Team-BHP - The Mobile Phone Thread - Queries, decisions, discussions all here

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrishig (Post 1570072)

Hi ,

...I am confused about touch phone/ key pad phone as many times I find myself using speed dial function w/o looking at the phone while driving. Once the phone connects then I switch to speaker phone.

Don't know how to do this when using touch phone ( as there many not to be possibility to sense the key )

Help me guys !

Hi hrishig:

Here’s a perspective.

Just because some hotshot phone designer chose to integrate touchscreen technology with his current design, should discerning phone users dump their reliable, time tested and comfortable technology?

The iPhone has kicked up a disturbing fad -- a dust storm that threatens to engulf the entire consumer electronics industry.

When equally functional, higher-quality phones are still there with traditional interfaces, why shell out extra cash for touchscreens?

Tapping the screen is simply too slow and tedious for anything but the most idiotic of tasks.

Touchscreens frequently suffer from

poor response time
inadvertent selections
poor battery life

A meaningless gimmick
Unless you’re buying the phone solely for stylish show-off in a party, touchscreen phones are worthless for anything more than dumbly flipping through a photo collection.
It is so much more productive to search in a focused manner by typing into a search box !

Virtual keyboards
Virtual keyboards are another frustrating aspect.

Require more concentration when typing.
Limit fast typing speed
Since mistakes are so typical and common, Auto correction software is a must on virtual keyboards

Coolness factor
Coolness apart, do touchscreens really enhance usability in any way?
How much should one pay for style and coolness factor?
When the novelty of the touchscreen wears off,
and you’re left with a less functional device, what will you do?

Real keyboards offer real speed
Many BlackBerry users can type without looking at the keyboard at all.
See this video. Can a touchscreen come anywhere close to this?

YouTube - 75 Words Per Minute on BlackBerry!

That’s why the Nokia 97 and Nokia 97 mini supplement their touchscreens with physical QWERTY keyboards.

IMHO, Touchscreens should be supplemented by buttons and controls not substitute them.

Ram

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ram (Post 1571342)

poor response time
inadvertent selections
poor battery life

Require more concentration when typing.
Limit fast typing speed
Since mistakes are so typical and common, Auto correction software is a must on virtual keyboards

YouTube - 75 Words Per Minute on BlackBerry!

That’s why the Nokia 97 and Nokia 97 mini supplement their touchscreens with physical QWERTY keyboards.

IMHO, Touchscreens should be supplemented by buttons and controls not substitute them.

Ram

Hmm I see that you have written my concerns in detailed manner. I guess best option is to go check some of the mobiles and then comeback with feed back.

One more feature I am looking for is wifi connectivity. I have wifi in my house as well as in our office so will use net through this whenever possible else EDGE.

The cheapest option looks is nokia 5800 but let's see

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw_m5_titus (Post 1570920)

Fellow bhpians, any suggestions for a touch screen phone under 15k( for female user) Nokia, Sony, Samsung preferred.
Priorities:
1. Ease of use
2. Battery life
3. Looks,of course
4. Build quality
Samsung f480 is one candidate on the list. 5800XM didnt really impress me. Anything else?

Titus mere bhai,

The other option is blackberry curve 8520. Not a touch screen - touch screens are useless except iphone. Try entering a web form input on any other touch screen (esp 5800XM or samsung jet!) and it looks ugly. Not to mention the touch screen is WAY slower.

On a side note, update on my e63:
I use an e63 and find it SLOW. I would've traded it in for a Blackberry 8320 (they have a lovely red color suitable for women) costing 12.5k (10k corporate deal price) had my GPS utilities worked as easily on BB!

I've the latest firmware. The older firmware was fast but susceptible to hanging. E63 has a peculiar issue where if you have 2+ applications using GPRS (nimbuzz/GMail) and a call comes - if you pick it up the very first ring, it hangs :D Replicable 50% of the time!!

On a side note - though BHPians don't look at cheap phones, Micromax Q3 is a fantastic phone. Does its job and freaking fast. didnt load it like mine but it was faster on normal usage. email works fine (didnt have time to try if it supports exchange etc)

Checked out the DROID at a Verizon store yesterday. It's quite impressive.

Sits nicely in the palm of the hand, irrespective of it's large 3.7" display. Touch screen is quick. WiFi worked flawlessly and pages loaded pretty fast. The slider QWERTY key pad has keys reasonably spaced out and does not clutter much.

Turn-by-turn Google Maps app is going to be a USP for this phone.

With a 5MP camera, WiFi, and GPS, this phone will definitely create a lot of waves this holiday season.

The phone sells for 199USD with a two-year plan and 100USD mail-in rebate. Phone alone said to be costing 599USD.

The GSM version of DROID for Europe is named Milestone and has an 8GB memory instead of the 16 GB in the US, CDMA version. All other specs remain the same.

Waiting for it to come to India :-)

Regards
Rex

A detailed review is here: Motorola DROID review

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 1571351)

Hitanshu, I ve been using an HTC touch myself and I know! I tried to dissuade my friend but still she would like to try out a touch phone, I ll keep the BB Curve in mind, anything else?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ram (Post 1571342)

Hi hrishig:

Here’s a perspective.

Just because some hotshot phone designer chose to integrate touchscreen technology with his current design, should discerning phone users dump their reliable, time tested and comfortable technology?

IMHO, Touchscreens should be supplemented by buttons and controls not substitute them.

Ram

Ram, its quite obvious that you have not yet used a touchscreen phone. I have been using one for some time now and have never encountered any problems you have stated here. The truth is that once you start using a touchscreen phone you will never ever go back to pushing buttons again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aZa (Post 1569955)

JKD ... is that for real ????????

Very. Was lucky to get this. Great cam. I wont be using this much, its a gift for my bro.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1571822-post6958.html Some snaps using it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw_m5_titus (Post 1570920)

Corby :)

Or Star WiFi if WiFi is needed.

Will suggest you to stay away from Samsung phone unless you really want,

A. A buggy phone with very little application support.
B. No Free games at all (Built-in).
C. Pathetic quality of earplug and no add-on choices.
D. Horrible Audio player/Radio controls.
E. Bad, very bad battery life.
F. Not easy to use, very intimidating interface.

Instead I suggest you have a look at what Hitanshu suggested, or if you want a partial touch screen, Sony Aino is a very good choice for within 18K (Prices may have dropped since) with all the normal Sony goodies like great camphone and audio player, GPS, app support, etc.

In Nokia, people did praise E63/E71, but I see a lot of issues in that lately as reported by fellow BHPians in different threads. So these alongwith 5800 are definitely not on recommended list anymore as I see.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw_m5_titus (Post 1570920)

Friends, I request your expert opinion in following.

I currently use O2 Stealth with WM6.5 and looking for a change with following considerations:
1. Bigger screen for better browsing
2. Light weight
3. Battery life
4. GPS would be an advantage
5. QWERTY keyboard would be an advantage
6. Camera is the least priority
7. Maximum budget 15,000 INR

Should I stick with Windows Mobile? Or try changing to Android or Symbian or something better in performance and PC kind of usability?

Which are the brands/makes should I consider?

Quote:

Originally Posted by maverick555 (Post 1589303)

which is the best place to buy mobile handset(sim free) in U.K.
and are they cheap here as compared to india .

I have always found phones to be cheaper in the UK. Recently I have bought a LG Cookie (gift for cousin) and it cost less than the equivalent of RS3900. Nokia 6500C (again to gift) for the equivalent of RS5000 and last month a Samsung Genio for the equivalent of RS3500 . Some people say handsets are cheaper in India but I have always found them cheaper in the UK. Sometimes the pay-as-you-go handsets are locked but as my dad is with Vodafone he can request the unlock code. Network subsisides are not as good as they used to be but you still get the odd bargain.

Some of the regular high street such as Carphonewarehouse and phones4u carry generic unlocked handsets.

Others that spring to mind include expansys.co.uk

Also look at HotUKDeals - Deals - All for the latest deals.