Advice on purchasing a smartphone?

[christianpfc]

Advice on purchasing a smartphone?

I am planning to purchase a new phone, as my old one
(Samsung E-720, from around 2005) which I have been using since 2008 does not
support some features I would like.

I donтАЩt need the newest model, it can even be second hand or
тАЬcopy from ChinaтАЭ, my only preference regarding manufacturer is NOT Apple. I
did not get along well with the Apple computer I once had to use due to lack of
other computers. And I read you cannot exchange the battery in Apple products
and they censor some contents.

I want to access internet with my new phone. My current
SIM-card (1-2-call) is just for making phone calls, I want to keep my number,
how can I extend service to include internet?

I want GPS and a map (googlemaps would be fine) and want to be
able to save points (or even record a whole trip).

I want a touch-screen so I can type on a (kind of) keyboard, in English and in Thai, the
Thai keyboard of my electronic dictionary has a keyboard that is only basic Latin without special characters,
so Thai letters that are not on keys that have basic Latin are re-assigned to
elsewhere, which screws up my touch-type abilities). Just had a look at a
friendтАЩs Blackberry: the key arrangement is different from a computer keyboard
and from my electronic dictionary. With a touchscreen used in landscape
orientation key arrangement like on a computer keyboard should be no problem (I
will check with friendтАЩs mobile phones). However, a look at a Nokia Slider
(keyboard in landscape) showed yet another keyboard layout, different from
computer keyboard!

My current phone cannot display Thai characters, my new
phone has to be able to do so, so I can read and write SMS in Thai.

I want to use apps. At the moment I can only think of
grindr, a gay dating app. I heard from others that Apple blocks pictures they
consider pornographic, hence no Apple for me (or any manufacturer of mobile
phone or mobile network operator that has any kind of censorship).

No slider of flipper, just flat with touchscreen that fills
most of the area of the front, about 10 cm (or 4 inch) diagonal would be fine.

How long can such a mobile phone run on a battery charge? I
remember my first phone (Nokia 6210 in 2001) could run a week (I didnтАЩt make
many calls) and now the battery still lasts 4 or 5 days (after over 10 years!).
My current phone lasts only 3 to 4 days with a charge. Some of my friends with
contemporary phones have problems with empty battery or carry a charger with
them. In this respect, it would be a good idea to get a phone for which I can
get a second battery cheaply.

I want to exchange data with my laptop which doesnтАЩt have
Bluetooth, but wifi. Will this be possible? Even better: write SMS on my laptopтАЩs
keyboard and send via my mobile phone and save all contacts and messages from
my phone on my laptop, is this possible?

Do you have any recommendation on which model to buy and
what to pay attention to (especially for second hand or тАЬcopy from ChinaтАЭ)? Did
I forget anything important? I am well aware that many of these questions could
be answered by my Thai friends or by customer service or any mobile phone shop,
but I think the answers would be their preferences and not mine. Or they would
try to talk me into the newest model.

I discussed the subject with a friend, he advised on getting
Android 4 as operating system. He said that using any apps requires a Google
account (with possibility that Google is collecting data of me)?
A dictionary Thai<->Eng (and maybe English and French to German as well) would be nice, it should have a history of the last words I looked up, so I can scroll through them when I am idle. I used this feature a lot in my last (German-English-French) and current (English-Thai) digital dictionary, and IтАЩm afraid the purchase of the Eng-Thai digital dictionary (Easy Dict A811 for about 2700 Baht) will turn out to be an unnecessary expense if the mobile phone can do it!

[Beachlover]

Well, Christian...

I would suggest getting one of the Samsung Galaxy phones. Because Samsung's a solid brand and offer a wide range of phones to fit all budgets. You can pay $700+ for the best and latest Galaxy S4 or less than $200 and still get a decent smart phone, albeit with a smaller screen and not as many features.

Instead of recommending a specific model, easiest thing for you to do in Bangkok is go to one of the Samsung Stores (there's one in Siam Paragon). You'll be able to see the full range and find something you like there. Once you know, which model you want, you can either buy it off them or if you're very budget conscious, go elsewhere to see if someone else can give you a better price.

I would rule out Apple as the iPhone won't fit your criteria. HTCs smart phones are very close and comparable to Samsung so look at them too.

BTW the Samsung Galaxy S3s and S2s can be had pretty cheap now that the S4 is out. So that's a good option if you want a big screen top of the line phone but not necessarily the latest.


I want GPS and a map (googlemaps would be fine) and want to be
able to save points (or even record a whole trip).
Any Android phone (most or all Samsungs run on Android OS) will have Google Maps. Don't know about saving points but I'm sure it can be done. Same with Apple.


I want a touch-screen so I can type on a (kind of) keyboard, in English and in Thai
I've seen friends type in Thai on their Samsungs so should be no problem... There's a button on the touch screen keyboard for you to switch between Thai and English keyboard. Same with Apple.


I want to use apps.
Android/Apple have the widest range of apps so should be no problem if you get one of these.


How long can such a mobile phone run on a battery charge?
All the Samsung phones allow you to swap batteries (which are cheap to buy) as opposed to Apple, which doesn't. But you can still buy little pocket battery extenders to plug into when you're running out.

Don't expect batteries in phones today to last more than a day or so.


I want to exchange data with my laptop which doesnтАЩt have
Bluetooth, but wifi. Will this be possible? Even better: write SMS on my laptopтАЩs
keyboard and send via my mobile phone and save all contacts and messages from
my phone on my laptop, is this possible?
When I want to do this, I just plug it into my laptop via USB. Then, it just becomes like you've plugged in a USB thumb drive. You can move files and folders around easily and quickly.

With Apple you can save all your contacts on their cloud. With Samsung you create a Google Account (the Android OS is developed by Google) and save and synch all your contacts via that. If you lose your phone or want to access your contacts from other devices, you just login to your Google Account.

You can buy external keyboards or accessories that let you plug PC keyboards into your phone.

[christianpfc]

i-mobile IQ6

I finally (mid July 2013) bought an i-mobile IQ6. An amazing piece of technology! Price was 7690, you can get it from 6990 Baht.

I was looking for 4.5 to 5 inch screen, other options were IQ5.3 (big battery, but lower resolution), IQ1 series, IQ4. But upon recommendation from the shop assistant and reading a review elsewhere, I settled for IQ6.

Quite a change from my previous phone (Samsung SGH-E720 from about 2007). In general, I am satisfied with my IQ6, it will take a while to explore all possibilities (and I will need a SIM for internet).

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/various%20stuff/DSCN6805_zpsc577620e.jpg (http://s1084.photobucket.com/user/christianpfc/media/various%20stuff/DSCN6805_zpsc577620e.jpg.html)

Battery lasts about a day (with two SIM cards, one for calls and one for data, WiFi and GPS off unless I use it). When I used it in Europe with one SIM (calls only), it lasted about 3 days.

Amazing screen, I can read documents that are intended for print on A4. Incredible!

WLAN (or WiFi) did not work. I tried to log in in my room, authentication problem. I tried at work, or rather ask IT service and let them play with it for half an hour to no avail. I went back to the shop, they couldnтАЩt get WiFi to work. That was before a two week holiday in Germany and Austria. Upon return, I went to the service center, they couldnтАЩt get it to work and finally gave me a new phone that works without problems (but some data was lost that was stored on the old phone).

GPS works only in connection with an application? At the begin, I didnтАЩt have internet, so no google maps, I could not get anything out of GPS, it is just тАЮonтАЬ or тАЮoffтАЬ and nothing more happened. After one connection to internet, googlemaps works with GPS, sometimes a bit slow. Very useful!

The touch screen keyboard in Thai has the same arrangement of letters like a computer keyboard (I can touch type Thai and my digital dictionary has a different arrangement, which is very annoying).

Charging battery takes up to 5 hours (my laptop: 2 hours). When I used the phone until it switched off due to empty battery, and then plugged it in, I only got the тАЮchargingтАЬ symbol on the screen, but I could not switch it on. I had to unplug from USB to switch it on.

Switching batteries is not an option, I would have to remove the protective cover first, then the back. With previous phones, it was click (old battery off) тАУ clack (new battery in), not here, rather carry a charger.

The headphones are not loud enough. I tried several music and movies, at maximum volume most of it is ok, but in some cases you still need an quiet environment. I could not understand some movies I watched in a railway station, the surrounding noise was louder than the sound from the headphones. I have a similar problem with my laptop. In Thai discos itтАЩs the contrary, I use earplugs.

After data connection to a computer тАЮFile ManagerтАЬ sometimes shows an empty Home (SD card + Phone storage). I have to do some other manipulations (I donтАЩt remember which activity brought back the contents, but you can access some data via тАЮSettingsтАЬ - тАЮStorageтАЬ тАУ тАЮPictures, videosтАЬ).

SD card and Phone storage are recognized as two drives (F and G), I have to eject both separately from my laptop (although they are both under i-mobile IQ6).

The jacks for headphone and charging have no protection. I keep the phone upside down in my pocket, so no dirt can fall in. My previous phones had covers for jacks.

When I read pdf documents, I turn the phone 90 degree (so it is in landscape position). Then I have to tap twice to тАЬscreen widthтАЭ. How can this be done automatically?

[timmberty]

When I read pdf documents, I turn the phone 90 degree (so it is in landscape position). Then I have to tap twice to тАЬscreen widthтАЭ. How can this be done automatically?

drop it.