Android Or Iphone In Pattaya?

[WitawatWatawit]

At the risk of being flamed (I don't mind, just be constructive about it), I have put this post in the Pattaya section rather than technology as it is Pattaya specific. (Up to you, mods, if you want to move it.)

I want to know which mobile is best for me when I relocate from Bangkok to Jomtien very soon.

Background info: Being semi-retired, I will still be doing contract work over the internet. But I don't want to sit in my house all day watching the walls close in on me while waiting for work to come through. So I plan on wandering around my mooban in the interim and having a mobile to alert me when an email arrives with some work to do. Please note, ATM I do not have the phone connected, but True call centre tells me they don't service my area -- go to TOT for your telephone, they say. (I wanted True, as they've served me well for the past 13 years in Bkk.)

As to my question. A colleague in Bkk swears by his HCT Android phone (and it does look pretty cool, but then I'm a neophyte about these things). A relative who's lived in Jomtien for some years and runs his business entirely over the internet and relies on a top of the range mobile, says "rubbish" to Android. He bought one, then ditched it for an iPhone. I've not had any chance to question him further about what he means by "rubbish".

I've scoured the web to bone up on the two systems, but my head is spinning faster than a molecule in that CERN thingy. I've checked a lot of the postings on thaivisa, but again, my head-spin proves Einstein wrong about the speed of light.

My needs are basically pretty simple. They boil down to email notification and, when I'm not working, keeping an eye on breaking news when Noi jumps off my lap to get me another beer. Games, music -- nah. Don't need them. Maybe Skype.

So, Pattaya/Jomtien experts -- I expect to have a TOT phone, True high speed broadband. Minimal functions needed on mobile. If anyone can box it up for me and point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful. Anyone who suggests "forget it, stay within your 4 walls and take Prozac" will need to need to supply the name of a pharmacy.

My regrets at boring the "krap" out of you, but khap khun krap for your help.

Regards from the technological dead zone,

Wit.

[bino]

iPhones are undeniably cool and feature packed, but don't let the Apple fan-boys sway your decision. There is nothing wrong with Android phones. My requirements were about the same as yours when I went shopping. I bought the Samsung Galaxy Mini, which does everything you require, and a lot more, all in a nice small package that fits in a pocket. Considering its relatively cheap price of 5000 ish, you will have a lot of extra happy-hour money. There is a good thread here about the Samsung Mini, where member named chmod posted a lot of good info.

[FarangBuddha]

iPhones are undeniably cool and feature packed, but don't let the Apple fan-boys sway your decision. There is nothing wrong with Android phones. My requirements were about the same as yours when I went shopping. I bought the Samsung Galaxy Mini, which does everything you require, and a lot more, all in a nice small package that fits in a pocket. Considering its relatively cheap price of 5000 ish, you will have a lot of extra happy-hour money. There is a good thread here about the Samsung Mini, where member named chmod posted a lot of good info.

Ditto...just about any Android phone will fit your needs. Nice thing about Android phones is the variety of form-factors, screen sizes, and CPU speeds, which leads to a wide range in prices from cheap and basic (but still fully functional as the Android OS is the same across all phones) to premium priced top-spec models.

iPhones you can have in any spec and screen size you want as long as its 3", black or white, and spec/OS locked by Apple.

[avidflyer]

I'm in the same camp as OP.   But what about ease of use for old guys?  I hear  that the Iphone is easier to learn. Easy is important to me. Help please.

[avidflyer]

what is "   ' about?

[BB1950]

what is "   ' about?

It's actually HTML code for Non-breaking space.

ref: http://en.wikipedia....-breaking_space

But some people have some other acronyms, i.e.:

No Bull Sh!t Please

No Blowing Sick People

Never Been So Pissed

Nothing But Saucy Pussy

ref: http://www.urbandict...e.php?term=nbsp

Easy to avoid, don't use a HTML editor or paste HTML text.

Edited November 26, 2011 by BB1950

[sotsira]

Price is a major factor when deciding between an Android or an Iphone,

Android phones are between 5000bt - 16000bt

Iphones are 24000bt.

Both can do pretty much the same things but androids are linked with gmail accounts

and google.

As for qaulity i would put HTC & Iphones on the same level, but HTC's are half the price.

[FarangBuddha]

Price is a major factor when deciding between an Android or an Iphone,

Android phones are between 5000bt - 16000bt

Iphones are 24000bt.

Both can do pretty much the same things but androids are linked with gmail accounts

and google.

As for qaulity i would put HTC & Iphones on the same level, but HTC's are half the price.

Android phones also very easily sync with yahoo and hotmail accounts thru apps or mail programs included with the phones by the manufactures.

[rak sa_ngop]

Android phones also very easily sync with yahoo and hotmail accounts thru apps or mail programs included with the phones by the manufactures.

From my experience in the UK and Thailand, I would be wary about relying on syncing with Hotmail.

On a number of occasions my emails have 'backed up somwhere' and then come through in a flood, so some were several days old. I don't know if it is my phone settings at fault or a general problem.

My brother uses Blackberry for its push email service. Probably more reliable??

[FarangBuddha]

Android phones also very easily sync with yahoo and hotmail accounts thru apps or mail programs included with the phones by the manufactures.

From my experience in the UK and Thailand, I would be wary about relying on syncing with Hotmail.

On a number of occasions my emails have 'backed up somwhere' and then come through in a flood, so some were several days old. I don't know if it is my phone settings at fault or a general problem.

My brother uses Blackberry for its push email service. Probably more reliable??

Probably your update settings...in the mail programs that come with most Android phones, you can set the update frequency from something like every 10 minutes to like twice a day. If using Gmail, the setting is in the Android OS itself. Hotmail and Yahoo also have dedicated Android Apps to push their email services to your phone...again, you set the push frequency in the app settings.

Also in the Android phone, you have to make sure the it's set to allow update services to automatically access the internet (the 3G data network) or have an always on 3G connection.

Of course, with any smartphone, if you suspect something is amiss (or you want to double-check your mail), you can always go to a web-based mail service (e.g. hotmail) using the phone's web-browsing software.

Blackberry's mail services uses their own dedicated servers and system than the open web-based email systems. Works great if security is a priority (until the government orders the system to be shut-down ala Dubai and India) but the phones themselves are not that interesting and the company is in something of a death-spiral so future services and support are iffy.

Edited November 27, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[swisstouristpattaya]

Import a orange San Francisco 2 from uk.i tried iphone,now have osf and work nice.go Modaco websiite .check gsm arena.cost 100pouds.or get one on ebay,unlocked and with gingerbread installed.zte montecarlo is good too.

forget Samsung...

[thaimate]

I know little about mobile phones ,just wanting it to "make phone calls" but my 18 year old son who knows a tremendous amount about them and computers ,says that the samsung galaxy android is the best on the market ,and i must admit it is a fantastic piece of equipment after watching what it does ,however as i said ,apart from getting my e mails while i am out and about it would for me ,be a complete waste of money

Ps i had to pay for his

[rmicheald]

ANY Android phone will do you well. AND save you a lot of baht over the I-phone. Everything has a learning curve. You will have to learn either phone. The poster who commented about the Samsung Galaxy is entirely correct. If you do a search on best internet phones, it always comes up in the top 2 or 3.

I also agree with the OP about TOT. I have had them for 5 years in Pattaya and they have done me fine. the only problem I have is that the infrastructure here (where I live) doesn't support the full speed. So, I pay for the 6 MBS and only get about 3.5 MBS.

[rak sa_ngop]

Android phones also very easily sync with yahoo and hotmail accounts thru apps or mail programs included with the phones by the manufactures.

From my experience in the UK and Thailand, I would be wary about relying on syncing with Hotmail.

On a number of occasions my emails have 'backed up somwhere' and then come through in a flood, so some were several days old. I don't know if it is my phone settings at fault or a general problem.

My brother uses Blackberry for its push email service. Probably more reliable??

Probably your update settings...in the mail programs that come with most Android phones, you can set the update frequency from something like every 10 minutes to like twice a day. If using Gmail, the setting is in the Android OS itself. Hotmail and Yahoo also have dedicated Android Apps to push their email services to your phone...again, you set the push frequency in the app settings.

Also in the Android phone, you have to make sure the it's set to allow update services to automatically access the internet (the 3G data network) or have an always on 3G connection.

Of course, with any smartphone, if you suspect something is amiss (or you want to double-check your mail), you can always go to a web-based mail service (e.g. hotmail) using the phone's web-browsing software.

Blackberry's mail services uses their own dedicated servers and system than the open web-based email systems. Works great if security is a priority (until the government orders the system to be shut-down ala Dubai and India) but the phones themselves are not that interesting and the company is in something of a death-spiral so future services and support are iffy.

Thanks for your comments. I still suspect that sometimes messages do not come through on time for whatever reason.

Another probably easier way to check that you really do have no new messages is to send a test email to yourself (from your phone). It should arrive according to you update frequency.

[JimSiam]

A friend who has an iphone on AIS told me the WIFI access point facility has now been locked down and no longer free to use without paying a special monthly fee to AIS, there was also talk of Apple clamping down on grey imports by locking them out of the networks they shouldn't be on, that would mean a lot of unusable phones tho.

[BB1950]

I'm in the same camp as OP. But what about ease of use for old guys? I hear that the Iphone is easier to learn. Easy is important to me. Help please.

Bullocks! The Iphone and Android are in the same ease of use category. Hence, Apple is suing everybody on Earth! Granted a smart phone is a little more complex than a basic mobile phone. But a Iphone or Android is not hard to learn. It's much more intuitive than advanced mobile phones.

If you can use a PC, you can use either an Iphone or Android, regardless how old you are. Old guys just have to get over their stubbornness about the 'old way of doing things'. Heck my father refuses to use anything other than a basic 'wired' touch-tone phone. Cordless phones are too complicated. He used to hate rotary dial phones because his finger would get stuck in the holes. He still reminisces over the days of the old 'crank' telephone. Back then he didn't have to remember any phone numbers and besides that, Myrtle at the phone office was good company when he got bored. He could 'shoot the shit' for hours.

Personally I prefer Android. You aren't locked into the Apple's high pricing schedule. Not to mention that I hate Apple, they are over-priced for what you get. But I do respect the fact that they were ones that were able to break the old way of thinking in the mobile phone arena. IMO, Nokia had stifled innovative concepts.

Similarly, I also credit Apple with helping to break the old text based PCs. Although there are many 'old guys' who reminisce over the days of DOS, even though it was much harder to use.

Edited November 27, 2011 by BB1950

[poanoi]

If you plan to take your phone outside here in Thailand, take a look at Motorola Defy. probably 9000 B now

And here is why