the different carriers about just when they supposedly would be rolling out the 3G service on different bands. Needless to say, past promises haven't been timely kept.

In the end with the E61i, I knew I was getting a 3G phone that might not work 3G in Thailand for some time, and apparently not work for 3G in the U.S. either... But I decided the phone's Wifi capability for me was probably going to be a more useful, widely available way of high-speed connecting to the Internet for the foreseeable future, whether I be in Thailand, USA or elsewhere.

Actually, in looking at many higher end phone models I found that they are increasingly offering some kind of 3G capability, though not necessarily the one your carrier uses or even your country uses. But I was a little surprised at the relatively small numbers of good phones that offer both 3G and Wifi...

As someone who travels between the U.S. and Thailand, I decided Wifi for everywhere and 3G 2100, now in Europe and maybe for the future in Thailand, was a good choice for me.

nikster · May 19, 2008

does anyone know where to get the latest news on when the 3G iPhone will be released here? is it out in the rest of the world already? will it be unlocked? trying to decide if i should wait for it or not.

it's not out anywhere. it will be unlocked and sold everywhere in the world in june. the latter is not official but in all likelihood that's what's going to happen.

whether or not it will support the 3G frequencies that are going to be used in Thailand is anyone's guess though.

bill1960 · May 20, 2008

does anyone know where to get the latest news on when the 3G iPhone will be released here? is it out in the rest of the world already? will it be unlocked? trying to decide if i should wait for it or not.

it's not out anywhere. it will be unlocked and sold everywhere in the world in june. the latter is not official but in all likelihood that's what's going to happen.

whether or not it will support the 3G frequencies that are going to be used in Thailand is anyone's guess though.

Telstra's June iPhone launch points to 3G

.........While there has been no official confirmation from Apple of a 3G iPhone, Telstra's licensing of the handset strongly suggests the company intends to release a multi-frequency (850/2100MHz) HSDPA-capable iPhone to work with both Optus and Vodafone's 3G networks, as well as Telstra's Next G network.......

http://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/Telst...39288769,00.htm

monty · May 20, 2008

........While there has been no official confirmation from Apple of a 3G iPhone, Telstra's licensing of the handset strongly suggests the company intends to release a multi-frequency (850/2100MHz) HSDPA-capable iPhone to work with both Optus and Vodafone's 3G networks, as well as Telstra's Next G network.......

Which means it'll be good on Dtac when they roll out HSDPA, but will never work for AIS customers...

Krub · May 20, 2008

Nokia 6500

Works perfect even in USA, Japan and Korea !

Japan and Korea were off limit to even GSM phones

Great little light business phone with 1GB intern memory

jfchandler · May 20, 2008

Read this article on TV today, out of the BKK Post, about AIS's problems with 3G...

If you listen to their president, it sounds like they're heading for using 2100 for the future, and having problems with 850....

There's also a list of the only 3 phones that supposedly work with AIS 3G now...and just one Nokia among them.

Digitalbanana · May 20, 2008

Read this article on TV today, out of the BKK Post, about AIS's problems with 3G...
If you listen to their president, it sounds like they're heading for using 2100 for the future, and having problems with 850....

There's also a list of the only 3 phones that supposedly work with AIS 3G now...and just one Nokia among them.

Great so maybe my O2 Flame will work as it's 2100 ! More likely the phone will be obsolete by time 3G ever gets going in Thailand.

monty · May 20, 2008

Read this article on TV today, out of the BKK Post, about AIS's problems with 3G...
If you listen to their president, it sounds like they're heading for using 2100 for the future, and having problems with 850....

There's also a list of the only 3 phones that supposedly work with AIS 3G now...and just one Nokia among them.

AIS is in a difficult position due to the fact that the only frequency band they own is also used for their voice calls (all on 900 MHz).

So until they get allowed to use the 2100 MHz band, they are stuck with very little spare capacity on which to offer 3G.

Actually the 900 MHz band is 25 MHz wide, of which in Chiang Mai they allocated 20 MHz to voice calls, and the remaining 5 MHz to 3G.

Combine this with the fact that very little devices can handle 3G HSDPA on the 900 MHz band, and AIS has very little chance in getting this thing of the ground.

Dtac on the other hand is lucky in the fact that they still have the rights to the 850 MHz band, which currently is unused (used to be for the old analogue phones, now defunct). Dtac uses 1800 Mhz for their GSM voice calls.

So Dtac has the full 25 MHz available for their 3G services, along with the fact that 850 MHz 3G devices are widely and plentiful available (used both in the US and closer by, Australia) means that Dtac actually has the best chance of getting 3G of the ground.

If I understand correctly they are awaiting approval to import and deploy the 850 MHz equipment, and maybe approval from CAT, since Dtac has the right to the 850 MHz band through a concession with CAT...

jfchandler · May 20, 2008

Hmm... that's a pretty bad marketplace position for Thailand's largest mobile carrier... AIS...when it comes to 3G....

But on the other hand, DTAC doesn't even had permission to import the necessary equipment yet... So...I'm not holding my breathe here....

Not exactly a compelling reason to go rushing out to buy a 900 mhz 3G phone...

So...for Thailand, who's likely to be the first to actually deploy 3G on the 2100 band???

Pushit · May 20, 2008

Hmm... that's a pretty bad marketplace position for Thailand's largest mobile carrier... AIS...when it comes to 3G....
But on the other hand, DTAC doesn't even had permission to import the necessary equipment yet... So...I'm not holding my breathe here....

Not exactly a compelling reason to go rushing out to buy a 900 mhz 3G phone...

So...for Thailand, who's likely to be the first to actually deploy 3G on the 2100 band???

When Khun Thickskin has all the ducks lined up with the NTC and shoots them down one by one ??

monty · May 20, 2008

Hmm... that's a pretty bad marketplace position for Thailand's largest mobile carrier... AIS...when it comes to 3G....
But on the other hand, DTAC doesn't even had permission to import the necessary equipment yet... So...I'm not holding my breathe here....

Not exactly a compelling reason to go rushing out to buy a 900 mhz 3G phone...

So...for Thailand, who's likely to be the first to actually deploy 3G on the 2100 band???

I think all operators will be granted the 2100 MHz simultaneously, meaning they'll all deploy roughly the same time. Both AIS and Dtac have the budgets available.

Only Dtac does not need the 2100 MHz anytime soon. They have the complete 850 MHz band today, which should serve their 3G needs for a long time to come!

AIS was allowed to import their equipment (only for 30 cells though), so I think Dtac will get going soon. They know AIS is stuck in a corner with their limited bandwidth.

MJo · May 20, 2008

Read this article on TV today, out of the BKK Post, about AIS's problems with 3G...
If you listen to their president, it sounds like they're heading for using 2100 for the future, and having problems with 850....

There's also a list of the only 3 phones that supposedly work with AIS 3G now...and just one Nokia among them.

AIS is in a difficult position due to the fact that the only frequency band they own is also used for their voice calls (all on 900 MHz).

So until they get allowed to use the 2100 MHz band, they are stuck with very little spare capacity on which to offer 3G.

Actually the 900 MHz band is 25 MHz wide, of which in Chiang Mai they allocated 20 MHz to voice calls, and the remaining 5 MHz to 3G.

Combine this with the fact that very little devices can handle 3G HSDPA on the 900 MHz band, and AIS has very little chance in getting this thing of the ground.

Dtac on the other hand is lucky in the fact that they still have the rights to the 850 MHz band, which currently is unused (used to be for the old analogue phones, now defunct). Dtac uses 1800 Mhz for their GSM voice calls.

So Dtac has the full 25 MHz available for their 3G services, along with the fact that 850 MHz 3G devices are widely and plentiful available (used both in the US and closer by, Australia) means that Dtac actually has the best chance of getting 3G of the ground.

If I understand correctly they are awaiting approval to import and deploy the 850 MHz equipment, and maybe approval from CAT, since Dtac has the right to the 850 MHz band through a concession with CAT...

True, the operators in Thailand are using 900MHz and or 1800MHz for 2G GSM voice with GPRS/EDGE data connections (sometimes called as 2.5G). Thaimobile also seems to have small 1900MHz network in Bangkok area. GPRS/EDGE is usually enough to carry normal internet use and emails (just forget big attachments and steaming videos).

Would not count much on 3G over 850 or 900MHz, AIS has 30+ base stations in Chiang Mai so it will take 6 to 12 months to roll-out proper coverage and capasity in bigger cities like Chiang Mai or not to mention BKK.

Licenses are not out for usual 2100MHz 3G freq and most likely are not issued this year due politics. After the licenses are out it will take again 6 to 12 months to roll-out coverage to main cities followed by road coverage and rural areas. To reach coverage and capasity of present 2G it might take 2 to 3 years. So at the time when all this is done, iPhones and other gadgets are long forgotten and there is better models available in the market...

If one needs the 3G outside of Thailand then just buy proper quadband phone that supports HSPA. Wifi is a plus as most of the coffee shops and airports have free coverage nowdays. iPhone might be cool with big screen and iPod style mp3 player but pretty useless as basic phone, short battery life etc... Also there is lot of small PDA's in the market with phone, GPS, Wifi, big screen and windows office software and so on that suit internet browsing in the coffee shop better than iPod.

girlx · May 20, 2008

there is lot of small PDA's in the market with phone, GPS, Wifi, big screen and windows office software and so on that suit internet browsing in the coffee shop better than iPod.

could you name a couple so i can check them out?

Fun2Fun · May 20, 2008

HTC Diamond

girlx · May 20, 2008

hmm never heard of it.

jeffer · May 20, 2008

HTC Diamond

jfchandler · May 20, 2008

HTC makes some good, higher end phones...with big screens... But..they're pretty much unknown in the U.S....because no carriers pick up their phones under that brand. But..they have their own web site... and several different models in the right area...

Also..you can check out this CNET resource....for some ideas....

girlx · May 20, 2008

ooh the HTC Diamond Touch looks great! I also saw another HTC phone with great reviews in the Bangkok Post this week. does anyone know if the Diamond is available yet here? otherwise it's between the Nokia N95 8GB or the Nokia E51 for now.

bill1960 · May 21, 2008

ooh the HTC Diamond Touch looks great! I also saw another HTC phone with great reviews in the Bangkok Post this week. does anyone know if the Diamond is available yet here? otherwise it's between the Nokia N95 8GB or the Nokia E51 for now.

This a an easy to navigate website with all the latest phones. Just click on pictures down the right side of the webpage.

http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2008/05/06/115608.html

yes, the HTC Diamond looks good. I note from the HTC website that it only weighs 110grms with battery, compared to the Iphone at 135g .

Some of the other PDA Phones on the mobiletech website have good features but they are bricks

The HTC Diamond is probably the lightest and physically smallest 3G phone with a 2.8"screen ??

Due to my slow internet connection, I couldnt workout how you type on the thing. Does it have a full virtual querty keyboard ?

As for availability, I believe it will be released later this year which puts it up against the 3G Iphone due for release in June. The 3G Iphone with 3.5" screen will be tough to beat.