Advise on buying new mob (outright)

[brosaretheb00gie@yahoo.com]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any comments, advice or experiences.

After my 1 1/2 year old 7250i crashed I'm looking to buy a new phone
outright rather than re-flash my old phone.

My wish would be a stylish clamshell phone such as the Motorola V3, or
Nokia 7270 but I'm not sure if it's worth paying the few hundred extra
for these type of phones.

I like the features of the Motorola E398
http://www.techoni.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=299
which seems like a good phone for the price but I'm still looking at
the clamshells.

Features I like:

These seem to be on most phones these days:

alarm
calculator
automatic locking/keyguard
speaker phone
hands free headset
data cable (for backup, transfering ringtones, games etc.

Really like:

24 channel polyphonic ringtone support
MP3 ringtone support
SMS / Missed call "audio" reminder
Memory card support
mini display (outside the clamshell)
easy open (clamshell)
voice recording

Don't care at all for camera features.

Thanks for reading. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think,
and also hope this thread might help other ppl too!

[roma]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any comments, advice or experiences.

After my 1 1/2 year old 7250i crashed I'm looking to buy a new phone
outright rather than re-flash my old phone.

My wish would be a stylish clamshell phone such as the Motorola V3, or
Nokia 7270 but I'm not sure if it's worth paying the few hundred extra
for these type of phones.

I like the features of the Motorola E398
http://www.techoni.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=299
which seems like a good phone for the price but I'm still looking at
the clamshells.

Features I like:

These seem to be on most phones these days:

alarm
calculator
automatic locking/keyguard
speaker phone
hands free headset
data cable (for backup, transfering ringtones, games etc.

Really like:

24 channel polyphonic ringtone support
MP3 ringtone support
SMS / Missed call "audio" reminder
Memory card support
mini display (outside the clamshell)
easy open (clamshell)
voice recording

Don't care at all for camera features.

Thanks for reading. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think,
and also hope this thread might help other ppl too!


I would personally go for the 6230i - its not clamshell but it has most of the other features, cheap data cable and is about $550 which is very cheap. Plus it has a usb port.

The E398 is also available on boost prepaid for $249. Ive also seen it for as low as $199. It doesnt have a card slot so the mp3 player is limited to the phones memory(i think).

Roma
RSSMobile

[Me]

<brosaretheb00gie@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1116158552.846421.148600@g44g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> Just wondering if anyone has any comments, advice or experiences.
>
> After my 1 1/2 year old 7250i crashed I'm looking to buy a new phone
> outright rather than re-flash my old phone.
>
> My wish would be a stylish clamshell phone such as the Motorola V3, or
> Nokia 7270 but I'm not sure if it's worth paying the few hundred extra
> for these type of phones.
>
> I like the features of the Motorola E398
> http://www.techoni.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=299
> which seems like a good phone for the price but I'm still looking at
> the clamshells.
>

The E398 look good, anyone know where I can pick one up cheaply?

[John]

The E398 does have a memory card slot.

[Martin Taylor]

brosaretheb00gie@yahoo.com said....

> Features I like:
>
> These seem to be on most phones these days:
>
> alarm

Useful

> calculator

Useful, if awkward to use

> automatic locking/keyguard

Prefere manual locking

> speaker phone

Handy for hands free operation in the car if it can be heard, that is..

> data cable (for backup, transfering ringtones, games etc.

Handy for gadget value. Never had a phone lose its memory. And each time
I've purchased a new phone, the old and the new either had the numbers
on the SIM which was transfered, or the new one was incompatible with
the old (GSM to CDMA and CDMA to CDMA). So data backups would have been
of no use to me.

I like the Nokia 2280 CDMA. It has easy to use menus, easy SMSing,
vibrates on ring, can be used in a hands free car kit, has data
capability (only cable, IR would be nice to transfer between phone/phone
and phone to Palm PDA. Calculator's handy at times, alarm works for when
I'm away and need to be woken early, and I use the stop watch feature
when at the motor races.

And it's cheap.

The display, being a mono LCD, is clear and easy to read, unlike the
missus Nokia 6230 color screen.

[brosaretheb00gie@yahoo.com]

Thank you for your replies everyone.

Does anyone know of a shop or store which actually lets you try out
phones, rather than just look at them?

------

I'm leaning towards the E398 but still unsure. My current old backup
phone loses battery quickly so I'm going to have to get something soon,
but dont want to buy something "cheaper" and regret it later.

Also trying to not buy from Ebay but there seem to be some good prices
there -- too scary though -- don't want to get a phone that isn't
working!

[roma]

Thank you for your replies everyone.

Does anyone know of a shop or store which actually lets you try out
phones, rather than just look at them?

------

I'm leaning towards the E398 but still unsure. My current old backup
phone loses battery quickly so I'm going to have to get something soon,
but dont want to buy something "cheaper" and regret it later.

Also trying to not buy from Ebay but there seem to be some good prices
there -- too scary though -- don't want to get a phone that isn't
working!

A lot of the phone shops actually have live models of the phones but they may not have the E398, you just have to look around.

As to ebay you shouldnt have any problems, I have sold phones on ebay and know people who have bought phones (no more than $200). As long as you buy from a high ranked seller you should be ok. (no guarantee though)

Roma
RSSMobile

[TA 2000]

I like the Nokia 2280 CDMA. It has easy to use menus, easy SMSing,
vibrates on ring, can be used in a hands free car kit, has data
capability (only cable, IR would be nice to transfer between phone/phone
and phone to Palm PDA. Calculator's handy at times, alarm works for when
I'm away and need to be woken early, and I use the stop watch feature
when at the motor races.

And it's cheap.

The display, being a mono LCD, is clear and easy to read, unlike the
missus Nokia 6230 color screen.

I think 2280's are off the market now, the 2280 is just basic line CDMA phone, which is good for the light user that needs or wants a CDMA phone.

Cheers
Tom

[Martin Taylor]

TA said....

> I think 2280's are off the market now, the 2280 is just basic line CDMA
> phone, which is good for the light user that needs or wants a CDMA
> phone.

What do you mean by "light" user? Someone who doesn't need to take
photos with his camera, or to have it play the MSO's version of
Beethoven's 5th, or who doesn't need to surf the net or play games on
it?

For talking, and that's what a phone's primary function is, it does it
as well as any phone on the market, and probably better than some, with
regards to marginal reception.

[roma]

TA said....

> I think 2280's are off the market now, the 2280 is just basic line CDMA
> phone, which is good for the light user that needs or wants a CDMA
> phone.

What do you mean by "light" user? Someone who doesn't need to take
photos with his camera, or to have it play the MSO's version of
Beethoven's 5th, or who doesn't need to surf the net or play games on
it?

For talking, and that's what a phone's primary function is, it does it
as well as any phone on the market, and probably better than some, with
regards to marginal reception.

I would say a light user is someone who doesnt talk much. The 2280's battery life is inferiour to most current phones and cant last a week with regular talking.

Also buying a phone which is leaving the market is not a very smart thing unless you are getting it at a ridiculesly cheap price, not to mention the wanted phone needed to have speakerphone.

[Michael]

"roma" <roma.1p9fdq@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:roma.1p9fdq@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> Martin Taylor Wrote:
> > TA said....
> >
> > > I think 2280's are off the market now, the 2280 is just basic line
> > CDMA
> > > phone, which is good for the light user that needs or wants a CDMA
> > > phone.
> >
> > What do you mean by "light" user? Someone who doesn't need to take
> > photos with his camera, or to have it play the MSO's version of
> > Beethoven's 5th, or who doesn't need to surf the net or play games on
> > it?
> >
> > For talking, and that's what a phone's primary function is, it does it
> > as well as any phone on the market, and probably better than some,
> > with
> > regards to marginal reception.
>
> I would say a light user is someone who doesnt talk much. The 2280's
> battery life is inferiour to most current phones and cant last a week
> with regular talking.

Since when do MOST people not have access to their charger (either home or
car) for 7 days?

Battery life figures are a WANK.

Most people come home from work every night and have access to their charger

[Martin Taylor]

Michael said....

> Battery life figures are a WANK.

A wank or not, the manufacturers claim performance figures for their
products, which if they not reflective of what actually occurs could be
construed as misleading.

> Most people come home from work every night and have access to their
> charger

While this is true, there are those who may find themselves in
situations where access to power isn't readily available. Hikers, for
example.

Often, I go away for overnight motorcycle trips. A lot of the time, I
don't bother packing a charger. And often, I find the battery on my
2280 down to one bar by the time I get home the next day. On 3 day
rides, I've had the damn thing go dead on me on the third day.

Usually, the phone just sits in my pocket for up to 8 hrs. Usually make
a call home once we get to our destination on each night, and that's
about it.

Yet, Nokia claims up to 190 hrs standby time. I'm usually away from say,
Friday morning, 8am til I get home Sunday arvo around 3pm. At best I'm
getting under 60 hrs standby time, which is way, way below the 190 hr
figure claimed by Nokia.

I thought that perhaps if in my pocket, the keypad is getting pushed
about, but all that'd do is to display the "Press unlock then *" on the
screen. That in itself shouldn't take 100 hours or more off the standby
time, should it?

The phone has always had this kind of duration.

[will kemp]

On Sun, 22 May 2005 15:13:42 +1000, Martin Taylor wrote:

> Often, I go away for overnight motorcycle trips. A lot of the time, I
> don't bother packing a charger. And often, I find the battery on my
> 2280 down to one bar by the time I get home the next day. On 3 day
> rides, I've had the damn thing go dead on me on the third day.

that's not at all surprising. travelling long distances flattens mobile
batteres very fast. i've seen this loads of times. the phone is constantly
logging onto new cells. if you left it at home, you'd most likely find it
still had lots of charge left in the battery when you got back.

the best bet is to turn the phone off while you're
on the move if you're not expecting to have to answer any calls while
you're riding.

will

[Rod Speed]

"will kemp" <will@xxxx.swaggie.net> wrote in message
news:pan.2005.05.22.12.08.11.835615@xxxx.swaggie.n et...
> On Sun, 22 May 2005 15:13:42 +1000, Martin Taylor wrote:
>
>> Often, I go away for overnight motorcycle trips. A lot of the time, I
>> don't bother packing a charger. And often, I find the battery on my
>> 2280 down to one bar by the time I get home the next day. On 3 day
>> rides, I've had the damn thing go dead on me on the third day.
>
> that's not at all surprising. travelling long distances flattens mobile
> batteres very fast. i've seen this loads of times. the phone is constantly
> logging onto new cells. if you left it at home, you'd most likely find it
> still had lots of charge left in the battery when you got back.
>
> the best bet is to turn the phone off while you're
> on the move if you're not expecting to have to answer any calls while
> you're riding.

That last isnt reality tho, if you're going with
anyone else, that last is a stupid way to operate.

[will kemp]

On Mon, 23 May 2005 05:27:21 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:

>> the best bet is to turn the phone off while you're
>> on the move if you're not expecting to have to answer any calls while
>> you're riding.
>
> That last isnt reality tho, if you're going with
> anyone else, that last is a stupid way to operate.

it would be if you were in a car, but maybe not on a bike. i don't ride a
motorbike, so i don't really know. but if your phone rang while you were
riding, would you hear it? and, if you did hear it, could you answer it
anyway?

will

[Rod Speed]

will kemp <will@xxxx.swaggie.net> wrote in message
news:pan.2005.05.22.23.07.11.892787@xxxx.swaggie.n et...
> Rod Speed wrote

>>> the best bet is to turn the phone off while you're
>>> on the move if you're not expecting to have to
>>> answer any calls while you're riding.

>> That last isnt reality tho, if you're going with
>> anyone else, that last is a stupid way to operate.

> it would be if you were in a car, but maybe not on
> a bike. i don't ride a motorbike, so i don't really know.

Yeah, thats obvious.

> but if your phone rang while you were riding, would you hear it?

Easy to fix that particular problem.

> and, if you did hear it, could you answer it anyway?

Corse you can, just stop. Or use a text message when
telling someone else in the party that you've chosen to
stop off somewhere so they wont have to come back
to see what has happened to you etc.

That sort of coordination is well worth having.

[Martin Taylor]

will said....

> that's not at all surprising. travelling long distances flattens mobile
> batteres very fast. i've seen this loads of times. the phone is
> constantly logging onto new cells. if you left it at home, you'd most
> likely find it still had lots of charge left in the battery when you got
> back.

Sort of makes the mockery of the name "mobile" when describing these
phones, then, doesn't it?

> the best bet is to turn the phone off while you're
> on the move if you're not expecting to have to answer any calls while
> you're riding.

Yep, will have to, I s'pose. Or simply throw a charger into my
gearsack...

[Martin Taylor]

will said....

>> That last isnt reality tho, if you're going with
>> anyone else, that last is a stupid way to operate.
>
> it would be if you were in a car, but maybe not on a bike. i don't ride a
> motorbike, so i don't really know. but if your phone rang while you were
> riding, would you hear it? and, if you did hear it, could you answer it
> anyway?

If I have it in a shirt pocket, sometimes I can feel it vibrating. I
definately can't hear it, even stopped, if my helmet's on and have
earplugs in.

I've had it ring at times when such distractions are, well, a tad
dangerous. So, I usually have it in a jacket pocked where I can't feel
it ring. Also saves me from that irresistable temptation that most
people get whenever a phone rings - they just HAVE to answer it...