Where To Buy A Smartphone In Bkk/Pattaya

[mike111]

Hi All,

Planning to visit the LOS in the next few months and thinking of buying a smartphone while there (currently have my sight on the Nokia N900).

Would appreciate advice on reliable yet bargain-ish retailers in BKK and Pattaya and on the price of Nokia N900 in the LOS.

Cheers,

Mike.

[Crossy]

As one who doesn't know his Android from his Symbian I can't recommend a particular outlet, but MBK in Bangkok (National Stadium Skytrain) would be a good starting point.

Let's try this in the Communications forum where those more knowledgeable live.

[lomatopo]

You should make extra sure you really want that model. Then, revisit that decision a second and third time.

It seems like it is available here.

Maybe if you wanted to share your requirements, budget and even service provider some additional recommendations would follow. Also, why do you want to buy here (Thailand)?

[mike111]

You should make extra sure you really want that model. Then, revisit that decision a second and third time.

It seems like it is available here.

Maybe if you wanted to share your requirements, budget and even service provider some additional recommendations would follow. Also, why do you want to buy here (Thailand)?

Well, I'm looking for a linux phone (not android) and the N900 seems to fit theb bill. I plan getting an unlocked one which I can use overseas.

Care to share your reservations about this model?.

Thanks.

[lomatopo]

~ 2 year old HW, crappy screen, useless 3G radio (T-Mo/USA), available on eBay, orphaned at Nokia...off the top of my head. But I'm not considering buying it so I have no reservations.

[mike111]

~ 2 year old HW, crappy screen, useless 3G radio (T-Mo/USA), available on eBay, orphaned at Nokia...off the top of my head. But I'm not considering buying it so I have no reservations.

Being a 2y.o. mobile was something I was contemplating about as well. Would you know if the successor of the N900 is going to support linux as well so it's worth waiting?. What do you mean by orphaned at Nokia?.

[Crushdepth]

The future of Nokia's own software efforts are in doubt - they are definitely picking up Windows and signalling that Symbian is on death row - they haven't been as clear about Maemo but its not looking so good.

You know Android is Linux, right?

[Phatcharanan]

The OP maybe doesn't realise that Android is Linux based.

Agree about the N900. Symbian is definitely being abandoned now, following Nokias announcement to partner Microsoft.

The OP could consider the HTC HD 2? I believe this phone is capable of dual booting Windows, Android etc? Once rooted that is.

[KunMatt]

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...

[Phatcharanan]

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.

The HTC is reknowned for it's crap battery,

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.

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.

I agree about the HTC battery life........in standard form. A custom ROM does help significantly though (with all the google and HTC crap stripped away) along with proper calibration of the battery. Battery on my Desire with average useage, browsing, music emailing, the odd movie etc now lasts for 2 days.......significant increase from the average 1 day use before cooking.

I like the Samsung S.....good phone and an amazing screen.

IPhone4? Well...........great phone..............I just have problems with Apples control over developers, apps etc. No news there then.

[KunMatt]

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.

The HTC is reknowned for it's crap battery,

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.

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.

I agree about the HTC battery life........in standard form. A custom ROM does help significantly though (with all the google and HTC crap stripped away) along with proper calibration of the battery. Battery on my Desire with average useage, browsing, music emailing, the odd movie etc now lasts for 2 days.......significant increase from the average 1 day use before cooking.

I like the Samsung S.....good phone and an amazing screen.

IPhone4? Well...........great phone..............I just have problems with Apples control over developers, apps etc. No news there then.

Yeah, I feel the same about the iPhone. My gf has an iPhone4 and it's a cool toy and very easy to use but you could do so much more with it if you weren't locked down by Apple. For one I want something to play videos without having to convert them all to the format that Apple tells me they have to be, where as Samsung and HTC can play all containers and codecs out of the box or at least with a free movie player app. Things like that are the reason I will probably go for an Android phone over an iPhone.

I'm waiting for the Samsung Galaxy SII as it's got a meaty battery (to run the largest display) but also 16GB/32GB internal memory, compared to the HTC Desire 2's 1GB internal memory which I believe gets filled up pretty quick with apps as they are not allowed to be stored on removable memory cards.

Nokia could come out with something pretty amazing for their first Windows phone, but I don't really want to wait another year for it. I also think it will be quite restricted like an iPhone too.

[mike111]

Thanks all for replying.

[mike111]

back to my OP, would appreciate advice on bargain-ish retailers in BKK/Pattaya where I can buy an unlocked Nokia N900.

Thanks.

[KunMatt]

back to my OP, would appreciate advice on bargain-ish retailers in BKK/Pattaya where I can buy an unlocked Nokia N900.

Thanks.

It's an outdated phone but you'll probably still find it in;

Bangkok - MBK / Panthip Plaza

Pattaya - TukCom

I'd recommend getting a hands-on with the N900 before you buy. I was interested in it when it was first released but I got to play with a work mate's for a few hours and it definitely was not what I'd hoped for. Very slow processor and the OS does not run very smoothly, especially compared to the current gen of smartphones.

[Phatcharanan]

I'm waiting for the Samsung Galaxy SII as it's got a meaty battery (to run the largest display) but also 16GB/32GB internal memory, compared to the HTC Desire 2's 1GB internal memory which I believe gets filled up pretty quick with apps as they are not allowed to be stored on removable memory cards.

Hi Matt.

Agree the HTC internal storage ain't great. However, it is the developers choice if he writes the app so that it can be moved to the SD card. A lot of the apps on the Market now allow for this.

Simply download from the Market a free app called Apps2SD and you;re good to go.

About 65% of my apps are stored on my 32GB Sandisk.

[KunMatt]

I'm waiting for the Samsung Galaxy SII as it's got a meaty battery (to run the largest display) but also 16GB/32GB internal memory, compared to the HTC Desire 2's 1GB internal memory which I believe gets filled up pretty quick with apps as they are not allowed to be stored on removable memory cards.

Hi Matt.

Agree the HTC internal storage ain't great. However, it is the developers choice if he writes the app so that it can be moved to the SD card. A lot of the apps on the Market now allow for this.

Simply download from the Market a free app called Apps2SD and you;re good to go.

About 65% of my apps are stored on my 32GB Sandisk.

This is why Android phones are so much better. If you don't like the way your phone works chances are someone has written an app to make it do what you want.

I almost brought a HTC Desire recently, then I was counting the days for the Desire 2 update at the MWC but in the end it was very disappointing and not much of an upgrade at all. The next Samsung definitely looks like a much better upgrade. I will wait for the iPhone5 specs but unless they have something exclusive and revolutionary which I would find really useful then I'm probably going with the Galaxy SII.

If you had told me a year ago I would be buying an expensive Samsung phone I would never have believed you because historically they have never had the best name for electronics but now my laptop, my LED TV and my soon to be smartphone will all be Samsung!!