I'M Looking For A Smartphone

[lomatopo]

I don't understand. I thought Google pulled out of the handset game when they discontinued the Nexus One. I could have sworn I read something about them handing over 'responsibility' for Android handsets to HTC...they're back in?

http://www.google.com/nexus/#!/index

Believe it is manufactured by Samsung, an off-shoot of the Galaxy S.

Available from T-Mo.

Edited December 8, 2010 by lomatopo

[TheyCallmeScooter]

http://www.google.co.../nexus/#!/index

Believe it is manufactured by Samsung, an off-shoot of the Galaxy S.

Available from T-Mo.

wowow. That looks hot.

They've really sorted out the smartphone early battery issues?

Battery

• Talk time up to 6.7 hours on 3G
  (14 hours on 2G)
• Standby time up to 17.8 days on 3G
  (29.7 days on 2G)

I don't want to get into an Apple v Google debate, but for iWorld lovers, where is the iAdvantage in buying Apple now? What advantages left can the iPhone boast that Android can't?

[lomatopo]

I don't want to get into an Apple v Google debate,

Are you sure?

but for iWorld lovers, where is the iAdvantage in buying Apple now? What advantages left can the iPhone boast that Android can't?

I'm glad you don't want to get into that debate.

I think each individual has to learn a bit about each phone's capabilities, and then make the best decision based on their requirements. I have no need to praise or bash any models, but am interested in features, capabilities and potential drawbacks so I can make an informed decision. Full disclosure: I own AAPL, GOOG and QCOM.

I think Google wanted to launch Gingerbread (Android 2.3) on a platform before CES, so they cobbled together this Nexus S. In this case it looks like a great smartphone and "cobbled" is not meant to be a negative. It looks like Honeycomb (Android 3.0) might be targeted for the next generation of tablets?

Edited December 8, 2010 by lomatopo

[TheyCallmeScooter]

but for iWorld lovers, where is the iAdvantage in buying Apple now? What advantages left can the iPhone boast that Android can't?

I'm glad you don't want to get into that debate.

I think each individual has to learn a bit about each phone's capabilities, and then make the best decision based on their requirements. I have no need to praise or bash any models, but am interested in features, capabilities and potential drawbacks so I can make an informed decision. Full disclosure: I own AAPL, GOOG and QCOM.

Yeah, that's all I meant. Just functionality the iPhone has that the Android models don't have is what I'm interested in. Disclosure, I've never owned an iPhone (obv why I know nothing about them)...

[Crushdepth]

Functionally, they are nearly the same and both have apps for nearly anything. The major difference is in terms of access to the file system, the iPhone is much more restrictive in terms of adding files to the device, which has both its advantages and disadvantages.

So just go for whatever you are most comfortable with, they're both good. But if you are an Uber Geek or need to deal with remote computers or move files around then you'd have to be some kind of idiot to buy an iPhone. I have both, and as far as I'm concerned the iPhone is a wonderful toy for i) people who have no clue (ie. most of humanity, that's ok) and ii) people who have a clue but are compulsive Apple apologists

iPhones are destined to be the luxury image device for people with leather pants and too much cash. Android will be the OS for the masses, based on merit not fashion.

[lomatopo]

you'd have to be some kind of idiot to buy an iPhone. I have both, and as far as I'm concerned the iPhone is a wonderful toy for i) people who have no clue (ie. most of humanity, that's ok) and ii) people who have a clue but are compulsive Apple apologists

iPhones are destined to be the luxury image device for people with leather pants and too much cash. Android will be the OS for the masses, based on merit not fashion.

Seriously, I realize its a TV requirement to insult as many people as possible while appearing to be above it all, but you do realize you've pretty much personally insulted ~ 60 million people? (~ 75 million units sold to date) There goes the idea of having a reasonable discussion.

And leather pants? What's up with that?

There are so many options now it is amazing really. When I started at Nokia we had three (3) models, not model lines! Now, yikes. On the high end of smartphones it seems like a used iPhone 3 GS or new iPhone 4, along with the Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Desire, HTC Desire HD, Nexus S lead the pack?

It looks like the next gen, with dual-core processors from both Samsung (Orion) and Qualcomm, might hit the market in Q1. I was expecting some announcements on this front at CES, but that may be too early in the quarter so no one wants to impact current sales.

I'd love to hear some more first-hand local reports on the Galaxy S, Desire, Desire HD and if you have any details/recommendations to share re: data usage, plans

[TheyCallmeScooter]

iPhones are destined to be the luxury image device for people with leather pants and too much cash. Android will be the OS for the masses, based on merit not fashion.

Sweet, I was hoping for that. I've long suspected my friends that rave about their iPhones are dribbling iRhetoric. I'm glad I missed that whole fad.

I just never understood how the concept of a locked down world would be attractive to anyone except Steve Jobs. Google are too good.

[TheyCallmeScooter]

you'd have to be some kind of idiot to buy an iPhone. I have both,

Seriously, I realize its a TV requirement to insult as many people as possible while appearing to be above it all, but you do realize you've pretty much personally insulted ~ 60 million people? (~ 75 million units sold to date)

I'd love to hear some more first-hand local reports on the Galaxy S, Desire, Desire HD and if you have any details/recommendations to share re: data usage, plans

He did say he bought one 555

I can give limited report on HTC Desire - bought one for my g/f and really, really regret it. Should have given her my 1 month old Nokia N97mini which is aiight, but lol_terrible compared to the Desire. Just feels like a waste ditching a couple month old phone, not sure what I was thinking, been with Nokia for over a decade brand loyalty, I'm a moran etc.

Desire is a beautiful phone. But I think this Galaxy S might be slicker...

[lomatopo]

I can give limited report on HTC Desire - bought one for my g/f and really, really regret it.

Well, that is a limited report. Can you expand at all on your experiences with the HTC Desire?

[TheyCallmeScooter]

I can give limited report on HTC Desire - bought one for my g/f and really, really regret it.

Well, that is a limited report. Can you expand at all on your experiences with the HTC Desire?

Well I've only played with it a few times when she needs help with something, but she usually has to wrestle it back off me. It's almost incomparable to my N97mini for usability. Your fingers just glide over the touchscreen, which seems to just...know...what I'm trying to do. As I've never had an iPhone, it's possible they have the same effortless interface (which would explain why they rave about it, now that I think about it). Or it's possible the N97mini is just a dud 'smart' phone.

Edited December 9, 2010 by TheyCallmeScooter

[alant]

Nokia N8 is a tasty phone runs on the symbian 3 system

agree, if you can get hold of one! 16500b new. symbian 3 is multitasking, camera is 12mp with true flash although i find flash sometimes leads to foggy pictures. geotagging, base memory 16gb internal plus expand via micro sd to 48gb, music free for life sat nav interfaces and links with outlook.

huge base package of course very late and apps are much less than iphone and or android models but it does what i want mostly. battery is internal and pretty good.

negatives, skype not yet which given superb easy to use wifi is a shame.

3g, not in Thailand until the authorities have sorted

[lomatopo]

The N8 has a robust 3G radio: 850/900/1700/1900/2100

[MJo]

The N8 has a robust 3G radio: 850/900/1700/1900/2100

People look nowdays only how the UI looks and how the touchscreen slides. How many "smartphones" people bring from overseas that does not work on local frequencies.

N8 by the way has skype now available. Taylor made for Symbian 3. Same with Opera for web browser. Only major issue with N8 is the outdated looking browser. And naturally the missing qwerty but E7 will sort that one out. Everyone who uses phones for work and email etc E7 will be your best bet. It just works with office files, corporate email (msexchange), you can use USB thumb drives etc etc and all out of the box, no need to install or buy applications.

Looks good as well, different than the iphones and HTC's that are all the same.

[lennois]

.. music free for life ...

How do you hook that up? Bought one recently but didn't see anything about that.

N8 is a whole lot of phone/camera/offline gps for 16500 baht i must say. Great buy.

Only issue is no portrait qwerty but that is coming shortly. Default browser sucks as well but can just use opera mini or mobile so no issue (and browser will be updated with the portrait qwerty)

Edited December 22, 2010 by lennois

[guzzi850m2]

I just bought a HTC Wildfire for 10700 bath + 500 for GPS installed. As a first time smart phone buyer I must say that I am very impressed indeed. I am not really willing to pay more for a phone.

Now I just have to find out how to download apps. and so on, he-he.

[Bkkboet]

negatives, skype not yet which given superb easy to use wifi is a shame.

3g, not in Thailand until the authorities have sorted

skype now available, although still not video (hopefully will be available soon though). New browser is due sometime this or next month, meant to be big improvement over existing one.

While I love the N8, the only thing still lacking is the availability of apps, they have some catching up to do to apple & Google in this respect. For me though Nokia is still the best hardware, the most open OS & Ovi Maps is without par so sticking with them for the moment.

Edited January 4, 2011 by Bkkboet

[Issangeorge]

Does anyone have a Blackberry Torch? What do you think of it?

[Crushdepth]

We have a torch in the house and the official verdict is that it sucks.

[edwinchester]

I finally plumped for the Samsung Galaxy 3 after 3B/TT&T forced my hand by cutting my internet connection without warning.

Absolute bargain at 8300 bht in MBK and does just about everything I ask of it.

Thanks to all who offered advice.

[BB1950]

What about this new 'Optimus One' by LG - heard good reviews and it costs under 10,000 Baht.

I just bought one a couple weeks ago. I'm very pleased with it. The phone does what it's suppose to do very well. Good value for the money. It uses Android 2.2.1

I'm just not pleased with Thailand mobile phone carriers. I mainly have to use it at WiFi Hotspots, because 3G is not really available outside of Bangkok.

It came with a TrueMove high-speed NET SIM card. True published a map showing the 3G coverage areas. According to the map, the 3G service area appears to cover a large area of Pattaya/Jomtien. What a load of crap!

I couldn't find 3G service anywhere around Pattaya/Jomtien. I finally called True Care. They told me the 3G service was only available in areas of Naklua.

The GPS and maps appears to be pretty accurate around the Pattaya area, but it's slow (probably because of the poor internet speeds away from the wi-fi hotspots).

[lomatopo]

What about this new 'Optimus One' by LG - heard good reviews and it costs under 10,000 Baht.

I just bought one a couple weeks ago. I'm very pleased with it. The phone does what it's suppose to do very well. Good value for the money. It uses Android 2.2.1

I'm just not pleased with Thailand mobile phone carriers. I mainly have to use it at WiFi Hotspots, because 3G is not really available outside of Bangkok.

It came with a TrueMove high-speed NET SIM card. True published a map showing the 3G coverage areas. According to the map, the 3G service area appears to cover a large area of Pattaya/Jomtien. What a load of crap!

I couldn't find 3G service anywhere around Pattaya/Jomtien. I finally called True Care. They told me the 3G service was only available in areas of Naklua.

The GPS and maps appears to be pretty accurate around the Pattaya area, but it's slow (probably because of the poor internet speeds away from the wi-fi hotspots).

Can you share the exact model number? I looked at the specs for the LG Optimus One P500 and see that it has 900/2100 Mhz 3G radios. It does not appear to have a 850 Mhz 3G radio so would not expect you could get True 3G regardless of location? Are you sure your model has an 850 Mhz 3G radio? (This model does have a quad band GSM radio 850/900/1800/1900.)

[BB1950]

What about this new 'Optimus One' by LG - heard good reviews and it costs under 10,000 Baht.

I just bought one a couple weeks ago. I'm very pleased with it. The phone does what it's suppose to do very well. Good value for the money. It uses Android 2.2.1

I'm just not pleased with Thailand mobile phone carriers. I mainly have to use it at WiFi Hotspots, because 3G is not really available outside of Bangkok.

It came with a TrueMove high-speed NET SIM card. True published a map showing the 3G coverage areas. According to the map, the 3G service area appears to cover a large area of Pattaya/Jomtien. What a load of crap!

I couldn't find 3G service anywhere around Pattaya/Jomtien. I finally called True Care. They told me the 3G service was only available in areas of Naklua.

The GPS and maps appears to be pretty accurate around the Pattaya area, but it's slow (probably because of the poor internet speeds away from the wi-fi hotspots).

Can you share the exact model number? I looked at the specs for the LG Optimus One P500 and see that it has 900/2100 Mhz 3G radios. It does not appear to have a 850 Mhz 3G radio so would not expect you could get True 3G regardless of location? Are you sure your model has an 850 Mhz 3G radio? (This model does have a quad band GSM radio 850/900/1800/1900.)

The model is a LG-P500

You appear to be absolutely right on.

.

You are correct about the radios according to the specs, I just looked them up on:

http://www.gsmarena....e_p500-3516.php

True and CAT do use the 850 Mhz 3G frequency. TOT appears to be the only operator to have a 2100 Mhz 3G license. At least until bids are tendered by the Thai government, which is being blocked by the government telecoms and vested interests.

Looks like a long wait till I'll be able to use 3G on the LG Optimus One. I'll probably have a new phone by then!

I suppose this problem probably occurs with most Smartphones on the market today. Definitely misleading promotion by the mobile phone carriers. You really have to search out the details and not be taken in by the by the misrepresentations printed on the box such as this:

Thanks very much for you input. :jap:

Also note:

On the Optimus One, Android is not rooted. Some Android apps require the Android OS to be rooted (similar to Jail-breaking an iPhone). Do not attempt this! It will void the warranty and may turn your phone into a useless brick! See the reviews in the link above, by me, about those that have tried.

Most of the Google apps (such as Google Earth are not available for download or use in Thailand. Also you cannot purchase applications through the Droid Market. It is also blocked in Thailand.

TIT

I still love the phone though. The LG PC Suite IV works very well on Windows 7. Much better than the Samsung New PC Studio that I used with my old Samsung mobile phone.

Edited February 18, 2011 by BB1950

[KunMatt]

Might as well just copy my reply from another thread here!

"Depending on whether you want the latest versions, I'd say for smartphones right now you have the choice of the HTC Desire or Desire HD, the Samsung Galaxy S or an iPhone 4.

Obviously the iPhone 4 isn't Android but it has a lot of pros over the other two, it's also the most expensive (and imo stylist) option. The HTC is reknowned for it's crap battery, which as a smartphone is a killer for me as there's no point having all these bells and whistles if you have to be economical with when you use them all day. The Samsung seems the best all rouder with less concessions made to the user, but I've never held one so I only know what I've read about it.

Or you can either wait 4 or 5 months for the next generations; the HTC Desire 2, The Samsung Galaxy S II or the iPhone5. (Technically all of these phones look like a midway generation upgrade akin from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 3GS and there is nothing revolutionary about any of them).

At the moment, for my first smartphone I am leaning towards the Samsung Galaxy S II as on paper it looks to check a lot more of my boxes than the other 2.

If you are in no rush you can always wait for the Nokia Windows 7 phone, but you will probably be looking at next year to get it. Telling specs will be out before October... "

[FTB]

BB1950 wrote

Also note:

On the Optimus One, Android is not rooted. Some Android apps require the Android OS to be rooted (similar to Jail-breaking an iPhone). Do not attempt this! It will void the warranty and may turn your phone into a useless brick! See the reviews in the link above, by me, about those that have tried.

Most of the Google apps (such as Google Earth are not available for download or use in Thailand. Also you cannot purchase applications through the Droid Market. It is also blocked in Thailand.

TIT

This interests me and wondering if I can get this straight in my simpleton mind as I'm looking for a Smartphone and want to be able to utilize Google Earth on the telephone. One of the great advantages of the Android OS are the Apps available, can people (re)confirm whether or not apps are available for download in Thailand please?? If these are not avaialable for download and use in Thailand are not a lot of the benefits of the Smartphones unrealized?

Thanks

[lomatopo]

This interests me and wondering if I can get this straight in my simpleton mind as I'm looking for a Smartphone and want to be able to utilize Google Earth on the telephone. One of the great advantages of the Android OS are the Apps available, can people (re)confirm whether or not apps are available for download in Thailand please?? If these are not avaialable for download and use in Thailand are not a lot of the benefits of the Smartphones unrealized?

Thanks

If you have an Android phone you can download any/all free applications from the Android Market if you are in Thailand. This is quite simple to do as there is a Market widget (essentially an application) which links you to the Market over your network connection (WiFi, 2G {GPRS/EDGE}, 3G)where you can search for, download, install and update apps. There may be some issues downloading paid applications here, but there are many workarounds for this issue. Google Maps is a free application.

Perhaps more important to you will be your network connection, and how the smartphone implements Google Maps. You should make sure you'll be happy with the actual performance of your desired application(s).

[BB1950]

I have a LG Otimus One P500 with version 10e of the LG firmware (Android 2.2.1) with a TrueMove high-speed NET SIM card.

• If I do a search for "google earth" on the Android Market, it is not listed.
• If I go to Google Mobile on the phone. It will appear on the screen. If I select Google Earth, I get a message "The requested item could not be found".
• If I go to the Google Mobile page in Thai, Google Earth does not appear.
• If I download the apk on my PC and place it on the SDCARD and install it from there. The application will install, but it will not start or open.
• I did some research on the Web and found that Google Earth is available and works in some regions but not others. The same is true with many other Google Apps (which is apparent when you visit the Google Mobile page in Thai). There was a suggestion that if you replaced the SIM card for a region that the Google App is supported in, you could download and use it via WiFi. I don't have a SIM from the US or UK, so I could not try this. Some people have suggested that it could be a limitation with the service provider. I don't know for sure what the problem is, but I have given up after spending several days on this issue. I have attributed it to TIT and have uninstalled Google Earth.

Good luck, because its not available for me!

Edited February 23, 2011 by BB1950

[lomatopo]

What does Google Earth give you that Google Maps does not?

It seems like Google Earth was removed from the Market ~ April, 2010, perhaps because of the requirements?

System Requirements

Supported Devices

Nexus One and Droid (utilizing 2.1 or later)

ARMv7 instruction set

SD Memory Card

211 MB Minimum

On Device Memory

35 MB Minimum Free System Memory

Google Earth for Android works best with a WiFi connection, as opposed to a 3G or other data network connection.

There are lots of people compaining about this so I am fairly certain it is not a Thailand issue.

I was able to locate the apk and sideload it (this requires a rooted phone, busybox installer and Droid Exporer, although there are many methods to sideload apps.) and launch the app. It found my location but the actual display is pretty useless. I guess if you the right HW, FW, SW etc. the app might work? As it is Google Maps seems pretty good for me?

[bkkjames]

Hi:

I am looking for a dumb phone - preferably one with the following....

- rings when someone calls me

That's it.

[lomatopo]

I tried to attach these to my post above...

[Darrel]

If you know anyone coming from the UK then just get them to bring you a GBP89 (that's about 4500Baht) ZTE Blade (AKA Orange San Francisco), available without contract from Argos and even direct from Orange for GBP10 more. Can be unlocked for free online.

Incredible value for money and matches phones costing up to 3 times more.