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Thread: Smart phones

  1. #1
    Inndigestion Strongers's Avatar
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    Default Smart phones

    The wife and I worked out that we are spending a fortune on our ancient pay-as-you-go phones and looked into getting contracts with free texts and minutes. The online deals seem to be £15 a month upwards depending on what phone you get and what deal you want for texts and calls etc. I was hoping that some of you on here may have experience of these phones as I have a few queries and don’t want to be bamboozled by a child in a suit in Car Phone Warehouse:

    1. Will I be charged the Earth for accessing my favourite website whilst drunkenly wandering the streets of the south coast?

    2. Some come with 500mb of free downloads. Is it expensive to download stuff and what stuff does one download? Is this about getting apps on the phone?

    3. If I sign up for a £20 p/m contract I want to pay £20 a month. Are there any hidden costs that I will have to take into account?

    4. Is there a brand or specific phone that is better than the competition?

    5. Any I should avoid?

    Cheers
    WE ARE THE BREADMEN - UP THE BEES

  2. #2
    It wasn't me Quinno's Avatar
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    Hello Strongers,

    I, like you, am about to get a new phone. My eight year old Siemens A55 is still going strong but the time has now come for it to be pensioned off to my sock drawer.

    Mrs Quinno has recently got herself a Blackberry Curve - this very useful as it has a full QWERTY keyboard, though obviously it is a bit challenging to use as a novice due to key size. I am quite taken with it and like the idea of getting my reviews done in situ, rather than having a foolscap folder stuffed full of beer-stained dog-eared paper.

    I await other peeps suggestions with interest!

  3. #3
    Glass Half Empty
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    I'm probably about to change from a t-mobile contract to virgin mobile, partly as my current phone is ancient and partly because I'll get a better deal as I'm with virgin at home. The child in the suit convinced me that the Samsung Galaxy Ace best suits me with an £18.95/mth package which will give me 250 minutes, unlimited texts, 1GB mobile web. Apparently I need to cancel with t-mobile first and get a PAC code from them so I can transfer my number over.

    I recall last time I did this I didn't realise the quoted price didn't include VAT until I got my first bill. Other than that I have been paying the set monthly amount provided I keep within the free limit, but if I go over it seems to stack up quite quickly. They send me a weekly text to tell me how much credit I've got left this month, which helps keep tabs on this, though I daresay there might be a better way to do that.

    Recently I've started using the notes facility on my phone to take review notes, which just looks like I'm sending a text and feels better than trying to make surruptitious notes on paper. I don't think I'd want to type up and send the whole review in situ though as I think that would take me too long and I'd probably make embarrassing mistakes all the time. Prefer to type up properly in the cold light of day!

    Would appreciate others' thoughts...
    'Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable' - Python

  4. #4
    Inndigestion Strongers's Avatar
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    I've been looking at the Galaxy and HTC? Desire which seems to tick all of the boxes. I'd like a good camera as I'm not one for taking a proper camera out with me, but I would like to contribute more to the pub photos when there isn't one already. PG maps would also be useful, not sure if they can be seen through a phone?

    I'd also like it to be reliable as I hate being cut off, having no reception or having the battery die as when I make a call it is usually necessary.
    WE ARE THE BREADMEN - UP THE BEES

  5. #5
    Pub researcher (unpaid) rpadam's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Strongers View Post
    PG maps would also be useful, not sure if they can be seen through a phone?
    They half work on my Nokia - you can get the map up for the pub you are looking at but are not able to click on the other green 'blobs' to identify the nearby premises...

  6. #6
    Inndigestion Strongers's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rpadam View Post
    They half work on my Nokia - you can get the map up for the pub you are looking at but are not able to click on the other green 'blobs' to identify the nearby premises...
    That'll do, I've never been one for the fine detail!
    WE ARE THE BREADMEN - UP THE BEES

  7. #7
    Administrator Dave M's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Strongers View Post
    1. Will I be charged the Earth for accessing my favourite website whilst drunkenly wandering the streets of the south coast?
    You shouldn't do. The biggest risk is that you start accessing the websites whilst walking the streets of another country and you'd get stung with a huge roaming bill.

    Quote Originally Posted by Strongers View Post
    2. Some come with 500mb of free downloads. Is it expensive to download stuff and what stuff does one download? Is this about getting apps on the phone?
    So long as you download the apps whilst using a Wifi connection or via your PC then that wont count as part of the 500mb allowance. The 500mb is the amount of data you are allowed to download whilst using the internet on your phone whilst out and about and not connected to Wifi. I have only used 99mb so far this month, although I've not been out too much.

    Quote Originally Posted by Strongers View Post
    3. If I sign up for a £20 p/m contract I want to pay £20 a month. Are there any hidden costs that I will have to take into account?
    Things to look out for are MMS (picture texts) which I never really use anyway and more sneakily accessing your voicemail is sometimes not inclusive.

    Quote Originally Posted by Strongers View Post
    I've been looking at the Galaxy and HTC? Desire which seems to tick all of the boxes. I'd like a good camera as I'm not one for taking a proper camera out with me, but I would like to contribute more to the pub photos when there isn't one already. PG maps would also be useful, not sure if they can be seen through a phone?
    Those were the two I ended up choosing between. I opted for the Galaxy S, although I believe that the Desire has the better camera (something I decided wasn't that important to me).

    As to the maps, if you choose to get an Android phone (such as the ones you've mentioned) then there is a free app called Layar through which you can get an interactive map of all the pubs on PuG.

    Quote Originally Posted by Strongers View Post
    I'd also like it to be reliable as I hate being cut off, having no reception or having the battery die as when I make a call it is usually necessary.
    Battery life is not great on Android phones, realistically I have to charge mine every night because it tends to have dropped to around 50% charge by the time I get to bed. I suspect this might be the case for many smartphones though.

  8. #8
    The Beerhunter. RogerB's Avatar
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    I have a Blackberry Curve with a 2 year Virgin contract that comes to around a tenner a month but I think that was a special deal for Virgin Customers (all my broadband, phone, cable TV etc is Virgin). I'm not a habitual texter and don't actually make many calls so I don't find the contractual restraints on free minutes and texts an issue (I can't actually remember what they are but I never get close to exceeding them). It does however allow me unlimited internet and allows me to pick up all my e-mails, messages and twiddle around on Facebook/MySpace. It also gives me a couple of card games when I'm sitting around in pubs waiting for people! It is my mobile window into the outside world and I don't know how I would cope without it. Just wish it had a better camera!

  9. #9
    I'll stay on me own
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    [QUOTE=Quinno;32956]Hello Strongers,

    I, like you, am about to get a new phone. My eight year old Siemens A55 is still going strong but the time has now come for it to be pensioned off to my sock drawer.

  10. #10
    I'll stay on me own
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    That last post just shows how thick i am,i tried to reply with a quote and it went wrong. I was going to say i am still using a Siemans A55 and it is still going strong,it took me about 6 months to understand how it worked. This phone was passed down from my son then my wife,my wife has had another 5 phones since then and all have packed up or broke in some way and her latest phone is now playing up while my A55 keeps on going. If i want to find a pub i use an A-Z i think this is far easier than using the interweb. The Siemans A55 are almost idiot proof except in my case so a new fangled phone might be harder to use. But dont let my ramblings put you off getting a new one.

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