Should I buy a smartphone?

[joe552]

I'm a real technophobe. I have an old Nokia mobile phone, which I mainly use to store phone numbers, which I call from my landline. Would it be worth buying a low end smartphone for my trip? The main thing would be access to emails - things like flight details, taxi company, etc. If so, any recommendations? I have a Vodaphone store and a Carphone Warehouse store nearby.

[AsDaRa]

My God. That people without a smartphone in the West still exist. This is my biggest surprise for today. Even my old mother has a smartphone.

Yes buy one. You have electricity at home also? And indoor toilet ?

[BOY69]

Smartphone is a must nowdays for taxi applications,chating with boys on line, mails,hotel reservations and so on.
I was in the same situation like you till my visit on 2015 at Thailand it was almost impossible to get by without a smartphone and the Thai boys make fun of my old mobile phone . when I came back home I immediately bought a smartphone.

[Nirish guy]

Yes Yes Yes Joe - and install Grindr etc - it'll be a game changer for you I assure you !!!! ( plus it's also very handy for flight apps and hotel sites and email etc.....but hell who cares about that as did I mentioned Grindr etc......what with you being SUCH a slut and all !! :-) lol

In all seriousness though YES ! Immiedautely as your question is now akin to someone asking should I leave this slate and piece of chalk behind and switch over to pens and paper perhaps ? Things are literally THAT far moved on now, get with the programme Mister, you wouldn't want all those Thai boys thinking you were ( any more) over the hill ( than we / you already are now would you :-)

[dinagam]

Since you are already familiar with an old Nokia mobile, you should take the leap into the new realm of smartphone with the aid of Nokia 2.2 now available for around €90. You and the boys will love it.

[sglad]

Since you are already familiar with an old Nokia mobile, you should take the leap into the new realm of smartphone with the aid of Nokia 2.2 now available for around €90. You and the boys will love it.

Why; does it double as a dildo?

[Nirish guy]

Why; does it double as a dildo?

For all the good it works he might as well shove it up his arse !

Joe I know money always has to be considered but don’t buy the cheapest of cheap smart phones, they’re as slow as fuck and forever closing down or not able to the modern apps you’ll want - you’re going to have this phone a while I’m guessing so spend a bit more to get something a bit more up the scale - you can pick up loads of half decent phones second hand now for not a lot of money.

[dinagam]

Oh! not a second hand phone, heaven knows what likelihood of it being part of the contraption that fitted well with sglad 's dildos, the ultimate joystick!

[goji]

Smartphones are really useful.
e-mail. Grindr. Google maps. Hornet. On line banking. Planet Romeo. Weather Forecasts. Blued etc.
Plus reminder lists, camera, audio player etc.

So getting one is a good idea. I think some of the Motorola budget models were well reviewed, but you should google "budget smartphone reviews" or something like that, since I am absolutely NOT an expert.
Note: I'm pretty sure the Motorola phone brand was flogged off to someone else, however they certainly did have a reasonable reputation for making phones without too much crap added on top of the Android software.

Finally, only go for a very low spec phone if you are 100% sure you're not going to end up using it way more than originally planned.

If you might just use it a lot, including back home, probably best to go for something with say 4GB of RAM and 64 or 128GB of storage.

Then you will want a Thai SIM card. I guess it's going to cost you ~200 for a couple of weeks with a good data allowance. One saved off fee pays for this.

[Manforallseasons]

No need for this much discussion......Answer Yes!

[Moses]

Pay attention to Xiaomi brand. Hi-end smatphones with prices 1/4 - 1/3 of iPhones. Company became 4th largest smartphone manufacturer in world just in 3 years.

Just check https://mi.com

[joe552]

Honestly, thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I like using slate and chalk. Reminds me of my schooldays. That's a decision made then. So when I go to Pattaya, I just need to buy a new SIM card, is that correct?

[Dalewood]

You can do quite a bit that would otherwise take your bringing a laptop. Yes, get a smartphone.

[christianpfc]

I managed without a smartphone until 2013. Then I bought my first, and never looked back.

But I have a friend who regularly travels to Thailand and uses no phone at all in Thailand. When we meet, he and I have to be punctual because there is no way to inform the other of delays or change of plans, and it works most of the time!

One occasion, I went to see him in his hotel, knocked on the door, no reply. Wait at reception for half an hour, knock again: he fell asleep. A smartphone would not have helped here.

[Nirish guy]

Honestly, thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I like using slate and chalk. Reminds me of my schooldays. That's a decision made then. So when I go to Pattaya, I just need to buy a new SIM card, is that correct?


Correct - well, if you wish to make calls etc and have data 24/7 when in Thailand - BUT - if you really wanted to save omney you COULD do without buying a Thai sim ( fuck it buy one !!) but you can always just turn your data off on the irish phone ( FFS make SURE you remember to do that otherwise you'll get screwed with a large bill!) but if you turn your "roaming" data off you'll still be able to use your phone via (free) wifi anywhere that gives you that ( such as your hotel / most bars and resturants etc). So it IS possible just to keep your irish SIm in your phone WITH YOUR DATA ROAMING TURNED OFF ! and just connect and use the free wifi just whereever you see it.

If I'm only going to a Country for a short trip of a few days or a week I sometimes do that and do without a local SIM and and generally it's fine. Only time it's handy to have the Thai SIM in is if you really feel you might want to have or to make and recieve normal voice phone calls or you want to have mobile "data" when walking about for goggle maps / internet browsing / 24/7 grindr browsing etc :-) As dont forget with many Apps now such as Whatsapp / Messenger etc you can make voice calls there to your contacts for free 24.7 worldwide any.

Not being funny but if you're not "up" on these things grab someone ( gay?) and still in a bar with them for 15 minutes and have them show you all the various Apps and things as there's so many and if you get set up right from the start it'll make things a lot easier for you in the long / short term. ( Oh and the reason I say "gay" is that then they can show you all the various slutty Apps out there that we all use and that will open up a whole new world of options for making contact with guys for you ( both when on your hols and at home !) And be ready for the constant "ping" of your getting incoming messages when you arrive anywhere in Asia - you'll get the love it and start to think your phone is broken if you DONT hear it on arrival ! lol

[joe552]

Thanks NIrish, I think I'll have a young man talk me through it in Sunee and then I'll decide if I need a SIM.

[Nirish guy]

Ok - but just be aware he’ll say “yes need” as the concept of not bothering with a SIM and existing on free WiFi will be alien to him I’m sure ( we’ll until his credit runs out half way through the month no doubt :-). For all it costs it’s little odds anyway - oh but remember if and when YOU are buying one you’ll need to bring and show and allow them to take a copy of your passport at the 7/11 etc ( or get your Thai boy to go to save you the hassle !)

[Daveuk]

I take my IPhone to Thailand but I also use a small old Samsung with a Thai SIM card which I bought 2 years ago for 500 baht.
The former is locked to O2 and I was told that to unlock it to accept a Thai sim would take a few days and be expensive, so I’ve never bothered. When possible I only use it for sending texts but these to home in uk proved to be rather expensive and during one trip I used up all my data so again an unexpected charge.
I wonder where the best place is for unlocking it so as to replace the O2 sim with a Thai one during the time of my Pattaya visits ?
The Samsung I just use for voice calls both Thai and abroad. The calls seem remarkably cheap when I prefix international one with a 9. Ie for a call to the uk 009 44 . I keep numbers on it of Thai boyfriends and of farang friends I’ve met.
I also have a big screen iPad which I use for emails in addition to entertainment.

[gerefan2]

Joe...a tip.
When you want to use you smart phone or tablet in Yensabai do not pay the bitch downstairs 1000 baht for WiFi connection.

Take your smart phone to Tukcom and ask for 1 month internet access (and sim card if needed). You must take your passport. It will cost 700 baht for unlimited use for a month.

You can also ask them to add whatever you want for phone calls, say 100 Bt.

They will do all the necessary for you. A godsend for the likes of me!

2 nd floor on the left as you get off the escalator. AIS .

[goji]

Or tootle off to the True shop just past Tuk Com and they should sort you out with a 1 month package + SIM for about 500.
2 weeks should be less -there were decent packages at about 107 baht per week back in February.

To have a smartphone without a SIM would be like going to Pattaya without offing a boy.

Incidentally, if you are buying a phone in the UK, just make sure it's not locked to any one network. Or make sure it can be unlocked.

[Brad the Impala]

The former is locked to O2 and I was told that to unlock it to accept a Thai sim would take a few days and be expensive, so I’ve never bothered.

It used to be more expensive but now you should be able to get your UK Service provider to unlock if for £20 or £30. It does though still take a few days.

[Daveuk]

Thanks Brad. I rather think that in the uk it would be more than £20 or £30 but I will try
Boys are rather amused to see me get out the old Samsung. Maybe they should be reluctant to have me off them, perhaps thinking I have no money with a old non smartphone. I take my iPad out with me to the pool or beach, it’s easier to send messages online particularly on Planet Romeo. Boys like to play with it doing games or looking at porn (sometimes str porn - UGH !

[joe552]

You see.... I don't know what unlocked means. How do I switch off roaming? I need a fucking 10 year old to explain it all.

[goji]

1 Locked means (for example) if you buy a phone, it might be locked so it only works with one provider like Vodafone. [Vodafone might subsidise the phone price in such cases]

2 Switching off Roaming is dead easy in the settings menu. google "switch off roaming android". Or "switch off data"
You don't actually need to do this, as long as you keep the phone switched off from the time you board the plane in Ireland until you put your new Thai SIM in it.

[ceejay]

Joe: I would suggest you consider buying your Smartphone in Thailand. There are very cheap (by Western standards) very good models available here. I bought a Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime for (if I remember right) about 7000 baht 2 years ago and it is still going strong. I don't believe it is available in Europe.

Also, you can get modestly priced phones that will take two SIM cards (mine will) so that you can have your UK SIM on roaming for incoming calls only, and use a Thai SIM for data and local calls while here. If you buy the phone here, you will probably need to take it back to Ireland before you do this because your new phone will almost certainly take micro or nano SIM and your existing one will be too big to fit in it. Your Irish service provider should replace the SIM, keeping the same phone number, free of charge.

(Edit: you need to find out what frequency your service provider in Ireland works on if you buy in Thailand, and check that what you are buying is compatible. This may be helpful
https://www.frequencycheck.com/carriers?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q%5Bname_cont%5D=&q%5Bcountry_id_eq%5D=113&q%5Bfrequency_bands_id_eq%5D=&commit=Search
(or just contact your provider and ask them)

[cdnmatt]

If it helps any, I just recently picked up a refurbished iPhone 6s for about $200 USD, and it works like a charm.

[gerefan2]

Joe...if you buy a phone in Thailand, especially at Tukcom, be extreeeeemly careful to ensure it’s not a fake copy.
I bought one for my ex and it was a copy and useless after 6 months.

[goji]

Joe...if you buy a phone in Thailand, especially at Tukcom, be extreeeeemly careful to ensure it’s not a fake copy.
I bought one for my ex and it was a copy and useless after 6 months.

Now there is good advice.

I've even had bad experiences with USB cables bought there which don't last more than a couple of weeks and a friend who was dumb enough to buy one of their chargers had a similar experience. I also wouldn't hook my £500 phone up to one of their cheap shitty chargers.
If I had to get a charger in an emergency, I would trek up to Central and buy one in a proper shop.

[Manforallseasons]

Joe, I live in Pattaya many years and have had many, many phones. My first smartphone was the original iPhone which I bought in Tuck Com. I have over the years been doing business with only 2 of the sellers and have been treated very fairly. When you are in Pattaya send me a PM if you like I will happily show you both shops, and they will walk you through most of what you should know about smartphones.

[frequent]

If it helps any, I just recently picked up a refurbished iPhone 6s for about $200 USD, and it works like a charm.The about-to-be-released iOS13 won't work on the iPhone 6, so it's a reasonable to guess that iOS14, in a year's time, won't work on any model below iPhone 7 (including the 6S)

[goji]

I thought Joe wanted a cheap low end phone.

Apple don't do cheap low end phones. You need one of the cheaper Android phones for that. Like Motorola or one of the Chinese brands.

Joe can either follow the advice to buy a cheap, genuine & guaranteed unlocked phone in Ireland or the competing advice to get something in Tuk Com which might just be OK, or it might just be a fake & pile of crap.

To be fair, some retailers in Tuk Com are selling good product: Starbucks, Boots, Watsons......

[frequent]

I thought Joe wanted a cheap low end phone. Apple don't do cheap low end phones. You need one of the cheaper Android phones for that. I quite agree - if you want tat, buy an Android phone

[joe552]

My plan was to buy here in Ireland. I've heard stories of crap phones being sold in Thailand and not being able to use them when you get home.

[Manforallseasons]

My plan was to buy here in Ireland. I've heard stories of crap phones being sold in Thailand and not being able to use them when you get home.

Whichever phone you buy it must be unlocked, meaning you can put in any SIM card, if not it will not work in Thailand.

[Moses]

My plan was to buy here in Ireland. I've heard stories of crap phones being sold in Thailand and not being able to use them when you get home.

If Ireland has no taxation of private post parcels, then is better to buy in China via Internet. It will be up to 2 times cheaper. You have just choose global brand like Xiaomi, Huaway - for to have warranty service support.

[Manforallseasons]

If Ireland has no taxation of private post parcels, then is better to buy in China via Internet. It will be up to 2 times cheaper. You have just choose global brand like Xiaomi, Huaway - for to have warranty service support.

Joe, I reckon you are buying a phone not a house or a car!

[joe552]

MFAS, that's what I thought too. Anyway, I'm going into the Vodaphone store here in Dublin later today to have a look.

[dab69]

Not only can you call Barry, the Dublin fireman, but you can store videos
of his handsome hose...

[joe552]

Nice one, dab69

[extronaut]

Yes you should. They incredibly useful things to have, with maps, ride sharing apps, and translation apps.

You should be aware though, that it will probably contain your Google details, your banking details, all your personal emails and Facebook messages. So make sure you have a good password or fingerprint lock, and encrypt the phone before you go.

If you're Australian, also be aware that Australian customs often insists on scanning your phone for child pornography when you return. This I have no problem with, in theory, except that they get access to your Google details, your banking details, all your personal emails and Facebook messages. My plan is to use an alternate Google account while on holiday, so they don't get my emails, and not bother with Facebook at all. Can't do anything about them getting my banking details, so I'll just have to trust the Australian government not to fiddle with my accounts, unfortunately.

[Oliver2]

I'll now expose my ignorance and await the inevitable amused disbelief from fellow posters.
Ok; I have a tablet (Lenovo) a Chromebook and a phone bought in Tukcom for about 750 bht. The combination of all three seems to meet my needs for my visits to Thailand; P. assists me when I have an issue with apps on my tablet.
If I were to throw-out the tablet and phone and buy a smart-phone, what specifically would I gain....apart from convenience in terms of size?

[billyhouston]

I, too, have a tablet (Lenovo) together with a laptop and smartphone. There is one thing the 8" Tablet can do which smartphones cannot and that concerns The Times. Only the tablet can render The Times in the format which most resembles a hard copy. Lenovo make tablets to which a SIM can be fitted but most, like mine, are wireless only. Other than that, a tablet can do most things that a smartphone can do but there is one area where tablets cannot compete.

Cameras in smartphones are far superior to virtually all tablets. As a Canon SLR user for more than 45 years, I have been amazed by what the camera in my Pocophone can do even in its original, unmodified, form. In good, and even not so good, light the images are perfectly acceptable though if I'm going to want 20" x 30" enlargements (very rarely) I use a DSLR. There are things that the phone can do very quickly which would take time and effort in post-processing to achieve with the Canon. The thing to remember is that you cannot get an image if you do not have, with you, a device to capture it.... and you always have your smartphone with you. Carrying a backpack with a couple of bodies and five or six lenses backwards and forwards to Thailand is a real pain but I continue to do it for those occasions where a DSLR is needed.

As my background includes EDSAC, DEUCE and similar machines friends were surprised at what a late adopter I was of mobile phones... which for the first ten years or so simply sat next to the house phone and never moved outside the house. These days I wouldn't/couldn't be without a smartphone which does most things that a tablet can do.... and simply fits in the pocket.

In short I would, respectfully, suggest keeping the tablet and Chromebook and replacing your phone with a smartphone. The Pocophone, like many Chinese phones, is dual SIM so holds both my UK and Thai SIMs. (I keep a second phone for my Myanmar SIM) I seem to recall that Xiaomi phones have already been mentioned in this thread and I would heartily endorse them excellent value for money.Xiaomi seem intent on giving Samsung, and the like, a run for their money.

[cdnmatt]

Not only can you call Barry, the Dublin fireman, but you can store videos
of his handsome hose...

I'm certain I was told fireman on multiple occassions, but apparently I was just being crazy and not listening. I guess his occupation is much more prestrigous -- a bartender, and one who is addicted to meth of all things! Not to worry, he's quitting meth because he loves Leo so much, and come September he'll be SE Asia's newest English teacher. They're not sure what country yet, but are thinking Vietnam for some reason. Good ole Barry is even going to become a monk, and the whole bit I guess.

Too bad, because one the Irish dick shows up, Leo and myself won't be able to really talk anymore, as we talk every few days right now. The Irish meth head is a bit of a jealous control freak it seems. Whatever, I'll hang out in Vientaine with Gohn, and they can have fun on their English school teacher salaray... living the life!

wait around

[frequent]

I was just being crazy and not listening. Hard to believe