Reply With Quotegalaxy y are on special at coles this week, I think $59.00
New Phone?
Hi all, going to buy new phone, have a Telstra NextG/3G prepaid sim from old phone.
Only want something under the $150 level (something that doesn't matter too much if it gets damaged by my horse or me drowning it in the ocean like I did to my old Samsung flip on Saturday), needs to be rural tick & have 3" plus screen so my old eyes can read it.
Looking at Samsung Galaxy Young $99, Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus $149 & Huawei Ascend Y300 $79.
Can anyone say they wouldn't own one of these??
Anyone got a better idea/deal.
Cheers, Tiny
"You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The information is out there; you just have to let it in."
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galaxy y are on special at coles this week, I think $59.00
Last edited by hughdman; 24-03-14 at 12:29 PM.
I wouldn't own, any of these. they are just so slow, can't be upgraded.
If it's a disposable then go for it.
I wouldn't buy any of them.They are all severely underpowered and laggy as hell. Screens are way too small and typing anything is a nightmare. Without checking all specs, lots of these cheapys run ancient versions of android.
I also wouldn't buy a phone that doesn't have 4g, its rolling out very fast.
Double your budget and I can help you out with a phone
S3 4g still with plastic on the screen (Australian model)
Tiny (24-03-14)
Re: New Phone?
If Op needs rural tick, doubt he'd need 4G. Also totally depends on what people do with their phones.Originally Posted by admin
marty 17 (24-03-14)
Rural Tick doesnt really mean anything these days, other than 3G 850/2100. In other words, Telstra as Vodafone and Optus use 3G 900/2100. Its realistically nothing but a marketing gesture from when Telstra marketed their "Next G" service which is in fact just their 3G service. He may not need 4G, but the fact is its rolling out on all carriers and its rolling out fast. If 4G appears in your town in 12 months, what would you rather be connecting to ? I would take 4G anytime, 3G is getting clogged with people using it as a download service. I never get anything fast where I live but there are already at least 2 4G towers in use and have been for at least 6 months. 3G will eventually get on sold to the cheaper budget carriers as it gets phased out of use.
Agreed, it does depend on what people do with their phones but whats the point of owning something that is absolutely painfull to use ? As it appears he had his last phone for 6 years, chances are he looks after them and in that case he would be better of spending a bit more. I would be taking up hughdman's offer on the S3 4G. I owned a 3G S3 for a few years and they are a good phone and a pleasure to use.
Another option for you Tiny if you have real concerns about damaging it as you have with this one.......I know you are not 100% up to date with android, but basically you have to register a gmail account (doesnt matter what it is, you dont have to use it as an email address, though there are some good benefits to that). Anyway, you have your gmail address and on your phone you sign in (only once, you stay signed in). Your phone backs up and syncs with your gmail account......meaning that all your android devices sync. Ok you ask, how does that help me ?
You could use the S3 as your main phone. You could buy a cheap shitter as your "fishing, horse riding <insert any other activity> phone. Change your sim card, phone syncs, you have all your contacts etc.
Tiny (24-03-14)
As a tech head I get your point admin, still have to justify $300 dollars for a phone that won't work at home (none will-no reception), gets taken on horse rides 3 or 4 times a week for emergency purposes to areas of low strength coverage, 4G coverage is currently 70 km from here in patches & will probably get here eventually (this area will be last on the list).
The upside is it will double for the camera I also take horse riding (lucky the missus had that when I went upside down on my horse in the surf - I"ll post some pics or the video footage in the joke thread)
Thanks to hughdman for the offer, sounds like a GREAT DEAL, I'm almost there with this.
Got some Q's on detail so I'll pm.
Cheers, Tiny
"You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The information is out there; you just have to let it in."
I've got two phones sitting here gathering dust.
1 x Samsung Galaxy I still in excellent condition - It was my wife's phone, and...Oooops - thought I had better check this - Plugged in the charger NOTHING, bugger - Ohhh well the SII is still working well
1 x Samsung Galaxy II still in excellent condition - It was my phone prior to my 2 Sim upgrade, I now use a TLC W100
There are no scratches on either screen
Both units are working, both unit are out of contract but used to be with Optus - I have no idea about locked or unlocked, perhaps someone else could advise on those matters
I'm sure we could negotiate a reasonable deal acceptable to both of us.
I also have a Samsung Galaxy SIII 4G. Brand new and still sealed in the box, It's probably way out of your bracket Tiny but I thought I would offer it anyway.
Last edited by Seymour Butts; 24-03-14 at 09:58 PM.
In hindsight I should have posted my Facebook status as: "I've blown the head gasket on my 1997 XR3i" rather than "I've just buggered a 14 year old escort".
The police still haven't seen the funny side, my lap top's been confiscated and the wife has gone off to her mum's.
Tiny (25-03-14)
I've just spent two days attempting to convince a SIII to connect to the Telstra network in a rural area for a friend. Would not register on the network! Friend eventually rang the supplier who said, they don't work in rural areas which does surprise me as SWMBO has a Galaxy Note II which works fine, and my Note I worked, until I borked it. Just make sure it can do what you want it to. I'm now looking for a replacement for my Note as the iPhone3 that I am currently using is giving me the you know whats!
Same thing quite often happens with any NextG/3G device, they wont register for the first time on the network unless it has 3 bars of reception strength. Then after that it will work with 1 bar.
So for first time setup you need to be in a high strength reception area.
It's to do with downloading necessary network software & settings.
Cheers, Tiny
"You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The information is out there; you just have to let it in."
lsemmens (09-04-14)
Re: New Phone?
Supplier is full of crap. S3 is a quad band phone and will work on any of our networks.
Telstra requires an 850/2100 phone. The only problem you would have is if you bought a phone which is 900(Optus)/2100. But as I mentioned, that does not apply to the S3.
OK, thought I'd let you know where I'm up to on this.
Being a tech head I let you guys talk me into not one but 2 of these smart phones.
Yep one for the wife so I can more easily explain how to use the phone & get her into this new technology as well. Can't have people calling us Luddites as I do to my non tech friends.
I have purchased 1 from Seymour Butts that I have had for a week & 1 from hughdman, which is in the post on it's way here.
Both units are Samsung Galaxy S111 4G.
BTW; I was a little nervous at first with the comments on these phones from lsemmens about reception difficulties & another thread on charging problems.
So here is my experience so far.
The one I have here from Seymour is originally Optus supplied.
So first I looked at cutting down my standard sim to fit the micro sim slot using a template I downloaded.
That was a non event as my old sim's chip is the larger variety & the cut would have gone thru the edge (apparently that will shatter the chip). Checked the sim in the wife's phone & it would be suitable for cutting. Didn't bother though as I had to get a replacement sim from Telstra for mine, why not both they are free to change over?
BTW, this phone has a click in sim slot; so if you cut a sim down to fit it's going to have to be perfect.
I played around with the phone after charging it without sim, had it connecting to the internet via my wireless router & sat BB, set up my Google account, registered some of the software apps that I wanted to use, got some updates, set up my ring tones that I like & filled my contacts list from the PC's Win Live Mail contact list. BTW; I did this via vcf cards & Bluetooth, I now know that it would be easier via the PC sync program from Samsung called Kies.(will use it for the wife's S111)
So Friday we took a days shopping list into the big smoke, Launceston 75km from here & got the sims replaced in 5 mins at the Telstra shop, no questions asked & nothing charged
Within 15 mins my sim was active & phone connected to 4G network 4 to 5 bars. Cool, all good.
Have tested it in some out of the way rural areas mostly 3G network, good signal 3 or 4 bars in most places I would expect to get good signal, like our close rural towns of Meander & Deloraine, & to my surprise manged to get 4G 4bars at a place called North Motton, Tas, on Saturday while visiting a friend. That's quite rural & great signal.
In the places where I used to get marginal signal of 1 bar or just getting service with my old rural tick SGH A411 & the wife's rural tick Telstra T95, I get the same with the S111
Even did a test call to my home phone answering machine which was crystal clear from out the back of beyond, about 2 km from where I live while riding my horse.
So lsemmens I can only suggest you either didn't have the sim in correctly or the phone just needed registering with a strong signal first.
I did read where some of the older S111's particularly grey import models had reception probs on Telstra as they were not the T(telstra) model (SG-i9305T), which could be fixed by loading the Telstra firmware upgrade onto the phone.
That is obviously not the case with this Optus firmware phone.
Edit; here are links to read about this for anyone interested.
If I get a firmware offer from Telstra I might take it just to see the difference if the one from hughdman isn't Telstra supplied. If it is I will be interested to compare firmware & signal readings.
Tested the camera & video, not bad for phone. Love the big screen.
Took me a while to get the Navigon GPS software running, few hoops to jump thru, however I never give up & managed to get it under control. I think.
No charging or battery life problems so far.
Big thanks to Seymour Butts & hughdman, for their offers to assist me & there genuine answers when I asked questions via PM.
Last edited by Tiny; 09-04-14 at 10:52 AM.
Cheers, Tiny
"You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The information is out there; you just have to let it in."
mtv (09-04-14),Seymour Butts (09-04-14),tristen (19-04-14),viewer (21-04-14)
Good stuff, you will be much happier with them than the cheapies mentioned earlier.
I'll qualify my statements again, the phone was NOT mine and I WAS surprised that it did not work. Signal may have been an issue as I am rural, though I've not had any trouble with other phones so thanks for that observation, Tiny. The owner purchased phone off eBay, and, I suspect, the previous owner may have had issues with it, hence selling it. The friend has arranged to have it returned and get money back. She has now purchased a brand new phone.
Further update to this thread, second phone is a Samsung Galaxy S111 4G GT-I9305T (Telstra model), have tested in the same places as the Optus branded S111 4G GT-I9305, there is no difference in the reception in marginal rural areas with both phones using Telstra sims.
I even put the sim in for the first time at home where I get intermittent reception, not long enough to make a call.
The phone picked up the Telstra network briefly then disappeared as it always does.
Same on both phones which is to be expected as Telstra lists this property as suitable for satellite phone or landline only.
Of course the sims phone account has already been active on the old sim & phone so no need to register on network, I guess.
The firmware build dates & version numbers are different, however are the same in appearance & functionality.
Differences being the Optus phone opens & closes with an Optus logo during the Samsung animation, & has some additional Optus Apps (all useless unless you're an Optus customer)..
Cheers, Tiny
"You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The information is out there; you just have to let it in."
Seymour Butts (19-04-14),tristen (19-04-14)
only in certain areas, not so populated areas like small towns, are struggling to maintain a service of any sort let alone 4g
I think now smartphones are getting more and more and it is so easy to own a phone. I think that people now can get a smartphone without any issues since it is so cheap to get one.
You would be surprised where it is (see quote below). Regardless, it will be replacing 3G, just as 3G replaced 2G. Roll outs dont take long these days, it was only 6-7 years ago that the only way to access the internet on your phone was via GPRS packet data.
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