Does anybody on here know about mobile phones?

[Hiking Fox]

I'd like some advice from those of you who are into phones, as I know very little and am baffled by all the info out there.

I have an old Nokia phone on an orange pay-as-you-go contract, which has shit battery life and also keeps losing signal, even in areas where other people have good reception. It also lets people leave voicemail messages for me, but doesn't tell me when I have one. Cue people trying to get hold of me and failing.

I now work long shifts, so often away from home for over 24 hours at a time, yet I sometimes get time-sensitive emails, so I've been wondering whether to get a phone that I can check emails on.

My questions are:

* Can anybody recommend a phone that is robust and good at getting a signal? (I don't care about having a camera on it and shit like that.)

* Is it worth me getting a contract phone, or is that too expensive? (I currently spend about £10 a month).

* Basically, is there a way that I can get a reliable phone that will let me check emails, but stay on pay-as-you-go?

* Any comments, recommendations etc. will be read with interest.

[baldy]

yes!
I have 3, monthly contract "SIM 100 1 month", only 10 quid a month and 1 month rolling contract so no commitment and less hassle than pay as you go.
Get a cheap andriod phone like Samsung Galaxy Mini for £70 -> http://store.three.co.uk/view/product/q ... eplan=PAYG

Does just about everything an iphone does and you are quids in! Only problem is battery life sucks, but same deal on all smartphones, be prepared to charge it at work.

[Hiking Fox]

I don't mind paying £75, that looks good.

What's the reception like for 3? I keep hearing it's patchy; is that old info?

[baldy]

I don't mind paying £75, that looks good.
What's the reception like for 3? I keep hearing it's patchy; is that old info?

Probably depends on the area, I always seem to have good signal and 3G coverage. As you don't sign any contract it is easy enough to just change the sim and unlock the phone if you want to change service providers.

Be warned once you have a smart phone you cannot go back to having a normal phone

[XkillerX]

Nokia 5800 XM.

After 3 years I'd say the software is finally up to the job. Reception is excellent, battery life is not, but you can hack the software with all kinds of custom firmwares to have nice, proper on screen keyboards, etc.

Also there are plenty of used ones for sale. Pick one up and dont pay for it unless everything works as planned!

I'm ok with contract cellphone usage as long as there's no time obligation.

It's symbian, not android, so no worries that the software will piss itself and make megabytes of usage thus draining your credit.

[baldy]

you can hack the software with all kinds of custom firmwares to have nice, proper on screen keyboards, etc..

Hiking Fox doesn't strike me as much of a hacker. A baker certainly, a hacker not so much.

[vCLaW]

You don't necessarily need a smartphone just to check your email. My fairly old and basic Sony Ericsson has an email client, I use it fairly often. Though it is a fairly small screen, so you wouldn't want to be reading or writing long emails on it. It has decent battery life, probably lasts about a week. Though its an old model, no longer available. I was looking at the Nokia X2 which seems to be a similar sort of thing, now about £50 on PAYG.

Or yes, there are now quite a few cheap Android smartphones available. The Orange San Francisco 2 is a decent one, about £100. I think its easy to unlock if you want to use it on another network. Though like most smartphones, I think battery life is fairly short. It may be running low after 24 hours.

As for what network, if you want PAYG you could look at Giffgaff, they seem to be cheaper than most. Plus you pay £5 or £10 for a bundle of minutes and texts etc which lasts for a month. They use the O2 network, which has decent coverage (at least around here).

[beforewisdom]

* Can anybody recommend a phone that is robust and good at getting a signal? (I don't care about having a camera on it and shit like that.)

Don't be too fast about that, the ability to spontaneously decide to video something can be very valuable, particularly for activists.

On a more mundane level a few months back I purposefully parked my car at a broken parking meter to save money. I was mistakenly charged. I took a picture with a digital camera I just got, emailed it to the municipality and they instantly took the ticket away.

Activist friends of mine in a city known for its police not obeying the law have had wrongful cases against them thrown out because someone had a camera in their pocket and used it. Ever since, every time they do a demo they have a designated camera person. It reduces harassment tremendously.

* Basically, is there a way that I can get a reliable phone that will let me check emails, but stay on pay-as-you-go?

That is almost what I am holding out for. My current "dumb phone" is pay as you go. I only have to buy 6.3 pounds worth of minutes every 3 months to use the phone.

I want (I dont' need one ) to get a smart phone, but the closest thing I've found to that is a month-to-month plan where I have to pay 18.95 pounds a month.

Smart phone plans are undergoing the same evolutionary steps that mobile phone plans went through. When the powers that be get the maximum amount of money out of the current situation the cheaper and more flexible plans will arrive.

[Catt Queen]

Orange are crap. Three are crap too, they piggyback on the back of Orange signals.

Couldn't even get a signal in my house on Orange.

[etherspin]

definately consider a non smartphone too or an almost smartphone like one with samsungs Bada OS so you still get good battery life .. a symbian nokia with good email support could also be the go, cant recommend a model cause im only up on smartphones but in terms of reliability if you forget to charge at night you are screwed..

[blinki]

There's nothing wrong with an old nokia- though your's does sound like it's had it's time. I have a Nokia 2730. I can check my emails and use nearly any website. It has a camera (which isn't great but does if need be) and goes a hell of a lot longer without a charge than any smart phone. I think I paid £30 for it something like 4 years ago. Don't think they sell them anymore though.

If you don't need a smart phone really then don't waste your money- get something that really is basic.

[Catt Queen]

I have a Blackberry smartphone and with the background gadgets (bluetooth etc.) turned off the battery lasts over two days, as long as I remember to exit the apps properly.

[Hiking Fox]

you can hack the software with all kinds of custom firmwares to have nice, proper on screen keyboards, etc..

Hiking Fox doesn't strike me as much of a hacker. A baker certainly, a hacker not so much.

Yeah, I'm no hactivist. Not tech-savvy enuff.

I do, however, have a team of geeks on hand who will work for cake.

[beforewisdom]

Ha ha. I have a number of friends like that. I don't know how to bake because I never needed to learn. There is always at least 2-3 vegans in my circles at any time who love to bake.